Saturday, August 31, 2019
A Critique of ââ¬ÅDonââ¬â¢t Blame the Eaterââ¬Â
ââ¬Å"I couldn't open up a magazine, you couldn't read a newspaper, you couldn't turn on the TV without hearing about the obesity epidemic in America. â⬠is a quote by Morgan Spurlock, that acutely describes the obesity problem going on in America. Any way one can want to talk about the problem, it will always be a huge dilemma throughout the United States. For a long time now, people have been discussing who is to blame for the obesity crisis going on.Some people prefer to blame the government, several blame the restaurants, others the parents and even the schools receive criticism for obesity. People should develop their own ideas on the obesity crisis and to figure out who is to blame and how to fix the problem. The main article I want to focus on is ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t Blame the Eaterâ⬠by David Zinczenko. Throughout this article, he refers to the few kids suing McDonalds and other fast food restaurants.According to the book, They Say, I Say, there are two major parts of an article, the They Say, and the I Say. From Zinczenkoââ¬â¢s point of view, he was biased towards the side saying that the food restaurants is responsible for the obesity crisis, while the others he is writing against, are writing about personal responsibility and how to teach the world how to be self-empowered and control what they eat. Others write about the government flailing around, not doing anything to stop and fix the obesity crisis.Zinczenko focuses on the fast food restaurants are causing all of the problems, because their advertisements are focused to children, (The Happy Meal by McDonalds) and teenagers, by having cheap carb filled food for the average poor teenager and college student. Throughout his article, he made many valid points as to why the restaurants are to blame for obesity. The restaurants create a very difficult way to tell exactly what you are eating, mainly because there are no calorie information on the food you get in these eateries.This is mainl y because the FDA does not cover prepared found in all restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, where it is needed the most. An example he gives is that is that a website says a chicken salad contains 150 calories, the almonds and noodles it comes with is an additional 190 calories, a 280 calorie dressing, but the dressing is 2. 5 servings. That total is 1,400 but that excludes anything else you might get, like a coke or fries. (Zinczenko 393) He also gives statistics that show how Type 2 diabetes has increased 25% since 1994. (Zinczenko 392) After all of the points he has shown, he came up with a solution to solve this risis, ââ¬Å"And Iââ¬â¢d say the industry is vulnerable. Fast-companies are marketing to children a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels. They would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the nutrition information people needâ⬠(Zinczenko 393) This is one way that we can start to work with the restaurants t o solve this problem. Although he brought up very good points, his argument was very biased against fast food restaurants. During the article he mentioned that we should be responsible for our actions, such as ââ¬Å"Whatever happened to personal responsibility? (Zinczenko 391) and ââ¬Å"Shouldnââ¬â¢t you know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants? â⬠(Zinczenko 392) He did not display both sides equally, or even bring up the other side, not contributing the ââ¬Å"They Sayâ⬠of his article. Other than those two quotes, he does not talk about others to blame or any other solutions to this crisis. Another part of the article that confused me was the part where Zinczenko told his story about how in high school, he was 210lbs. with a lanky 5ââ¬â¢10ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ body frame. According to the article, he joined the Navy Reserve in college, lost all the weight by working out, and took responsibility for himself. Zinczenko 391)Even though he uses th is story in which he took responsibility for himself, he still blames the fast food restaurants and barely scratches the surface of self-responsibility. Another article about obesity is ââ¬Å"What You Eat is Your Businessâ⬠by Radley Balko, but it has a different approach then the way Zinczenko had used. Balko believes that the government needs to leave the public be, and promote personal responsibility. He says that politicians are joining the fight, ââ¬Å"President Bush earmarked $200 million in his budget for anti-obesity measures. (Balko 396) Those two hundred million dollars could have been spent on much more important things, like helping people with more serious problems. Throughout Balkoââ¬â¢s article he supports the idea the people need to take responsibility for their own actions, such as becoming obese. Balko says ââ¬Å"It only becomes a public matter when we force the public to pay for the consequences of those choices. â⬠(Balko 397) When the people who stay fit and control their own weight have to pay for those who do not stay fit and become obese is when this becomes a large debate.He continues on to discuss how easy it is to get health benefits while obese, such as not having an extra fee for people over a certain weight and ââ¬Å"Your heart attack drives up the cost of my premiums and office visits. And if the government is paying for my anti-cholesterol medication, what incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger? â⬠(Balko 396-7) The United States do not give any sort of privilege for being in shape, so why not just get fat and enjoy life. A third author who has written about the obesity crisis is Judith Warner, with her article ââ¬Å"Junking Junk Food. All through her article, she pokes fun at the government giving different stories about how individual people are trying to fight the ways that the government is trying to deal with the obesity crisis. She starts the article off by telling a story about Sarah Palin bring a bunch of cookies to the schoolchildren to try to stop the ââ¬Å"high-minded anti-sugar edict. â⬠She made a few mistakes about the whole set up, such as Pennsylvania was not in a debate against sugar in their public schools, and the school she showed up to with her cookies was a private Christian Academy. Warner 400) despite the miscommunications that happened there, Palinââ¬â¢s message traveled straight to the American heart, ââ¬Å"she had come up with new and vivid imagery to make the case that the Obama ââ¬Ënanny stateââ¬â¢ is, essentially, snatching cookies ââ¬â i. e. , the pursuit of happiness ââ¬â from the mouths of babes. â⬠Suddenly, any kind of attack on sugar or some sort of healthy sweet became an attack on the American way of life. (Warner 401) Glenn Beck is also fighting the governmentââ¬â¢s intentions, by creating a compendium that includes, ââ¬Å"Reports of government health inspectors shutting down a 7-year-oldââ¬â¢s lemonade stand. According to Warner, the ââ¬Å"choice architectsâ⬠of the Obama Administration believe that ââ¬Å"youââ¬â¢re incapable of making decisions â⬠¦. Left to your own devices, youââ¬â¢re going to eat too much, youââ¬â¢re going to be a big fatty. â⬠(Warner 401) According to Beck and Warner, the government has no faith in us, so it views itself as needing to intervene. My own ideas of this topic lean towards Balkoââ¬â¢s point of view, that we must become responsible for our own bodies. I do agree with Zinczenko up to a point that the fast food restaurants are partly to blame, but not all of the blame can be sent to them.And I do agree with Warner up to a point as well, we cannot leave ourselves in the governmentââ¬â¢s hands, we have to take responsibility. We, as a country, must work together with the fast food restaurants and the government to stop obesity right in its tracks. There are other ways to stop this crisis that are not mentioned a nywhere in the article, such as teaching children to cook healthy foods and exercise using such things as a nutrition class to teach the students to be responsible for themselves.We have to try to distract the children away from computer games and television to get them to play outside and get their daily amount of exercise. Others would point blame to the parents, for if the parents put in the effort with their children, and kept an eye on what they eat, and how often they go outside to play, can make a large difference throughout a childââ¬â¢s life. Zinczenko argued that as a teenager, he only had four or five places for him to eat around his house, but where were his parents at the time.No parent would ever want their son or daughter to be obese, so we need to let the parents know how bad fast food can be if that is all you eat. My goal here was to help you decide which group of people do you blame for the crisis, and how do you think it can be stopped. My answer is that we mu st influence ourselves to become responsible for ourselves, to help us want to stay physically fit and healthy. We cannot rely on any power, such as the government, or lay blame on the restaurants, such as McDonaldââ¬â¢s, but take responsibility into our own hands. Which choice would you pick, and do you think you can make a difference?Works Cited Balko, Radley. ââ¬Å"What You Eat Is Your Businessâ⬠They Say/ I Say with Readings. 2nd. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 395- 8. Warner, Judith. ââ¬Å"Junking Junk Foods. â⬠They Say/ I Say with Readings. 2nd ed. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 400-4. Zinczenko, David. ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t Blame the Eater. â⬠They Say/ I Say with Readings. 2nd ed. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 391-3.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Human Resource Planning Assignment Essay
Define and explain the significance of the term ââ¬Ëderived demandââ¬â¢ as it applies to Strategic Human Resources Planning. (5 marks) A demand for a commodity, service, etc. which is a consequence of the demand for something else. In respect to Strategic Human Resource Planning, derived demand applies specifically to labor. The demand for labor is derived from the demand for the goods and services that labor is used to produce. The demand for labor is also influenced by the level of economic activity and the relative cost of labor compared to capital. An organization will try to plan for vacancies and market fluctuations but derived demand can be difficult to plan for if you have a product or service that has very little discernible difference from your competitors. For example when the Canadian dollar is lower Canadian transport companies are much busier, delivering more exports to the US market which become cheaper for them to purchase. 2. Explain ââ¬Ëderived demandââ¬â¢ as it applies specifically to Stonewall Industries. (5 marks) Stonewall Industries produces a commodity item (there is very little discernible difference between their product and their competitors). The demand for that item is directly affected by interest rates and housing starts. As interest rates fall more people can afford to borrow money to build and therefore new building is more appealing. As interest rates rise less people are able to afford borrowing to build and therefore the number of new housing starts fall. The HR department at Stonewall Industries can monitor these factors so that they can act proactively as opposed to reactively. They can monitor interest rates (by checking Bank of Canada updates) 3. The Senior Executive Team at Stonewall has to consider a number of environmental factors that impact on its Human Resources Planning activities. Describe these environmental factors and explain their impact. (10 marks) There are many environmental factors that have an impact on the HR Planning activities at Stonewall. Firstly, there is a significant discrepancy in wages amongst the plants. It would likely be difficult to align wages at all of the plants due to differing unions and union climates in each province but the difference in wages could cause poor morale in a plant that discovers they are making significantly less than another plant that produces the same product. (Also, aligning wages to the highest current level may not be possible. Another environmental factor that would impact Stonewallââ¬â¢s HR planning is the state of the current Vancouver plant. It isà the oldest and smallest plant and there is no room to expand on the current property. (This property is also very desirable real estate next to the ocean but closing the plant and terminating the employees would come at a high cost. A cost that would need to be calculated to see if the short term costs would produce a medium term benefit. Offering these very experienced employees promotions to other plants may be possibilities as they have a lot of knowledge that would leave with them and would help reduce the layoff or termination costs that are going to be high with this group of employees.) The state of the labour unions in British Columbia and Quebec are factors that will affect Stonewallââ¬â¢s HR Planning. Stonewall will have to ensure they walk the tight line between ensuring they are fiscally responsible while maintaining a good relationship with these unions. This is not only important for future relations but because of the importance that is placed on public relations and ultimately the image of the company in the publicââ¬â¢s eyes. This may pose an even greater challenge in Quebec where the labour unions are opposed to English owned companies. Although this is one of the plants with the lowest Total Compensation Rate it may be one of the biggest challenges as far as labour relations. As recently mentioned previously, image and public relations are very important to Stonewall (and in a commodity market in general). In any industry layoffs are view critically buy the public. The company is viewed to be insensitive and public relations tend to take a hit. In mentioning layoffs, another environmental factor that will impact planning is that of an internal nature. Internal employees that are questioning the future of the company are likely to seek other employment. As mentioned by Belcourt et al., the high performers are the ones that are likely to find new employment and if the company was only looking to downsize they will be left with the average or underperformers. 4.Identify and explain the various techniques for forecasting labour supply and labour demand. What can organizations do in the short run when they recognize a gap in which supply far exceeds demand. What could Stonewall do in this situation? (20 marks) Time-series models â⬠¢Data simply is projected forward based on an established formula â⬠¢Predicts what will happen based on what has happed historically â⬠¢Uses chronologically arranged data to arrive at forecasting â⬠¢Can account for seasonal differences in demand Cause and Effect Models â⬠¢Assumes that an activity (ie implementation of a new piece of machinery) determines an outcome (higher productivity). Judgement Models â⬠¢No historical data to pull from â⬠¢Example for Stonewall would have been forecasting demand for their vinyl siding branch before its implementation. When an organization recognizes a gap in which supply far exceed demand an organization can seek out contract or freelance employees or contact retired employees in the short term. Until a longer term solution can be realized. An organization can also do some planning for short term gaps by cross training employees. When these short term gaps are identified the labour force can be shifted and adjusted to compensate. This would not necessarily work for Stonewall as their employeeââ¬â¢s skills are very specific to certain areas. I would think a possibility for Stonewall is to take employees from their smaller, less efficient plant in British Columbia and use them to fill in gaps at some of the other plants. The British Columbia plant cannot take on any more capacity and other plants can. This may be a short term plan to fill a gap or it may become a longer term solution if they can discuss more permanent moves with the BC employees as a result of the condition of the building and the need for workers at the other plants. This would reduce the costs of termination the BC employees (as well as smoothing over some potential public relations issues).
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Brief History Of HBL Commerce Essay
Brief History Of HBL Commerce Essay Stragtegic Human Resource Management helps an organization achieve productivity and effectiveness, by sharing the overall vision of the organization, sharing goals and objectives, and making sure that Human Resource is not just a department, but the whole organization speaks of HR as the core division, which means that organization is employee centered. Strategic HR changed a number of things in HBL. It updated the way plans were made, shifting to strategic plans, from a one-man show to bringing everybody on board, encouraging idea generation and sharing proposals, different departments sharing their plans of what to look for in the coming year and democratic decision making by appointing a Strategic Planning Division and appointing member from the Board of Directors that goes through each plan and then the CEO communicating the approved plan to the departmental heads. By this, the plan became not just an objective, but more of a bible. At HBL, after the privatization, a number of i nitiatives were taken, from right sizing and getting rid of lethargic employees, to introducing golden handshake schemes, from moving to performance management system to inducting young blood that brings in creative ideas. Concepts like employee engagement and job rotation became part of the policy, organization-wide rewards programs were introduced. An inevitable change in culture was also accomplished, it from the seniority based to performance based culture. Overall structure of the organization was also made flatter, removing additional levels and bureaucracy. INTRODUCTION TO HBL It is the prime Bank in country established in 1941 having a registered head office in Karachi. It was nationalized in 1974, but recently on 26th February 2004 it has been privatized by Government of Pakistan and is taken over by Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). They acquired 51 percent of shares of HBL. It is one of the largest Banks of Pakistan with 1439 branches, having total assets o f Rs. 1,139,554,000, 5 million total number of customers helping in generating Rs 13 million profit currently. Brief History of HBL HBL established operations in Pakistan in 1947 and moved its head office to Karachi. Our first international branch was established in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1951 and Habib Bank Plaza was built in 1972 to commemorate the bankââ¬â¢s 25th Anniversary. With a domestic market share of over 40%, HBL was nationalized in 1974 and it continued to dominate the commercial banking sector with a major market share in inward foreign remittances (55%) and loans to small industries, traders and farmers. International operations were expanded to include the USA, Singapore, Oman, Belgium, Seychelles and Maldives and the Netherlands. On December 29, 2003 Pakistanââ¬â¢s Privatization Commission announced that the Government of Pakistan had formally granted the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) rights to 51% of the shareholding in HBL, against an investme nt of PKR 22.409 billion (USD 389 million). On February 26, 2004, management control was handed over to AKFED. The Board of Directors was reconstituted to have four AKFED nominees, including the Chairman and the President/CEO and three Government of Pakistan nominees. BUSINESS DIVISIONS AT HBL HBL has a wide array of customers, belonging to a wide range of business divisions, from individuals to corporate, from Islamic banking to commercial banking. They are divided into three main categories, as follows:
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
South Texas Behavioral Health Center Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
South Texas Behavioral Health Center - Assignment Example With this in mind, it is important to concentrate on one specific player in the industry such as South Texas Behavioral Health Center, in order to get a clear picture of some of the strategies employed to gain competitive advantage. This requires a critical analysis and evaluation of both the internal and external environment of the health center. Gaining competitive advantage in the healthcare industry requires the provision of effective health care services. In most parts of the world, provision of health care services is done on a face-to-face basis with increased interactions between health care providers and patients. This implies that for health care providers to gain competitive advantage, it is important to improve interaction quality. For example, South Texas Behavioral Health Center specializes in providing personalized health care services that are carried out by highly qualified professionals led by a team of experienced psychiatrists (South Texas Behavioral Health Center, 2015). As such the quality of service delivery is seemingly high hence giving significant satisfaction to patients. The greatest resource in the healthcare industry is arguably a skilled and experienced workforce to ensure competence and quality service delivery. Nevertheless, incorporation of qualified physicians is a provision of the industry a s an effort to ensure appropriate service delivery. This can be attributed to the fact that the health industry is highly sensitive since it deals with the preservation of human health and life. However, the decision to ensure that health care providers are experienced is an effort by the health center to improve service quality hence gaining a competitive advantage due to patient satisfaction. South Texas Behavioral Health Center offers quality health care service through its six acute care hospitals.Conclusively, the healthcare industry plays an important role in the society since it ensures the health of the people. However, health care providers have to employ effective management strategies to ensure they gain competitive advantage. Health centers mainly focus on improving service delivery quality by ensuring they have a competent workforce. However, policies surrounding the healthcare industry provide for quality service delivery by ensuring employment of only qualified worker s. Additionally, the success of a health care center is heavily dependent on the external factors such as its positioning the level of competition it faces from other health centers. Therefore, it is important for health care centers to ensure they employ effective management strategies.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Case summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Case summary - Essay Example Also a show cause was requested to justify why more penalties should not be imposed if the Tarkanian was not suspended from the athletic program. Following this Tarkanian was suspended. ââ¬Å"under color ofâ⬠state law; thus, liability attaches only to those wrongdoers ââ¬Å"who carry a badge of authority of a State and represent it in some capacity, whether they act in accordance with their authority or misuse it.â⬠Legal Reasoning: NCCA had no governmental powers during the investigation and did not have the power to impose sanctions of the employee of the members. It was UNLVââ¬â¢s decision to suspend Tarkanian when he had the option to retain him. College athletics has turned into a billion dollar industry with athletes generating huge revenues for the universities and other stakeholders. But the fact that athletes are not paid or financially compensated has given rise to a lot of issues. Athletes receiving money under the table has grabbed the attention of the media and there is increased pressure on the universities to pay the athletes for their participation. But before making the decision various factors have to be looked into such as the spending of the revenue generated. Not all sports generate the same revenue as that generated by basketball and football. Hence, the revenue generated by these popular sports need to be used in funding other lesser popular sports and hence balance the whole sports programs. This will help in increasing the participation in the number of Olympic sports. The athleteââ¬â¢s education is sponsored in return to their participation in the university sports. But as there is increased pressure to address the issue of payment to the athletes in order to reduce corruption, a minimal compensation to the athletes would be best under the circumstances. But it must be ensured that it is approved by NCCA and all the members follow the same in
Monday, August 26, 2019
The Monsanto Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
The Monsanto Company - Research Paper Example New technologies were also incorporated such as Roundup Ready Soybeans and Bollgard insect-protected cotton which offered farmers in-seed protection. The expansion continued through the years with acquisitions and which have seen the company become a world giant in seed technologies. The company won numerous awards in the year 2010 including being recognized among the ââ¬Ë100 Best Companies to Work Forââ¬â¢ by the Fortune Magazine. It has continued to develop farming solutions to weed and insect control and was named again in 2013 by CR Magazine among ââ¬Å"100 Best Corporate Citizens. It also announced a $400 million to expand to allow more seed development as well as create more jobs. The companyââ¬â¢s headquarter is in the United States but has locations across the world. These include plants for manufacturing, production facilities, and centers for research as well as learning centers all of which focus the farmers. Its locations are in all continents and its facilities have seeds for many almost all crops developed using the latest technology to ensure high yields. Their seeds range from vegetables, legumes, corn, sugar and many others. it growing popularity and expansion has seen the company acquire and own many companies such as Divergence, Inc., Chesterfield Village Rsearch Center, Aly Participacoes Ltda, CanaVialis S.A, Alellyx S.A, Semillas Cristiani Burkand, De Ruiter Seeds Group and many other companies. Monsanto Company expends over $2.6 million towards research every day. This is to ensure development and production of quality seeds to the benefit of farmer and the agricultural industry as a whole and for this reason it protects it seeds with patents. It also places patents so as to ensure farmer do not reuse seeds bought seeds and this goes towards ensuring their investment are paid for. Indeed without such protections there is no incentive for
Heavy Metal and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Heavy Metal and Society - Essay Example However, to "metalheads" themselves this perception seems absolutely inadequate, because heavy metal is both a message to society and a suggestion of a different type of order. If we try to look at heavy metal as an artistic movement we will see that it is communicating something with its loud, socially-unacceptable, hedonistic and barbarian sound. It does not aim for consonance, it has always had the most distorted and aggressive vocalists and its instrumentation has always been basic. Heavy metal has embraced everything that we normally don't think about socially: death, ugliness, terror, disease, warfare, sodomy. The type of heavy music, which is generalized as "heavy metal", is much larger than this only genre - it has a long history of four decades of progress and contains many different genres (Walser 15). Heavy Metal. Progressive rock from the late 1960s started the genre of heavy metal. It emerged from the proto-metal of bands like "King Crimson", "Black Sabbath", "Led Zeppelin", "Deep Purple" (often called hard rock bands). The musicians of "Black Sabbath' used power chord riffing and dark modalities to express the paranoid nihilism. The band became a proto-metal band with morbid, yet, as fans say, poetic songs. Soon this kind of music solidified into a 1970s style of heavy metal most notably represented by "Iron Maiden", 'Judas Priest" and "Motorhead". Unlike the harmony-based, short-cycle riffs of rock, metal almost exclusively used moveable power chords, which can be played in any position along the neck of the guitar in quick sequence. So, riffs are written as phrases (like classical, or jazz) more than rhythmic variations built around open chords. This both simplified the music to the point where it was highly accessible, and gave it a dark sound which lent itself, as in class ical composition, toward a narrative song structure in which riffs form motifs that resolve themselves over the course of a song. It had a gnarled, feral sound against a background of then everyday music. Speed Metal. In the early days of the cold war, speed metal arose to reflect the apocalyptic consciousness gripping heavy metal after fusion with antisocial and anarchistic hardcore punk. Bands influenced by the progressive styles of the 1970s and the abrupt, droning, explosive style of hardcore began making a fast type of metal which used palm muting as a strumming technique to produce bursts of alternating rhythmic emphasis. Classic speed metal bands are "Metallica", "Megadeth", "Slayer", "Anthrax" (these four are also sometimes called "Big Four of Thrash"), "Testament", and "Prong". Topics like war, pollution, nuclear weapons and corporate domination were sung of in either a male bass vocal or shouted in a riot style chorusing. While this music was highly complex and often inventive in structure, it remained roughly under the influence of rock-based mainstream music and passed its technique on to the underground death metal, thrash and grindcore to follow. Thrash. When hardcore and metal collided thrash emerged as a fusion of punk song stylings with metal riff styles and topics. These were one- and two-riff creations on the subject of apocalyptic and political nature. Vocals were shouted in a high-speed manner, the speed and abrupt percussive guitar techniques of the genre laid the foundation of death metal playing. Thrash remained
Sunday, August 25, 2019
The Technological Advance of Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
The Technological Advance of Religion - Essay Example As people gain more technology they gain also a sense of independent conceit that there is no need to depend on God for provision, or to look to God for answers. The more people discover and learn about the things that surround them the more they take for granted they can control and be in charge of these things. Before the time science saved lives through medicine and people were instilled with a God complex because of such triumphs, there was a time when people had less answers, but more certainty; the type of assurance that came from the heart and not from experiments. The era of life lived with more emphasis placed on spiritual meditation than rational inquisition. Before Christianity came onto the scene, paganism was the primary religion which practiced an earth based worship of all aspects of nature. There was a god of rain, a god of sun, a god of harvest, and many other gods they prayed to for prosperity. Polytheistic religion is a religion that believes in multiple gods as pa gans did. This practice was the result of the human need to explain what could not readily be understood in the absence of science. Phenomena such as weather and fertility were attributed to these different gods and could explain the instability in nature. The separate deities needed to be persuaded to provide for humanity, or pacified into not harming them. Polytheistic religions, therefore, had many customs and rituals intended to accomplish this. Worship practices of all sorts were designed, literally, to manipulate pagan gods into making the world habitable, granting its people success. It was also necessary for everyone to follow those practices, since even just one person apparently snubbing their idol might cause that idol to become angry and lash out or fail to provide some needed gift to all humanity. As religion developed, science did too. Because of the exalted nature of religion, questions regarding its validity, especially in its earliest days of expansion were unwelcom e. As science advanced in its expeditions however, more questions regarding the validity of religion arose. One thing religion and science have in common is that neither has all the answers. In religion that is because faith is the platform it stands on. Science in their criticisms and arguments of religion continuously fails to appreciate this. Religion acknowledges a creator, science strives to recreate and comes up short at times in its endeavors to do so. Like Darwin when he proposed his theory of evolution to describe the origin of our species, how we came to exist! Evolution can be briefly summarized in five stages. 1) Variation- there is variation in every population. 2) Competition- organisms compete for limited resources. 3) Offspring- organisms produce more offspring than can survive. 4) Genetics- organisms pass on genetic traits to offspring. 5) Natural selection- Organisms with the most beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. In every population a mut ation in the gene pool will cause a mutation in the development of the species resulting in a change of the species itself overtime. Survival of the fittest is a Darwin doctrine stating that the strongest will outperform the weaker for available resources such as food and habitat subjecting the weaker of its species to death. The more offspring you have, the more success for your genes to be passed down and to thrive in the specific environment. The claim Darwin makes from evolution suggests humans share its ancestry with apes. The theory of evoluti
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Comparative critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Comparative critical analysis - Essay Example An analysis of this fact explains that it is of the essence that the teaching and learning processed be set in a manner that will help unfold the mental abilities of the learners. Since learning results in different forms of change, it is fundamental that the learning process be created in a way that will help the children acquire a new skill. A developed learning process is also directly linked to cognitive, social as well as affective development (Daniels, 1996). In line with this argument, the teaching and the education processes need to be practical in such a way that will lead to deeper insights on the mind of the children. Through learning, the mind of the children is helped to develop. As seen in the research conducted by Donaldson (1978). Through the process of learning children adopt and learn new ways of mental functioning. In the course of learning for example, the child may learn aspects touching in culture and language and manipulate the same to developed new ways of thinking and self-regulation (Wood, 1998). Through the language structures and the pragmatic concept of the same, children in turn form new facets that shape their minds (Wood, 1998). From this perspective, it is evident that the mind of the child indeed determines the way in which they learn, think, and perceive things in their surroundings. For learning to take place in the case of the children, the entire learning and teaching process has to be active in approach. Vosniadou (2001) indicates that it is only in an active teaching and learning process that active learning takes place as well as the mutant development of children. Through an active learning process, it is indicated that the minds of the children are stimulated; thus, allows for a mastery of contents and a complete transformation of the general development of child since the building blocks of the mind have been
Friday, August 23, 2019
Literature review ( Dehydration associated with the use of diuretics) Research Paper
Literature review ( Dehydration associated with the use of diuretics) - Research Paper Example In spite of having a related African heritage, the citizens of African nationality who live in the West Indies and Africa have lesser rates of hypertension than do African Americans. This means that researches into how diuretics affect African Americans are vital in establishing if the rate of mortality due to hypertension in this ethnic group can be checked. Past researches have indicated that there is a higher incidence of hypertension in African Americans than among Whites. One of the major reasons for this has been given as the higher rate of cardiovascular sicknesses among African Americans. The long list of supposed causes for this frequency suggests that the genuine reasons are still unidentified (Sacks and Campos 2010). Biological disparities in the systems concerned in the environment or blood pressure control, as well as the lifestyle habits of African Americans are viewed as being among the probable causes of high blood pressure. The greater frequency of hypertension in African Americans living in the United States and not Africa seem to indicate that behavioral as well as environmental characteristics can also be considered as reasons for the heightened rates of hypertension among African Americans (Sacks and Campos 2010). They could also imply that there are mechanisms that increase the blood pressure in African Americans th at are dormant in the Africans that reside in Africa. Disparities in the individual experiences of the environment between Caucasian and African Americans have also been given as a reason for the difference in the experience of hypertension. Aspects like dietary habits, socioeconomic status, stress, existence of social networks, and health behaviors are also believed to influence the prevalence of hypertension. Among the outcomes of differential nutritional habits, surplus adiposity surfaces as a natural candidate to clarify the higher frequency of hypertension among African Americans, who have a 51%
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Pearson Correlation Essay Example for Free
Pearson Correlation Essay The regression coefficient was calculated to measure the correlation between the two variables namely, monthly charge and speed of connection, on the dependent variable which is the volume of DSL subscription. Regression coefficient is a constant which represents the rate of change of one variable, which in this dissertation is the volume of DSL subscription, as a function of changes in the other variables, namely monthly charge and speed of connection (Kachigan, 1991). Descriptive statistics were used to explain the statistical indicators of the following variables : (a) DSL monthly charge in OECD member countries, (b) DSL speed of connection in OECD member-countries, and (c) volume of DSL subscription in the light of the problem under study. The descriptive measures involved the following three major characteristics of each the above-mentioned variables : distribution, central tendency and the dispersion or variability. The distribution summarizes the frequency of individual values or ranges of values for each variable. The central tendency of the distribution is an estimate of the center of a distribution of values. Three major types of estimates of central tendency are the mean, which is simply the sum of all the individual values divided by the number of values; the median, which is the score found at the middle of the values arranged either from highest to lowest or lowest to highest; and the mode which is the most frequently occurring value in the set of data (Trochim, 2006; Sternstein, 2005). Dispersion, on the other hand refers to the spread of the values around the central tendency, measured either using the range and the standard deviation. The range is simply the difference between the highest and lowest values in the distribution; whereas the standard deviation shows the relation that a set of values has to the mean of the sample, its numerical value indicating how one specific value in the distribution is clustered around or is scattered from the mean of the distribution (Trochim, 2006; Freund Williams, 1983). Methodology for Chapter 4: Pearson Correlation and Descriptive Statistics In Chapter 4, the Pearson correlation was utilized to find the degree to which the following pairs of variables are linearly associated : (a) GDP and Internet usage, GDP and mobile phone usage and GDP and fixed phone usage (b) population and Internet usage in Middle East, (c) population and mobile usage in Middle East, and (d) population and fixed phone usage in Middle East. Interpretation of the specific relationships between the aforementioned pairs of variables was facilitated using Table 1 on page 2. Descriptive statistics were used to discuss the statistical indicators of the following variables : (a) fixed telephones in the 30 provinces of Iran, (b) data network capacity in 30 provinces of Iran, and (c) mobile penetration in 30 provinces of Iran. The same statistical descriptors outlined in Chapter 3 were adopted for Chapter 4. REFERENCES Asian Development Bank. (2007). Aggregate Measures of Competitiveness. Retrieved December 31, 2007, from adb. org: http://www. adb. org/documents/books/ADO/2003/part3_3-3. asp. Easton, V. J. , McColl, J. H. (2004). Statistics Glossary: Paired data, correlation regression. Retrieved December 31, 2007, from Statistical Education Through Problem Solving
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Education In The Early Soviet Union Essay Example for Free
Education In The Early Soviet Union Essay The early 20th century was a time of change for many parts of the world; advances in all areas of technology and changing mindsets made a huge difference in the way that human civilization progressed. One significant example of this was the overthrow of Czarist Russia and the establishment of the Soviet Union . While far from a revolution in freedom, the Soviet Union was revolutionary in many ways that are still worthy of discussion. With this in mind, this paper will present an account of the historical period of the Early Soviet Union and of the impact of education on that period. EDUCATION EVOLVES WITH THE BIRTH OF THE SOVIET UNION An understanding of the birth of the Soviet Union, as well as its educational system, requires first an overview of the political and educational system which preceded it. Russia, under control of the Czars, was a land of great darkness- politically, economically and educationally. For the Czars, the rule of law was intended to keep the masses as oppressed as possible; there were limited job opportunities, leading to widespread famine, poverty and deprivation from all vantage points. In many ways, these factors can be directly linked to a lack of available education for the masses , and vice versa. The insistence of the government in place to keep the populous ignorant and ill-educated kept the collective skill set of the people at a bare minimum, relegating them to menial jobs for low pay. Even with the oppressive taxation imposed by the Czars, there was little money available to support decent education, even if the Czars wanted to have such institutions in place. At any rate, the change of education definitely came with the change from Czarist rule to the establishment of the Soviet state. With the 1917 Russian Revolution, not only were the people shifted from the essentially dictatorial system of government they had known before to one that was largely driven by Socialism , a system which relied on the sheer power of the people to provide the muscle needed to power the factories, build the roads, and brandish the weapons that would keep the state economically viable, physically strong, and able to meet the challenges of enemies foreign or domestic. A key to this power, it was immediately discovered, would in fact come from the education of the common people. Previously, the upper classes were guaranteed education through private means, as they had the ability to pay for such instruction, but there existed an entire class of people for whom the books of knowledge had essentially been sealed shut for generations upon generations. To ensure that education would be delivered to towns large and small across the Soviet Union, from the earliest days of the Revolution, boards of education were established in each of the republics which comprised the Soviet Union. In this way, education could likewise be customized for the needs of any particular locality. This should not give the impression, however, that education was autonomous in each of the republics, or that there was no agenda behind education. As much as education aimed to teach marketable and practical skills to the average Soviet, it was also designed to indoctrinate impressionable minds about the superiority of the Soviet governmental systems, ideologies, and theories, for it was the compliance of the people that would allow the Soviet Union to grow to dominance over a period of several decades. A MISSING ELEMENT FROM SOVIET EDUCATION From the very beginning of the Soviet Union, its educational system and political ideology were unavoidably entwined. One of the key tenets of the Soviet philosophy, which was consequently built in to the educational system is the entire lack of a spiritual element, as Soviet leaders subscribed to the assertions of Dostoevsky that without having to wrestle with the idea of the existence of God, the mind is thereby free to imagine that anything is possible, as many of the moral dilemmas which complicate decision making are effectively erased. CONCLUSION In conclusion, what can be seen in the parallel development of the Soviet Union as a state and its accompanying educational system is the introduction of political ideology and practical instruction, both with the collective goal of advancing the state. This worked for decades and brought the Soviet Union to the status of world superpower in a remarkably short time. Therefore, in conclusion, what can best be said about education and the early history of Soviet Union is that they were inexorably linked, and each enhanced the other. REFERENCES Daniel, Wallace. 1996. Religion, Science, Russia: An Interview with Boris Raushenbakh. The Christian Century, 28 February, 232+. Dundua, Shalva. 2003. The Legacy of the Soviet Education System and Attempts to Introduce New Methodologies of Teaching in Georgia. Childhood Education 79, no. 6: 347+. Nearing, Scott. 1926. Education in Soviet Russia. New York: International Publishers. Zlobin, Nikolai. 1996. Things Fall Apart. World Affairs 158, no. 3: 148-155.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Distinct Serum Protein Pattern in Paranoid Schizophrena
Distinct Serum Protein Pattern in Paranoid Schizophrena A DISTINCT SERUM PROTEIN PATTERN IN PATIENTS WITH PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA[A1] N. A. Timofeyeva1,3, I. V. Alekseeva1,3, S. A. Ivanova2,4, G. G. Simutkin2, A. V. Semke2, I. S. Losenkov2, N. A. Bokhan2, O. S. Fedorova1,3, A. A. Chernonosov1,3* 1 Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia 2 Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia 3 Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia à à 4 National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia ABSTRACT The proteomic approach, namely, a combination of 2D gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, is a powerful tool that allows researchers to identify proteins that are differentially expressed in disease states. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness, whose aetiology is still unclear; therefore, information about differences in serum protein patterns may improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to use the proteomic approach to identify altered protein levels in the serum samples from patients with schizophrenia. For this study, blood was collected from 10 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 10 healthy volunteers. We uncovered major changes in the expression of such proteins as apolipoproteins of classes A4 and C3, transthyretin (TTR), and serum amyloid A1. Furthermore, an increase in expression was found only for apolipoprotein A4, whereas the expression of apolipoprotein C3, TTR, and serum amyloid A1 was decreased. The observed differences in the expression of serum proteins (TTR and serum amyloid) are in good agreement with the results obtained by other research groups during analyses of cerebrospinal fluid or post-mortem brain tissues by other methods. Keywords: psychiatric disorder, schizophrenia, [A2]à proteomics, 2D electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, biomarker, serum. Introduction Although in recent years, great progress has been made in reducing mortality and in the treatment of common illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the mortality caused by mental disorders remains unchanged [1]. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness, whose aetiology is still unclear. Schizophrenia is characterised by hallucinations, delusions (positive psychotic symptoms), affective problems [A3](negative psychotic symptoms), and cognitive dysfunction [2]. A number of hypotheses have been proposed about the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, for example, aberrations [A4]à in the pathways of transmission of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin [3, 4] or pathological changes in embryonic neurogenesis owing to variations in gene neuregulin-1 [5], as well as oxidative-stress-mediated cell damage due to lowered levels of antioxidant defence enzymes in patients with schizophrenia[A5] [6]. Such pathogenesis may be caused by a dysfunction of some enzymes (proteins) as well as changes of their quantity in the blood of these patients. At the same time, there is no information about differences in serum protein patterns that can be used for typing of psychopathologies among individuals at risk of developing psychiatric disorders [7]. Diagnosis and nosology rely on symptoms and accumulated clinical observations, and thus far, have been based mostly on interviews with patients and on patients subjective complaints [8]. Moreover, current medications still have substantial adverse effects and/or require weeks for therapeutic effects to manifest themselves; not all patients respond to current pharmacotherapy [9]. In sum, an insufficient understanding of psychiatric disorders at the molecular level and the lack of disease-specific changes in serum protein patterns prevent optimisation of diagnosis and treatment of such complex psychiatric disorders as schizophreniaà [A6]. The proteomic approach, namely, the combination of 2D gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), allows researchers to reliably identify proteins isolated from human bodily fluids [10, 11]. Our exploratory study [12] showed that 2D gel electrophoresis is suitable for isolation of proteins from blood of patients with mental disorders. Thereforeà [A7], in the present work, clinical blood samples from patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were tested to identify quantitative differences in the proteomic profile of serum. Results and Discussion In this study, we examined blood serum of healthy people and patients with paranoid schizophrenia to search for quantitative and/or qualitative differences in proteins associated with this mental disorder. The use of 2D gel electrophoresis enables researchers to simultaneously isolate more than 300 protein spots on one gel containing 150 à µg of protein for subsequent MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis [10, 11]. We analysed differences in serum protein patterns by comparing the gels between the patients and healthy controls. The analysis [A8]à of protein patterns in serum was focused on those protein spots that differed in 2D gels between the patients and healthy controls. Such protein spots were analysed by means of the Gel-Pro Analyzer software and normalised to the sum of three proteins (a, b, Ãâà ; for details, see Materials and Methods). These three proteins are isoforms of apolipoprotein L (ApoL) [18]. As a result, 15 protein spots were isolated and identified by peptide mass fin gerprinting and MS/MS analysis. The list of proteins identified in the NCBI database is shown in table [A9]1. Some proteins haptoglobin, transthyretin (TTR), and apolipoprotein C3 shown in table 1 are present in more than one spot on a gel and have different pI values. Perhaps this phenomenon is due to various post-translational modifications or partial processing. It was found that only the serum level of ApoA4 was increased (1.8-fold) as compared to the control group (figure 1a). Our findings support other [A10]à reports on altered protein levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenia [19, 20]. à à The decrease in the serum concentration relative to the control group was observed for ApoC3 and for ApoC2 in patients with schizophrenia (figure 1b). This downregulation was on average from 1.8- to 3-fold for ApoC3, and smaller for ApoC2: only 1.25-fold. These proteins are synthesised in the liver and are components of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). Apolipoprotein C2 activates extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase, whereas apolipoprotein C3 can inhibit lipoprotein lipase Fig. 1 Examples of proteins with differential expression in human serum are presented in the enlarged sections of the 2DE profile. a) Apo A4; b) Apo C3 and C2; c) serum amyloid A1; d) transthyretin (the protein is present in two spots because of post-translational modifications). Sch: schizophrenia. and activate LCAT [21, 22]. Previously, it was found that the expression of apolipoproteins is altered in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric disorders [23]. The authors found that low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and VLDLs are the most prominent factors differentiating depressed patients from healthy controls, and that plasma unsaturated lipid concentrations are elevated in the depressed group. Thus, there is growing evidence that deregulated lipid homeostasis may play a common role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Other proteins with a decreased concentration are serum amyloid A1 and TTR (figure 1c and 1d). Inflammatory amyloid A1 is among the so-called acute phase proteins, which have both direct and indirect bactericidal and/or bacteriostatic properties. According to the classical theory of inflammation, in the acute phase of inflammation, the serum concentration of amyloid A1 increases 100- to 1000-fold [24], whereas in our study, we observed a 2.3-fold decrease in the serum concentration of this protein in patients with schizophrenia. Perhaps this resultà [A11] is due to decreased immunity in Table 1. The list of proteins from human serum analysed by 2DE and identified by MALDI-MS/MS after in-gel digestion with trypsin. Protein NCBI database no. Protein ID pI MW (kDa) Score (individuals/ significant) Fold Change (+/-)* Sch vs control 1 gi157831596 ÃŽà ±2-antitrypsin 5.37 44.3 48/45 -1.32 à ± 0.2 2 gi338305 SP 40 5.74 36.7 17/10 -1.31 à ± 0.09 3 gi3337390 Haptoglobin 6.14 38.2 35/29 +1.22 à ± 0.13 4 gi114318993 Transthyretin (dimer) 5.16 20.2 120/84 -1.68 à ± 0.25 5 gi11957960 Apolipoprotein A4 5.28 28.9 43/32 +1.84 à ± 0.16 6 gi223976 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽà ± 6.23 41.7 39/20 -1.38 à ± 0.17 7 gi296653 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽà ± 6.23 41.5 18/10 -1.42 à ± 0.11 8 gi296653 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽà ± 6.25 41.5 39/15 -1.56 à ± 0.24 9 gi4507725 Transthyretin 5.52 15.9 75/52 -1.06 à ± 0.13 10 gi4507725 Transthyretin 5.52 15.9 65/60 -1.45 à ± 0.23 11 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C3 5.23 10.8 112/70 -1.85 à ± 0.21 12 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C3 5.23 10.8 115/68 -3.28 à ± 0.16 13 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C2 5.42 11.2 104/78 -1.25 à ± 0.08 14 gi40316910 Serum amyloid A1 6.28 13.5 134/90 -2.34 à ± 0.09 15 gi19626079 Albumin fragment 6.20 22.4 56/40 -2.06 à ± 0.32 The fold change is equal to SPi/SPcontrol, where i is the identification number of a spot. Symbols - and + mean a decrease and increase, respectively. Sch: schizophrenia. patients with psychiatric disorders or to the presence of comorbidities. In addition, [A12]à it is possible that a decrease in serum amyloid A1 concentration is related to downregulation of antioxidant-defence enzymes in patients with schizophrenia [6] because high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) inhibit oxidative modification of LDLs via the activity of their associated enzymes and apolipoproteins [25]. If HDLs become so-called dysfunctional HDLs because of accumulation of oxidants derived from an inflammatory reaction, such HDLs inhibit the HDL-associated antioxidant enzymes and reduce the ability of apolipoproteins A1 to promote ABCA-1-mediated cholesterol efflux [25]. In the literature, there are data on a strong positive relation between cholesterol levels and pathophysiological features of mood disorders. The link between mental health (brain) and cholesterol is believed to be based on hypothetical neuron-associated mechanisms. Cholesterol is an integral component of the plasma m embrane of neurons and is present in myelin. Furthermore, cholesterol performs crucial functions in the development, stability, and workings of the synapse [26]. Overall, aberrations in cholesterol in a psychiatric illness may substantially affect the mood via synaptic stability and lowered serotonergic activity. In the case of TTR, we observed a decrease in the serum concentration of its dimer and one of monomeric forms (protein 10 in Table 1) among the patients with schizophrenia (~1.7-fold and ~1.5-fold, respectively), whereas the serum level of another TTR monomeric form was found to be unchanged relative to the control group (protein 9 in Table 1). TTR is a liver-derived secretory protein and is the major serum carrier of thyroid hormones: thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine. TTR is also involved in the transport of retinol via an interaction with retinol-binding proteins. Several studies were conducted in an attempt to identify disease biomarkers that could advance the understanding of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In some of these studies, a link between TTR and schizophrenia was found [27, 28]. In ref. [28], it was estimated that 3% of TTR in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid [A13]à and 10% of TTR in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid are derived from blood. To assess the involvement of blood TTR in the changes observed in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with schizophrenia, those authors also studied serum TTR levels in the same people (simultaneously with cerebrospinal fluid collection) by an ELISA. They observed a significant moderate decrease in TTR concentration in serum samples of patients with schizophrenia compared to co ntrols. Nevertheless, there was no association between cerebrospinal-fluid and serum TTR levels in the same individuals, indicating that the protein levels of TTR are regulated by different systems in serum and in cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusion In the present study, we identified differentially expressed proteins in the serum from patients with schizophrenia by proteomic analysis. We showed differential expression of such proteins as TTR, serum amyloid A1, and apolipoproteins of classes A4 and C3. Furthermore the increase in the expression was found only for apolipoprotein A4, whereas the expression of apolipoprotein C3, TTR, and serum amyloid A1 was decreased. Such alterations of the expression of these proteins may indicate problems with regulation, for example, in the synthesis. On the other hand, the altered protein expression may simply reflect the pathophysiological status of patients with schizophrenia, where these proteins could be candidates for biomarkers.à Nevertheless, to confirm the significance of the altered levels of these proteins in the pathogenesis [A14]à of schizophrenia, and to determine their suitability as biomarkers of schizophrenia, further research is needed. Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the contents of this article. Funding. This research was made possible in part by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (14-15-00480, with the exception of the work corresponding to MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis) and Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (the part of work corresponding to MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis). References Kessler RC, Demler O, Frank RG, Olfson M. 2005 Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders 1990 to 2003. N. Engl. J. Med. 352, 2515-2523. J. van Os, S. Kapur Schizophrenia. Lancet (Lond. Engl.), 374 (2009), pp. 635-645 H. Moore, A.R. West, A.A. Grace. The regulation of forebrain dopamine transmission: relevance to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of schizophrenia. Biol. Psychiatry, 46 (1999), pp. 40-55. M.A. Geyer, F.X. Vollenweider. Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses. Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 29 (2008), pp. 445-453. E. Bramon, E. Dempster, S. Frangou, M. Shaikh, M. Walshe, F.M. Filbey, C. McDonald, P. Sham, D.A. Collier, R. Murray. Neuregulin-1 and the P300 waveform-a preliminary association study using a psychosis endophenotype. Schizophr. Res., 103 (2008), pp. 178-185 P.K. Ranjekar, A. Hinge, M.V. Hegde, M. Ghate, A. Kale, S. Sitasawad, U.V. Wagh, V.B. Debsikdar, S.P. Mahadik. Decreased antioxidant enzymes and membrane essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in schizophrenic and bipolar mood disorder patients. Psychiatry Res., 121 (2003), pp. 109-122. Ivanova SA, Fedorenko OYu, Smirnova LP, Semke AV. 2013 Biomarker discovery and development of pharmacogenetic approaches to personalized therapy of patients with schizophrenia. Siberian vestnik of psychiatry and narcology. 12-16. Turck CW, Maccarrone G, Sayan-Ayata E, Jacob AM. 2005 The quest for brain disorder biomarkers. J. Med. Invest. 52, 231-235. Bystritsky A. 2006 Treatment-resistant anxiety disorders. Mol. Psychiatry. 11, 805-814. Davalieva K, Kostovska IM, Dwork AJ. 2016 Proteomic research in schizophrenia. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 16, (doi: 10.3389). Guest PC, Guest FL, Martins-de Souza D. 2016 Making sence of blood-based proteomics and metabolomics in psychiatric research. Int.J. of Neuropsychopharmacology. 719-728. Alekseeva IV, Timofeeva NA, Chernonosov AA, Ivanova SA, Bokhan NA, Fedorova OS. 2013 Use of two-dimensional electrophoresis for proteomic studies of serum from patients with mental disorders. Vestnik of Novosibirsk State University. Series: Biology, Clinical Medicine. 11, 56-60. PeÃâ¦Ã ¡iÃââ⬠¡ I, Dihazi GH, Mà ¼ller GA, Jahn O, Hoffmann M, Eltoweissy M, Koziolek M, Dihazi H. 2011 Short-term increase of glucose concentration in PDS results in extensive removal and high glycation level of vital proteins during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. 26, 2674-83. Giuliano S, Agresta AM, De Palma A, Viglio S, Mauri P, Fumagalli M, et al. 2014 Proteomic Analysis of Lymphoblastoid Cells from Nasu-Hakola Patients: A Step Forward in Our Understanding of This Neurodegenerative Disorder. PLoS ONE. 9(12): e110073. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110073). Candiano G, Bruschi M, Musante L, Santucci L, Ghiggeri GM. 2004 Blue silver: a very sensitive colloidal Coomassie G-250 staining for proteome analysis. Electrophoresis. 25, 1327-1333. Brauner JM, Groemer TW, Stroebel A, Grosse-Holz S, Oberstein T, Wiltfang J, Kornhuber J, Maler JM. 2014 Spot quantification in two dimensional gel electrophoresis image analysis: comparison of different approaches and presentation of a novel compound fitting algorithm. BMC Bioinformatics. 15, 181-193. Perkins DN, Pappin DJ, Creasy DM, Cottrell JS. 1999 Probability-based protein identification by searching sequence databases using mass spectrometry data. Electrophoresis. 20, 3551-3567. Lepedda AJ, Nieddu G, Zinellu E, De Muro P, Piredda F, Guarino A, Spirito R, Carta F, Turrini F, Formato M. 2013 Proteomic analysis of plasma-purified VLDL, LDL, and HDL fractions from atherosclerotic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy: identification of serum amyloid A as a potential marker. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2013, 1-11. Aphkhazava D, Nieves E, Callaway M, Olszewski W, Rotzschke O, Santambrogio L. 2013 Protein expression profiles of human lymph and plasma mapped by 2D-DIGE and 1D SDS-PAGE coupled with nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS bottom-up proteomics. J Proteomics. 78, 172-187. Wan CLa Y, Zhu H, Jiang L, Chen Y, Feng G, Li H, Sang H, Hao X, Zhang G, He L. 2007 Abnormal changes of plasma acute phase proteins in schizophrenia and the relation between schizophrenia and haptoglobin (Hp) gene.Amino Acids Amino Acids 1, 101-108. Eckel RH. 1989 Lipoprotein lipase: a multifunctional enzyme relevant to common metabolic diseases. N.Eng.J.Med. 320, 1060-1068. Wang HEckel RH. 2009 Lipoprotein lipase: from gene to obesity. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 297, 271-288. Zheng P, Gao HC, Li Q, Shao WH, Zhang ML, Cheng K, Yang de Y, Fan SH, Chen L, Fang L, Xie P. 2012 Plasma metabonomics as a novel diagnostic approach for major depressive disorder. J. Proteome Res. 11, 1741-8. doi: 10.1021/pr2010082. Baumannà H. 1994 The acute phase response. J. Gauldie: Immunologie Today. 2, 74-80. Vohnout, B., de Gaetano, G., Donati, M. B. and Iacoviello, L. (2011) The Relationship between Dyslipidemia and Inflammation, in Nutritional and Metabolic Bases of Cardiovascular Disease (eds M. Mancini, J. M. Ordovas, G. Riccardi, P. Rubba and P. Strazzullo), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444318456.ch26 Chattopadhyay A, Paila YD. 2007 Lipid-protein interactions, regulation and dysfunction of brain cholesterol. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 16, 627-33. Wan C, Yang Y, Li H, La Y, Zhu H, Jiang L, Chen Y, Feng G, He L. 2006 Dysregulation of retinoid transporters expression in body fluids of schizophrenia patients. J. Proteome Res. 5, 3213-3216. Huang JT, Leweke FM, Oxley D, Wang L, Harris N, Koethe D, Gerth CW, Nolden BM, Gross S, Schreiber D, Reed B, Bahn S. 2006 Disease biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with first-onset psychosis. PLoS Med. 3, (e428). [A1]Dear Author, Please dont forget to update the title in all supporting documents and correspondence. It often happens that after the language editing, coauthors make additions to the manuscript; also, some of the corrections are rejected. As a result, the manuscript that is submitted to the journal may contain 5-10 new errors. My advice is to send me the manuscript for a quick check on the day of the submission to the journal. I can use the automatic compare documents function of Word to find all new changes and to correct them quickly. I will also issue a certificate after this final check, and you can insert the sentence (optional) The English language was corrected and certified by shevchuk-editing.com. into Acknowledgments. [A2]Please do not include keywords that other researchers are unlikely to use when searching for articles. [A3]Affective disorders are depression and bipolar disorder. [A4]Please be careful with the words abnormal and abnormality when referring to a persons health status because they may be insulting to patients. [A5]Please note that this is a more polite form. [A6]Please avoid creating unusual abbreviations and single-word abbreviations because they make a text harder to read (well-known abbreviations such as DNA and official gene symbols are OK). The only valid reason for creating an abbreviation is the following: a long multiword expression (4 or more long words) that occurs more than 4 times in the text. Even in this case, it is better to avoid abbreviating. It is easy to write in abbreviations but it is difficult to decipher such a text. [A7]Please avoid creating long sentences because they are hard to read. [A8]Please note that the word study usually means the whole manuscript. [A9]The typical format is Table [A10]Please keep in mind that the word previous is redundant in this context because all published studies are previous. It is OK to say previous when you discuss your own earlier studies. [A11]Please dont use the words which or this as a substitute for the whole sentence or a statement. This usage is vague and confusing because some people will think that this or which refers to the last word, not the whole statement. Therefore, it is better to use a descriptive phrase instead. [A12]Its not a good idea to start a sentence with such words as and, but, also, or, so in a formal text. [A13]Please dont create abbreviations at the end of the article, after the full form was already used many times. [A14]= mechanism
Monday, August 19, 2019
Eudora Welty:Worn Path, visit of charity :: essays research papers
Eudora Welty à à à à à The are only so many ways an author may sum up the course of a human life within just a few pages. Eudora Welty has the awesome talent of being able to do just this. In her stories ââ¬Å"Where Is the Voice Coming Fromâ⬠, ââ¬Å"A Visit of Charityâ⬠and ââ¬Å"A Worn Pathâ⬠, Welty uses the reoccuring themes of characterization, confrontation, journey, and insight into ones mind to convey key aspects of her stories. Through characterization Welty shows individuals who experience confrontations, and as a result complete a type of journey. à à à à à With a chillingly cold attitude, the protagonist of ââ¬Å"Where is The Voice Coming Fromâ⬠takes it upon himself to take care of what he feels to be an inconvenience in his life, by murdering a local civil rights activist in cold blood. He later states, ââ¬Å"I done what I done for my own pure-D satisfactionâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Where is The Voice Coming Fromâ⬠482). This embodies the protagonist as a cruel, racist, self righteous murderer. One later is drawn to the conclusion that the only regret that the protagonist has is not getting the credit he believes he deserves for his crime. à à à à à With the knowledge of her deathly ill grand son at home, Pheonix Jackson decides to head for town to receive medication for him. In her travels the reader is given a real insight into the person that Pheonix really is. While crossing over a fallen down log, Pheonix jovially remarks, ââ¬Å"I wasnââ¬â¢t as old as I thoughtâ⬠(ââ¬Å"A Worn Pathâ⬠636). One must realize the amount of strength and determination it must take for this frail old woman to accomplish such a task, yet Pheonix takes it with a grain of salt and keeps on going. At this point the reader finally realizes the respect that Pheonix deserves for being the beautifully harmonious person that she is. à à à à à In another work of Weltyââ¬â¢ we are depicted the character of a seemingly kind, charitable young Campfire girl, named Marion, who is sent to an old age home. Yet what we do not know is that Marion has another side to her besides the bright, vibrant young girl that she is. We soon come to see this side of her as she sprint from the old folks home, ââ¬Å" Under the prickly shrub she stopped and quickly, without being seen, retrieved a red apple she had hidden there.â⬠(ââ¬Å"A Visit of Charity). The reader now realizes the true conniving ways that Marion withholds in the beginning.
How Technology Has Hurt Us :: essays research papers
How Technology Has Hurt Us à à à à à Although many inventions have helped us and made our lives easier they have also caused some problems. à à à à à With the invention of the car came problems such as air pollution. Cities are becoming more and more congested with people using their cars even for short distances. The government is trying to make this better by making cars pass an emmission control test. Another problem with cars is that hundreds of people die or get seriously injured each year. à à à à à Another technical invention that maybe we would have been better without is weapons. Although weapons were made to protect our country and keep freedom it seems to have done the opposite. Drive by shootings are a daily occurence in our big cities. More people are turning the guns on themselves. Kids bring guns to school with them for protection against people who may use a gun on them for retaliation. Politically its divided the nation on whether private citizens should be able to carry guns. à à à à à Disposable items have caused a big garbage problem. We use everything from disposable pens to disposable diapers. We can stop some of the garbage problem by recycling. à à à à à Air conditioners are using up allot of our electricity. There are times in the summer when brown outs happen because if our excessive use of the air conditioners. Freon gets released into our environment. à à à à à Today people are being kept alive longer and longer. People that have no chance of recovery are being kept alive on ventilators. This causes a great expense to society and an emotional stress on the family. Even though older people may beg to let them die medicine refuses to let them. This is slowly changing with living wills. à à à à à Even though we love to watch TV it has also caused problems.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
No Utopia Found in Wendell Berryââ¬â¢s What Are People For? :: What Are People For
No Utopia Found in Wendell Berryââ¬â¢s What Are People For? The preface to Wendell Berryââ¬â¢s What Are People For? is in the form of a two-part poem, titled ââ¬Å"Damageâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Healing.â⬠By carefully digging through its cryptic obscurities (ââ¬Å"It is despair that sees the work failing in oneââ¬â¢s own failureâ⬠), we find the main message: The more diminutive, local, and settled a culture, the healthier it is and the less ââ¬Å"damageâ⬠it inflicts upon its people and the land. Berry can be called a utopian but not in the traditional sense. He pines not for the future but for the past. Basing his lifestyle upon his boyhood memories of fifty years ago as well as Americaââ¬â¢s pioneer days, Berry is confident he has found the answer to the perfect existence. In this case, book and individual are difficult to separate. What Are People For? is Wendell Berry, so to criticize one is to criticize the other. His book is a compilation of contemplative essays on subjects ranging from literature to technology from the perspective of a Kentucky farmer. Having been in the same profession and location most of his young life, Berry in 1958 (at age twenty-four) accepted a Stanford University Stegner Fellowship. Intrigued, he decided to read Stegnerââ¬â¢s books and take this professorââ¬â¢s writing seminar. Berry is reverent and testifies that Stegner filled the Jones Room of the Stanford Library with an aura of literary authority. It is here that Berry learns ââ¬Å"responsible writing.â⬠This is writing that contains the values one has ââ¬Å"provenâ⬠by living exclusively in one country place and by perfecting oneââ¬â¢s knowledge of the place so as to bring sustainable benefit to it. Responsible writing actively promotes ââ¬Å"good agriculture and forestryâ⬠unlike writing ââ¬Å"by self-styled smart people in the offices and laboratories of a centralized economy and then sold at the highest possible profit to the supposedly dumb country people.â⬠What Berry says about his seminar experience is that it started him on his development toward working at home, and away from his assumption ââ¬Å"that I was going to follow a literary career that would lead me far from [Henry County] to teach at a university in a large city.â⬠In important ways Berry has some very good ideas. Concerned that radio and television have done too much to homogenize society, he uses ââ¬Å"Nate Shawâ⬠(a pseudonym) to provide an illustration of a man who lived without euphemistic clichà ©s.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Warehousing
Lecturer's Comment: 3/3 4 Overall own paragraph structure and logical flow (not cut and paste) 5 Overall grammar and sentence structures 6/6 Lecturers overall comment: 15/15 / 15 All material contained within the thesis, including without limitation text, logos, icons, photographs and all other artwork, is copyright material of Aviation Management College unless otherwise stated. Use may be made of any material contained within the thesis for non-commercial purposes from the copyright holder.Commercial use of material may only be made with the express, prior, written permission of Aviation Management College. Copyright @ Aviation Management College Abstract of thesis presented to the Panel of Aviation Management College In lifetime of the requirement for the Diploma in Flight Operation Management Abstract Aviation Management College Diploma in Flight Operation Management The movement of materials and goods between point of origin and point of use involves storage, transportation, and handling. This is where logistics and warehouse management plays a critical role.The crux Of logistics and warehousing is getting the right goods to the right place at the right time. From production to distribution, manufacturers often have a plant with raw materials on hand and a warehouse nearby where additional materials can e kept. Some manufacturers have central warehouses that feed smaller local warehouses to optimize distribution routes in major markets. Inaccurate information regarding quantities, storage locations, pricing and identification remain the biggest problem in logistics and warehouse management.These inaccuracies may arise from order adjustments, human handling, long processing procedures, miscalculations, lack of automation, or poor management systems. In addition to these problems, businesses have to be concerned with the flow of products and information both within the equines and in the wider supply chain. In order to make products available for end consume rs, businesses must manage their logistics and warehousing in terms of product movement and demand management. They need to know what is selling in the stores in order to both anticipate and respond to changes in demand.Acknowledgements Salaam Shatter and Salaam 1 Malaysia, Compliments to all and sundry, I am very delighted to utter that I have successfully accomplished my assignment with no uncertainties and postponement. During implementing my task, faced some problems but Andre to explain it everything appropriately and intelligently. First of all, I would like to address my big thanks to my lecturer, Madam Maria for choosing me this theme. Without her guidance, might fail to produce my assignment on time. She supported me from the very beginning to generate a good and best result.In addition, would like to express a million thanks to the Director Of Aviation Management College, Captain ABA. Amman Manson for giving me this golden prospect to produce my very own assignment based o n my critical thinking skills and knowledge that have gained throughout my years here in Aviation Management College. Last but not least, thank you to all my fellow friends that bond around with me throughout the whole completion of my project paper 1. They guided me by giving, advising, sharing and also exchanging information and thoughts to produce the best assignment.
Friday, August 16, 2019
History of Algebra Essay
Various derivations of the word ââ¬Å"algebra,â⬠which is of Arabian origin, have been given by different writers. The first mention of the word is to be found in the title of a work by Mahommed ben Musa al-Khwarizmi (Hovarezmi), who flourished about the beginning of the 9th century. The full title is ilm al-jebr waââ¬â¢l-muqabala, which contains the ideas of restitution and comparison, or opposition and comparison, or resolution and equation, jebr being derived from the verb jabara, to reunite, and muqabala, from gabala, to make equal. The root jabara is also met with in the word algebrista, which means a ââ¬Å"bone-setter,â⬠and is still in common use in Spain. ) The same derivation is given by Lucas Paciolus (Luca Pacioli), who reproduces the phrase in the transliterated form alghebra e almucabala, and ascribes the invention of the art to the Arabians. Other writers have derived the word from the Arabic particle al (the definite article), and gerber, meaning ââ¬Å"man. Since, however, Geber happened to be the name of a celebrated Moorish philosopher who flourished in about the 11th or 12th century, it has been supposed that he was the founder of algebra, which has since perpetuated his name. The evidence of Peter Ramus (1515-1572) on this point is interesting, but he gives no authority for his singular statements. In the preface to his Arithmeticae libri duo et totidem Algebrae (1560) he says: ââ¬Å"The name Algebra is Syriac, signifying the art or doctrine of an excellent man. For Geber, in Syriac, is a name applied to men, and is sometimes a term of honour, as master or doctor among us. There was a certain learned mathematician who sent his algebra, written in the Syriac language, to Alexander the Great, and he named it almucabala, that is, the book of dark or mysterious things, which others would rather call the doctrine of algebra. To this day the same book is in great estimation among the learned in the oriental nations, and by the Indians, who cultivate this art, it is called aljabra and alboret; though the name of the author himself is not known. â⬠The uncertain authority of these statements, and the plausibility of the preceding explanation, have caused philologists to accept the derivation from al and jabara. Robert Recorde in his Whetstone of Witte (1557) uses the variant algeber, while John Dee (1527-1608) affirms that algiebar, and not algebra, is the correct form, and appeals to the authority of the Arabian Avicenna. Although the term ââ¬Å"algebraâ⬠is now in universal use, various other appellations were used by the Italian mathematicians during the Renaissance. Thus we find Paciolus calling it lââ¬â¢Arte Magiore; ditta dal vulgo la Regula de la Cosa over Alghebra e Almucabala. The name lââ¬â¢arte magiore, the greater art, is designed to distinguish it from lââ¬â¢arte minore, the lesser art, a term which he applied to the modern arithmetic. His second variant, la regula de la cosa, the rule of the thing or unknown quantity, appears to have been in common use in Italy, and the word cosa was preserved for several centuries in the forms coss or algebra, cossic or algebraic, cossist or algebraist, &c. Other Italian writers termed it the Regula rei et census, the rule of the thing and the product, or the root and the square. The principle underlying this expression is probably to be found in the fact that it measured the limits of their attainments in algebra, for they were unable to solve equations of a higher degree than the quadratic or square. Franciscus Vieta (Francois Viete) named it Specious Arithmetic, on account of the species of the quantities involved, which he represented symbolically by the various letters of the alphabet. Sir Isaac Newton introduced the term Universal Arithmetic, since it is concerned with the doctrine of operations, not affected on numbers, but on general symbols. Notwithstanding these and other idiosyncratic appellations, European mathematicians have adhered to the older name, by which the subject is now universally known. It is difficult to assign the invention of any art or science definitely to any particular age or race. The few fragmentary records, which have come down to us from past civilizations, must not be regarded as representing the totality of their knowledge, and the omission of a science or art does not necessarily imply that the science or art was unknown. It was formerly the custom to assign the invention of algebra to the Greeks, but since the decipherment of the Rhind papyrus by Eisenlohr this view has changed, for in this work there are distinct signs of an algebraic analysis. The particular problemââ¬âa heap (hau) and its seventh makes 19ââ¬âis solved as we should now solve a simple equation; but Ahmes varies his methods in other similar problems. This discovery carries the invention of algebra back to about 1700 B. C. , if not earlier. It is probable that the algebra of the Egyptians was of a most rudimentary nature, for otherwise we should expect to find traces of it in the works of the Greek aeometers. of whom Thales of Miletus (640-546 B. C. ) was the first. Notwithstanding the prolixity of writers and the number of the writings, all attempts at extracting an algebraic analysis rom their geometrical theorems and problems have been fruitless, and it is generally conceded that their analysis was geometrical and had little or no affinity to algebra. The first extant work which approaches to a treatise on algebra is by Diophantus (q. v. ), an Alexandrian mathematician, who flourished about A. D. 350. The original, which consisted of a preface and thirteen books, is now lost, but we have a Latin translation of the first six books and a fragment of another on polygonal numbers by Xylander of Augsburg (1575), and Latin and Greek translations by Gaspar Bachet de Merizac (1621-1670). Other editions have been published, of which we may mention Pierre Fermatââ¬â¢s (1670), T. L. Heathââ¬â¢s (1885) and P. Tanneryââ¬â¢s (1893-1895). In the preface to this work, which is dedicated to one Dionysius, Diophantus explains his notation, naming the square, cube and fourth powers, dynamis, cubus, dynamodinimus, and so on, according to the sum in the indices. The unknown he terms arithmos, the number, and in solutions he marks it by the final s; he explains the generation of powers, the rules for multiplication and division of simple quantities, but he does not treat of the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of compound quantities. He then proceeds to discuss various artifices for the simplification of equations, giving methods which are still in common use. In the body of the work he displays considerable ingenuity in reducing his problems to simple equations, which admit either of direct solution, or fall into the class known as indeterminate equations. This latter class he discussed so assiduously that they are often known as Diophantine problems, and the methods of resolving them as the Diophantine analysis (see EQUATION, Indeterminate. ) It is difficult to believe that this work of Diophantus arose spontaneously in a period of general stagnation. It is more than likely that he was indebted to earlier writers, whom he omits to mention, and whose works are now lost; nevertheless, but for this work, we should be led to assume that algebra was almost, if not entirely, unknown to the Greeks. The Romans, who succeeded the Greeks as the chief civilized power in Europe, failed to set store on their literary and scientific treasures; mathematics was all but neglected; and beyond a few improvements in arithmetical computations, there are no material advances to be recorded. In the chronological development of our subject we have now to turn to the Orient. Investigation of the writings of Indian mathematicians has exhibited a fundamental distinction between the Greek and Indian mind, the former being pre-eminently geometrical and speculative, the latter arithmetical and mainly practical. We find that geometry was neglected except in so far as it was of service to astronomy; trigonometry was advanced, and algebra improved far beyond the attainments of Diophantus. The earliest Indian mathematician of whom we have certain knowledge is Aryabhatta, who flourished about the beginning of the 6th century of our era. The fame of this astronomer and mathematician rests on his work, the Aryabhattiyam, the third chapter of which is devoted to mathematics. Ganessa, an eminent astronomer, mathematician and scholiast of Bhaskara, quotes this work and makes separate mention of the cuttaca (ââ¬Å"pulveriserâ⬠), a device for effecting the solution of indeterminate equations. Henry Thomas Colebrooke, one of the earliest modern investigators of Hindu science, presumes that the treatise of Aryabhatta extended to determinate quadratic equations, indeterminate equations of the first degree, and probably of the second. An astronomical work, called the Surya-siddhanta (ââ¬Å"knowledge of the Sunâ⬠), of uncertain authorship and probably belonging to the 4th or 5th century, was considered of great merit by the Hindus, who ranked it only second to the work of Brahmagupta, who flourished about a century later. It is of great interest to the historical student, for it exhibits the influence of Greek science upon Indian mathematics at a period prior to Aryabhatta. After an interval of about a century, during which mathematics attained its highest level, there flourished Brahmagupta (b.à A. D. 598), whose work entitled Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta (ââ¬Å"The revised system of Brahmaâ⬠) contains several chapters devoted to mathematics. Of other Indian writers mention may be made of Cridhara, the author of a Ganita-sara (ââ¬Å"Quintessence of Calculationâ⬠), and Padmanabha, the author of an algebra. A period of mathematical stagnation then appears to have possessed the Indian mind for an interval of several centuries, for the works of the next author of any moment stand but little in advance of Brahmagupta. We refer to Bhaskara Acarya, whose work the Siddhanta-ciromani (ââ¬Å"Diadem of anastronomical Systemâ⬠), written in 1150, contains two important chapters, the Lilavati (ââ¬Å"the beautiful [science or art]â⬠) and Viga-ganita (ââ¬Å"root-extractionâ⬠), which are given up to arithmetic and algebra. English translations of the mathematical chapters of the Brahma-siddhanta and Siddhanta-ciromani by H. T. Colebrooke (1817), and of the Surya-siddhanta by E. Burgess, with annotations by W. D. Whitney (1860), may be consulted for details. The question as to whether the Greeks borrowed their algebra from the Hindus or vice versa has been the subject of much discussion. There is no doubt that there was a constant traffic between Greece and India, and it is more than probable that an exchange of produce would be accompanied by a transference of ideas. Moritz Cantor suspects the influence of Diophantine methods, more particularly in the Hindu solutions of indeterminate equations, where certain technical terms are, in all probability, of Greek origin. However this may be, it is certain that the Hindu algebraists were far in advance of Diophantus. The deficiencies of the Greek symbolism were partially remedied; subtraction was denoted by placing a dot over the subtrahend; multiplication, by placing bha (an abbreviation of bhavita, the ââ¬Å"productâ⬠) after the factom; division, by placing the divisor under the dividend; and square root, by inserting ka (an abbreviation of karana, irrational) before the quantity. The unknown was called yavattavat, and if there were several, the first took this appellation, and the others were designated by the names of colours; for instance, x was denoted by ya and y by ka (from kalaka, black). A notable improvement on the ideas of Diophantus is to be found in the fact that the Hindus recognized the existence of two roots of a quadratic equation, but the negative roots were considered to be inadequate, since no interpretation could be found for them. It is also supposed that they anticipated discoveries of the solutions of higher equations. Great advances were made in the study of indeterminate equations, a branch of analysis in which Diophantus excelled. But whereas Diophantus aimed at obtaining a single solution, the Hindus strove for a general method by which any indeterminate problem could be resolved. In this they were completely successful, for they obtained general solutions for the equations ax(+ or -)by=c, xy=ax+by+c (since rediscovered by Leonhard Euler) and cy2=ax2+b. A particular case of the last equation, namely, y2=ax2+1, sorely taxed the resources of modern algebraists. It was proposed by Pierre de Fermat to Bernhard Frenicle de Bessy, and in 1657 to all mathematicians. John Wallis and Lord Brounker jointly obtained a tedious solution which was published in 1658, and afterwards in 1668 by John Pell in his Algebra. A solution was also given by Fermat in his Relation. Although Pell had nothing to do with the solution, osterity has termed the equation Pellââ¬â¢s Equation, or Problem, when more rightly it should be the Hindu Problem, in recognition of the mathematical attainments of the Brahmans. Hermann Hankel has pointed out the readiness with which the Hindus passed from number to magnitude and vice versa. Although this transition from the discontinuous to continuous is not truly scientific, yet it materially augmented the development of algebra, and Hankel affirms that if we define algebra as the application of arithmetical operations to both rational and irrational numbers or magnitudes, then the Brahmans are the real inventors of algebra. The integration of the scattered tribes of Arabia in the 7th century by the stirring religious propaganda of Mahomet was accompanied by a meteoric rise in the intellectual powers of a hitherto obscure race. The Arabs became the custodians of Indian and Greek science, whilst Europe was rent by internal dissensions. Under the rule of the Abbasids, Bagdad became the centre of scientific thought; physicians and astronomers from India and Syria flocked to their court; Greek and Indian manuscripts were translated (a work commenced by the Caliph Mamun (813-833) and ably continued by his successors); and in about a century the Arabs were placed in possession of the vast stores of Greek and Indian learning. Euclidââ¬â¢s Elements were first translated in the reign of Harun-al-Rashid (786-809), and revised by the order of Mamun. But these translations were regarded as imperfect, and it remained for Tobit ben Korra (836-901) to produce a satisfactory edition. Ptolemyââ¬â¢s Almagest, the works of Apollonius, Archimedes, Diophantus and portions of the Brahmasiddhanta, were also translated. The first notable Arabian mathematician was Mahommed ben Musa al-Khwarizmi, who flourished in the reign of Mamun. His treatise on algebra and arithmetic (the latter part of which is only extant in the form of a Latin translation, discovered in 1857) contains nothing that was unknown to the Greeks and Hindus; it exhibits methods allied to those of both races, with the Greek element predominating. The part devoted to algebra has the title al-jeur waââ¬â¢lmuqabala, and the arithmetic begins with ââ¬Å"Spoken has Algoritmi,â⬠the name Khwarizmi or Hovarezmi having passed into the word Algoritmi, which has been further transformed into the more modern words algorism and algorithm, signifying a method of computing Tobit ben Korra (836-901), born at Harran in Mesopotamia, an accomplished linguist, mathematician and astronomer, rendered conspicuous service by his translations of various Greek authors.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Why School Environment Is Important
What are the New Hampshire state requirements for physical environment of schools? What are the federal requirements for the physical environment of schools? What are some of the best practices for schools about the physical environment? What resources or tools for schools are available on the physical environment? Whom do I contact for more information?The physical environment of school buildings and school grounds is a key factor in the overall health and safety of students, staff, and visitors. School buildings and grounds must be designed and maintained to be free of health and safety hazards, and to promote learning. Studies have shown that student achievement can be affected either positively or negatively by the school environment. Policies and protocols must be in place to ensure food protection, sanitation, safe water supply, healthy air quality, good lighting, safe playgrounds, violence prevention, and emergency response, among other issues that relate to the physical envir onment of schools.What are the New Hampshire state requirements for physical environment of schools? The State Fire Code under RSA 153:5 and the State Building Code under RSA 155 establish the basic requirements for the construction, operation, and maintenance of school buildings. A number of state agencies including the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Environmental Services, Department of Safety, Department of Labor, and others enforce numerous statutes and administrative rules that address topics such as: Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugsFood service. Hazardous materials such as asbestos, lead, mercury, radon, etc. Laboratories and shops. Pesticides. Playgrounds. Safe drinking water. Sanitation and housekeeping. School emergency response plans. Standards for school buildings. Traffic safety.WeaponsWhat are the federal requirements for the physical environment of schools? There are primarily two federal laws pertaining to the physical environment of schools: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency There are other federal environmental and public health laws that apply to schools. For the most part these have state equivalents that are administered by the appropriate state agencies. One thing to be noted is that public schools in New Hampshire are not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Workplace safety for public employees is administered by the NH Department of Labor. What are some of the best practices for schools about the physical environment? 1. Every school should have a health and safety committee comprised of administratorsclassroom teachers parents maintenance personnel school nurse industrial arts, studio art, and family and consumer science teachers laboratory science teachers food service personne l school resource officerThe committee should develop and ensure the implementation of plans for safe, healthy and well-maintained school buildings and grounds. The committee should be empowered to deal with on-going maintenance and repair issues, as well as on-going and emerging health or safety issues related to the physical environment of schools and school grounds. 2. Every school should practice emergency response drills for a variety of likely hazards and situations.Schools should implement programs to maintain good indoor air quality such as the EPA's Tools for Schools program. 4. School maintenance staff should practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and cleaning forà health also known as green cleaning. 5. Schools should use automated systems such as Healthy SEAT and/or a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to record and analyze maintenance issues and trends. This may be done at the district level. 6. Schools should establish procedures for managing chemic als used in science classes to include storage, reordering, and disposal.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Literary Analysis on Death of a Salesman Essay
In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the conflict between a father and son shapes the overall meaning of the work and explains all of the adverse events that occur throughout. The sources of Willy and Biffââ¬â¢s conflicts, which include Biffââ¬â¢s delusional perception of the world as a result of ideas planted in him by his father, Biffââ¬â¢s discovery of his fatherââ¬â¢s affair, and Biffââ¬â¢s lack of business success all accumulate and result in the ultimate rivalry between the father and son. Altogether, these contribute greatly to the formation of the concept that personal dreams and desire to achieve success can often negatively interfere with personal relationships, and causing people to loose sight of what is important in our lives, as Willy and Biff exemplify. Throughout the play, there are flashbacks to Biffââ¬â¢s childhood as a successful athlete and motivated individual. Willyââ¬â¢s pride in his sonââ¬â¢s accomplishments is apparent, as he constantly praises him saying, ââ¬Å"Good work Biff!â⬠(1561), yet Willyââ¬â¢s lack of acceptance of reality are as well. Frequently Bernard, a studious young boy, appears and reminds Willy of Biffââ¬â¢s unsatisfactory grades, yet Willy refuses to admit these downfalls and does not accept the reality of his sonââ¬â¢s situation. Willy merely tells Bernard, ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t be a pest, Bernard! What an anemic!â⬠(1560), and dismisses the negative statements made about Biff. Bernard constantly reappears almost as a symbol of Biffââ¬â¢s conscience, telling him to study or else he will not graduate. Willy does not help the situation and completely combats Bernardââ¬â¢s efforts by filling Biffââ¬â¢s head with lies and selling him on the idea of the American Dream as s omething that is easily achieved, by giving simple advice such as, ââ¬Å"Be liked and you will never wantâ⬠(1561). It is apparent that Willy weighs the importance of being well-liked and socially accepted more heavily than actual hard work and success, a negative reflection of his character. Willy preaches his philosophy that, ââ¬Å"the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets aheadâ⬠(1561). This is purely ironic due to the fact that Willy is the man who creates a personal interest in the business world with men of high status, but when all of his friends pass away he is left with nothing but a glorified past to remember. This false reality that Willy paints for Biff fosters the conflict between father andà son due to the fact that Biff fails as a result of the way he was raised. Biff follows his fathers ways and words, and by the time he takes his first job he has been raised to think that success and happiness will just come to him without excessive effort on his part. As any son would look up to and admire his father, Biff took his fatherââ¬â¢s advice and therefore makes no excessive efforts and put forth minimal work expecting to become successful merely because of his personality. This sense of entitlement is clearly diminished when Biff fails to keep a job and ends up at home. Willy never takes the time to teach Biff a good work ethic, good values, and strong morals, because Willy himself has not even established these within his own character. Therefore Biff steals, does not work hard, and finds it hard to make it in the real world. Willy himself does not know what is important in life, does not have morals, and does not value his family relationships, therefore he has no way of teaching Biff these vital tools for success and happiness. The resentment Willy feels because of Biffââ¬â¢s lack of success becomes the main conflict throughout the play ultimately reflects negatively upon Willyââ¬â¢s lack of ability to achieve the American dr eam himself, displaying Willyââ¬â¢s overall weak character. Biffââ¬â¢s discovery of his fatherââ¬â¢s affair serves as a main turning point for him as a character, a turning point that sends him downward into a life of struggle and lack of achievement. It is at this point that Biff loses respect for his father and begins to recognize the lie that he is living, thus making it a main source of conflict. Willy is in denial about his involvement with Biffââ¬â¢s failure in life, and when indirectly confronted by Bernard about the incident in Boston asking ââ¬Å"What happened in Boston, Willy?â⬠(1600), Willy becomes defensive, saying, ââ¬Å"What are you trying to do, blame it on me? Donââ¬â¢t talk to me that way!â⬠(1600). After being told about Biffââ¬â¢s reaction upon his return from Boston and the burning of his favorite University of Virginia shoes that symbolize Biffââ¬â¢s dreams and hopes for the future, Willy realizes the extent of impact that Biffââ¬â¢s discovery of the affair had. Willyââ¬â¢s lack of acc eptance of reality adversely affects his relationship with Biff because he never takes responsibility for his affair or even has the courage to admit it to Biff. As a result, when Biff discovers a woman in his fatherââ¬â¢s hotel room, he confronts his father, ââ¬Å"Youà fake! You phony little fake! You fake!â⬠(1618) and all Willy can do is attempt to exercise his authority as a father which ultimately fails. Frequently throughout the play, Happy makes references to the man Biff used to be, asking him, ââ¬Å"What happened, Biff? Whereââ¬â¢s the old humor, the old confidence?â⬠(1552). Learning about his fatherââ¬â¢s affair and seeing it firsthand that day in Boston was the turning point for Biff, the point where he grew up and realized that his father was a broken and defeated man, not the successful business man he portrayed himself as and used to be. As a result of this, Biff loses all respect for his father, and alternatively Willy begins to loathe Biff as well. Due to his discovery of the affair, Biff not only sees his father as a failed businessman, but a failed man. A man without money does not make him a bad man, but an adulterer who betrayed a woman who gave him everything cannot be forgiven in the eyes of a son. Throughout Willyââ¬â¢s continuous failures and defeats, his wife still remains supportive of him and loving, constantly reminding him of her affection for him. Despite this, Willy still yearns to have what he does not and thus pursues an extramarital relationship with ââ¬Å"the other woman.â⬠It is clear that Willy finds some kind of comfort and validation in this affair with a woman who makes him feel wanted, yet his wife does the same therefore it is clearly a matter of greed. ââ¬Å"Willyââ¬â¢s sense of failure, his belief that he has no right to his wife, despite Lindaââ¬â¢s love for him, is what motivates Willyââ¬â¢s deceptions, and those of his sons after himâ⬠(Bloom, Bloomââ¬â¢s Modern Critical Interpretations: Death of a Salesman). This event contributes to the overall meaning of the work as a symbol of the failure of the American Dream by Willy, not only in terms of personal success but also in terms of family relationship and his familyââ¬â¢s success. Not only does Willy cheat on his wife, loathe his son, and struggle to keep a job, but he has let his values go and seems to have no moral compass of right and wrong. It shows that he has failed in the business aspect of his life, and also in his morals. Finally, Biffââ¬â¢s lack of success in the real world contributes largely to the conflict between him and his father. After having countless jobs over a period of several years, Biff returns home with loss of all hope of finding a steady job to support himself. Willy is disappointed by Biffââ¬â¢s lack ofà ability to succeed, and, ââ¬Å"It is to Biff, the returning son, to whom Willy relates most affectively.â⬠(Hadomi, Rhythm Between Father and Son.) It is because Willy can see so much of himself in Biff and relates so heavily to him that these resentful feelings arise. Biff reflects his fatherââ¬â¢s failed ideals and expectations for himself, which are represented in Willyââ¬â¢s fantasies and flashbacks regarding Biffââ¬â¢s successful and glorious childhood, as well as expectations that Willy originally had for himself. Willy sees his failed life and career as a middle-aged man, and recognizes similar traits and qualities in Biff. Although he never expresses these, it is apparent that Willy largely sees himself in his son and thus takes out his anger for himself on Biff, resulting in constant fighting and conflict. The conflicted relationship between Willy and Biff exemplifies the theme of the work that in oneââ¬â¢s pursuit of professional and material success, it is easy to become preoccupied with superficial aspects of life while simultaneously losing sight of what matters most. Willyââ¬â¢s preoccupation with his quest for material fulfillment ultimately results in a flawed relationship with his family, and ultimately with his son Biff when Willy sees him following in his footsteps. This conflict between father and son is what shapes the theme of the work and serves to highlight Millerââ¬â¢s purpose and the greater meaning of the play; that nothing is more important than family. (Word Count: 1517)
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