Question and answer Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Question and answer - Article Example 2. The authors describe the MITT protocol in the Statistical Analysis section of the methods. What do you feel are some benefits and limitations of using an â€Å"Intent to Treat† method for analyzing the data? Does it influence your interpretation of the study results knowing that the researchers used this method? I felt that MITT benefits a change in treatment policy rather than potential benefits of patients. Some of its limitation includes full application only in completed outcome, variations in handling deviations, and potential for biases because of some missing data which might influence the interpretation of study results. The baseline/screening period for the study was one week and the treatment period lasted for 12 weeks. The authors had provided evidence from other research, not to justify the length of the study, but to justify the hypothesis that whole-grain RTE cereals can reduce the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adults with overweight and obesity. The evidences provided include those of Saltzman and colleagues who conduct the same study for six weeks and an incited study that reduced cholesterol level from baseline for two weeks (Maki, et al, 2010, 212). 5. Identify 3 exclusion criteria for participation in this study (Methods section). For each of the criteria that you chose, why do you think they needed to be excluded? Do you feel that these exclusion criteria affected the study’s validity (positively or negatively)? There are several exclusion criteria in the study but I chose the participants who use weight loss medications within 2 months before screening or supplements, programs, or meal replacement products within 2 weeks before screening because with these interventions, researcher cannot determine whether the whole-grain RTE cereal is effective in reducing LDL or it is the medications, supplements, programs, or meal replacements taken; participants with known sensitivity to any of the

Eliminating Genetically Modified Foods Essay Example for Free

Eliminating Genetically Modified Foods Essay What comes to mind when reading the words genetic modification or Bacillus thurigiensis (abbreviated Bt)? I envision laboratories and science experiments, when in reality these words are related to the food we eat every day. What most Americans do not know is the threat that genetically modified food presents to our communities. PLU should do everything in its power to ensure that its students and faculty members are not exposed to genetically modified foods and crops that have been â€Å"protected† through the usage of Bt that has been artificially incorporated into crops, at least while eating on campus. We also need to educate those individuals about the truths of genetic modification and how it can potentially harm the lives of our generation and those to come. After all, PLU’s slogan is â€Å"educating for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care – for other people for their communities and for the earth. † If we can raise awareness of genetic modification on campus, we can help spread the importance of eliminating it to the rest of our community. Researchers have recently found that genetically modified foods have more baggage than advertised, baggage such as the risk of formation of allergies, exposure to toxins in herbicides, and a significant reduction in nutritional value. The genetic modification of crops began in the 1980s and has been growing in popularity ever since. In 1994, researchers successfully genetically modified tomatoes for human consumption. The genetic modification involved deleting a gene which produced the enzyme polygalacturonase which helps in fruit softening. This meant that the tomatoes could ripen on the vine but not spoil by the time they reached the store (â€Å"Tomatoes†). Tomatoes are no longer genetically modified, but are instead made to postpone ripening when the green tomato is picked; they are then taken to a processing plant and â€Å"artificially gassed with ethylene until they are the rosy-red skin tones of a ripe tomato† (Estabrook p. x). Seeing the words gassed and ethylene in the same context as human consumption seems concerning. Unfortunately, many Americans are unaware of how their food has been treated when they are consuming it. Some produce is â€Å"too good to be true† because they seem perfect, without a blemish or bruise, not to mention free from flavor. But, I now know that this is due to gasses that act as a sort of make-up. The tomatoes in PLU’s commons are unsatisfactory in taste, but impeccable in terms of looks. This leads me to think that PLU is purchasing out of season, gassed tomatoes that are bred to be green, as opposed to better quality organically grown produce. This brings nutritional value into question. In a study conducted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, â€Å"100 grams of fresh tomato today has 30 percent less vitamin C, 30 percent less thiamin, 19 percent less niacin, and 62 percent less calcium than it did in the 1960s,† not to mention fourteen times as much sodium (Estabrook p. x). Who would have thought that an individual’s sky rocketing levels of sodium was not only from McDonalds french fries, but also from what they thought of as a healthy alternative, a tomato bought from the grocery store. Parents are unknowingly buying these tomatoes with the intention of feeding their children something healthy, but in reality they are being undermined by the U. S. Agricultural System. What really is genetic modification? It can be defined as: â€Å"organisms that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques† (Genetically Modified). According to Assistant Professor Romey Haberle, these types of â€Å"genetic engineering techniques† include the usage of either a gene gun or a natural vector, which sounds just as bad as the ethylene gas previously stated. A gene gun is just that, a gun. Its purpose is to inject cells with specific genetic information into plants or other cells. Natural vector is the usage of DNA cells as a means of transportation into a plant’s cells. The DNA cells contain other specific and modified cells that are foreign to the plant in which it is being injected. These two types of genetic engineering are used to produce specific plants that can have special immunities to certain insecticides, or even to alter the crops’ general composition. Guns and natural vectors are the most common ways of studying and performing genetic modification in today’s agricultural world. â€Å"Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) is an insecticide with unusual properties that make it useful for pest control in certain situations† (W. S. Cranshaw). An insecticide is a poison designed for insects. In the past it was usually sprayed over fields in an effort to reduce the amount of crops lost to insects. There has recently been in increase in the amount of crops that have this toxin genetically modified to into its DNA, making it impossible to wash off or get rid of. Unfortunately, the crops resist the effects but the toxin is still present on crops as they grow and are picked. Bt works by â€Å"producing proteins that react with the cells of the gut lining within insects†¦these proteins then paralyze the digestive system, and the infected insect stops feeding within hours† (W. S. Cranshaw). In short, Bt causes the insect to die from starvation since their digestive tract is unable to digest. This makes me question the safety of using this product within proximity of humans since it specifically attacks the gut lining of the digestive system. An unfortunate incident with Bt in the Philippines almost caused 100 members of a community to become ill. A crop within close proximity to their area of living had been sprayed with Bt. This crop was then pollinated, filling the air with pollen. The town’s people began to show symptoms of headaches, dizziness, extreme stomach pain, vomiting, chest pains, fever, and allergies plus respiratory, intestinal and skin reactions. Trying to get to the root of the problem, blood tests proved that 39 of the victims showed an anti-body response to the Bt-toxin. This means that the Bt toxin had traveled from the crops to their internal systems. Other villagers also encountered animal deaths from the same problems (Lendman p. 7). This shows that Bt is not suitable for human consumption or human contact. My concern is that PLU will purchase and serve food that has this same toxin present. Yes, the chances of this happening are rare, but we can eliminate the risk altogether by purchasing non-genetically modified produce that has not been exposed to the Bt toxin. PLU’s dining services do a great job of offering fresh and healthy foods for all meals of the day. Each menu is clearly labeled as to whether its food is all natural – grown without fertilizers or pesticides, locally grown, vegan – free from all animal products, vegetarian, or organic. However, organic is rarely seen. The most common labels seen are the locally grown and all natural labels, but it is usually only next to the grilled or sliced chicken breast. PLU should make an effort to move away from genetically modified foods and begin advertising the elimination of engineered foods on the menus. We could do this by allotting more of our food budget to buying organically grown food. We know that to be labeled as â€Å"organic† a farm has to adapt to specific regulations such as not utilizing pesticides or other harmful preservatives and of course, to stay away from genetically modified seeds or plants. I believe that most PLU students are aware of the benefits of organically grown produce but I do not think they are educated as to the benefits of eating non-genetically modified foods. PLU recently had food and water seminars, these seminars present a perfect opportunity to speak and educate about the negatives of eating genetically modified food in order to educate them to help others and make the right decisions for our earth. Most PLU students are interested in the environment and doing what we can to ensure sustainability, this includes the usage of harmful pesticides to our environment. By eating organic we can make a small impact in reducing the amount of non-organic produce bought and distributed. We also reduce the possibility of consuming these same pesticides that pose a threat to our atmosphere by avoiding them all together. By educating the students at PLU about the potential hazards that genetically modified food can present we can influence and encourage the right decisions to be made, the decision of going organic and avoiding genetic modification at all costs. The controversy of golden rice is one that has caused much disagreement within the world of genetic modification. Golden rice is a genetically engineered grain that is being used to â€Å"help fight vitamin A deficiency in the developing world, a disease that contributes to the deaths of 8 million young children in the world† (Ronald). Although this statistic demonstrates the drastic improvement of the overall health in the most underdeveloped parts of the world, it fails to include the â€Å"massive changes in the natural functioning of a plants DNA. Native genes can be mutated, deleted, permanently turned on or off and the inserted gene can become truncated, fragmented, mixed with other genes, inverted or multiplied, and the GM protein it produces may have unintended characteristics† (Lendman p. 2) that could compromise the health of the individual or community consuming it. Researchers have failed to imply the potential harmful effects on gut function, liver function, kidney function, the immune system, endocrine system, blood composition, allergic response and even the potential to cause cancer because of the mutilated DNA that is being ingested by our bodies every time we eat genetically modified foods. Researchers are so quick to glorify the one added nutrient to golden rice that they forget, or rather choose to not advertise the adverse and undesired side effects that could come from eating rice that has a complex and unnatural DNA. Yes, vitamin A deficiency is a real and prominent problem in today’s underdeveloped nations, but solving the problem with genetically altered â€Å"golden rice† presents the risks of forming allergies, being exposed to toxins such as pesticides, and ultimately causing cancer. Instead of investing most of our resources and money into genetically modifying vitamin A into rice, we could donate it to charities that provide food to those underdeveloped countries that are impoverished and are in need of proper nutrition. Allergies seem to be more and more common in today’s society. I too, have been directly impacted. One of my best friends from my junior high and high school years has a deathly peanut and soybean allergy. She constantly carries around an epinephrine auto-injector, abbreviated â€Å"epi-pen,† that she is required to use if she comes into contact with any kind of nut. We find ourselves constantly reading labels and isolating what she can and cannot eat, a practice which is tedious and inconvenient. Her soybean allergy is not as prevalent as her peanut allergy, but it is still concerning. She had an experience of eating an ice cream popsicle, in which she took two bites and her lips started to swell with red hives. Even after carefully analyzing the ingredient list, she still had a reaction to some kind of soybean that had been present within one of the ingredients. Soybeans are present in many foods, and 93% of the soybeans used in the U. S.are genetically modified (â€Å"Genetically Modified†). They are created to withstand herbicides used to kill weeds. This means that 93% of the soybeans used in food across America have the herbicides glyphosate or glufosinate within them since they are modified to resist the harmful effects that the weeds encounter when they are sprayed with a herbicide, the same herbicide that is designed to kill insects and weeds. Our bodies are not meant to ingest these harmful herbicides, so some children react adversely to soybeans that have been genetically altered. Nut allergies seem to be the most common allergy in today’s communities. â€Å"From 1997 to 2007, the prevalence of reported food allergy increased 18% among children under age 18† (Prevalence). This increase in food allergies seems to directly mimic the pattern of genetically modified food’s rise in popularity. Is this comparison ironic? I do not think so. PLU’s ability to specifically mark the types of allergens present in each meal is very important to the rising of today’s allergies that so many young adults are affected by. â€Å"As of 2012 there are many outgoing court cases and FDA investigation into genetically modified foods† (Genetically Modified). There is obviously a concern for the welfare of our communities and the production of genetically modified foods, and PLU should take into consideration the recent increase in food allergies in children, the push for organically grown food, the lost nutrition, and the potential for cancer development. By educating the minds of PLU students about the harmful effects genetically modified food presents to society we can promote for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care both for others and for our planet. These contributors all add up to one conclusion: the reduction or elimination of genetically modified food in our diets. I do not want to pick up the baggage that genetically modified food carries, do you? Works Cited Cranshaw, W. S. Bacillus Thuringiensis. Colorado State University Extension. Dec. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. http://www. ext. colostate. edu/pubs/insect/05556. html. Estabrook, Barry. Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel, 2011. Print. Genetically Modified Food. 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food. Lendman, Stephen. GlobalResearch.ca Centre for Research on Globalization. GlobalResearch. ca. 22 Feb. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. http://www. globalresearch. ca/index. php? context=va. Prevalence of Food Allergies in Todays World. 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. http://allergicchild. com/prevalence. html. Ronald, Pamela. What If Organic Farmers Joined Forces with Genetic Engineers? July 2008: 35-38. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. Tomatoes. GMO Compass. 27 Nov. 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. http://www. gmo- compass. org/eng/grocery_shopping/fruit_vegetables/15. genetically_modified_tomatoes. html.

The Hale Bopp Comet :: essays research papers

The Hale Bopp Comet As I am sure all of you know, we have recently been able to see a new but not permanent additon to the night sky. This addition is known as Hale-Bopp, a comet that is about 122 million miles (about 1.3 times the distance of the sun to the earth) from the earth and is approximately 25 miles wide. Hale-Bopp was discovered on July 23,1995 by two scientists named Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona. This is the first discovery for both of them, although Alan Hale is one of the top visual comet observers in the world, having seen about 200 comet apparitions. That is one of the reasons they put his name first. Alan Hale comments, "I love the irony -- I've spent over 400 hours of my life looking for comets, and haven't found anything, and now, suddenly, when I'm not looking for one, I get one dumped in my lap. I had obtained an observation of P/Clark earlier, and needed to wait an hour or so before P/d'Arrest got high enough to look at, and was just passing the time til then, and I decided to look at some deep-sky objects in Sagittarius. When I turned to M70, I saw a fuzzy object in the same field, and almost immediately suspected a comet, since I had been looking at M70 last month, and *knew* there wasn't any other objects there." Thomas Bopp explains his story like this, "On the night of July 22, 1995 some friends and I headed out into the desert for a dark of the moon observing session. The site, which is west of Stanfield, AZ and a few mile south of Interstate 8 is about 90 miles southwest from my home. My friend Jim Stevens had brought his 17-1/2" Dobsonian. We started the evening observing some of the Messier objects such as the Veil and North American Nebulae in Cygnus, when Jim said " Let's look at some of the globulars in Sagittarius." We started our tour with M22 and M28, observing at 50X and then at 180X. Around 11:00 local time, we had M-70 in the field when Jim went to the charts to determine the next object of investigation. I continued watching M-70 slowly drift across the field, when it reached a point 3/4 of the way across a slight glow appeared on the eastern edge. I repositioned the scope to center on the new object but was unable to resolve it. I called to Jim and asked him if he knew what it might be, after a visual inspection he stated he wasn't familiar

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali Salvador Dali, one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, was very active even in the latter part of his life. He not only painted, but also showed to be creative in the artistic world in general. He traveled, and along the way learned different techniques of painting, but always went back to paint as he described it ‘hand painted dream photographs’. (Sandoval, 1998) Dali emerged as a leader of the Surrealist movement, where he was the most faithful and only true surrealist, although he was later expelled from because of his political views and more traditional work. During this time he created a painting, Persistence of Memory (1931), which is still on of the best-known surrealist works. (Sandoval, 1998) Dali’s work was different to others since all of his discoveries and inventions are reflected in his work and appear in them in a scarcely transposed form. He and Gala later moved to the United States, during World War II, were he devoted himself to self-publicity and began to paint pictures of religious themes. One of these paintings includes, The Crucifixion of St John of the Cross, (1951). During this time, he also showed the world that he was not only a great painter, but had other talents as well. For example, he designed jewelry, apartments, clothing, costumes, shop interiors, and stage sets. Along with this he also worked for Vogue and Haper’s Bazaar. (Neret, 1997) This also led him to take part in the production of films such as, ‘An Andalusian Dog’ and ‘The Golden Age’, where he worked in collaboration with Bunuel. (Folkes, 1999) Gigantism was predominant in Dali’s late work. The paintings that he created during this part of his life were a combination of all of the styles, which he had worked on. They include: Surrealism, â€Å"quintessential pompierism†, pointillism, action painting, Tachisme, geometric abstraction, Pop art, Op art, and psychedelic art. (Neret, 1997) Some of these pictures include, The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958-59), and Tuna Fishing (1966-67). Stereoscopy was also used by Dali in some of his paintings such as, Dali from the Back, Painting Gala from the Back, Etermalized by Six Virtual Corneas Provisionally Reflected in Six real Mirrors (1972-73) or Dali Lifting the Skin of the Mediterranean Sea to Show Gala the Birth of Venus (1977), to name a couple, to paint his last visual poems. Neret, 1997) Dali also had a couple of exhibits in the final stage of his life. Some of these included exhibits in Rome and Venice, nuclear mysticism, in 1951, and at the National Gallery, in Washington, DC, in 1956. Dali continued to work on paintings and books, and continued to travel to promote his latest creations, until the death of his wife G ala in 1982. A year later the creation of his perfume known as â€Å"Dali† came out along with his last painting, The Swallow’s Tail. Neret, 1997) He then lived in isolation from the world for a few years in Torre Galatea, when he began to endure some health issues. A few years later, January 23, 1989, Dali died of heart failure. References Folkes, S. T. (1999) Salvador Dali, Life. History. Art. Retrieved February 29, 2004, from: http://www. seven7. demon. co. uk/dali/history. htm Neret, G. (1997). Salvador Dali. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press Sandoval, J. (1998) Dada and Surrealism: Salvador Dali Biography. Retrieved February 29, 2004, from: http://www. duke. edu Salvador Dali Salvador Feline Action Dali lived to be among the most versatile and creative artists of the twentieth century. Dali was born on the 1 lath of March 1904 in Spain and he was one of history greatest surrealist and broad-minded artists. Surrealism is defined as opening up one's mind and accessing an unconscious world, through an area of art. During his childhood, Dali soon discovered that he was on the earth solely for the reason to be an artist. Dali earned a reputation as a malicious being, as he was expelled from his school for extravagant behavior.Dali had portrayed his ideas ND thoughts on a canvas, through his own understanding of discovering a new world based on the unconscious mind. His paintings also display a charisma and attraction for Classical and Renaissance art. This was clearly visible as his later works evinces hyper-realistic style and religious symbolism. Dali was often associated with the Surrealist movement, despite his removal from the group in 1934 due to his unr eceptive political views.Salvador Dali is one of the most celebrated artists of the surrealist movement; being known for his conspicuous surrealist work as well as his minting techniques resounding that of Renaissance art. Dali was born in Figures, Catalonia, Spain and belonged to a very prosperous family. Dali was ten years old when he had his first drawing lesson whilst demonstrating hysterical yet rage-filled outbursts towards his family and playmates. Pursuing his interest in art, he entered the Madrid School of Fine Arts in 1921.Dali was in his early ass in 1920, when he first heard about a group of experimental artists in Paris. As it was depicted as strange, they had to invent a new word to describe their art: surreal. Surrealism began as a iterate and artistic movement. Andre Breton, a French Poet, had inspired many others after him, by discovering this new form of art. It was a revolutionary response to the devastation of the First World War. It was also inspired by the psy choanalytical concepts of Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that all of us possess an inner unconscious world, in which our emotional and sexual feelings are oppressed and the only way to express ourselves is to release emotions without censoring what comes out' [1]. Dalais artistic profession commenced when he was expelled from the Madrid School of Fine Arts in 1924. By that time, Dali was already exhibiting work locally. He was invited by Andre Breton to Join the surrealists, when he moved to Paris.For the next several years, Dali had incorporated his illustrative theories into his paintings, displaying his thoughts about the psychological state of paranoia and its importance as a subject. He called this method the ‘paranoia-critical activity, which is a surrealist method used to help an artist enter their subconscious through a systematic irrational thought and a self-persuaded paranoid state. Around this period, Dali had also developed a short surrealist film that was directed by Luis Bungee, called Un Chine Nodal (An Andalusia Dog).Dali became so infamous because the subject matter of the film was so sexually and politically shocking. Dali had produced many important works during this period, which included William Tell (1930), The Persistence of Memory (1931), Dormouse, Coeval, and Lion invisible and the Birth of Liquid Desires (1932), Breton had dismissed Dali from the Surrealist group in 1934 as a result of his differing views on General Franco and fascism. Dali had then moved to Italy in 1937, and practiced more traditional painting styles. Meanwhile, he had married Gala, the first wife of the founders of the surrealist movement.Gala was perhaps the most important and influential figure in Dalais life. His paintings during the sass and sass focused more on religious themes, reproducing his enduring attraction of the supernatural. He had rendered many traditional still-like objects into his work. He continued employing his ‘paranoia- critical' method. In 1955, he returned to Spain, becoming rather withdrawn. Regardless he continued to paint until his death in the 1980. Salvador Dali influenced the manner of which modern artists use the method of ‘revealing the gap teen reality and illusion' [2].His artwork provides a glimpse into the intimate world of an individual's subconscious. His outstanding yet somewhat grotesque dreamless and paintings effortlessly evoke emotion from a viewer. His work delivers a disconcerting impression of psychological hallucinations. Drawing on Dalais belief of unearthing the subconscious, many second generation surrealists such as Joseph Cornwall, and other abstract expressionists continued to incorporate Dalais influence in their work. Arguably, the twentieth century's most eccentric and successful artist was thought to have been referring to Dali.He is truly one of history greatest surrealists. As a Spanish-Catalan painter, entering the Madrid school of fine arts was Dalais first step t o becoming a great artist. Discovering surrealism had changed Dalais life forever, Joining great surrealists such as Andre Breton. He developed painting methods, illustrating his theories of psychological state of paranoia and its importance as a subject matter. Salvador Feline Action Dali was the most influential contributor to the surrealist movement, leaving behind an impact on modern art. Salvador Dali Vanishes† sees UN Ecuador whiz poor el artists Salvador Feline Action Dali. Cosec © Salvador Dali y est. Ecuador porous De com pià ±ata. Us USA el still De surrealist, per us Trojan sees realists. Poor example, en â€Å"The Image Vanishes,† Mira realists, per hack UN concept De surrealist. Edema ¤s, you jocose Dali porous me gusts el rate De Dali. Me gusts us Trojan y rate porous us still surrealist sees Ã'Ëœnice y creative. Tamaki ©n me gusts us rate porous De us ideas y el significant deter ¤s De cad painter. Ho, SE upped encounter e]employ De us rate en SST. Petersburg, Florida; Berlin Germany; Paris, France; Catalina, Spawn.Salvador Feline Action Dali is a Spanish artist that is considered the personification of surrealism. Dali was born in 1904 in Catalina, Spain. He spent the early part of his life with his rich parent's and attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid. Then, he moved away to Join the Surrealist movement in 1934. He spent most of his live d oing this in Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; and New York. The style that he used was surrealism, but he painted his portraits and other paintings realistically. Surrealism is the type of style that is not realistic and expresses the power of imagination. â€Å"TheImage Vanishes† is a painting made by the artist, Salvador Feline Action Dali. I chose Salvador Dali and this painting because of how he paints. He uses the surrealistic style, but his work is realistic. For example, en â€Å"The Image Vanishes,† it looks realistic, but it uses a surrealistic concept. In addition, I chose Dali because I like the art of Dali. I like his work and art because of his surrealistic style is unique and creative. Also, I like his art because of his ideas and the significance behind each painting. Today, examples of his art can be found in SST. Petersburg, Florida; Berlin Germany; Paris, France; Catalina, Spawn.

Dramatic Conventions

Dario Fo- Can’t Pay? Won’t pay! Can't Pay? Won't Pay! Is based on Dario Fo's â€Å"Non Si Paga? Non Si Paga! â€Å", a political work that he wrote to highlight the dilemma of ordinary Italian workers during the economic crisis of the 1970s. It is said that through Dario Fo’s plays he becomes both the peoples entertainer and the peoples spokesman. What is meant by this is that Fo better connects with his audience by entertaining them with their own thoughts. He speaks for the audience and stands up for the working class citizens and political injustice.His play implied that he had full support for the lower class workers even though they commit crimes. He believed that they had no other choice than to do so, they only did it to survive. Throughout Can’t Pay? Won’t pay! Fo uses various dramatic conventions. One Dramatic convention that Fo uses to better connect with the audience is the breaking of the fourth wall. In drama the fourth wall is the in visible wall that stands between the actors on stage and the audience, it separates the world and situations created on stage from our reality.What it means to break the fourth wall is that the actors have broken down the theoretical wall between the world on stage and reality, making the audience aware that they are in fact watching a play. The way that Fo breaks down the fourth wall is by the use of the same actor in multiple roles. The character of the sergeant, inspector, old man and undertaker was played by the same actor. Fo did this to create a realisation in the audience that they had seen the same man previously making them aware that they are in fact watching a play therefore breaking down the fourth wall.Another dramatic convention that Fo’s uses throughout Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! Is the use of slapstick humor. Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense, such as in the scene where Margherita and Antonia are convincing the inspector that Margherita is going into labour when she really just has stolen goods hidden underneath her shirt. By using this style of comedy Fo connects with the middle class working man. Though this style of comedy is extremely entertaining Fo in fact is distracting us from his real point.The point that he is trying to make by using this style of comedy is saying that the government is like the style of comedy how they exceed the boundaries of common sense. Another dramatic convention used throughout the play is black humor. â€Å"Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! † Also deals with death. This happens when the sergeant accidentally bumps his head and fall unconscious. Whilst trying to revive the sergeant Antonia and Margherita give the sergeant hydrogen, which does not revive him but causes his belly to swell.This makes them believe that they have killed a policeman. Black humor made up of domestic violence and death is one of the most unique assets of the drama. Coincidences also play an important role throughout the play. Using coincidences Fo brings comedy to his audience. One example of this is example is that when Luigi and Giovanni are having difficulty deciding where to hide the sacks without being caught by the authorities this is when the undertaker appears. So both Giovanni and Luigi decide to put the sacks into the casket so that they may not be found.At the end of the play, Giovanni and Antonia find both of them have stolen something and that both of them had hid the stuff in their house. Without This coincidence they would not have been lead them to apologize to each other in the end. Throughout Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! Fo integrated real political events in his play. This play is based on a true event He was inspired by a consumer revolt during the economic crisis of the mid-1970s in which people had declined to pay inflated prices.Increased living costs and higher unem ployment rates at the time made it difficult for the working class to survive. In this play, Fo let people of the lower class and working class such as housewives and factory workers, revolt to fight for their own rights of survival. For my practical work with a monologue from Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! I had played the character of Giovanni. I had recreated the scene from act one where Giovanni cleans up after Margherita’s water breaks. The character Giovanni is a man of integrity.He would rather die than steal and had even claimed he would kill his wife if he ever found out that she has stolen. He created Giovanni to mock those in society who obey the government under any circumstances. This scene perfectly illustrates his point. In this scene we see that Giovanni is quite naive to the process of childbirth and is willing to accept it even though it makes no sense whatsoever. This is shown in the line â€Å"Blimey, all this water! But what a strange smell, like vi negar†¦ yeah, sort of brine. I’ll be damned I didn't know that before being born we spent nine months brine? †.As we can see Giovanni is extremely gullible and will believe almost anything that he is told, this also adds to the comedic element of the scene. Dario Fo’s play â€Å"Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! † Has used various types of dramatic conventions such as black humor, the breaking down of the fourth wall, use of slapstick humor and coincidences. These features are why Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! Has become one of Fo’s most famous works of drama. Fo’s Trait of writing politically controversial plays about working class has changed views on political injustice and has successfully obtained the support of audiences everywhere.

E-commerce- Payment Methods On the Net essays

E-commerce- Payment Methods On the Net essays Almost 360million people worldwide use the internet regularly and one in four of these have made online purchases.Most of these transactions have been made using credit cards because they have had no other option.In this report I will attempt to identify and explain a series of e-payment methods which I could employ in the day to day running of my business.While doing this I will attempt to show the benefits they will bring to my businees and prospective customers alike while briefly including the key features of the payment systems I have identified. These cards store information on a chip contained within the card itself.These chips can store an incredibly diverse amount of information and the ability to store digital signatures and financial information is essential.The cards largely operate on the same principal as top-up phone cards where the chip is topped-up with a monetary amount which is then used for cash purchases.When this cash is spent,the chip is recharged with more money.The level of security and convenience with these cards is high as is the level of privacy and they are widely believed to be a genuine competitor of more widely used credit cards such as VISA and Mastercard.It is my belief that this method of payment would benefit both myself and my consumers for the following reasons: My business will enjoy lower costs due to high credit card network fees being reduced. The consumer also benefits from hidden costs being eliminated. A whole new market should open up to me due to my customers not requiring a credit card to make a purchase,especially in the lower priced goods market where credit card charges make it unprofitable for my business or more expensive for my customers. 2:Saferpay-Credit Card Payment Facilities Saferpay is an internet payment solution which would offer my business as well as consumer card holders a guarantee of secur ...

Research Paper on Gandhi

Research Paper on Gandhi Gandhi was born on October 2nd, 1869 in Porbandar, a town of 70,000 people and was ruled by a native prince whom the British usually left alone as long as he did as he was told. Gandhi family belong to the Modh Bania which is a subdivision of the Vaisya caste. According to the old Hindu social scale, the Vaisya is classified as tradesmen or farmers which ranked third. The Bania which had a connotation of moneylender, slightly lower. However Gandhi’s father and as his father before him was a Diwan or chief minister for the Porbandar prince. Gandhi was one of the youngest of the six children and spent his early life in a thee-storey house that had been in the family since 1777. Gandhi as an infant could not tell his brother and sisters from his numerous cousins for following the Hindu custom and his father shared the house with five brothers, their children’s children. The immediate family lived in two rooms which one of them was 20 by 30 feet and the other 13 by 12. Such crowded quarters required patience and the ability to give and take were the main part of survival. Gandhi learned both of these values and also tuning out what he did not want to hear. The later years, Gandhi freely credited his mother with his religious devotion. However it never occurred to him that he may owe his father for something as equally as important such as his instinct for practical politics and diplomacy. While officially as a servant of the ruling prince, Gandhi was mainly a negotiator in grievances and long suffering subjects. Even though porrly educated, Gandhi’s father had a common sense approach to problems that made his judgement as a highly valued official circles. His reputation as a absolute loyalty. After an assistant political agent for the British insulted the Rajkot prince, others sat in silence, but Gandhi stood up and criticized him and Gandhi was arrested immediately and also refused to apologise. This was the first lesson for Gandhi in passive resistance. Young Gandhi spent his hours after school with his mother, who he said was â€Å"the embodiment of the traditional Hindu virtues of love, humanity and self-sacrifice.† Gandhi would accompany her to the temple, sitting nearby and listening as she comforted the widowed mother of the prince, tended the sick and other this lead throughout the night. Gandhi was influenced by his mother’s powers of endurance as he was awed by her spirited of willing self-denial and she inspired Gandhi during some of the most troubled times of his adult life. The Ahimsa is the cornerstone in Gandhi’s tactics, strategy and ethics. The word Ahimsa means â€Å"non-violence†. However accurately speaking the term means the absence of himsa. Which the himsa is a Sanskrit word meaning doing harm to others or being hateful. Therefore the first layer of the meaning to ahimsa involves a substantial portion of the Hindu belief. This broadly influences and guides the other levels of social interaction. This suffering ideally takes place without the anger, vengeance or even resentment. As for example today protestors such as Greenpeace who aspire to save the forests show considerable resentment when they are made to obey injunctions, pay fines or are arrested. Which they seemed to have learned the most visible portion of civil rights movement but also have missed philosophical roots in Gandhi and Hinduism. Gandhi was also considerate to other world religions. As an example, he identified a central principle common to both Hindu and Christian religion. More importantly he used this idea to help motivate the desired actions on the part of his followers and at the same time as well, he anticipated the emotional reactions of the populations which could be put political pressure on British power. This influence was Gandhi’s overt objective. He also often spoke of the inability of the human heart to witness suffering without wanting to help which Gandhi believed that persuasive appeals to the hard of the western citizens could bot be ignored. His moralist part of him said this was because of the nature of the â€Å"law† however his politician side understood how such a priority would be experienced by Christian believers. He mixed politics with religion and also mixed religious traditions. He said â€Å"I do not share the belief there can or will be on earth one religion† I am striving to find a common factor to induce a mutual tolerance†. However to those who saw in his teachings the emergence of a new faith, he said â€Å"There is no such thing as Gandhism. I am not a saint who has strayed into politics. I am a politician who is trying to become a saint.† Gandhi rose as an unlikely religious and political celebrity. He was the crusader against injustice who renounced both sexual pleasure and the entire modern world. To this mix of traits was added to his philosophy of political protest which he gained the name Satyagraha. Taken this term literally means â€Å"The truth force† in Sanskit however in practical terms it means the refusal to obey unjust authority. To the Indian people, Gandhi gave a nation and to the world he gave satyagraha and ahimsa which are the most revolutionary ideas of a long and ravaged century. He also showed that political change could be affected by renouncing violence and that unjust laws could be challenged peacefully and with readiness to accept the punishment. The â€Å"soul force† as much as like armed force could bring down an empire. Not only he drew his lessons from his religion, he also learnt from the readings of the Bible, Tolstoy and the Bhagavad-Gita, and he taught it to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and countless other political protestors who would follow his example in mayn years to come. Gandhi’s greatest achievement lay in his legacy to inspire people of all nations to take up the peaceful struggle for freedom from oppression. In New Jersey City with the reports of increasing teenager violence a bill has been introduced to the New Jersey Assembly seeking to include Mahatma G andhi’s non-violence teachings in school curriculum throughout the state. The bill that was introduced along with 17 others to stem violence and would require schools to teach the non-violence teaching and philosophies of Gandhi as part of the Core Curriculum standards for social studies in school if it is passed. Gandhi works pass from time to time and his influence upon our society is still evident today and probably the four most important things to take from Gandhi his teachings are peace, truth, non-violence and equality.

Theres a Word for That

Theres a Word for That There’s a Word for That There’s a Word for That By Mark Nichol Why is that despite the fact that the English language has hundreds of thousands of words, we have no single-word term for many emotions and other concepts that are specifically represented in other languages and that would be beneficial for everyday use? For example, English has no word equivalent to gianxi, a Chinese term akin to but not the same as goodwill. (It refers to the social stock one accumulates by doing favors and bestowing gifts.) Nor is there any succinct translation of forelsket, the Norwegian word for the ecstasy of love in its early stages. (A concise definition is â€Å"the state of being enamored,† but even if enamoration were a word and why isn’t it? it doesn’t incorporate the context. Infatuation comes close but is not quite equivalent.) My conclusion, after a bit of research, is that English speakers just aren’t trying hard enough. It’s true that the parent language of English, Anglo-Saxon, lets us down in matching single words to concepts, but English is very receptive to new vocabulary. (One comment attributed to a dictionary, though I couldn’t identify the specific source, is that â€Å"English acquires new words with the delicacy of a vacuum cleaner.†) It is this adaptability that we must, for the most part, rely on. (I write â€Å"for the most part† because formation of new words is effortless: See enamoration above.) All we have to do is â€Å"borrow† from other languages. (I enclose borrow in raised eyebrows of irony because steal would be more accurate; we don’t give the words back.) Turn to any page of a dictionary, and you’ll find at least one word acquired from a foreign language: Souvenir, from French. Contort, from Latin. Gymnast, from Greek. More recent acquisitions abound as well: Honcho, from Japanese. Cafeteria, from Spanish. Trek, from Afrikaans. But our loanword word-hoard is woefully incomplete. From German, we have schadenfreude, referring to the enjoyment of other’s misfortunes. But why hasn’t English appropriated pena ajena, an expression from Mexican Spanish that denotes embarrassment about another person’s humiliation? That would certainly come in handy. The answer to my thesis question is this: There’s a word for almost everything, but it isn’t necessarily in the English lexicon yet. English is constantly enriched by the accumulation and integration of vocabulary from other languages, but the only reason you wouldn’t say to me, expecting others to understand, â€Å"You’re such a pochemuchka† that Russian word means â€Å"a person who asks too many questions† is because we haven’t (yet) decided that the word’s useful enough to assimilate. Start introducing more foreign words into your writing, and you’ll build gianxi with me. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceHow to Pronounce Mobile10 Types of Hyphenation Errors

Nursing Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Nursing Leadership - Essay Example The health care system, just like other institutions, has to respond to the various and increasing demands to the industry. Nursing, being an integral part of the health sector, has to establish an approach that will bring the institution forward in the 21st century, since there are many challenges that nursing face. Some of which are â€Å"new roles, new technology, financial constraints, and greater emphasis on participation, cultural diversity and education† (Curtis, de Vries and Sheerin, 2011, p. 2006). In this regard, effective leadership, in nursing in particular and health care service in general, has been given ample consideration as one of the primary strategies that can appropriately respond to the changes and challenges of the 21st century (Greenfield, 2007; Sutherland and Dodd, 2008). It is recognised that an effective leadership in nursing is crucial in providing high quality health care services to the patient and efficient and professional discharge of nursing functions (Curtis et al., 2011; Shirrey, 2009; Tregunno et al., 2008). However, it has been observed that there are limited literatures pertinent to nursing leadership, especially, if it is compared with nursing management which has been the focus of discourses (Curtis et al, 2011; Stanley, 2008). In this situation, this research will look into some of the theories in leadership and on some of the issues that it may raise in practise settings. The aim of the study is to provide a comparative analysis of contemporary theories of leadership in order to ascertain which among the theories may appropriately fit into the unique structure and demands of nursing (Jackson et al., 2009). This is significant because by identifying the suitable type of leadership for nursing, high quality nursing care service is secu red, job satisfaction is increased, and in whole there is a positive effect in the patient, among the nurses and the organisation as a whole (Curtis et al., 2011; Shirrey, 2009;Tregunno et al., 2008). For the study, the researcher will be discussing transactional leadership, transformational leadership and the servant leader. These have been chosen because these three theories are primarily humanists and holistic in approach (Heisler and Carter, 2010), which in turn, has a close affinity to the nature of nursing (Jackson et al., 2009). This decision does not discount the fact that other leadership theories, such as democratic leadership, strategic leadership, and others, may also be used. Nonetheless, the decision to focus only transactional, transformational and servant-leader acts not only as limitation for this research, but also supports the notion that these three theories of leadership are more congruent with the nature of nursing (Jackson et al., 2009). The research will be h aving the following structure. The first part is consists of the comparative analysis of the transactional leadership, transformational leadership and servant-leadership, while, the second part will be dealing with the reflective account. In the end, it is hope of the researcher that this analysis may further nursing leadership. Leadership and Nursing: An Intricate Relation The idea of leadership often evokes the notion of power, authority, dynamism, vigour, charisma, personalities, organisation and other similar concepts. These various connotations have contributed to the wealth of definition that is attached to leadership. Some define leadership as â€Å"a stream of evolving interrelationships in which leaders are continuously evoking motivational responses from followers and modifying their behaviour as they meet responsiveness or resistance, in a ceaseless process of flow and counter flow†

Life Styles Inventory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life Styles Inventory - Case Study Example On a critical evaluation of myself, I find the concept of power dominating other thinking styles. Occasionally, I overwhelmed with the desire to control actions and be in charge. However, this has always posed a number of challenges on my ability to provide directions as a manager. Power has created an unquestionable authority in the organization. The relationship between me and my employees has been impaired and a sense of personal authority and accountability at the department level has been lost. It has discouraged decentralization leaving me with the bulky duty of ever making each and every decision in the organization. However, in contradiction to the descriptions of this thinking style as shown in the lifestyle inventory, I have never witnessed the trait of coercion and intimidation in me. Often, I treat my employees with respect and listen to their opinions with an open-mind even though most of them do not like participating in the decision making process. Again, as opposed to the results description, I am usually patient and tolerant with my employees as long as the job is done as it ought to be. As my results would have it, my back-up thinking style is avoidance. This scale measures my tendency to use defensive strategies of withdrawal (Humphrey 229). This appears to be another true fact though there could be a few variations. Personally, I believe that problems are part of life and the preeminent method of solving issues is not by running away from them. I am capable of doing whatever it takes just to have the problem solved. It does not matter how much risk is involved. As some scholars would put it, there is no one best way of doing something. Similarly, I do not rely on a single way of tackling my problem of choose the easiest way out, instead, I explore more on other avenues that allows me to have my problem solved. This strengthens my ability to fulfill my role as a leader and a director in the organization Avoidance, as a thinking style has made me become more effective in my job as a manager. Normally, the practice of management is usually faced with lots of challenges, but my ability to solve problems has always seen me through the tough huddles in management practice. However, imperfections are part of humans and I do not believe that I have to be right at all times. Therefore, I differ with the description provided in the lifestyle inventory that people with this thinking style purport to always be right. I like being corrected when I make a mistake and accepting liability as a result of my blunders. On the other hand, my lifestyle inventory results indicate low performance on my humanistic-encouragement thinking style. This scale measures my interest to people and ability to care about others (Humphrey 230). Even though this was not the lowest performance recorded, humanistic engagement is an important style in the practice of management. As a manager, I need to be concerned with my employees and make them believe in themselves. They should also appreciate themselves for who they are and be satisfied with what they have. The lack of humanistic-encouragement in me compromises my ability as a manager since a manager needs to be listening and caring about employees. Presence of this trait in me might enhance manager-employee relationship and this has always proven to be one way of motivating employees. Suggestively, one of the things I should do better my humanistic-enc

Is a universal concept of Human Rights possible Essay - 1

Is a universal concept of Human Rights possible - Essay Example The Commission, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was officially adopted by the UN representatives from all over the world on 10 December, 1948. The Declaration emphasized that human rights are universal regardless of person’s nationality, religion, race, cultural, economic, and social background. However, since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world has significantly changed. The Cold War era, rise of Taliban, radical Islamism, Gaza conflict, the Middle-east War, North Korean dictatorship, recent Ukraine and Syria crisis, Charlie Hebdo attacks, constant tensions in African and south Asian regions, growing global poverty, homelessness, unemployment, violence, crimes, pollution, and the increasing North/South gap in the access to resources and wealth have regularly highlighted the failure of the UN Council and its Commissions in protecting human rights of common people around the world. The end of the Cold war led to the number of desperate attempts to establish â€Å"a new world orders.† But, such attempts have caused more social conflicts than solutions. The introduction of advanced technologies, fast transport means, and globalization began to bring people from various ethnic, social, cultural, and religious backgrounds together involunt arily and voluntarily. In the process of adjusting to pluralism, the tensions, conflicts, and confusion between people from different culture have significantly intensified. As Samuel Huntington have states, the clash of civilizations is the most visible and bitter truth of today’s world. The universality of human rights declaration has caused a stir in a political and social field since its proposal in 1947. The ideas of right and wrong, good and evil that exist in one society may not match with the

RadioShack Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

RadioShack Corporation - Case Study Example With stiff competition in the market and emergence of newer technologies, margins of the company are under pressure as of now, but the company has not yet given up. Its product line include wireless telephones and communication devices such as scanners and two-way radios; flat panel televisions, residential telephones, DVD players, computers and direct-to-home ('DTH') satellite systems; home entertainment, wireless, imaging and computer accessories; general and special purpose batteries; wire, cable and connectivity products; and digital cameras, radio-controlled cars and other toys, satellite radios and memory players. RadioShack also provides third-party services such as wireless telephone and DTH satellite activation, satellite radio service, prepaid wireless airtime and extended service plans to its customers (Datamonitor, 2007, 5). RadioShack started off in 1921 with a one-store retail and mail order operation in the heart of the downtown Boston when two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann pooled their efforts. The name "RadioShack," was arrived at after considering the most useful radio technology at that time i.e. the shipping radio signals2. RadioShack signifies the small, wooden structure which housed a ship's radio equipment. Therefore, it was thought that the name would be appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as "ham" radio operators. Gradually, the store started becoming quite a useful one in the Northeast, and became a leading electronics mail-order distributor to hobbyists. And it continued to fulfill the needs of the amateur radio operators and other radio enthusiasts for couple of decades. The company also issued its first catalog in early 1940s, considered a luxury till that time. It opened its first audio comparator showroom for customer s to view audio equipment in 1947. Same year, the company started visualizing the opportunity in the hi-fi equipment market and entered the high-fidelity market with the nations' first audio store in 1947. This store provided comparisons of speakers, amplifiers, turntables and phonograph cartridges. In the mid-1950s, RadioShack began selling its own private-label product line with the Realistic brand name, a variation of Realist, which had been used earlier3. The store chain kept growing in strength and by the early 1960s it had nine retails stores and a mail-order business under its name. Soon, it was a leading distributor of electronic parts and products to do-it-yourselfers around the world. Sooner thereafter, the company started feeling the pinch when the company's some of the poor operating practices took its toll and it fell on hard times. The company was later purchased by Charles Tandy, a successful entrepreneur in leather business, in 1963 for the equivalent of $300,000 cas h. And the dwindling fortunes of the company started looking up once again when Charles Tandy turned out a plan of action for the newly acquired business. Tandy opened RadioShack stores in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany and Holland in 1969. RadioShack sold its first electronic calculator in the year 1972. Subsequently in early 1970s, Tandy Corporation started wrapping up its leather business to concentrate on radio equipment only. By 1975 it became exclusively an electronics company after it spun off all other operations into Tandycrafts and Tandy Brands4. In 1986,

The ethical problems of illegal immigration in the united states Essay

The ethical problems of illegal immigration in the united states - Essay Example al sovereignty and border protection can find themselves at odds with advocates for migration who see in it a cheap labor force and a means of preventing further outsourcing overseas. In similar fashion, ideologues of the Left can find themselves divided between those who support the interests and needs of American workers (industrial and agricultural) and those according to whom the human rights of immigrants deserve to be recognized and protected. Illegal immigration as an issue is not, however, simply a political one. It also presents a host of complex and not easily answered ethical questions. As both a nation of immigrants and one whose founding was greatly influenced by Enlightenment ideas of universal rights and dignity, the United States is sometimes hard pressed to reconcile some of its historic-philosophical values with its more immediate and typical needs regarding its national sovereignty and the rule of law. Furthermore, as a country for whom the Christian religion has long been an influential belief system, Christ’s message of â€Å"treat thy neighbor as thyself† (Leviticus 19:18) presents certain difficulties for resolving and, even more fraught with conflict, prosecuting illegal immigration. The American Constitution guarantees certain rights to all United States citizens. Included is the Thirteenth Amendment which grants citizenship to all persons born within the borders of the country. When illegal immigrants come to the United States and have a child, that child is automatically an American citizen with rights to education, health care, Social Security, and other legal protections. These services all cost money. Though this area might represent a â€Å"loophole† in the law, until changed, these newborns deserve the same treatment as anyone else born here in America. Technically the child’s parents are still illegal and have no true legal claim to any benefits or services. It would hardly be ethical or moral, however, to separate the

RadioShack Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

RadioShack Corporation - Case Study Example With stiff competition in the market and emergence of newer technologies, margins of the company are under pressure as of now, but the company has not yet given up. Its product line include wireless telephones and communication devices such as scanners and two-way radios; flat panel televisions, residential telephones, DVD players, computers and direct-to-home ('DTH') satellite systems; home entertainment, wireless, imaging and computer accessories; general and special purpose batteries; wire, cable and connectivity products; and digital cameras, radio-controlled cars and other toys, satellite radios and memory players. RadioShack also provides third-party services such as wireless telephone and DTH satellite activation, satellite radio service, prepaid wireless airtime and extended service plans to its customers (Datamonitor, 2007, 5). RadioShack started off in 1921 with a one-store retail and mail order operation in the heart of the downtown Boston when two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann pooled their efforts. The name "RadioShack," was arrived at after considering the most useful radio technology at that time i.e. the shipping radio signals2. RadioShack signifies the small, wooden structure which housed a ship's radio equipment. Therefore, it was thought that the name would be appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as "ham" radio operators. Gradually, the store started becoming quite a useful one in the Northeast, and became a leading electronics mail-order distributor to hobbyists. And it continued to fulfill the needs of the amateur radio operators and other radio enthusiasts for couple of decades. The company also issued its first catalog in early 1940s, considered a luxury till that time. It opened its first audio comparator showroom for customer s to view audio equipment in 1947. Same year, the company started visualizing the opportunity in the hi-fi equipment market and entered the high-fidelity market with the nations' first audio store in 1947. This store provided comparisons of speakers, amplifiers, turntables and phonograph cartridges. In the mid-1950s, RadioShack began selling its own private-label product line with the Realistic brand name, a variation of Realist, which had been used earlier3. The store chain kept growing in strength and by the early 1960s it had nine retails stores and a mail-order business under its name. Soon, it was a leading distributor of electronic parts and products to do-it-yourselfers around the world. Sooner thereafter, the company started feeling the pinch when the company's some of the poor operating practices took its toll and it fell on hard times. The company was later purchased by Charles Tandy, a successful entrepreneur in leather business, in 1963 for the equivalent of $300,000 cas h. And the dwindling fortunes of the company started looking up once again when Charles Tandy turned out a plan of action for the newly acquired business. Tandy opened RadioShack stores in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany and Holland in 1969. RadioShack sold its first electronic calculator in the year 1972. Subsequently in early 1970s, Tandy Corporation started wrapping up its leather business to concentrate on radio equipment only. By 1975 it became exclusively an electronics company after it spun off all other operations into Tandycrafts and Tandy Brands4. In 1986,

Analyse and critically assess Baumol's model of innovationbased of Essay

Analyse and critically assess Baumol's model of innovationbased of growth - Essay Example For this reason he states that competition and the free market economy has played a major role in encouraging innovation by enterprises in the economy which has resulted into economic growth. According to Baumol (2002) capitalism is unique in its innovation characteristic and that the product of the capitalist society is economic growth. he notes that past economies such as medieval China were characterized by innovative and invention ideas but due to the economic system and characteristics innovation did not result in economic growth, the difference between these economies is that the modern economy is characterized by free competition and also that innovation is used as a competition tool in the market. Firms in the modern world have two competitive weapons and they include prices and innovation, innovation in the modern world is the prime weapon and has become mandatory in the modern firms. The firm that do not undertake innovation face closure in the modern world, therefore they compete to outperform their competitor in innovative ideas in the market other than the use of price, this form of competition results into new and better products and processes that benefits consumers. Firms result in frequent innovation as a competitive strategy and this innovation results into further innovation, innovation therefore becomes a routinised process. ... He also notes that the Capitalist economy is driven by profit motives, these motives makes firms to perform tasks efficiently and effectively, and that the invisible hand controls firms in the market from deriving abnormal profits forcing a firms to provide better products in the market than its rivals. Baumol (2002) however states that economic growth does not solve other problems the society may face such as inequality and this is because economic growth only solves problems that depend on it. On large and small entrepreneurs he noted that small and independent innovators provide a significantly startling result, he notes that a recent study by the small business association the frequency of citation of small firm patents is more likely to be among the first top one percent, Some of the products by independent and small firm innovation include the airplane, pace maker and the helicopter. This trend is expected to exist in future and that independent inventors over the years open up large firms that perform routine innovation. Large firms on the other hand also contribute to innovation. Large firms specialize in product improvement, provision of user friendly products and finding new consumers for their products. These large firms are characterized by bureaucratic controls that ensure that innovation processes are incremental and predictable, for this reason these control restrict imaginative ideas which may result into disaster and that may also result to revolutionize into a new world. Conclusion: From the above analysis it is evident that Baumol analysis of economic growth advocates for the free market economy, the capitalist society promotes growth whereby it is

The 1906 landslide victory Essay Example for Free

The 1906 landslide victory Essay To what extent is it fair to conclude that it was Conservative/Unionist failings that led to the 1906 landslide victory? Within the last 20 years being dominated by the conservative party, perhaps it is possible to assume that soon there would be a reverse in conservative fortunes. This could come from a liberal comeback or another party finding their feet in parliament. As we know it was the Liberals aiming their ascendancy again to win a landslide victory in 1906. However, external factors cannot entirely be attributed to the conservative downfall as it came in a landslide defeat. In answering this question I will look at the inefficiencies and limitations of the conservative party, whilst also considering the actions and decisions of the other parties. It is fair to say that the conservatives would have found it difficult to gain any more votes than they already had received form previous elections, and that their goals were mainly consolidation of their position. This landslide in 1906 shows that the conservative objections were failed to be adhered to. Therefore in answering this question the first aspect to look at is the conservative parties own limitations. Many of the problems that the conservatives had to face were them always seeming to have an ineffectual leader, Arthur Balfour. At first it would to be believed that he might become a good leader as he had brains, courage, vision and that he was also a well respected man in the commons. Balfour disliked democracies like his uncle Salisbury, yet in that he never took it seriously. Balfour became too cerebral and too uninvolved, and in his eyes, the Tories were an instrument for solving the nations problems. He saw that Britain was in a state of decline on the international front, with the economic growth saturating alongside productivity. Thus, defense of the empire was required in order to make Britain more competitive and Chamberlain was particularly devoted tot this. It has to be said that it was the combination of Chamberlains response and Balfour letting him enact his response that became a major reason behind the conservative defeat in the 1906 elections. The conservatives foreign policy was also very poor, as it was the Liberals in 1886 with the problems involving Irish home rule. Between the two men, the party collapsed from Salisburys secure and dominant party, to eventually ruins. Balfour was also costly about reform, and it was the poorly orchestrated social reform that seemed to lead to the dissatisfaction of certain social groups that had been formally enlightened by the conservatives. An example of this is the 1902 Education Act, which eventually ended up in a political disaster. In order to achieve national greatness and efficiency it was believed at the time that it was education that held the key, and that if education didnt become a prominent feature of party policies Britain would fall behind other major countries. Therefore no wonder that Balfour and Devonshire both co-operated to forward the education act of 1902. Embitterment reached its peaks in the summer of 1906 with Dr. Clifford, who started upon orchestrating a campaign against education reform. This became the beginning of the non-conformist revolt. Other reforms agitated the non-conformists groups, two years later with the enactment of the 1904 Licensing Act, which made provision for closure of republic houses but also compensated those who had lost trade by a levy on those remaining. With Balfours inability to reform he had two major instances in the public spotlight, which completely tarnished the partys reputation with hem showing complete insensitivity towards the public opinion. Balfour mistake on the domestic front with him totally comprehending the trade unions agitation that arose form a series of judgments in the late 1890s (Taff Vale). In contrast with Disraeli in the 1870s he made no effort to halt the pressure groups. Balfours main concerns were with the foreign policy and maintaining of the empire, which in effect would enhance Britains position. Another major mistake that Balfour made was the damage from the Boer War in South Africa. Alfred Miller concerned about the war asked for the importation of Chinese workers, these workers would work in the gold mines of the Rand. Initially Chamberlain who obviously recognized the importance of public opinion vetoed the request, however the board sanctioned the request later in 1903. This proved to be a mistake with a wave of protest all over Britain, mainly die to the people becoming more aware of human rights. The outcry came form the conscience as the Chinese workers had to work in poor conditions in the most small and dangerous areas. Balfour could have rejected the idea, however to him the plan was effective and practical. On the 15th May 1903, Birmingham, Chamberlain declared his faith in imperial preference as he proposed to abandon free trade which had become a way of British life for fifty years. He believed that a system of duties would tie the overall empire together, raise revenue for social reform and protect British industry. The war on the Tariffs had started with Chamberlain seeing this move a way of solving the nations problems whilst giving him individual gains, such as him being in the spotlight after fading with the climax of the Boer War. In July 1903 an outraged group of unionists began to set a Free Food League, and thus Balfour faced an extremely dangerous position. Bitter quarrels were beginning to form between those who endorsed free trade and those who were tariff reformers. Another massive blow to the conservative party under the controversies of tariff reform was the loss of Winston Churchill, who publicly showed the necks of the liberals, tariff reform became a rallying cry for conservatives and an electoral liability. The protection of men and women meant less food for the people, whilst the fre trade stood for prosperity and cheap food. Chamberlains reform, was admittedly unfortunate to coincide with economic revival, yet this fear of expensive food created a retaliation in the country and I believe this was the major mistake made by the party, which ultimately produced a swing against them of devastating proportion in what is know seen as the landslide victory of 1906. Chamberlain and Balfour both seemed to have the inabilities to appease all social groups and this was made worse with their ineffective social reform, inability to understand public opinion and their constant focus upon solving the nations problem. This all contributed to the declining conservative support. The views that I have just made are the conservatives mistakes that led to the landslide victory, yet the Liberal party after Gladstone was undertaking changes. These changes were apparent in their organization and ideology and thus by the early 1900s it was ready again to challenge the conservatives through the electoral system. The year 1902 was a decisive year for the liberals fortunes. Initially, the liberals looked set to divide further into factions as Roseberys ascendancy had culminated in him leading a pressure group within the party as a president of the new liberal league. The group name was Schism which included the prominent figures such as Grey, Fowler and Asquith. The group however began to fade away. The education Act set up by the conservatives gave the Liberals a chance to reform and unite and rally to the non-conformist cause. The Liberal politicians now had something to pick up on, and hostility to rate support fir church schools and the abolition of the non-conformist dominated school boards was a perfect issue. By-elections immediately swung against the Tories, as the Liberals won in Bury and Leeds by July. In 1903 Chamberlain had begun his infamous tariff reform campaign and presented the Liberals with an absolutely perfect issue in which they could protest against. The Liberal propaganda, machine had got in motion with the main liberal highlight big Liberal Loaf against the small Tory loaf. Asquith began to emerge as a leading protagonist in the issue, and was a thorn in Chamberlains side. Through the campaign the liberals were winning back votes form the working class as the liberals played upon the fact that the tariffs were being enacted at the expense of the masses who have to pay for them. This then led to more places falling under the Liberal grasp like Lancashire. Even new support groups were being encouraged, as the National League of Young Liberals was set up in 1903 and had 300 branches by 1906. Gladstones achievements as an organizer meant a fall in the number of unionist candidates. The splitting of the progressive vote had clearly rebounded to the unionist advantage, highlighted in the unionist dominance at Barnard castle in 1903. The eventual agreement was signed in September 1903 with the main gist being that Labour would get a free run in some forty to fifty unionist seats in return for backing the Liberals elsewhere. The results of the 1906 elections were paramount to the pact made by the two parties, as the benefits affected both. Indeed the LRC and the Liberals were able to concentrate upon capitalizing on the new upshot of working class consciousness, which was shown in essence at the retaliation against the war fought for the rich capitalists of the Rand, the money making schemes of Chamberlain, the contemptuous nature against Labour with the enslavement of Chinese workers and the refusal to reverse the Taff Vale judgment. The reform issue was the final fault of the conservatives for the Liberals to pose the question. The 1906 elections was a disaster for Unionists whereas the liberals consolidate their strongholds whilst gaining in Lancashire, London and the southeast. In conclusion I believe that it was mainly due to the conservative failings that led to the 1906 landslide elections. The Tory party was headed by two main figures, Balfour and Chamberlain who brought the party to ruins preceding the rise in liberal fortunes headed by Salisbury. The liberal propaganda machine helped to put the conservatives to rest whilst they continued their uprising. The Liberal united around the conservative failings and this proved to be a force for both non-conformity and the working class.

Phosphonium Vermiculites Dispertion: Polymethylmethacrylate

Phosphonium Vermiculites Dispertion: Polymethylmethacrylate Ultraphonic in situ polymerization improves the dispersion of phosphonium vermiculites in polymethylmethacrylate with excellent mechanical property Bin Zhang1, Dingfeng Xu1, Shaozao Tan1,*, Langhuan Huang1, Xiang Cai2, Ting Wu2,*Abstract In order to improve the dispersion of phosphonium vermiculites (OVMT) in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), the ultraphonic in situ polymerization method was introduced, and a series of OVMT-PMMA (PBTP) nanocomposites were successfully prepared. The results indicated that the assistance of ultraphonic could increase the interfacial interactions between OVMT and PMMA, thus the particles of OVMT dispersed better in the PMMA matrix with a highly exfoliated structure. In addition, the obtained PBTP nanocomposites showed better mechanical properties than those prepared without ultraphonic, suggesting the great potential of ultraphonic in situ polymerization in the synthesis of polymer/clay nanocomposites. Keywords: phosphonium vermiculite; polymethylmethacrylate; ultraphonic; in situ polymerization; dispersion 1. Introduction In the past decades, polymer/clay nanocomposites have attracted much attention of chemists [1-3], because the additions of these layered silicates exhibited significant improvements in mechanical and thermal properties of polymers with very low amount of loading [4,5]. Until now, three main methods have been considered for the synthesis of polymer/clay composites: melt blending, solvent exfoliation and in situ polymerization [6]. Compared with other methods,in situ polymerization is more efà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cient and environmentally friendly [7]. Nevertheless, the dispersed efficiency of clay in polymer matrix is unsatisfactory, leading to limited improvements in the properties of polymers. Thus, it is necessary to modify the surfaces of pristine clays and introduce other synthesis methods, which can overcome the shortcomings [8]. In this paper, we reported a highly effective synthesis method of phosphonium vermiculites/polymethylmethacrylate (PBTP) nanocomposites by ultraphonic in situ po lymerization. Then, the excellent dispersion of the phosphonium vermiculites (OVMT) in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was displayed, and the resulting effects on the properties of PBPT nanocomposites were also demonstrated. 2. Experimental sections 2.1 Materials Benzyltriphenylphosphonium (BTP) of C.R. grade was supplied by Qingte Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Vermiculite (VMT) with cation-exchanger capacity of 135 mmol/100 g was purchased from Hebei Lingshou Micro-mineral Co. Ltc. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and 2,2-azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN) were supplied from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co. Ltd. 2.2 Preparation of OVMT 60 g VMT was dispersed in 300 ml deionized water, to which 120 mmol BTP was slowly added. Then the mixture was stirred vigorously at 80  ºC for 10 h. The resulting product was washed with deionized water for three times. After dried at 80  ºC under vacuum and gathered with 300 mesh sieve, the OVMT were obtained. 2.3 Synthesis of PBTP nanocomposites 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% OVMT were respectively dispersed in methyl methacrylate with 0.2 wt.% of AIBN. After stirred at 25  °C for 0.5 h, the suspension was polymerized in a water bath at 80  °C for 2 h with the help of ultraphonic. Then, the suspension was followed with post polymerization at 35  °C for 20 h and at 105  °C for at least 2 h orderly to get PBTP nanocomposites. The resulting PBTP nanocomposites were designated as PBTP-S1, PBTP-S2 and PBTP-S3, respectively. For comparison, the PBTP nanocomposites prepared without ultraphonic were designated as PBTP-1, PBTP-2 and PBTP-3, respectively. 2.4. Characterizations Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) were measured with the Perkin-Elmer-Spectrum GX-Spectrophotometer. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns were recorded on a Rigaku D/Max 1200 X-ray Diffractometer (40 kV, 40 mA, Cu KÃŽ ±,) with a scan speed of 2 º /min. The microstructures were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM, Philips Tecnai 10, Nederland). Mechanical properties were conducted following ASTM D638M-91a with a Universal Testing Machine (LLOYD LR100K). 3. Results and discussion In the FTIR spectrum of VMT (Figure 1a), the broad band near 3620 cm-1 was due to -OH stretching mode of interlayer water, while the absorption peak in the region of 1662 cm-1 was attributed to -OH bending mode of adsorbed water. The bands at 1030 and 460 cm-1 were attributed to stretching vibration and bending vibration of Si-O, respectively. In the FTIR spectrsum of OVMT (Figure 1b), compared with that of VMT (Figure 1a), two new peaks at 2925 and 2854 cm-1 appeared, which were ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric vibration of methylene groups (CH2)n in the aliphatic chain [9]. Therefore, the existence of BTP in OVMT was proved, and the OVMT was successfully prepared. Figure 1. FTIR spectra of (a) VMT and (b) OVMT. In Figure 2a and 2b, the (001) planes of VMT and OVMT were observed at 2ÃŽ ¸ = 7.44 º and 2ÃŽ ¸ = 5.87 º, corresponding to the d-spacings of 1.19 nm and 1.50 nm, respectively, which indicated that the galleries of the silicate layers in VMT had been expanded for about 0.31 nm by the intercalation of BTP. Thus, successful preparation of OVMT was proved again [10]. XRD patterns of PBTPs were shown in Figure 2c-h. It was found that the diffraction peak intensities of PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization were less than those of PBTPs prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, indicating lower degree of crystallinity. To our surprise, the PBTP-S1 even did not exhibit any diffraction peak, indicating the extensive layer separation associated with the altitudinal delamination of OVMT silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, which resulted in the total exfoliation of the clays [3,5]. So, these results showed the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerizatio n had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. In addition, the 2ÃŽ ¸ value increased in the PBTPs matrix with the increase of OVMT content, indicating the increase of OVMT content would lead to a bad compatibility of OVMT with the PMMA matrix. Figure 2. X-Ray diffraction patterns of (a) VMT, (b) OVMT, (c) PBTP-S1, (d) PBTP-1, (e) PBTP-S2, (f) PBTP-2, (g) PBTP-S3 and (h) PBTP-3. To further understand the layer structures of OVMT in the nanocomposites, TEM was performed. In Figure 3, the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization were homogeneously and randomly dispersed in the PMMA matrix, and it was observed from time to time that some small intercalated stacks with a thickness of a few tenths of nanometers were remained, which was ascribed to the largely expanded d-spacing of OVMT caused by the chains of the exchanged ions and the presences of the methacrylic groups, improving the compatibility between OVMT and PMMA matrix [1,2]. However, the PBTPs prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization appeared to be more aggregated in the PMMA matrix. These results also demonstrated PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. Figure 3. TEM images of (a) PBTP-S1, (b) PBTP-S2, (c) PBTP-S3, (d) PBTP-1, (e) PBTP-2 and (f) PBTP-3. Table 1. Mechanical properties of PMMA and PBTPs. Then, the mechanical properties of samples were tested (Table 1). Compared with those of the pure PMMA, the modulus and the elongation of the PBTPs were increased with the increasing of the clays, whatever they were prepared with or without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. The tensile strengths of PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization showed obvious improvement, and when the additions of OVMT were 1 wt% and 3 wt%, they increased about 10.7 % and 16.1 %, respectively. The enhancements were mainly attributed to the homogeneous dispersion and strong interfacial interactions of OVMT in the polymer matrix, and high exfoliation of the silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, which provided high resistance against the plastic deformation. However, the tensile strengths were decreased with the increasing of the clays when PBTPs were prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, which indicated clays gathered and had poor dispersion in polymer matrix. 4. Conclusion In summary, the OVMT was prepared and characterized by the FTIR spectra and XRD patterns, and the results showed that the BTP were intercalated into VMT, and the OVMT was successfully prepared. The XRD patterns and TEM images indicated that the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had an extensive layer separation associated with the altitudinal delamination of OVMT silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, resulting in the high level of exfoliation of the clays. So, the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, leading to better mechanical properties. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51172099, 51203134, 21476052 and 21271087), the Foundation of Enterprise-University- Research Institute Cooperation from Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China (2013B090600148), and The Science and Technology Innovation Platform Project of Foshan City (2014AG100171). References [1] Liqiang, C. Naresh, H. T. and Seong, I. W., â€Å"Effects of Modified Clay on the Morphology and Properties of PMMA/Clay Nanocomposites Synthesized byin SituPolymerization†, Macromolecules, 41/12 (2008), 4268-4274. [2] Yoon, K. K. Yeong, S. C. Ki, H. W. and In, J. C., â€Å"Synthesis of Exfoliated PS/Na−MMT Nanocomposites via Emulsion Polymerization†, Chem. Mater, 14/12 (2002), 4990-4995. [3] Hazarika, A. Devi, R. R. and Maji, T. K., â€Å"Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid-co-itaconic acid) hydrogels†, Polym. Bull, 68/7 (2012), 1889-1903. [4] Xaoan, F. and Syed, Q., â€Å"Synthesis of polystyrene–clay nanocomposites†, Mater. Letters, 42/1 (2000), 12-15. [5] Wang, W. S. Liang, C. K. Chen, Y. C. Su, Y. L and Chen, Y. Y. W., â€Å"Transparent and flame retardant PMMA/clay nanocomposites prepared with dual modified organoclay†, Polym. Adv. Technol, 23/3 (2012), 625-631. [6] Tong, Z. H. and Deng, Y. L., â€Å"Synthesis of Water-Based Polystyrene-Nanoclay Composite Suspension via Miniemulsion PolymerizationInd†, Eng. Chem. Res, 45/8 (2006), 2641-2645. [7] Zhao, Q. and Edward, T. S., â€Å"In Situ Polymerization of Poly(methyl methacrylate)/Clay Nano -composites in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide†, Macromolecules, 38/19 (2005), 7967-7971. [8] Yoshito, A. Jeong, J. M. and Takeshi, E., â€Å"Design of Nanocomposites by Vapor-Phase Assisted Surface Polymerization†, Macromolecules, 42/3 (2009), 768-772. [9] Cai, X. Tan, S. Z. Lin, M. S. and Liu, Y. L., â€Å"ynergistic antibacterial brilliant blue/reduced graphene oxide/quaternary phosphonium salt composite with excellent water-solubility and specific-targeting capability†, Langmuir, 27/12 (2011), 7828-7835. [10] Zeng, X. S. Cai, D. M. Lin, Z. D. Tan, S. Z. and Xu, Y. B., â€Å"Morphology, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Phosphonium Vermiculite Filled Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Composites†, J. Appl. Polym. Sci, 126/2 (2012), 601-607. 1/9

Challenges Facing AIDS Activism in America :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Challenges Facing AIDS Activism in America Even before HIV/AIDS first showed up in the United States in 1980-1981, homosexuals were greatly stigmatized within American society. The homophobia that already existed was only exacerbated by the fact that the overwhelming majority of those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS during the first few years of the epidemic were homosexual males (so much so in fact that AIDS was originally called the "Gay-Related Immuno Deficiency"). The US male homosexual population found itself confronted with a national epidemic that was receiving zero national attention. The political activism of the gay male population in the 1980s and early 1990s made significant progress towards educating American society about limiting the risk of disease transmission through safe-sex practices and clean-needle exchanges, combating discrimination of people with AIDS (PWAs) and homosexuals, and ensuring that adequate health care was provided for PWAs. But now it seems that the fight against AIDS is right back where it began. Homosexuals no longer account for the highest rate of new HIV/AIDS infections, and as a result, the urgency of their political activism has subsided. The population in which the vast majority of new HIV/AIDS infections occurs is the poor minority population, a highly stigmatized sector of American society. Once again, the AIDS epidemic is receiving zero national attention because those most affected are not a part of the national dialogue. Whereas male homosexuals found themselves in positions of power and wealth in the first decade of the epidemic, this "new face" of AIDS has little in terms of financial and political resources. It is up to other AIDS activists to lend their voice and political weight to advocate for the welfare of these impoverished minorities. Even before AIDS surfaced the US gay male population had experience in grass-roots political activism from the sexual revolution of the 1970s, and just as the first rumors of a "gay cancer" were circulating in San Francisco and New York, the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) was formed in January 1982 to "provide compassionate care to New Yorkers with AIDS, educate to keep people healthy, and advocate for fair and effective public policies" (GMHC 1). AIDS first came into the public eye in 1985 when Rock Hudson, a famous 1960s Hollywood actor, publicly admitted to having AIDS and subsequently died later that year. But after five years of unsuccessful lobbying, AIDS was still perceived as a gay men's health crisis and not an american (or international) health crisis.

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 11. The Two Things At The Very Top …

11. The Two Things At The Very Top Of My Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do List Sam started moving the others into formation while i was still on the ground. Embry and Quil were at my sides, waiting for me to recover and take the point. I could feel the drive, the need, to get on my feet and lead them. The compulsion grew, and I fought it uselessly, cringing on the ground where I was. Embry whined quietly in my ear. He didn't want to think the words, afraid that he would bring me to Sam's attention again. I felt his wordless plea for me to get up, for me to get this over with and be done with it. There was fear in the pack, not so much for self but for the whole. We couldn't imagine that we would all make it out alive tonight. Which brothers would we lose? Which minds would leave us forever? Which grieving families would we be consoling in the morning? My mind began to work with theirs, to think in unison, as we dealt with these fears. Automatically, I pushed up from the ground and shook out my coat. Embry and Quil huffed in relief. Quil touched his nose to my side once. Their minds were filled with our challenge, our assignment. We remembered together the nights we'd watched the Cullens practicing for the fight with the newborns. Emmett Cullen was strongest, but Jasper would be the bigger problem. He moved like a lightning strike – power and speed and death rolled into one. How many centuries' experience did he have? Enough that all the other Cullens looked to him for guidance. take point, if you want flank, Quil offered. There was more excitement in his mind than most of the others. When Quil had watched Jasper's instruction those nights, he'd been dying to test his skill against the vampire's. For him, this would be a contest. Even knowing it was his life on the line, he saw it that way. Paul was like that, too, and the kids who had never been in battle, Collin and Brady. Seth probably would've been the same – if the opponents were not his friends. Jake?Quil nudged me. How do you want to roll? I just shook my head, t couldn't concentrate – the compulsion to follow orders felt like puppet strings hooked intoall of my muscles. One foot forward, now another. Seth was dragging behind Collin and Brady – Leah had assumed point there. She ignored Seth while planning with the others, and I could see that she'd rather leave him out of the fight.There was a maternal edge to her feelings for her younger brother. She wished Sam would send him home. Seth didn't register Leah's doubts. He was adjusting to the puppet strings, too. Maybe if you stopped resisting†¦,Embry whispered. Just focus on our part. The big ones. We can take them down. We own them!Quil was working himself up – like a pep talk before a big game. I could see how easy it would be – to think about nothing more than my part. It wasn't hard to imaging attacking Jasper and Emmett. We'd been close to that before. I'd thought of them as enemies for a very long time. I could do that now again. I just had to forget that they were protecting the same thing I would protect. I had to forget the reason why I might want them to win†¦. Jake,Embry warned. Keep your head in the game. My feet moved sluggishly, pulling against the drag of the strings. There's no point fighting it,Embry whispered again. He was right. I would end up doing what Sam wanted, if he was willing to push it. And he was. Obviously. There was a good reason for the Alpha's authority. Even a pack as strong as ours wasn't much of a force without a leader. We had to move together, to think together, in order to be effective. And that required the body to have a head. So what if Sam was wrong now? There was nothing anyone could do. No one could dispute his decision. Except. And there it was – a thought I'd never, never wanted to have. But now, with my legs all tied up in strings, I recognized the exception with relief – more than relief, with a fierce joy. No one could dispute the Alpha's decision – except for me. I hadn't earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that I'd left unclaimed. I'd never wanted to lead the pack. I didn't want to do it now. I didn't want the responsibility for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was better at that than I would ever be. But he was wrong tonight. And I had not been born to kneel to him. The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright. I could feel it gathering in me, both a freedomand also a strange, hollow power.Hollow because an Alpha's power came from his pack, and I had no pack. For a second, loneliness overwhelmed me. I had no pack now. But I was straight and strong as I walked to where Sam stood, planning with Paul and Jared. He turned at the sound of my advance, and his black eyes narrowed. A/o, I told him again. He heard it right away, heard the choice that I'd made in the sound of the Alpha voice in my thoughts. He jumped back a half step with a shocked yelp. Jacob? What have you done? I won't follow you, Sam. Not for something so wrong. He stared at me, stunned. You would†¦ you would choose your enemies over your family? They aren't – I shook my head, clearing it – they aren't our enemies. They never have been. Until I really thought about destroying them, thought it through, I didn't see that. This isn't about them,he snarled at me. This is about Bella. She has never been the one for you, she has never chosen you, but you continue to destroy your life for her! They were hard words, but true words. I sucked in a big gulp of air, breathing them in. Maybe you're right. But you're going to destroy the pack over her, Sam. No matter how many of them survive tonight, they will always have murder on their hands. We have to protect our families! I know what you've decided, Sam. But you don't decide for me, not anymore. Jacob – you can't turn your back on the tribe. I heard the double echo of his Alpha command, but it was weightless this time. It no longer applied to me. He clenched his jaw, trying to force me to respond to his words. I stared into his furious eyes. Ephraim Black's son was not born to follow Levi Uley's. Is this it, then, JacobBlack? His hackles rose and his muzzle pulled back from his teeth. Paul and Jared snarled and bristled at his sides. Even if you can defeat me, the pack will never follow you! Now jerked back, a surprised whine escaping my throat. Defeat you? I'm not going to fight you, Sam. Then what's your plan? I'm not stepping aside so that you can protect the vampire spawn at the tribe's expense. I'm not telling you to step aside. If you order them to follow you – never take anyone's will away from him. His tail whipped back and forth as he recoiled from the judgment in my words. Then he took a step forward so that we were toe to toe, his exposed teeth inches from mine. I hadn't noticed till this moment that I'd grown taller than him. There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again?Every word was layered with command, but it couldn't touch me. Alpha blood ran undiluted in my veins. Icould see why there was never more than one Alpha male in a pack. My body was responding to the challenge. I could feel the instinct to defend my claim rising in me. The primitive core of my wolf-self tensed for the battle of supremacy. I focusedall my energy to control that reaction. I would not fall into a pointless, destructive fight with Sam. He was my brother still, even though I was rejecting him. There is only one Alpha for this pack. I'm not contesting that I'm just choosing to go my own way. Do you belong to acoven now, Jacob? I flinched. don't know, Sam. But I do know this – He shrunk back as he felt the weight of the Alpha in my tone. It affected him more than his touched me. Because I had been born to lead him. will stand between you and the Cullens. I won't just watch while the pack kills innocent – it was hard to apply that word to vampires, but it was true – people. The pack is better than that. Lead them in the right direction, Sam. I turned my back on him, and a chorus of howls tore into the air around me. Digging my nails into the earth, I raced away from the uproar I'd caused. I didn't have much time. At least Leah was the only one with a prayer of outrunning me, and I had a head start. The howling faded with the distance, and I took comfort as the sound continued to rip apart the quiet night. They weren't after me yet. I had to warn the Cullens before the pack could get it together and stop me. If the Cullens were prepared,it might give Sam a reason to rethink this before it was too late. I sprinted toward the white house Istill hated, leaving my home behindme. Home didn't belong to me anymore. I'd turned my back on it. Today had begun like any other day. Made it home from patrol with the rainy sunrise, breakfast with Billy and Rachel, bad TV, bickering withPaul†¦ How did it change so completely, turn all surreal? How did everything get messed up and twisted so that I was here now, all alone, an unwilling Alpha, cut off from my brothers, choosing vampires over them? The sound I'd been fearing interrupted my dazed thoughts – it was the soft impact of big paws against the ground, chasing after me. I threw myself forward, rocketing through the black forest. I just had to get close enough so that Edward could hear the warning in my head. Leah wouldn't be able to stop me alone. And then I caught the mood of the thoughts behind me. Not anger, but enthusiasm. Not chasing†¦ but following. My stride broke. I staggered two steps before it evened out again. Wait up. My legs aren't as long as yours. SETH! What do you think you're DOING? GO HOME! He didn't answer, but I could feel his excitement as he kept right on after me. I could see through his eyes as he could see through mine. The night scene was bleak for me – fullof despair. For him, it was hopeful. I hadn't realized I was slowing down, but suddenly he was on my flank, running in position beside me. am not joking, Seth! This is no place for you. Get out of here. The gangly tan wolf snorted. I've got your back, Jacob. I think you're right. And I'm not going to stand behind Sam when – Oh yes you are the hell going to stand behind Sam! Get your furry butt back to La Push and do what Sam tells you to do. No. Go, Seth! Is that anorder. Jacob? His question brought me up short. I skidded to a halt, my nails gouging furrows in the mud. I'm not ordering anyone to do anything. I'm just telling you what you already know. He plopped down on his haunches beside me. tell you what I know – I know that it's awful quiet. Haven't you noticed? I blinked. My tail swished nervously as I realized what he was thinking underneath the words. It wasn't quiet in one sense. Howls still filled the air, far away in the west. They haven't phased back,Seth said. I knew that. The pack would be on red alert now. They would be using the mind link to see all sides clearly. But I couldn't hear what they were thinking. I could only hear Seth. No one else. Looks to me like separate packs aren't linked. Huh. Guess there was no reason for our fathers to know that before. ‘Cause there was no reason for separate packs before. Never enough wolves for two. Wow. It'sreally quiet. Sort of eerie. But also kinda nice, don't you think? I bet it was easier, like this, for Ephraim and Quil and Levi. Not such a babble with just three. Or just two. Shut up, Seth. Yes, sir. Stop that! There are not two packs. There is THE pack, and then there is me. That's all. So you can go home now. If there aren't two packs, then why can we hear each other and not the rest? I think that when you turned your back on Sam, that was a pretty significant move. A change. And when I followed you away, I think that was significant, too. You've got a point,I conceded. But what can change can change right back. He got up and started trotting toward the east. No time to argue about it now. We should be moving right along before Sam†¦ He was right about that part. There was no time for this argument. Ifell into a run again, not pushing myself quite as hard. Seth stayed on my heels, holding the Second's traditional place on my right flank. can run somewhere else, he thought, his nose dipping a little. didn't follow you because I was after a promotion. Run wherever you want. Makes no difference to me. There was no sound of pursuit, but we both stepped it up a little at the same time. I was worried now. If I couldn't tap into the pack's mind, it was going to make this more difficult. I'd have no more advance warning of attack than the Cullens. We'll run patrols,Seth suggested. And what do we do if the pack challenges us?My eyes tightened. Attack our brothers? Your sister? No – we sound the alarm and fall back. Good answer. But then what? I don't think†¦ I know,he agreed. Less confident now. don't think I can fight them, either. But they won't be any happier with the idea of attacking us than we are with attacking them. That might be enough to stop them right there. Pius, there're only eight of them now. Stop being so†¦Took me a minute to decide on the right word. Optimistic. It's getting on my nerves. No problem. You want me to be all doom and gloom, or just shut up? Just shut up. Can do. Really? Doesn't seem like it. He was finally quiet. And then we were across the road and moving through the forest that ringed the Cullens' house. Could Edward hear us yet? Maybe we should be thinking something like,'We come in peace.† Go for it Edward?He called the name tentatively. Edward, you there? Okay, now I feel kinda stupid. You sound stupid, too. Think he can hear us? We were less than a mile out now. think so. Hey, Edward. If you can hear me – circle the wagons, bloodsucker. You've got a problem. We've got a problem, Seth corrected. Then we broke through the trees into the big lawn. The house was dark, but not empty. Edward stood on the porch between Emmett and Jasper. They were snow white in the pale light. â€Å"Jacob? Seth? What's going on?† I slowed and then paced back a few steps. The smell was so sharp through this nose that it felt like it was honestly burning me. Seth whined quietly, hesitating, and then he fell back behind me. To answer Edward's question, I let my mind run over the confrontation with Sam, moving through it backward. Seth thought with me, filling in the gaps, showing the scene from another angle. We stopped when we got to the part about the â€Å"abomination,† because Edward hissed furiously and leaped off the porch. â€Å"They want to kill Bella?† he snarled flatly. Emmett and Jasper, not having heard the first part of the conversation, took his inflectionless question for a statement. They were right next to him in a flash, teeth exposed as they moved on us. Hey, now,Seth thought, backing away. â€Å"Em, Jazz – not theml The others. The pack is coming.† Emmett and Jasper rocked back on their heels; Emmett turned to Edward while Jasper kept his eyes locked on us. â€Å"What's their problem?† Emmett demanded. â€Å"The same one as mine,† Edward hissed. â€Å"But they have their own plan to handle it. Get the others. Call Carlisle! He and Esme have to get back here now.† I whined uneasily. They were separated. â€Å"They aren't far,† Edward said in the same dead voice as before. I'm going to go take a look,Seth said. Run the western perimeter. â€Å"Will you be in danger, Seth?† Edward asked. Seth and I exchanged a glance. Don't think so,we thought together. And then I added, But maybe I should go. Just in case†¦ They'll be less likely to challenge me,Seth pointed out. I'm just a kid to them. You're just a kid to me, kid. I'm outta here. You need to coordinate with the Cullens. He wheeled and darted into the darkness. I wasn't going to order Seth around, so I let him go. Edward and I stood facing each other in the dark meadow, i could hear Emmett muttering into his phone. Jasper was watching the place where Seth had vanished into the woods. Alice appeared on the porch and then, after staring at me with anxious eyes for a long moment, she flitted to Jasper's side. I guessed that Rosalie was inside with Bella. Still guarding her – from the wrong dangers. â€Å"This isn't the first time I've owed you my gratitude, Jacob,† Edward whispered. â€Å"I would never have asked for this from you.† I thought of what he'd asked me for earlier today. When it came to Bella, there were no lines he wouldn't cross. Yeah, you would. He thought about it and then nodded. â€Å"I suppose you're right about that.† I sighed heavily. Well, this isn't the first time that I didn't do it for you. â€Å"Right,† he murmured. Sorry I didn't do any good today. Told you she wouldn't listen to me. â€Å"I know. I never really believed she would. But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  You had to try. I get it. She any better? His voice and eyes went hollow. â€Å"Worse,† he breathed. I didn't want to let that word sink in. I was grateful when Alice spoke. â€Å"Jacob, would you mind switching forms?† Alice asked. â€Å"I want to know what's going on.† I shook my head at the same time Edward answered. â€Å"He needs to stay linked to Seth.† â€Å"Well, then would you be so kind as to tell me what's happening?† He explained in clipped, emotionless sentences. â€Å"The pack thinks Bella's become a problem. They foresee potential danger from the†¦ from what she's carrying. They feel it's their duty to remove that danger. Jacob and Seth disbanded from the pack to warn us. The rest are planning to attack tonight.† Alice hissed, leaning away from me. Emmett and Jasper exchanged a glance, and then their eyes ranged across the trees. Nobody out here,Seth reported. All's quiet on the western front They may go around. I'll make a loop. â€Å"Carlisle and Esme are on their way,† Emmett said. â€Å"Twenty minutes, tops.† â€Å"We should take up a defensive position,† Jasper said. Edward nodded. â€Å"Let's get inside.† run perimeter with Seth. If I get too far for you to hear my head, listen for my howl. â€Å"Iwill.† They backed into the house, eyes flickering everywhere. Before they were inside, I turned and ran toward the west. I'm still not finding much,Seth told me. take half the circle. Move fast – we don't want them to have a chance to sneak past us. Seth lurched forward in a sudden burst of speed. We ran in silence, and the minutes passed. I listened to the noises around him, double-checking his judgment. Hey – something coming up fast!he warned me after fifteen minutes of silence. On my way! Hold your position – don't think it's the pack. It sounds different. Seth – But he caught the approaching scent on the breeze, and I read it in his mind. Vampire. Bet it's Carlisle. Seth, fall back. It might be someone else. No, it's them. I recognize the scent Hold up, I'm going to phase to explain it to them. Seth, I don't think – But he was gone. Anxiously, I raced along the western border. Wouldn't it be just peachy if I couldn't take care of Seth for one freaking night? What if something happened to him on my watch? Leah would shred me into kibble. At least the kid kept it short. It wasn't two minutes later when I felt him in my head again. Yep, Carlisle and Esme. Boy, were they surprised to see me! They're probably inside by now. Carlisle said thanks. He's a good guy. Yeah. That's one of the reasons why we're right about this. Hope so. Why're you so down, Jake? I'll bet Sam won't bring the pack tonight. He's not going to launch a suicide mission. I sighed. It didn't seem to matter, either way. Oh. This isn't about Sam so much, is it? I made the turn at the end of my patrol. I caught Seth's scent where he'd turned last. We weren't leaving any gaps. You think Bella's going to die anyway,Seth whispered. Yeah, she is. Poor Edward. He must be crazy. Literally. Edward's name brought other memories boiling to the surface. Seth read them in astonishment. And then he was howling. Oh, man! No way! You did notThat just plain oT sucks rocks, Jacob! And you know it, too! I can't believe you said you'd kill him. What is that? You have to tell him no. Shut up, shut up, you idiot! They're going to think the pack is coming! Oops!He cut off mid-howl. I wheeled and started loping in toward the house. Just keep out of this, Seth. Take the whole circle for now. Seth seethed and I ignored him. False alarm, false alarm,I thoughtas I ran closer in. Sorry. Seth is young. He forgets things. No one's attacking. False alarm. When I got to the meadow, I could see Edward staring out of a dark window. I ran in, wanting to be sure he got the message. There's nothing out there – you got that? He nodded once. This would be a lot easier if the communication wasn't one way. Then again, I was kinda glad I wasn't in his head. He looked over his shoulder, back into the house, and I saw a shudder run through his whole frame. He waved me away without looking in my direction again and then moved out of my view. What's going on? Like I was going to get an answer. I sat very still in the meadow and listened. With these ears, I could almost hear SetlYs soft footfalls, miles out into the forest. It was easy to hear every sound inside the dark house. â€Å"It was a false alarm,† Edward was explaining in that dead voice, just repeating what I'd told him. â€Å"Seth was upset about something else, and he forgot we were listening for a signal. He's very young.† â€Å"Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort,† a deeper voice grumbled. Emmett, I thought. â€Å"They've done us a great service tonight, Emmett,† Carlisle said. â€Å"At great personal sacrifice.† â€Å"Yeah, I know. I'm just jealous. Wish I was out there.† â€Å"Seth doesn't think Sam will attack now,† Edward said mechanically. â€Å"Not with us forewarned, and lacking two members of the pack.† â€Å"What does Jacob think?† Carlisle asked. â€Å"He'snot as optimistic.† No one spoke. There was a quiet dripping sound that I couldn't place. I heard their low breathing – and I could separateBella's from the rest. It was harsher, labored. It hitched and broke in strange rhythms. I could hear her heart. It seemed†¦ too fast. I paced it against my own heartbeat, but I wasn't sure if that was any measure. It wasn't like I was normal. â€Å"Don't touch her! You'll wake her up,† Rosalie whispered. Someone sighed. â€Å"Rosalie,† Carlisle murmured. â€Å"Don't start with me, Carlisle. We let you have your way earlier, but that's all we're allowing.† It seemed like Rosalie and Bella were both talking in plurals now. Like they'd formed a pack of their own. I paced quietly in front of the house. Each pass brought me a little closer. The dark windows were like a TV set running in some dull waiting room – it was impossible to keep my eyes off them for long. A few more minutes, a few more passes, and my fur was brushing the side of the porch as I paced. I couldsee up through the windows – see the top of the walls and the ceiling, the unlit chandelier that hung there. I was tall enough thatall I would have to do was stretch my neck a little†¦ and maybe one paw up on the edge of the porch†¦. I peeked into the big, open front room, expecting to see something very similar to the scene this afternoon. But it had changed so much that I was confused at first. For a second I thought I'd gotten the wrong room. The glass wall was gone – it looked like metal now. And the furniture was all dragged out of the way, withBella curled up awkwardly on a narrow bed in the center of the open space. Not a normal bed – one with rails like in a hospital. Also like a hospital were the monitors strapped to her body, the tubes stuck into her skin. The lights on the monitors flashed, but there was no sound. The dripping noise was from the IV plugged into her arm – some fluid that was thick and white, not clear. She choked a little in her uneasy sleep, and both Edward and Rosalie moved in to hover over her. Her body jerked, and she whimpered. Rosalie smoothed her hand across Bella's forehead. Edward's body stiffened – his back was to me, but his expression must have been something to see, because Emmett wrenched himself between them before there was time to blink. He held his hands up to Edward. â€Å"Not tonight, Edward. We've got other things to worry about.† Edward turned away from them, and he was the burning man again. His eyes met mine for one moment, and then I dropped back to all fours. I ran back into the dark forest, running to join Seth, running away from what was behind me. Worse. Yes, she was worse.