Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Growth as grotesque Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Growth as grotesque - Essay Example There are many ways in which an object may be grotesque; however, all of these ways stem from the fact that the very thing that makes an object grotesque is the fact that there is something about the object that clashes with our perceived ideas of normality: â€Å"While consistency of grotesque forms is clearly not to be had, certain elements seem to appear more frequently than others† (462). Inherent in this is the idea that the grotesque’s existence is dependent upon the existence of so-called â€Å"normality.† In other words, the grotesque cannot exist without normalcy. In this way the grotesque can be viewed as an outgrowth or extension of that which is considered to be normal. All of the ensuing works present aspects that illustrate an augmentation of a pure form; that is, they contain subject matter that is anomalous to what is considered a normal state of existence of the given subject. All of the images initially appear as out of the ordinary, possibly even freakish in that they obviously lie outside any perceptions of normal aspects of their existence, yet upon a more scrutinized look, remain in a standard setting which would be part of our standard association with typical and conventional forms of our understanding of reality and the everyday. This feature catches us off guard and disturbs us in the same way any alteration of ones usual expectations does. An unexpected downpour of rain, the unpredictability of the stock market, even such a mundane situation as a friend showing up at your door unexpectedly, all cause us fear and anxiety in that they twist our usual expectations of the established convention of the flow of life. Equally important are the intricate details of what embodies such unassumed forms, bastard forms on a pure surface. It is this feeling, a certain ambivalent sense of push as well as pull. It is at times disturbing, yet simultaneously comforting. It is anxiety and serenity, like a sickness working its toils within the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Paleolithic period Essay Example for Free

Paleolithic period Essay In the Paleolithic period, all the tools used by human beings were made of stone. The tools were useful to their hunting and gathering lifestyle as agriculture was yet to develop. Paleolithic art was hence characterized by wild animal drawings and paintings that was mostly done in caves. The animals depicted in the cave art might have been a source of food, sacred or used for pre-hunting rituals since most of those caves were located in uninhabited areas. Sculptures of the animals that existed in that era were also carved. The Neolithic period saw the introduction of metal tools to complement stone tools, human settlement into communities, agriculture development and domestication of animals. As a result, several drawings have been discovered depicting the Neolithic way of life; mostly domestic animals like herds of cattle and horses. There were also increased images and sculptures of humans (mostly females). The animal incisions on rocks and sculptures in this period were sharper and had finer finishing thanks to the use of more advanced metal tools compared to the all stone tools of the Paleolithic period. Sociology was a major factor in the differences in animal depictions between these two periods. For instance, humans in the Paleolithic period did not live in communities as a result of their hunting and gathering lifestyles which were characterized by constant movement and the lesser the number of humans in a group, the minimal the competition for food acquired. This explains the images of hunting scenes and wild animals in widely scattered and concealed caves. The social structure in the Neolithic period changed to formation of communities that inhabited villages which explains the paintings of domestic animals adjacent to human dwellings. REFERENCES M. Hoover, Art of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras. July 2001. Art History Survey 1, San Antonio College. May 22, 2010 http://www. alamo. edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/palneo. htm

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Jazz Essay -- essays research papers

Jazz Jazz is a type of music developed by black Americans about 1900 and possessing an identifiable history and describable stylistic evolution. It is rooted in the mingled musical traditions of American blacks. More black musicians saw jazz for the first time a profession. Since its beginnings jazz has branched out into so many styles that no single description fits all of them with total accuracy. Performers of jazz improvise within the conventions of their chosen style. Improvisation gave jazz a personalized, individualized, and distinct feel. Most jazz is based on the principle that an infinite number of melodies can fit the cord progressively of any cord. The twenties were a crucial period in the history of music. Revolutions, whether in arts or matter of state, create a new world only by sacrificing the old. By the late twenties, improvisation had expanded to the extent of improvisation we ordinarily expect from jazz today. It was the roaring twenties that a group of new tonalities entered the mainstream, fixing the sound and the forms of our popular music for the next thirty years. Louie Armstrong closed the book on the dynastic tradition in New Orleans jazz. The first true virtuoso soloist of jazz, Louie Armstrong was a dazzling improviser, technically, emotionally, and intellectually. Armstrong, often called the "father of jazz," always spoke with deference, bordering on awe, of his musical roots, and with especial devotion of his mentor Joe Oliver. He changed the format of jazz by bringing the soloist to the forefront, and in his recording groups, the Hot Five and the Hot seven, demonstrated that jazz improvisation could go far beyond simply ornamenting the melody. Armstrong was one of the first jazz musicians to refine a rhythmic conception that abandoned the stiffness of ragtime, employed swing light-note patterns, and he used a technique called "rhythmic displacement." Rhythmic displacement was sometimes staggering the placement of an entire phrase, as though he were playing behind the beat. He created new melodies based on the chords of the initial tune. He also set standards for all later jazz singers, not only by the way he altered the words and melodies of songs but also by improvising without words... ...ner and the classical pieces of twentieth-century composers Paul Hindemith and Bela Bartok. Latin-American music also inspired Corea^s style. Early in his career, Corea had played in several bands that featured Latin-American music. Corea^s crisp, percussive touch enhances the Latin feeling. It is also consistent with his bright, very spirited style of comping. Like Tyner, Corea voiced chords in fourths. Voicing in fourths means that chords are made up of notes four steps away from each other. Chick Corea joined Miles Davis^ band in 1968, and played electric piano on the landmark In a silent way, album and the influential "Bitches Brew" session. His own trio recording with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes, "Now He sings, Now He sobs," became a staple in the record collection of modern jazz lovers during the late sixties. Corea was a prominent composer during the 1960s and 1970s. Corea wrote pieces that made good use of preset bass lines in accompaniment, particularly those with a Latin-American flavor. In 1985, Chick Corea formed the Elektric Band, which became known for its use of synthesizers. The band^s debut was with Chick Corea Eleckric Band, on GRP Records.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Chondrichthyes vs Arthropod :: essays papers

Chondrichthyes vs Arthropod The black widow is most easily recognized by the hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen. When bitten, a neurotoxin is released that can cause dull pain and cramping in muscles, that can be accompanied by sweating and vomiting. Less than 1% of black widow bites result in death. Black widow spiders are usually not aggressive. If disturbed, they will retreat to a corner of their web. These spiders are more aggressive if they are protecting an egg sac. The natural habitat of a black widow is outdoors, under rocks, brush or piles of debris. Indoors, these spiders can usually be found behind furniture, in storage boxes, etc. A black widow's eyes are on top and near the front of its head. They have 8 eyes, arranged in 2 rows of 4 each. Some spiders have better vision than others. For example, hunting spiders have good eyesight at short distances. Their eyesight enables them to form images of their prey and mate. Web-building spiders (the black widow) have poor eyesight. Their eyes are used for detecting changes in light. A black widow's mouth opening is bellow its eyes. It does not have chewing mouth parts, and they eat only liquids. Various appendages around the mouth opening form a short "straw" through which the spider sucks the body fluid of its victim. The black widow can eat some of the solid tissue of its prey by predigesting it. To do this, the spider sprays digestive juices on the tissue. Chelicerae are a pair of appendages that the spider uses to seize and kill its prey. The chelicerae are above the mouth opening and just below the spider's eyes. Each chelicera ends in a hard, hollow, pointed claw, and these claws are the spider's fangs. An opening in the tip of the fang connects with the poison glands. When the black widow stabs an insect with its chelicerae, poison flows into the wound and paralyzes or kills the victim. The fangs of tarantulas point straight down from the head, and the poison glands are in the chelicerae. In the black widow, the fangs point crosswise, and the poison gla nds extend back into the cephalothorax. They also crush thier prey with their chelicerae. Pedipalpi are a pair of appendages that look like small legs. One pedipalp is attached to each side of the spider's mouth, and they form the sides of the mouth.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Erving Goffman And His Legacy To The Modern Sociology Essay

Human beings are stage performers and human life is centered on performing our culturally defined fronts (Goffman, Erving, 1959 p. 22). Initially found himself working with the National Film Board in Ottawa from1943 to 1944, young Goffman discovered his special interest in sociology (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 53). Erving was the son of a shopkeeper named Max and Anna, a plain housewife. Erving’s parents are Jewish nationals but were driven by fate to Canada in 1897 when the Ukrainians were forced to evacuate to run away from the violence of the First World War. Born on June 11, 1922 in Manville, Alberta, Erving has the natural inclination for natural sciences, which was probably enhanced, or shall we say suggested by his decision to attend St. John Technical High School in Dauphin. Raised from a poor family of Ukrainian immigrants, his family can only afford to send him to the University of Manitoba to pursue an undergraduate degree in Chemistry. Although his biography did not expressly revealed relevant information, this writer speculates that his earnings with his temporary work in the National Film Board could have been one of his tickets which gave him an access to the University of Toronto to pursue his now increasing interests and sociology and anthropology. After graduating in 1945, Goffman went to graduate school at the University of Chicago where he, according to Manning, had taken â€Å"numerous courses† (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 99). Nonetheless, he has completed his graduate studies in 1949. His frustration with the results of his quantitative analysis of his mater’s thesis could have been one of the reasons, if there be anything else, for Erving to use employ qualitative analysis and reasoning for his works. According to Manning’s narration, Goffman â€Å"failed† to use the quantitative analysis method called Thematic Apperception Test (G. Smith, 1999 in Manning, Philip). Erving’s thesis was then about quantitatively analyzing the responses of the middle class women in Chicago over the famous radio soap opera entitled, â€Å"Big Sister†. Goffman immediately pursued his doctorate studies at the University of Chicago wherein he studied the life in the Island of Unst, a small community also known as â€Å"Dixon† (P. Manning). He focused his dissertation on the social interaction of the people in the small island where he stayed from 1949 to 1951. Instead of returning to Chicago, Goffman flew to Parish and returned to Chicago to get married. There are writers’ observations that say that Goffman gained his initial prominence in the community not as sociologist but as poor boy who radically transformed into a wealthy individual. As Manning noted, â€Å"Through both education and marriage, he was now part of an intellectual and economic elite. † This writer finds it important to look into the background of Goffman’s wife, Angelica Choate because this woman may have also played an important role in Goffman’s transformation to elite life. Choate was from elite American family who has connections with media companies. Choate was just 23 when she get married with Goffman whom she met at the University of Chicago. The two just got one child, Tom who was born in 1953. Meanwhile, Goffman completed his doctorate studies at the University of Chicago in 1949 and 1953 in sociology and social anthropology respectively (Blackwood, Diane B. 1997). Like all other theorists, sociologists or scientists, Goffman was never an exemption to criticisms. I would say that he has equally gained appreciation and criticisms for every work he had accomplished. There is one thing that one critique has noted of Goffman: he never named any of his theories, which is unusual in the field (Schweingruber 1994). One observer of Goffman also stressed that Erving was one kind of writer who never cites his influences (Miller, Dan E. ). This then suggests that Goffman really would want to be noticed or recognized as an original writer and of course a sociologist who developed his own and original theories. Goffman’s famous book entitled â€Å"Asylums† which was published in 1961 might have been conceived when he worked at the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital at the time Goffman and his family moved to Washington D. C.  Three years after working with sociological studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Goffman then secured work at the University of California in Berkeley on January 1958 (D. Blackwood, 1997). After another three years, Goffman’s credentials might have been recognized by the academy and was then promoted as a full professor at the said University. It is also safe to assume that his book Asylums had helped him get the said position after it was published a year before his promotion. In just a decade, that is from 1959-1969, Goffman’s academic achievements were already worth noting in the history of sociology after publishing seven remarkable books (Burns, Thomas 1992, p. 81). If we are to look into the other side of Goffman’s life, we will see that he was not at all focused on writing books and like other intellectuals, the sociologist also had other leisure activities that he probably had loved as much as he loved his career. Historical data revealed that Goffman was also in loved with antiques and had been addicted to playing blackjack and poker. What is interesting in these revelations is that these addictions did not at all paint a bad color on his reputation as sociologist. In fact, these had opened the opportunity for Goffman to enter and analyze the world of the gamblers. Performing regularly as a blackjack dealer at the Station Plaza Casio in Las Vegas, Erving, later promoted as a Pit Boss, it turned out that he had seriously considered to do an ethnographic work and completed a research project on the social life of gamblers. It was just sad to know that none of his works relative to this area was published. It was not all however well and good for Goffman. Behind his success in his career, he had experienced a tragic end of his wife’s life when the latter killed herself in 1964. It was after this event that Goffman’s tragic life behind his success was revealed especially his pains in taking care of his mentally-ill wife. All of his pains, frustrations and bitterness on the death of his beloved wife have been reflected in his book entitled â€Å"The Insanity of Place† which was published five years after the death of his wife. At the time he was probably recovering from losing his wife, Goffman spent time working at the Harvard Center for International Affairs with Thomas Schelling from 1966. Two years after, he had to resign from the University of Berkeley as a professor. In 1968 he was appointed as the Benjamin Franklin Chair in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Because his appointment was opposed by the faculty of the sociology department of the said institution, he was transferred to the office of the Anthropological Museum where he enjoyed working. While working at the Museum, Erving had productive time as evidenced by several, and well-noted books were published in his name. In 1969, he published Strategic Interaction with his other two papers in game theory, Relations in Public in 1971, Frame Analysis in 1974, Gender Advertisements in 1979 and Forms of Talk in 1981. After having his daughter Alice with his new wife Gillian Sankoff whom he married in 1981, Erving died of stomach cancer on November 20, 1982. At age 60, Goffman could have written and published more books should he not had cancer. In fact he was just been elected as the President of the American Sociological Association on the year of his death. He was not able to deliver his presidential address which he prepared for several weeks. Nonetheless, his draft was read at the annual meeting of the said organization which he had entitled â€Å"The Interaction Order. † One of the most controversial works of Goffman was his â€Å"Gender Advertisements† where most critics regarded it as a picture gallery and a magazine rather than a book. With about 500 advertising and news photographs, I would have to personally agree with them. For others however, it is unique and distinctive sociological work that â€Å"represents a rare and exemplary instance of an empirical study which treats photographic materials as data, worthy of analysis in their own right, and not merely a handy illustrative resource intended only to vivify the serious business of analysis accomplished by the written text† (Ball & Smith, 1992). Gender Advertisements is actually album-sized book, with 56 of its 84 pages contains sets of photographs arranged in a way that they are supposed to be read if it they are in magazines and where each set has a commentary. First published in the United Kingdom, Gender Advertisements gained wide controversy with its cover â€Å"featuring two female models posed in a manner contrived to be alluring to the male gaze† (V. Gornick, 1979, p. 18). Other critics regarded it as an example of â€Å"the use of women as sex-objects to promote the sale and Goffman made use of some useful hints in this study of the advertiser’s trade† (P. Hunt, 1980, p. 443). Despite this, I regarded the book, although it did not look like based on its size and bulk picture contents, as something worth an objective analysis of what it had to say about human life. Gender Advertisements had in its own right established its purpose of revealing the realities of advertising trade and that those exploited pictures show evidences of gender role stereotyping. What could have been the reasons for its gained controversy are the interests of those in the advertising trade in using such as a communicative process. One of the bad realities in the world is that once you got something done that touches the interests, or ego of the others, you will surely have to face and endure the pains of skepticism because what it more painful is to hear the truth. For Goffman, â€Å"the differential treatment of males and females is often justified by folk beliefs which presume some essential biological differences between the sexes† (Gornick, p. 55). He however stressed that biology has nothing to do or at least cannot explain nor determine social practices. He sees biological and natural consequences relative to the differences between male and female as mere excuses for honoring and producing such differences. In his book â€Å"Behavior in Public Places† published in 1963, Goffman established the three types of co-presence namely: gathering, situation and social occasion. Goffman regarded â€Å"gathering† as the coming together of two or more persons while â€Å"situation† happens when there the mutual monitoring of the persons involved. On the other hand, a â€Å"social occasion† takes place when there is the presence of the props or special equipment and is bounded by time and space. From here, we can already see how Goffman’ background in theatre arts had influenced his work and they way he sees human existence. Meanwhile, the significance of such types of co-presence identified by Goffman is that they each present a â€Å"pattern of communication traffic order† which he termed as â€Å"situational properties† (Goffman, Erving 1963, p. 24). In all these situations, Goffman saw the necessity of interaction, either as â€Å"focused on unfocused† wherein people read each other through body idiom and perceived involvement (Goffman, p. 14). He also recognized the presence of the dominant and subordinate groups involved in such interactions and the attention one draws against the other. These are actually simple observations of the daily routine of people yet these simple interactions are realities of life that only few like Goffman paid attention to. Moreover these simple observations are realities from which we can base our analysis of more complex situations. In short, Goffman has done the simple and the basic for us to have a building block to understand the more complicated ones. Probably a product of his working experience with Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, Asylum was one of Goffman’s still controversial works. It was regarded as â€Å"highly unusual: it provides very little detailed information about the hospital; rather it conveys a ‘tone of life’ (Fine and Martin 1990, p. 93). This book featured the â€Å"moral career of the mental patient† because it contained an analysis of his life as a pre-patient, an in-patient and his being an ex-patient† (Ibid, p. 89). According to Goffman, a mental patient’s life begins with the â€Å"betrayal funnel† wherein the family and the people he is most closed with conspire against him by questioning his actions. These people then decide to have the patient to be housed in the mental institution where everything in their daily lives will be regulated and any violation of such rules will be punished. Those whom the psychiatrists have seen good behavior will be transferred to the ward system indicating an improvement. Goffman’s observation that mental institutions are â€Å"forcing houses† for changing people can be justifiable based on the mentioned processes. They are actually being forced to changes because primarily they are subject to rules and regulations of the institution thereby losing their innate freedom to decide for themselves. However, I would argue that these people are subjected to such rules and with their state of mind, they cannot obviously decide for themselves, or if they can, it would not likely be good for them. The book was controversial because Goffman attacked the procedures psychiatrists undergo in treating the mental patients that such procedures are considered by Goffman as a mere â€Å"misunderstanding† of the patients’ behaviors which psychiatrists regarded as evidences of mental illness (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 183). The same concepts and theories lay in his book Stigma which was published in 1963. Stigma, according to Goffman is a ‘deeply discrediting’ attribute in the context of a set of relationships (Goffman, 1963 p. 3). In this book, he has identified three types of stigma as abominations of the body, blemishes of character and tribal stigma (ibid, p. 4). In his analysis, stigmatized persons try to make use of techniques in controlling information. What is bad about it is that these techniques are discrediting and undisclosed and therefore can cause damage to the person. Such damaging information, according to Goffman is â€Å"critical for three aspects of our identity: the ‘personal’, the ‘social’ and the ‘ego’ (ibid, p. 57). Goffman defined â€Å"personal identity as those attributes that make us unique with that of the others while our social identity is what others understand about us, identified by the characteristics of the group by which we belong. On the other hand, our ego identity refers to what we think about ourselves (Ibid, p. 69). In the Presentation of Self in Everyday Life published in 1959, Goffman’s theatre arts engagement is more evident wherein he lay out six general themes of human beings’ face-to-face interaction. The central themes in the book are: the performance, the team, the region, discrepant roles, communication out of character and the impression management (Barnhart, Adam, 1994). In this book, Goffman considered human beings as â€Å"performers enacting rehearsed lines and roles in places that are carefully constructed in order to maximize the potential for deception† (Blackwood, Diane B. 997). Goffman’s ten year effort of writing Frame Analysis is worth the sweat as it was considered his crowning achievement when published in 1974 (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 121). In this book, Erving plotted human experiences into frames wherein an organizational experience could have been a joke, a lesson, an invitation or a warning. Goffman also emphasized that in human experience, actions which he called frames can be misleading since not all what people sees as for example a fight can only in fact a joke, or vice versa. In short, there are actions that can only be considered as fabrications. The same theme as with the Frame Analysis, Goffman published another book entitled â€Å"Forms of Talk† in 1981. It has five essays that convey only one theme: the footing of talk which is portrayed or displayed by the person during his course of conversation with others. In Frame Analysis, Goffman has integrated the concepts of individual and social behavior while analyzing the interaction of both. As one writer saw this work as something that has a direct correlation with Perceptual Control Theory because of the presence of concepts of â€Å"acts† although Goffman considered them as â€Å"guided doings† (Miller, Dan E. ). Miller stressed that Goffman wanted to emphasize the fact that the actions of a person are guided by their expected or desired results of such actions. â€Å"A serial management of consequentiality is sustained, that is, continuous corrective control, becoming most apparent when action is unexpectedly blocked or deflected and special compensatory effort is required† (Goffman, 1974 p. 2). It is just surprising to know that Goffman insisted on his non-interest in understanding individual behavior rather on social behaviors. However Goffman might have realized that he has to in his statement: â€Å"I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology †¦ None the less, since it is individual actors who contribute the ultimate materials, it will always be reasonable to ask what general properties they must have if this sort of contribution is to be expected of them† (Goffman 1974, p. 2). One critic of Goffman however argued that â€Å"it takes a self – not necessarily an ethnomethodologist or a sociologist – to see a self† (Travers, Andrew 1997). Travers further argued that it is first important to know the public self before one could fully understand the whole of society. This however makes sense of the issue. According to Travers, it not at all scientific to analyze the self by seeing others and then compare these to his own. In my opinion, it still make sense to compare one’s self to others in order to clearly see what makes him or her different or the same with others. I would say that an assurance of objective evaluation of the self is hard to attain if Travers is suggesting that it does not take an expert (sociologist or ethnomethodologist) to make the analysis. Let us say that I see myself as morally upright because I have compared myself with that of the criminals. But if I am to compare myself with those who does not even take the courage to lie, then I might come up with a different evaluation of myself. The point is, there is subjectivity in comparing oneself to others so it really takes someone who is more qualified to understand what is really going on with the self. Erving Goffman, however controversial his works maybe, had been generally a man worthy of noting in the history of sociology. Although he had undoubtedly, as had been presented in this paper, gained too many criticisms in his ideas and concepts on human experiences, what he had conceptualized and written were realities of life that man has somehow had to accept. Working mostly on typical and everyday human interaction, Goffman was able to present complex analyses of simple events that became bases for others in the same field. We have also observed that his works primarily was influenced by his personal experiences as a boy rose in a poor family, worked hard and became economically and academically successful. His developed interests in theatre arts had him benefited in analyzing facts of life of which he regarded as stage play where human beings are actor and actresses in a stage play with different and distinctive roles. Goffman in his own right has been a successful man in his own field. For those who are in the same field, Goffman had contributed a lot it the development of modern sociological theories which are evidently being used today.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on CIF Contract

Introduction C.I.F. stands for "Cost Insurance and Freight" In fact; this contract imposes a variety of duties to the seller. In general this contract is known as a contract for sale and shipment of goods to the agreed destination. As far as the payment is regarded, it must be made against the production of the appropriate documents according to the contract. So, in case of CIF contract the seller undertakes more obligation than the buyer. All these obligations and duties of the both parties will be examined below. The Duties of the Seller  · To ship the goods according to the contract;  · To arrange for carriage of the goods;  · To arrange insurance;  · To make out invoice to the buyer;  · To tender these documents to the buyer; However, the seller must ship the goods, which means that the seller is obliged to ship the goods to the appropriate place and on the exact date. At this point the seller has the full responsibility to determine exactly the time and the place, when and where he has placed the goods on the port. Also, he is obliged to nominate the vessel. Further, the seller has to arrange for carriage of the goods, which means that the buyer does not possess the right to sue the carrier for the breach of the contract (he is not a party of the contract). If the property in the goods has not passed to the buyer then his right to sue for any damages to the goods is not completed. So, this means that in CIF contracts the buyer does not has the right to sue the carriage for the damages. As far as the documents are regarded, the seller must tender to the buyer an invoice, a clean shipped bill of lading and an insurance policy. These documents are very important because the buyer will pay the price in exchange for the documents, and it is crucial that they are accurate. If the documents are not accurate it will cause delays and other legal problems. Even more important for CIF is that the bill of lading is the ... Free Essays on CIF Contract Free Essays on CIF Contract Introduction C.I.F. stands for "Cost Insurance and Freight" In fact; this contract imposes a variety of duties to the seller. In general this contract is known as a contract for sale and shipment of goods to the agreed destination. As far as the payment is regarded, it must be made against the production of the appropriate documents according to the contract. So, in case of CIF contract the seller undertakes more obligation than the buyer. All these obligations and duties of the both parties will be examined below. The Duties of the Seller  · To ship the goods according to the contract;  · To arrange for carriage of the goods;  · To arrange insurance;  · To make out invoice to the buyer;  · To tender these documents to the buyer; However, the seller must ship the goods, which means that the seller is obliged to ship the goods to the appropriate place and on the exact date. At this point the seller has the full responsibility to determine exactly the time and the place, when and where he has placed the goods on the port. Also, he is obliged to nominate the vessel. Further, the seller has to arrange for carriage of the goods, which means that the buyer does not possess the right to sue the carrier for the breach of the contract (he is not a party of the contract). If the property in the goods has not passed to the buyer then his right to sue for any damages to the goods is not completed. So, this means that in CIF contracts the buyer does not has the right to sue the carriage for the damages. As far as the documents are regarded, the seller must tender to the buyer an invoice, a clean shipped bill of lading and an insurance policy. These documents are very important because the buyer will pay the price in exchange for the documents, and it is crucial that they are accurate. If the documents are not accurate it will cause delays and other legal problems. Even more important for CIF is that the bill of lading is the ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to Make Colored Flowers

How to Make Colored Flowers Its easy to make your own colored flowers, especially carnations and daisies, but there are a couple of tricks that help ensure great results. Heres how you do it. Tips Materials: Light-colored flowers, food coloring, waterConcepts Illustrated: Evaporation, cohesion, xylem, capillary actionTime Required: Few hours to a dayExperience Level: Beginner Colored Flower Materials Fresh flowers, preferably white - Dont use wilted flowers since they might not be able to absorb water well. Good choices include daisies and carnations.Food coloringWarm water You can use other colors of flowers besides white. Just keep in mind the final color of the flower will be a mix of the nature pigments in the flower and the dye. Also, many flower pigments are pH indicators, so you can simply change the color of some flowers by putting them into water with baking soda (a base) or lemon juice/vinegar (common weak acids). Make Colored Flowers Trim the stems of your flowers so they arent excessively long.Make a slanted cut at the base of the stem under water. The cut is slanted so that the stem wont sit flat on the bottom of the container. A flat cut can prevent the flower from taking in water. Make the cut underwater to prevent air bubbles from forming in the tiny tubes at base of the stem, which would prevent water/color from being drawn up.Add food coloring to a glass. Youre looking at about 20-30 drops of food coloring per half cup of warm water. Warm water will be taken more readily than cold water.Set the damp stem of the flower in the colored water. The petals should become colored after a few hours. It may take as long as 24 hours, however, depending on the flower.You can set the colored flowers in plain water or flower preservative, but they will continue to drink water, changing the pattern of the color over time. Getting Fancy You can slit the stem up the middle and put each side in a different color to get bi-colored flowers. What do you think you will get if you put half of the stem in blue dye and half in yellow dye? What do you think will happen if you take a colored flower and put its stem in dye of a different color? How It Works A few different processes are involved in plant drinking or transpiration. As water evaporates from flowers and leaves, the attractive force between water molecules called cohesion pulls more water along. Water is pulled up through tiny tubes (xylem) that run up a plants stem. Although gravity might want to pull the water back down toward the ground, water sticks to itself and these tubes. This capillary action keeps water in the xylem in much the same way as water stays in a straw when you suck water through it, except evaporation and biochemical reactions provide the initial upward pull.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Cite a Term Paper

How to Cite a Term Paper Term paper citing is what is expected from every term paper, which is turned in to your professor. The term paper needs to be well cited and referenced in order to ease the whole process of reading the term paper as well as to show the reader what parts of the term paper are exclusive, and what are borrowed from others intellectual property. Citation is a very important stage in the whole term paper writing process. The term paper needs to be cited according to specific rules and term paper citation guidelines. Citing a term paper is not always as clear as the definition of this term, as in some cases, students have big difficulties particularly with term paper citing besides everything else. Term paper citations problems are very common among students, and all students need to be explained properly how to prepare term paper citations. Moreover, professors need to spend more time on explaining students citing a term paper and help site a term paper in order to show students how it is supposed to be done. How to cite a term paper? Term paper citing is supposed to be written according to specific term paper citation tips and term paper citation guidelines. These manuals help you cite your term paper and get a good grade for your cited term paper, without deductions for plagiarism, improper citation, etc. There are various term paper citation styles, which you can cite with in your term paper. But unfortunately you are required to use a specific citation styles, asked by your professor. The most various term paper citation style is MLA and APA. These 2 styles major in every term paper, and if you want to be proficient in term paper citation – you better start using MLA and APA. There are various different citation style materials published over the internet. You can always open up a website and find the most detailed instructions of the Modern Language Association citation style, and successfully copy it to your term paper. In order to avoid ANY kinds of problems with your citation styles – ask your professor for significant details of the term paper citation style he prefers, how it differs from other term paper citation styles, and why is this citation style chosen in particular. Whenever you have an assignment of term paper citation – be sure to do term paper citation properly. It never harms to know more information beforehand, and afterwards – start citing your term paper.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Crime Victim Services Program Bullhead City, Arizona Scholarship Essay

Crime Victim Services Program Bullhead City, Arizona - Scholarship Essay Example 91% of Hopi County lacked access of victims’ service resources (HCVAC, 2002 – 2007). These problems were constrained to rural people with limited resources. The problem affected people from Arizona country, specifically residents of Hopi County. It has brought about the issue of insecurity and poverty in the County. The problem includes loss of lives which causes trauma to the affected witnesses of murders. Most people are living in fear of their safety (Katz, 2007). This was a report of Arizona Department of Public Safety problem that needed to be addressed immediately. It has been found that in most cases the poor, low-class and rural people who have no access to victim services. The geographic coverage of the rural area is big. It is very importance to analyze this because it helps reduce crime, heal the affected victims and restore harmony in the County An increase in victims’ service resources like Satellite office in the area will increase the safety of the residents by taking them through the legal process and help them to be compensated where possible. This includes a background education what the victim needs to know to assist him or her in legal matters to have a fair chance of having justice prevailing. This would see through an extra 500 victims to accessing these serves (Uchida, 2007). Crime victims programs should help them have temporary homes and basic needs readily available. They should provide health care services for the victims and counseling services to the psychologically affected people. Victims of rape and physically assaulted people are the more advised to be involved in these counseling exercise. Through eradication of the victims program, and necessary training of individuals, it should assist the victim undergo a healing process; able to take themselves through the judicial process with less constraints (Uchida, 2007). This should reduce

Friday, October 18, 2019

Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Project - Research Paper Example 2006). Furthermore, the project will utilize locally available materials and hence individuals will earn a living as a result. Of important to note it that the new road design require little maintenance and hence a lot of saving will be made. The road design creates emergency section for ambulances and breakdowns. This makes it easier to respond to various crises along the three-lane road, (Dibb, S. 2009.) Since many pedestrians and drivers have no prior experience in using such roads, a lot of training and workshops require to be initiated so as to equip them with the relevant information. When drivers use the frontier lane without controlling the access to the main lane, this increases the number of intersections and hence conflicting points (Frank, R. et al 1972). A large number of conflicting points usually lead to congestions and accidents. Though materials for building the road will be purchased from the locals, it is important to note that most of the materials are not available locally. In addition, locals will only be employed for manual jobs only. Senior positions will filled by the contractors. Lastly, the project has no plans on how vandalism of lighting and metal barricades will be reduced, (McDonald, M.

Statistics for Managers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Statistics for Managers - Assignment Example Managers are frequently exposed to large masses of data but before the data can be put into use, must be organized, summarized and critically interpreted. Therefore this is one of a very important aspect of statistics. Research has clearly shown that top managers reach to a consensus 25% more quickly when responding to graphical presentations. This importance of descriptive statistics is thus a key strategy for managers. It is advisable for the management to posses analytical skills necessary to interpret graphs and computations on the same. Inferential statistics It can also be defined as making inferences about a population from a random sample. On the other inference refers to the art of reasoning involved in making conclusions and logical judgement based on the evidence from the collected data. Management revolves around decision making and thus inferential statistics come into place because the manager has to analyze the trend of the business operation (Broster, 1972). Based on the competitors or generally the market fluctuations such as change in consumer demands, the management is able to observe clearly the trend and from the given observations, logical judgements or inferences are made on the same. This is a very important aspect for a successive manager hence a better understanding of inferential statistics is important because it is a driving force to a positive growth of a business. Hypothesis development and testing A hypothesis is some testable believe or opinion while hypothesis is the process of formulating and coming up with hypothesis. On the contrary, hypothesis testing is the process by which they believe is tested through statistical means (Levin, 1987). This aspect of... The main objective of this essay is to critically analyze the different aspects of statistics, learnt by the researcher throughout the course in relation to management. It is an in depth explanation of ethical and managerial traits one has to possess through acquiring statistical knowledge. This essay is also important in helping students aspiring to be future managers to take the study of statistics seriously, so as to avoid future dilemma when it come to making and implementing decisions. Generally statistics improve the quality of data through the use of specific sample surveys and experimental designs It provides the tools necessary for making predictions based on the data collected through statistical models. There are two types of statistics basically qualitative and quantitative or inferential and descriptive statistics. Statistics for managers is of significance since it is the foundation on which precise, accurate and informed decisions are made. The researcher states that a manager has to apply different aspects of statistical knowledge in order to make informed decisions and continue to prosper. The role of statistics cannot be replaced, neither can it be underestimated because it is very useful to managers and improving their analytical and interpretive skills based on data collected. Moreover, the researcher concluds his study on the topic and gives statement that no manager can be successful without statistical knowledge thus a very important aspect in the art of management.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Discrimination of women in wisconson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination of women in wisconson - Essay Example This is the case in Wisconsin, where equal pay law was repealed. Women were the most affected by the move. Amid this, wage discrimination can be used to for the purpose of employee rewarding. Performing employees in the workplace can be awarded higher pay for their efforts, over and above the set discriminatory wage rate. On the other hand, wage discrimination against women can result in mixed impacts in the society and in the economy in general. To the employers, wage discrimination against women or any other group could provide a favorable ground for the exploitation of workers. For employees, this type of discrimination threatens their social welfare and economic security (Grana 183). Finally, the society can plunge into an affirmative action crisis if the situation fails to be harmonized for the interests of all parties involved. Women and children, especially low and middle income earners, are likely to be the most affected due to the social and economic uncertainties that wage discrimination

An ethical dilemma for the new CEO of Cheryl Tobin Essay

An ethical dilemma for the new CEO of Cheryl Tobin - Essay Example The CEO should lead this team that would be handpicked by her in order to ensure that the internal employees cannot hamper the investigations. This is because it should be remembered that the CEO has no concrete evidence of a fraud in the company and the basis of the CEO’s thoughts are largely based on reports reported from external sources that can be largely dubbed as rumors. Acting on rumors and engaging an external agency would not only harm the company’s reputation but would also take the CEO on a collision course with the other senior management members. Only if the initial inquiry reflects frauds, then an external agency can be hired so as to ensure minimal damage to the reputation of the organization. It would also ensure that the employees and the senior management would not vary of the fact that the CEO who has been hired from an external organization is not hell-bent on finding flaws and imposing her individual style of working in the organization. Moreover, the findings of the internal audit committee can be very well concealed within the organization so that remedial measures can be initiated and that there is no harm in the reputation of the organization. A hasty decision of conducting an external inquiry can only aggravate matters and can have disastrous implication on the business prospects of the organization. It would also reflect an autocratic leadership style of the CEO that would eventually not help in improving the situation and would make matters worse in the long run.... Since all the financial documents are to be signed by the directors any frauds reported within the company makes them personally liable to criminal prosecution (Ashcroft & Ashcroft, p.412). Moreover, with the CEO being appointed by the board of directors makes the CEO answerable to them. It also questions the ethical dimensions of the CEO as it is the duty of the same to report matters to the board. The powers vested to the CEO are largely for the purpose of acting on the behalf of the board and to make the CEO answerable for the day to day affairs of the organization. Hence the CEO was very correct in initiating a probe into the matter. Examples from real life also suggest unfair and corrupt practices should not be encouraged in any organization. These malpractices may give short term gains but it is clear from the history of companies like Enron that unethical practice if not checked can lead to a complete downfall of the organization (BBC News, â€Å"Enron Scandal at a Glanceâ₠¬ ). Issues like negative sentiments coming in the wake of an enquiry into the scandals should not pose as a hindrance or an obstacle to the enquiry process as it ignorance in the long term can have very serious implications. This can also be inferred from the manner in which Boeing had to pay huge amounts as a fine towards fraudulent transactions and activities of the company. However rather than suddenly taking a decision to hire an external agency for the investigation, first the CEO can carry out an internal monitoring and supervision of the books of accounts of the company. The CEO should lead this team that would be handpicked by her in order to ensure that the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Discrimination of women in wisconson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination of women in wisconson - Essay Example This is the case in Wisconsin, where equal pay law was repealed. Women were the most affected by the move. Amid this, wage discrimination can be used to for the purpose of employee rewarding. Performing employees in the workplace can be awarded higher pay for their efforts, over and above the set discriminatory wage rate. On the other hand, wage discrimination against women can result in mixed impacts in the society and in the economy in general. To the employers, wage discrimination against women or any other group could provide a favorable ground for the exploitation of workers. For employees, this type of discrimination threatens their social welfare and economic security (Grana 183). Finally, the society can plunge into an affirmative action crisis if the situation fails to be harmonized for the interests of all parties involved. Women and children, especially low and middle income earners, are likely to be the most affected due to the social and economic uncertainties that wage discrimination

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Automatically Start Services. Tracing A Vishing Voip Phone Number Essay

Automatically Start Services. Tracing A Vishing Voip Phone Number - Essay Example Additionally, that is supportive for applications that we utilize frequently, however for it is not useful for the applications that we hardly ever or never utilize (Microsoft Corporation1, 2012; Microsoft2, 2012). In addition, when we start our Windows system, shortcuts to applications contained in our start-up program folder are opened automatically. In this scenario, the majority of installed applications include a shortcut to this applications folder as an element of their installation procedure. For instance, if we have a Microsoft Office application installed on our system, there is a chance that we will discover a shortcut to the Office toolbar that is stored in this folder. Additionally, a number of system and application programs load instantly are externally helpful, in view of the fact that the majority of them placed in the start-up applications folder are more ambiguous and almost certainly not of much use on a daily basis (Microsoft Corporation1, 2012; Microsoft2, 2012) . Moreover, during the process of system booting, the SCM initiates the entire auto start system services as well as the other supportive disk check up, devices check-up, and memory scans services on which they depend. For instance, if an auto-start system service relies on a demand system start service, the demand-start service is as well initiated automatically. In this scenario, after a successful system start, the system saves a replica of the applications, programs and services in a database that is acknowledged as the last known good (LKG) configuration. The system is able to restore this replica of the database if transformations are formulated to the active database cause the windows system fails to reboot (Microsoft3, 2012; Microsoft2, 2012). Furthermore, a windows operating system contains a self test program that is used to provide the power to make sure that the volume as well as present levels are correct prior to the power good indication is transmitted to the processo r. When this primary stage is finished, the microprocessor will then start processing and initiates the BIOS to carry out a series of activities. In addition, after this kind of checkups control is sent to partition loader code that checks the partition table in order to recognize the primary, extended and active partition. After this operating system loader file NTLDR switches the system processor from real system working mode to 32bit protected system working mode where we have memory paging enabled (Adroit Data Recovery Centre Pte Ltd, 2010). DQ2: VoIP tracing Discuss how can you trace a vishing VoIP phone number The capability to imitate or mask a wide variety of caller IDs is mainly significant to phishers. Actually, by making changes to caller IDs and data, they can be able to support their social engineering story and make it harder to track and find out the major source of a vishing attack. In this scenario, a VoIP (Voice over IP-telephony) service that supports Internet pho nes to make use of local dialling code (POP) or point of presence exit points (for example a phone number inside the similar regional calling code can be able to likewise augment the accomplishment of a VoIP security based attack (Ollmann, 2007; Reardon, 2009). In addition, by simply increasing this capability to put an Internet call from somewhere in the

How it has reshaped the World Essay Example for Free

How it has reshaped the World Essay The history of science is marked by discoveries or inventions, great or small, which have, as a characteristic feature, refined humanity’s existing understanding of the world. Though many of these discoveries were accessible, and appealing, to those that had the knowledge and expertise to comprehend them, ever so rarely came a discovery (or invention) which redefined the world as we understood it with their remarkable scope, explanatory power, functionality or clarity. As the process of scientific discovery and technological development progressed, such moments of redefinition became genuinely rare, and it necessitated that only an invention of unparalleled accessibility could have as profound an impact on human society as, for example, the invention of the telescope or the discovery of Cartesian coordinates. The invention of the internet was one such event in the history of science. During an address in September 1999, Jeffrey Cole, (the then) Director of the Center for Communication Policy at UCLA, remarked that in 1996 â€Å"[he] discovered that television viewing among kids under the age of 14 was down for the first time in the history of television. For the first time in the 51 years of television, since 1948, kids had found something they liked as much or more than television – computers and the Internet. † (Cole, 1996, p. 1) That the interest in television had waned in itself was a startling fact. But, there are greater ramifications of this observation; the television was a source of information and entertainment, not a primary medium of communicating or doing business. It operated along regional, national and international networks, with varying accessibility. The internet, on the other hand, is expressly a global gateway (albeit with some restrictions, which we shall encounter below), characterized by the free flow of information with hitherto unknown swiftness. The ‘World Wide Web’, as the internet is sometimes called, has been an irreplaceable tool of the process of globalization, while the globalizing world has increasingly depended on the internet for faster communication, spread of information and economic transactions. The upshot here is that this mutually reinforcing dynamic has had a deep and lasting effect on human society; while we have witnessed an economic and communications transformation, the emergence of a global, homogeneous culture along with a global polity and risk culture cannot be denied (Aronson, 2004). Also, partly due to the internet revolution, time and space seem to be collapsing (Harvey, 1990; Agnew, 2001). We shall continue, now, to survey these various effects that the internet has had in â€Å"reshaping† the world. II. The Internet, Culture and Our Daily Lives To assess the impact the internet has had on culture in general, and the habits and practices of our daily live in particular, we must start by making am important qualification: the rise of the internet has meant that a â€Å"digital divide† is created between those who are comfortable with using the new technology and those who are not (Aronson, p. 635). The sharing of information and ideas through virtual communities also gives rise to â€Å"smart mobs† (Rheingold, 2003), meaning that individuals now interact with institutions in novel ways. The growth of technology subjects culture to pulls in several directions. A positive aspect of the internet is that it provides an inexpensive medium of communication, allowing individuals the possibility of maintaining their familial, cultural, religious or ethnic ties across geographical spaces. Equally, however, the exposure the internet grants also develops shared affections for things such as movies, music, cuisine, etc. So, identities become increasingly cross-cutting rather than remaining segmented; global citizens today share multiple identities (Aronson, p. 635). This leads to urban cultures resembling one another, with differences between people diminishing. In our daily lives, the advent of the internet has had many penetrating effects. For instance, communication through â€Å"social utility† websites such as Facebook, a concept inconceivable in the past, has now become an everyday activity, supplanting postal mail and (even) e-mail. Things such as buying groceries and movie tickets to paying bills and looking for a new place to stay can all be done instantly through a computer with internet access. Without expending a great deal of physical effort, many routine tasks can be performed from the comfort of one’s home. The perceived benefits, or lack thereof, of these changes vary from person to person, though there is no denying the convenience of completing everyday jobs online. The impacts of internet use are even more pronounced in areas where communication was previously a challenge; a recent study shows the positive changes in the Shippagan Area in Canada by easing daily operations and improving access to required information (Selouani and Hamam, 2007). However, the use of internet technology depends a lot on context; a study based on micro-level sampling in the Pittsburgh, PA, led scholars to suggest that â€Å"[using] the Internet generally predicted better outcomes for extraverts and those with more social support – but worse outcomes for introverts and those with less support. The studies suggest that many people, especially those with good social resources, have integrated the Internet into their ordinary lives to their advantage. † (Kiesler et al. , 2002. ) This takes us back to the qualification of the digital divide we made at the beginning of this section. A cultural connotation of the same could engender a concept of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, fueling the process of otherization between cultural perspectives. However, with the intermingling of cultures – meaning cross-cutting identities – as discussed above, such a turn of events looks unlikely in reality. III. The Internet and the Economy The biggest upshot of the internet is that it tends to promote economic growth, by way of increased trade, information on investment opportunities, expanding the range of options for consumers and providing an easy reach to products across the globe. Companies, as well as countries, that make use of the technological advantages of the internet may enjoy an â€Å"information edge as they compete and grow† (Aronson, p. 633). Locally, this means that any business can have instant global marketability, by setting up a website informing prospective customers of their products and employing an online transaction system. Globally, due in part to the proliferation of the above local phenomenon, and due also to the growing public awareness of the convenience of e-businesses, there is an increasing reliance on doing business through the internet. Over time, this inexpensive structure leads retailers and distributors to also take their businesses online. As this process intensified over the last (roughly) two decades, some sweeping expectations were fielded by analysts about the effects of the internet on specific industries in the economy. In a report published by Statistics Canada in November 2006, four key identified areas of change were analyzed: the paperless office, the end of postal mail, the demise of professional travel and the end of traditional retail. Upon surveying the facts, it was found that paper production and consumption in the world increased from 1983 to 2003, as did the volume of postal deliveries. So is the case with professional travelers and retailers in that time frame (Sciadas, 2006). This derives two important conclusions: firstly, the advent of the internet has had a great impact on the world, no doubt, but it is yet to supplant traditional means of conducting business totally; secondly, and more importantly, the changes in the economy effected by the internet shows the increase in the volume of transactions, business establishments and opportunities the world has experienced. Consumer adaptability to this new situation has also thrown up novel ideas. Online money transfer systems, such as PayPal, offer effective alternatives to traditional banking, especially for transactions online. The possibility of being cheated by fraudulent companies and retailers has spawned various kinds of consumer safety initiatives, like the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Internet Fraud Watch. A study in 2001 showed that, among other things, internet users frequented retail stores more than non-users; they had access to a far greater range of products and services, and were more quality conscious (About. com, 2001). Importantly, the use of the internet does not guarantee an equitable distribution of growth within or among countries. In fact, global uneven development in a globalizing world is a recurrent theme in scholastic research; the gap between the rich and poorer countries has only widened after the internet revolution (Agnew, 2001), reflecting another facet of the â€Å"digital divide,† this time among countries. E-commerce may even go so far as to undermine national economic policies, while facilitating crime and corruption. Global networks, Aronson contends, are the glue which holds together transnational criminal activities, ranging from drug smuggling and weapons trafficking to the smuggling of nuclear weapons-grade material and human body parts, as well as human trafficking and money laundering (p. 635). IV. The Internet and Access to Information The internet revolution supplied a corresponding information revolution, which has meant that, on the whole, retrieving data and information on any subject is almost instantaneous. This virtual store of information, which is open to anyone interested enough to find things out, has been another great boon on the internet. Aside from the economic benefits of greater access to information, there are several socio-political benefits of such access. The distribution of public documents online has made it easier for people to use these resources and be more informed of public policies, legislations and the conduct of government. Due to this easy availability of information, the possibility of the emergence of a more aware civil society is greater than before. Individuals and groups, cutting across the political spectrum, can agitate administrations and influence decision-making precisely because they are armed with an increased access to vital information. However, some studies do suggest that this kind of political transformation still has a long way to go; though political mobilization has not grown as expected, while political balkanization has indeed risen (Cornfield and Rainie, 2006). In addition, the internet has had a huge impact on education and learning. The wealth of information online, along with the digitization of library resources, offers students the latest and most relevant information on any subject of study. Moreover, the utility of the internet in learning is valid vertically through K-12 education to graduate studies. The internet offers access to new methodologies in teaching and verbal communication in class, while for students there is a plethora of resources related to help them through their coursework, and aid preparations and strategies for tests. Students tend to use the internet to supplement their studies, using it for research, completing and submitting assignments and to find additional study materials (Machotka, Nedic and Nedic, 2002, p. 1). Of course, this increased access to information does not come without its disadvantages. Access does not equal internalization, and thus, having greater access does not mean a corresponding increase in knowledge. Gaining knowledge is a completely singular process, where the wealth of information can never be helpful without the ability to process and analyze the same. Further, the ready availability of much information, rare and treasured in earlier times, runs the danger of evaporating their value and depreciating their utility. For example, the excitement in encountering a classical text, of which libraries would carry few copies previously, is entirely lost when the same is available across the internet as a digital document. Though this enhances the possibility of a greater readership, it dramatically reduces the aura surrounding a great work. Apart from the more aesthetic perspective elaborated in the preceding paragraph the access to information also facilitates the dangers of which Aronson informs us above. Transnational crime feeds off the increasing web of information that is available, and uses the same to circumvent law enforcement agencies and employ new strategies of deception. V. The Internet and Social Interaction As briefly mentioned earlier, social communication websites (for example, Facebook, Orkut, Bebo, NetLog and many others) have redefined the way in which we keep in touch with our friends and family. These websites allow users to update personal information, upload pictures and moderate how much information they wish to make available about themselves online. These are not only popular among high-school and college-going students, but also among working professionals, providing an informal environment of communication. In fact, websites such as LinkedIn are now using similar architecture to create virtual networking portals where professionals can establish industry contacts. Craig’sList, on the other hand, is an effective tool which lists local classifieds. The global scale of such ventures is clearly evident in the increasing popularity of websites such as CouchSurfing, which allows registered users to offer or obtain free (or cheap) accommodation while traveling abroad. Another means of social interaction spawned by the internet has been the phenomenon of web-logging or â€Å"blogging† as it is more popularly known. There are literally millions of blogs on the internet, with many of them being sources of deep and insightful observation, commentary and analysis. Message boards are yet another means of communication, where individuals can anonymously socialize on the internet. With this expanding notion of social interaction, many believe that it is possible to involve and use technology strategically to bring about positive social changes. This argument is largely in view of the global civil society movement, in which the internet could be used as an effective tool for collaboration, mobilization, publishing reports and findings, and observation (Surman and Reilly, 2003). For researchers, the internet holds the key for the development of the social technology movement, and the differing views about the internet – the internet as an open network vis-a-vis the internet as a closed, commercial network – have stunted its growth. The variegated means of social interaction have also drawn detractors. Ru Guangrong, at the Chinese Information Center and Defense Science Technology, has a lengthy list of problems with the internet movement as a whole. (Though these issues pertain to all sections of discussion in this paper, we choose to highlight them here because they lead to the larger question of censorship on the internet. ) Guangrong claims that the internet: propagates Western beliefs and values; â€Å"degrades and repudiates† opposing viewpoints; can be used against national sovereignty; advocates Western lifestyles; assists â€Å"dominant cultures†; corrupts people’s minds and morals; is a waste of time and resources (1998, p. 5). As a remedy, Guangrong suggests, among others, a system of restrictive access and the moderation of available information. While this take on the World Wide Web may strike one as extreme, it does inform the reader on the climate of internet-related restrictions that prevail in the People’s Republic of China. It also poses the question of whether those in power should reserve the right of censoring information on the internet, however harmful or inappropriate they might consider the same. Indeed, there are compelling views on either side. On one hand, censorship on the internet encroaches upon the freedom of expression, a right which is universal in free societies. It makes no sense, for those sharing this view, for the internet to be censored, not least because it has no territorial underpinnings and is not governed across geographical spaces according to the laws of different countries. On the other hand, supporters of censorship argue that if there can be laws protecting consumers against internet fraud, the there could also be laws that restrict the flow of information online. The latter appears to be a paternal argument, claiming to secure internet users from unknown dangers; though it is difficult to support it, the jury is still out on the question of internet censorship. VI. Conclusion There are fears that because of the growing influence of the internet, an overwhelming commoditization of values, where one’s existence is measured in terms of possessions and acquisitions, shall tend to supplant societal values that have developed over centuries. A generalization of this, along with a rapid spread of the â€Å"demonstration effect† could mean the evaporation of cultures and cultural identities, which would only be preserved in nomenclature. However, such a view is unduly (and overly) pessimistic; it does not take the good of globalization, be it the advancement of scientific enquiry and discovery, empowerment of civil society, or greater accountability and transparency in governance. The internet, regardless of its detractors and many negative effects – as discussed above – remains a tool which carries the potential of bringing people together by making them more tolerant of different cultures and worldviews. Future generations will come to depend on the services of this great invention more heavily; indeed, there shall come a time when life without the internet would seem inconceivable. The use of internet technology has made life increasingly simpler; it is this aspect of the internet that one must focus on to contemplate the paths to the future, rather than magnifying its ill effects. References About. com. (March 12, 2001. ) Americas New Consumers: How Internet Use is Redefining the Marketplace. Retail Industry, About. com. Retrieved 28 May, 2008, from http://retailindustry. about. com/library/bl/bl_rsw0312. htm Agnew, J. (April 2001. ) The New Global Economy: Time-Space Compression, Geopolitics, and Global Uneven Development. Center for Globalization and Policy Research, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California at Los Angeles. Retrieved 28 May, 2008, from http://www. sppsr. ucla. edu/cgpr/docs/workingpaper3. doc Aronson, J. D. (2004. ) â€Å"Causes and Consequences of the Communications and Internet Revolution. † In Baylis, J. and Smith, S. (Eds. ). The Globalization of World Politics (3rd ed. ). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 621-644. Cole, J. (September 21st, 1999. ) Speech: How the Internet Is Changing Our Social, Political and Economic Lives. The Milken Institute Forum, 1-12. Cornfield, M. and Rainie, L. (November 5, 2006. ) â€Å"The Impact of the Internet on Politics. † Pew Internet American Life Project. Washington DC: The Pew Research Center. Guangron, R. (1998. ) â€Å"The Negative Impact of the Internet and Its Solutions. † The Chinese Defense Science and Technology Information Monthly, 121, 1-9. Harvey, D. (1990. ) â€Å"Pt. III: The Experience of Space and Time. † In The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 201-325. Kiesler, S. , Kraut, R. , Cummings, J. , Boneva, B. , Helgeson, V. , Cra

Monday, October 14, 2019

Strategies to Reduce Hospital Acquired Infections

Strategies to Reduce Hospital Acquired Infections REVIEW OF LITERATURE When we think about hospital, one thing comes to our mind is â€Å"Hospital is the place for cure†. This revolutionary idea of treating the patients under the same roof was considered to ease the job of healing. But due to lack of knowledge of sterilization and antisepsis, it turned wrong in Pre- Listerian era leading to gangrene and death of patients which were suffering from wounds. Due to this reason a new discipline was emerged called as senics which was mainly dealing with the Hospital Acquired Infection (Nosocomial Infection). Semmelwis in 1861 with the help of medical officer and students observed the association of Puerperal sepsis in patients. Thus by the introduction of hand washing with chlorinated lime, he was successful to bring dramatic reduction in infection rate. Hospital acquired infection (HAI) are infections acquired during hospitalization, which are not present at eh time of admission (Atata et al, 2006). According to Baveja in 2002, the term hospital acquired infection, hospital- associated infection, hospital infection or nosocomial infection(nosocomion,meaning hospital) is defined as infection developing in patients after admission to the hospital ,which was neither present nor in the incubation period at the time of hospitalization . Such infections may become evident during their stay in the hospital or sometimes after their discharge. Due to its increased mortality and morbidity in the hospital patients these HAIs are of significant cause. HAIs are also caused due to prolonged hospital stay which are inconvenient for the patient and constitute economic burden on health care (Malhotra S, et al 2014). Dancer in 1999, depicts that microorganisms which are associated with hospital acquired infection displays two important characteristics, firstly those are the pathogens of well-established medical importance and secondly they also can withstand the hospital environment which benefits them outside temperature. Thus providing an appropriate environment niche for their survival until they transfer back to patients. Some pathogens originate from patients own flora especially those who are immunocompromised whereas others can survive in human tissues and thus rely upon person to person spread in order to disseminate. The patients who are immunocompromised due to underlying diseases, medical or surgical treatment, age are typically affected by nosocomial infections. In pediatric ICU, the hospital acquired infections are approximately three times higher than elsewhere in hospitals (Weistein 2006). Pathogen transference occurs most commonly by presence of bacterial or fungi in inanimate surfaces and equipment or between the hands of health professionals and patients (Kayabas et al., 2008). The transmission of microorganisms from hands of health care workers, medical equipment and surfaces which has become contaminated with a wide variety of pathogenic and nonpathogenic organisms has become a significant proportion of hospital environment infection which ultimately results in crosscontamination (Sehulster et al., 2003). When compared to other hospital patients, the patients who are hospitalized in ICUs are 5-10 times more likely to acquire nosocomial infection. The risk of infection and the frequency of infection vary by infection site. The increasing incidence of infection is caused mainly by antibiotic-resistant pathogens leading to seriousness of hospital acquired infection (Weber 2006). Some of the common human pathogens like, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter spp, En ­terococcus spp and Escherichia coli can survive for longer periods of time on the hospital surfaces or formites that can potentially transmit infectious organisms (Kramer et al., 2006). The primary sources of indoor air contamination are the microorganisms. When compared to outside air environment, the indoor air environment can potentially place patients a greater risk because enclosed spaces can confine aerosols and allow them to build up to infectious level. The relative humidity and/ or the moisture content of the materials determine that to what extent different micro-organisms are able to grow on indoor or outdoor materials (Dhanasekaran et al., 2009). Adebolu and Vhriterhire in 2002 reported that magnitude of hospital acquired infection is dependent upon the number and type of visitors, mechanical movement within the enclosed space, quality of hospital systems and level of hygienic conditions in hospital environment. Sites where infections acquired in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. To be classified as a nosocomial infection, the patient must have been admitted for reasons other than the infection. He or she must also have shown no signs of active or incubating infection. Depending on the hospital involved, 1 to 10 percent of the patients affected die as a result of the nosocomial infection (George Krucik 2014). Most of these infections can be prevented while others are unavoidable. In hospitals the contaminated surfaces are increasing the cross transmission which is shown in figure-2. Figure-2 Showing the contaminated surfaces in hospitals (source: Wikipedia). These infections occur: Up to 48 hours after hospital admission Up to 3 days after discharge Up to 30 days after an operation In a healthcare facility when a patient was admitted for reasons other than the infection. In the United States, it has been estimated that 9.2 out of every 100 patients acquire a nosocomial infection Pathogens Causing Infection According to the CDC, the most common pathogens that cause nosocomial infections are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, and E. coli (C.Glen May hall 2004). Based in biological and clinical criteria, the national Healthcare Safety network (NHSN) has categorized into 50 infection sites under 13 major types for the surveillance purpose (W. Bereket et al., 2012). When choosing the test organisms that are clinically relevant to human pathogens, six different organisms are considered to be major threats. These pathogens cannot cause the most devastating illnesses but majority of them will compromise with antibiotic resistant infections that are seen in most healthcare settings. These are commonly called as ESKAPE pathogens namely Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus Klebsiella pneumonia, Actinobacter baumanni, Paeudomonas aeruginosa and several species of Enterobacter. These (ESKAPE Pathogens) pose a biggest threat that physician face today. To fight with them we definitely need some new drugs and need some cooperation among industry and government to setup RD (research and development) infrastructure to fill the needs of new drugs tha t will tackle tomorrow’s infectious diseases threats. Escherichia Coli It is oxidase negative, Gram negative, and facultative anaerobic. It is one of the common organisms that are involved in Gram negative sepsis and endotoxin-induced shock. It is one if the leading cause of blood stream infections among all other Gram-negative pathogens. It is the fifth leading pathogen for causing blood stream infection in United States (Maazuddin t al., 2014). According to Bijay Kumar Chandra 2012, a study was concluded that Escherichia coli were most common agent found in nosocomial diarrhea. Some of the common infection caused by this organism includes wound infection, urinary infection, meningitis in neonates, pneumonia in immunocompromised hospitalized patients and E. coli associated diarrheal disease or gastroenteritis. It also possess broad range of virulence factors which are responsible for disease such as UTIs and gastroenteritis (Brooks GF et al., 2007). Enterococcus spp These are gram-positive cocci typically arranged in short chains and pairs. These grow optimally at 350C on a complex media which requires carbon such as glucose, nucleic acid base and vitamin B. when enriched with sheep blood agar, it supports the growth with large and white colonies. Enterococcus species are facultative anaerobic and are considered as a part of normal flora in genitourinary tract and gastrointestinal tract of humans. Enterococcus species have emerged as a one of the most important pathogen of hospital environment. The major enterococcal infections of humans are caused by two species namely Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. Enterococci are one of the most important hospital acquired pathogens. Isolates of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis are the third most prevalent pathogens worldwide. The most common infection produced by this organisms are intra-abdominal infection, urinary tract infection, pelvic infection, surgiclal wound infection, endocarditis, bacteremia, neonatal sepsis and rarely meningitis. Enterococcus faecalis is the most common cause of infection (80-90%) followed by Enterococcus faecium (10-15%) (Marothi YA et al., 2005). Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus is by far the most important pathogen in the hospital environment in all the genus staphylococcus. It is non-spore forming, non-motile, gram positive, catalase positive facultative anaerobe arranged in clusters (Wahington CW et al., 2006). The indicence of nosocomial blood stream infection is more known to be caused by S. aureus (Rodrigo et al., 2012). S. aureus is rarely isolated from urinary tract infection (T.Grace et al., 1993). This S. aureus is both pathogen and commensal. Approximately 30% individuals are intermittently colonized with S. aureus whereas 20% are persistently colonized. It is one of the leading cause of hospital acquired infections. Methicillin resistance staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are the one which causes most of the infection and its isolation is continuously increasing (S Khono et la., 2007). Infections may occur during hospital stay by streptococcus and staphylococcus species when compared to other Gram-negative bacteria. Coagulase Negative Staphylococci The coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) species are widely known to cause NTs specifically bacteraemia in patients with prosthetic implants and catheter and also in patients who are immunocompromised. Staphylococcus epiermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus are the teo well known species and occur most common in CNS species (C.Geary et al., 1997). Coagulase negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus are the three most widely isolated pathogens which tends to cause blood stream infections. After hospitalization of the patient, the CNS usually takes 19 days to cause bacteraemia. The mortality rate of CNS is less when compared to some other pathogens (Aldof et al., 200). For the colonization of CNS, the main reason is its antimicrobial resistance. This CNS isolates is resistant to Oxacillin or nafcillin and methicillin (T Grace et al., 1993). Pseudomonas aeruginosa It is a Gram-negative with mucoid polysaccharide capsule typically arranged in pairs. It is a well known cause of pneumonia, endophthalmitis, conjunctivitis, sepsis and also associated with high mortality rates. Potential reservoirs include humidifiers, equipment, incubators, sinks, tap water and hands of health care workers. The identification of this pseudomonas aeruginosa is mainly based on simple biochemical test and colony characteristics. It colonizes the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of the hospitalized patients. When normal defense mechanism is impaired, the pathogenesis by this organism is initiated. Pseudomonas aeruginosa attaches and colonizes the mucous or skin and invades locally to produce systemic disease. This process is mediated by different virulent factors like enzymes (proteases, elastases, phospholipase C), Pili and toxins (endotoxin A). P. aeruginosa produces infection such as blue-green pus, urinary tract infection, meningitis, and necrotizing pneumon ia (Contreras GA et al., 2008). Many contemporary studies showed that, the antibiotic resistance among the gram-negative bacteria is increasing especially of pseudomonas aeruginosa. The rate of resistance towards ceftazidime and imipenem by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was increasing dramatically. Prevention of Infection There are number of simple care practices that can reduce the probability of developing a Hospital acquired infection. Some of them include sterilization of resuscitation bags and masks, elimination of overcrowding, decreasing number of heal sticks, use of sterile suctioning technique, careful preparation and storage of infants formulas, using single dose administration of medications and avoiding drugs associated with increased risk of nosocomial infection. Infection Control Committee The infection control committee is a board which deals with the preventionof hospital acquired infections. It involves multidisciplinary personals like pharmacists, physicians, clinical microbiologists and others. This committee works on co-operation, information sharing principles and inputs. It has many different tasks to perform for the eradication and prevention of hospital acquired infection. It has to review and approve the surveillance data when needed. It has to examine and encourage the infection control practices and provide proper staff training in infection control safety. It also need to assess the new devices used in the hoapital for their risk in violating infection control stratergies and slso to communicate and co-operate with the hospital control committees for information. According to infection committee statistics, the infection rate were increased from 13.8- 22.1 per 1000 catheter days (Jeffery et al., 2005). Therefore infection control committee plays a key rol e in preventing the nosocomial infection. Hand Hygiene Hand hygiene has been considered to be the most important tool in nosocomial infections control. One of the significant contributors to the outbreaks of this hospital environment infection is failure to perform appropriate hand hygiene. Resident and transient microorganisms are known to be the natural microflora of the skin of hands. The resident microorganisms survive and multiply on skin and does not cause any harm to human flora whereas transient microorganisms represent recent contamination of hands which is acquired from colonized or infected patients/clients or contaminated environment or equipment. These transient microorganisms are not isolated consistently from most of the persons. When compared to resident microorganisms, the transient microorganisms which are found on the hands of health care personnel will become as a primary source of infections. Gram negative coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus has been known to be the most common transient microorganisms (Sarmad et al. , 2009). Appropriate hand washing results in reduced incidence of both nosocomial and community infection (Kampf et al., 2004).An estimated 40 percent of nosocomial infections are caused by poor hand hygiene (WHO). Hospital staff can significantly reduce the number of cases with regular hand washing (Figure-8). They should also wear protective garments and gloves when working with patients (James Chin 2000).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The General Prologue - The Canterbury Tales Essay -- English Literatur

The General Prologue - The Canterbury Tales The General Prologue The most popular part of the Canterbury Tales is the General Prologue, which has long been admired for the lively, individualized portraits it offers. More recent criticism has reacted against this approach, claiming that the portraits are indicative of social types, part of a tradition of social satire, "estates satire", and insisting that they should not be read as individualized character portraits like those in a novel. Yet it is sure that Chaucer's capacity of human sympathy, like Shakespeare's, enabled him to go beyond the conventions of his time and create images of individualized human subjects that have been found not merely credible but endearing in every period from his own until now. It is the General Prologue that serves to establish firmly the framework for the entire story-collection: the pilgrimage that risks being turned into a tale-telling competition. The title "General Prologue" is a modern invention, although a few manuscripts call it prologus. There are very few major textual differences between the various manuscripts. The structure of the General Prologue is a simple one. After an elaborate introduction in lines 1 - 34, the narrator begins the series of portraits (lines 35 - 719). These are followed by a report of the Host's suggestion of a tale-telling contest and its acceptance (lines 720 - 821). On the following morning the pilgrims assemble and it is decided that the Knight shall tell the first tale (lines 822 - 858). Nothing indicates when Chaucer began to compose the General Prologue and there are no variations between manuscripts that might suggest that he revised it after making an initial version. It... ...ed if he does not put people in the order of their social rank, "My wit is short, ye may well understand." This persona continues to profess the utter naivety that we have already noted in his uncritical descriptions of the pilgrims. It is in this way, too, that we should approach the conclusion of the Prologue. Here the Host of the Tabard Inn (Harry Bailey, a historical figure) decides to go with them and ironically it is he, not Chaucer, who proposes the story-telling contest that gives the framework of the Tales. He will also be the ultimate judge of which is the best: "of best sentence and most solas." He is, after all, well prepared by his job to know about the tales people tell! One model for the literary competition would seem to be the meetings of people interested in poetry, known in French as puys, with which Chaucer would have been familiar.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

In order for the customers to purchase the Nokia 6600 from the retailer, :: Business Management Studies

In order for the customers to purchase the Nokia 6600 from the retailer, Sales and customer service Task 1 Introduction A sales promotion may be defined as on attempt to create interest in and stimulate sales of a product or service by a non-standard activity in a limited period of time, or with a controlled amount of product (while stocks last) In many ways, a sales promotion is a link between advertising and direct selling. It gives the advertiser an extra benefit to draw to the consumers attention, persuading them to go to the shops, and it allows the manufacturer’s sales person to revitalize the interest of the retailer by having something new to discuss or offer. There are two types of promotion: * Trade promotions- manufacturers promoting to retailers and wholesalers. * Consumer promotions- manufacturers or retailers promoting to the final consumer. I will promote mobile phone Nokia 6600. It is important to understand that sales promotion includes more than just money off voucher on the pocket of a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) In order for the customers to purchase the Nokia 6600 from the retailer, the latter has had to be persuaded to stock the product in the first place. For this to be achieved, I will have to educate its sales- force on the distinctive selling features of the product, which is Nokia 6600 in order to help it persuade the retailer to stock it. This is picture of Nokia 6600 Components of a sales promotion Firms often refer to promotion above the line and below the line. Above the line promotion is through independent media, such as television or newspapers. These allow firms to reach a wide audience easily. Most advertising is carried out above the line. Some advertising, however, is carried out by methods over which a firm has direct control, such as direct mailing. These and other direct methods of promotion (known as below the line promotion) Below the line promotion allows a firm to aim its marketing at consumers it knows are interested in the product. Above the line advertising in newspaper means that the promotion is seen by most of the readers, even though some will not be interested. With below the line promotions, firms are usually aiming their message at consumers who are either known to them or who have been chosen in advance. For example, direct mail advertisers will pick exactly which consumers they wish to send their mail to, rather than going for blanket coverage. Nokia 6600 sales promotion objectives are: * Increase awareness and interest * Achieve a switch in buying behavior from competitor brands * Incentive consumers of make a purchase of my brand Nokia 6600

Friday, October 11, 2019

Continue to Fund NASA

The wreckage of the ship and the remains of her seven crew members were strewn all across Texas and parts of Louisiana. Even the most staunch NASA believers contemplated their support for the agency as fire rained from the sky. It had been nearly 17 years since the last fatal disaster of the Challenger explosion, and this served as another frightening reminder that space travel till is not safe.The incident caused the question that everyone asked themselves that day: Is the journey Of space travel and exploration worth the sacrifice of human lives? This line of thinking has ultimately lead to the debate over whether we, as American tax payers, should continue to fund NASA in its mission to explore and understand the universe. I propose that NASA is not only an important part of our government, but an absolute critical piece of our development as a human species. We are a race destined for the stars, and the formation of agencies like NASA were the first steps to that end.To better un derstand NASA, we have to look at the agency from its inception. NASA was essentially born out of fear of Soviet space superiority. On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launch the worlds first artificial satellite into space by the name of Sputnik (Gerber, Lanais). As a direct result, almost exactly one year later NASA was formed with 8,000 employees and a 1 00 million dollar budget. The initial goal of NASA was to make up lost ground on the Soviets in the space race, but on May 25, 1961 President John F Kennedy gave NASA its prime directive: put a man on the moon and bring him back feely before the end of the decade.With an astonishing pace and efficiency, that goal was achieve on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon and gave his famous â€Å"One Small Step for Man† speech. At that time, the whole country was behind NASA and its mission. The very act of putting a man on the moon changed our society in many ways. Man was no longer bound to the Ear th, and it changed our perception of the universe. Exploration of space and the stars seemed within our grasp. It looked like only a matter of time before the common man would be colonizing the moon. Fast forward almost forty years later and we find that Man has not been back since.The notion that we were able to send a man to the moon in eight years, but spend the next forty idly by on Earth and our low orbit space stations does not sit well with some. And, if you are just looking at the small picture of manned space travel, it would seem that NASA is moving at a snails pace. Since the last moon landing, Man has not moved an inch past our low orbit space stations. When looking at faults, there are many to be found as to why this has occurred. The first thing we can look at is the faltered support NASA received from our entry in the past few decades.When Americans started dying for the cause, we all slowly started losing our taste for space travel. This also occurred when we realize d the high cost of sending man into space. The public does not see the benefits of sending a man to the moon again, as the â€Å"been there, done that† mentality has prevailed. This is especially apparent as of late when Obama just recently canceled the Constellation Program, which aimed at getting a man back on the moon by 2020 (Atkinson). The ultimate goal was to start towards building a lunar base from which we could launch other space sessions from.Yet, even though we had already spent 9 billion dollars on the project, it was axed. NASA was cited as â€Å"over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation due to a failure to invest in critical new technologies. † Instead, NASA was urged to invest and inspire the centralization of space flight (Belton). This comes about because the space shuttle fleet will be retiring this year, and the US will be entirely reliant on the Russian space agency to ferry our astronauts to the International Space Station for the nex t few years. It is suggested that spurring growth in this sector will achieveBeam's angle of creating jobs and will be better economically than sending our money to Russia. While I find the centralization of space flight a step in a good direction, I believe the cancellation of the Constellation program shows an enormous lack of foresight on the Obama administration's part. While this move harkens back to when the government spurred growth in commercial aviation sector by use of the Airmail initiative (Simmers 2), one must realize that the money is just not there yet for commercial study and exploration.The projects NASA have undertaken have required massive budgets with usually very little monetary return. This is not necessarily the arena for private industry, who have a bottom line to worry about. There has been much outcry as to the cost of supporting NASA through public funding. This year Anna's budget actually increased 6% to just under 18 billion dollars, which to some, are n ot being spent wisely. It is unfortunately true that NASA has become the government agency that nobody wanted it to be: big, bloated, inefficient and expensive.It seems it has fallen into the pit that most other government agencies have. For proof of this e can look at Anna's latest Mars rover project, the Mars Science Laboratory (MS). The rover was supposed to launch near the end of 2009 and now has been delayed (twice) to 201 1 (Chance). The budget for this project was approved at 1. 6 billion but now is projected to surpass 2. 2 billion by launch. Even if you look at Anna's more recent success stories the public has been asking â€Å"is it worth it? ‘ The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity launched in 2003 and were expected to last only 6 months.Six years later and we find they are still operating on Mars and sending back data. At a total cost of -? 944 million for a six year mission, you could say that's a bargain (Chivies). Yet, there are many who wonder how soil samples and weather patterns on Mars help us when there many more issues down on Earth that need attention. Some have urged for the slashing and outright abolishment of NASA in favor of shifting its budget to other social programs like well fare, national health care or education.While I am not debating the whether or not these programs need more funding, I am stating that diminishing Anna's budget and overall presence would be a huge blow to the development of the IIS and he human race as a whole. When looking at the overall governmental spending budget, NASA is only a drop in the bucket, totaling only less than 1% (Change). Compare that to the height of the Apollo missions that took 5% of the budget, it shows that today's program is affordable. The national defense budget is nearly 40 times that of Anna's.While NASA does not directly work towards the hyphenation of space (that is the Air Force's domain), maintaining space superiority does lend to our country's defense. One can only imagi ne if Russia or China gains the upper hand. Regardless, the minute anis we might see by diverting Anna's funding elsewhere would be greatly outweighed by the detrimental effects this would have on our country and perhaps the world. So far you might say there haven't been many pro's for NASA that have been presented. The fruits of Anna's labors really fall into two categories: tangible and intangible.The intangible gifts that NASA has given us are really the hardest to defend as they may not directly benefit us. For instance, NASA has discovered more than 300 explants (planets orbiting stars outside our solar system) and are still finding new and better ways to detect them Cowmen). They recent launched the Keeper space telescope that will aid us in finding even more explants. The knowledge that there are definitively more planets outside our solar system, while not surprising, does nothing for us now and helps no one at the moment.Yet, the information we might glean from these explan ts may perhaps unlock how planets are formed in our universe; and may even give a glimpse into how life is formed. One cannot put a price tag on expanding the human understanding of the universe. But, knowing how life or planets are formed do not help the starving or the dying. For those who do not care that Uranus has 1000 MPH wind speeds or that at the center of every galaxy there may be a super massive black hole; we must look at the direct and tangible presents that NASA has bestowed on our society.Many, many innovative technologies have been directly and indirectly created by NASA is pursuit of its goals. If you get lost in the woods and your GAPS leads you back to safety; you can thank NASA for that. If MR. scan catches the early stages of cancer and you get to live a full life because of it, you can thank NASA (Change 2). If your fire alarm goes off and you can get out of your souse before it is engulfed in flames; again, you can thank NASA. If you have an ear thermometer, ce ll phone, satellite TV or cordless drill; you can thank in whole or in part, NASA.The technologies NASA has given the world has not only made life easier, but has saved countless lives as well. Let's not forgot Anna's enormous contributions to meteorology either, which have not only saved lives but have help the agricultural sector as well. All these things we may not have come about if NASA hadn't help create them as a means to their end. If all of Anna's contributions to humanity have not swayed you than reaps nothing will. You must take into account this though; that the fate of the entire world and the human race may be on Nanas shoulders.I'm sure you have all seen movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, and believable or not these Earth striking comets are a very real possibility. The only way we will have fair warning if this comes to pass will be through the efforts of agencies like NASA. The only organizations even considering the possibilities and contingency plans are thos e like NASA This is not fear mongering either; the widely accepted notion that Earth has been hit by a comet before exulting in the extinction of species like the dinosaurs is proof enough that it is possible.It may very well be that one day NASA saves the Earth from destruction, and We will breath sigh of relief that we kept them around. When its all said and done, we need NASA. They have given us so much in the way of knowledge and tech analogical advancements that we shouldn't turn our backs on them now. Granted, they are not perfect and do have many glaring flaws. Perhaps they need a restructuring or new leadership to get them back on the path. The fact remains that we are indebted to NASA for eloping us grow technologically and as humans looking up wide eyed at the sky.