Preparation and Reactions of Boric Acid

To prepare boric acid from sodium deteriorate (borax) To carry out tests on the prepared sample of boric acid To study the physical and chemical properties of boric acid Introduction: Boron is an element in the p-block of the periodic table. It has the electron configuration of 1s22s22p1 and is in group 3 or coup 13 (PUPAS classification). In nature, it consists of two isotopes BIB (19. 6%) and BIB (80. 4%). Boron is bonded to the oxygen in nature. The important sources of Boron are borax and kerning.Boron sides and their derivatives are technologically important and are relatively inexpensive to produce. Boron oxides is very difficult to crystallite and normally exists in a glassy state (d=l . CACM-1). Molten boron oxide has a high melting point of 450 degree Celsius that is readily dissolves metal oxides to form colored borate glasses as one of the main commercial uses of boric oxide. Particularly, borosilicate glasses find wide applications in glassblowing and the production of gl ass objects. On top of the boric acid, it is also known as hydrogen borate as a weak monobasicLewis acid. At room temperature, it exists as white powder or colorless crystals with a chemical formula of HOBBS or B(OH)3. Apparatus and materials: ;Sodium deteriorate ;Concentrated hydrochloric acid ;Concentrated sulfuric acid ;Methyl red indicator ;Imitation ;Beaker ;Methanol ;Distilled water ;Electric heater ;Test tube ;Test tube rack ;Glass rod ;Suction funnel ;Suction pump ;Filter flask ;Filter paper ;Spatula ;Watch glass ;Splint Procedures: 1 . About log of sodium deteriorate (borax) is dissolved in CACM of water in a beaker. 2.The mixture is boiled and CACM of concentrated hydrochloric is added into the solution. 3. The beaker is immersed into a container with ice and water to cool down the temperature. 4. After the solution is cooled down, the boric acid is crystallized out by using the Boucher funnel, 2 layers of filter papers, suction pump and a filtering flask. 5. The remaining crystals in the beaker and on the glass rod are washed well with ice-cold water for a few times and filtered off with the Boucher funnel. 6. The yield is left aside to be dried and the weight is measured and recorded.Test 1 1. A little boric acid is inserted into a test tube. 2. Small amount of distilled water is added to dissolve the acid in the test tube. 3. A drop of methyl red indicator is added. 4. Test tube is labeled as A. 5. Steps 1 to 3 are repeated again by replacing the acid with the imitation and the test tube is labeled as B. 6. Half of each solution in test tube A and B are mixed in a test tube labeled as C. 7. All results and observation are recorded. -rest 2 1. A small amount of boric acid crystals is inserted into a Tyrant boiling tube. 2.A little ethanol is added into the boiling tube Just to cover the acid. 3. Some concentrated sulfuric acid is then added into the tube. 4. The boiling tube is held by a test tube holder and heated on a Bunsen burner. 5. The vapor produced is ignited by using a burning wooden splinter. 6. All observations are recorded. Discussion: First and foremost, we managed to yield 4. Egg of HOBBS. According to our calculation, the theoretical mass that we are supposed to obtain is 6. Egg. This means that our percentage of yield is 74. 64%. According to Vogue's Textbook ofPractical Organic Chemistry, yields around 100% are called quantitative, whereas yields above 70% are good. This means that our team did quite a great Job. Boric acid is a Lewis acid that is able to interact with the water molecules to give out hydrogen ions and dehydrogenation ion in the solution. In test 1, the methyl red indicator is used to determine the acidity of the each solution in different test tubes. The indicator can show the pH range at around 4. 4 – 6. 2. At pH 4. 4, the solution with the indicator will appear to be in red in color and whereas at pH 6. , it will show allow. On test tube A, solution turns from colorless to pink color . This shows that boric acid is a relatively weak acid with pH around 4-5. Next on test tube B, the methyl red indicator is added into a imitation solution. The color of the solution seemed to remain unchanged. It is colorless. In fact, the solution is supposed to change from colorless to yellow. Perhaps, we accidentally made some mistakes by adding the wrong reactant in the experiment or we were a bit of too rush deciding the color of the solution without looking at it carefully.Thirdly, when we mix both he solutions from A and B, an intense pink solution is formed. This means that a stronger acid is formed. It can be simply explained by the stronger acid complex formed in between imitation and boric acid. The pH is less than 4 for sure. According to the test 2 results, a beautiful green flame is formed when we ignite the vapor with a burning wooden splinter. By mixing the alcohol (methanol) and acid (conch HOSTS) will create ester (CHI)BIBB. An alcohol flame itself is usually, ord inarily colorless. The presence of the green in the flame is indicating the ester formed contains boron element.A strong acid like concentrated sulfuric acid is needed to propionate the HOBBS and this will create the electroplate which attacks the O atom of the methanol. Without the existence of a strong acid, an intense green flame might not be formed. This is because ester may not formed and even if it is formed, it will exist in equilibrium with the alcohol & boric acid. Thus, making the green flame not really intense. There are a few precautionary steps that should be taken during this experiment. Firstly, suction pump used in test 1 is powerful and thus, 2 layers of filter papers are seed to cover the holes of the Boucher funnel.From our experience, the suction pump will cause the filter paper to be torn if only a piece of filter paper is used. Furthermore, we shall always pour the solution slowly on the rod, so that the solution will flow slowly without causing any wastage. By using this method, we can make sure the crystals are accumulated in the middle of the filter paper and it eases our Job to take out the filter paper from the funnel. On top of the safety, all acids are corrosive. In this experiment, we use concentrated hydrochloric acid and concentrated elliptic acid.We shall wear gloves and handle them with extra care to prevent and avoid any accident to occur. In addition, a tyrant boiling tube is used instead of a test tube in test 2 (flame test). A boiling tube can withstand strong heat without breakage. Test 2 (flame test) has to be carried out in the fume hood as the vapor released from the boiling tube is toxic. Therefore, we shall remain our distance with the vapor, although the green flame is beautiful. Last but not least, we shall discard the excess boric acid into the waste bottle instead of basin as to prevent water pollution.

Was the English Civil War a War of Religion?

Was the English Civil War a war of Religion? The English Civil Wars of 1642 to 1651 had religious connections indefinitely, yet to say that they were wars of religion is slightly blindsided. Economics, national and foreign policy and the rule of King Charles I all played pivotal roles in the wars, in particular, the role of the King and his failings to rule. Such failings lost support for the King on a large scale and led to the argument that this was the beginnings of democracy where the people wanted to look elsewhere from the monarchy for a better governed country.The wars were not fought intently for religion but instead against the monarchy and the dreadful rule of King Charles I for a better led democracy. Such democracy was largely connected and associated with the Parliamentarians who offered opposition to the failing Royalists and hope for change. With the Royalists and the Parliamentarians fighting for power and for leadership of their country, two parties with no major rel igious qualms were set to go to war.For the Roundheads, the ultimate desire was not religious but was to â€Å"safeguard parliaments place in the constitution from the creeping threat of royal absolutism’ that had seemed to be prevalent since at the least 1626. † The parliamentarians offering opposition to the Royalists were in a political sense, seen as the answer in the search of democracy through which they gained mass support. However in answering the question, religious connections must be analysed with a mind on the importance to the civil wars.Importantly, England was a strictly protestant nation after the Reformations of the 16th century and King Charles struggled with Parliament in connection to religion and caused much tension and ill feeling within England. In keeping with his high Anglican faith, the King appointed his main political advisor, William Laud as the new archbishop in 1633. The Protestant people of England accused Laud of Catholicising the Churc h of England and in turn Laud imposed fines for not attending Anglican Church services.He aroused further public anger in 1637 by cutting off the ears of three gentlemen who had written pamphlets attacking Laud’s own views. Such strict and brutal behaviour caused fear in the people and alienate Laud’s church. Further still, the marriage of King Charles to the Roman Catholic French princess Henrietta Maria 1625 had previously caused a general fear of Catholicism to emerge in England but this was only built upon by the measures Laud had instigated. Clearly religion did have an impact yet it is the subsequent effects that matter.These religious matters crucially caused a lack of support for the monarchy and the realisation that the monarchy needed Parliament to govern effectively. The King was blind to this and this forced the people to look elsewhere for democracy. This was the true nature of the war to fight for control and a new democracy. To continue, King Charles the First showed incompetence throughout his rule losing the support of his people gradually but surely. A series of failings displayed his inability to rule yet first and foremost was the manner of King Charles.Michael Young describes Charles as ‘a stubborn, combative and high-handed king, who generated conflict† whilst Richard Cust continues that â€Å"he was not stupid, but he did suffer from what Russell calls ‘a tunnel vision’, which made it very difficult for him to understand anyone’s perspective other than his own. † Shy and obnoxious, Charles was unwilling to conform to parliament insisting that he was chosen by God to rule in accordance with the doctrine of the â€Å"Divine Right of Kings†.Many parliamentarians feared that setting up a new kingdom as Charles I intended might destroy the old English traditions that had been integral to the English monarchy and its country and this belief from King Charles I of the divine right of k ings only exacerbated this. Importantly at this point, parliament was subject to dissolution by the monarchy at any time and they had to weary of this. In all, King Charles was unsuitable to rule England and his character flaws along with his beliefs and reluctance to compromise left him on a one way path to disaster and crucially, unpopularity.He needed parliament yet he himself did not know it, instead his own policies and decisions would alienate him from the people and would be his very downfall. More so disastrous for his reign than his â€Å"indecisive, inadequate and ineffective† personality were the policies of King Charles I. The King wanted to take part in the Thirty Years’ War of Europe at huge costs and with heavy expenditure. Parliament foresaw these impossible costs of the war and refused to support King Charles yet this did not stop the King in pressing ahead with his European Wars.His conquests continued past the dissolution of parliament into his †˜personal rule’ until he was forced to withdraw from the war making peace with Spain and France; the monarchy’s finances were shattered and the King had dissolved Parliament ending any hopes of financial support from taxes. Here the King demonstrates his naivety with the country sustaining incredible financial troubles with little reward to show for it but most importantly he lost further support of the people. People began to question his ability to rule and began to look elsewhere towards parliament.Perhaps the clearest indication though that he was unable to rule without parliament came with his 11 year Personal Rule. For 11 years, King Charles avoided calling a parliament during which time he made several crucial mistakes. Most importantly, without Parliament, Charles was left with little revenue and so he looked to other means of income. Controversially, the King tried to implement Ship taxes, exploiting a naval war-scare and demanding tax from inland counties to pay for the Royal Navy.The tax was questionable at best, supported by law but regarded as an illegal tax; men refused to pay the ship tax and argued that the tax was illegal in court, but most lost and were fined. Further resentment to the King was growing among the English people and again they blamed the Kings lack of parliament and his inability to rule without it. King Charles I foolishly looked to enforce policies in Scotland also. The King had hoped to unite England with Scotland and Ireland to create a single kingdom with a uniform High Anglican church.This idea scared Parliament with fears of losing traditional English ways evident. Despite this, summer of 1637 saw Charles I interfere with Scottish religion introducing a new high Anglican English book of prayer to the Scottish despite the Church of Scotland having strict traditions. This was duly followed by resistance and riots in Edinburgh followed by a rebellion. Naturally the King responded by leading an army to the Sco ttish border and challenging the rebellion.A second war followed in 1640 where embarrassingly King Charles’ forces were defeated by a Scottish army who continued to capture Newcastle; Charles now had a rebellion on his hand but with insufficient finances he could not defend anything of the like, he was forced to form a new parliament and seek the taxes that they brought. The Scottish were demanding ? 850 a day to keep them from advancing and this was all Charles’ own doing in trying to change religion in Scotland. It can be argued as indeed C. Russel does that, â€Å"Religion undoubtedly contributed heavily to the outbreak of the Bishops wars.It contributed to the English defeat in the wars, by building up a party in England whose sympathies were on the Scottish side. † However these religious disputes were not a direct cause of the civil war rather that once again King Charles had made a mistake and proven his inability to rule without the credible parliament. The people were becoming all too aware of these failings and his delusions. The dislike for King Charles I continued to climb with his ordered execution of Thomas Wentworth May 1641.The King had sacrificed one of his chief advisors in the hope of preventing war yet it was all in vain. Here his incapability’s had resulted in an execution and the backlash in Ireland was total chaos with the faithful Catholics fearing a protestant resurgence. Further tension between the monarchy and parliament was seen and the King looked very weak at this point. Finally, the end of King Charles of England rule came in 1642, early in which he had attempted to capture five members of the House of Commons.The King had gone accompanied by 400 soldiers to arrest the five members on charge of treason yet upon arrival at parliament the Speaker refused to reveal the whereabouts of the suspects. Crucially, Lenthall replied â€Å"May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as this house is pleased to direct me whose servant I am here; and humbly beg your majesty's pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this is to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me† voicing his determined allegiance not the King but to Parliament.This portrayed the feeling between Parliament and the King and it was only then that the King saw that he had real opposition. Following his latest failing Charles had fled from London in fear of his own safety but continued to negotiate with Parliament through until the summer to no avail. With the summer passing towns and cities began to voice their allegiance for either the Royalists or the Parliamentarians and the war was beginning to emerge. Quite literally King Charles had got it all wrong and had even sparked off a civil war with his attempts to arrest parliament members.Importantly it was the King’s attempts to arrest members of parliament that sparked the war as opposed to any religio us factors or disputes and the Kings incompetent ruling of the country that continued to fuel the civil wars for years to come. In conclusion, the English civil wars on 1642 to 1651 were not wars of religion. Without doubt religion played a role in the distancing between the King to his people and Parliament and also with the Bishops wars, yet it was not integral to the emergence of the war or indeed throughout the war.Rather the war was a war of power and control with Parliament attempting to provide democracy to the unsatisfied people in contrast to the diabolical failings with the rule of King Charles I. King Charles was incapable of ruling the country, demonstrating his incompetence with endless examples to make the people want for a new democracy and better leadership for their country; and that they did with support for Parliamentarians seen in huge numbers. The Kings failure to rule and govern the country had directly led to intervention from the Parliamentarians and the star t of the English civil wars. Word Count – 1920Bibliography 1. Coward, B. (1980) The Stuart Age; England 1603 – 1714. Pearson Education Limited 2. Cust, R. (2002) ‘Politics, Religion and Popularity’, Charles I and popularity. (ed. ,Cogswell, T. Cust, R. Lake, P. ) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 235 3. De Groot, J. (2004). Royalist identities. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 4. Hill, C. (1958). Puritanism and revolution: Studies in interpretation of the English revolution of the 17th century. London: Secker ; Warburg. 5. Kishlansky, M. (1999) ‘Tyranny Denied: Charles I, Attorney General Heath, and the Five Knights’ Case. 42: 53 6. Morrill, J. S. (1993). The nature of the English Revolution: Essays. London: Longman. 7. Parliament. uk; Speaker Lenthall defends Parliament against the King. Accessed 27th March 2012. Available from http://www. parliament. uk/business/publications/parliamentary-archives/archives-highlig hts/archives-speakerlenthall/ 8. Russell, C. (1990) The Causes of the English civil War. Oxford: Clarendon Press 9. Sproxton, J. (1995). Violence and religion: Attitudes towards militancy in the French civil wars and the English Revolution. London ; New York: Routledge. ——————————————- [ 1 ]. Coward, B. (1980) The Stuart Age; England 1603 – 1714. Pearson Education Limited [ 2 ]. Cust, R. (2002) ‘Politics, Religion and Popularity’, Charles I and popularity. (ed. ,Cogswell, T. Cust, R. Lake, P. ) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 235 [ 3 ]. Cust, R. (2002) ‘Politics, Religion and Popularity’, Charles I and popularity. (ed. ,Cogswell, T. Cust, R. Lake, P. ) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 235 [ 4 ]. Kishlansky, M. (1999) ‘Tyranny Denied: Charles I, Attorney General Heath, and the Five

Marriage and Families

IntroductionFamilies are central institutions in our society. They are commissioned with the pivotal tasks of children upbringing and providing continuing intimacy and companionship to members. Traditionally, a family consists of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption. Other definitions of a family have specified a common household, economic independency, and sexual and reproductive relations (Lamanna and Riedmann, 2005)Sociologists continue to recognize the family important responsibility in performing necessary social roles such as child rearing, economic support and domestic maintenance. As families are becoming less traditional, the legal definition of a family has become more flexible.   Traditional or modern families have one mission in that they all create a place to belong in at least two ways. They create boundaries, and they serve as a repository or archive of family memories and traditions.Marriage which is a formal agreement between two people is the initial sta ge of forming a family. Our discussion will answer the basic questions on the legal bindings in marriages and outline factors that may affect marital stability.Primary provisions of a prenuptial agreement and personal contractBack in history husbands and wives were prohibited from making any contract between themselves. Still on the same period prenuptial agreements particular those meant to provide property rights following a divorce were prohibited. It was thought that these agreements would encourage divorce. In the recent times this laws have gradually changed to permit husbands and wives to make contracts with each other by which they agree about what assets would be held separately by either of them during the marriage. (Weisman, 2003)In many states, prenuptial agreements and personal contracts are highly encouraged. They preserve assets for children in case there is a divorce or the parents die.Weisman, (2003) comments that for a prenuptial agreement to be enforced, both peop le in the relationship must clearly disclose all the assets they have. Any agreement based on fraud will however not be recognized (pg, 7). The two parties are advised to have a lawyer for representation to ensure that the signing of the agreement is fair and reasonable.In America most states follow the uniform provisions act on prenuptial agreement. The act provides matters that are subject to a prenuptial agreement. (Weisman, 2003). They include; the right and obligation to make a contract in regard to property; the modification or elimination of spousal support; ownership rights and disposition of death benefits from a life insurance policy; The disposition of property upon separation; a break up of marriage, death or the occurrence or any other event and lastly the making of a will, trust or other arrangement.The above provisions for making of a personal contract are important because without such provisions in a prenuptial agreement, may result to fraudulent claims.In the Unite d States people who are old or senior citizens use prenuptial agreement to protect their assets and their children from previous marriages in the event that a spouse goes into a nursing home and Medicaid cover is sought. (pg, 8)Factor affecting marital stabilityAn analysis carried out by (Veroff and Shirley, 2002) describes these factors more schematically according to the process and number of years the couple has been into marriage. The first analysis is based on the factors that occur before getting married and starting a family. This factors are called pre-marriage factors and includes; social status of spouses, pre-marital connections of the couple and family background of the spouses. The pre-marriage factors studied under social status include; father and mother education, owns education, personal income, poverty ratio, race and educational attainment. Under the family background we have; number of siblings, broken home background and presence of older siblingsThe second cate gory discusses personal factors at the time of marriage. They are the characteristics comprising each spouse and their personality. They are; ambitiousness, cooperativeness, orientation of power and Neuroticism.The third analysis is based on interpersonal factors which describe how each individual relates with other people, and how he or she views others. They include; interpersonal perceptions, perceived interacting attitude in compatibility, and actual interactions.There are other factors that people face when they interact with others and they form our fourth category. These factors are referred to as external factors. Stress is one of the factors. Stress is an emotionally disruptive or unsettling gap that may exist between how we would like our life to be and how it actually is. Another external factor is network support which describes how well the family is connected with the outside world. The amount of support they receive from other families and friends.The final factor is the qualitative sense that the couple makes of their life together. These are the integrative feelings which can be both specific and general. Feelings in one year of set the stage for the marital factors in the next year which in turn affect the feelings in that year and so on. These feelings include marital happiness, marital competence, marital control, marital tension and marital equity. This are measured separately for each spouse. (Veroff and Shirley, 2002.pp 5-6)The above factors underline the stability or instability of a marriage.Forms of Marital DisruptionMarital problems are risk factors in a family environment where children are brought up. Marital conflicts that lead to divorce are the most detrimental towards children welfare. Marital disruptions according to (Richardson and Carol, 2002) are after associated with a change in economic circumstances and adjustments to altered linking conditions (pg, 1907). When parents are stressed they affect their parenting practices.A part form divorce parents may disagree but yet remain together. These parents have persistent conflicts that do not end. The end result of such conflicts is that they affect children’s behavior and lower their self esteem.Marital violence is part of marital disruption and involves physical aggression. This form is more upsetting to children than other forms of marital disruption. When children are exposed to marital violence they tend to imitate this in their relationships with others and display violent behavior towards teachers, peers and family members. (Richardson and Carol, 2002) also suggest that where children are exposed to negative emotions, their safely and security may be threatened and therefore they express anger towards their parents. Marital Abuse also results when parents are use violence against each other in marriages. Parents who have no respect for their children and end up abusing them either physically or sexually. Abuse falls under the marital violence Marital disruption may occur as a result of death of one person in a relationship. The irreversible loss of a close companion begins a process of grief and extended transition for the surviving spouse. There is an increased risk for emotional disturbance to bereaved individuals compared to their non-bereaved community counterparts. These effects may persist for second years or more for a significant number of individuals.Epidemiological data has demonstrated that, there is a strong association between marital disruption and poorer health. This is because of the physiological suffering that the bereaved face, especially when their loved ones depart.ConclusionThe family, functions to fulfill six basic human needs; socialization of children, economic production, welfare for the sick and the elderly, recreation and emotional attachment, sexual relationship regulation and reproduction. Through the ages marriages and family has been used to establish basic patterns of inheritance, authori ty, lines of descents and mate selections.These are some of the commonly accepted descriptions and functions of a family. The changing face of families structure has been as a result of certain factors which includes; the higher   expectations for marriage, higher divorce and remarriage rates, expenses on personal fulfillment avoiding economic concerns and increased single parent families.The primary provisions of a prenuptial agreement are important in a family setting whether the couple trust or mistrust each other. Marital stability and instability is part of normal experiences in marriage and family and the factors discussed in the document contribute negatively or positively towards the family. The various forms of marital disruptions described in this text include; death, separation or divorce. Strong marriages are therefore needed for families to be effective.ReferencesLamanna, M.A and Riedmann, A.2005.Marriages & Families: Making Choices in a Diverse, Thomson Wadsworth pub lishers  Richardson, J., Carol, J.2002.Parent Training Program’s for the Management of children, Psych PublicationsVeroff, J. and Shirley, H.2002.Marital Instability: A Social and Behavioral Study of the Early Years, Greenwood PublishingWeisman, S.2003.A Guide to Elder Planning: Everything You Need to Know to Protect Yourself,FT Press

The relevancy of cultural icons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The relevancy of cultural icons - Essay Example Hence the foray into serious literature was bold as it is the right approach.   As the oft quoted maxim states, ‘The more ethnic a work of art is, the more universal is its appeal’.   This is precisely what modern writers of the Highlands and Islands appear to have done since the beginning of the twentieth century.   In specific, they brought to the fore the influence of cultural icons, indigenous and foreign, and made their persona bear upon the written word. The rewards for this enterprise are for all patrons of good art to be enjoyed.   Writers of such renown as Alasdair Gray, Carol Ann Duffy, Irvine Welsh, etc serve as stellar examples of this success.   And as interviews and analysis of modern Scottish writers makes clear, their works are informed and inspired by key cultural icons, native or foreign. (Horwich, 2002)In an interview with Kathy Acker in 1986, Alasdair Gray mentions key personalities that influenced his artistic development.   Among the boo ks he read early in life are those by George Orwell, Franz Kafka and James Joyce.   Timeless classics such as 1984, The Trial and the Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man made a big impression on the formative mind of Gray.   These writers were cultural icons in their own right as they were recognized for their socio-cultural comment as much for their literary genius.   Today, their thought is well-assimilated into Scottish public discourse.  (Horwich, 2002)... As the oft quoted maxim states, ‘The more ethnic a work of art is, the more universal is its appeal’. This is precisely what modern writers of the Highlands and Islands appear to have done since the beginning of the twentieth century. In specific, they brought to the fore the influence of cultural icons, indigenous and foreign, and made their persona bear upon the written word. The rewards for this enterprise are for all patrons of good art to be enjoyed. Writers of such renown as Alasdair Gray, Carol Ann Duffy, Irvine Welsh, etc serve as stellar examples of this success. And as interviews and analysis of modern Scottish writers makes clear, their works are informed and inspired by key cultural icons, native or foreign. (Horwich, 2002) In an interview with Kathy Acker in 1986, Alasdair Gray mentions key personalities that influenced his artistic development. Among the books he read early in life are those by George Orwell, Franz Kafka and James Joyce. Timeless classics s uch as 1984, The Trial and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man made a big impression on the formative mind of Gray. These writers were cultural icons in their own right as they were recognized for their socio-cultural comment as much for their literary genius. Today, their thought is well-assimilated into Scottish public discourse. Gray’s influences go further back in history, as he even drew inspiration from the Greek classics and epic folk narratives. Considering that ancient Greek thought is integral to Western academia, it is not unfair to claim that the intellectual traditions of the Highlands and Islands have drawn considerably from the former. Likewise, Gray’s adaption of key literary genres, forms and devices from across history says something of Scotland’s literary culture.

Exam questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Exam questions - Essay Example First and foremost, the first question pertaining to the visual material provided is how we can make sure that the human rights laws are adhered to by the public? On that note, the answer to this question should be comprehensively elaborated. Secondly, what are the measures that have been put in place by the government to safe guard the vulnerable groups from human rights violation? Evidently, this question has been discreetly covered in the video and the lecture material provided. Finally, which are some of the organizations that have played a big role in the upholding of human rights laws? On the same point, the answer to this question is brief and is clearly covered in the video. In summation, it is clear that human rights violation are a major setback towards attaining universal development. To this end, the government has played a big role in trying to avert this looming crisis by creating the necessary legislation. ï‚ · Human rights Day. (n.d.). human rights. Retrieved February 13, 2014, from

Utopia and liberated Women in Contemporary Advertising Essay

Utopia and liberated Women in Contemporary Advertising - Essay Example Despite their ability to cast these commercials and deliver a final polished product to the user, the result of the commercial still give a level of turbulence that is hidden to the readers or viewers of these commercials. Fowles also gives an analysis of the dynamics that are behind the creativity of an advert and the level of research that it takes to generate the same. Morden advertising details pervades most areas of social life. It is, for this reason, that advertisements have become the subject of many discourses. MacCurdy (2012) observes the iconic nature of the advertisement communication and images from a cultural perspective. The study denotes the fact that in the prevailing advertisement cultures, the iconic belief that is promoted by utopian undertones produce a therapeutic relief to the audience. In many women magazines the communication that is persistent is skewed towards a relief of the anxieties that women face in fashion. As such the exploitation of the same is common in the delivery of any marketing communication that is to do with women. Liberation from the same is therefore necessary within the context of marketing communication. The therapeutic nature of advertisements is supposed to quell a level of anxiety that psychological factors put on people (Dyer, 1992). The anxiety is usually common in women and is as a result of the common problems that could be solved in different ways in fashion and beauty. The paradox that is raised, in this case, is that despite the therapeutic ads providing a level of solace to the audience, it instead raises the same. It is due to this paradoxical view that is presented by these ads that this study seeks to review postmodern advertisements in terms of utopia and the liberated woman mind set. The notions above and this preceding discussion set the stage for the essay. Particularly the concept of utopia in relation to the design and delivery of this information marketing communication is reviewed

IAS 17- LEASES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IAS 17- LEASES - Essay Example Recognizing this need for a proper accounting of lease financing transactions the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued IAS 17 in respect of the leasing and financial instruments in the year 1982. It is observed that in spite of the changes that these standards propose to bring about the companies are still able to resort to Off Balance Sheet Financing which vitiates the objectives of the standards introduced by IASB. This paper presents a detailed review of the effectiveness of IAS 17 in achieving its objectives and comments on the new standards proposed to be issued in this respect. "A finance lease should be reflected in the balance sheet of a lessee by recording an asset and a liability at amounts equal at the inception of the lease to the fair value of the leased asset net of grants and tax credits receivable by the lessor; if lower at the present value of the minimum lease payments." (Khan, 2007) The lessee should be appropriated between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability. A finance lease involves the accounting of the depreciation charge for the leased asset as well as the financing charge for the relevant accounting period. In respect of the operating lease the rental expenses for the accounting period shall be charged to income. The charge to income should be recognized on a systematic basis which represents the time pattern of the benefits for the user. The amount of the assets that are subject to finance lease should be disclosed at the values as at the balance sheet date. Liabilities relating to the leased asset should be disclosed separately from other liabilities. The liabilities are to be differentiated between the current and long term portions. The lessee's commitment for minimum lease payments under finance lease or non-cancellable operating lease having tenure of more than a year should be disclosed in summary form. This disclosure should specify the amounts and periods in which payments would become due. The accounting statements should also specifically disclose any significant financing restrictions or other conditions attached to the leases. Accounting and Disclosure under IAS 17 by Lessor An asset held by the lessor under finance lease should not be disclosed in the balance sheet as property, plant and equipment. Alternatively the asset item should be shown as receivable at value that equals the net investment in the lease. The recognition of finance income on the lease should be calculated using any specific pattern that reflects a constant periodic rate of return. This rate of return should be based on either the net investment outstanding or the net cash investment outstanding in respect of the particular lease under consideration. There is no specific method prescribed for estimating the value or the net return. Rental income on the lease should be recognized on a straight line basis over the term of the lease unless the lessor finds any other systematic basis that is more representative of the time pattern contained in the lease contract concerning the earning process. The main

Analysis of Sustainable Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Sustainable Development - Assignment Example With modern cities being developed on a daily basis, natural factors need to be protected. It is for this reason sustainable development was established (Dearden & Bruce, 2005). Urbanization is the development of urban areas to more advanced infrastructure to suit the existence of human life. Urbanization is mostly influenced by rural-urban migration which has been on the increases in modern years. Urbanization is characterized by huge population to both major and minor cities around the world. With the huge population, the development of these cities has become the major priority in order to make life in these cities comfortable to humans. However, different from sustainable development, urbanization is not environment cautious as technological advancement is its first priority. According to Dearden & Bruce (2005), urbanization only aim is to advance cities and suburbs to suit human existence. Urbanization comes with a lot of problems, especially environmental problems. In the moder n century, many conferences have been convened to address global warming. Global warming is a major factor that comes with urbanization. In urban cities, pollution is a common factor. Pollution from factories and vehicles cause global warming. Urbanization has also led to congestion of urban cities. In sustainable development, there are policies which ensure this type of development is successful. ... With sustainable development problems caused by urbanization can be easily solved. For instance, sustainable development is against emission of waste from factories. In sustainable development, there is the sensitization on recycling waste rather than emission. Additionally, sustainable development suburbs are developed which reduces the rural-urban migration rates. In this case, there will be less congestion in big cities and the growth rate of a whole country can be standard and effective. Lack of urban space hinders the development of a particular area. In many major cities, the development of new projects requires the destruction of already existing projects which is not appropriate. In a new advancement in terms of development, urban space is very important. This problem hinders the success of the younger generation. The future generation will have to use what was developed in the past. According to Dearden & Bruce (2005), this problem will make the future generation dependent o n already existing infrastructure. The authors further argue that the lack of urban space will be the greatest hindrance to innovation and modern technological advancements. Lack o urban space will also lead to the development of substandard buildings. With more population flocking to urban areas, there is an urgent need for shelter and housing. If these populations lack appropriate space for construction of shelter, they will find the least available location and space to put up sub-standard structures. This scenario is evident in many African nations whereby slums are being put around major cities. These slums hold urban dwellers that live below the daily minimum wage.  Ã‚  

A Portable Printer and Scanner Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Portable Printer and Scanner - Assignment Example This innovation is occurring through experimentation with new approaches to market development in emerging markets. It is important to reposition this product attracting a wider customer audience often omitted in advertising. High-tech global consumer positioning works well for special interest products associated with prefessional sphere. Since most mobiel professionasl and students who buy and use high-tech products speak the same language and share the same mindset, marketing communications of JetLux will be informative and emphasize performance-related attributes and features. The target group for the Pentax PocketJet will be devided into two sub-groups: people who work at home; small offices (2-3 people). A portable printer JetLux not only allows this group to save time, but it helps to reduce spending on calls to the office and having to wait for someone print the documents. This allows Pentax: to shift its focus to brand image and price reduction measures. to maintained high-speed growth. establish trustworthiness, confidence, and competence for customers. The Impact of Online and Offline Positioning, and Buyers Respond The aim of the message is to appeal to consumers' mind with unique selling proposition. Online and off line promotion will inform potential customers about a new product. This product represents boundless opportunities for marketing campaign within flexible geographical boundaries. Offline buyers 1. Many customers do not have time to read press or listen to the radio, so in-store demonstrations will be the main tool to attract new customers. 2. JetLux will be promoted through computer and mobile stores, based on the fact that there is a strong link between the printer and PC businesses. 3. This target group will involve people who have to work outside of the office and need a high quality printing a low price. 4. It is expected that some customers will buy spontaneously influenced by product demonstrations and evident product benefits. 5. Some of the buyers will go online searching for detailed information and product features. Online buyers 1. The role of Web site is to inform the market clearly and persuasively about the company and its product characteristics. 2. Most buyers are driven by success and brand prestige and brand loyalty. Online buyers value good technology which allows to

Statment of purpuse for MBA school Personal Statement

Statment of purpuse for MBA school - Personal Statement Example The MBA prepares a student in the field by motivating one to use and develop analytical decision-makings which are very useful for employers because such preparation demand less assistance from other employees. Creative skills are also developed while one analyses a situation and develop solutions to the problem posed and the ingenuity of how it is resolved can measure an individual’s ability to look into strategies that are commendable. Consequently, the person is now trained to be self-reliant and would not always need other people’s attention to himself rather could be trusted to be able to complete a task without much assistance. As the title of the course suggests, entrepreneurship is one of the paths that one is developed, being given information that would be virtually important to this endeavor, not to mention being updated with the latest business trends. Effective communication, presentation and negotiation skills are also deemed important in the current compe titive business world and the MBA prepares a student to such through intensive training not only in theory but especially through immersion to the tasks and business people through ‘on the job’ training programs.

Develop a Marxist critique of Mills account of individual liberty Essay

Develop a Marxist critique of Mills account of individual liberty - Essay Example Mill introduces his account on individual liberty by describing the form of liberty present in his arguments. The author becomes clear to the reader by specifying the subject of the essay as that which considers both social and civil liberty. This is for the purpose of creating a succinct understanding of individual liberty as described by the author. Mill considers civilization as a struggle that occurs between a person and a society causing the individual to change behavior in an attempt to fit in the society (Mill 5). The author criticizes the public laws and opinions regarding them as determinants of the actions of individuals instead of the person having power over his own thoughts. Mill objects the idea of public laws and opinions, which affects the well-being of the society. He argues that such laws should only apply in cases where the actions of an individual directly affect the society (Mill 6). The argument of the author is that these laws cause an individual to act against his will. The author does not only argue on the laws but also on the morality of individuals. Mill is critical about the notion of public on the behavior of individuals; he does not accept the judgments that the public makes and that discriminates a person due to behavioral aspects. He terms such actions and ideas as coerce claiming that their illegitimacy is undesired. Mill’s notion that persons in the society can improve themselves in the absence of laws brings questions on whether the society can be a better place without these laws. His notion makes him regard various societies as a dwelling on an order of value (Mill 6). He sets an example of barbaric societies acting like children in the absence of necessary guidance of their independence. Mill’s expression of liberty is utilitarian rather than based on natural rights as exemplified in metaphysical opinion by Kant (Marx, Engels 40). The second chapter of Mill’s account

Rebecca Walker Short Biography Essay Example for Free

Rebecca Walker Short Biography Essay Rebecca Walker is a writer, philanthropist, feminist, and mother. She is the daughter of Alice Walker, who was also a famous feminist and writer. Growing up with a mother who was an active radical feminist heavily influenced her ideologies, although she states in her autobiography that she disagrees with many of Alice Walker’s more radical views. She has worked as a consultant on cultural diversity and gender roles for businesses like Sony, Microsoft, and JP Morgan. Rebecca Walker was born November 17, 1969 in Jackson Mississippi to Alice Walker and her husband Mel Leventhal, and Jewish American Lawyer. Her parents divorced when she was eight and she spent her childhood moving back and forth between her mothers home in San Francisco in a predominantly African American neighborhood and her Fathers home in New York in a Jewish neighborhood. While Walker was staying in San Francisco, she spent most of her time being looked after by relatives or neighbors because her mother was frequently away working in the feminist movement. Walker had the drive and determination to be able to receive an excellent education. She was able to receive an education at a private high school, the Urban School of San Francisco. She graduated from Yale University in 1992. In the same year, she helped found the Third Wave Foundation, a women’s leadership and activism organization. During her career as a writer, Walker has written in the subjects of gender roles, racism, sexism, politics, sexual orientation, and third wave feminism. In her autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self she speaks about her parents’ divorce and how her bisexuality, and her biracial and bicultural heritage has affected her life. Walker had also been a contributor to several magazines and other publications. In her book To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism, Walker talks about her feminist views and call out her mother’s generation of feminists for â€Å"for denigrating men and encouraging women to seek independence whatever the cost to their families. † (Walker 1995). Walker became an active member of the feminist movement in 1992 shortly after she graduated from Yale. She helped co found the Third Wave Foundation Walker speaks at universities and conferences about multiculturalism, equality, intergenerational cooperation, and third–wave feminism. Walker says that the goal of third-wave feminism should not be to raise women above men, as she said her mother believed should be done, but to seek true equality for all people. Her books explained that feminists also need to work towards equality for other people in need like victims of racial discrimination and those living in poverty. As an adult, Rebecca Walker became estranged from her mother. The two frequently disagreed over Rebecca’s ideologies, which were not as radical as her mother’s. In 2004, Rebecca and her partner Choyin Rangdrol, a Buddhist teacher, had their first son Tenzin when Rebecca was thirty five years old. In 2007, Walker published her book Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence. Walker encourages feminists to pay attention to their age and not to miss out on the opportunity to be a mother and states the fact that she regrets waiting so long herself, as she is now unable to have second child. She argues against radical feminist ideas that motherhood is a burden to women and instead calls it a blessing. Walker has received many awards for her writing and for her activism work. She has received the â€Å"Feminist of the Year† award, the â€Å"Woman of Distinction† award, and the â€Å"Women Who Could be President† award. Her autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self was given the Alex Award by the American Library Association.

Serum Urate Concentrations and the Risk of Hyperuricemia

Serum Urate Concentrations and the Risk of Hyperuricemia Common UCP2 variants contribute to serum urate concentrations and the risk of hyperuricemia Luyu Yang, Zheng Dong, Jingru zhou, Yanyun Ma, Weilin Pu, Dongbao Zhao, Hongjun He, Hengdong Ji, Yajun Yang, Xiaofeng Wang, Xia Xu, Yafei Pang, Hejian Zou,  Li Jin,  Chengde Yang*, Jiucun Wang* *Corresponding author These authors equally contributed to this study.   Abstract Elevated serum urate, which is regulated at multiple levels including genetic variants, is a risk factor for gout and other metabolic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between UCP2 variants and serum urate as well as hyperuricemia in a Chinese population. In total, 4332 individuals were genotyped for two common UCP2 variants, -866G/A and Ala55Val. These loci were not associated either serum urate level or with a risk of hyperuricemia in the total group of subjects. However, in females, -866G/A and Ala55Val were associated with a lower serum urate (P = 0.006 and 0.014à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’seperately) and played a protective role against hyperuricemia (OR = 0.80, P = 0.018; OR = 0.79, P = 0.016). These associations were not observed in the males. After further stratification, the two loci were associated with serum urate in overweight, but not underweight females. The haplotype A-T (-866G/A-Ala55Val) was a protective factor for hyperuricemia in the female subgroup (OR = 0.80, P=0.017). This present study identified a novel gene, UCP2, that influences the serum urate concentration and the risk of hyperuricemia, and the degree of association varies with gender and BMI levels.   Introduction Uric acid is the final product of purine oxidation in humans. Elevated serum urate, or hyperuricemia, has long been recognized as an independent risk factor for gout [1-2]. There is a renewed interest in hyperuricemia and its association with a number of other clinical disorders including hypertension, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney diseases, and abdominal obesity, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia, which are often subsumed under the term metabolic syndrome [3]. Serum urate is balanced between uric acid production in the liver and its disposal via the kidney and gut [4]. The occurrence of hyperuricemia could be caused by disruptions in any part of this metabolic process. Both genetic and environmental factors, such as gender and body mass index (BMI), have a strong effect on the risk of hyperuricemia [3]. Among those factors, the attribution of genetic factors is estimated to be as high as 73% [5]. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 28 loci associated with serum urate concentration [6]. However, only approximately 7% of the variation in serum urate concentration could be explained by those reported loci, suggesting the missing heritability remained to be explored [6]. Human uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are mitochondrial transporters present in the inner membrane of mitochondria [7]. UCPs are capable of uncoupling ATP production from mitochondrial respiration by causing proton leak and preventing mitochondrial hyperpolarization and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [8]. Among the five identified UCPs, UCP2 is widely expressed in almost all mammalian tissues including white adipose tissue, liver, kidney, pancreatic islets, macrophages and retinal endothelial cells, indicating its involvement in a variety of physiologic or pathologic events [9-12]. Two of the most common polymorphisms of this gene, -866G/A (rs659366) in the promoter and Ala55Val (rs660339) in codon 55, were identified as being associated with different phenotypes [7, 12], including obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, coronary incidence and other metabolic disorders [9-10, 13-21]. Given the involvement of UCP2 and hyperuricemia in a variety of metabolic disorders, we selected the two common loci -866G/A and Ala55Val to explore the association between genetic UCP2 variants and hyperuricemia in a Chinese population, offering a new diagnostic or therapeutic target for hyperuricemia. Results There was no  association between SNPs and serum urate The two loci were proven in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (-866G/A: P = 0.990; Ala55Val: P = 0.690). For -866G/A, AA, AG, and GG genotypes accounted for 21.6%, 49.9%, and 28.6% of hyperuricemic patients, respectively; in healthy controls, the distribution was 21.2%, 49.6%, and 29.3%, respectively. As shown in Table 1, the -866G/A polymorphism was not found to be associated with serum urate (AA/GG: Beta = -0.008, P = 0.644; AG/GG:Beta = -0.012, P = 0.474) or with the risk of hyperuricemia (AA/GG: OR = 1.05, P = 0.603; AG/GG:OR = 1.03, P = 0.667). For Ala55Val, the TT, TC, and CC genotype distribution was 21.5%, 50.5% and 28.0% in hyperuricemic patients, respectively, and the distribution was 21.5%, 49.8% and 28.6% in healthy controls, respectively. No association was observed between Ala55Val polymorphism and serum urate (TT/CC: Beta = -0.013, P = 0.460; TC/CC:Beta = -0.017, P = 0.324). There was no difference in the distribution of the genotypes or alleles among hyperuricemic patients a nd healthy controls (TT/CC: OR = 1.02, P = 0.824; TC/CC:OR = 1.04, P = 0.652). Therefore, no statistically solid evidence supported the genetic effect of -866G/A and Ala55Val on serum urate or the risk of hyperuricemia in the total group of subjects. UCP2 variants were associated withserum urate andhyperuricemia in female subgroups As shown in Table 1, we stratified all subjects into male and female subgroups to further explore the gender-related genetic effects of the two polymorphisms. In the male subgroups, there were no significant associations between the two loci and serum urate or the risk of hyperuricemia (all P > 0.025). However, some nominal significant associations were found between -866G/A and the hyperuricemia risk (genotype AA: OR = 1.26, P = 0.038; allele A: OR = 1.12, P = 0.035), indicating a possible risky effect of the -866G/A variant on hyperuricemia incidence in males. A significant association was found between SNPs and serum urate and hyperuricemia in the female subgroups. The -866G/A genotypes were associated with a lower serum urate (AA/GG: Beta = -0.078, P = 0.015; AG/GG: Beta = -0.104, P = 0.001) and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (AG/GG: OR = 0.71, P = 0.025). The subjects carrying allele A had a lower serum urate and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (A/G: Beta = -0.054, P = 0.006; OR = 0.80, P = 0.018). For Ala55Val, genotype TT carriers showed a lower serum urate (TT/CC: Beta = -0.075, P = 0.022) and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (TT/CC: OR = 0.64, P = 0.020). Genotype TC carriers only had a lower serum urate (TC/CC: Beta = -0.082, P = 0.012) but no decreased risk of hyperuricemia (TC/CC: OR = 0.77, P = 0.093). Allele T was associated with a lower serum urate (T/C: Beta = -0.049, P = 0.016) and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (T/C: OR = 0.79, P = 0.016). Further analysis of associationin females  with different BMI levels Further analysis was performed regarding the genetic effect of UCP2 variants on serum urate and the risk of hyperuricemia among females with different BMI levels (Table 2). The majority of the females enrolled were stratified into normal- or overweight group (Table 2). In the underweight subgroup, whose sample size was limited after stratification, no significant association was observed between the two loci and serum urate or hyperuricemia risk (all P > 0.025, Table 2). In the normal weight subgroup, -866G/A genotype AA+AG carriers were associated with a lower serum urate (AA+AG/GG: Beta = -0.095, P = 0.022) but not with a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (AA+AG/GG: OR = 0.65, P = 0.076). However, the Ala55Val genotypes or alleles showed no statistical association with serum urate (TT+TC/CC: Beta = -0.070, P = 0.091; T/C: Beta = -0.047, P = 0.106) or hyperuricemia (TT+TC/CC: OR = 0.72, P = 0.173; T/C: OR = 0.72, P = 0.051). In the overweight subgroup, the genotypes of both loci were associated a lower serum urate (AA+AG/GG: Beta = -0.138, P = 0.001; TT+TC/CC: Beta = -0.130, P = 0.003) and a significant, or at least marginal, decreased risk of hyperuricemia (AA+AG/GG: OR = 0.62, P = 0.015; TT+TC/CC: OR = 0.74, P = 0.027). However, the alleles of the loci were associated with a lower serum urate level (A/G: Beta = -0.072, P = 0.019; T/C: Beta = -0.072, P = 0.019) but not with a decreased risk of hyperuricemia (A/G: OR = 0.75, P = 0.036; T/C: OR = 0.74, P = 0.027). Our results suggested a stronger effect of UCP2 variants on overweight females than on normal weight females (Table 2). Association between haplotypes and risk of hyperuricemia As listed in Table 3, the haplotypes of the two loci were estimated in the total group of subjects and after stratification by gender. The -866G/A and Ala55Val variants were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D = 0.974, r2 = 0.936). The wild type haplotype G-C (-866G/A-Ala55Val) was applied as the reference one. Haplotype A-T made up for the most frequent one, while single mutation at -866G/A or Ala55Val each accounted for less than 1 percent (Table 3). In the total group of subjects, no haplotypes were correlated with susceptibility of hyperuricemia. In the female subgroups, haplotype A-T (-866G/A-Ala55Val) was associated with a decreased risk of hyperuricemia; however, this association was null in males. No further significant associations between hyperuricemia and other two rare haplotypes were found in our study, partly due to the limited size of the rare haplotypes carriers (Table 3). These results correlated with the association between genotypes or alleles and hyperuricemia (Ta ble 1). Discussion Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is present in the inner mitochondrial membrane and mainly decreases the ATP level and ROS produced by electron transport; therefore, UCP2 is involved in a board range of pathological processes. In the present study, we first focused on the relationship between UCP2 variants and serum urate and hyperuricemia, potentially examining the scope of the loci related to hyperuricemia. The present study revealed no association between the two polymorphisms of UCP2 and serum urate or hyperuricemia in the total group of subjects. However, because serum urate is extensively influenced by gender differences, we stratified the total group of subjects and determined that -866G/A and Ala55Val were associated with serum urate and hyperuricemia in females [25-26]. Females with the -866G/A genotype AA+AG or allele A had lower serum urate and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia, indicating a protective role of -866G/A for hyperuricemia in females. The -866G/A variant is a functional polymorphism located in the promoter region and putatively changes the transcription factor binding sites [7]. The wild type G allele in -866G/A was associated with lower UCP2 mRNA expression [19, 27]. Increased UCP2 mRNA expression from the A allele was translated into an increased amount of UCP2 protein, with corresponding induced proton leak, decreased ATP/ADP ratio and enhanced elimination of ROS [10, 19]. Hypermethylation in the promoter region could affect the binding of transcripation factors, causing aberrant gene expression. Consistent with our expectations, we found a typical CpG island in the UCP2 promoter region, which included the locus of the -866G/A variant, using information from the University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC; Santa Cruz, CA, USA) database (http://genome.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgGateway). We believe the UCP2 promoter variant -866G/A could shape this CpG island and protect the UCP2 promoter region from DNA methylation, unco vering a novel underlying mechanism that determines -866G/A increases UCP2 transcription. Uric acid accumulation is caused by the acceleration of ATP degradation to AMP, a precursor of uric acid, and UCP2 could decrease the ATP level and lower redundant AMP for uric acid formation [7, 28]. Moreover, an elevation of serum urate concentration occurs as a physiologic response to increased oxidative stress [31]. Because the ROS level could be down-regulated by UCP2, a counter-regulatory increase of serum urate as an antioxidant defense is less urgent. Therefore, the -866G/A variant in the promoter region might serve as a protective factor through a higher UCP2 mRNA level and increased translation of the UCP2 protein, which might regulate ROS and modify the ATP/ADP ratio. The other locus, Ala55Val, is a missense variant in exon 4 and is associated with an altered degree of uncoupling [7]. In our study, a protective effect for hyperuricemia and lower serum urate were observed in genotype TT and allele T in the female subgroups. However, the genetic effect of the Ala55Val variant was less clear. Several researchers identified an association of Ala55Val with the BMI level and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), with controversial conclusions within cohorts, and few functional studies were performed [14, 32-33]. Similar to -866G/A, the protective role of the Ala55Val variant for hyperuricemia might also be attributed to altered UCP2 transcription. In the male subgroups, a less statistically significant but possible effect of -866G/A and Ala55Val was observed for hyperuricemia risk and higher serum urate. Similar gender-associated genetic effects of UCP2 variants were more or less observed for diseases other than hyperuricemia [7]. For example, Heidema et al. suggested a genetic effect of UCP2 on weight gain was regulated through different mechanism in males and females [34]. Lee, et al. demonstrated that the association between UCP2 variants and BMI was more apparent among female subjects [35]. Cheurfa et al. confirmed the association of UCP2 variants with coronary artery diseases in males but not females [36]. In the present study, we found UCP2 variants -866G/A and Ala55Val had a stronger effect on females with hyperuricemia. One possible explanation for the gender-associated genetic effects of UCP2 might be a regulation role of sex hormones such as estrogen. Estrogen was reported to repress UCP2 in a breast cancer cell line and papillary thyroid cancer cells [37-38]. Taken together, these results suggest the UCP2 protein level was down-regulated by estrogen in females but reversed by the variants of -866G/A and Ala55Val, providing a plausible explanation for the specific protective effects of UCP2 variants on females [37]. Genetic effects on hyperuricemia and obesity have been widely recognized [3]. In the present study, we found that -866G/A and Ala55Val were associated with lower serum urate and a decreased risk of hyperuricemia in overweight, but not underweight, females (Table 2). The relative small sample size might limit the correlation analysis in the underweight group. However, we did observe females with higher BMI level were more likely to benefit from the protective genetic effect of -866G/A and Ala55Val, where the association was significant between the two SNPs and serum urate level of risk of hyperuricemia. In the contrast, among the normal weight females, -866G/A, but not Ala55Val, showed a significant association with a low risk of hyperuricemia, indicating a less contribution from the protective effect of UCP2 variants than seen in overweight females. It was also implied from our results that the [tw1]functional à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢866G>A promoter variant displayed a stronger effect. The interactions between obesity, uric acid and UCP2 were complicated. BMI has long been viewed as an essential factor influencing uric acid [3]. UCP2 transcription was activated by fatty acids [16]. A recent meta-analysis revealed that UCP2 -866G/A and Ala55Val are associated with a risk of obesity [32]. Subtle intermediary obesity related phenotypes such as elevated triglycerides, total cholesterol concentrations, increased the risk of dyslipidemia and circulating leptin levels were also observed to be correlated with UCP2 variants [40]. Based on these results, we assumed lipid metabolism material such as fatty acids participated in and enhanced the genetic effect of UCP2 variants on serum urate regulation, explaining the stronger genetic effect of UCP2 variants on females with higher BMI levels observed in the present study. The -866G/A and Ala55Val variants were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D = 0.974, r2 = 0.936). The haplotype frequency analysis revealed that variants of the two loci were more in co-variant haplotype A-T (-866G/A-Ala55Val) compared with the single variant forms of G-T or A-C (Table 3). Haplotype A-T was associated with a decreased risk of hyperuricemia only in females, which was consistent with the genotype or alleles results. However, the small size of the two rare haplotypes might limit the power of association analysis with hyperuricemia risk to a certain extent. The susceptibility of hyperuricemia in the two rare haplotype carriers required validation in a larger cohort. Conclusion The present study identified a novel gene, UCP2, with two loci, -866G/A and Ala55Val; this gene influenced the serum urate concentrations and the risk of hyperuricemia in females. The associations of those loci were affected by gender and BMI. This study supported the potential involvement of this gene in the prevention, prediction and treatment of hyperuricemia. Materials and methods Experimental design A total of 4332 subjects were enrolled from the Taizhou Longitudinal Study [22] and included 1387 hyperuricemic patients and 2945 healthy controls. The associations of common UCP2 variants with serum urate and hyperuricemia were tested by linear regression and logistic regression with or without gender stratification, respectively. A body mass index (BMI) subgroup was also used for further analysis. Participants All subjects were enrolled from Taizhou Longitudinal Study [22], of which 1387 individuals had serum urate level over 7 mg/dl and were treated as hyperuricemic patients, and 2945 individuals had normal serum urate (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 7 mg/dl) and were treated as healthy controls [23]. The subjects were divided into subgroups (underweight: BMI à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¼ 18.5; normal weight: 18.50 à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ £ BMI Genetic analysis Genetic analysis was carried out in accordance with the written informed consent and guideline offered by the Ethical Committees of the School of Life Science of Fudan University. For genetic analysis, peripheral blood was collected from all the individuals included in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood using the QIAamp DNA Blood Mini kit (QIAGEN, Germany) and was stored at -20à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. The DNA concentration and quality (including optical density (OD) 260/280 and 260/230 measurements) were determined using a Nanodrop Lite spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Genotyping of -866G/A and Ala55Val in UCP2 were performed by SNPscan according to the manufacturers instructions. Statistical analysis The clinical characteristics were presented as the mean à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ± SD. Students t-test was used to test for a significant difference in the mean age, BMI and serum urate between hyperuricemic patients and healthy controls. The chi-square test was used to describe the gender distribution difference between hyperuricemic patients and healthy controls. The chi-square test was used to test Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) of the two loci. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to calculate adjusted odd ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and P-values to describe the distribution of -866G/A and Ala55Val adjusted for age and gender between hyperuricemic patients and healthy controls. A linear regression was performed to calculate Beta and P-values to estimate the effect on serum urate in different genotypes and alleles. Genotype GG, allele G of -866G/A and genotype CC, allele C of Ala55Val were used as references, respectively. Stratification into subgroups was performed on the basis of gender and different BMI values for further analysis. Haplotype frequencies between the hyperuricemic patients and controls were estimated by OR (95% CI) and chi-square test. The haplotype of the most frequent (-866G/A-Ala55Val, G-C) was used as the reference. A 2-sided P-value less than 0.025 was considered statistically significant after multiple correlation by Bonferroni method. The PHASE program (V2.1) was used for haplotype frequencies estimation, and SPSS 19.0 was used for the statistical analysis. References 1. Choi HK, Mount DB, Reginato AM. Pathogenesis of gout. Ann Intern Med 2005;143(7):499-516. 2.  Weaver AL. Epidemiology of gout. Cleve Clin J Med 2008;75 Suppl 5:S9-12. 3.  Billiet L, Doaty S, Katz JD, Velasquez MT. Review of hyperuricemia as new marker for metabolic syndrome. ISRN Rheumatol 2014;2014:852954. 4.  Hediger MA, Johnson RJ, Miyazaki H, Endou H. Molecular physiology of urate transport. Physiology (Bethesda) 2005;20:125-33. 5.  Kolz M, Johnson T, Sanna S, Teumer A, Vitart V, Perola M, et al.. Meta-analysis of 28,141 individuals identifies common variants within five new loci that influence uric acid concentrations. PLoS Genet 2009;5(6):e1000504. 6.  Kà ¶ttgen A, Albrecht E, Teumer A, Vitart V, Krumsiek J, Hundertmark C, et al.. Genome-wide association analyses identify 18 new loci associated with serum urate concentrations. Nature Genetics 2012;45(2):145-154. 7.  Donadelli M, Dando I, Fiorini C, Palmieri M. UCP2, a mitochondrial protein regulated at multiple levels. In; 2014. p. 1171-90. 8.  Azzu V, Jastroch M, Divakaruni AS, Brand MD. The regulation and turnover of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Bioenergetics 2010;1797(6-7):785-791. 9.  Dalgaard LT, Andersen G, Larsen LH, Sorensen TI, Andersen T, Drivsholm T, et al.. Mutational analysis of the UCP2 core promoter and relationships of variants with   obesity. Obes Res 2003;11(11):1420-7. 10. Dalgaard LT. Genetic Variance in Uncoupling Protein 2 in Relation to Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Related Metabolic Traits: Focus on the Functional -866G>A Promoter Variant (rs659366). J Obes 2011;2011:340241. 11. Rousset S, Mozo J, Dujardin G, Emre Y, Masscheleyn S, Ricquier D, et al.. UCP2 is a mitochondrial transporter with an unusual very short half-life. FEBS Lett 2007;581(3):479-82. 12. Jarmuszkiewicz W, Woyda-Ploszczyca A. [Mitochondrial uncoupling proteins: regulation and physiological role]. Postepy Biochem 2008;54(2):179-87. 13. Yu X, Wieczorek S, Franke A, Yin H, Pierer M, Sina C, et al.. Association of UCP2 -866 G/A polymorphism with chronic inflammatory diseases. In; 2009. p. 601-5. 14. Rosmond R, Bouchard C, Bjorntorp P. Lack of association between the uncoupling protein-2 Ala55Val gene polymorphism and phenotypic features of the Metabolic Syndrome. Biochim Biophys Acta 2002;1588(2):103-5. 15.  Heidari J, Akrami SM, Heshmat R, Amiri P, Fakhrzadeh H, Pajouhi M. Association study of the -866G/A UCP2 gene promoter polymorphism with type 2 diabetes and obesity in a Tehran population: a case control study. Arch Iran Med 2010;13(5):384-90. 16.  Emre Y, Nà ¼bel T. Uncoupling protein UCP2: When mitochondrial activity meets immunity. In; 2010. p. 1437-1442. 17. Toda C, Diano S. Mitochondrial UCP2 in the central regulation of metabolism. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2014;28(5):757-64. 18. Shen Y, Wen Z, Wang N, Zheng Z, Liu K, Xia X, et al.. Investigation of variants in UCP2 in Chinese type 2 diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. PLoS One 2014;9(11):e112670. 19. Sesti G, Cardellini M, Marini MA, Frontoni S, DAdamo M, Del GS, et al.. A common polymorphism in the promoter of UCP2 contributes to the variation in insulin secretion in glucose-tolerant subjects. Diabetes 2003;52(5):1280-3. 20.  Otaegui D, Saenz A, Ruiz-Martinez J, Olaskoaga J, Lopez DMA. UCP2 and mitochondrial haplogroups as a multiple sclerosis risk factor. In; 2007. p. 454-8. 21.  Oktavianthi S, Trimarsanto H, Febinia CA, Suastika K, Saraswati MR, Dwipayana Pà ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ´AW, et al.. Uncoupling protein 2 gene polymorphisms are associated with obesity. Cardiovascular diabetology 2012;11(1):41. 22.  Wang X, Lu M, Qian J, Yang Y, Li S, Lu D, et al.. Rationales, design and recruitment of the Taizhou Longitudinal Study. BMC Public Health 2009;9:223. 23.  Mandell BF. Clinical manifestations of hyperuricemia and gout. Cleve Clin J Med 2008;75 Suppl 5:S5-8. 24.  WHO Global Database on Body Mass Index (BMI): an interactive surveillance tool for monitoring nutrition transition. Public Health Nutr. 2006; 9(5):658-. doi:10.1079/Phn2006967. ISI:000239972300019.. 25. Terkeltaub RA. Clinical practice. Gout. N Engl J Med 2003;349(17):1647-55. 26.  Neogi T. Clinical practice. Gout. N Engl J Med 2011;364(5):443-52.   Ã‚   27.  Lapice E, Pinelli M, Pisu E, Monticelli A, Gambino R, Pagano G, et al.. Uncoupling protein 2 G(-866)A polymorphism: a new gene polymorphism associated with C-reactive protein in type 2 diabetic patients. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2010;9:68. 28.  Richette P, Bardin T. Gout. Lancet 2010;375(9711):318-28. 29. Waring WS, Webb DJ, Maxwell SR. Systemic uric acid administration increases serum antioxidant capacity in healthy volunteers. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 2001;38(3):365-71. 30. Zhang M, Wang M, Zhao Z. Uncoupling protein 2 gene polymorphisms in association with overweight and obesity susceptibility: A meta-analysis. Meta Gene 2014;2:143-159. 31.Vogler S, Goedde R, Miterski B, Gold R, Kroner A, Koczan D, et al.. Association of a common polymorphism in the promoter of UCP2 with susceptibility to multiple sclerosis. J Mol Med (Berl) 2005;83(10):806-11. 32.Heidema AG, Wang P, van Rossum CT, Feskens EJ, Boer JM, Bouwman FG, et al.. Sex-specific effects of CNTF, IL6 and UCP2 polymorphisms on weight gain. Physiol Behav 2010;99(1):1-7. 33.Lee YH, Kim W, Yu BC, Park BL, Kim LH, Shin HD. Association of the ins/del polymorphisms of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) with BMI   in a Korean population. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2008;371(4):767-71. 34.Cheurfa N, Dubois-Laforgue D, Ferrarezi DA, Reis AF, Brenner GM, Bouche C, et al.. The common -866G>A variant in the promoter of UCP2 is associated with decreased risk of coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetic men. Diabetes 2008;57(4):1063-8. 35.Nadal-Serrano M, Sastre-Serra J, Pons DG, Miro AM, Oliver J, Roca P. The ERalpha/ERbeta ratio determines oxidative stress in breast cancer cell lines in response to 17beta-estradiol. J Cell Biochem 2012;113(10):3178-85. 36.Hima S, Sreeja S. Regulatory role of estrogen-induced reactive oxygen species in the modulatory function of UCP 2 in papillary thyroid cancer cells. IUBMB Life 2015. 37.Hamada T, Kotani K, Fujiwara S, Sano Y, Domichi M, Tsuzaki K, et al.. The UCP2-866 A/A genotype is associated with low density lipoprotein particle sizes in the general population. Med Sci Monit 2008;14(3):CR107-11. Acknowledgements This research was supported by grants from the Science and Technology Committee of Shanghai Municipality (11DJ1400100), International ST Cooperation Program of China (2013DFA30870), Ministry of Science and Technology (2011BAI09B00), and Program for 2012 Outstanding Medical Academic Leader for Hejian Zou. The computations involved in this study were supported by Fudan University High-End Computing Center. Author contributions statement

My Shoes Writing Skills Writing Assignment English Language Essay

My Shoes Writing Skills Writing Assignment English Language Essay If only my shoes could talk†¦ What an amazing story they would tell! An adventure full of comedy, mystery, romance, murder (well maybe not murder haha), but all rolled up into one tale. Really, what else is with you through all of the important moments in your life? Shoes are such a simple accessory and often chosen as an afterthought when the perfect outfit is picked out. If you think about it though, they really are an integral part. I think of my shoes as a companion who listens without judgment. They are a friend who offers support and comfort but still offers me a pinch every once in awhile to bring me back to reality. I dont remember my first steps but I know my shoes were there with me. I can imagine my parents holding my hands preparing to release me into my first stage of independence. What a scary moment it must have been for all of us. As they released my little fingers, it was then that those tiny shoes kept me balanced. Sure there were trips and falls along the way, but my shoes and I quickly began to work together. We were soon skipping, jumping, and running together. My shoes always told the tale of what I had done that day. If inspected carefully, one could even see spatters of what I had eaten that day. Somehow, Mom always knew if I had been running through the garden again. My shoes were with me on the first day of school. As I walked up to the front door of the big building I shuffled my feet. Somehow the muffled sound of my brand new shoes against the pavement made the walk a little less scary. My shoes got to witness my very first art project. My little white sneakers were a beautiful collage of color when we were through. Who knew the paint would drip off the brush like that? My shoes could even tell the tale of the mean boy who splattered ketchup all over my new dress. I bet my shoes felt left out! What stories they could tell about running free on the play yard without a care in the world. If my shoes could talk, I bet they would tell all about the time I won the big recess race. When I was eight, my shoes were with me to experience my first big heartache. As my parent sat me down for a serious talk, I stared down at my shoes blankly. They talked about how they love me and everything would be fine. As I began to realize what they were telling me, I knew I hated the word divorce. I wondered why parents couldnt be like shoes. Shoes were a pair for life and were no good without the other. I wonder if my shoes would talk about what it felt like when my little tears rained down on them like a spring shower. My shoes were there to support me each time I walked through the doors to their separate houses. I suppose to make a good story; my shoes would have to talk about me as a teenager. I sure put on a lot of miles then. I wonder if they would divulge all the juicy details of my first date. When I was 15, I set out on a new adventure with a brand new pair of shoes that were carefully chosen just for that night. We went to a place called the Varsity in Downtown Atlanta. As we sat together eating our hotdogs, I glanced down at my shoes whenever there was a lull in the conversation. Strange I know, but it seemed like I always thought of something to say. It ended up being a magical evening with a wonderful man. I will let the shoes tell the details if they ever decide to talk. Perhaps my shoes would talk about how that first date eventually led to marriage. When I was 21, I took one of the most wonderful trips in a beautiful new pair of shoes. I chose the perfect pair to accompany me on the most incredible journey. They were able to balance my trembling body as I slowly made my way down the aisle. Only my shoes could tell you how I made it all the way to my future husband at the front of the building. The way he looked at me made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. As we stood up there hand in hand, reciting our vows, my shoes were there to witness the sacred promises we made to each other. I wonder if they would talk about how magical it was when we shared our first kiss as husband and wife. Would they talk about the way we seemed to float across the floor as we shared our first dance together? The promises we made to each other helped us through many tough times. Every time I see that particular pair of shoes in my closet, it brings back all the feelings and emotions of that day we made the promises to each other. My shoes could tell you how I am feeling at any given moment without even speaking. For example, if I pull out my favorite pair of strappy high-heeled sandals and put them on, it usually means I am in a flirty mood. If I pull on my supportive running shoes, perhaps they are telling you that I am in an active mood. My fuzzy slippers might tell you that I am feeling a little lazy. They also give tell-tale signs of the places I have been. A weekend stroll through the park always leaves bits of grass on the bottom of my shoes as evidence. My shoes have played a very important part in my life. They have witnessed all of the good and bad times in my life, and they will be there to witness many more. Through every situation they have offered their support and listening ear without judgment or blame. I think my shoes would have a great story to tell if they could talk, but I might be in a little trouble if they shared everything!

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine Essay -- essays research papers

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine As with all things we know little about there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding acupuncture. The part people see the most is a person with needles sticking out of their flesh. Understandably being wary of sharp pointed objects being wielded by a complete stranger, this is often an obstacle that needs to be over come. The best way to do this is by becoming educated about how acupuncture is performed, where it came from, what it does, some of the benefits vs. the problems, and the different views about it. Though out the many different texts on acupuncture you find there is room for interpretation on how to perform it, what to use, and even where the pressure is placed. One thing you will find in common among these texts is this, acupuncture works to varying degrees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earliest recordings of the use of acupuncture go back 2,000 years. In China it is widely expressed that it has been in use for 4,000 years. The origins go back as early as the Stone Age where abscesses were punctured by sharp stones or bone fragments. ( History ) When you experience pain it is an instinctive reaction to apply pressure to that location. Such as when you get a toothache. Also the body may experience pain where the infection is not localized. Your body naturally sends you warning signals that something is wrong. The Ancient Chinese utilized these warnings, and developed an intricate system of these points over time through observation. It is easy to infer that applying pressure to relive pain with your hands evolved into the use of needles instead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tortoise shells have been found and dated back to 1500 B.C. – during the Shang Dynasty - recording the use of acupuncture. The first actual written text acclaiming acupuncture is called Nei Ching Su Wen. It is written into two basic sections. The Su Wen, or easy questions and the Lung Shu, or hard questions. This book basically lays out all the different points, but it is mostly a book on concept and theory. The Nei Ching Su Wen lays the basic rules of philosophy and treaties on health. These philosophies branched form two mainstream religions that abounded during the Warring States period in Chinese history. The first is Confucianism. The teachings of this â€Å" religion â€Å" stress that the body is scared and are against dissection or surgery. T... ... You have no nasty side effect of drowsiness, or being groggy. The vomiting and stomach irritation are a thing of the past. This technique is especially being used and experimented with in China.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is also another branch of acupuncture being explored. It involves pressure points specifically I the ear. These points are being found to be connected to all other organs of the body. Although there are arguments that acupuncture is purely suggestion, they can be proven wrong. Suggestion cannot allow for a human being to under surgery with pain. The discovery of endorphins shows that a chemical process is instigated through pressure points. There is a chemical increase of endorphins when acupuncture is performed. Research being funded in China by the United States, and other Western countries, are going to lead us to a great break through some day. The future looks bright, and everyday we learn more and more. Some day we may learn the secret of why acupuncture works for now we will have to accept that it does work and try to combine old and new philosophies to reach a greater understanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Untying the Knot :: essays research papers

Human beings have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and an urgent drive for understanding. The further we go on our quest for absolute truth and the deeper we plunge into the heart of the ultimate reality, the more profound our questions become. Could there be something more to this world of ours than that which meets the eye? Is there some elaborate design behind the infinite galaxies, stars, and planets, or are we simply at the mercy of a chaotic and unordered universe? What is it that has given rise to the mysterious and unexplainable phenomenon that we have labeled the cosmos? Throughout history, we have attempted to answer these perplexing and ineluctable questions through myths, religion, or science. Apparent in many of these explanations is the idea of a unity, the â€Å"One†, or a single entity that comprises all of reality. To some, it is God’s presence. To others it is the Tao or simply â€Å"that which is, and, in the case of modern physics, it is infini tesimally small strings, oscillating and vibrating, like the strings of a violin, that comprise the fabric of our universe and â€Å"rhythmically beat out the laws of the cosmos† (18).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  String theory is a revolutionary way of explaining the complexity of the cosmos. It is the unified theory of physics that Einstein searched for but never found. It forces us to look at the world in which we live in a drastically different and beautiful way. String theory states that all aspects of our universe consist of infinitesimally small, vibrating loops of energy (14). Like Pythagoras’ idea of the â€Å"music of the spheres†, these universal strings vibrate and oscillate, producing different notes in a cosmic symphony. Strings are the most basic constituents of matter, â€Å"atoms† in the true sense of the word. According to physicists, string theory may hold the key to understanding the inner workings of the universe. As Brian Greene states in his book The Elegant Universe:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   String theory has the potential to show that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe--from the frantic dance of subatomic quarks to the stately waltz of orbiting binary stars, from the primordial fireball of the big bang to the majestic swirl of heavenly galaxies--are reflections of one grand physical principle, one master equation (5). String theory is the first theory able to combine the undeniable, yet conflicting truths of Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the newly emerging field of quantum mechanics.

The Power of The Sea-Wolf Essay -- Sea-Wolf Essays

The Power of The Sea-Wolf Jack London’s novel, The Sea-Wolf, has many different interpretations. The story can be read as a combination of the naturalistic novel and the sentimental romance, both very popular around the turn of the century. London also brings into play literary naturalism, in which human beings are characterized as just another species in nature, subject to all of Her cosmic forces. The Sea-Wolf fits almost perfectly the archetypal pattern of an initiation story. Depth and interest are added to The Sea-Wolf by successfully integrating these three elements -- the combination of two popular genres, literary naturalism, and the initiation story. One of the characteristics common to most naturalistic novels is the theme of survival of the fittest. This novel is very much in concordance with this theory, set up by Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection. Both Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster are individuals who have never known physical hardship. They are both people "of the books", and find themselves in a foreign environment when stranded on this boat with a "regular devil" (49), Wolf Larsen. Humphrey Van Weyden, after going through an "initiation process" to be discussed later, finds himself unable to remember clearly anything else. "It seems as though I have lived this life always. The world of books is very vague, more like a dream memory than an actuality. I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all the days of my life" ( 229). Humphrey makes an almost perfect allusion to Darwin's survival of the fittest idea when talking to Wolf Larsen, "You were once, and able to eat, as you were pleased to phrase i t; but there has been a diminishing, and I am now able to eat you" (249). Even Maud ... ...led Hump. Hump survives this so-called "ordeal" and makes it to third stage of the initiation process -- the return to the group. With the beginning of this stage the initiate is transformed. "Hump" becomes Mr. Van Weyden, as Wolf Larsen promotes him to first mate to replace Johansen. He is now accepted as part of the group and he, unlike Larsen, has good rapport with all the crew members. After this last stage is complete is when he gets up the courage to flee the Ghost and Larsen, and run away with Maud Brewster. The Sea-Wolf is one of the richest, and most interesting, novels ever written. Jack London has used a variety of literary techniques to bring his story to life. Through the combination of two popular genres of the time (naturalistic and romance), the use of the literary naturalism, and the story of an initiation, London brings the characters to life.

Netflix Case

Davor Ramesa k0956979 Netflix case Executive summary What is Netflix’s strategy in the on-line movie rental market? What are Netflix’s sources of competitive advantage? Identify the competences key to the success of Netflix’s strategy and explain why. Netflix was a late entrant to the movie rental market and it was a first mover in the on – line movie rental market. Netflix’s strategy in the movie rental market is differentiation from traditional movie rental stores. Instead of attracting customers to a retail location, Netflix offered home delivery of DVDs through the mail. Why only DVDs? In 1998, most available movies were in VHS cassette format but Netflix concentrated on using only DVDs because its marketing strategy was to develop cross promotional programs with the manufacturers and sellers of DVD players, providing a source of content for the customers. Also, there was no competition in that niche market and DVDs were small and light which made them perfect for mail delivery. Netflix had several sources of competitive advantage. For starters, Netflix’s website included a search engine that allowed customers to easily sort through its selection by title, actor, etc. Using these search engine customers could easily and quickly find a movie that they would like instead of looking on shelves of a retail store. Netflix was using the US Postal Service to deliver DVDs directly to a customer’s home. It was more convenient for customers. They used similar pricing to that offered by traditional video stores in the beginning but what gave them the competitive advantage was moving to a subscription prepaid service. And, soon afterwards they offered unlimited rentals to customers because they were targeting another group of customers – ones that wanted the convenience of watching a movie at any time and change them unlimited during a month. Netflix’s engineers developed a proprietary recommendation system. They have done so because mostly the new movies were being rented and they wanted to balance customers demand. How did this system work? Upon signing into a new account for the first time, customers took a survey to identify their favorite movie genres, as well as rate specific movie titles. This survey gave enough data to Netflix’s engineers to build a base and understand better customer’s preferences. Also, Netflix’s size and growth rate generated a positive †network effect† from its large customer – generated rating system. Because it had the largest collection of movie ratings in the world, customers recognized that they were more likely to have their tastes and preferences accurately reflected from Netflix’s site. The key to success in Netflix’s strategy was hiring Ted Sarandos as chief content office to manage content acquisition. He managed (due to his relationships) to negotiate direct revenue – sharing agreements with nearly all the majors studios. So Netflix was able to improve its relationships with its suppliers. The benefit was not just lower acquisition costs but the promotion of lesser known movies. So, customers had the benefit of large variety of movies. Also, using the proprietary recommendation system and the national inventory Netflix was able to replicate almost perfect inventory. This gave them a serious competitive advantage, since retail stores needed three or five times the copies of a movie to satisfy the same customer demand. Assess Netflix’s performance? Use multiple performance measures (strategic and financial). Table below shows (in 000$) Netflix’s performance using 2 financial ratios in year 1998 and 2006. (source : Netflix 2006 10-k) As we can see from the table, in year 1998 Netflix had poor performance. We can see that it was losing 16. 84 thousands of dollars to subscription (sales= revenue of subscription). Net profit margin was not any better a -18. 940$ . We can see that their operating profit margin was 0. 69 thousands of dollars and net profit margin was 0,04 thousand of dollars in 2006. Why was there such a change in profitability? Answer lies in the number of total subscribers which has grown from 107 000 in 1999 to 6 316 000 in 2006. (source: Netflix 2006 10-k). Number of subscribers was constantly growing since 1998 due to good strategy decisions like : proprietary recommendation system , hiring of Ted Sarandos and opening more distribution centers. All of these moves had one purpose: to add value to their product by increasing customer’s satisfaction. How does Netflix’s strategy compare to Blockbuster? Compare and contrast each’s value chain. Factors which determine the value of the product: Price – of the movie Delivery Time – how long do the customers wait for getting the movie Convenience – what actions do the customers have to do to get the movie Other factors(recommendation system, availability of new movies) Late fees Although prices of Netflix and Blockbuster for a single DVD rental are now the same (10$ per movie-source: http://reviews. cnet. com/4520-11445_7-6325775-1. html), Netflix had an additional value because it offered unlimited rental with the same pricing (an example: you pay monthly fee and you can exchange movies, so you can watch several different DVD†s for the price of one). If you want to rent a movie from a Blockbuster retail store, you can do it in a relatively short time (time you need to get to a retail store) as management proclaimed 10 minute drive for 70% of US population. Delivery time for Netflix is their disadvantage in comparison to Blockbuster, it takes a day or two. Convenience – Netflix has the advantage here since you can order movies from the comfort of your home by using the internet. Blockbuster doesn’t have a recommendation system like Netflix. It only has an employee that can recommend movies to a customer. Netflix has advantage here since it can recommend a movie accordingly to the taste of each customer. New movies are available pretty much the same for both companies. Late fees – in 2005. Blockubuster decided to abolish late fees which gave them an advantage over Netflix, increasing customer satisfaction but also gave them significant costs: 60 milion $ marketing + 600 million dollar of revenue loss. What challenges and opportunities does Netflix face? What are the major risks? Major challenge for Netflix’s online DVD rental business is VOD (video on demand). VOD offers additional value to the customer – no waiting period, since it uses streaming technology to provide customers a movie with no waiting period. This is also an opportunity for Netflix since it has the possibility to implement this new technology into its core business but there are several cons of doing so. First issue is that this feature would cannibalize the core business because Netflix would replace stream of positive cash flows with another. Also Netflix found no way to differentiate itself against competitors like MovieLink and Vongo. Another major risks or challenges for Netflix are cable and satellite providers which offer pay-per-view system, providing HD on demand. For now these services had two primary limitations: technology and content availability. Another major challenge is the entry of Blockbuster in the DVD online rental market. As a bigger company Blockbuster has the financial funds to attract more subscribers using heavy marketing. This entry directly enters Netflix’s niche market and now Netflix has to find a way to differentiate. For starters, what would be Netflix’s entry strategy to these new markets? It could ship the DVDs from USA but this option would have serious disadvantages like import tariffs, shipping costs, long delivery time which would lead to customer dissatisfaction and a very small market share with probably losses rather than profits. If Netflix would open a subsidiary in Europe it would not have problems like the latter but it would need investors since financing the whole subsidiary may present a problem for Netflix. Another issue is that Europe, as a difference to the US, is consisted of many small independent countries with their own laws and import tariffs so this could be a problem as well. Another problem is the customers preferences. If Netflix would try to ship movies from the US (which would also present shipping costs) the European customers might not like US movies that much. They might prefer European movies better. Another issue is that Netflix doesn’t have an established relationship with any European movie studio. So they would lose the competitive advantage that they have in the US. Another problem is the language barrier. In many countries like Germany, Italy, or Spain, movies are synchronized into their mother tongue. So customers might not be willing to rent these movies in the English language. Another issue is the competition in Europe which perhaps would be more competent than Netflix since they know better the customers needs, laws, and other issues mentioned already. Netflix as a company started with an emerging technology – DVD, then. Now the new technology is Blu- ray and as the VHS format was replaced by DVD there are good chances that Blu-ray will replace DVD format. Because Blu-ray technology gives a better resolution than a DVD customers might be willing to switch so Netflix should start to fill its inventory with blu-ray discs and maybe like they did in the past with VHS promote and rent only Blu-ray discs. The goal for Netflix’s is to find the best media (low cost, high quality) for watching a movie or even better – no media at all. Netflix’s, as I see it, biggest threat to DVD rental business is online video streaming. Why? With this technology customers have no waiting period and complete convenience. And these are very important factors when customers are making their decision about watching a movie. Decisive competence key for Netflix is the recommendation system and they should use it with online video streaming.