Scientific( Virology ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Scientific( Virology ) - Essay Example This antibody has proved essential in management of the virus development in succeptible children. To date, Ribavirin stands as the only accredited drug against the circus. Nevertheless, the applicability of this sophisticated drug has been subject to cost and toxicity constrains thus limiting its use. As a consequence, there remains an urgent need for research ventures aimed at developing more effective anti-RSV treatments. To fuse with the host cell, the virus uses glycoprotein F; therefore, this knowledge could be used in drug targeting to develop anti-protein F medications. Through research ventures, the first strain of the virus was harvested from the chimps respiratory channel, and has since been widely associated with infants and newly born babies. Notably though, the virus lacks age specificity with its incedences being noted among adult humans. Currently, it is estimated that the disease causes approximately 34 million infections of the lower respiratory tract among children. Out of these, an approximate 10% often require hospitalization to recover. Sadly, up to 7% of the hospitalised children end up losing their battle against the virus, with fatality rates in developed states accounting for just 1% of the total. While world health systems are continuously laying foundations in attempts to develop an ideal vaccine and medication against the infection, this has faced many hurdles. In the end, the world remains stuck with Palivizumab as the only humanized antibody compliant to the guidelines of the Food and Drugs Authority. This artificially articulated MAb targets the virus by identifying its antigenic F-protein and mounting immunological response against the virus. On the other hand, the virus can be managed through transcription arrest in this RNA-virus, an approach that has been exploited in the designing of Ribavirin. However, such RNA targeting drugs are highly costly to produce,, while others

Personal effectiveness and reflection on the past

Personal effectiveness and reflection on the past To maintain anonymity and protect confidentiality, all identifiable information pertaining to people or places has been made anonymous throughout the reflective portion of this assignment. (done) Introduction Reflection is recap of previous experience and reflective practice is to look back on an consequence and make it more meaning full and to identify what to do in the future to practice better (Burnard 2002). It is further supported that all definitions of reflection emphasise that there is no learning without reflection and further add to this, not all emphasis is centre on peoples emotions and feelings (Sugerman et al 2000). (done) It also pointed out that reflective practice can add knowledge in individuals practice and improve the knowledge and competent (Bulman et al 2004). John ( 2000) believes that reflection can be describe differently, or example, reflecting in action can be defined as a involvement in an event and what happened during event. On action is when rewinding the memory to turn the information into knowledge. Davis (2003) stressed that under taking educational programs may help to practice effectively. And also, he warns that some people without being aware, recurring the positive experience and avoids the negative experience and this can be due to de-motivation and the barriers of reflective practice. Jasper (2003) further suggests that additional education is needed to improve individuals thought and ability to overcome stressful situations. (done) Model of Reflection For one to benefit from effective reflection, one should follow a model to be sensible and easy to understand (Brooker et al 2003). Bulman et al (2004) quotes Johns (2000) cautioning that models are designed to assist in reflecting but, not set to prescribe what reflection is . There are many models to reflect on and, Platzer et al (1997, cited in peate 2006) that no model is better than others. Chosen Model After gathering information and evidence from different sources, the author has chosen Gibbs( see appendix 1) reflection model as it seems straight forward and easy to follow. Bulman et al (2004) confirmed that Gibbs reflection model is well favoured by practitioners and according Jasper (2004), Gibbs model follows six stages and at each stage, questions are asked. The stages are easy for practitioners to follow and can be analysed critically. (cronin et al 2004) believes that the stages are in certain order and following one another creating a cycle. Kolbs reflective cycle considers events in a cyclical way as in Gibbs model. Jarvis (1987) cited in Moon (2004) criticised the model for its simplicity and missing other factors like transfer of learning. I find it too ordered, too regular, too predictable. It seems to imply that we must move through the cycle and move on to the next stage, rather than letting experiences enter into our souls to rest there, (Newman 1999, cited in Moon 2004, p 115). Description I had just gained my qualification as dental implant nurse and dental implant co-ordinator, when this patient was referred to me by dentist to instruct and inform her about financial agreement and appointment times. Because I was newly qualified dental implant nurse, my experience was quite minimal. The patient was a middle age female, living with her husband and children, Asian background, housewife and spoke very little English. The dentist offered her an implant placement treatment plan. Patients lower right first molar was missing and she wanted to replace the missing tooth with dental implant. It was a one to one session in a quiet room and during this session I realised that the patient is not interested in knowing about financial agreement as she was on, income support, benefit and she was confident about having dental implant free of charge. During the conversation, I realised that patients English understanding level was minimal and she was not fully aware about her dental treatment. Therefore, I tried to avoid using dental jargon and illustrated the instruction and information, which I have been asked to provide for patient, in a simple term. I used simple term, spoke slowly, used pictures and models and confirmed patients understanding. With the little communication we had, I managed to find out that the patient was not able to pay for her dental implant treatment as she was unemployed. I asked the patient to bring along one of the member of her family, who speaks and understands English well, on her next appointment to visit the dentist. (done) Feelings When patient walked to room I started to panic as I never been involved in such a situation. I also stereotyped her as ignorant and not interested to listen to my instruction, because she was looking quite and confused. However, I tried not to panic and be patient. I didnt want to disappoint and embarrass the patient by asking her some question that she may not be able to answer. (done) Evaluation I have learnt how to handle different patient with different backgrounds. I believe the good thing about this experience was that I managed to overcome most of communication barriers that exist. I wasnt able to completely extinguish dental jargons and deal with unexpected situation, but my biggest worry was that through my communication. I might have conveyed poor message. As a result, the patient might have not understood why she should have paid for her dental implant trea tment. I judged the patients approach as social exclusion, lack of knowledge and understanding language had made her look confused. However, I miss-judged her as someone ignorant. (done) Analysis When the patient was referred to me, by the dentist, the paper work should state that the patient is having difficulty communicating in English. Miscommunication between dentist, receptionist and nurses could cause difficulty for the patient to trust them and return back to the surgery for treatment, because the patient may lose trust or feel ignored. During the conversation, it was difficult to assume if patient apprehended why she had to see me. The patient was smiling, looking confused and saying yes almost for everything I was saying. And this made me concerned whether the patient understood why she had to see me. My prejudgment toward the patient could have negative impact on the patient due to being unemployed and not being able to pay for dental treatment could have cause an embarrassing or even disappointment situation for the patient. Because the patient couldnt communicate English adequately, I felt that I might have overloaded her with too much information and have created communication barrier. Conclusion John (2009) state that reflecting on critical incidence aids to construct picture of what happened and how to practice better in the future. But he also warns that the practitioners should avoid altering their practice to suit a particular framework. The author agrees with this statement and further ads to this that practitioners can adopt reflection as a habit in order to practice efficiently in the future. The author also adds that previous practice can be overlooked or taken into grand to improve and work effectively at present and in the future.

Outsourcing of America Essay -- Ethics Employment Economics Essays

Outsourcing of America In an increasingly globalize society, it is nothing new to hear about product development and assembly going abroad. Factory jobs have been moved to other nations for decades, and more recently, customer call centers are being relocated to foreign nations. With the current downturn in the economy, people are looking to at this situation in an increasingly negative way. Not all work that moved abroad ended in satisfaction, yet the trend appears to be spreading to new jobs and industries. With the growing population of college educated in foreign nations, software development jobs are shipping overseas. With many incentives associated with outsourcing to various countries versus keeping jobs in the country, companies are laying-off employees and closing down offices. We will discuss the effects that this trend has on people here in the United States, its effect on people in the foreign nations, and explore the ethics behind the shifting jobs to other nations. A Look at Outsourcing Outsourcing is a growing trend, but the term can encompass many development strategies. Software outsourcing is: 1.) the contracting (or subcontracting) with an external organization for the development of complete or partial software products, 2.) the purchase of packaged or customized package software products, or 3.) activities to aid in the software development life cycle[1]. The efforts that are not outsourced are called in-house efforts. In-house efforts ate those efforts that are completely developed within the customer organization. Many organizations have information technology (IT), prototyping, applications, or otherwise-names departments responsible for in-house applications development. Introducing a littl... ...outsourcing. [1] Brian G Herman, â€Å"A Decision Support tool to Categorize the Applicability of Outsourcing Strategies to Specific Software Development Projects and Goals,† diss., Arizona State University, 1999, pg.2 [2] Herman, pg 2-6 [3] Herman pg .7 [4] Herman pg 13 [5] Jyoti Thottam, â€Å"Is Your Job Going Abroad?,† Time, March 1,2004, 6 [6] Jaikumar Vijayan, â€Å"India Inc., Still Going Strong : Other countries are nipping at its heels, but India remains the premier offshore destination,† ComputerWorld, September 2003 [7] Thottam [8] Vijayan [9] Stacy Collett, â€Å"Singapore: Small but powerful, † ComputerWorld, September 2003 [10] Alan S. Horowitz, â€Å"Canada: Safe, secure and 'near-shore' : It's the safe 'near-shore' option, though it's a little pricey,† ComputerWorld, September 2003 [11] Thottam [12] Thottam [13] Thottam [14] Thottam

Rh Bill Case Study Essay

There are 6 bills pertaining to reproductive health and/or population management that have been filed for deliberation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the 15th Congress. The most controversial of these bills is House Bill No. 96 authored by Rep. Edcel Lagman. House Bill No. 96, also known as the proposed â€Å"Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010,† will cover the following areas: * midwives of skilled attendance * emergency obstetric care * access to family planning * maternal death review * family planning supplies as essential medicines * benefits for serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions * mobile health care service * mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education * responsibility of local family planning office and certificate of compliance * capability building of barangay health workers * ideal family size * employers’ responsibilities * multi-media campaign * implementing mechanisms * reporting requirements * prohibited acts * penalties The bill is controversial, as it is being opposed by concerned citizens, especially the pro-life, pro-family and pro-God groups, regardless of creed or religion. The Roman Catholic Church expresses its opposition against the bill on many counts, most especially the procurement and distribution of family planning supplies for the whole country, when the available evidence from peer reviewed medical journals supports the hypothesis that when ovulation and fertilization occur in women taking oral contraceptives (OCs) or using intrauterine devices (IUD), post-fertilization effects are operative on occasion to prevent clinically recognized pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives and/or IUDs directly affect the endometrium. These effects have been presumed to render the endometrium relatively inhospitable to implantation or to the maintenance of the preembryo or embryo prior to clinically recognized pregnancy. These make pills and IUDS abortifacient. Pro-life groups, and many professionals in the medical and nursing fields, believe that physicians and policy makers should understand and respect the beliefs of patients who consider human life to be present and valuable from the moment of fertilization. Patients should be made fully aware of this information so that they can consent to or refuse the use of artificial contraceptives. However, the position of the Catholic Church and the pro-life groups does not mean that they espouse the attitude of â€Å"natalism† at all costs, as if the â€Å"number† of children, in itself, were the unmistakable sign of authentic christian matrimonial life. The sexual act, properly exercised within marriage only, is ordained primarily to the propagation of life. If there are reasonable motives for spacing births, such as serious medical conditions in the mother, or extreme poverty, then the Catholic Church teaches that married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles of the reproductive system and use their marriage precisely those times that are infertile (natural family planning). Other aspects of the bill being contested by concerned citizens include the classification of family planning supplies as essential medicines when their safety/toxicity profile and legal permissibility are questionable. At the same time, more importance should be given to the prevalent diseases, the top ten leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines, namely, infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Financial resources allotted by foreign donors to assist the Philippine government programs could actually be better spent towards pursuing health programs targeting communicable diseases than purchasing artificial contraceptives. Very pertinent to the debate about reproduction rights is the right to life. The Philippine Constitution says that the State â€Å"shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. If artificial contraceptives are medically proven to induce abortion as one of their mechanisms of action, then procurement and distribution of such family planning supplies are unconstitutional and illegal. INTRODUCTION The international aid environment has undergone considerable change in recent years. Internationally, principles of development cooperation. In some countries, civil society has achieved success in navigating the aid architecture and advocating effectively on behalf of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In other countries, interacting and participating in key development processes has been more challenging due tolack of sufficient data or evidence to make a strong advocacy case, and weak understanding of terminology and processes, making access and influence difficult. For the past two years, WHO has supported the AHEAD project (completed in January 2011) implemented through the German Foundation for World Population (DSW). DSW had provided financial and technical support to civil society organisations (CSO) for developing and implementing locally devised advocacy action plans to raise levels of government funding for SRH in three countries. The countries are Bangladesh, the Philippines and Uganda. This report is a case study from the AHEAD project in Philippines. The case study begins by describing the socio political context in which the AHEAD project was implemented. The context covers three themes – an account of civil society movements, situation analysis of sexual and reproductive health and rights and background to the policy environment in the Philippines. The subsequent sections highlight findings from evaluation of the project including achievements from the implementation of the advocacy action plan, the challenges faced by AHEAD and finally the lessons learned. Literature Review The Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill) has drawn opposing opinions from different sectors of the society. There are people who propose and support the RH Bill and there are those who strongly oppose it. Some find themselves in a crossroads wherein they agree on certain components of the RH Bill but remain doubtful about the other parts. Moral, economic and political conflicts continue to rise between opposing sectors. The debate goes on and on. The primary goal of the RH Bill is to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. There are six bills sharing common goals. There seems to be a general agreement when it comes to maternal and child health care but conflicts have risen concerning the proposal that the private sector and Filipino taxpayers fund the nationwide distribution of family planning devices to help control the country’s population. Meanwhile, the government shall continue giving out information on their uses through he alth care centers. Issues and arguments †¢ Population The Philippines has the fastest growing population in Southeast Asia. Studies have shown that most pregnancies in the Philippines, especially among the poor, are unplanned. Supporters of the RH bill claim that the increasing population of the country is something that cannot be ignored anymore. RH bill principal author Edcel Lagman said, â€Å"The Philippine population is growing at a much faster rate than can be sustained by the government or the country’s resources.†Lagman said that the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not have a national reproductive health bill. Based on studies made by the University of the Philippines (one example here), the country tops the fertility rate in Southeast Asia at 3.3 percent. Following are Malaysia at 2.5 percent and Vietnam at 2.1 percent.

Eminem and Craig David

In this speech, I am talking about two very famous singers, Eminem and Craig David. They are both very brilliant at making songs but in there own and very different ways. Eminem is generally known for all the swearing in all his songs, well he is known for that by the parents at least. He has had to face the courts due to too many parents complaining that Eminem is too influential on there children in a very bad way. He always makes a clean version of his album so his daughter, Hailey can listen to his songs in her little cassette player. He always puts her first. He believes that fame is nothing without being able to share it with his daughter and wife. Eminem has made many friends in the music industry, such as his protà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½gà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, Dr Dre. He has also made a pact with snoop dogg, d12, dido and many other singers. Whereas Craig David has not made a song with anyone and has not shown that he has any celebrity friends, at least in his songs, this could mean he is a true solo artist, or he is a lonely person. Both of these artists had a low point in there career but the both eventually came back. Eminem came back with a song called ‘without me' saying that he is back and you should tell a friend, and that he has got through all his law suits. Craig David recently came back with ‘what's your flava' comparing ice cream to a lady, in the end his favourite flavour is chocolate. I did not really like this song. Craig David uses his vocal talent to a high extent to a create a beat that people like. He mainly talks about ladies in songs, like in his latest song, ‘eenie meenie'. Eminem does not really sing, he raps giving the song a great beat that has a lot of rhyming in it, you can feel his emotion when he sings in his songs, showing he has passion towards certain songs. He normally bases his songs on the way of life, past experiences he claims to have had, situations and things he loves or hates. In his album, the Eminem show, he has dedicated a song to Hailey showing that he really loves her. I think that Eminem's songs are brilliant but some might say that they are depressing and has bad influence on people, but I don't think that. Craig David is very good when he wants to be, his song ‘what your flava' was not that good in my opinion because he had not written a song in a while and I figure he was a little out of touch. But his other song eenie meenie is brilliant because he is mixing different styles of music making a brilliant tune in my opinion. Overall, I think that they are both good but Eminem is a lot better and down to Earth and has more meaning in his songs.

The Role of Innovative Technologies in the Architecture Career

The Role of Innovative Technologies in the Architecture Career Architecture As a rule, people think about architecture when they hear the names of worldwide known cathedrals and monuments such as the church Sant Agnese in Agone in Rome, designed and built by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi, Somerset House in London by William Chambers, or Bauhaus at Dessau by Walter Gropius. However, it is necessary to distinguish architecture from various buildings that were constructed due to necessity of the populations to live somewhere.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The Role of Innovative Technologies in the Architecture Career specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this respect, the architecture may refer to the buildings for population to live in, cathedrals, monuments, churches, and other types of buildings that are used by people and for people. Architectural techniques enable architects to design various shapes and silhouettes and bring them into life via application of p lans drawn on the paper into life. In other words, architecture is a science and art to design and manage the construction of buildings and other similar structural components. The career of an architect requires knowledge of different branches of technology and engineering including fundamental laws of physics. Bearing this in mind, an efficient architect should collect knowledge on various laws and limitations that may occur in the process of construction and be ready to apply theory into practice while managing the erection of buildings and similar objects. As defined in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (2002), architecture is â€Å"The art of science of building; especially, the art or practice of designing and building edifices for human use, taking both aesthetic and practical factors into account† (as cited in Spinellis Gousios, 2009, p. 4). So, the more aesthetic and practical the construction of a building is, the more knowledgeable and experienced is the archi tect. In other words, the individual involved into architectural activity should be aware of the risks taken by designers and constructors due to the connection of the activity to work with people and a human factor that involves risk. Characteristics of contemporary construction As the contemporary construction require a set of characteristics to be possessed, it is important that the architect meet the requirements and is able to fulfill the tasks in a timely manner taking into account the variety of materials, number of solutions on any problem, and responsibility in terms of the task fulfillment and customer’s satisfaction with regard to the initial instruction and the final results. So, the architect’s responsibilities include a number of different tasks performed in the process of construction starting from stenches and a graphic plan and finishing with a building created with a certain purpose.Advertising Looking for assessment on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The characteristics of the building should include the following: â€Å"it is the functionality required by the customer†¦; it performs adequately†¦; it is secure†¦; it conforms to legal standards†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Spinellis Gousios, 2009, p. 5). I decided to become an architect to ensure that all buildings are safe and conform to legal standards and people can claim that their homes are their fortresses. History over the last 100 years Such science as architecture has a long history that faced rises and recessions due to political situations in the world and certain regions, economic changes, cultural differences between the conquerors and the conquered, exchange of traditions and values, and other factors that shaped the history of architecture during thousands centuries. As reported by Partington (2006), the changes took place in the tiniest fields of architecture including house paint ings and carpentry whereas it is necessary to make a brief overview of the history of architecture of the 20th century. Architecture has been an integral part of the human life for centuries. The plane lines of the 1900s were successfully combined with extremely wide use of glass and concrete. Though some buildings still were inspired by classicism and earlier movements and traditional use of shapes in the 19th century, the Art Nouveau became one of the most prominent features of this period making the architecture more vivid in terms of colors and forms used in the process of constructing. The next period of the architecture history in 20th century is the decade from 1910 to 1920 when the new style became even more prominent. â€Å"Behrens and Poelzig, the giants among the German pioneers, had created an initial vocabulary of flat surfaces, fully glazed walls, bold structural systems and expressive, typically Germanic monumental forms† (Sharp, 2002, p. 38). Such basic compon ents were visible in every country all over the world. The period of 1920s was marked with fundamental ideas of the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier who managed to analyze the gaps in constructions typical of two previous decades and introduce general features for buildings to be practical and easily-constructed. So, the architect could apply horizontal windows due to the shift of structural walls out of windows. The changes were made due to economic and political concept of unification and consolidation that found its traces in architecture of the time. The next was the period of 1930s when the movement inspired by ideas and style by Le Corbusier were evident leading to more vivid criticism of ‘inhuman’ plainness of structures. The critics called those buildings ‘inhuman’ because all traits were aimed at simplifying the shape, structure, color, and other features that are supposed to help distinguish one building from another.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on The Role of Innovative Technologies in the Architecture Career specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, the movement of modernism can be considered the one appearing from flat roofs, plain surfaces, and concrete structures with horizontal windows of the 1930s. The period before, during, and right after the Second World War can be considered the most ambiguous in terms of the influence on architectural styles of the world. The 1940s up to 1945 were full of unexpected changes while some architects made use of the situation and erected new important buildings, others had to create something more appropriate for technological and production use. In this respect, the constructions became more practical in terms of use of concrete and other similar materials. For instance, the Rockefeller Center can be treated as the fortress with a more moderate use of glass contrasted to first examples of Modernism all over the globe. The period of 1950s is marked with a recurring interest to the ideas introduced by Le Corbusier and other members of CIAM (Sharp, 2002, p. 176). The design of the interiors was also largely predetermined with the exhibition held in 1925 in Paris where the items of household were presented leading to the rise of consumerism in the United States. Buildings were becoming either more or less extravagant though full of new materials and constructions approaches during the next decades from 1960s to 1990s when architects were free to design the most unexpected shapes and lines to satisfy the requirements of the customer and leave a footprint in the history of architecture. Possible future of the profession over the next 100 years The future of the architecture is in the use of new materials that are much lighter than those used in the 19th century but can be even more reliable and helpful to ensure that light constructions can sustain the structure of the building for a long perio d of time. As suggested by Carpenter (2010), the comprehension of materials, their properties, and opportunities arising from the use of new materials during construction is the are the items necessary for the development of architecture in future. The next several decades will see the rise of technological progress in terms of energy-consuming items and other devices that can prevent excessive pollution of the atmosphere, water, and soil. Thus, the buildings will become more similar to ‘green houses’ designed due to the global warming tendencies. Though people can fail to understand the construction of this type and its usefulness, the buildings will leave a footprint in the history of architecture of the 21st century. Conclusion To conclude, I believe that technological progress can ensure that people do not need that much energy as they do now due to the shift in the needs and goals for individuals to achieve. So, the largest perspectives will take place in the use o f innovative technologies in the process of design and construction.Advertising Looking for assessment on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More I am planning to obtain knowledge on useful software programs to begin. Besides, the collaboration of researchers on global warming, software engineers, and architects in the area of construction can contribute greatly to the appropriateness of methods and techniques used in civil construction. Reference List Carpenter, J. (2010). Valuing material comprehension. In P. Bernstein, P. Deamer (Eds.). Building (in) the future: Recasting labor in architecture (pp. 60-66). New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Partington, C. F. (2006). The builders complete guide: Comprehending the theory and practice of the various branches of architecture, bricklaying, masonry, carpentry, joinery, painting, plumbing, etc. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1825). Sharp, D. (2002). Twentieth-century architecture: A visual history (3rd ed.). Mulgrave, Victoria: Images Publishing. Spinellis, D., Gousios, G. (2009). Beautiful architecture. Sebastopol, CA: OReilly Media, Inc.

Reaction Essay on Global Warming

Reaction Essay on Global Warming Reaction Essay on Global Warming The major purpose of a reaction essay is to allow the writer to carefully assess his or her feelings or thoughts concerning a given topic. With this purpose in mind, the tips on writing a good reaction paper are very simple. The obvious need is to obtain a clear understanding of the phenomenon to which one is required to react. In the process, one must evaluate his or her feelings concerning that phenomenon. This involves identifying the arguments with which one concurs, and those that he/she opposes. It is also helpful for the writer to consider whether he or she agrees with related allegations. It is a fact that the world is experiencing a significant climate change, as is evident in unpredictable weather patterns. This has led to an international discussion of global warming and its threat to future existence of life on earth. For example, it is difficult to predict each year what geographic locations will experience rainfall and to what extent. Additionally, ice caps are melting, resulting in the rise of the sea level in some low-laying land areas, many of these highly populated with people. Furthermore, for the past couple of years, world media has aired news of huge wildfires in a number of locations world-wide. Moreover, deadly heat waves are occurring more frequently. Severe storms have also been witnessed in various parts of the world, causing loss of human lives and destruction of property. In addition, severe droughts that had hitherto never been experienced are becoming commonplace in many countries. These are concrete examples that global warming is a real threat . With these concerns in mind, scientists have warned that mankind is to experience more serious consequences if immediate action is not taken to address the issue of global warming. One  incontestable fact is that global warming is presently occurring. How else can one explain the alarming rise in the earth’s temperature, if it is not because of global warming? The trend of rising temperatures is clear, at least by observing the standard surface temperature all over the world. Before the start of the millennium, the situation was relatively better than it presently is. Rainfall was pretty predictable, and surface temperature was generally lower than has been witnessed since 2000. This observation is sufficient to validate the hypothesis that global warming is bound to continue if the present patterns of human activity do not change in such a manner has to alleviate the problem. The implication is that human beings are the major cause of global warming. While governments in every nation have imposed environmental safety standards on manufactures and industries, it is regrettable that very few companies strictly observe such legislation. Industrial emissions are known to overload the atmosphere with too much carbon dioxide, which in turns traps heat, thereby driving the earth’s temperature up. Apart from industrial activities, human activities such as deforestation generate huge carbon dioxide emissions, particularly in tropical countries. Since evidence strongly indicates human beings are the cause of global warming, the inference is that human beings can slow down global warming and its damaging effects. Through collaborative efforts, the world’s nations can take immediate action to lower carbon an emission, consequently decelerating the pace at which global warming occurs. This action is of utmost urgency and importance since it determines the viability of future generations. Success in minimizing global warming can only be achieved by involving everyone. For instance, elected leaders must be put under pressure to pass necessary legislation. At the individual level, proper waste disposal must be practiced. Tips on reaction essay writing: To compose a good reaction essay on any topic, the writer needs to conduct some research on that topic. For example, if you are not fully aware of the causes and effects of global warming and how it impacts mankind, you would need to read some studies before writing a reaction essay on global warming. Otherwise, how do you know what your thoughts are on the topic? Do not forget to take notes as you read and to develop an outline for your paper. This will make the writing process go smoother and easier for you. To finalize your essay, you might read the reaction essay aloud, listening for correctness in grammar and word choice, as well as organization of ideas. Visit our essay writing service to order a custom essay on any global warming topics. will provide you with professional essay help at affordable rates.

Profile

Marissa Mayer Bio / Profile Name: Name Marissa Ann Mayer Current Position: Chief Executive Officer and President of Yahoo!, Inc. - July 17, 2012-present Former Positions at Google: Vice President, Local, Maps and Location Services - October 12, 2010 to July 16, 2012Vice President, Search Products and User Experience, November 2005-October 2010Director, Consumer Web Services, March 2003-November 2005Product Manager, July 2001-March 2003Software Engineer, June 1999-July 2001 Born: May 30, 1975Wausau, Wisconsin Education High SchoolWausau West High SchoolGraduated 1993UndergraduateStanford University, Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems specializing in Artificial IntelligenceGraduated with honors June 1997GraduateMaster of Science in Computer Science specializing in Artificial IntelligenceGraduated June 1999Honorary DegreesHonrary Doctorate of Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology - 2008 Family Background: Marissa Ann Mayer is the first child and only daughter of Michael and Margaret Mayer; the couple also have a son, Mason, born four years after his sister. Her father was an environmental engineer who worked for water-treatment plants and her mother was an art teacher and stay-at-home mom who decorated their Wausau home with Marimekko prints a Finnish company known for its brightly colored designs against a clean white background. This design esthetic influenced Mayers own choices for Googles user interface years later. Childhood and Early Influences: Mayer states her childhood was wonderful with a world-class ballet school and many opportunities right in town. Both parents were dedicated to nurturing their childrens interests. Her father built a backyard ice-rink for her younger brother and her mother drove her to numerous lessons and activities over the years. Among those she sampled: ice skating, ballet, piano, embroidery and cross stitch, cake decorating, Brownies, swimming, skiing and golf. Dancing was one activity that clicked. By junior high, Mayer danced 35 hours a week and learned criticism and discipline, poise and confidence according to her mother. Other influences figure prominently in her childhood. Her teal-painted bedroom featured Techline furniture (establishing early on her preference for clean lines and minimalist design), and one concession to girlhood was her Jackie Kennedy doll collection. Laura Beckman Anecdote: Mayer frequently mentions a valuable life lesson she learned from Laura Beckman, the daughter of her piano teacher and a talented volleyball player. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mayer explained: She was given the choice of joining the varsity team...[and] sit on the bench for the year, or junior varsity, where she would start every game. Laura shocked everyone and chose varsity. The next year she came back as a senior, made varsity again and was a starter. The rest of the players who had been on junior varsity were benched for their entire senior year. I asked Laura: How did you know to pick varsity? Laura told me: I just knew if I got to practice and play alongside the best players every day, it would make me better. And thats exactly what happened. High School: Mayer was president of the Spanish Club, treasurer of the Key Club, and involved in debate, Math Club, academic decathlon and Junior Achievement (where she sold fire starters.) She also played the piano, took babysitting lessons, and continued to dance; her years of classical ballet training helped her earn a place on the precision dance team. Her debate team won the state championship her senior year which helped her hone her skill of identifying problems and solutions quickly. She credits her work ethic to a job as a supermarket cashier where she memorized produce codes in order to check out items as fast as employees whod been there 20 years. Her highly competitive nature was apparent in her interview with the LA Times: The more numbers you could memorize, the better off you are. If you had to stop to look up a price in a book, it totally killed your average. While experienced cashiers averaged 40 items per minute, Mayer held her own, averaging between 38-41 items per minute. College and Graduate School: As a high school senior, Mayer was accepted to all ten colleges she applied to, eventually turning down Yale to attend Stanford. She entered college thinking shed be a pediatric neurosurgeon, but a required computer course for pre-med students intrigued and challenged her. She decided to study Symbolic Systems which included courses in cognitive psychology, philosophy, linguistics and computer science. While at Stanford she danced in The Nutcracker ballet, engaged in parliamentary debate, volunteered at a childrens hospital, was involved in bringing computer science education to schools in Bermuda and began teaching her junior year. She continued on at Stanford for graduate school where friends recall she pulled all-nighters and often appeared in the same clothes she wore the day before. Early Career Path: Mayer served at the UBS research lab in Zurich, Switzerland for nine months and at SRI International in Menlo Park prior to joining Google. Interview with Google: Mayers initial introduction to Google was decidedly inauspicious. A graduate student in a long-distance relationship, she recalls pathetically eating a bad bowl of pasta in my dorm room by myself on a Friday night when a recruiting email arrived from a tiny search engine company. I remember I’d told myself, New emails from recruiters - just hit delete. But she didnt because shed heard about the company from one of her professors and her own graduate studies focused on the same areas the company wanted to explore. Although shed already received job offers Oracle, Carnegie Mellon and McKinsey, she interviewed with Google. At that time, Google only had seven employees and all the engineers were male. Realizing that a better gender balance would make for a stronger company, Google was eager for her to join the team but Mayer didnt immediately accept. Over spring break, she analyzed the most successful choices shed made in her life to see what they had in common. Decisions about where to go to college, what to major in, how to spend summers all seemed to revolve around the same two concerns: One was, in each case, I’d chosen the scenario where I got to work with the smartest people I could find....And the other thing was I always did something that I was a little not ready to do. In each of those cases, I felt a little overwhelmed by the option. I’d gotten myself in a little over my head. Career at Google: She accepted the offer and joined Google in June 1999 as he 20th employee hired by Google and its first female engineer. She went on to establish the look of Googles interface as a search engine and oversee the development, code-writing, and launch of Gmail, Google Maps, iGoogle, Google Chrome, Google Health, and Google News. She heavily influenced the companys biggest successes such as Google Earth, Books, Images and more, and she curated Google Doodle, the morphing of the familiar homepage logo into designs and images celebrating special events around the world. Named a Vice President in 2005, Mayers most recent role had her supervising the companys mapping products, location services, Google Local, Street View and many other products. During her 13-year tenure she led the product management effort for more than a decade during which Google Search grew from a few hundred thousand to over a billion searches per day. Several patents in artificial intelligence and interface design carry her name as inventor. She has been very vocal in her support of smart product design, intense corporate teamwork and girl power. Move to Yahoo She assumed the reins at Yahoo as CEO on July 17, 2012, where she faces a tough battle to restore morale, confidence and profitability. Mayer is the companys third CEO in a year. Move to Yahoo: She assumed the reins at Yahoo as CEO on July 17, 2012, where she faces a tough battle to restore morale, confidence and profitability. Mayer is the companys third CEO in a year. Personal: Mayer dated current Google CEO Larry Page for three years. She began seeing internet investor Zach Bogue in January 2008 and they married in December 2009; the couple are expecting a baby boy October 7, 2012. She owns a $5 million luxury penthouse atop the Four Seasons hotel in San Francisco and later purchased a Palo Alto Craftsman home, but not before looking at more than 100 properties. An aficionado of fashion and design, she is one of Oscar de la Rentas top customers and once paid $60,000 at a charity auction to have lunch with him. Mayer is an art collector and commissioned preeminent glass artist Dale Chihuly to create a 400-piece ceiling installation featuring blown glass sea flora and fauna. She also owns original art by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Sol LeWitt. A cupcake aficionado, shes been known to study cupcake cookbooks, create spreadsheets of ingredients, and test versions of her own before writing new recipes. I’ve always loved baking, she once told an interviewer. I think it’s because I’m very scientific. The best cooks are chemists. She describes herself as really physically active and told the NYTimes that shes run the San Francisco half marathon, the Portland Marathon, and plans on doing the Birkebeiner, North Americas longest cross country ski race. Shes also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. She regards her ability to anticipate trends as one of her assets: Back in about 2003, I correctly called cupcakes as a major trend. It was a business prediction, but its been widely interpreted as [that] I just like them. Other frequently-mentioned details about Mayer include her love of Mountain Dew and how little sleep she requires only 4 hours a night. Board Membership: San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco BalletNew York City BalletWal-Mart Stores Awards and Honors: Matrix Award by the New York Women in CommunicationsYoung Global Leader by the World Economic ForumWoman of the Year by Glamour magazineNamed one of Fortunes 50 Most Powerful Women in Business at age 33 making her the youngest woman ever to be included Personal: Mayer dated current Google CEO Larry Page for three years. She began seeing internet investor Zach Bogue in January 2008 and they married in December 2009; the couple are expecting a baby boy October 7, 2012. She owns a $5 million luxury penthouse atop the Four Seasons hotel in San Francisco and later purchased a Palo Alto Craftsman home, but not before looking at more than 100 properties. An aficionado of fashion and design, she is one of Oscar de la Rentas top customers and once paid $60,000 at a charity auction to have lunch with him. Mayer is an art collector and commissioned preeminent glass artist Dale Chihuly to create a 400-piece ceiling installation featuring blown glass sea flora and fauna. She also owns original art by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Sol LeWitt. A cupcake aficionado, shes been known to study cupcake cookbooks, create spreadsheets of ingredients, and test versions of her own before writing new recipes. I’ve always loved baking, she once told an interviewer. I think it’s because I’m very scientific. The best cooks are chemists. She describes herself as really physically active and told the NYTimes that shes run the San Francisco half marathon, the Portland Marathon, and plans on doing the Birkebeiner, North Americas longest cross country ski race. Shes also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. She regards her ability to anticipate trends as one of her assets: Back in about 2003, I correctly called cupcakes as a major trend. It was a business prediction, but its been widely interpreted as [that] I just like them. Other frequently-mentioned details about Mayer include her love of Mountain Dew and how little sleep she requires only 4 hours a night. Awards and Honors Matrix Award by the New York Women in CommunicationsYoung Global Leader by the World Economic ForumWoman of the Year by Glamour magazineNamed one of Fortunes 50 Most Powerful Women in Business at age 33 making her the youngest woman ever to be included Board Membership San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco BalletNew York City BalletWal-Mart Stores Sources: Biographical details on Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Associated Press at Mercurynews.com. 17 July 2012.Cooper, Charles. Marissa Mayer: The bio that made her Yahoos next CEO. Cnet.com. 16 July 2012.Executive Profile: Marissa A. Mayer. Businessweek.com. 23 July 2012.From the Archives: Googles Marissa Mayer in Vogue. Vogue.com. 28 March 2012.Guthrie, Julian. The adventures of Marissa. San Francisco Magazine at Modernluxury.com. 3 February 2008.Guynn, Jessica. How I Made It: Marissa Mayer, Googles champion of innovation and design. LAtimes.com. 2 January 2011.Hatmaker, Taylor. 5 Surprising Facts About Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Readwriteweb.com. 19 July 2012.Holson, Laura M. Putting a Bolder Face on Google. NYTimes.com. 28 February 2009.Manjoo, Farhad. Can Marissa Mayer Save Yahoo? Dailyherald.com. 21 July 2012.Marissa Mayer. Profile at Linkedin.com. Retrieved 24 July 2012.Marissa Mayer: The Talent Scout. Businessweek.com. 18 June 2006.May, Patrick. New Yahoo CEO and former Google star Marissa Mayer has her work cut out for her.Mercurynews.com. 17 July 2012.May, Patrick. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayers Bio: Stanford to Google to Yahoo. Mercurynews.com. 17 July 2012.Netburn, Deborah. New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is a cheesehead, Wisconsin proclaims. LAtimes.com. 17 July 2012.Taylor, Felicia. Googles Marissa Mayer: Passion is a gender-neutralizing force  CNN.com. 5 April 2012.

The Call of Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Call of Nature - Essay Example If such an alarming natural resources depletion continues, other forms of life on planet earth, which are equally important, will definitely be on their way to extinction. Preserving the natural environment, which sustainably aids the flourishing of other forms of life on planet earth, is something worth consideration. Gary Snyder’s central theme in his poetry work is on natural environment conservation. One such piece of Gary Snyder’s poetry work is "The Call of the Wild" poetry work. Gary Snyder’s poetry work has played a significant role in advocating for nature conservation. Gary Snyder is one of the Beat Generation Poets. To address nature conservation issues, Gary Snyder, bases his work on Native American culture and on Zen Buddhism cultures. His poetry work and especially "The Call of the Wild" openly depicts his negative perceptions on human activities that directly of indirectly cause nature depletion. Of major concern are intentional and destructive hum an beings activities and factors such as human settlement. Born on 8 May 1930 in San Francisco, Gary Snyder â€Å"†¦was raised in a poor family on a farm  just north of Seattle during the Depression. †¦He worked summers as a U.S. ... According to Snyder, the Native American Indian cultures offer a nature friendly pleasant-sounding relationship. During his school days in Portland and while in Seattle, Snyder, had an interest in Indian Cultures and supplemented his studies by learning about Indian pioneers’ adventures and teachings. In 1951, Snyder, earned a literature and anthropology B.A. from Reed colleges. Afterwards, he joined Indiana University and later joining University of California. â€Å"In 1951 Snyder hitchhiked east to attend graduate school at Indiana University but dropped out after one semester, heading west again to enroll in Japanese and Chinese courses at the University of California at Berkeley in order to prepare himself for a trip to Japan to study Zen (McGuirk 1).† In Japan, he studied Zen lay monk under the supervision of his favorite instructor known by the name Oda Sesso Roshi. Snyder has done physical labor as a lumberjack, firewatcher, as well as trial maker. His ease of w riting is arguably attributed to his ability to balance between his intellectual capabilities and physical capabilities. Snyder’s poem "The Call of the Wild â€Å"addresses the relationship that exists between human beings versus wilderness and nature in the world we live in. "The Call of the Wild" stand out as one the best written work addressing environmental issues. Using poem technique, Snyder is able to satisfactory address the delicate and difficult issues regarding human beings place in the environment that sustains other forms of existences as well. Snyder in his work describes the differences that exist between human beings and other form of life – animals, birds, and trees. The difference is attributed to the modern human way of life. Of consideration, Snyder refers to the

Critique of Public Administration Research Paper

Critique of Public Administration - Research Paper Example Rubin’s article narrows down on the effect that these bureaucrats have on the budgeting process. Overall, the three articles deal with how these unelected officials have more effect on public administration and policy than the elected officials do. Summary In his article, the Critical Role of Street-level Bureaucrats, Lipsky undertakes an examination of the functions and roles, which bureaucrats perform at what he refers to as â€Å"street level†, have in the process of policy formulation, as well as the process of its implementation. While the public policy theory model traditionally assumes that choices on policy are done by the political executives elected by the electorate, with the implementation of the policy choices left to bureaucrat jurisdiction, Lipsky challenges this model. He bases his argument on his belief that since the bureaucrats at the street level possess a wider room for discretion during the performance of their work, they are actually the ones who make these policy choices (Lipsky, 2010: p4). On top of implementing them, they also create them. JQ Wilson, in his article the Rise of the Bureaucratic State, raises pertinent issues concerning the power wielded by bureaucratic agencies, as well as their lack of accountability towards the legislature and the public that formed them. He also covers the discretion that these agencies possess in carrying out government affairs. The author goes further to talk about the agencies as self-perpetuating. These self-perpetuating agencies are created by the separated powers regime, which acts to protect them from the change that is unwelcome since the major change is new legislation, which, in effect, must maneuver similar hurdles to those faced by the original law (Wilson, 1975: p9). This time, however, one hurdle they must clear is the wish of the particular agency, as well as its clients, which is raised higher. The agency, therefore, once created, becomes almost impossible to disband. Th e author concludes that this process of public power delegation to private interests that go unchallenged, as well as various factional interests, is able to set a public agenda sans modification of competing interests or scrutiny. Irene Rubin, in her article the Politics of Public Budgeting, shows how political interests beset public budgeting. She argues that this allows short-term goals to trump long-term goals interests of the public, the erosion of public and institutional capacity to deal with collective issues, and erosion of the democratic process. When Rubin presents a local, state, and federal budgeting in a framework that is competitive, he gives attention to federal issues that are reactive to power struggles between various levels and branches of government (Rubin, 1997: p190). She addresses issues such as how much autonomy is present at each government level, as well as what influence elected officials have on priorities of the government. Through an analysis of each p rocess of decision-making, she shows the coordination that is involved when passing a budget and achieving some accountability. One of her conclusions is that the public budgeting process must be divorced from politics.  Ã‚  

Critique of Public Administration Research Paper

Critique of Public Administration - Research Paper Example Rubin’s article narrows down on the effect that these bureaucrats have on the budgeting process. Overall, the three articles deal with how these unelected officials have more effect on public administration and policy than the elected officials do. Summary In his article, the Critical Role of Street-level Bureaucrats, Lipsky undertakes an examination of the functions and roles, which bureaucrats perform at what he refers to as â€Å"street level†, have in the process of policy formulation, as well as the process of its implementation. While the public policy theory model traditionally assumes that choices on policy are done by the political executives elected by the electorate, with the implementation of the policy choices left to bureaucrat jurisdiction, Lipsky challenges this model. He bases his argument on his belief that since the bureaucrats at the street level possess a wider room for discretion during the performance of their work, they are actually the ones who make these policy choices (Lipsky, 2010: p4). On top of implementing them, they also create them. JQ Wilson, in his article the Rise of the Bureaucratic State, raises pertinent issues concerning the power wielded by bureaucratic agencies, as well as their lack of accountability towards the legislature and the public that formed them. He also covers the discretion that these agencies possess in carrying out government affairs. The author goes further to talk about the agencies as self-perpetuating. These self-perpetuating agencies are created by the separated powers regime, which acts to protect them from the change that is unwelcome since the major change is new legislation, which, in effect, must maneuver similar hurdles to those faced by the original law (Wilson, 1975: p9). This time, however, one hurdle they must clear is the wish of the particular agency, as well as its clients, which is raised higher. The agency, therefore, once created, becomes almost impossible to disband. Th e author concludes that this process of public power delegation to private interests that go unchallenged, as well as various factional interests, is able to set a public agenda sans modification of competing interests or scrutiny. Irene Rubin, in her article the Politics of Public Budgeting, shows how political interests beset public budgeting. She argues that this allows short-term goals to trump long-term goals interests of the public, the erosion of public and institutional capacity to deal with collective issues, and erosion of the democratic process. When Rubin presents a local, state, and federal budgeting in a framework that is competitive, he gives attention to federal issues that are reactive to power struggles between various levels and branches of government (Rubin, 1997: p190). She addresses issues such as how much autonomy is present at each government level, as well as what influence elected officials have on priorities of the government. Through an analysis of each p rocess of decision-making, she shows the coordination that is involved when passing a budget and achieving some accountability. One of her conclusions is that the public budgeting process must be divorced from politics.  Ã‚  

Fast Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fast Company - Assignment Example In addition, the discourse would explore how these winners tell their story, describe their mission, engage volunteers, and measure success. ACCION International have consistently met the criteria for five years through offering microfinance access to credits that enable poverty stricken individuals and groups to improve their ways of live and well-being. By reaching as much as â€Å"2.5 million active clients and is well on its way to surpassing 3 million by the end of 2007† (Fast Company: Accion, 2012, par. 3). Their long term mission and goal of seeking ways by which millions would learn how to help themselves, this organization envisions the ideals of social responsibility on a more global scope. CITY YEAR, an organization based in Boston, Massachusettes, has likewise met the five criteria through enjoining the youth in rendering services through various productive activities such as tutoring, organizing after school and vacation programs, joining community activities, and engaging in physical service programs (Fast Company: City Year, 2012). This winner has exemplified growth and active involvement of young leaders to complete one full year in service and have consistently manifested growth of membership, locations and accomplishments. Accordingly, the organization has: â€Å"graduated more than 10,400 alumni; served 1,060,000 children; completed 16 million hours of service; partnered with more than 1050 corporations and 3,100 service organizations; and engaged more than 1,000,000 citizens in service† (Fast Company: City Year, 2012, par. 5). JUMPSTART focuses in early education programs that aim to engage â€Å"preschool children from low-income communities in an intensive early education program to improve their cognitive and emotional development, ensuring they enter kindergarten prepared to succeed at grade level† (Fast Company: Jumpstart, 2012, par. 2). Through evaluations that indicate that Jumpstart students have remarkably

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering Essay

3. Biomaterials for bone tissue-engineering - Essay Example Osseointegration means the ability to integrate into surrounding bones. The ideal condition is that the tissue should be reabsorbed and may be even replaced by the body’s own regenerated biological tissues. Bioactive inorganic materials like tricalcium phosphate, HA, bioactive glasses have a large capacity to be re-absorbed. This is definitely one of the positive points of inorganic materials. But the main problem is their brittle nature. This brittle nature means that the fracture toughness of the bones cannot b matched by these materials and thus is not ideal for picking heavy loads. Polymers such as collagen and hyaluronic acid are polymers which are interesting options for the use (Seeherman H, 2008).However they have weak mechanical properties and provide a possible risk of diseases if there is poor handling. Hydrogels are the kind of polymers which are creating great buzz about their use. They have many advantages including the one that chemical biofunctionalisation and cell encapsulation and delivery are very straightforward. In order for the biomaterial to be like a real bone the toughness of a polymer needs to be combined with the compressive strength of an inorganic material (Hollinger, 2004). This improves their mechanical properties and degradation profiles. Once the adequate biodegradable polymer has been selected the next step is to find a suitable processing technique. The processing methodology must not adversely affect the biocompatibility or the chemical properties of the chosen materials. Through the years a variety of processing techniques have been developed. Some of them will be discussed here by us. Solvent casting /Particulate Leaching – This method consists of dispersing calibrated materials such as sodium chloride or organic materials like saccharine particles in a polymer solution. The dispersion is processed after this either by casting or by using the method of freeze drying which results in

Management Society and new forms of work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Society and new forms of work - Essay Example On the other hand, it can be seen that this concept raises a lot of social issues that might also destabilise peace and tranquillity in different areas. Against this backdrop, this paper has been designed to explore the reasons why the issue of precarity is of concern to the current labour and management practices. The paper starts by outlining the concept of precarity and its impact on the welfare of people as well as to suggest measures that can be implemented in order to address this particular problem. The concept of precarity is a quite a new sociological discourse in the contemporary labour and management practice. â€Å"In 2003, the concept of precarity emerged as the central organizing platform for a series of social struggles that would spread across the space of Europe,† (Neilson & Rossiter, 2009, p. 51). This concept is concerned with highlighting the issue that social security in different workplaces is disappearing as a result of the fact that the employers are pr imarily concerned with productivity in their organizations while overlooking the needs and interests of the employees such as improving their welfare through offering them rewards for their efforts. This scenario is evident in different sectors of the society where people working on part time basis, permanent employees as well as the unemployed often find themselves in a predicament where they often fail to derive security from their jobs. These people live a precarious life whereby it can be seen that they are not in a position to secure themselves against things like mounting debts as well as to enjoy good welfare. People who are entitled to low wages also face the same predicament since they are forced to eke a living from the meagre income they earn from their work. The concept of precarity has negative effects on different sectors of the economy and society at large. Generally speaking, employees living under precarious conditions are not satisfied with their work. According to a study by Patterson et al (1998) entitled, ‘Impact of People Management Practices on Business Performance,’ it can be seen that people in an organization make a difference between success and failure. The management practices have an impact on the performance of the people in the organization. People who are satisfied with their work are productive compared to those who are not. Satisfaction can be derived if the employees are rewarded for their effort in an organization. However, if there are no measures in place that are designed to address the issue of employee motivation through giving them rewards for their performance, it can be observed that the workers are likely to lose goodwill in the company in the long run. The adverse effects of precarity among the workforce during the contemporary period mainly involve aspects related to quality of work as well as productivity. According to Robbins (1993), a workforce that is dissatisfied is likely to be less productive compared to workers who are happy about their work. This impacts on the performance of the organization as a whole since it may fail to achieve its set goals. On the other hand, it can be seen that this state of affairs can also compromise on the aspect of quality of the goods and services offered by the company concerned. This in turn may impact on the profitability of the company since the targeted customers

Memory Process Serial Position Effect Lab Report

Memory Process Serial Position Effect - Lab Report Example Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) tried to explain the primacy serial position effect as a result of the greater attention allocated to the first and last items on a list. This improves the probability of recalling such items in long-term memory. They explained recency serial position effect as being recalled by short-term memory as last items were last viewed through the list. Rundus (1971) proved that participants devoted more rehearsal to items first in list. Welch & Burnett (1924) further proved that primacy effect was reduced and items first in list were not stored in long-term memory when participants were asked to only rehearse items while they were being presented. Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) showed that items presented at faster rates provides less rehearsal time by participants which reduced primacy effect. The recency effect was also proved to be related to short term memory by requesting participants to do something else before testing their memory of items. Both, Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) proved that the recency effect is explained by short-term memory account by introduction a distracter activity after last items on a list such as a small arithmetic question. They found that recency effect was reduced by such distractors. The following experiment investigates the serial position effect.This is accomplished by recalling of alphabet letters using a software simulation program. Hypothesis to be tested was that structural retention occurs faster than semantic and phonemic retention. Method Participants The participants in the experiment consisted of University undergraduates enrolled in a Cognitive Psychology course. Apparatus The experiment was conducted by use of computers install in Lab. Each computer ran the simulation psychology program Psyktrek 3.0. Participant used a standard mouse to enter their input in the computer. during the experiment. Procedure Participants were positioned in front of a computer which ran the simulation program Psyktrek 3.0. Once the CD was loaded on the computer, a selection of different types of experiments is displayed on the screen. The Memory Processes Serial Position option was pressed using the mouse.The program presents a page with one side of blank space and the other side with buttons representing each letter of the alphabet. Each trial consists of a sequence of six letters which are presented separately. Each letter was displayed for one second. All letters on the side become clickable once the letters are hidden. Each respondent uses his mouse to click on the letters he recognize in any order. The program waits for participants to select six letters then it stops receiving participants input. The program records the time taken to enter all choices. Participants then pressed the Next trial button to go to the next sequence of letters until six trials are conducted. After participants complete all six trials, results of correctly recognized and recalled lettes are displayed. These results include tabular and graphical presentation of the percentage of correctly recalled items together with a list of presented letters. Results Data for participant number 7 and 8 were removed due to procedural error in recalled results. Recall and Recognition: Descriptive analysis of the data shown in appendix I, reveals that the mean average of recalled letters was (9.3) with standard deviation of 4.4. This accounts to 22.4% of all letters displayed. The mean average of

Management Society and new forms of work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Society and new forms of work - Essay Example On the other hand, it can be seen that this concept raises a lot of social issues that might also destabilise peace and tranquillity in different areas. Against this backdrop, this paper has been designed to explore the reasons why the issue of precarity is of concern to the current labour and management practices. The paper starts by outlining the concept of precarity and its impact on the welfare of people as well as to suggest measures that can be implemented in order to address this particular problem. The concept of precarity is a quite a new sociological discourse in the contemporary labour and management practice. â€Å"In 2003, the concept of precarity emerged as the central organizing platform for a series of social struggles that would spread across the space of Europe,† (Neilson & Rossiter, 2009, p. 51). This concept is concerned with highlighting the issue that social security in different workplaces is disappearing as a result of the fact that the employers are pr imarily concerned with productivity in their organizations while overlooking the needs and interests of the employees such as improving their welfare through offering them rewards for their efforts. This scenario is evident in different sectors of the society where people working on part time basis, permanent employees as well as the unemployed often find themselves in a predicament where they often fail to derive security from their jobs. These people live a precarious life whereby it can be seen that they are not in a position to secure themselves against things like mounting debts as well as to enjoy good welfare. People who are entitled to low wages also face the same predicament since they are forced to eke a living from the meagre income they earn from their work. The concept of precarity has negative effects on different sectors of the economy and society at large. Generally speaking, employees living under precarious conditions are not satisfied with their work. According to a study by Patterson et al (1998) entitled, ‘Impact of People Management Practices on Business Performance,’ it can be seen that people in an organization make a difference between success and failure. The management practices have an impact on the performance of the people in the organization. People who are satisfied with their work are productive compared to those who are not. Satisfaction can be derived if the employees are rewarded for their effort in an organization. However, if there are no measures in place that are designed to address the issue of employee motivation through giving them rewards for their performance, it can be observed that the workers are likely to lose goodwill in the company in the long run. The adverse effects of precarity among the workforce during the contemporary period mainly involve aspects related to quality of work as well as productivity. According to Robbins (1993), a workforce that is dissatisfied is likely to be less productive compared to workers who are happy about their work. This impacts on the performance of the organization as a whole since it may fail to achieve its set goals. On the other hand, it can be seen that this state of affairs can also compromise on the aspect of quality of the goods and services offered by the company concerned. This in turn may impact on the profitability of the company since the targeted customers

My Strengths and Weakness of each of the Domains of The Framework for Essay

My Strengths and Weakness of each of the Domains of The Framework for Teaching - Essay Example I need to do self- assessment. I need to improve the way I do teaching. The Domains of the Framework for Teaching, I realized, is the thing needed to be done in order to address our aspiration to be good teachers. Domain 1: Planning and Preparation This is the foremost thing I do when teaching. I consider this as the springboard to teaching. My strength in this area is the â€Å"knowledge of content and pedagogy.† I studied my concentration for many years. My interest is encompassing when it comes to my adored area of study. And I enjoyed teaching the content to my students. My knowledge in pedagogy complements well the teaching and learning process. All in all, this is my cup of tea. My weakness, though, is â€Å"demonstrating knowledge of students.† I find it a hard time to individually identify my students’ strengths, weaknesses and intelligences. There are instances when I sense a divide between my expectations and students’ actual capabilities. I also find it hard to customize my instruction to suit their background knowledge and readiness. To demonstrate well the knowledge of students is my desire. I realized that if only I can do it, teaching can be more exciting and rewarding. I have to have knowledge of my students’ personality. I should do efforts to recognize them more. I can do this by analyzing and discovering their backgrounds and abilities through student-centered strategies in teaching. I should exhibit care and concern to their ideas and opinions. My students and I should open up channels of communication where the students can freely ask guidance and comfort. I can start doing efforts to know my students immediately. I will regularly include this in my day-to-day life as a

Kants Categorical Imperative Essay Example for Free

Kants Categorical Imperative Essay Kantian ethics is a deontological, absolute theory proposed by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700’s. Kant taught that an action could only count as the action of a good will if it satisfied the test of the Categorical Imperative. The categorical imperative is based around the idea to act solely for the sake of duty. For example, you should share your sweets because it is a good thing to do; not because it makes you feel good. Consequentially, Kant would justify the good feeling you do when you perform a good act as a bonus not a reward. This opposes the hypothetical imperative which is where you act simply so you receive a of reward of some sort. The categorical imperative is based upon universable rules; maxims. These maxims are absolute moral statements that Kant says should be used everywhere by everyone and should thus never be broken. For example, do not kill. Additionally, the categorical imperative does not take individual situations into account. This means it is applicable to all situations and very straight forward to follow considering that everyone allegedly has the innate knowledge to follow these rules; for example do not steal. However, since it is absolute it means you must ignore any emotional influences on your decisions. Kant’s morals truths are revolved around following reason, not feelings. For example, if you have to choose between saving your grandfather or an unknown baby; the baby should be saved considering it has longer to live and more potential. You must ignore any temptation to save your relative due to your emotional attachment because you know reason does not justify that decision. Unlike the hypothetical imperative, the categorical imperative uses ends not means so is non-consequentialist. Therefore, it is wrong to use someone or something to achieve a certain outcome. For example, to be kind to my mum simply so she gives me money to go shopping. Kant would object to this instance in that you should be kind to your mother since it is your duty to respect your parents and be a kind person. Kant believed in a kingdom of ends. This idea is if everyone followed universalisation we would all be treated with equal respect. Furthermore, the Kantian theory is based upon the concept that good will joined with duty accounts an action as good. â€Å"It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world which can be taken as good without qualification except a good will†. Thus good will, to â€Å"act for the sake of duty†, should a priority in your actions in order to fulfil your purpose not for external motives. This duty is innate within every person as a priori so an individual’s experiences, or lack of, cannot justify an action which does not follow good will. Kant believed numerous qualities for example, courage, intelligence, ambition and honour all to make a situation morally poorer. Kant also introduces the idea of the Summun Bonum. This is derived from Kant’s postulates of practical reason; aspects that are necessary within his theory for it to work. Firstly we must have freedom in order to use the innate knowledge we attain to follow duty and good will to achieve good. The Summun Bonum is the ultimate goal for everyone to aim to achieve in order to accomplish the ultimate reward. This reward points towards the existence of a God since one can only attain Summun Bonum in the afterlife; it is not achievable on earth. This means someone must be in the afterlife to give reward you what you deserve. Furthermore, this makes sense of the inequality in life. For example, paedophiles living happier lives than charity workers. Kant would say your good will must be repaid in the afterlife. b) â€Å"Kant’s ethical theory has no serious weaknesses† (Jan 09) Kan? an moral ethics is an absolute, non-consequen? alist, deontological theory proposed by Immanuel Kant. It is divided into two categories; hypothe? cal impera? ve and categorical impera? ve. The hypothe? cal impera? ve is when an act depends upon something else whereas the categorical impera? ve is an independent ac? on. A main weakness to Kant’s ethical theory is the fact that it is revolved around ful#lling your supposed duty. But who decides your duty? And what if you have two conic? ng du? es, for example you to #ght for your country but also to support your family; which do you priori? se? There are no guidelines as to which to priori? se. Furthermore, there are no guidelines how to face not priori? sing your emo? onal a)achment. By not having any considera? on for your feelings, this theory has a massive weakness since you have to be very strong willed to convince yourself Kant is correct. Especially if you were ever actually put that posi? on it seems unrealis? c anyone would chose to apply these rules, for example to save a stranger over their family. However, people may object saying a key strength to Kant’s theory is that it is a simple, absolute theory that by being applicable to all sta? ons is allowing for all people from all backgrounds and circumstances to understand as long as they have ra? onal thinking; according to Kant all human beings have. â€Å"Everyone who is ideally rational will legislate the same universal principles† Pojman (2002:147). Another unavoidable weakness to Kan?an moral ethics is that his universable laws are not applicable to all situa? ons. For example, do not lie. Should we follow that and make someone unnecessarily distressed? Kan? an ethics is not a consequen? alist theory however humans ae naturally compassionate and sensi? ve for a reason. Furthermore, from this we can deduct that your reason might not be the best thing to do. It is not guaranteed since it does not take consequences into considera? on. There are some situa? ons which require consequences to be considered since the outcome is so severe it seems kinder just to break a rule. However in response to this some people may say a prime strength of Kant’s theory is that Kant has a great respect for human beings autonomy. Therefore, a lot of dignity is carried with his theory that we have the ability to use our own ra? onal. In conclusion, Kan? an ethics de#nitely has some serious weaknesses due to the unrealis? c priori? sing of those you don’t have emo? onal connec? ons to, the fact it is not clearly applicable to every situa? on and addi? onally that it is based upon following your ‘duty’ of which is a weak concept itself for reasons explained.

Modern American History: From the Second World War to Today. Essay

War is an obliterate machine employed by every nation from Third World countries to Global Empires throughout world’s history. This essay will attempt to review Modern American History from the World War II to present day. Key areas will be exam are 1) patriotism and propaganda used by the government during wartime, 2) the role of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) enforcing domestic laws during the Cold War era of American history, 3) the intervenes of the United States abroad in many aspects from gaining strategic advantages, control of natural resources, depose of oppressive governments, the spread of political and religious system, and commercial self-interest, to 4) how the media shapes our historical world both past and present. The final paragraph injects a personal view. When American fights against another country, one of the most critical aspects its leaders must make certain is the people’s support of the war. This mainstream public supports enable the country to raise funds and finances the war. To understand how regime can achieve such a dynamic factor and guarantees its success, we need to review Susan Brewer’s work. Through her book, title - Why America Fights: Patriotism and War Propaganda from the Philippines to Iraq, we’ll discuss the multifaceted role of the American media in shaping of public perception during times of war. We’ll dissect the role of war propaganda, and the means by which the military, and the media, cooperated in making the war presentable to the American public, by referring to Why Viet Nam (Brewer chapter 5) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Brewer chapter 6). â€Å"If freedom is to survive in any American hometown it must be preserved in such places as South Viet Nam† President Lyndon B. Joh... ...endent from foreign corporations who are controlling the country’s resources. First, there is â€Å"the monopoly held by Electric Bond & Share† (Kinzer 132). Second, there is â€Å"the International Railways of Central America, which owned nearly all the country’s rail lines, including the sole link between the capital and the Atlantic port of Puerto Barrios – most of which is also owned† (Kinzer 132). Third, there is â€Å"the United Fruit, which owned more than 550,000 acres, about one-fifth of the country’s arable land† (Kinzer 133). He did what he set out to do and that is to pass the â€Å"Agrarian Reform Law,† specifically targeting these private corporations. At the end, his actions led to adverse results that force him to resign his presidency. Indochina, the French government has colonized Viet Nam in the nineteenth century for its natural resources of rubber (Kinzer 150).

A Mother Critical Analysis Essay -- essays research papers fc

A Mother’ ‘A Mother’ is one of the short stories that is part of James Joyce’s literary masterpiece Dubliners. The themes that run through this short story, and indeed the book itself, are: Simony, Gnomon and Paralysis. ‘A Mother’ is written in third person omniscient narration and focuses mainly on the point of view of Mrs Kearney. Who is, as I will try to justify further on, a serial simoniac and a victim of social convention. The first example of Mrs Kearney’s simony is her marriage to Mr Kearney, a bootmaker, who is far older than her. She married, not for love, but in order to keep her status in society respectable: â€Å"her friends began to loosen their tongues about her she silenced them by marrying† (pg 153) Another example of Mrs Kearney’s simony is when she manipulates Mr Holohan into signing into a contract with her daughter. She plies him with alcohol and lends a friendly hand in drawing up the terms of the contract. I believe that when Mrs Kearney is being said to have â€Å"slipped the doubtful items in between the old favourites† (pg 155) as she and Mr Holohan are placing the performers in order for the concert, that Joyce is also hinting that this is what Mrs Kearney had done with the contract. She has confused Holohan with drink so that she can secure a high price for her daughter’s part in the concert. This story is full of the theme of the gnomon also. In the beginning we learn that Mr and Mrs Kearney have two daughters, yet we never learn the younger daughter’...

A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard Essay

A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard was a very complex and controversial case! SunCal wanted to build affordable housing in the resort district however, Disney was opposed to this plan. Disney wants that resort district built up with tourism in mind. Disney would rather see hotels and restaurants to further accommodate their customers. Stakeholders play a vital role in a business! It’s important to consider the opinions and thoughts of both market and nonmarket stakeholders. When we look at this case, there are a lot of stakeholders for Disney that are involved in this. Let’s begin by looking at some of the market stakeholders. These market stakeholders include Disney’s employees, who would benefit from cheaper housing in an area close to their place of employment. Often the employees don’t make very much money and are having to commute longer distances. This affordable housing would’ve greatly helped them. Customers are also another market stakeholder for Disney. The idea is for the customers to feel â€Å"they’re in another world†. Disney is keeping them in mind and trying to make more attractions in the area that make them more appealed to the area. Of the nonmarket stakeholders the most relevant in this case was the community itself and the City Council. In order for that community to thrive in the way it does, it’s important to keep businesses thriving as well. The City Council is involved because it had to be voted on because it was in a resort district. Although I can see both sides have great points, I feel very strongly that the workers for Disney should be able to find affordable living quarters in the near vicinity. I hope that Disney realizes that they should value their employees because the tourist couldn’t be accommodated without them. I think that SunCal should be able to build the affordable housing area in a near vicinity, just not on the resort itself. I also think that Disney should go out of it’s way to help SunCal because this housing will benefit their employees. A Brawl in Mickeys Backyard Essay Q1 The issue in the case of â€Å"A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard† is that the employees at Disney feel that they are not treated well by the famous theme park owners going so far as to say that â€Å"they want to make money [referring to Disney], but they don’t care about the employees†. The uproar and the sentiment was expressed more vigorously in the opening scene of the case, when dozens of protestors gathered in August of 2007 to stage a kit to express their open displeasure at Disney’s lack of support for their employees. The protest was instigated when a local developer called SunCal arranged to buy 26 acre site in the resort district across the street from the theme park. SunCal plans were to build 1,500 condominiums with 15% of the units set aside for below the market rate rental apartments. Since housing in Anaheim, California [the home to the Disney theme park] was expensive, many of Disney’s 20,000 employees couldn’t afford to live there. The average price of a house in the vicinity was more than $600,000 and a rental of a one bedroom apartment was $1400 a month. Keeping in mind custodians at the park earned an average of $1916 a month so that would leave them with only about $500 of their salary barely enough to sustain them for the rest of the month! Also, keep in mind that restaurant attendants earn around $1166 a month, so a rental is out of the question, which brings us to the fact that only about 18% of the resort employees are able to afford living in the area. The 16400 employees are left to commute long distances by car or bus to get to work. Furthermore, when SunCal wanted to proceed with its plans it had to get permission from the City Council, because its plans for the development were in the resort area. It wasn’t clear if SunCal was going to succeed so it roused a lot of advocates from the employees at Disney as well as affordable housing advocates as well as by other individuals and groups who supported the prospect of reducing long commutes, thus reducing air pollution. However, Disney was in the way. It greatly opposed the plan for several reasons. One of which was that the resort district across the street was just that: a resort district. In the early 1900’s , the city of Anaheim designated 2 square miles across the street from the theme park as a special resort district. The resort area, which was 5% of the city’s area only, produced more than half of its tax revenue by 2007. Therefore the area and any development new or old within it were restricted to serve only tourist needs. This meant tourism related development such as hotels and restaurants, Disney argued, and not affordable housing. Disney argued that it wasn’t against the issue of providing the employees with affordable housing, but it is against it being in the area that is allocated for tourism. Having SunCal go ahead with its plan will affect the area and its theme park subsequently because it will take land away from being allocated to tourists needs [will be explained more fully in Q3]. â€Å"It’s not an either/or† Disney argued â€Å"Anaheim has to address the issue of affordable housing but it also had to protect the resort area! † The two sides quickly formed their own advocates. SunCal advocates formed the Coalition to Defend and Protect Anaheim declaring that â€Å"these new homes would enable many families to live near their places of work and thereby reduce commuter congestion on freeways†. Disney’s advocates on the other hand formed Save our Anaheim Resort District to protect the resort area from non-tourism projects. The City Council was split on the issue, to say the least. The five person council has to decide if it will give permissions for SunCal to proceed to build its development plan in a site located strictly for tourism projects, only because this will solve the affordable housing dilemma, or stick with Disney’s claim that the site was made from the start for tourism projects and disregarding the fact now will only hurt the area and the businesses in it as well the theme park of course. Q2 The relevant market stakeholders are Disney’s stockholders, creditors, suppliers, customers, employees and distributors as well as other resort based owners located within the resort district. The nonmarket stakeholders are the community, government, media, and non-governmental organizations. Q3 The stockholders of Disney will be affected adversely by SunCal plans because it might slow down the flow of tourists to the area and thus affect the theme park’s profits and the stockholders profits, dividends subsequently. They are opposed to SunCal’s proposal solely because the area should be targeted to bring about as much tourists to the area and thus enlarge the theme park’s tourist segment and bring out more potential profit and capital appreciation for the stockholders. The same can be said about the resort based business owners, because they may depend on Disney which is the main attraction for the continuation of their businesses. Fewer developments for tourists, less tourists, lesser incentives for them to come to the area and as such will affect Disney adversely which in return will affect the businesses that depend on it for tourist attractions. Moreover, this will in turn affect the creditors, suppliers, and distributers of Disney. The amount of credit needed to run the theme park will be reduced heavily since there will be fewer tourists to attend to. Fewer supplies will be needed if tourism will lessen in the area and as such there will not be as many supplies being distributed. Therefore, the creditors, suppliers, and distributors are all against SunCal’s proposal because it might affect the success of their business if Disney’s attraction is compromised. This can even affect the employees [at Disney and at the various businesses in the resort area] because they will be impacted in various ways including reduced hours or layoffs and reduced salaries, if tourism in the vicinity decreases. The community, government, media and non- governmental organizations can be all entities that are split on the issue. The community for example, is split between providing a solution for the affordable housing issue [therefore in favor of the proposal], or preserving the area that brings prosperity to a lot of businesses [against the proposal]. The same can be said about the government, to be specific, the chamber of commerce is against SunCal’s proposal because it might lesson the profits that the city reaps [the resort area produces more than half of its tax revenue] and the other side of the government wishes to appease its community and wants Disney to take responsibility for its employees. The non-governmental organizations such as the activists we’ve seen in the first scene of the case and the unions that represent Disney’s affected employees from the long communes’ are in favor of SunCal’s plan. However there might be other unions and activists against the plans, even though they are not mentioned specifically in the case text. Q4 The relevant market stakeholders are Disney’s stockholders, creditors, suppliers, customers, employees and distributors as well as other resort based owners located within the resort district. They all have legal power, in which they can bring suit against a company for damages, based on harm caused by the firm. The stockholders in Disney have Voting Power, of which they can exercise their voting rights based on share ownership. They also have the power to inspect the company’s books and records. The creditors, suppliers and distributors, customers and employees have Economic Power. The creditors may call in loans if payments are not made. Suppliers and distributors may supply or distribute to competitors, or even refuse to meet orders if conditions in the contract are breached. Customers can imitate the suppliers and distributors in which they can switch loyalties and purchase their goods from competitors, or even go to extremes such as boycotting the goods and products if deemed unsatisfactory. The employees can from unions to bargain for their wants, they can even refuse to work or take action and perform strikes. They may even go public and influence the media to adopt their issues.

Mamma Mia Paper

The film Mamma Mia! (Lloyd, 2008) is based on the extremely popular and successful Broadway musical which opened in 1999 in London. Since then, this Broadway production has become a global phenomenon which has entertained countless audiences, and still holds on strong as one of the most enjoyed and accepted musicals of this generation (Shenton, 2009). And so it is assumed that the motion picture adaptation of Mamma Mia! would be just as popular; and it was, expanding into one of the highest-grossing films of 2008 as well as receiving two Golden Globe nominations along with many other awards (Mamma Mia! 1990-2009). The film portrays a young woman named Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried, on the eve of her wedding, who is convinced that in order to feel complete she must find her father. After reading her mother’s diary and revealing that she has three potential fathers, she proceeds to secretly invite all three of them to her wedding. Many of the themes and elements that encompa ss the film are typical of a classical Hollywood musical such as the presence of utopia and spontaneity, the emotional connection between the characters and their audience, and the constant premise of nostalgia.However, Director, Phyllida Lloyd, uses these themes and elements, as well as new techniques in soundtrack development, to make Mamma Mia! unique. She successfully manipulates the conventions of the classical musical and pieces together an updated version that speaks directly to its contemporary audience. Musicals were originally introduced in contemporary cinema by Hollywood in an attempt to create an escape for people during periods of economic and social instability. People who lived during eras such as the Great Depression, and other times of recession, had suppressed feelings of exhaustion, dreariness, and hopelessness.Musicals, with their utopian sensibility, served as a retreat from the real world and brought feelings of happiness, life, and energy to these people, eve n if it was only for a short time. The way in which musicals achieve this is by posing this idea that the characters in the film are ‘real’ people, and their problems and resolutions to those problems are also ‘real’. When the audience ‘suspends their belief’, they forget that what they are watching is an actual construction and get swept up in the euphoric experience that encompasses the film (McMillin, 2006, p. 55).This utopian feel is a key aspect concerning the construction of a musical, since its main focus is to distract its audience from any hardships that may be occuring in their lives. The idea of a utopia refers to the â€Å"imagined or wished for versions of the human condition which are envisaged as actually happening in the world. † (Parker, 2002, p. 11). So if the audience can actually envision and believe that the events taking place in Mamma Mia! can actually happen, it keeps that hope alive within the individual watching the film that this happiness could also come to them. Mamma Mia! llustrates this utopia through the beauty of the film’s setting, the spontaneity of its musical numbers, and its happy ending which wraps up nicely with all characters finding their place in the world and true happiness. Mamma Mia! is set on a remote Greek island called Kalchuri and is filled with vivid shots of the luxurious beaches and a vast mountain side. Total relaxation and happiness is the type of environment that this island paradise presents to its viewers. To further the island’s appeal, Sophie mentions in the film that it was â€Å"once the site of Aphrodite’s fountain, the goddess of love.If you drank the water you were supposed to find true love and perfect happiness. † This mythical fountain ads a mysterious element to the island making it even more appealing to the audience, and also serves as a metaphor foreshadowing the status of absolute utopia that is finally restored tow ards the conclusion of the film. The audience can easily envision themselves in this type of setting, removing them from their harsh reality into this blissful place where almost anything can happen.Therefore, the events which take place in the film seem more believable along with the immense focus on spontaneity, which also adds to the euphoric atmosphere which encompasses the film. The theme of spontaneity is common in most musicals and is prominent in Mamma Mia! taking form throughout the film in random events such as an arbitrary burst of laughter by a group of Greek people for no reason in particular, or a piano placed in the most awkward position on a dock with a man playing the exact cords in time with the song during the â€Å"Dancing Queen† scene.Spontaneity is also exposed in most of the musical numbers where the characters have a tendency to just break into song at any given moment, even when the audience is least expecting it. â€Å"The musical, technically the m ost complex type of film produced in Hollywood, paradoxically has always been the genre which attempts to give the greatest illusion of spontaneity and effortless. † (Cohan, 2002, pp. 34-35). The character Harry Bright, played by Colin Firth, even goes as far as to articulate the word several times throughout the film referring to his own spontaneity, or lack thereof.By the end of the film, Harry’s character breaks through his shell of insecurity and reveals to everyone that he has found true love in the heart of another man. This detail comes as a shock and surprise to everyone, including the audience, furthering the development of his character and his spontaneity. Harry is not the only character in the film that finds true love and happiness at the conclusion of the film. Donna, played by Meryl Streep, and long time love interest Sam, played by Pierce Brosnan, are finally reunited.Her daughter Sophie and fiance Sky, played by Dominic Cooper, decide not to get married , and to leave the island and see the world, which is what they both originally wanted. Another unlikely pair is Bill and Rosie, played by Stellan Skarsgard and Julie Walters, who also find each other and are expected to also live happily ever after. To top it all off Aphrodite’s fountain, mentioned above, is finally discovered bursting through a crack in the courtyard and raining down on everyone symbolizing that ultimate utopia has finally been restored on the island.The way in which the film is wrapped up, is representative of its utopian nature. Many issues presented at the start of the film are no longer important such as the impending question which the whole plot is based on, who is Sophie’s father? The audience does not worry about this minor detail because utopia is reinstated and this happiness allows the audience to overlook the some loose ends that may be present at the end of the film. The feeling of utopia is closely tied in with the emotional connection that the audience feels with the characters and their happiness or sorrow.The emotions of the characters in the film also become the emotions of the audience, thus the appeal of the musical. Musicals most often will use the emotional vulnerability of the audience to ‘extend the fourth wall’ and establish a high level of emotional investment from the audience. One way in which the film attracts its audience is through the development of the soundtrack. Mamma Mia’s soundtrack unique from other musicals in that it is completely comprised of songs by an enormously popular musical group from the 70s and 80s named ABBA.Since these songs are so classic, most of the audience, which mainly consists of younger to middle-aged women, already know the words to most of the songs and become involved with the film by singing along with the characters. This also allows for the audience to become particularly attached to the characters, possibly even putting themselves in the char acter’s shoes. The strongest level of this audience to character relation is most evident during the various musical numbers taking place in the film. Musical numbers are woven into the narrative structure, motivated by character psychology and/or plot development and expressive of the emotions, opinions, or state of mind of the singer. † (Langford, 2005, p. 85). This is evident in the â€Å"Mamma Mia† number, performed by Meryl Streep. The character Donna has just discovered three men from her past in the attic of her old goat house. She has convinced herself that that part of her life was over; however, seeing them again after so many years has made her realize that it still greatly affects her and she cannot resist the urge to see more.The lyrics of the song, â€Å"Mamma mia, here I go again, my my, how can I resist you. Mamma mia, does it show again, my my, just how much I miss you. † show just how torn Donna is. As she sings these lyrics she is stumbl ing around, shocked and confused as to exactly why these three men are here. One can hear the bewilderment and frustration in her voice, and also see it in her actions. There is a constant struggle between what her head is telling her and what her heart wants her to do. The entire musical number is playing off her emotions and her state of mind, causing the audience to feel those same feelings.The mise-en-scene during this scene is interesting; she is alone for most of the scene, but is joined near the end by a group of islanders. This group of people help her in deciding whether or not to confront the three men. The group become just as curious as Donna in finding out why these strangers are on the island. The sight of the men takes Donna back to her past throughout the musical number as all those deep feelings of longing which she has suppressed for so long. The sight of these men makes Donna incredibly nostalgic, which introduces another main theme from the film.Nostalgia is a pr ominent theme in the film, the feeling of longing for the past is brought up several times. The plot itself deals with the idea of bringing Donna face-to-face with her past and the characters themselves are constantly referencing ‘the good old days’. Many musical numbers in the film such as â€Å"Our Last Summer† and â€Å"Slipping Through My Fingers† deal with this issue. One number in particular that references this idea directly is the â€Å"Dancing Queen† scene. At the commencement of this scene Donna’s best friend Tanya, played by Christine Baranski, says, â€Å"Whatever happened to our Donna?Life and soul of the party, el rock chick supremo? † Donna then replies with, â€Å"I grew up† and Tanya says, â€Å"Well grow back down again! † Tanya is reminiscing about the past when Donna was a free soul and encourages her to find that inner youthfulness that they are longing to see in her their old friend. The words of the song openly reference the theme of nostalgia; â€Å"And when you get the chance, you are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen. † These words transport Donna into the past, back to that carefree girl that her friends were encouraging her to find.This scene also conveys the theme of longing to the rest of the women on the island who are also coping with this same dilemma. Young and old women come together to channel their inner nostalgia and bring back the youthfulness that is trapped inside each one of them. The responsibility and obligation associated with growing old is like a burden over the women keeping them from unleashing their suppressed feelings. This is illustrated in the scene by an older woman who is carrying a bundle of wood on her back.As Donna and the other women pass her singing and dancing, she proceeds to lift the bundle off her back and throw it aside, while singing â€Å"Oh Yeah! † in time with the song and joining the rest of the wome n. The bundle of wood is a metaphor for the burden which is inflicted on all women as they grow older. The message that this scene is attempting to portray is that just because you grow older, it doesn’t mean you should let go of your past and youthfulness. Throughout Mamma Mia! the main aspects of a musical are truly seen and even challenged.Audiences appreciate musicals because the help them escape the, at times, bleak realities of the lives and represent a utopia that they feel is attainable through the extreme emotions expressed by the characters and the storyline. Nostalgia plays a great part in this film in particular because the characters are constantly evaluating their behaviours and questioning the decisions they have made in the past. Mamma Mia! follows the classic structure of a musical but combines an intriguing plot and an extremely popular musical soundtrack creating an appealing film for all audiences to enjoy.Bibliography Cohan, S. (2002). Hollywood musicals, the film reader. New York: Routledge. Langford, B. (2005). Film genre: Hollywood and Beyond. Edinburgh University Press. Lloyd, P. (Director). (2008). Mamma Mia! [Motion Picture]. Mamma Mia! (1990-2009). Retrieved March 11, 2009, from The Internet Movie Database: http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0795421/ McMillin, S. (2006). The Musical As Drama. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Parker, M. (2002). Utopia and Organization. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Shenton, M. (2009). Mamma Mia! Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www. mamma-mia. com/showhistory. asp