Response papers for the film Smooth Talk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response papers for the film Smooth Talk - Essay Example The mother\ always has something nice to say about June, the elder sister, whereas Connie and her mother are always fighting and arguing. That is why Connie plays the proverbial rebel and â€Å"acts out,† so to speak, by defying her mother and going to places without informing her. The film, just like the story, takes a nasty turn when Arnold Friend, a man who spotted her at one such place, decides to pay her a visit when her parents are not at home. The film is very closely based on the story, though there are some differences, seeing how it was a feature film based on a short story, certain additions had to be made to accommodate for the length. The one place where the depiction of characters did not seem â€Å"fair† to me was that Laura Dern, who played Connie, did not look like a fifteen year old at all. What is more, she looked a lot older than the girls casted to play her friends. The story mentioned that Connie was pretty, and as far as that is concerned, Laura D ern fit the role well, however, nowhere does it mention that Connie looked older than her age. Another aspect where the film diverged from the original work is that in the story Connie’s father does not spend any time with his family; he does not have much time once he comes home and he does not talk to them much. However, in the film, Connie’s father not only spends time with his family, but also seems to treat Connie as her favorite child. This takes away from the story, in my opinion. When reading the story, one feels that Connie is completely isolated and feels like she is ignored, and that is why she does what she does: in a bid to get attention. When the film shows Connie’s father being especially attentive to her, it does not convey the sense of isolation that Connie feels, because clearly she does get attention. Her little trysts as well as her acting out does not make complete sense in this regard, and she comes out more as a spoilt teenager than an iso lated one. The rancor between Connie and her mother was aptly explored, however. The scene at the breakfast table, when Connie comes in to eat and her mother is on the phone, was especially poignant in that regard. Even though it seemed like Connie’s mother was castigating her for not picking up a plate, it did convey the exasperation that she felt at Connie not taking interest in anything being done at home. This was also very nicely shown when Connie’s mother castigates her for not remember to bring her the painting gear she needed (Connie’s mother is painting the house, and, what is more, she feels like she has to do it alone as Connie shows no interest in helping). When Connie and her friend go out separately with boys they have met at the burger joint, Connie is taken to a parking lot. Here she is shown to have engaged in a bit of sexual foreplay. This scene was especially important because Connie is dressed up in a sexy outfit, that makes her feel older th an she is (she even lies about being a sophomore to a boy), however, when the foreplay gets a little bit too â€Å"serious† she, being the young girl that she is, gets scared and does not know how to handle it. She says something along the lines of how she has never felt this excited before and that is why she is disturbed by the feelings the kissing and fondling evoke in her. I found that this clearly depicted the theme of the movie: a young girl who wants to grow up fast, but is actually just a scared little girl who cannot handle the emotional baggage

Affirmative Action in America Essay Example for Free

Affirmative Action in America Essay Throughout the years, much of the public’s confusion over affirmative action lies in the manners it is defined, because the manner at which the concept is described usually becomes the basis that shapes public attitude. Affirmative action in the United States basically refers to policies that take ethnicity, race, and gender into consideration in an effort to encourage equal opportunity. The focus of such policy varies from employment and public contracting objectives to health and educational outreach programs. It is intended to promote public institutions, such as police forces, hospitals and universities to be more representative of the people they serve. The thrust towards affirmative action is twofold, which is the rectification as a result of involuntary, institutional, or blatant discrimination, and maximization of the advantages of diversity in every levels of society. Affirmative action continues to be one of the most conflict-ridden issues in the United States, remaining unsettled ever since the civil rights legislation in 1960s. Despite the fact that numerous efforts have been challenged to get to the bottom of the problem, none attempted to recognize the fundamental causes of the criticism against the policy. Therefore, in order to understand the future of affirmative action, one must be aware of its evolution, its resistance, and its application in the United States. Evolution of Affirmative Action Affirmative action in the United States started as a device to deal with the enduring discriminations among African-Americans in the 1960s. This particular phrase was initially applied to represent the country’s government policy in 1961 as a means of redressing inequalities that had persisted albeit the constitutional guarantees and civil rights laws (Brunner, 2007). Focusing particularly on jobs and education, affirmative action policies mandated that active measures be taken to make sure that African-Americans and other minorities benefited from equal opportunities for financial aid, scholarships, school admissions, career advancement, salary increase, and promotions that had been practically the whites’ exclusive province. Affirmative action was visualized from the start as a provisional remedy that would end once there was an identical playing field for every Americans. President Kennedys Executive Order 10925 of 1961 intended and mandated every government contracting agencies to practice affirmative action to make sure that black applicants were hired and that they were equally taken cared of throughout their employment, without considering their color, creed, race, or national origin. In 1964, the landmark legislation of Civil Rights Act was signed into law, which prohibits employment discrimination by large employers, regardless of their previous contracts with the government. President Johnson developed and enforced for the fist time the country’s affirmative action through the Executive Order 11246 of 1965, requiring every government contractors and subcontractors to observe affirmative action so as to expand employment opportunities for minorities. President Johnson amended Executive Order 11246 in 1967 to incorporate affirmative action for women. By this time, federal contractors were required to make good-faith endeavors to increase employment opportunities for minorities and women (Wilcher, 2003). The 1978 decision of the United States Supreme Court in the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 912 upheld the use of race as one aspect in selecting qualified applicants for admission. Concurrently, it also ruled illegal the practice of the University Medical School of setting aside 18 seats for minority students in every incoming class of 100 (Wilcher, 2003). The following year, a National Women’s Business Enterprise Policy was created by President Jimmy Carter through the issuance of Executive Order 12138, which further requires every agency to take affirmative action to support business enterprise of women. In the same year, the Supreme Court ruled in United Steel Workers of America, AFL-CIO v. Weber, 444 U. S. 889 that race-conscious endeavors intended to abolish an evident racial disparity in an employers labor force ensuing from past discrimination are acceptable if they are impermanent and do not infringe the rights of other employees. The United States Supreme Court in 1987 ruled in Johnson v. Transportation Agency, 480 U. S. 616 that a serious under representation of minorities and women warranted the use of sex or race as one aspect in selecting amongst qualified applicants. Opposition to affirmative action has resulted to numerous legal challenges, starting with the United States Supreme Court’s 1989 decision in City of Richmond vs. J. A. Croson, which required local and states governments to draw on more comprehensive evidence of inequalities to validate the need for the programs. Immediately after that, Oregon and Michigan discontinued their affirmative procurement programs. In 1998, both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives prevented efforts to abolish particular programs of affirmative action. Amendments to eliminate the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program sponsored through the Transportation Bill were rejected by both houses, and the upper house rejected an endeavor to abolish the use of affirmative action in higher education admissions programs supported through the Higher Education Act. Throughout these periods, the opinions of the Supreme Court justices in affirmative action cases have been generally divided partly because of conflicting political beliefs but moreover because the issue is basically so complicated. Rather than tackling the whole policy, the Court has approached majority of the cases in a piecemeal manner, focusing on its narrow features. But in 2003, the landmark case involving the affirmative action policies of University of Michigan, which became one of the most imperative rulings on the issue in 25 years, the Supreme Court finally and positively supported higher education’s right of affirmative action (Brunner, 2007). The Court held as constitutional the use of race, among other aspects, of the University of Michigan in its law school admissions program given that the program advanced a compelling interest in achieving an educational advantage that flows from the diversity of student body. In addition, the Court established that the law school’s program was narrowly tailored, flexible, and supported a holistic assessment of every applicant.

Effects of Donald Trumps Trade Policy

Effects of Donald Trumps Trade Policy Normative Effects and Prospects on President Donald Trump’s Protectionism Abstract A newly elected president of the United States of America, Donald Trump has been acknowledged for several radical policies. Concerns from all over the world for his protectionism has risen as he took steps to enforce policies. The United States has been reviewing free trade agreements (FTA) with numerous countries, attempting to impose a tax on foreign products so, domestic manufacturing industries could able to compete and outsell. In short term, it would create the instant profit. There were mainly two concepts of protectionism; imposing a tax on foreign products, and limiting the number of imported goods. However, there were professional worries internationally, even inside of this country as well. There were feasibilities to lose domestic corporations’ willingness to invest in research and development and competitiveness in other countries, resulting in degeneration of domestic industry. Foundation of Study Donald Trump’s Presidential election attracted worldwide attention. There are lots of views that are conflicting each other on the new U.S President’s political outlook. Protectionists argue that protection will lead to greater prosperity and strength (Merry, 2016). Trump’s base is profoundly suspicious of American engagement abroad. He opposed stubbornly of Clinton on foreign policy. He has doubted what the U.S. gets out of core alliances with NATO, Japan and South Korea (Powell, 2016). One the other hand, anti-protectionists assert that the changed policy will boost the rate of inflation and ultimately depress U.S exports. This new condition is an ill bode for the proposed twelve-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, designed to usher in a new generation of free-trade deals (Merry, 2016). This research examines how Trump’s shift in trade policy will affect U.S. Background of the Problem Protectionism is the opposite term with free trade that is trying to close and isolate its country by giving control, like taxing goods and services made from overseas. Trump wants to protect American manufacturers and workers by throwing away the free-trade principle. All of the policies regarding international trade, protectionism in this research, such as the decision to withdraw from the TPP, decision to renegotiate NAFTA and FTA, and decision to impose great amount of tariffs (Panchak, 2016), contain strength and weakness, and entail positive and negative impact on global economy: Therefore, politicians must undergo prudence process of thinking and meeting in every respect, includes (a) advantages on protectionism, (b) disadvantages on protectionism, (c) opposite policy’s merits and demerits (free trade), and (d) solution. Problem Statement The United States, as well as other various countries, had taken action to protect their home industries after the global financial debacle. The international financial crisis caused not only economic uncertainty about the world economy, but also delay on economic recovery after the global financial debacle. Especially, the United States posted a huge amount of trade deficit for several years (Hannon, 2016). Trump attributes the cause to other partner countries. For example, he blames that China had been manipulated their currency selfish interest, and exerts his pressure to administration to trading partners. â€Å"Donald Trump says he’ll declare soon after he takes office that China is a currency manipulator because it is devaluing the yuan against the dollar. He may want to rethink that. These days China is intervening in the capital markets to prevent the yuan from going into free fall. The currency is now close to an eight-year low, down 12% from its peak in January 2014 (Wall Street, 2016).† Today’s enthusiastic debate over US trade policy with the vast tariff debate of the late 19th century. The 2016 presidential campaign trumpets the return of protectionism. Mirroring the paranoia of Republicans past, those who support free trade initiatives are now charged with being part of a great conspiracy to attenuate American democracy (Palen, 2016). The central research question examined in this study is the following: How will the revised policies, originated from â€Å"Make America Great Again† campaign, affect the U.S and other countries? Presentations of Findings Protectionism helps domestic industry in competition by charging high imported tax to foreign products. There is unfortunate story that imports killing the Mon Valley caused by the free trade. It states, â€Å"The more I read of local businesses and factories shutting down, workers being laid off, towns dying as imports soared. The more I began to ask myself, the price of free trade in painful† (Merry, 2016). However, Protectionism’s negative effects would hit even more to the U.S. – the world’s largest economy – while restricting export markets, increasing prices of imported goods and services for consumers and producers. Even for the U.S., three quarters of the world market in financial terms, and 95 percent of the world’s customers in people terms, lies outside its borders, it is not just a domestic matter. A protectionist U.S. economy focused only on its domestic market can never match the advantages of orientation to a global economy. Fo r Germany, 95 percent of its potential market is outside its borders, for Brazil 97 percent, for Australia 98 percent, and for Thailand over 99 percent. Such countries, therefore, applaud Xi Jinping’s unequivocal defense of globalization, not because of deference to China but from national self-interest because globalization really is â€Å"win-win† (Ross, 2017). One of the most important factor when choosing products among different brands, price takes a key role. No one would not want to pay more for the same quality of goods. For example, if the custom of the United States of the America imposes to the automobile of the Japan, not many customers want to buy Toyota’s Camry for forty thousand dollars when you could have Ford’s Fusion with the half price of Japanese cars’. In a first glance, it looks feasible and domestic companies gain the advantages in competition. However, there is a possibility that domestic corporations lose the willingness to invest in research and development (R&D) because they do not need them. If you can win the competition with less or no efforts, you do not want to struggle in R&D. There is an English example in the early era of the car industry. In England, when the automobile was developed in the 1990s, horse cars and automobile were competing. Due to the repulsion of horse car owners, the House of Parliament enacts the law limiting the speed of automobile that cars cannot outrun the horse cars. The law had been enforced for twenty years, leading the failure to compete in the automobile industry. This example does not relate with the protectionism, but it gives a lesson when there is no competition, the competitiveness do not get stronger nor stay the same, it degenerates. In order to remain our competitiveness, ironically, domestic companies should struggle with others. Worse thing than losing competitiveness is other countries can do what we do. If we can impose taxes on foreign imports, they also can impose taxes on American products. Smooth-Hawley Tariff of 1930, for instance, which raised duties on some twenty thousand imported goods, in some instances to record levels. American economists had petitioned the president to veto the bill as economic poison. â€Å"Countries cannot permanently buy from us unless they are permitted to sell to us,† said the economists, echoing the views of that rustic Texan, Roger Mills, and the more we restrict the importation of goods from them by means of even higher tariffs the more we reduce the possibility of our exporting to them (Merry, 2016). Furthermore, we are already losing money on foreign markets, and if we lose our competitiveness for imposed taxes, we would never compete with anyone. The functioning structure of American economy is not supported by manufacturing. We make fortune from the Informat ion Technology (IT), out of state technologies, and finance. For example, Trump administration is reviewing the FTA between South Korea and the United States. We think we are not making fortune for the military we offer for them, and the products we export to them. Stupidly, it is not true that even though we are losing a fortune in trading our goods, but we sell our weapons. I am not talking about small firearms, but I am talking about the fighter flights, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems and so on. The deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense is in South Korea. The approval of the South Korean government to deploy  THAAD  in the country in response to the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test of North Korea (LEE, 2017). At the end, we win the war while we lost some battles, losing hundreds of million dollars while earning hundreds of billion dollars. For another example, Mexico is currently the 3rd largest goods trading partner of the US, w ith $531 billion in bilateral goods trade during 2015. Goods exports totaled $236 billion; goods imports totaled $295 billion. â€Å"Interestingly, 40 per cent of the parts in a typical Mexican product originate in US, illustrating that Mexico (and other countries such as Canada) are integrated into the US global supply chains, according to the Commerce Department. Hence, around 6 million US jobs depend on trade just with Mexico, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. Thus, tariffs on Mexican products could ultimately lead to loss of jobs in the US and degenerate the US economy, in addition to the impact on consumers (Shawn, 2017). There is a way to implement the protectionism that limiting the number of foreign goods. If there is a limit of the number of imports, there are limits of the fortune that the foreign countries would make. Likewise, it is a very shortsighted idea, resulting in degeneration of domestic industry again. The invisible hand is well-known terminology for the free market that the economy is controlled by the supply and the demand. Every time the government tried to manipulate for its own favor, the results did not follow the expectation like a football ball. Multiple economists and analysts expressed their pessimism about the potential benefits of protectionism, a trend that is expected to increase in line with populist political movements in Europe and the US. â€Å"Past practice shows that trade protection is both costly and ineffective. High tariffs translate into higher prices both for consumers and companies. Protectionism disproportionately hurts poorer households who spend a greater share of income on traded goods,† said Gary Hufbauer, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and former deputy assistant secretary for international trade and investment policy of the US Treasury (Shawn, 2017). There is a point that the United States was a young and lively nation, rich in resources and geographical advantages, populated by a robust and expansionist people, beneficially situated upon the American continent, facing two oceans. Its destiny seemed secure irrespective of fiscal policies at any given time or the political passions unleashed by the tariff issue (Merry, 2016). Reflections Trumps protectionism would lead negative impacts on domestic and international industries. We must think if we can do on foreign goods, then they also can do on domestic exports like imposing taxes or limiting the number of products. I admire his effort to vitalize United States’ economy with politics, however, his protectionism has too many risks that might result in the collapse of the economy like the one of Japan in the late 1990’s. There was a long-term stagnation and instability of the Japanese economy in the 1990s (so called â€Å"lost decade†). Especially of the protracted deflation and insufficient final domestic consumption, the asset price bubble collapse at the beginning of the 1990s has probably activated and amplified impacts of other complicated processes in the economy. The blast of the bubble has negatively impacted both Japanese financial sector and production and investment activity of Japanese companies and so on (Zuzana, 2012). It is not the government who make decisions to make the America great again with the strong economy, but it is the corporate themselves with lots of creative ideas and competitiveness to compete with foreign businesses. Conclusion To sum up, such a considerable alteration in policy, strategy and tactics will hardly be easy. It will meet strong headwinds in today’s domestic political climate (Ezrati, 2016). We do not know the consequences of our protectionism policy to the domestic economy and international markets. Although there are concerning voices against the policy, quoting trial and error of foreign countries, we would not know the results until we know the result. Some dislike not the only protectionism for losing our ability to fight against others, but also eventually we lose the competition at the end as result of a negative cycle of degeneration induced from eliminated benefits from the fair competition. These might be the reasonable concerns, however, we cannot ignore the instant impact the protectionism would have to our economy because the crowd has spoken with the media of vote. Trump was elected thanks to his radical policies, including the protectionism, and that is what the majority of people want in the United States. As the president of this country, he has to implement what he promised to us during the election. If the protectionism is going to lead bad sequences of our economy, he should reconsider the foreign policies but that is not the end of his job. He needs to come up with different policies pertaining to both domestic and international businesses to facilitate to get out from the era of economic depression. When you watch the news, there are still protestors against Trumps administration, nevertheless, if he can make America great again, the voices against him would disappear along with the concerns questioning his ability as our president. Politics and economy are like betting for the gamble. Even though you have all data and calculated expectation, still players bet for the probabilities. What they do is eliminate the unlikelihood and maximize the probability of what they bet. Protectionism is a gigantic bet playing where participants are coming from the all of the worlds. Alea Iacta Est; it is a dice is cast in Latin. Trump’s protectionism would have impacts on the domestic economy and foreign countries. We do not know the future yet hope these policies make America great again. References Ezrati, M. (2016). Defending free trade. National Interest, 144, 51-55. Hannon, P. (2016, November 26). Global trade rebound threatened by protectionism after trump victory. Wall Street Journal, 1. LEE, B. (2017). THAAD deployment in South Korea. Harvard International Review, 38, 34-37. Merry, R. W. (2016). Protectionism in America. National Interest, 146, 28-36. Palen. M (2016). The return of protectionism. History Today, 66, 6. Panchak, P. (2016). Trump and trade. Industry Week/IW, 265, 6. POWELL, B. (2016). How’s that gram you?. Newsweek Global, 167, 12-15. Ross, J. (2017). Weeks when decades happen: Global thought leadership passes from the U.S. to China at Davos. China Today, 66, 40-43. Shawn, T. (2017). The promise and the peril of the Trump economy.  Fortune, 175. Zuzana, S. (2012). Japan’s lost decade: On the development of the Japanese economy in the 1990s.  Journal of International Relations,  4. (2016). Trump’s Chinese currency manipulation. Wall Street Journal.

The Heroism, Divine Support, and Greek Unity Displayed in the Persian W

In early fifth century BC Greece, the Greeks consistently suffered from the threat of being conquered by the Persian Empire. Between the years 500-479 BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought two wars. Although the Persian power vastly surpassed the Greeks, the Greeks unexpectedly triumphed. In this Goliath versus David scenario, the Greeks as the underdog, defeated the Persians due to their heroic action, divine support, and Greek unity. The threat of the Persian Empire's expansion into Greece and the imminent possibility that they would lose their freedom and become subservient to the Persians, so horrified the Greeks that they united together and risked their lives in order to preserve the one thing they all shared in common, their "Greekness". The Persian War stemmed from the Ionian Revolt which began in 499 BC. The Ionians became a part of the Persian Empire in 546 BC, but after many years desired to break away from this forced bond. Therefore, the Ionians sought help from the mainland Greeks. The Athenians and Eretrians responded by sending ships, but eventually became more involved. "What began as a relatively minor involvement in the revolt became more serious when the Athenian and Eretrian forces aided in a surprise attack on Sardis, during which the city was set afire" (Demand 1996, 184). Although the Ionian revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, it sparked the anger of Darius, the King of Persia, that the Athenians dared to interfere with his vast empire. Herodotus writes he was so angry that he "ordered one of his servants to say to him three times every day before dinner, 'Sire, remember the Athenians" (Hdt. 5.105.2). Whether Darius really said this is questionable, but it is clear that either to exact venge... ...reeks won a war of unbeatable odds because they had both everything to lose and everything to gain - their very survival. Works Cited Crane, G., ed. The Perseus Project. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=trm=ov&vers=english&browse=1 Demand, Nancy. A History of Ancient Greece, Indiana University. McGraw-Hill, Janson by Ruttle, Shaw & Wetherill, Inc., 1996, pp. 185-196. Dillon, Mathew, and Garland, Lynda. Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates. Routledge International Thompson Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 179-215 Lefkowitz, Mary. "You Are There- A novel set in ancient Greece revisits a key battle between Sparta and Persia". The New York Times Book Review, Nov. 1, 1998 Pressfield, Steven. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermpoylae. New York: Doubleday

The Straight-Edge and the Scene

Straight-Edge and the Scene For some youth it’s all about the scene. What is the scene? The scene is a general reference to the music venues in which these youth participate. The straight-edge subculture is one that many may not be familiar with. Why is this? Probably because the straight-edge lifestyle is one of the few countercultures in which the youth that is involved tries to steer clear of drugs and overindulgence. It is closely related to the hardcore/punk music scene. The straight-edge lifestyle refers to people who are involved with the hardcore/punk lifestyle but they refrain from drinking alcohol, using drugs, smoking cigarettes, and promiscuous sex. This subculture was created as a social movement against authority, drug abuse, and any type of overindulgence associated with punk rock (Kirchner, 2009). Background: the 1970’s to the Present Individuals who are straight edge take a pledge to live a drug, promiscuous, alcohol, and cruelty free lifestyle. Sometimes, this even extends into vegetarianism and veganism and Hare Krishna, a belief based on Hindu scripture (Kirchner, 2009). The basic philosophy of the straight-edge lifestyle centers around self control and regaining as much of one’s personal control over their lives as possible, by getting rid of the negative influences (Kirchner, 2009). Straight-edger’s, a common nickname, usually are involved with the environment, animal rights and pride their counterculture on keeping their focus on higher learning and a positive outlook (Wood, 2006). The straight-edge subculture emerged in the late 1970’s (Wood, 2006). The term straight-edge was coined by musician Ian MacKaye in a song called â€Å"Straight Edge† which he wrote for his band, Minor Threat. Their music was fast and powerful with angry and thoughtful lyrics, which is how straight-edge seemed to be viewed as at first. With further understanding, it was found that the straight-edge lifestyle was the opposite. In the 1970’s only a slew of prominent artists rejected drugs and alcohol and influenced the straight-edge ideology (Wood, 2006). After the term straight-edge was thrown out into the music community, many people picked up on it and many other bands for decades to come centered their music and lifestyle on the straight-edge, drug free lifestyle. Minor Threat was the first band to use the term straight edge and adopt the letter X as a representation of being straight-edge and living the lifestyle. The X symbol was believed to originate from the use of the letter on people who were underage (under 21) to symbolize that they were too young to drink at the shows and became the symbol for straight-edge by being used on album covers, as body art, and other paraphernalia (Kirchner, 2009). In the 1980’s the influence of music on the straight-edge seemed to be at an all-time high. Many bands seemed to be using the straight-edge lifestyle as a stepping stone and inspiration for their songs. During the mid-1980’s many of the vegetarianism and veganism ideas stemmed out and gripped straight-edge community members (Cogan, 2008). This propelled a trend towards animal rights and vegetarianism that would reach its peak in the 1990’s. Straight-edger’s want to be directly involved with both the music community in which they support, by either playing in a band or writing a webzine or article for the music and their regular community by helping with any aspect of it. Straight-edger’s use this subculture to move away from the stigma of destruction that hardcore and punk music seems to have veiled over the industry. Militant straight-edger’s were first identified in the early 1990’s. These individuals were characterized by less tolerance for those who were not straight-edge, more outspokenness, and more willingness to resort to violence in order to promote clean living and fight against homosexuality and abortion (Woods, 2006). This willingness to resort to violence led to some parts of the United States paying close attention to the straight-edge subculture and the subculture being treated as a gang by law officials. However, â€Å"a study done in 2006 suggests that a small minority of individuals who identify with the straight-edge subculture are violent. † (Woods, 2006: 38). In the 2000’s the straight-edge movement has become less violent and more about promoting a positive lifestyle. Straight-edge has moved out into different genres of music instead of staying specific to the punk/metal scene. The decline of aggressive behavior has been linked to the lack of a well known band leading the straight-edge movement (Irwin, 1999). The amount of tolerance from people who are straight-edge to non-straight edge participants has grown as well (Irwin, 1999). Deviant Theories Applied: Straight-Edge and Theories First, we have to ask why the straight-edge subculture is deviant. The straight-edge culture embraces moral inclination in a positive way. This subculture does not fit the â€Å"norms† of society. By abstaining from substances, sex, and other negative things, it makes this subculture stick out. If, in society, something about a group or person sticks out, they become deviant, which is departing from anything that is socially accepted or â€Å"usual† (Clinard, Meier, 2011). In the early 1990’s violence that was related to the straight-edge movement was high. Some militant actors used violence against random people and other straight-edge members who were drinking, smoking, or doing drugs in order to try and spread their substance free message. This violence was brought on because of their direct relation with the straight-edge culture. Functionalism can be used to describe this time period for the straight-edge activists. Functionalism describes how different social occurrences uphold and disturb social stability. It also claims that society needs crime to be functional and for various other reasons such as attaining group unity, innovation, and setting and preserving moral limitations. The straight-edge subculture has many moral limitations. They have a strict set of requirements that they have to follow in order to be considered straight-edge. The violence that took place by the straight-edge subculture was due to the fact that many who committed the violence, to random people or other straight-edge members, was for the preservation of their morals. Any type of substance abuse, promiscuity, and meat eating is an implicit sin for members of the straight-edge community. The disregard of these rules by both participants and non-participants in the straight-edge subculture alike were reason for some members in this group to become violent (Woods, 2006). Militant straight-edger’s used violence to try and force a straight-edge lifestyle onto others because they viewed, and for those who still use violence today, still view their lifestyle as the most morally right. The straight-edge lifestyle also indirectly calls for unity by forcing its members to follow the straight-edge lifestyle’s specific guidelines, such as not drinking. When members conflict with this or associate themselves with people who drink, smoke, or indulge in anything morally incorrect violence usually followed. In this subculture the deviance mainly applies to the push against abusing drugs, alcohol, and overindulging in any way. Why do individuals in the straight-edge community take this approach? The social learning theory may be able to explain this. The social learning theory asks how people become deviant and whether it is learned (Clinard, Meier, 2011). With this particular subculture it can be said that the majority of the straight-edge lifestyle is learned from music and peers. Many individuals who are involved in the straight-edge lifestyle found out about this lifestyle from the music scene or their friends. Others, driven to take part in the music scene, joined and others who wanted to be a part of a positive influence on their society because of music joined the straight-edge subculture (Woods, 2006). Many members of the straight-edge community became a part of it because it represented a break away from the increasing sexuality of rock music and the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution offered youth freedom and an alternative to the dating script and the straight-edge counterculture did the same (Kirchner, 2009). The straight-edge understanding embodied freedom as well. The freedoms between the two are quite different as one gave the freedom to indulge in one’s inclinations while the latter gives the freedom to make an intentional habit out of their choices to refrain from overindulgence. In society, sexual behavior is socially learned. What is acceptable and unacceptable sexually is made clear through social informative (Clinard, Meier, 2011). The straight-edge subculture tries to take sexuality back into a time where hooking-up was not the social norm. Being sexually promiscuous is frowned upon in society as well as in the straight-edge subculture. In society heterosexual deviance is an ongoing topic. The straight-edge society wants to be known for exactly the opposite of this. In society, sexual deviance is generally negative. Sometimes, women are objectified and men are a number of different things, which is why the straight-edge community rejects these ideas in order to show society that they have exerted control over their life by abstaining and â€Å"saving† their bodies (Woods, 2006). In the straight-edge society, the double tandard holds true as well because a lot of the time men who proclaim to be straight-edge may be being promiscuous at the time but can still claim the straight-edge lifestyle. A woman doing the same would no longer be looked at as straight-edge (Woods, 2006). Conclusion The straight-edge counterculture is one most interesting, yet unheard of subcultures. The reason why this subculture is so fascina ting is because of the values it represents. Although this group is vague and there are fewer members than before, the preservation of values is one of the many reasons to continue and study this fascinating unconventional group. Overindulgence is something that is common in this day and age. Drug addictions, sexual promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and other substance abuse are not shocking to hear about. These are daily occurrences that the straight-edge culture is trying to remove from their lives. From the 1970’s until now this culture has been constantly changing and rearranging itself to match the attitudes and music of the time. The straight-edge counterculture has been excellent in integrating modern ideas in with more traditional values, all while supporting the music scene. References Clinard, Marshall B. and Robert F. Meier. 2011. Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. Cogan, Brain. 2008. The Encyclopedia of Punk. New York: Sterling. Kirchner, Michael. 2009. Edge: Perspectives on Drug Free Culture. DVD. California: Halo 8. Irwin, Darrell D. 1999. â€Å"The Straight-Edge Subculture: Examining the Youths’ the Drug Free Way. † Journal of Drug Issues. 20(2): 365 – 380. Wood, Robert T. 2006. Straightedge Youth: Complexity and Contradictions of Subculture. New York: Syracuse University Press.

Classical music or Rock. essays

Classical music or Rock. essays Music takes a huge part in our lives. There are lots of different kinds of music and people listen it all the time. However people listen not every kind of music, for example, some prefer classical music, another rock music. Two different kinds of music, which have so many differences, but probably they have also some similarities. There are several questions about which I would like to talk, to find out how different and how similar those two kinds of music have. Why do people choose play classical or rock music? Which kind of audience they have? What is more popular? Now, lets take a What are influence people to make a decision to play classical or rock music? Is it environment around them? Probably yes, family and friends take important part in a decision. If parents listen classical music, go to concerts with their child, there is a big chance that the child will like classical music and probably he will play any instrument. On another hand, friends who can have influence on decision about which kind music to listen. Child go to the school and at the University where he spend so much time with his mates, whose might not listen classical music at all. Fiends can start play in band and maybe compose rock music. Person can become interested in that kind of music either. Finally, it is depend on personal feelings about music, which kind makes you feel good, which kind makes your spirit up, with which kind you feel comfortable. Those are reasons which make people choose one style of music or another. When people are already professionals playing classical music or rock, which kind of audience do they have? It is seems obviously, adults and old people go to listen classical music and young people go to the rock concerts. However it is happened not always. You can see young people on the performers ...

A Case For Slow Writing

A Case For Slow Writing A Case For Slow Writing A Case For Slow Writing By Guest Author Those of us with Italian backgrounds will know that you don’t make an authentic pasta sauce in an hour. It should be cooked slowly, the ingredients added one by one, at the right time. First the meats must be browned, next the onions, the herbs, spices and tomatoes incorporated. Then the mixture must simmer for two, three, four hours until it is a thick, mouthwatering sugo, the succulent meat falling off the bones. It’s good to cook slowly. But this is a writing blog, right? Yes. And it’s okay to write slowly too, blending words, sentences and paragraphs together, adding them to just the right part, in the proper sequence. Time spent writing can often look like this: You write a few lines, the thoughts are flowing. You’re in the zone. Then life rips you out after what seems like a mere five minutes. You go back to the computer, type another line or two, only to be summoned by the real world again. If this describes you, don’t worry - the story still brews while you attend to reality, the words sub-consciously simmering as you do what you need to. There are only two situations when you really must write fast: 1. When you have a contract or a time limit. Writers quickly learn to write with speed when they have a pressing deadline. Students know the perils of handing in late assignments. 2. When you write for a living. If writing is the only way you earn money, then your income is tied to your output. The rest of us are free to savour our writing if that’s what we want to do. Incidentally, J.K. Rowling and Stephen King are two of many authors who wrote novels at a snail’s pace. And there are lots of valid reasons why writing might take a long time. Maybe you: have a life. are just starting. don’t need the money. are a meticulous researcher. like looking for exactly the right words. need time to gather your thoughts and assemble the most salient. Or maybe you write simply because, fast or slow, it’s good for your soul. Amen. Whether you take a day or three to write a brief article, a month or four to produce a short story, a year or more to draft a novel, I’m here to say, it’s okay to take your time. While ever you are making progress and you haven’t given up, if writing makes you happy, there’s no reason to feel guilty about doing it slowly. Savour each word, each sentence, each paragraph. About the Author: C. G. is a freelance writer. Her blog is named for the trees surrounding her home where she loves to play with words ─ the words sort themselves into stories at regular intervals. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a Sentence5 Brainstorming Strategies for Writers1,462 Basic Plot Types

Worldbuilding Resources for Historical Fiction Writers

Worldbuilding Resources for Historical Fiction Writers Worldbuilding Resources for Historical Fiction Writers Amy Arden is a history enthusiast. She holds a graduate degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury where some of her happiest moments involved unfurling parchment at Canterbury Cathedral Archives.  In this article, she talks about the challenge of worldbuilding in historical fiction - and how attention to detail can make or break a reader's experience and the authenticity of a story. Luckily, she has also provided  a list of resources where authors can go to research such details. Beta readers with some knowledge of the period you are writing about can be a tremendous help.Lastly, Goodreads and Quora  are also useful for finding someone with the expertise to answer your questions. In fact, Goodreads gave me the answer to when and how a Regency hostess would â€Å"turn the table† - which is a signal to guests that they should talk with the person on their opposite side. Understanding this old custom allowed me to create opportunities for Kate to have pivotal conversations.These resources are only a few of the many available to historical novelists. As with any research, use discretion when assessing the credibility of your sources. With a little luck and a little searching, you can make amazing discoveries that will bring your story, and the world that it takes place in, to life.Amy  is actively seeking representation for The Admiral’s Wife. Visit her  website  to read an excerpt!Worldbuilding can be a fine line of imagination and accurac y. As Amy says, the world you write about needs to make sense so that the reader can become immersed without distraction. Do you have any thoughts or questions for Amy? Leave them in the comments below!

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 69

No topic - Essay Example These procedures are also standardized. They are formal and documented. Exceptions to these procedures are rare and not well tolerated. The process structure in this process changes rapidly and usually takes time. Dynamic processes are flexible, informal and adaptative.They involve less managerial decisions and activities. These processes are less structured. They are less specific in nature. They are also less informal, and exceptions are frequent and accepted. These processes change rapidly and regularly. However, these two methods differ in execution and focus. They serve their unique purposes in organizations. Both of them organize work and help to improve the effectiveness and performance of companies. Nevertheless, they are each applied differently within organizations. Structural processes apply to less fundamental processes. Dynamic processes, on the other hand, focus on the processes that are not structured. However, both of them intertwine and are necessary for an organization to be able to appropriately and fully function. Structural methods depend on the optimization of outcomes. However, both of these processes serve their different functions in

Apple's Adaptation to Global, Economic and Social Changes Since 1990 Essay

Apple's Adaptation to Global, Economic and Social Changes Since 1990 - Essay Example Steve Jobs came back again as the interim Chief Executive Officer , he laid down the strategies and the goals systemically and started off by building the Macintosh franchise and made an addition of an operating system which was developed at Next Inc. ‘Apple, the Silicon Valley company that has become an icon of personal computing, rose to its greatest heights in the years after Mr. Jobs returned to its helm and opened horizons beyond the desktop.’ (Apple Incorporated (AAPL) News - Company Information - The New York Times) ‘Rather than growing Apple share, as originally planned , cloners instead took Mac sales away from Apple. Next , Jobs created the machines that would save Apple, the iMac’(O'GRADY, J. D., Apple Inc 2009). ‘Apple needed experienced leadership if it was going to grow as rapidly as called in the business plan.’(LINZMAYER, O. W., & LINZMAYER, O. W, Apple confidential 2.0 2004) The revolution took place in the music industry with t he introduction of the iPod music player , and changed the course of the consumer electronics in the favour of Apple. And the market share increased even more when the iTunes Music Store was launched which assisted the users in filling their iPods with their favourite songs(Apple Incorporated (AAPL) News - Company Information - The New York Times). ... rporated (AAPL) News - Company Information - The New York Times) The global economic crisis was not successful in affecting the strong position of the company and within a matter of few years , Apple was declared as the largest company of the world in terms of the market capitalization and announced as the entity which had the most liquid assets.( U.S. balance now less than Apple cash | Financial Post) What made Apple the market leader was the introduction of the smart phones, for which it has now become the market leader. Currently in the smart phone industry, Apple is enjoying the record breaking sales revenue and the profits , showing that the entity adapted very well to the technological advancements in the world. It has become the conqueror of this industry. ‘Apple had an amazing impact on the technology, society and the world. And it continues to innovate to this day’ (O'GRADY, J. D., Apple Inc 2009). Furthermore, the success of the smart phones pushed the entity t o consider the idea of a tablet device which was rejected by Jobs back in 2005. iPad was another fine contribution made by Apple, making the entity the pioneer in the tablets industry. Recently Apple introduced the third generation tablet for which it is already reporting the record breaking sales. ‘Apple also said iPad users had downloaded more than one million apps from the company’s App Store and more than 250,000 electronic books from its iBookstore.’ (Apple Incorporated (AAPL) News - Company Information - The New York Times) ‘Apple is sitting just about as close to the top of the world as possible right now. The world’s most valuable company, it’s got a market capitalization flirting again with the $500 billion mark, and even a flash crash in morning trading on Monday didn’t bring

Western Culture. Portrayal Of Gender In Ads Essay

Western Culture. Portrayal Of Gender In Ads - Essay Example Many scholars and researchers of popular cultural analysis argue that advertising has contributed to Western society's beliefs and values of gender roles, sex and sexuality. Further, that advertisements represent across the decades reflect the ideals, activities and behaviors of Western culture that has adopted as its social norms, and so reflects the expectations of the genders within these societies (Hogg and Garrow, 2003). They contend that cultural constructions of gender impact on the lives of all people within a society, and that these cultural constructions cannot be differentiated from the lives and images of each gender. Importantly, that is essential for society to understand how advertising can contribute to attitudes about gender relations and the expected gender roles, as well as how these factors impact on individuals constructing their identities and sense of place. However, arguments exist within current discourse of cultural text analysis that advertising over the ye ars has been over-analyzed, so that interpretations of stereotypes and limiting of gender roles are exaggerated (Lukas, 2006). This paper aims to present a visual and textual analysis of advertisements over the past six decades, contending that ads have predominantly stereotyped and objectified women and men.Popular culture contributes to the ways in which society constructs the roles and identities of women and men on a day-to-day basis. In general, individuals within Western society tend to be unable to comprehend the significance of our cultural values as portrayed in advertising. Also, when a person is able to understand the underlying cultural meanings of an ad, they often do not have access to knowledge that would enable them to effectively respond to advertisements that objectify or stereotype gender relationships. Without active cultivation of an individual's cultural literacy, by way of critiquing and reflecting upon advertisements presentation of gender relationships, mean ingful social change is constrained. Hence, to live in a truly democratic society that values equality, respect for differences and the freedom of rights for all, critical and reflective skills need to be learnt by all members of society. An example of a lack of critical insight into the cultural values upheld in advertising is the argument that states 'Ads are fun' (Lukas, 2006). From this point of view, ads are not meant to be taken seriously as they are merely fun forms of entertainment. However, it is evident that many 'fun' ads have underlying messages that reflect and maintain unequal gender relations. In the 1940s it was not uncommon for women to be portrayed as being 'stupid' (see Figure 1, Appendix). During this era women were typically illustrated as belonging to the domestic realm, and as being intellectually inferior to men. To emphasize this characteristic of women, they were visually presented with faces that suggested stupidity. Text accompanying the ad reinforced the message that women say stupid things, or are unable to think for themselves, requiring a man to assist them. For example the text for Figure 1 reads as: You mean a woman can open it! In contrast, men during the decade of 1940-1950 were presented as having authoritarian, dominant and controlling roles as reflected in ads. Especially, they were depicted as being intelligent and as in control (see Figures 2 and 3, Appendix). Women were viewed as subordinate to men, and as having to concern themselves with what the male of the household thought of their efforts to maintain their appearance. As well, women were predominantly concerned with pleasing their man by

Islamic Banking System. Case of Malaysia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Islamic Banking System. Case of Malaysia - Essay Example Similar to conventional banking, Islamic banks also collect the additional savings of people and then those savings are extended to those needy sectors of economy. In past, few researches have been developed to find out the relationship between the interest rate increase and funds flow from Islamic banking. This paper analyses the relationship between deposit returns of Islamic and conventional banks with an alternative econometric technique involving Units Root Test to estimate the presence of stationarity and Granger Causality test to estimate the linkage between the deposit returns of the two banking systems. The basic objective of this study is to find out the impact of the change in return deposits of one banking system on to the other. Thus, this study assists the policy makers in determining the role of Islamic banking in the overall economic, fiscal and monetary environment of the country. Introduction The purpose to conduct this study is to examine the level of substitutabil ity in the depository returns under Islamic and conventional banking system. This study comprises on the comparison of the data relating depository returns between the Islamic banking system and the conventional banking system which includes commercial, merchant banks and other financial institutions. Malaysia is considered as a case study in which both Islamic and conventional systems are aimed to be operated on parallel basis by the monetary authorities. In 1983, the first ever Islamic bank that was established in Malaysia was Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB). The Islamic banks truly started competition with their conventional counterparts in 1993 when Islamic banking scheme (IMS) was introduced by the Government of Malaysia. This scheme permits the conventional banks to introduce and participate in the products and services initially designed by Islamic banks. By the end of 2002, Total Islamic banking deposits were 10.20% of the country’s total deposits. Since Malaysian f inancial system is under the sole control of Central Bank of Malaysia, therefore the evidence that there are relationships between TDRs of Islamic and conventional banks and the monetary policy is argued under this study. In case if the there is no substitutability between the rates of depositing and financing in both Islamic and conventional banking systems, then relatively lesser restrictive effects of monetary policy can be observed in this regard. For instance, interest rates are used as a tool by the Central banks to adjust the money supply flowing in the economy. Interest rates are increased or decreased to tighten or loosen the flow of money circulating in the economy respectively. The same phenomenon cannot be established in the Islamic banking system as the depositors are not offered a fixed rate of deposit returns. There is a likelihood that if the required rate of deposit returns on Islamic banking products is not ensured to at least the amount of that conventional bankin g products, the depositors of Islamic banks would switch to other financial instruments of the conventional banks because of fact that the Islamic banking products would be of little use for the monetary purposes. Literature Review The individual saving behaviours are mainly explained by the interest rates offered in the economy as one of the key considerations. The interest rate offerings are considered as a key element because different banks offer different rates of depository returns on varying schemes of deposits. Interest rates are determined mainly because of the concept of time value of money. The longer the time that deposits takes in maturity, the higher will be the yield required by the depositors. For examples, the

Matthias Duwel`s painting Consumer Consumption Essay

Matthias Duwel`s painting Consumer Consumption - Essay Example It is evident from the study that Matthias Duwel, the author of the painting ‘Consumer Consumption’ has taken the opportunity of presenting his painting to discuss what the terms flux and stability mean to him with respect to his art and the environment around him. He states that flux is a constant state of dynamism where people keep moving from one place to another, whereas stability is a balanced state of mind which is rarely possible in the world we live in. Thus, flux is the reality that people are living within on a global scale. The painting helps to show how everything in the world is in a constant state of flux, and thus out of control. One may see a series of homes right in the centre of the painting, whirling out in a chaos of colours that overpower the residences. This helps to show how people are constantly moving in order to keep themselves happy; they take up material aspects of life thinking that such a constant switch from one thing to another will help t hem to retain their interest in living. People do not pay heed to their emotions anymore on a frequent basis and need to be reminded of a time when ambition and desire were lesser mortals in the face of life and adversity. With the growing desire for more and more, people have begun to destroy nature in order to feed their hunger for avarice and are not able to remember the simple things that life has to offer to them. Urban populace is growing day by day, wiping out all strands of the green and lush environment; as shown in the painting, all kinds of material objects are growing out of the few trees on the planet, which are subsequently decreasing in number and size. Moreover, the depiction of size of the homes and plants in comparison to the array and myriad of colours and objects may also be a reference to importance people give to these aspects rather than worrying about their ‘roots’. In this work of Matthias Duwel’s, the populist idea of a free, orderly and stable society has completely been deconstructed, giving way to individualism, free thinking as well as self determination. However at the same time, this constant state of flux is almost even more constantly obstructed by disasters that nature strikes upon man. For example, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons and floods are all natural disasters that strike from time to time, a way of nature telling man that it is probably tired of the pressure that has been put on its resources. Nature cannot be taken for granted anymore, because otherwise the potential hazard of man becoming extinct will soon also become a reality. In conclusion, the fragmented landscape depicted in Duwel’s painting is a reminder for people to understand the concept of abundance. Strips of malls and other facilities are more common these days than looking at trees planted on a boulevard and thus, in order to stop this injustice, people need to stop and pay heed to these things that actually make up life rat her than succumbing to their callous ways. Thus, the focus of this art pieces has shifted from decaying urbanity to the growth and hubris that man survives within these days and calls ‘comfort’

Digital Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Digital Technologies - Essay Example In the United States, it is estimated, that there are 30 million surveillance cameras, which generate over 4 billion hours of footage each week. Nonetheless, that is only an estimate; the numbers are still enormously high. With unmatched audio surveillance capabilities coupled with exceptionally precise as well as accessible video resources and seemingly endless intelligence gathering, analyzing, as well as storing efficiency, I feel that the IC has the infrastructure as well as resources available to give the equivalent amount of attention to each non-traditional threat identified. The evidence so far is compelling and I agree that the intelligence community has the ability and all available resources to afford equal concentration to the non-traditional threats.Asal et al. suggest that in the face of bountiful literature related to the viewpoint of terrorists/non-state actors using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons, only a small percentage of this literary work is both quantitative in nature as well as universal in scale. What is more, it is only terror groups entrenched in alliances as well as found in authoritarian nation-states with somewhat strong ties to a globalized world, that are more liable to seek to stockpile or obtain CBRN weapons. In light of this, I concur that the United States cannot focus equal analysis on all non-traditional threats facing the American people. There has to be a level of prioritization in the intelligence that is gathered on these threats.

Islamic Banking System. Case of Malaysia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Islamic Banking System. Case of Malaysia - Essay Example Similar to conventional banking, Islamic banks also collect the additional savings of people and then those savings are extended to those needy sectors of economy. In past, few researches have been developed to find out the relationship between the interest rate increase and funds flow from Islamic banking. This paper analyses the relationship between deposit returns of Islamic and conventional banks with an alternative econometric technique involving Units Root Test to estimate the presence of stationarity and Granger Causality test to estimate the linkage between the deposit returns of the two banking systems. The basic objective of this study is to find out the impact of the change in return deposits of one banking system on to the other. Thus, this study assists the policy makers in determining the role of Islamic banking in the overall economic, fiscal and monetary environment of the country. Introduction The purpose to conduct this study is to examine the level of substitutabil ity in the depository returns under Islamic and conventional banking system. This study comprises on the comparison of the data relating depository returns between the Islamic banking system and the conventional banking system which includes commercial, merchant banks and other financial institutions. Malaysia is considered as a case study in which both Islamic and conventional systems are aimed to be operated on parallel basis by the monetary authorities. In 1983, the first ever Islamic bank that was established in Malaysia was Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB). The Islamic banks truly started competition with their conventional counterparts in 1993 when Islamic banking scheme (IMS) was introduced by the Government of Malaysia. This scheme permits the conventional banks to introduce and participate in the products and services initially designed by Islamic banks. By the end of 2002, Total Islamic banking deposits were 10.20% of the country’s total deposits. Since Malaysian f inancial system is under the sole control of Central Bank of Malaysia, therefore the evidence that there are relationships between TDRs of Islamic and conventional banks and the monetary policy is argued under this study. In case if the there is no substitutability between the rates of depositing and financing in both Islamic and conventional banking systems, then relatively lesser restrictive effects of monetary policy can be observed in this regard. For instance, interest rates are used as a tool by the Central banks to adjust the money supply flowing in the economy. Interest rates are increased or decreased to tighten or loosen the flow of money circulating in the economy respectively. The same phenomenon cannot be established in the Islamic banking system as the depositors are not offered a fixed rate of deposit returns. There is a likelihood that if the required rate of deposit returns on Islamic banking products is not ensured to at least the amount of that conventional bankin g products, the depositors of Islamic banks would switch to other financial instruments of the conventional banks because of fact that the Islamic banking products would be of little use for the monetary purposes. Literature Review The individual saving behaviours are mainly explained by the interest rates offered in the economy as one of the key considerations. The interest rate offerings are considered as a key element because different banks offer different rates of depository returns on varying schemes of deposits. Interest rates are determined mainly because of the concept of time value of money. The longer the time that deposits takes in maturity, the higher will be the yield required by the depositors. For examples, the

Digital Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Digital Technologies - Essay Example In the United States, it is estimated, that there are 30 million surveillance cameras, which generate over 4 billion hours of footage each week. Nonetheless, that is only an estimate; the numbers are still enormously high. With unmatched audio surveillance capabilities coupled with exceptionally precise as well as accessible video resources and seemingly endless intelligence gathering, analyzing, as well as storing efficiency, I feel that the IC has the infrastructure as well as resources available to give the equivalent amount of attention to each non-traditional threat identified. The evidence so far is compelling and I agree that the intelligence community has the ability and all available resources to afford equal concentration to the non-traditional threats.Asal et al. suggest that in the face of bountiful literature related to the viewpoint of terrorists/non-state actors using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons, only a small percentage of this literary work is both quantitative in nature as well as universal in scale. What is more, it is only terror groups entrenched in alliances as well as found in authoritarian nation-states with somewhat strong ties to a globalized world, that are more liable to seek to stockpile or obtain CBRN weapons. In light of this, I concur that the United States cannot focus equal analysis on all non-traditional threats facing the American people. There has to be a level of prioritization in the intelligence that is gathered on these threats.

Human Population Growth Essay Example for Free

Human Population Growth Essay No matter what organism you are talking about, all living things possess the ability to reproduce. This comes in two forms. The first form of population growth is Exponential Population Growth. The second is Logistic Population Growth. Exponential population growth refers to when a population is not subject to any limiting factors, it will grow and expand exponentially even past the capacity of the environment to sustain. Rabbits are a good example of this form of population growth, â€Å"Thus, the exponential growth model explains how a few dozen rabbits can multiply into millions and overrun a continent. † (Simon, Reece, Dickey, 2010) Logistic population growth refers to when a population reaches the capacity of the environment to sustain, the population growth declines. Fur seals of St. Paul Island are a good example of this, â€Å"After hunting was controlled, the population increased rapidly until about 1935, when it began to level off and started fluctuating around a population size of about 10,000 bull seals—the carrying capacity for St. Paul Island. † (Simon, Reece, Dickey, 2010) Humans tend to exhibit exponential forms of population growth. We rapidly reproduce and expand, exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment. This leads to us spreading to other areas and exceeding the carrying capacity there as well.

Chitin: Applications, Composition and Properties

Chitin: Applications, Composition and Properties 1. Introduction Chitin, poly (b-(1-4)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine), is a natural polysaccharide of major importance. It was first discovered by Braconnot (1811), a professor of natural history. He isolated chitin from mushrooms by treating it with warm alkali. Later Odier (1823)ÂÂ  found chitin while studying beetle cuticles and named chitin after Greek word chiton (tunic, envelope). The silk worm was also discovered as a source of chitin when Lassaigne (1843) isolated it from the Bombyx mori. The monomeric unit of chitin (N-acetyl glucosamine) became known because of the work of Ledderhose in 1878. In the first half of the twentieth century, research on chitin was mostly directed toward the study of its occurrence in living organisms. Finally in 1981 Austin and his coworkers came up with a completed data on the sources of chitin which is widely distributed in marine invertebrates (Figure 1), insects, fungi, and yeast (1981). However, chitin is not present in higher plants and higher animals. Genera lly, the shell of selected crustacean was reported by Knorr (1984) to consist of 30-40% protein, 30-50% calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, and 20-30% chitin. Chitin is widely available from a variety of source among which, the principal source is shellfish waste such as shrimps, crabs, and crawfish (Allan et al., 1979). It also exists naturally in a few species of fungi. Chitin occurs in nature as ordered crystalline microfibrils forming structural components in the exoskeleton of arthropods or in the cell walls of fungi and yeast. It is also produced by a number of other living organisms in the lower plant and animal kingdoms, serving in many functions where reinforcement and strength are required. (Rinaudo, 2006). The structure of chitin has been described (Fig. 1). In terms of its structure, chitin is associated with proteins and, therefore, high in protein contents. Chitin fibrils are embedded in a matrix of calcium carbonate and protein. The matrix is proteinaceous, where the protein is hardened by a tanning process (Muzzarrelli, 1977). Studies of Ashford et al., (1977) demonstrated that chitin represents 14-27% and 13-15% of the dry weight of shrimp and crab processing wastes, respectively. 2.2. Characteristics and Structure of Chitin Chitin is made up of highly extended hydrogen bonded chain and is semi-crystalline in structure of chitin [Rinaudo (2006) Kurita (2001)]. Chitin is a structural biopolymer, which has a role analogous to that of collagen in the higher animals and cellulose in terrestrial plants [Muzzarelli, (1977) Mayer, (1996)]. Plants produce cellulose in their cell walls and insects and crustaceans produce chitin in their shells (Muzzarelli, 1986). Cellulose and chitin are, thus, two important and structurally related polysaccharides that provide structural integrity and protection to plants and animals, respectively [Muzzarelli (1986) and Roberts (1992)]. Chitin occurs in nature as ordered crystalline microfibrils forming structural components in the exoskeleton of arthropods or in the cell walls of fungi and yeast (Raabe 2007). In crustaceans, Chitin polymers tend to form rod like fibrils or crystallites that are balanced by hydrogen bonds formed between the amine and carbonyl groups. X-ray diffraction analysis suggests that chitin is a polymorphic substance that occurs in three different crystalline modifications, termed ÃŽÂ ±, ß and ÃŽÂ ³ chitin. They mainly differ in the degree of hydration, in the size of the unit cell and in the number of chitin chains per unit cell [Rudall and Kenchington, (1973) Kramer and Koga, (1986)]. In the ÃŽÂ ± form, all chains exhibit an anti-parallel orientation; in the ß form the chains are arranged in a parallel manner; in the ÃŽÂ ³ form sets of two parallel strands alternate with single anti-parallel strands. Chitin is found to occur as fibrous material embedded in a six stranded protein helix [http://meyersgroup.ucsd.edu, 2006]. The polymorphic forms of chitin differ in the packing and polarities of adjacent chains in successive sheets; in the termed ÃŽÂ ± form, all chains are aligned in a parallel manner, which is not the case in ß form and ÃŽÂ ³ chitin. The molecular order of chitin depends on the ph ysiological role and tissue characteristics. In both structures, the chitin chains are organized in sheets where they are tightly held by a number of intra-sheet hydrogen bonds with the ß- and ÃŽÂ ³ chains packed in antiparallel arrangements Rinaudo. (2008). 2.3. Biodegradation of tiger prawn shell by Lactic acid fermentation for extraction of Chitin Every year tones of sea food waste is dumped onto the shores of the sea and lagoons or in the inner mangrove area surrounding the sea for these are the regions where maximum sea food cultivation is done. These areas are the hub of number of small and large scale seafood industries which deal with culturing and processing of seafood. This huge amount of sea food waste is polluting the surrounding land and water and is depleting the fresh water supply. Dumping of Seafood waste leads to accumulation of sediments causing organic pollution which causes physical disturbance of hydrological regimes resulting in a number of ecological problems which include conversion and degradation of costal ecosystem. ( Mathew and Nair, 2006) The demineralization of crustacean shells have been chemically performed using concentrated acids such as HCl (Whistler et al., 1962), H2SO4 (Peniston and Johnson, 1978), CH3COOH (Bautisa et al., 2000) and HCOOH (Horowitz et al., 1957) by various researchers. However, the chemical methods are expensive and detrimental to the environment leading to effluent problems [Shirai (2001) and Fagberno (1996)]. The Traditional method of chitin preparation from crustacean waste involving the use of alkalis and acids for demineralization, make the method ecologically harsh and a cause of pollution (Rao et al., 2000) It also reduces the chitin quality to certain extent (Simpson et al. 1994; Healy et al., 1994) mostly such processes depolymerising chitin to a higher extent leading to the formation of a deacetylated form of chitin called chitosan. Biotechnological process of lactic acid fermentation of crustacean shell waste is a powerful tool to overcome the environmental problems. Fermentation of crustacean shells using lactic acid bacteria is also an attractive method which lowers the pH of the medium and facilitates the demineralization of minerals and the hydrolysis of proteins while leaving the associated chitin intact. Thus this process also helps in a safe recovery of chitin as the fermented residue. Also, fermentation of crustacean bio waste to recover chitin considerably replaces the expensive and non environmentally friendly chemical process [ Rao et al., (2000), Shirai et al., (2001) and Hall et al., (1992) ]. Lactic acid bacterial fermentation of shrimp waste for chitin recovery was studied with lactose or cassava extract as additional sources of carbohydrate for natural energy (Hall and Silva 1992). Raw heads of Africa river prawn were fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum using cane molasses (Fagbenro 1996). Treatment of minced waste of scampi in the presence of glucose by a culture of Lactobacillus paracasei strain A3 was investigated (Zakaria et al. 1998). The primary object of all these studies was demineralization of the raw materials along with which deproteinisation took place (Shirai et al. 2001). The effectiveness of demineralization was exaggerated by the increasing inoculum amounts supplied. Also, the proportion of glucose was significant for the lactic acid fermentation by the bacterial strain to demineralize the shell wastes (Shirai et al. 2001 and Rao et al. 2002). The demineralized and deproteinized chitin has a light pink color due to the presence of astaxanthin pigment. When bleached product is desired, this pigment can be eliminated by the decolorization using bleaching agents. The resulting chitin is insoluble in most organic solvents; however, its deacetylated derivative chitosan is soluble in some acids. The subsequent conversion of chitin to chitosan is generally achieved by treatment with concentrated sodium hydroxide solution (40-50%) at 100Â °C or higher for 30 minutes to remove some or all of the acetyl groups from the polymer (No and Meyers, 1995). Lactic acid bacterial fermentation for demineralization has also been occasionally reported for shrimp waste (Shirai et al. 2001) crayfish exoskeleton (Bautista et al. 2001) and scampi waste (Zakaria et al. 1998). However, demineralization by lactic acid fermentation of tiger prawn shell waste along with the characterization of the resulting chitin has been less studied in relation to glucose concentration and inoculum amount. In the present work, we evaluated the demineralization of tiger prawn shell waste by lactic acid bacterial fermentation with various concentrations of inoculum and glucose and characterize the fermented residue the chitin by powerful techniques such as X-Ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM and TGA. From the literature it is evident that the limitations of the chemical method for the degradation of sea food can be largely overcome by the biological method of demineralization and hence research interest has been shown in recent years in this direction. Lactic acid fermentation of crustaceans shell waste has been reported to be studied as a potential biological method of degradation (P Mathew and KGR. Nair, 2006) 2.4. Factors Affecting Production of Chitin by Lactic Acid Fermentation 2.4.1. Effect of Initial Glucose Concentration and Inoculation Level of Lactic Acid Bacteria on Tiger Prawn Shell Waste Fermentation Amount of starter culture and initial glucose concentration are critical factors in the fermentation of tiger prawn shell waste fermentation. A correct proportion of initial glucose and starter culture concentrations increase the amount of lactic acid produced and thus increased the % demineralization. Glucose is a readily fermentable sugar and hence chosen as the source of carbon for the microbes in most of the studies. Glucose concentration is a highly important parameter of fermentation and hence chitin production. According to Jung et al. (2004) Microbial growth and hence acidification of the broth during fermentation is highly dependent on glucose concentration. Lactobacillus sp. has the potential to produce lactic acid and other organic acids. Using organic acids such as lactic and/or acetic acids for the demineralization process is a promising idea since organic acids in order to produce low cost biomass, purified chitin and reduce the harmful to the environment (Jung et al., 2005,Rao et al., 2000, Sunita et al.,2009). According to Hong et al. (1999) the production of organic acids by the lactic acid bacterium L. plantarum decreased the pH and made the environment selective against spoilage microorganisms. Zakaria et al. (1998) had also reported that the decaying of the raw crustacean waste materials can be controlled through the selection of microorganisms having a high capacity to produce organic acids. Further Shirai et al. (2001) reported that the selection of the correct micro organism is an important factor for the acidification of crab shell waste and for suppressing the growth of spoilage organisms. Cira et al., (2002) reported that lactic acid bacteria fermentation with the 10% inoculums was helpful in attaining a pH of around pH 5 after day 3. On the other hand it was reported by Shirai et al. (2001) that lactic acid fermentation of shrimp wastes which contained 10% glucose and a 5% inoculum of Latobacillus sp. B2 lowered from to pH 4.5. Therefore medium pH likely depends on the content of the energy source such as glucose and sucrose and the other factor least considered but of great importance is the solid to liquid ratio. Lower the solid to liquid ratio higher is the rate of demineralization. As the solid concentration increases the concentration of slurry increases resulting in reduced mass transfer and hence poor demineralization occurs. (Kyung. et al., 2008). The selection of the potential microbe along with the correct proportion of the additional starter is very important for the lactic acid bacterial fermentation to demineralize the raw shell wastes (Shirai et al. 200 1; Rao et al. 2002) along with the correct propotion of solid to liquid ratio (Kyung.et.al. 2008). 2.4.2. Temperature of Fermentation Application of microorganisms or enzymes to extract chitin from marine crustacean wastes is a current research trend for bio-conversion of wastes into useful biomass (Bhaskar et al., 2006). From his study he analyzed that a temperature of 35ÂÂ °C resulted in lowest pH conditions of pH 3.7 and highest % demineralization of about 92%. Kyung et al., (2008) reported that a temperature of 30ÂÂ °C gave the highest % demineralizatuion. 2.4.3. Particle Size Particle size in chitin productions has sparked controversial reports on its effect on chitin quality. Some agree that small particle size is better than large particle size. According to Bough et al. (1978), smaller particle size (1mm) results in higher demineralization % with a chitin product of both higher viscosity and molecular weight than that of larger particle size (above 2 to 6.4 mm). The larger particle sizes require longer swelling time resulting in a slower deacetylation rate. 2.5. Process Optimization by Taguchi Taguchi method of production optimization is a purely statistical approach to analyze scientific data based on statistical factorials. Taguchi experimental design offers remarkable advantages by examining a group of factors simultaneously and extracting as much quantitative information as can be extracted with a few experimental trials [Stone and Veevers, (1994) and Houng et al., 2006]. But yet only a few reports are available on the application of Taguchis method in the field of biotechnology (Cobb and Clarkson, 1994 and Han et al., 1998). 2.6. Characterization and Physiochemical study of Chitin 2.6.1. X-Ray Diffraction Analysis The crystalline structures of chitin are differently presented according to the raw materials. XRD is low cost and user friendly method to accurately characterize the kind of chitin extracted from a particular species. Chitin has three different crystalline polymorphic forms according to the derived material ÃŽÂ ± chitin, ÃŽÂ ² chitin, and ÃŽÂ ³ chitin. The structures of the ÃŽÂ ± and ÃŽÂ ² forms differ only in that the piles of chains are arranged alternately antiparallel in ÃŽÂ ± chitin, whereas they are all parallel in ÃŽÂ ² chitin. The structures of ÃŽÂ ± chitin, ÃŽÂ ² chitin, Sugiyama et al., (1999) and Syed et al., 1999; have been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to the crystalline structure of chitin suggested by Rudall (1963) and (1967.) ÃŽÂ ± chitin has strong intersheet and intrasheet hydrogen bonding,and ÃŽÂ ² chitin chitin has weak hydrogen bonding by intrasheets. Therefore, in contrast to ÃŽÂ ± chitin, ÃŽÂ ² chitin i s characterized by a weak intermolecular force, Lee et al., 1996. Not much information is available regarding the crystalline study of ÃŽÂ ³ chitin by X ray diffraction technique. The XRD profiles of chitin samples easily help to distinguish the different forms of chitin based on the peaks and crystallinity. It has been found that ÃŽÂ ± chitin has three to four sharp crystalline reflections at 9.6, 19.6, 21.1, and 23.7ÂÂ ° whereas ÃŽÂ ² chitin , has two broad crystalline reflections at 9.1 and 20.3ÂÂ ° within the 2ÃŽÂ ¸ range of 5-35ÂÂ °. These results also support that the crystallinity of ÃŽÂ ² chitin is less than that of ÃŽÂ ± chitin because of the parallel structure. ÃŽÂ ± chitin has a more rigid crystalline structure because of its intersheets and intrasheets, and its structure exists as a stable structure with neither a crystalline phase transition nor thermal decomposition ( Jang et al., 2004). 2.6.2. FTIR Spectrophotometer Measurements Different methods have been used for the purpose of measuring the degree of deacetylation of chitin for eg. the linear potentiometric titration, ninhydrin test, hydrogen bromide titrimetry, near-infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and first derivative UV-spectrophotometry. Among all the tests stated above FTIR is one of the potential methods to determine the degree of deacetylation of the sample. It is far easier yet highly sensitive compared to the other processes. The process of removal of acetyl groups from the molecular chain of chitin is called deacetylation, it leaves behind a high degree chemical reactive amino group (-NH2). Thus the physicochemical properties of chitin highly depend on the degree of deacetylation (DD) hence it determines its appropriate applications. (Khan et al., 2002) Degree of deeacetylation also affects the biodegradability and immunological activity (Tolaimate et al., 2003). The degree of deacetylation c an also be used to differentiate between chitin and chitosan because it helps to know the amount of free amino groups in the polysaccharides. A degree of deacetylation of 75% or above in Chitin is generally known as chitosan (Knaul et al., 1999). 2.6.3. TGA The thermal degradation of chitin or chitosan with a broad range of DD has received little attention (GuinesiCavalheiro, 2006; Kittur, Prashanth, Sankar, Tharanathan, 2002). There are fewer reports on the thermal degradation process of chitin/chitosan and its derivatives than on chemical and enzymatic degradation (De Britto Campana-Filho, 2004; Holme, Foros, Pettersen, Dornish, Smidsrod, 2001; Hong et al., 2007; Neto et al., 2005; Qu, Wirsen, Albertsson, 2000; Wanjin, Cunxin, Donghua,2005). Thus to examine the thermal degradation of chitin with a broad range of DD, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is a highly useful technique. It has also been reported that with an increase in the rate of deacetylation the temperature of degradation decreases (Young et al., 2009). 2.7. Application of Chitin Chitin and chitosan has several distinctive biological properties, including biocompatibility and biodegradability, cellularbinding capability, acceleration of wound healing, hemostatic properties, and anti-bacterial properties (Cho, Cho, Chung, Yoo, Ko, 1999; Muzzarelli, 1993; Tomihata Ikada, 1997).Some of the important industrial applications of chitin have been listed below in Table 1. Different industrial applications of chitin Waste Water Treatment Removal of metal ions, flocculant/coagulant, protein, dye Food Industry Thickener and gelling agent, animal feed additive. Medical Wound and bone healing, blood cholesterol control, skin burn Agriculture Seed Coat, Fertiliser, Controlled agrochemical release. Cosmetics Moisturizer, face, hand, and body creams, bath lotion, etc Biotechnology Enzyme immobilization, protein separation, cell recovery.

My Best Friend’s Wedding :: Film Movies

My Best Friend’s Wedding My Best Friend’s Wedding is a romantic comedy with a guide to sabotaging your old beau’s nuptials. When she broke up with Michael (Dermot Mulroney), her boyfriend in college, Julianne made him her new best friend and security blanket. They made a pact—if they were still single at 28, they’d marry each other. Now they’re almost 28. And Michael, a sports writer, is in Chicago and wants Julianne to call him. She is touched and nervous. She has always really loved the guy but he’s not calling to propose. He’s calling to explain he’s engaged to be married in three days to a junior at the University of Chicago who is willing to drop out of college and sacrifice her own aspirations as an architect to support his career because she is devotedly in love with him. Julia Roberts makes you feel so guilty for rooting for her character, as she is a confident restaurant critic who panics after hearing friend and ex-flame Michael is getting hitched. Julianne’s—or how Michael considers her, Jules—strategy is simple: put on a happy face, pretend to go along and destroy from within. Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) knows she’s got a remarkable opponent, and her strategy is to befriend Jules. â€Å"You win. â€Å"He’s got you on a pedestal and me in his arms.† She asks Jules to be her maid of honor since all her female relatives are supposed sluts and mostly because she wants to keep her eye on Jules so she doesn’t get her grips on her man. Jules stoops to evil means worthy of a minor Batman villain: She fakes an engagement to George (her guy friend played by Rupert Everett), forges a brutal, sneaky, and really mean email from the bride’s rich daddy (who owns the White Sox and a cable television empire) to the editor of Michael’s sports magazine that could ruin Michael career, and forces her trusting and tuneless rival princess to perform in a karaoke bar—ouch! You never thought that innocent and loving Julia Robert would not be the heroine of this movie or any movie. She is willing to fight dirty to steal another woman’s man. My Best Friend’s Wedding may be a flick for chicks, but it foils some of the common expectations of romantic comedies. It manages to keep alive the mystery of who will end up with whom. Things aren’t as clear-cut as they initially seem to be.

Samsung Electronics Case Write-Up Essays -- Business Analysis SWOT

Samsung Electronics Case Write-Up 1. The Memory Industry (5 points). Conduct a five-forces analysis of the memory industry. You will need to rate each of the five forces in this industry as high, medium or low and then explain briefly why you selected this rating. A) Threat of New Entrants(Barriers to entry) (MEDIUM) Samsung, being a global company with net revenues of over $30 billion, had established an integrated supply chain with economies of scale and scope. New entrants were required to come in on a very large scale for effectively minimizing costs, which the Chinese companies succeeded in doing. Samsung had scale of economies in research and chip fabrication and was world leading memory producer for all types of PC’s, digital cameras and other electronic products. Samsung had demand side benefits of scale as it demanded superiority in product quality and efficiency and it was a well established and trusted brand name ($5.2 billion in 2004). High switching costs were associated with the industry as due to established production lines and multibillion dollar commitments, it would be extremely costly and time consuming for a company to divest into different technologies and design commitments. When IBM, Toshiba and NEC discovered problems with their â€Å"trenching† method of incorporating cells into tiny chips, they lost years of development time trying to switch to the â€Å"stacking† method. The cost of production facilities rose to $3 billion and hence created a higher barrier of entry for smaller level competitors. As most of the capital required in the semiconductor industry is used in Research and development, it is unrecoverable and enhances the eff... ...me the administrative barrier and enjoy the same benefits as a regular Chinese firm. They will also receive easier access to finance, tax incentives and other essential resources to help them reduce the Chinese competitive advantage. In doing so they must take precautions to ensure that their technology and intellectual property is not replicated as there are several flaws in the Chinese administrative system. They could also buyout an established local Chinese semiconductor firm that has some brand recognition in the market which could give them a local presence. Lastly, they could cede the lower end of the market to the Chinese firms and invest in higher value, cutting edge memory products that would be hard to replicate. All three options would be viable in different ways and could help Samsung overcome their primary threats.

Describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual Essay

The eldest of Frank and Isobel Hawking’s four children, Stephen William Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo—long a source of pride for the noted physicist—on January 8, 1942. He was born in Oxford, England, into a family of thinkers. His Scottish mother, Isobel Hawking, had earned her way into Oxford University in the 1930s—a time when few women thought of going to college—making her one of the college’s first female students. His father, Frank Hawking, another Oxford graduate, was a respected medical researcher with a specialty in tropical diseases. Stephen Hawking’s birth came at an inopportune time for his parents, who didn’t have much money. The political climate was also tense, as England was dealing with World War II and the onslaught of German bombs. In an effort to seek a safer place to have their first child, Frank moved his pregnant wife from their London home to Oxford. The Hawking’s would go on to have two other children, Mary (1943) and Philippa (1947). A second son, Edward, was adopted in 1956. In 1963 Hawking’s had many tests done on his well being and found that he had ALS and the doctors said he would die in 2 years. Hawking’s quest for big answers to big questions includes his own personal desire to travel into space. In 2007, at the age of 65, Hawking made an important step toward space travel. While visiting the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, he was given the opportunity to experience an environment without gravity. He has also gone on to do many more things which I will go into detail about in this essay. Conception There was no given information about conception, this is what generally happens. However we can estimate the conception time. Physical Development Stephan hawking would have been conceived around the date May the 8th 1941. During conception the physical development is that the semen from the male joins with the egg from the female to create a new living cell. A baby’s sex is determined at fertilisation. A chromosome from the father’s sperm determines whether the child is male or female. If an X chromosome is present the baby is a girl; if a Y chromosome is carried by the sperm instead, the baby is a boy. Pregnancy There was no given information about the sort of pregnancy Stephan Hawking’s mother had so this is an overview of the general things that happen. Physical Development There are three Trimesters in pregnancy in the first: in the first four weeks from conception, fetal growth of the ovum begins with development of the spinal cord, nervous system, gastrointestinal system, heart and lungs. By eight weeks, in the embryonic stage, the face is forming, arms and legs move, the baby’s heart begins beating and the brain and other organs form. By 12 weeks, the baby, now called a foetus, grows to 3 inches long and weighs 1 ounce. She can move fingers and toes. Fingerprints are present. The baby smiles, frowns, sucks, swallows and urinates. The sex of the baby can be discerned by this time. In the second; during the second three months of pregnancy, the baby kicks, can hear and has a strong grip. At 16 weeks a strong heartbeat is evident. The skin is transparent and fingernails and toenails form. The baby can roll over in the amniotic fluid. At 20 weeks, the heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope. The baby has hair, eyelashes and eyebrows. He can suck his thumb and may have hiccups. By 24 weeks, the baby is 11 to 14 inches long and weighs 1 to 1 1/2 pounds. His skin is covered with a protective coating, his eyes are open. The Third; the baby is very active at 28 weeks and initial breathing movements begin. She is adding body fat. By 32 weeks, the baby experiences periods of sleep and wakefulness and responds to sounds. A six months’ supply of iron is accumulating in the liver. By 36 to 38 weeks she is 19 or more inches long and weighs 6 pounds or more. At this point she is less active and gains immunities from her mother. Intellectual Brain waves have been recorded by EEG (electro- encephalograph) in the human embryo 40 days after fertilisation. Human embryos of five weeks gestational age have been seen to move away from an object touching the mouth area. The sensitive area extends to include the rest of the face in the sixth and seventh weeks and the palms of the hands and soles of the feet in the eighth and ninth weeks respectively. 10 weeks your baby’s forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. By 12 weeks nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously. Birth & Infancy Infancy is a time when growth and development are at their most rapid. This is the time when they learn to control the reflexes they are born with and learn to support themselves such as head support and sitting up. Nothing was recorded on this life stage for Stephen Hawking apart from the fact he was born in Oxford and was the eldest of four Stephen Hawking’s birth came at an inopportune time for his parents, who didn’t have much money. The political climate was also tense, as England was dealing with World War II and the onslaught of German bombs. Physical Development From birth to 3 months Motor control develops from the head, moves down through the arms and the trunk and then to the legs and feet, according to an item on early development on the online magazine Parenting. Initial movements are reflexive in nature, such as turning the head to the side when the cheek is stroked, which aids in feeding. As the initial survival reflexes fade, motor skills are related to the growing ability to observe and interact with the environment. From 3 to 6 months At 3 months of age, infant progresses to lifting the head and chest up when lying in its belly and may press up with its arms. A 3-month-old kicks its legs when lying on the belly or back, and bats at and briefly grasps toys, according to Healthy Children. The Hawaii Early Learning Profile indicates that between 3 and 4 months, he begins rolling with belly to back first, and back to belly closer to 6 months. From 6 to 12 months the average age at which infants sat without support was 6 months. The average age for standing with support was 7. months. Infants in the study crawled on hands and knees at 8. 5 months. Walking with assistance occurred at 9. 2 months. The average age of an infant who achieved standing alone was 11 months. From 12 to 24 months a young toddler takes two to three steps alone around 12 months. They should walk unsupported across a room with stopping or changing direction between 13 and 15 months. Around 18 months, kicking and throwing balls, running, climbing stairs with assistance, and propelling scoot toys join the toddler’s set of mobility and play skills. From 24 to 36 months (3 years) between the ages of 2 and 3, balance improves and the toddler walks with a smoother pattern. During this period they learn to stand briefly on one foot, walk backwards, and walk on tiptoes. A child jumps in place around 24 months and progresses to jumping over a small obstacle by 36 months. At 24 months then should be able to climb a small ladder and goes down a small slide, then manoeuvres on a variety of playground equipment around 35 months. Between 30 and 34 months, toddlers begin to walk up stairs alternating feet without a hand held or use of a railing. Other play skills expected within a few months of the third birthday are catching a playground ball that has been tossed to the child and pedalling a tricycle. Intellectual Development From 0-6 months the baby can vocalise, it makes cooing sounds and chuckles, the baby will do this spontaneously and they will discover the impact they can have the world such as when they cry someone will come and that6 when they are played with and tickled they should laugh etc. From 6months- 1? years the child should be able to use one or two words to name things or actions such as ‘juice’ or ‘ball’, they should also be able to say ‘mama’ and ‘dada’. Point to familiar things when they want them or asked where they are, they should also be able to point to at least one body part when asked, for example if someone asked where their nose was they should clearly be able to show that they know. They will be more curious about everything around them and will start to explore and realise right from wrong. They should also start to realise that objects can still exist when they’re out of sight for example if they’re in their high chair and drop something they will then go off and look for it. From 1? years-3 years the child should be able to draw a partial person such as the head and body it may not be clear but you can easily tell that it’s supposed to be a body. They will be able to now talk in sentences and formulate them well and their speech is understandable most of the time. They will use the right pronouns for what they’re trying to say and identifying persons (I, you and me) Emotional & Social Development 0-3 months will develop a social smile, they will also at this time enjoy play and cry when play stops. The child will then in turn become more expressive and communicates more with the face and body. They will imitate some movements and other facial expression that they see on other people. 3-7 months they will enjoy social play with other children and other family members. They will be interested when seeing mirror images (seeing themselves in a mirror), the child will start to respond to facial expressions and emotions and often appears joyful and happy. 7months-1year When the child meets new people they will be shy and anxious at first, will cry when mother or father leaves them at day care, nursery etc. They will enjoy imitating people in his play and shows preference for certain people and different toys. The child will at this age start to test their parent’s responses to different behaviours to see how they react to them crying or laughing etc. Children can become fearful in some situations and will prefer their mother or regular care giver over everyone else. They will be able to finger feed themselves and will repeat gestures for attention and they will also extend their arms and legs to help when getting dressed. -3 years the child will imitate behaviours especially other children’s behaviours and their parent’s gestures and facial expressions, They will be more aware of themselves as separate from other people. They will be more excited about company of other children; they will also demonstrate growing independence and begin to show defiant behaviour. Their separation anxiety with their parents will begin to fade halfway between this years. Childhood age s 4-10 Childhood is the life stage when people develop control over their bodies. Our emotions become more complex as we get older and we have more control over how we respond to them. We develop more communication skills and learn to relate to others. There’s a few things that have come up about Stephan Hawking’s childhood. One of them is at an early age their mother would all lie outside with them and stare up at the stars, Hawking’s mother said that â€Å"I could tell the stars would draw him† and she knew he would from then out want something to do with science and the sky when he was older. Also there was a source that told us that they would all sit quietly at the dinner table and just read this could have affected at least two areas of development that I will talk about when I get to it. However it was said that he hated to be still and would always be on the go as a child and was a very active person even after he started Oxford University at the age of 17 he loved to dance and liked rowing and became one of the Oxford rowing teams coxswain. Also after Hawkings was born his parents would go on to have two other children, Mary (1943) and Philippa (1947). A second son, Edward, was adopted in 1956. Physical Development If Stephan Hawking was a very active child this means his gross motor skills would be very developed as he would never be still and always be running about and even later on in life he carried on with doing active sports and activities. Apart from this there wasn’t much more information on his physical development. At this age the average physical development of a child is: By the age of 4years a child should be able to bend down to pick up toys with their legs straight, can use ladders properly such as climbing up on play frames in the park, they should become better with ball games now finding it easier to kick and throw a ball and catching should begin to develop, if they own a trike (bike with stabilizers) they should now be very good on it, they should also be able to go up and down stairs efficiently, They may also run on their tip toes rather than the balls of their feet and also should be able to sit cross legged and stand on one leg for a short period of time. This is where all the basic things they learn in playgroup come into play and their gross and fine motor skills become more developed such as they can now pick up toys without any trouble where as when they were so many months old this was not possible. At age 5years they should be able to dance, play all sorts of ball games; their balance should have improved, they should be able to walk along a thin line, can touch toes with straight legs and should just be more lively and energetic in general. By the age of 6years they should be able to skip, ride a bike they will begin to lose any fat they have and gain muscle, they should be capable of cleaning their own teeth, they should be able to play jump robe, kick a ball and play catch. Many 6year olds will be interested in playing team sports this then will help boost social Development. Children of 6years will also be able to draw more neatly and clearly, and be able to write letters, they should also be more skilled at using scissors and they should now be learning or already know how to tie their shoe laces and do up buttons. 7years of age children should now have good hand eye coordination and they should have good balance by this age also they should be able to do basic gymnastic movements such as forward and backwards rolls and maybe somersaults. By the age of 8years this is the age when the amount of practice and play done in the earlier years begins to manifest itself in skilfulness and in what might be called â€Å"athleticism. † Motor skills like throwing, catching, kicking, balancing, rolling and batting approach the mature stage and allow some youngsters to be highly successful in traditional sports like baseball, soccer and basketball. Earlier years of practice also provide the foundation for success in sports like skiing, skating, golf, dance and gymnastics. This year is also the time when children frequently begin to identify themselves as â€Å"athletic† or â€Å"un athletic,† thereby influencing their future involvement in sports and physical activity 8 years of age information took from this website: http://www. pbs. rg/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/eight/ At the age of 9years (the final age of childhood) The growth in your 9 year old child can vary greatly some children at this age can experience puberty the motor skills of 9-year-old children are smoother and stronger than when they were younger, You can expect to see a wide range of physical abilities among children this age. Some 9year olds will have better coordination, balance, and endurance than others and they may take a great interest in a certain sport such as basketball, swimming, dance etc. Intellectual Development Stephen Hawkings family used to sit around the dinner table in silence at dinner times and they would all read a book, this means that intellectually Stephen Hawking should start learning to read from a younger age this means his reading age may be more advanced than other children of his age, even though this does not say what age he was when this used to happed it is presumed it would happen every day in the family home. His mother would also take him out to look at the stars this would encourage his interest in the world at a young age and get him more interested and maybe this could have made him want to learn, she said ‘I knew the stars would draw him’ she could tell he was very interested in the world/stars. The intellectual developmental averages for a child in childhood are: at 4years of age, They should be skilful at holding pencils, can draw a house, can draw people with heads bodies legs and most fingers, May decide on what they’re drawing/painting before they complete it, Knows all primary colours and can build a 10 brick high tower and can copy a six brick pattern. At the age of 5years a child should be able to; copy a 10 brick pattern, can count all fingers, can draw a more detailed house with windows chimney garden etc, they should be skilled at colouring in and doing jigsaws, can now copy a square triangle circle and the letters A, C, U, O, T, X, Y, V, H and L and should be able to correspond the time of day with everyday activities. At the age of 6years your child will start school and this is where they will learn all new and exciting things such as writing and reading and mathematics, They will be gaining a longer attention span the interest of the world around them will begin to increase, many 6year olds will begin to develop independent reading, enjoy writing stories, they will start to break words down into sounds vocab will increase and a lot more. Age 7years they should: use a vocabulary of several thousand words, demonstrates a long attention span, will use serious logical thinking, should be able to understand reasoning, knows days months and seasons, able to solve complex problems and individual learning styles become clearer cut. At the age of 8 your child should be able to count to 1000, can do simple comprehension tasks, they will read for pleasure and their vocabulary will now be laying the ground work for academic achievement. Emotional Development Stephan Hawking came from a big family and had sisters and brothers one of which was adopted, this may not have affected him emotionally however sometimes siblings can feel like other of the siblings are favourite and this can often make them feel not good enough and want to impress their parents. There are no records to say this happened to Stephan Hawking however there is a possibility it could have. At 4 years of age a few things they should be able to do include: identify basic emotions on pictures say if the picture looks happy or sad, they can identify care givers such as cares and parents. Obviously this shows Stephan Hawking knew who his mother was etc and maybe have a strong emotional bond as they would often go out and spend time together under the stars. By the age of 5years they will begin to describe their feelings and maybe learn how to control them a little bit by playing with friends/toys when sad, they may even start to imitate their care givers. At the age of 6years they can often become overwhelmed by emotions and feel doubt or shame they will also have formed strong bonds with at least one member of the family and may prefer to send time with them. At the age of 7 years your child will be learning to cope with emotions and can fully be able to describe how they feel when asked will have formed strong friendships at school and will enjoy being around other children. At the age of 8years your child should have a clear favourite friend and will enjoy spending time with them the most, many children will be able to handle their feelings and will know why and how they feel this way which is a good thing as they can then learn how to change how they feel.