Saturday, November 30, 2019

Technology and Television Essay Example For Students

Technology and Television Essay Technology has created many good things for humanity such as cures for illnesses,ways to make transportation faster and many other things. Yet technology has also doneharm to human culture, and it is easily spread to many people all over the world. Thisdark side is communication, either by television or radio, violence is spread everyday. Themost affected are children because they are young, easily persuaded and their innocencecan not distinguish right and wrong. Children tend to see violence as a funny factor andpractice it not only at home but also in other places like school, playgrounds and stores. Children are more likely to be affected by cartoon violence. This is because in acartoon a character can easily be destroyed and revived five minutes later with no seriousinjury. Not only do children think this is funny, but think it is true because no one tellsthem that it is make believe. Reports say that this might cause children to commit seriouscrimes because their is little or no consequence. (Official AAP website pg. 1) Violence iswhat sells these days from every day cartoons like Power Rangers to Pokemon, each showcontains someone being seriously injured and in seconds being cured. Networks shouldexplain to children that the acts of violence are made up: in a fun and simple way that theyTelevision violence leads to many problems. CYFC stated in an article that Justas children learn from their family they also learn from their super heroes. (Official CYFCWebpage pg. 1) children tend to become either fighters or victims and may encourage orprovoke fights among friends. Many sch ools began to ban Pokemon trading cards notonly because children did not pay attention in class, but because they would fight eachother for the cards. This type of violence is encouraged by commercials because if a childdoes not have the product they are not cool or part of the group. Also the more a childsees violent acts of crime the more they become immune to it. For example a child willlose all emotions and will have no sympathy to the victims of crime. They might also thinkthat it is funny and laugh at people just as they would if they were watchingViolence is not only in cartoons it is also in movies like Austin Powers the SpyWho Shagged Me. The name itself has a hidden meaning, the word shagged is notappropriate. Their one bit in the movie that shows a woman being shot, blown up with abazooka, and thrown out a window. When the bit is over Austin asks her why dont youwant to die? Another bit shows a rocket in the shape of the male genitalia and is thendescribed in many forms. A child may see their parents laugh and repeat these words in aplace where they should not be spoken. What if the child finds a gun in their parentsdrawers and decides to shoot their brother or sister? No longer would it be funny and thechild may become traumatized. Parents, not only the networks, should take the time toexplain to their children that it is only make-believe. This can prevent a horrible accidentfrom ever occurring, because now a child knows better. We will write a custom essay on Technology and Television specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Violence is not only on television it is also on the radio and the music people liketo hear. Many songs portray women as low creatures that are beaten by their pimps orhow drugs, alcohol and guns are cool and solve every problem. their are times when aperson turns on the radio and does not notice what the lyrics mean. While the music is ona child can be listening and slowly will begin to decipher what the singer is implying. Asthe Child begins to make sense of what the singer means they might end up practicingwhat their role models sing. They might use drugs or commit acts of violence because thesingers do it in their songs. Before a parent even realizes what has happened their childmight have become a menace to society. .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .postImageUrl , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:hover , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:visited , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:active { border:0!important; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:active , .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue24ae93b23222d8c049d1bdb87ad058e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Grand Slam Record! EssayAnother reason that evil and violence is spread so easily through television andradio is because all the violence is justified. This means that all the fighting is done in thename of justice and good in other words good vs. evil.(Official EdmontonjournalWebpage) In the eyes of children beating up other people is all right as long as the otherchild did something wrong. Though it is wrong a child feels glory and happiness becausethey are doing what their violent super heroes would do. technology has helped the world but has it done harm to the innocent minds of thechildren. Many groups and studies like CYFC, say yes, and have used technology tocreate object such as the V-chip to regulate the amount of violence a child sees ontelevision. Even though an adult can distinguish the difference between real violence andfake violence a child can not and their innocence should not be taken for granted. Notonly are they blackening the minds of the children they might help create violent membersof society if not corrected. This does not mean that a child should go without televisionradio but that a parent should be more cautious and regulate what their children watch. The Changing Face of T.V. Violence. Journal Extra. 14 Jan. 1998. http://www.edmontonjournal.comMedia Violence and Media Literacy. American Academyof Pediatrics. 23 Nov 1999. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/child healthmonth/media.htmT.V. Violence and what can Parents Do. CYFC. 23 Nov 1999. http://www.cyfc.vmn.edu/DocumentsBibliography:The Changing Face of T.V. Violence. Journal Extra. 14 Jan. 1998. http://www.edmontonjournal.com/archives/011498tv.htmlMedia Violence and Media Literacy. American Academyof Pediatrics. 23 Nov 1999. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/child healthmonth/media.htmT.V. Violence and what can Parents Do. CYFC. 23 Nov 1999. http://www.cyfc.vmn.edu/Documents/C/C/CC1016.html/

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Enlightenment essays

The Enlightenment essays The eighteenth centurys most exciting intellectual movement is called the Enlightenment. Its powerful dedication to reason and rational thought that until quite recently the era was sometimes characterized as the Age of Reason. The turn toward what became known by 1750 as the Enlightenment began in the late seventeenth century. Three factors were critically important in this new intellectual ferment. One, was a revulsion against monarchical and clerical absolutism and new freedom of publishing. Also, was the rise of a new public and secular culture. And not least, the impact of Scientific Revolution, particularly the excitement generated by Newtons Principia (1687). Newtons work seemed to prove that order and mathematically demonstrable laws were at work in the physical universe. Perhaps a similar order and rationality could be imposed on the social and political institutions. This ideal fired the imagination of the leaders of the Enlightenment, who gradually became known as philosophes, simply French for philosophers. But regardless of national origin, the name took hold for thinkers as diverse as the French writer Voltaire, the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin, and the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). The French philosophes were the most outspoken and most radical of the century, and to this day when thinking of the Enlightenment, France is the first to come to mind. Late in the eighteenth century, Kant gave the most succinct definition of the Enlightenment: bringing light into the dark corners of mind, dispelling ignorance, prejudice, and superstition. Kant went to the heart of one aspect of the Enlightenment: its insistence that each individual should reason independently, without recourse to the authority of schools, churches, or clergymen. Kant hoped that the call for self-education and critical thought would mea ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them

The Hardest ACT Science Questions and Strategies to Solve Them SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In every section on the ACT, there are some questions that are more difficult than the others.Science is no different.However, unlike the math section, where the questions progress from easy to hard in a linear fashion, each of the 7 passages tends to have 1-2 hard questions that can appear at any point in the passage (though they tend to be the last questions of the passage). These problems may seem challenging at first glance, but they're really just slightly more challenging than the others if you use the right ACT Science strategies and tips that we'll be covering in this guide. Here's what distinguishes easy from hard questions. Most of the easier problems on the ACT Science section are data grab problems, where you simply find the one data point or the single line in the paragraph, and you have your answer. Occasionally, you have to interpret that data, but not in a complicated way. In contrast, themostchallenging ACT Science questions ask you to use multiple data points to come to an answer. They'll take you longer to answer and are harder to get right. Here are the question types I'll cover: Sneaky data grab questions Using multiple visuals to answer the question Using multiple data points within a single visual to answer the question Questions that require outside knowledge Hopefully by the end of this article, you'll feel able to conquer any hard question! Difficult Type #1: Sneaky Data Grab Questions Some sneaky data grab questions will require you to look in strange places for the answer to your question, such as the introduction! ACT makers assume that with such a short time frame (35 minutes to answer 40 questions) students will skip the introduction. If you have time management issues on ACT Science, my recommended strategy is to answer the questions without reading the passage, using the visuals alone, skipping the questionsyou can’t answer with visuals and saving them for the end of the passage.Read more about thestrategy by learning about the 3 types of ACT Science passages. However, when you do go back and skim, includethe introduction in your skimming.The introduction typically holds nuggets of gold. Check out this sneaky data grab ACT science practice question: There was nothing in the visuals to help you answer the question.You had to read this short introduction to find the answer: All four substances are carried down by precipitation, and the process is known as wet deposition.The question is still phrased in a slightly confusing way.In the introduction, it tells you what happens if there is precipitation; it fails to mention what happens when there is no precipitation. It's safe to assume since it wasn’t mentioned that what normally happens during precipitation will NOT happen without precipitation.So, there will be no wet deposition of the 4 substances since all 4 are normally carried down by precipitation. NOTE: Do not get tricked by the flip in relationship. The ACT Science section often asks these questions to trick you. Don’t rule out any part of the passage!Sometimes the answer will be where you least expect it. Difficult Type #2: Synthesize 2 or More Different Graphs While most questions on the ACT Science section only require you to use one data point within one visual, some of the more difficult questions require you to find more information.Like this question below: Start by analyzing the question. What is it asking you to find? When you look at a question, and it asks you about 2 different values, you should realize that this means you will need to grab and compare at least two different pieces of data.In this case, the question asks you about the pressure exerted by O2 at 6 L and at 3 L at 22 degrees Celsius, two different values, so you should be looking for at least those two pieces of data. The question specifically asks you to compare the pressure in 6 L vessel to the pressure in the 3 L vessel at "a given mass of O2." That phrase, "a given mass of O2," is code for at ANY mass of O2added. In order to find this data, you will need to use Figure 1 and 2 (as the question told you). Your next step should be to figure out the difference between Figure 1 and 2 (see what I did there?). Figure 1 represents the results from the 3 L vessel, and Figure 2 represents the results from the 6 L vessel.Knowing this,we now need to compare the pressure across all masses of O2added in the 3 L and 6 L vessels, since as I said above that is what the question is really asking. To do an appropriate comparison, I recommend grabbing 2-3 data points, preferably widespread. Zero is always a safe place to start. In this case, in both the 3 L and 6 L vessel the pressure at 0 g of O2added is 0 torr, which makes logical sense since no O2added means nothing to exert the pressure. Note: it is not important to understand the units. Next data point: let's look at 2 g of O2added. In the 3 L vessel, the pressure is 400 torr, while in the 6 L vessel the pressure is 200 torr. I recommended spreading out the data points, so for our last point, we will look at the maximum mass of O2added, 10 g. In the 3 L vessel, the pressure is 1800 torr, and in the 6 L vessel, the pressure is 900 torr.Below I have synthesized all of the data into a table, this way we can clearly see the comparison of the pressure in the 6 L vessel to the pressure in the 3 L vessel: So for any given amount of O2added (outside of 0), the pressure in the 6 L vessel is half the amount of pressure in the 3 L vessel.So, the answer is A. Do you get the gist here? As a recap, our strategy for solving this practice question was: we understood what the question was asking for (comparing pressure in 6L vs. 3L containers) we found the two graphs representing the 6L and 3L containers we found the O2 line for each graph we picked the same mass of gas added for both graphs and compared the O2 pressures to find that the ratio between the 6L and 3L container was 1:2 Let’s attack one more of these, taking it step-by-step: Let's first figure out what the question is asking of us. The phrasing of this question is slightly more confusing than the last one. It mentions Figure 1 and 2, so we know that we will need to look at both. However, this question doesn't ask for a specific number to look at on the graph, like 10 meters or 550 wavelengths. When this happens, it's harder to pick out the data. When no numbers are mentioned, look for words indicating value such as highest, lowest, biggest, smallest. These words imply numbers and comparisons and give you a hint on how to read the graph. Reading the question closely, we see the question is asking us to find the wavelength with the highest rate of photosynthesis and then see what its relative absorption of chlorophyll a and b are. Let's take this step-by-step. Start by figuring out the difference between Figure 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows the relative absorptions of chlorophyll a and b by wavelength. Figure 2 shows the rate of photosynthesis for a variety of wavelengths. Since, the question first mentions the wavelength with the highest rate of photosynthesis, we will start by using Figure 2 below: You need to find the graph’s maximum.The maximum is where the rate of photosynthesis is highest.The highest peak in rate of photosynthesis is at about 108% at a wavelength of 440 nm. Now, we have completed the first step.The next step is finding the relative absorption of chlorophyll a and b of a wavelength of 440 nm.Looking at Figure 1, it is a little tricky because the intervals of wavelength measure are different.Figure 2 begins at 400 measuring in 20 nm intervals until 720, whereas Figure 1 measures in 25 nm intervals from 400 to 750. Finding 440 nm on Figure 1, in between the second tick mark and 450 mark, we see the dotted line is at it’s maximum and the solid line is low but not at the minimum.Reading the key, we see the dotted line represents the relative absorption of chlorophyll a. The solid line represents the relative absorption of chlorophyll B.So, the relative absorption of chlorophyll A is at a maximum, and the relative absorption of chlorophyll B is low but not at a minimum. Thus, the answer is C. When you are looking at multiple visuals to answer a question, take the problem step-by-step: Start by finding what the question is asking you. Next, figure out the difference between the figures. Find one data point, then move to the next. Take your time and use process of elimination to help you. Difficult Type #3:Analyze Multiple Data Points Within a Single Visual This is one of the trickiest question types on the ACT Science section. And here is one of the hardest tough questions I’ve seen.Not only is the graph crazy, the question requires you to analyze four data points within the graph. Here is the question: Let's break it down. The question is asking you which of the answer choices has the highest intensity at a given frequency. As we discussed above, whenever a question states "at a given X," it means across all values of X.In other words,this question is asking you to pick the answer choice with the highest intensityacross all frequencies. There is a lot of information in the graph below, but the answer choices only require us to consider four conditions:in air or in water, and at S of 100% or at 10^-8%. Looking at the graph below, you may have no idea where to begin: Start by finding the locations of S 100% and S 10^-8% (it is completely fine that you don’t understand what these mean).I don’t even think the passage helped you understand what these mean.I don’t know what they mean, but I can still answer the question correctly. You see S 10^-8% is represented by the two vertical lines at the far left of the graph.S 100% is represented by the two vertical lines at the far right of the graph. Now, you need to locate intensity, since the question asked specifically which has the highest intensity.Intensity is measured on the x-axis.Both lines for S 10^-8 % have a measured intensity between -20 and 0 db (again, understanding the units is not important). Both lines for S 100% have a measured intensity between 180 and 220 db. The S 100% are at a higher intensity, so we can eliminate both S 10^-8% answer choices, G and J. Now, to decide between F and H, we need to figure out whether the intensity was greater in water or air.To do this, we need to distinguish which S 100% line represents water and which one represents air. According to the key, the small dotted line represents water, and the thicker line represents air.The small dotted line is just to the right of the thicker line, so it is at a higher intensity than the thicker line.S 100% in water has an intensity of approximately 205 db and S 100% in air has an intensity of approximately 195 db, so the answer is F. Look how far we've come since the beginning of this section? This graph looked indecipherable, but step by step we were able to break it down. This question is very do-able, you just need to be diligent in your graph reading (if you need more help with this skill check out our article on Factual Questions).Take the problem step-by-step, use process of elimination and check every part of the graph for information (every axis and key). Difficult Type #4:Questions That Require Outside Knowledge There are around 4 questions per test that you will not be able to answer correctly without outside knowledge.Check out our other article for an overview of the topics the ACT expects you to know.Without memorizing these topics, it will be nearly impossible to score between 33 and 36. Recap Hard questions are not that hard.They require the same skills as the easy questions, but you need to do more steps.These questions take longer because they're more complex. ACT Science Tips toremember for these hardest questions: Don’t rule out any part of the passage! Sometimes the answer will be where you least expect it such as in the introduction. Do not get tricked by the flip in relationship. The ACT Science section often asks these types of questions to trick you. When you are looking at multiple visuals to answer a question, take the problem step-by-step. Figure out what the question is asking you. Figure out which figures you need to use. Find one data point, then move to the next. Take your time and use process of elimination to help you. When pulling multiple data points from one visual, also take the problem step-by-step. Start by analyzing the question. Figure out which figures you need to use and the difference between them (one last time!). Use process of elimination. Look at every piece of the graph. Make sure to read keys and scan every axis. Study the topics that the ACT Science section expects you to know. What’s Next? I hope you feel ready to tackle any hard question the ACT Science section throws at you!As your next steps in studying for the ACT Science section,learnthe 3 types of ACT Science passages,the only actual science you need to know for ACT Science, andthe best way to study and practice for ACT Science. Like this article? Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Sciencelesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Thursday, November 21, 2019

International Trade Operations in Egypt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Trade Operations in Egypt - Essay Example The paper tells that Egypt happens to be the most populated Arab nation. It also happens to be the second most populated African Nation. Most of the population of Egypt is concentrated in the big cities like Alexandria and Cairo and in and around the Delta of the Nile Valley. The population in the rural areas in Egypt is on the decline because a large number of Egyptian populations are migrating to the urban hubs to assess a better life style and to benefit from the economic development taking place in these urban hubs. Egypt could be classified to be a well educated nation with its literacy rate being 71.4 percent. In Egypt education is free right up to the university level and it is compulsory from age 6 through 15. The long standing Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak had to resign following large scale political protests in the nation, predominantly led by the young people. In the year 2004, the Egyptian government initiated large scale economic reforms aimed at privatizing the los s making public sector units and rationalizing the tariffs and taxes. Egypt experienced a commendable economic growth, resting at 7 percent till the year 2008. However, with the onset of the global economic crisis, the economic growth went below the earlier 7 percent mark. Considering the recent, widespread political protests in Egypt, the rate of economic growth could be expected to remain low for the time. However, it could reasonably be assumed that Egypt is gradually moving towards a democratic, parliamentary form of government. With the initiation of the political reforms, the Egyptian economy could favorably be expected to align further with the Global economic trends and Practices. Slide II Egypt is not only the home to a fast growing population, but, the positive thing is that a majority of the Egyptian population comprises of young people and the aged constitute a miniscule of the Egyptian population. It is a fact corroborated by commonsense that young people are usually mo re open to new ideas, ways of doing things, products and services. Besides, young people are usually more informed about the global trends be they political, economic or culinary. Also considering the large size of the population that mainly comprises of young people, Egypt will have to import more food products to feed it. Going by the fact that most of the Egyptian farming and diary is concentrated in the Nile Valley, which comprises of a meager arable land, not capable of producing enough food to feed the large Egyptian population, it could well be expected that in the times to come, Egypt will have to rely on the outside sources to feed its fast growing population. Also, going by the concentration of young people in the Egyptian population, in the times to come it could safely be assumed that this relatively young population will exhibit a marked preference for foreign foods and culinary delights. In that context, it is a propitious time for the Content Cow Diary to export its p roducts to Egypt. If it forays into the Egyptian markets right now, it could pragmatically expect to consolidate its position in the Egyptian markets, in the times to come. Slide III International trade to a large extent is determined by the free interplay of demand and supply and the economies of scale that varied nations command in the context of specific products. If one looks at the GDP of Egypt, one could easily see that the agriculture sector contributes a meager 14.4 percent to the national GDP (CIA The World FactBook, 2012). In contrast, the other pillars of the Egyptian economy that are industry and services sector contribute 39.5 percent and 45.8 percent respectively to the national GDP (CIA The World FactBook, 2012). Thus, it will be quiet realistic to assume that the agriculture sector in Egypt is not well developed and modernized and could not be expected to churn out enough to be able to feed

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Phobias Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Phobias - Research Paper Example Types of Phobias There is no way of knowing or even being able to count how many phobias exist in the world. It is often believed that there is a phobia for everything, including many concepts or situations that others are even unaware of. With this being the case, it is possible that there are millions, if not billions, of phobias in the world. As there are so many, it is also believed that everyone is likely to have at least one phobia, if not two or three. Phobias come in all possible forms, showing that every little thing in this world is someone else’s fear. There are three main types of phobia categories: specific phobias, social phobia, and a fear of open spaces, also known as agoraphobia, all of which will be briefly discussed forthcoming. Despite the endless amount of phobias in the world, some are definitely more common than others. The most common phobia is arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders. This phobia may be more common in females, but there are plenty o f men that also wish to have nothing to do with spiders. The second most common phobia experienced throughout the world is social phobia, the fear of being judged negatively in social situations. Roughly 5.3 million American adults between the ages of eighteen and fifty-four have social phobia (Craske 87). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the age group is correlated with the approximate ages of people that are working or in the middle of careers - situations where social judgment is not only unavoidable, but often required as part of their job. Other common phobias are aerophobia, which is the fear of flying; claustrophobia, the fear of being trapped in small, confining spaces; acrophobia, the fear of heights; agoraphobia, which is the fear that brings about extreme fear and avoidance of any place where it might be hard to escape or seek help, such as in an elevator or a larger space, such as the Grand Canyon; and necrophobia, which is the fear of dying or of dead things. There are also phob ias that are not as common, and some are simply bizarre. Most of these phobias are fears of concepts or situations. Taphephobia is the fear of being buried alive or being anywhere near a cemetery. Anablephobia is the fear of looking up; this is considered strange, as looking up is an action that is done almost unconsciously and can seldom be avoided. Geniophobia is the fear of chins. Possibly the most interesting phobia is phronemophobia, which is the fear of thinking. There are fears for having or seeing certain body parts, certain foods, smells, tastes, or textures. The very paper that this is being written on, or even the ink that typed it, can be the fear of one or more people in this world. This is why phobias are considered to be irrational, since many of these objects, situations, or concepts should not be feared. With a few exceptions, such as a fear of death or even sharks, these phobias are unable to cause harm to a person. As such, by having these phobias, people may risk causing harm to themselves in their attempts to avoid the cause of their phobia. Causes Since each phobia is as different as the person experiencing them, it has become difficult to pinpoint how phobias are caused. Unlike other

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Troubles in the Proctor Household Essay Example for Free

Troubles in the Proctor Household Essay Run High in Proctor Household In the beginning of Act II of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the story presents an interaction between John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth. The interaction between the couple emphasizes that their relationship is anything but normal than that of a married couple. The main cause of their awkward relationship stems from Johns wandering lust. John Proctor has conflicting emotions towards Elizabeth because both of them are trying to avoid the huge fact that he committed adultery. The conflicting emotions are present when John Proctor tries to avoid confrontations with his wife, the small talk between them where John constantly tries to please Elizabeth, and the lack of mutual agreement between them. Throughout the scene, John Proctor tried very hard in order to avoid altercations with his wife. In a patriarchal society of the 1600’s, it would be very common for a woman to be subservient towards her husband. In the Proctor household, it is no different since Elizabeth quietly questions her husband’s authority because she â€Å"fear(s) to anger him† although she has all the leverage she needs in an argument by simply stating the fact that he cheated on her (Miller 53). However, John displays the complete opposite behavior of what is expected of a male in a patriarchal society. Firstly, when John comes home and tastes the soup his wife prepared, he is â€Å"not quite pleased† with it for it was not seasoned well (Miller 49). After adding more salt himself, John notices that Elizabeth is intently watching him taste the soup. Instead of being a typical husband back in the 1600s by criticizing such a small mistake about how his food is seasoned, he compliments on how good-tasting the soup is while knowing that it was the product of his handy-work. By holding his tongue, he avoids a confrontation between him and his wife over a very small issue of not putting enough salt in the soup. Additionally, John seems not to be the typical male in his society when he, â€Å"as gently as he can† asks for some cider (Miller 51). It is clear that this is not what his normal behavior would be because, as Elizabeth is fetching him his cider, she feels â€Å"a sense of reprimand†¦for having forgot† (Miller 51). Because Elizabeth felt as if she did something to wrong her husband, she expects that John will make a huge fuss over the issue. However, John casually brushes off her mistake by just changing the subject to him tending to the fields. His careful behavior towards Elizabeth makes him adopt the tone of a husband that has done something to immensely displease his wife and is trying not to anger her. Clearly, it shows that John has conflicting emotions towards his wife because he wants to act as a typical husband back in the 1600s, but he remembers the heinous crime he committed and tries to avoid confrontation and the possibility of the two of them talking about his mistake. John Proctor’s entire conversation with Elizabeth is mostly saying things to please her in an attempt to make-up for his affair. For example, while eating his meal he makes constant remarks about their farm being extremely big and the reason for coming home so late was because he was busy â€Å"planting far out to the forest edge† (Miller 49). In this obvious attempt to please Elizabeth, John hints at the fact that he has worked very hard on their farm. By hinting at this, he hopes to show Elizabeth that he is working for the greater good of the family and that he is not spending time with Abigail. Furthermore, John wants to make sure that Elizabeth sees all his hard work when he suggests that on â€Å"Sunday†¦ (they’ll) walk the farm to together† (Miller 51). The above passage clearly shows how much John is trying to please Elizabeth because he openly said that they would go explore the farm on Sunday which is supposed to be dedicated to a day of prayer where no one is supposed to do any work and if an individual skips church service, they would get in trouble. Secondly, John tries to please Elizabeth with material wealth when he breaks the awkward silence between them by explicitly saying that â€Å"if the crop is good I’ll buy George Jacob’s heifer. How would that please you? † (Miller 50). By asking Elizabeth her opinion on what she thinks about his decision to buy a heifer shows an atypical relationship between a husband and wife back in the 1600s since the male usually does not ask for their wife’s opinion on their decisions and that John is also trying hard to please his wife. The typical male attitude toward women voicing their opinions on things is also present in John’s demeanor when he explodes at the slight thought that Elizabeth â€Å"has lost all faith in him† due to the fact that he â€Å"faltered slightly† at the thought of hurting Abigail’s reputation (Miller 54). The constant battle in John’s demeanor to act as the man of the house as well as the caring husband act he is struggling to put up in order to make up for his mistake is an example of the conflicting emotions he is experiencing while dealing with his wife.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Cycle of Fashion Essay -- Fashion Style Mode Essays

The Cycle of Fashion Fashion is fuelled by conversion. Designers continually persuade the public that their new ideas, however shocking they may seem, are in fact everything that a stylish wardrobe requires. Next season, the same designers convince everyone to give up their allegiance to such out-modish designs and embrace instead the innovative visual trends of the latest collections. The same garments are successively dubbed 'outlandish', 'in fashion' and 'out-dated' according to the apparent vagaries of prevailing fashionable sensibilities. Are we really duped by such duplicity? Or are we willing participants in the cycle of fashion? And perhaps more significantly, what relevance does the cycle have today in Western society's culture of mass consumerism? The idea that fashion in dress follows a cyclical phase structure is not new. The sociologist, Quentin Bell made such an observation over fifty years ago in his book, On Human Finery. Moreover, his observation was based on accumulated evidence of an uninterrupted cyclical flow in dress change in Western society since at least the thirteenth century. The sociologist, Ingrid Brenninkmeyer describes this flow by comparing it to the rolling of waves in the sea. As one fashion gains popularity, crests and dissipates, another stylistic wave is already forming behind it. Further extensions of this metaphor liken different stylistic features to variations in the waves themselves. For example, just as different wave patterns form on the basis of their force, size or length, so also different overlapping patterns can be traced in changes of fashionable hem length, silhouette, fabric, dà ©colletage and colour. Mere descriptions of the fashion cycle however do little to explain exactly why successful designers? ideas typically rise and fall in popularity. What is the motivating force behind such changes in fashion? What causes the cycle to move from one phase to the next? These questions cannot be answered simply. Perhaps sheer boredom inspires the continual search for something new. Or can novelty be related to ideas of sexual allure and attraction? Do competing market interests in the fashion industry play a role in animating the cycle? Or could changes in dress function as markers of class differentiation? These factors and more have been variously proposed and analysed by researchers into the socio... ...n's clothing? To look at the men's side of underwear is different." One page of the calendar (April) does depict men's undershirts from the 18th and 19th centuries. Even the English language has been influenced by undergarments. Several popular expressions make reference to underwear: "Loose woman" comes from the connotations associated with uncorseted or loosely corseted women, Queen says. A similar case is "shiftless"; a shift was an 18th century support-providing undergarment, and Queen says the term was meant to characterize someone "without support." Many people believe that underwear for women has changed as it has because of feminism and changing social attitudes. To a large degree, that's true, Queen says, but there are other factors as well. In the past, undergarments were often designed for their "body-shaping" features. But these days, thanks to the increase in exercise and athleticism among women, "the body has become its own foundation" and women no longer need to rely on cloth and whalebone for this purpose, she says. "The choice," says Queen, "is do we want to spend three hours a day in the gym to sculpt the body, or do we want to put on a piece of cloth?"

Monday, November 11, 2019

Exterminate the brutes Essay

â€Å"The Heart of Darkness† by Conrad is one of the great novels of English literature. This novel exposes the greed, malice and selfishness of the European men. They exploit the wealth of Africa in the name of civilizing the natives. They take away their ivory and in return gave them hunger, destitution, poverty, degradation and death. The English men of this novel lack morals and conscience. Conrad observed the hypocrisy of his countrymen and exposed it in a marvelous way in this short piece of art. In this novel he brings before us the nature of â€Å"western superiority† in primitive lands. Reading this story repeatedly, we know that the dark English coast before him recalls for Marlow the darkness of modern Africa, which is the natural darkness of the jungle but more than that the darkness of moral vacancy, leading to the atrocities he has beheld in Africa. This moral darkness of Africa, we learn later, is not the darkness of the ignorance of the natives, but of the Whitman who blinded themselves and corrupted the natives by their claim to be light-bearers. Walter Allen believes that, â€Å"The Heart of Darkness of the title is at once the heart of Africa, the heart of evil- everything that is nihilistic corrupt and malign – and perhaps the heart of man† According to Conrad himself, the story of â€Å"heart of darkness† is about the â€Å"criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing working Africa†. In the story Marlow makes much of the inefficiency and selfishness he sees everywhere along his journey in Africa. But it is the criminality of the civilizing work itself that receives the heaviest emphasis in the novel as a whole. J. W. Beach believes that Kurtz is the representative and dramatization of all that Conrad felt of futility and horror in what the Europeans in the Congo called â€Å"progress†, which meant the exploitation of the natives by the white men. Kurtz was to Marlow, penetrating this country, a name, constantly recurring in people’s talk, for cleverness and enterprise. But there were slight intimations, growing stronger as Marlow drew near to the heart of darkness, of traits and practices so abhorrent to all our notions of decency, honor and humanity that the enterprising trader gradually takes on the proportion of a ghastly and almost supernatural monster symbol for Marlow of the general spirit of this European undertaking On his journey up the Congo, Marlow comes across the forsaken railway truck, looking as dead as the carcass of some animal; the brick maker idling for a year with no bricks and no hope of materials for making them; the â€Å"wanton smashup† of drainage pipes abandoned in a ravine; burst, piled up cases of rivets at the outer station and no way of getting them to the damaged steam boat at the Central Station; the vast artificial hole somebody had been digging on the slope- all these and many more are the examples of the criminality of the inefficiency. Wilson Follet believed that in this novel, â€Å"the European is shown drained, diseased, a prey to madness and unutterable horror and death†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This proves that the white men over there, except the company’s accountant, are inefficient and selfish. They themselves do nothing, whereas on the other hand they exploit the natives to the maximum, they extract the maximum workout of them and pay them three nine –inch long brass-wire pieces a week, which are insufficient to buy them anything. As such most of the natives are starving and dying. This novel is a very faithful accord of the cruelties and atrocities perpetrated on the natives of Africa by their European masters. Talking of the roman conquest of England, Conrad says, it was â€Å"just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a grand scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle darkness†. What Romans had done in England, the English did in South Africa. Marlow admits that English conquests, like all others, â€Å"means the taking away it from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves,† though Kurtz went to the African jungle with an idea to civilize the natives; he saw his mission in Africa as that of torchbearer for white civilization. But very soon he starts extracting from the natives human sacrifices to himself as god. Finally, his hatred for the natives plunged to the depth out of which came his prescription of the only method for dealing with primitive people: â€Å"Exterminate the brutes! † The European Whitman in Africa is parasites; they are hollow; they have no personal moral vision of their inhumanity and folly. They are also collapsible, because their society’s institutions are incapable to hold them up. Ivory has become the idol of the foolish run of European pilgrims; and Kurtz is no exception. † all Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz. † Joseph Conrad is a modern artist. He uses impressionistic technique of novel writing in his novel, â€Å" The Heart of Darkness†. The appeal of a novel, Joseph Conrad wrote, â€Å"must be and impression conveyed through senses â€Å". This impression could not be conveyed through the most complete inventory of details; it is an intuitive whole and must be rendered so, instantaneously. † the meaning of an episode is not inside like a kernel but outside enveloping it,† his spokesman Marlow declared. He avoids generalized narrative. He tell us the story in vivid impressions something like Virginia wolf. E. M. Forster in his seminal novel â€Å" A Passage To India’ too discuss some what â€Å"the Heart of Darkness† like situation. This novel discusses in detail the severe clash between the two fundamentally different cultures, those of East and West. The administration and their families residing there represent the westerners. Although these western people wish to maintain good relations with the easterners whom they govern, they have no desire to understand India or Indians. The Westerners rule the natives with an iron hand without caring for justice and fair play.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Healthcare Reform

Healthcare Reform By Kim LeFave Healthcare is one of the hottest political topics in the news. It affects every man, woman, and child. I’m sure most if not all of you have caught something on this topic. As I researched this topic on the internet I was surprised to learn some of the statistics on healthcare in America. Even though our nation is faced with recession and more than 8% of Americans are unemployed I still assumed the rest of the 92% of working Americans had some kind of healthcare insurance. I was alarmed to learn that 15% of Americans have no coverage. This is roughly 47 million Americans. To me it is obvious that healthcare reform is necessary. We are still one of the richest countries in the world. Why are so many without any healthcare insurance? Those of you who work full-time, how many of you pay a certain amount out of your weekly check for healthcare insurance? It seems to go up higher than the cost of living each year. Do you have adequate coverage? Most Americans are not happy with the out of pocket expenses they have to pay in addition to paying high premiums. Do you have a co-pay every time you see a doctor? Do you have to pay a portion for drug coverage? These costs can add up. When was the last time you saw a doctor? Do you avoid doctors unless you are absolutely sick? The reason I am bombarding you with these questions is to get you to think about what healthcare reform might mean to you. What is it you want out of your healthcare insurance provider? Most of us might say lower out of pocket expenses, like low or no co-payments for doctor’s visits, or low or no co-payments for needed drugs, or even no money taken out of our paychecks to pay for that health insurance. Wouldn’t that be nice? Do you realize that most developed countries have universal healthcare systems, which means whether or not you are employed you are covered for your healthcare needs. After watching a PBS program about universal healthcare in other countries I was very surprised that our country was not trying to do some of the same things that these other countries were doing. Take for instance Japan, under their universal health care system MRI’s are about two hundred and fifty dollars, and in America it is about two thousand dollars. No doctor in Japan is getting rich quick, but people are able to afford healthcare more easily. It is much of the same in other countries that have universal healthcare systems. Okay let’s get back to what is now going on in this country. Basically the Healthcare Reform Bill under President Obama’s administration is a very small step in actual healthcare reform compared to what other countries have done. I’m sure most of you have heard that under the new reform bill insurance companies cannot deny coverage if you have a preexisting condition. Also it limits sky high premiums because of gender and age. It will also prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it the most. It will eliminate extra charges for preventative care like mammograms, flu shots, and diabetes tests to improve health and save money. It is supposed to protect medicare for seniors by extending new protections for medicare beneficiaries. It will also eliminate the â€Å"donut-hole† gap in coverage for prescription drugs. If you don’t have insurance this new reform bill will create a new insurance marketplace called the Exchange. This will allow people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices. It will also provide new tax credits to help people to buy insurance. It will give tax credits to small businesses and give affordable options for covering employees. It will offer a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice. It will offer new, low-cost coverage through a national â€Å"high risk† pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created. Hopefully this can all be achieved as proposed. It is not supposed to add to the national deficit and is paid upfront from the immediate savings from the initial healthcare reform. If savings are not realized essentially cuts will be required by the President to ensure that the plan does not add to the deficit. In addition these reforms will begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality. It will create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system. It will order immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, instead of practicing on defensive medicine. To do this the Secretary of Health and Human Services is instructed by the President to award medical malpractice demonstration grants to states funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Also large employers with more than fifty employees who can afford to buy insurance so everyone of their employees share in the responsibility of reform will be required. Their will be a â€Å"hardship exemption† for those who cannot afford the premiums. Okay so there it is the basics of the new Healthcare Reform Bill proposed by President Obama and his administration. To me this is just a minute scratching of the surface for healthcare reform in this country. I suppose you have to start somewhere. Not every American will be happy with the proposed changes. To me it should be done more on a trial basis, but let’s get real try it before you buy it in this country is virtually unheard of especially when it come to healthcare. I’m sure we will learn as we go and that it will be an honest effort to avoid high cost health insurance. What bothers me the most is that many things that make the healthcare too costly are not being addressed. What about the cost of a doctor’s visit, or the cost of a procedure, or the cost of your drugs? Will it go down? This reform bill hardly explains if this will happen. I think because of the newly created Exchange, healthcare insurance may go down a bit, but only time will tell if by the year 2013 when the exchange is fully active if it will affect the cost of the quality of healthcare as a whole. I read a blog online that made me question what is in the future for Americans when it comes to healthcare. How are people who can’t afford healthcare now supposed to afford healthcare when this new reform bill goes through? The blog questioned the validity of our government taking over another area where they have continuously failed in other areas. The point was that the Medicare / Medicaid system is already nearing bankruptcy as well as the U. S. Postal Service. It questioned how all this was going to be paid for by suggesting that the only real way to get the money is more taxes. Does that offer Americans a choice or is this being forced on us? These are very important points and even tougher questions that any American would be concerned about. Another blog for the healthcare reform bill suggests that there are many areas that the government has handled well, for instance; fire departments, police departments, waste water management, military, and coastguard. Although most of us think of some of these on a local level they are all federally funded. The strongest point was that this healthcare reform bill will reduce administrative costs from 20-30% to 2-3%. This would also reduce the profit that big time insurance companies and their biggest investors would make. My sister-in-law had that laser surgery on her eyes. When she researched cost she found that she could go to Canada and pay far less for the same procedure. She paid about three thousand dollars compared to the hefty price tag of seven thousand dollars here in the States. Many people have gone to Canada to receive cheaper procedures and cheaper drug prices. To me this is the real issue in this country. Yes, the insurance is expensive, but if you think about it procedures are even more expensive. If the cost of procedures and drugs go down along with the cost of insurance then this would make more sense to me. I think it will be at least another 5-10 years before we see this happen in this country. I think this bill will force some insurance companies to either go bankrupt or lose a tremendous amount of money. How will they compete with the less expensive insurances? Will it be just what happened to our banks? I see lots of merging insurance companies in our future. I hate to be clique but I think only time will tell how this will work out for all our citizens, our government and our insurance companies. Healthcare Reform ? Health Care Reform It should come as no surprise that the United States’ current health care system is in need of some major changes. Everyone knows that going to the doctor or hospital in the United States can cost a lot of money out of pocket, whether you have insurance or not. Americans who do have insurance pay into it with every pay check, only to go to the doctor and have to pay more. What it would be like to not have to worry about how much money there is in the bank when someone is sick? When a person is ill there are enough things to worry about without having to worry if they can afford the doctor bill. What are some of the pros and cons of a health care reform for the United States? No one person or company is safe when it comes to the burdens of the rising costs and decreasing quality of care in our current health care system. â€Å"Per-person health care expenditures in the United States have risen 6. 5 percent per year since 2000, and 5. 5 percent per year on average since 1994. † (Furnas, Ben. (January 2009). â€Å"American health care since 1994: the unacceptable status quo†. Center for American Progress) Many Americans who do have insurance are not safe from the rising costs of insurance. â€Å"Health care costs burden American mployers, who are forced to cut back on providing coverage and benefits or suffer a competitive disadvantage against international companies who don't bear health costs. † â€Å"Premiums for employer-provided health care have doubled since 2000. † (Furnas, Ben. (January 2009). â€Å"American health care since 1994: the unac ceptable status quo†. Center for American Progress) Due to the recession, many Americans have lost their jobs and are left with no insurance. There are 46 million Americans with no health insurance. A large number that do have health insurance are under-insured. Under-insured means that some who have insurance re not adequately protected from high medical costs. Many people with no or little health insurance will put off preventative care and even care they may know they need, until it is so bad that it ends up costing even more money. Individuals with no insurance will end up being diagnosed in later stages than those with insurance. â€Å"Effective chronic disease management and preventive care have been woefully neglected as a national priority and should be a key piece of any comprehensive and effective Reform. † (Furnas, Ben. (January 2009). â€Å"American health care since 1994: the unacceptable status quo†. Center for American Progress) â€Å"Nearly 25% of uninsured children and 40% of uninsured adults have no regular source of medical care. † â€Å"Inadequate insurance coverage carries with it financial as well as medical risks: the costs of medical treatment are a leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States† (Oberlander, Jonathan. (2002). â€Å"the U. S. health care system: on the road to nowhere? â€Å". Canadian Medical Association Journal , 67, 163-67. ) As a â€Å"great and free† country, we can not sit by and allow our fellow Americans to be denied medical care simply because of their income. A lot of what is rong with the current health care system can be shown in our infant mortality rate. It is fact that the United States’ infant mortality rates is among one of the highest. The United States ranks 26th in the world in infant mortality. How one of the largest and most modernized countries in the world have such a high rate? The answer to that is, it shouldn’t. A Commonwealth Fund Study found that the United States achieves â€Å"an overall score of 65 out of 100 when comparing national averages with benchmarks of best performance achieved internationally and within the United States. † It is clear that the United States is coming in well elow the standards of health, efficiency, and care. What would it be like to have a universal health care system? When it comes to why universal health care could be good for the United States, it's encouraged to watch the movie â€Å"Sicko†. It is one of Michael Moore’s documentaries. Whether loved or hated, it can’t be denied what is obviously working for other countries. In the movie he visits countries like, Canada, France, and Norway, and even Cuba. Yes, Cuba has nationalized health care. In the movie he takes a good look into what it might be like to be able to go to the doctor or hospital and not worry about how much debt might follow. Those people don’t have to worry about whether or not their insurance company is going to cover the cost of certain treatments or procedures. They don’t have to worry about being denied needed treatment, because of a pre-existing condition. People in these countries are generally healthier than Americans simply because they partake in more preventative health care. How is it possible that a country led by Fidel Castro has a better health care system than the United States? It’s simple. These countries have decided that everyone deserves to have health care, and everyone pays taxes for everyone to have it. One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who are against nationalized health care is, â€Å"Why should I have to pay for someone else’s health care costs? † The fact is, we are already paying for others health care. Everyone who works pays into Medicare and Medicaid. The way things are looking now, when I am eligible to use that money, there won’t be any for me. The current government health care system is bankrupting fast. Yes, everyone’s taxes will be raised. Paying more taxes seems reasonable to not have the financial burden be dropped on a single individual and their family in the middle of a stressful time of someone being sick. The costs of medical treatment are a leading cause of bankruptcy debt. † Half of all bankruptcy in the United States involve a medical reason or a large medical debt that they can not afford to pay The plan that President Barack Obama is proposing to the American people has a catching and enticing phrase. The bil l proposes that we build on what works in today's health care system, while repairing the aspects that are broken. To be able to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending. This bill has public and private options for the people, a sliding scale afford ability credits, it will share responsibility among workers, employers and the government so that all Americans can have essential health care coverage and benefits. This bill will make it illegal to not insure people due to pre-existing conditions. It will allow coverage and benefits for mental health and substance disorder abuse. One of the biggest complaints of President Obama's bill is that it is said to include government funded abortions. The truth is, this bill does not clearly state either way whether the government will pay for abortions. It does say that under the public option plan, abortion costs can be covered. Pregnancies due to rape, incest, and when the mothers life is at risk are already covered by the government if the individual receives government benefits. .â€Å"Comprehensive health insurance for all Americans, are long overdue. The best time to fix American health care was [more than] a decade ago. The second best time is now. † (Furnas, Ben. (January 2009). â€Å"American health care since 1994: the unacceptable status quo†. Center for American Progress) American’s need to stand up and demand adequate health care for everyone. American’s have been great at banding together in times of tragedy, as after the 9/11 attacks. People need to look at our health care system and recognize that this is a time of tragedy for the American people. It seems that most people are afraid of change, but sometimes change is needed. Reference Page (Furnas, Ben. (January 2009). â€Å"American health care since 1994: the unacceptable status quo†. Center for American Progress) Oberlander, Jonathan. (2002). â€Å"the U. S. health care system: on the road to nowhere? â€Å". Canadian Medical Association Journal , 67, 163-67. Healthcare Reform Healthcare Reform By Kim LeFave Healthcare is one of the hottest political topics in the news. It affects every man, woman, and child. I’m sure most if not all of you have caught something on this topic. As I researched this topic on the internet I was surprised to learn some of the statistics on healthcare in America. Even though our nation is faced with recession and more than 8% of Americans are unemployed I still assumed the rest of the 92% of working Americans had some kind of healthcare insurance. I was alarmed to learn that 15% of Americans have no coverage. This is roughly 47 million Americans. To me it is obvious that healthcare reform is necessary. We are still one of the richest countries in the world. Why are so many without any healthcare insurance? Those of you who work full-time, how many of you pay a certain amount out of your weekly check for healthcare insurance? It seems to go up higher than the cost of living each year. Do you have adequate coverage? Most Americans are not happy with the out of pocket expenses they have to pay in addition to paying high premiums. Do you have a co-pay every time you see a doctor? Do you have to pay a portion for drug coverage? These costs can add up. When was the last time you saw a doctor? Do you avoid doctors unless you are absolutely sick? The reason I am bombarding you with these questions is to get you to think about what healthcare reform might mean to you. What is it you want out of your healthcare insurance provider? Most of us might say lower out of pocket expenses, like low or no co-payments for doctor’s visits, or low or no co-payments for needed drugs, or even no money taken out of our paychecks to pay for that health insurance. Wouldn’t that be nice? Do you realize that most developed countries have universal healthcare systems, which means whether or not you are employed you are covered for your healthcare needs. After watching a PBS program about universal healthcare in other countries I was very surprised that our country was not trying to do some of the same things that these other countries were doing. Take for instance Japan, under their universal health care system MRI’s are about two hundred and fifty dollars, and in America it is about two thousand dollars. No doctor in Japan is getting rich quick, but people are able to afford healthcare more easily. It is much of the same in other countries that have universal healthcare systems. Okay let’s get back to what is now going on in this country. Basically the Healthcare Reform Bill under President Obama’s administration is a very small step in actual healthcare reform compared to what other countries have done. I’m sure most of you have heard that under the new reform bill insurance companies cannot deny coverage if you have a preexisting condition. Also it limits sky high premiums because of gender and age. It will also prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it the most. It will eliminate extra charges for preventative care like mammograms, flu shots, and diabetes tests to improve health and save money. It is supposed to protect medicare for seniors by extending new protections for medicare beneficiaries. It will also eliminate the â€Å"donut-hole† gap in coverage for prescription drugs. If you don’t have insurance this new reform bill will create a new insurance marketplace called the Exchange. This will allow people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices. It will also provide new tax credits to help people to buy insurance. It will give tax credits to small businesses and give affordable options for covering employees. It will offer a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice. It will offer new, low-cost coverage through a national â€Å"high risk† pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created. Hopefully this can all be achieved as proposed. It is not supposed to add to the national deficit and is paid upfront from the immediate savings from the initial healthcare reform. If savings are not realized essentially cuts will be required by the President to ensure that the plan does not add to the deficit. In addition these reforms will begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality. It will create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system. It will order immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, instead of practicing on defensive medicine. To do this the Secretary of Health and Human Services is instructed by the President to award medical malpractice demonstration grants to states funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Also large employers with more than fifty employees who can afford to buy insurance so everyone of their employees share in the responsibility of reform will be required. Their will be a â€Å"hardship exemption† for those who cannot afford the premiums. Okay so there it is the basics of the new Healthcare Reform Bill proposed by President Obama and his administration. To me this is just a minute scratching of the surface for healthcare reform in this country. I suppose you have to start somewhere. Not every American will be happy with the proposed changes. To me it should be done more on a trial basis, but let’s get real try it before you buy it in this country is virtually unheard of especially when it come to healthcare. I’m sure we will learn as we go and that it will be an honest effort to avoid high cost health insurance. What bothers me the most is that many things that make the healthcare too costly are not being addressed. What about the cost of a doctor’s visit, or the cost of a procedure, or the cost of your drugs? Will it go down? This reform bill hardly explains if this will happen. I think because of the newly created Exchange, healthcare insurance may go down a bit, but only time will tell if by the year 2013 when the exchange is fully active if it will affect the cost of the quality of healthcare as a whole. I read a blog online that made me question what is in the future for Americans when it comes to healthcare. How are people who can’t afford healthcare now supposed to afford healthcare when this new reform bill goes through? The blog questioned the validity of our government taking over another area where they have continuously failed in other areas. The point was that the Medicare / Medicaid system is already nearing bankruptcy as well as the U. S. Postal Service. It questioned how all this was going to be paid for by suggesting that the only real way to get the money is more taxes. Does that offer Americans a choice or is this being forced on us? These are very important points and even tougher questions that any American would be concerned about. Another blog for the healthcare reform bill suggests that there are many areas that the government has handled well, for instance; fire departments, police departments, waste water management, military, and coastguard. Although most of us think of some of these on a local level they are all federally funded. The strongest point was that this healthcare reform bill will reduce administrative costs from 20-30% to 2-3%. This would also reduce the profit that big time insurance companies and their biggest investors would make. My sister-in-law had that laser surgery on her eyes. When she researched cost she found that she could go to Canada and pay far less for the same procedure. She paid about three thousand dollars compared to the hefty price tag of seven thousand dollars here in the States. Many people have gone to Canada to receive cheaper procedures and cheaper drug prices. To me this is the real issue in this country. Yes, the insurance is expensive, but if you think about it procedures are even more expensive. If the cost of procedures and drugs go down along with the cost of insurance then this would make more sense to me. I think it will be at least another 5-10 years before we see this happen in this country. I think this bill will force some insurance companies to either go bankrupt or lose a tremendous amount of money. How will they compete with the less expensive insurances? Will it be just what happened to our banks? I see lots of merging insurance companies in our future. I hate to be clique but I think only time will tell how this will work out for all our citizens, our government and our insurance companies.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Energy Definition and Examples

Energy Definition and Examples Energy is defined as the capacity of a physical system to perform work. However, its important to keep in mind that just because energy exists, that doesnt mean  its necessarily available to do work. Forms of Energy Energy exists in several forms such as heat, kinetic or mechanical energy, light, potential energy, and electrical energy. Heat s are energy released by fission and fusion. Other forms of energy may include geothermal energy and classification of energy as renewable or nonrenewable. There may be overlap between forms of energy and an object invariably possesses more than one type at a time. For example, a swinging pendulum has both kinetic and potential energy, thermal energy, and (depending on its composition) may have electrical and magnetic energy. Law of Conservation of Energy According to the law of conservation of energy, the total energy of a system remains constant, though energy may transform into another form. Two billiard balls colliding, for example, may come to rest, with the resulting energy becoming sound and perhaps a bit of heat at the point of collision. When the balls are in motion, they have kinetic energy. Whether they are in motion or stationary, they also have potential energy because they are on a table above the ground. Energy cannot be created, nor destroyed, but it can change forms and is also related to mass. The mass-energy equivalence theory states an object at rest in a frame of reference has a rest energy. If additional energy is supplied to the object, it actually increases that objects mass. For example, if you heat a steel bearing (adding thermal energy), you very slightly increase its mass. Units of Energy The SI unit of energy is the joule (J) or newton-meter (N * m). The joule is also the SI unit of work.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Print Any Type of Document Using Delphi

Print Any Type of Document Using Delphi If your Delphi application needs to operate on various types of files, one of the tasks you might have for your application is to allow the user of the application to print a file, whatever the file type is. Most document-oriented applications, like MS Word, MS Excel or Adobe can easily print documents created in that program. For example, Microsoft Word saves the text you write in documents with DOC extension. Since Word determines what is the raw contents of a .DOC file it knows how to print .DOC files. The same applies for any known file type holding some printable information. What if you need to print various types of documents/files from your application? Can you know how to send the file to the printer in order for it to be printed correctly? Print From Delphi We can ask Windows what application can print, for example, a PDF file. Or, even better, we can tell Windows, heres one PDF file, send it to the application associated / in charge of printing PDF files. To do this, open up Windows Explorer, navigate to a directory containing some printable files. For most of the file types on your system, when you right-click a file in Windows Explorer, you will locate the Print command. Executing the Print shell command will result in the file being sent to the default printer. Well, thats exactly what we want: for a file type, call a method that will send the file to the associated application for printing. The function we are after is the ShellExecute API function. ShellExecute: Print / PrintTo However, ShellExecute can do much more. ShellExecute can be used to launch an application, open Windows Explorer, initiate a search beginning in the specified directory, and- whats of greatest interest to us- print the specified file. Specify Printer Using the above call, a document document.doc located on the root of the C drive will be sent to the Windows default printer. ShellExecute always uses the default printer for the print action. What if you need to print to a different printer, what if you want to allow the user to change the printer? The PrintTo Shell Command Before you copy and paste: the Printer global variable (TPrinter type) available in all Delphi programs can be used to manage any printing performed by an application. The printer is defined in the printers unit, ShellExecute is defined in the shellapi unit. Drop a TComboBox on a form. Name it cboPrinter. Set Style to csDropDownLidtPut the next two lines in the forms OnCreate even handler: //have available printers in the combo boxcboPrinter.Items.Assign(printer.Printers);//pre-select the default / active printercboPrinter.ItemIndex : printer.PrinterIndex; use to print any document type to a specified printer Note: some document types do not have an application associated with printing. Some do not have the printto action specified.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Explain the marketing concept and discuss what it means for an Essay

Explain the marketing concept and discuss what it means for an organisation to have a marketing orientation, using examples t - Essay Example Boone (2012) further denotes that coca cola used the social media, the print media, and the electronic media to advertise the products and services that it offers during this period of the world cup. By looking at this strategy of coca cola, we can denote that advertising is an important element of the principles of marketing. The main aim of carrying out an advertisement is to persuade the target market on the need of buying the products under consideration, and promoting the product under consideration. Russell (2012) denotes that for an organization to achieve success and efficiency in their marketing strategies, they must develop an advertisement that has the capability of persuading its target market on the need of buying into the products of the company. For example, an effective advertisement has to contain the name of the product, the usage of the product, and the value in which a customer will get by using the products under consideration (Kozmetsky, 2012). Companies such as Nokia, Samsung and Apples have developed an advertisement strategy that is always very effective in persuading their target markets on the importance of buying their products. This is by aligning the various technological needs of their target markets in their products, and communicating what they have done to their customers (Kozmetsky, 2012). Kotler and Armstrong (2012) believe that marketing concept involves developing policies products aimed at satisfying the various needs of the customer. In the current era, many business organizations in the world aim at achieving efficiency in the manner in which they meet their objectives. Kotler and Armstrong (2012) observe that the main objective of a business organization is to maximize profits, and increase their market share. To achieve this objective in an efficient manner, an organization must integrate all the four concepts of marketing, while developing a marketing strategy. These concepts are, product, price, promotion, and place. Under the principles of marketing concepts, Ramachandra and Chandrashekara (2010) believe that an organization will seek to improve on the quality of their products, and minimize costs for purposes producing products which are of high quality value, and affordable to the majority of its target market. By using these policies and concepts, the organization might manage to increase its market share, and its profitability. On this basis, the marketing principles of product and price come into place. Brenkert (2008) believe that the quality of an organizations product will determine whether it manages to satisfy the various needs of customers. This is because the notion of marketing concept involves developing products whose main aim is to satisfy the various needs of customers (Brenkert, 2008). If a product does not satisfy the various needs of customers, then chances are high that the company might fail to make sales (McDaniel and Gates, 2013). This might result to losses, and the ev entual closure of a business organization (Brenkert, 2008). The pricing of a product is also a very important aspect of marketing. The price of a product determines whether customers might afford the product under consideration, or fail to afford it. Ramachandra and Chandrashekara (2010) denotes that if the products of an organization are very expensive, and of high quality, then they will attract the most affluent