Duchamp Essay Essay

Artists are influenced by different artworks and artists but Marcel Duchamp is believed to be a major twentieth-century artist and have played a big role in the art world. ‘The concept of art, and the course of art history, was irreversible changed as a consequence’ (of ‘Fountain’) (Podstolski) He changed the ideas about the traditional nature of art when he entered his work Fountain in 1919 using the name Mr R. Mutt to the Society of Independent Artists Exhibition, New York. It was refused entry, but Duchamp argued the case – ‘Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the Fountain or not†¦ he CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that it’s useful significance disappeared under a new title and point of view – (he) created a new thought for that object. ’ His ‘ready-mades’ lead to new possibilities such as non-art materials and ideas about the conceptual basis of artworks. Society began accept these new materials and ideas about art which helped Robert Rauschenberg create is Combines, which was his term for his technique of attaching cast-off items, such as tires or old furniture, to a traditional support. Bed’ is one of Rauschenberg’s first Combines and is a well-worn pillow, sheet, and quilt, scribbled on them with pencil, and splashed them with paint, in a style reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism. These bedclothes are supposably Rauschenberg’s own, thus making this as personal as a self-portrait, or more so – a quality consistent with Rauschenberg’s statements, â€Å"painting relates to both are and life†¦ (I try to act in that gap between the two). The Pop Art movement and the work of Andy Warhol were arguable prefigured and enabled by the Conceptual Art of Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp observed: ‘What is interesting about Warhol is not the retinal image of the man who paints 50 soup cans, but of the man who has the idea to paint 50 soup cans. ’ With the ‘Readymades,’ Duchamp radically destabilised notions of what are is and, in raising the mass produced form to the dignity of an art object, he provided an opening for the ‘low’ subject matter which constituted Pop Art. Duchamp was Iconoclastic, which has led to the freedom of modern artists such as Ai Weiwei. ‘Feet’ is an example of Weiwei’s art of reclamation and transformation of round objects – in this case, stone shards of feet the remains of Buddhist statuary from the Northern Wei and Norther Wei and Northern Qui dynasties. China is littered with the remains of pillaged statuary, with much of this destruction occurring during periods of dynastic change in China as new regimes ttempted to remove all traces of the cultural and aesthetic achievements of former powers. Ai questions how we apportion value to cultural objects. Duchamp’s artistic exchange of ideas and influences have profoundly affected the art world, and if it wasn’t for the Avant-garde of his early experimentations with modernist painting techniques through to his involvement with dada then we may not have as much freedom as we do in art today.

Women’s Roles in Leadership Positions

The Dynamics of Women’s Roles in Leadership Delora Murphy Wingate University Abstract The roles of women have been evolving for the last 100 years. Many women have shattered the stereotype that a women’s role is to be in charge of the family and have become leaders in a walks of life. Women have proved that they can be effective as business and government leaders. Although there are still gender biases that can exist, it is much move covert then it was 40 years ago.Oddly enough, some of the characteristics that have been viewed as the most necessary for leadership in roles of men, those same traits were viewed as negative characteristics of women in leadership roles. The role of the women has been evolving for many decades. In times, way before my own, a woman’s role was to be the caregiver for her family. Although women, many have sought out an education, their main lifetime focus to be to support her husband and raise her children.Many women still choose this r ole today, but the point is that now they are allowed to choose a specific pathway in life rather than being forced to carry out established roles. This change of women’s roles has been occurring in the United States for the last hundred years. Although this may seem like a long period of time, it is not. When roles are changed or reversed, this does not necessarily mean that everyone instantly converts to the new ideas and philosophies demonstrated by a group.Often times, there is a great deal of protest both within the changing group as well as those outside of the group. Despite the evolved roles of women in society, women still face many challenges in leadership positions. There are qualities that women possess that seem to help them rise to the top echelon of leadership positions, but there are still biases that exist that may inhibit women from reaching their goals. Women won the right to vote in the 1920’s; however, it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the â€Å"Women’s Movement† began.Granted women’s roles had been changing for 40 years prior to the Women’s Movement, it was clear that this was not a natural evolution. Many people, both men and women, challenged the idea of a woman as an independent, productive citizen. Many women were ready to be seen and valued differently, but just because a group wants to be seen differently, does not mean that that is going to happen. This is usually the pivotal moment for most movements in History. A group seeks changes that others are adverse to seeing happen. The women’s movement called for fundamental changes in the roles of women.No longer did women want to be seen as the caregiver of the home, they wanted to be seen as independent people who could make important decisions and choose their educational and professional pathways. Today, in the United States of America, women are on a more equal footing with men in most cases: often by necessity, where wom en cannot complete in the workplace for jobs that were one traditionally held my men, also in light of two –parent working households. Although most career and professional opportunities are open to women in this country, there are still major discrepancies in the leadership positions that women hold.Among the US population 25 and above, 34 percent of women have obtained a Bachelor’s degree compared with 30 percent of men. Of Graduate degree’s held, women dominate that group with 39 percent of Graduate Degrees being held by men. Versus 21% percent, which are held by men. It would be appropriate after viewing these statistics, that one could assume that women hold the same, if not more, of the top leadership positions in business and politics, but this, in fact, is not the case. Forbes Magazine (2011) created and published a study with an emphasis breakdown on women’s roles in top leadership positions. Only 6 percent of Fortune 100 CEO’s are women à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Only 8 percent of technology startup companies are lead by women †¢ Only 9 percent of contributors on Wikipedia are women †¢ Women account for only a tenth of the voting power on the words’ key interest rates †¢ Only 13 percent of the top 100 billionaires worldwide are women †¢ Only 15 percent of senior industry management positions belong to women. †¢ Less than 18 percent of Congressional seats are held by women. Clearly, this poses a question about why women are still not sharing equal roles with men in the top leadership positions in this country.There are many different reasons for these statistics. One reason for this â€Å"leadership gap† is that women just don’t ask. This idea is explored by Babcock and Laschever (2007) in the book Women Don’t Ask by Babcock and Laschever. When Babcock questioned many graduate male students were teaching their own course while women were taking on the roles of assistants, her dean st ated, † More men ask. The women just don’t ask. † It turns out, that women are just more likely than men to ask for promotions or raises. This may be due to the facts that some women aren’t aware they should be asking and other women are fearful or damaging relationships.One interesting point to note is that a leadership characteristic that is identified differently in men and women is aggression. Many people positively define aggression as a positive leadership trait in men, but that exact same trait is viewed as negative in a women. Therefore, a women many sense that being aggressive may cause more harm than good when trying to obtain a high level position. Research published by Northhouse in his book Leadership, has also shown that women are more likely to take a passive role in obtaining leadership positions.They are more reluctant to be assertive in asking for positions, and try to obtain those roles through relationships and opportunity. (p. 357) In e ssence, it is a â€Å"double edged sword for a woman†. There is also no question that gender stereotypes still exist. Oddly enough, these stereotypes may produce more harm in the 21st century because they are more covert and hard to recognize. The show, Mad Men, shows how women were treated in the workplace. The sexual harassment and belittlement of women was obvious and apparent.Women were expected to fill certain roles in the workplace and men had no issues openly expressing their ideas on women’s roles. Now, there is to be no such divide between genders. In fact, gender discrimination is breaking the law, so no longer can discrimination exist in any work place. However, this does not mean that these biases and feelings don’t exist. On the contrary, there may be many people who feel like women are not capable of performing certain tasks, but because gender discrimination is illegal, these ideas are not openly shared, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.Despite these things, many women have found success in the political and work setting. Interestingly, Dominance, aggression and assertiveness are not viewed as positive traits in women leaders, but these are the traits most people would identify with the top echelon leaders of the world, both politically and financially. So, what are some of the attributes that are seen in successful women? Five characteristics that most successful women share are: determination, resourcefulness, ambition, confidence, and the ability to create a maintain relationships. A successful woman is determined to have it all and make things work.At www. Successful Women. com, a guest writer describes the attributes of successful women†¦ determination, resourcefulness, engagement, ambition and confidence. Determination means having a strategic plan to accomplish a goal and now allowing anything or anyone to get in the way of that goal. True leaders know their best resource is in the hearts and minds of the people they are leading. There’s not much more that causes distrust then a leader who claims to know everything about everything. A good leader must be able to be resourceful and find answers and solutions quickly.There is no question that ambition plays a large role in the making of a successful female leader. Women without ambition rarely achieve greatness. Queen Elizabeth I gave up the chance at a family (and had her own sister imprisoned) in order to rule England. Susan B. Anthony and many other suffragettes risked being ostracized and thrown in jail in order to spread the message of women’s equality. Throughout history, the most successful women have been willing to take control of their own lives and do whatever was necessary to reach their goals.Probably the most important character trait of a female leader is confidence. Of course, it is imperative for someone to have the skills, but most people will argue that confidence is the key to becoming a successful leader. Imagine trying to get a group to follow someone who lacks self-confidence and shows fear for a task. A leader with confidence acts with decisiveness and passion, which cause subordinates to feel like they can count on their leader. Another key trait is the ability to create and maintain appropriate professional relationships.Women must show enough empathy so that their subordinates feel supported, but not too much emotion as to get over involved with ones co workers, colleagues or subordinates. This is the â€Å"make it or break it† trait for many female leaders. People seem to be more conscious of the relationship that a women has with her subordinates. If a woman is seen as too empathetic, these may be seen as a weakness. If a women seems void of emotion, people may not feel comfortable or like they are able to â€Å"fit in†. Women’s roles have been evolving for over 100 years.The road has been paved for a woman to make decisio ns about the course she chooses to live her life. The roadblocks for women have been moved out of the way. Regardless of gender biases that may still exist, a woman can be whatever she chooses to be. This does not meet that the leadership role is easy. For men and women alike, begin an effective leader is challenging ad requires special and specific characteristics to be effective. References Deborah Morrehead (2007). 9 Qualities of Smart, Successful Women. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. debramoorhead. com/blog/index. php/9-qualities-of-smart-successful-women/. Last Accessed 15 October 2012]. Denise Trauth (2002). The Changing Roles of Women. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. txstate. edu/news/news_releases/news_archive/2002/10/roleofwomen102102. html. [Last Accessed 8 October 2011]. Guest (2010). Five Characteristics of Successful Women. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. asuccessfulwoman. com/aswblog/five-characteristics-successful-women. [Last Accessed October 15 2012]. Kath erine W Hawkins, (1995). Effects of Gender Communication Content on Leadership Emergence in Small Task-Oriented Groups. Small Group Research. 26 (2), pp. 234-239Leslie Bradshaw (2011). Why Women Having A Seat at the Table is not Enough. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. forbes. com/sites/lesliebradshaw/2011/08/04/why-women-having-a-seat-at-the-table-is-not-enough/. [Last Accessed 15 October 2012]. Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, (2007). Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation and Positive Strategies. 1st ed. New York: Bantam. Jossey Bass Publishers, (2007). Educational Leadership. 2nd ed. San Fransisco, California: Jossey Bass. Peter G Northhouse, (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Los Angeles: california: Houghton Mifflin.

Reimbursment

The first party is the patient, second party is physician, and third party Is the health plan. 2. Compare the LACK and CPRM payment systems. I-JAR and CPRM are based on data from past claims. Private Insurance companies used OCCUR method, and Medicare used CPRM. 3. Describe the two purposes of managed care. The purpose for managed care plans are to reduce the costs of healthcare for which the third-party payer must reimburse the providers and to ensure continuing quality f care. . Why have many insurers replaced retrospective health Insurance plan with group plans such as Homo's and Poop's? To help control the cost, with Homos you have a fixed rate for the coverage you received for medical care and with POS you have a primary care provider that manages your healthcare and quality of the healthcare you receive. Both Homos and POS have a prepaid health plan and physicians that are under contract with an organization. 5. What are advantages of 1.Insurers pool premium payment for all the insured in a group, then use actuarial data to calculate the group's premiums so that: B. The pool is large enough to pay losses of the entire group. 2. Where and when did health insurance become established in the United States. It became established in 1929, when Blue Cross first covered school teachers in Texas. 3. All of the following are types of episode-of-care reimbursement except: Self- insured plan 4. What discounted fee schedule does Medicare use to reimburse physicians?Resource-based relative value scale REVS 5. Name and describe some versions of the global payment method. Home care services reimbursement By Giovanni is the patient, second party is physician, and third party is the health plan. 2. Compare the CUR and CPRM payment systems. CUR and CPRM are based on data from past claims. Private insurance companies used CUR method, and Medicare used CPRM.

The importance of Rossi work to understanding the city Essay

The importance of Rossi work to understanding the city - Essay Example The development of a city in relation to these manmade features is what makes up the city’s nature and morphology and from this reference Rossi is able to define urbanism. The city’s nature can be examined using massive structures, engineering works, and structures that are characteristic to their own history. Failure of connecting these two shows the sophisticated reality that has to be addressed for the future of the city. The history is the very important for the city’s development. Its favorable character and good moments of life, is very necessary in the city life. The man made features is work of art while the city is viewed as a human achievement and these achievements have the biggest contribution for the overall individuality of the city. Rossi believes that only the historian can give the complete picture of a city because they are the only ones who are totally concerned with defining the urban manmade features and their gradual development in different eras. History provides to urban science making it very important. This statement is related to the theory of remaining unchanged. The city is an object that is manmade and we will always feel the past and it will give meaning to the state of being permanent. This permanence can be felt in nature’s existence and the way towards which the city is headed. Rossi defines urban manmade features as the main elements because they have provided for the cultural and morphological of the city’s evolution. A good example is the changing of the amphitheatre at Nimes was changed in a fortress to become a little functional city of inhabitants of around two thousand. Outside the wall, it grew with a shape of amphitheatre as the main element. A city is a collection of the memory of those who belong there and the same with memory, it has to be associated with places and objects. It is a point of memories that are collected. Locus and citizenry

Predictiveness and the Level of Processing Research Paper

Predictiveness and the Level of Processing - Research Paper Example Once when the results are arrived at, there will be a clear difference in regard to response towards the predictive words of the people who participate in the experiment. Since this paper is all about Predictiveness, it is very important to know what the word predictive exactly means, according to the dictionary the word means foretelling or foreboding, to simply the same it is the ability to know something which has not happened, to be very precise it means to be able to know and forecast about something which has not happened previously. Our memory plays a key role in this process because human beings carry out many processes depending on their memory. According to Craik, "the longevity of the memory and its qualitative nature is purely dependent on the depth of processing." Memory does many processes and one of the most important processes is of remembering and it has some vital subdivisions such as attention, encoding, rehearsal and retrieval. It is believed that the durability of the memory depends on the functions of the depth of processing. Going by this statement it is believed that the deeper the functions of various processes which go on in human mind, sharper the memory. According to Koriat, Ben-Zur, &Sheffer, "older adults suffer from many problems related to their memory, some of the common problems are that they tend to forget names very easily because of the unfamiliar words which make up the names of the people, another problem is supposed to be that they fail to link information or in other words connect a sequence of events because of their memory." This paper will conduct research to prove that when people come across predictive words it becomes easier for them to anticipate and get the predictive words right, the performance of the memory in relation to the predictive words will be highlighted in the paper. The relation between Predictiveness and the level of processing will be arrived at the end of the paper. Method The whole concept can be better understood by conducting an experiment; the experiment involves 132 students of which 82 are females with a mean age of 19.8. The experiment conducted required the students to watch a power point presentation, which consisted of 40 sentences of which 20 sentences were predictive and the rest 20 were non-predictive. The series of the sentences was in random order to have better results from the experiment. The experiment showed the students the 40 sentences and the arrangement was such that the final word of the sentences was not shown to the students and they were asked to think about the final word. After sometime the sentences were shown with the final word and each sentence stayed on the screen for 2 seconds, which is a very short duration. Some examples of predictive sentences shown to the students are, she put the new picture into a frame, when the music started he asked her to dance and some of the examples of non- predictive sentences shown to t he students are, she went down town to see the new frame, she developed a severe headache at the dance. To get the results right, the predictive and t

Drug Seizure Laws Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drug Seizure Laws - Assignment Example However in the pursuit of such forfeiture, care must be taken to ensure that those who are innocent do not unfairly suffer the same consequences. Introduction The application of the laws that ensure that the profits or benefits obtained from criminal enterprise are forfeited by the state brings about with it a myriad of challenges and obstacles. The most difficult one is working out exactly what parts of this benefit can be directly linked to the drug-associated criminal activity and which parts are not. Care must be taken to ensure that those who may have inadvertently and innocently found themselves assisting in the commission of such crime are absolved of their involvement and that they do not suffer unduly due to the activities others, especially when it can be proven that they had no knowledge of it and did actively participate. The process of such determination is purely in the hands of the investigators and it is their responsibility to ensure that those who are innocent do no t suffer while at the same time ensuring that as much as possible of the proceeds of such crime is recoverable and recovered. 1. If a house was rented but was found to be used for illegal drug-related activities, it can still be seized by the authorities since it was being used in the commission of a drug-related crime under the civil forfeiture regulations. Under these regulations the police have the right to seize any such properties (Silveira, 2010). The detail of exactly how this happens varies from State to State. In Minnesota for example the police are supposed to notify the landlord if drugs valued at more than $100 are found in a rented property. The landlord is then expected to get the tenant to vacate the property. If that doesn’t happen and a second seizure of drugs takes place then the property is liable to judicial forfeiture. Similarly if a stash of drugs valued at over $1,000 is found at a rented property it may also be seized (Pirius, 2010). In a case reported in Orange County, Southern California, a Tony Jalali’s property was seized after it was found to be used for illegal drug-related activities (Bullock & Salzman, 2013). 2. If the car belongs to a relative, the car is still liable for civil forfeiture. A car that is used for the committing of a drug-related offence and especially one that is used as a possible means of escape from lawful arrest is liable for forfeiture regardless of whether the person that was using it at the time was the legal owner or not. According to the Minnesota Forfeiture laws, as long as the retail value of the drugs is $75, the vehicle is still forfeitable. In Court, the legal owner would have to prove that they have a defense against the forfeiture or that seizure of the vehicle would cause undue hardship to the members of the owner’s family for the vehicle to be released back to them (Pirius, 2010).In many cases, proceeds from the sale of vehicles collected under the drug-related seizure laws are usually ploughed into the operations of law enforcement so it is their interest to seize as many of these as possible as it goes directly to their budget, creating an incentive for the policemen to seize such vehicles.

Green Computing Research Project Part 5 Assignment

Green Computing Research Project Part 5 - Assignment Example The approach of developing the diagram compels the project manager and team to brainstorm with the use of concept mapping facilitates to recognize and graphically represent, in growth factors, all of the possible reasons pertaining to a problem or condition that lead to discovering the core causes. Usually, the quality issues are not straightforward. These issues typically entail the multifaceted combination and relations of multiple causes. I chose the cause and effect diagram keeping in view the research-oriented objective of the project that is improving the environment and revenues with reduced costs. Therefore, it is necessary before recommending any solution to the ‘We are Big, Inc’ to identify the root causes that impact badly on the environment and uncontrolled costs. The root cause analysis would help the project manager by becoming a road map for collecting data to concisely move ahead to achieve the objectives of the project by researching on avoiding/removing the root causes and recommending suitable software applications/solutions for the company. And finally, it is recommended that the cause and effect diagram should become part of the major research report. The second reason for selection of cause and effect quality tool that it would facilitate the project manager to easily identify the mainstream of the problems that would be faced during execution of the Green Computing project. In order to relate the quality tool with the project, the first problem that the project manager would face is the communication between the team with a webcam, as the team of the project is scattered and located at different geographical locations. The cause and effect diagram facilitates the project manager to write down the communication problem and the causes that generate the problem. In this way, the project manager would realize the root causes and develop a plan to remove/avoid the root causes so that the communication problem would not rise again. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to write down the stakeholders that are involved or affected by the problem, when and where the problem usually arises.

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example ugh both types of communication process can be used in a profit and non-profit organization in terms of sending important messages to the receiver, there are limitations with regards to the use of downward communication. Even though the top management or the sender is able to send messages directly to its subordinates, the use of this type of communication process limits the receiver from providing feedback back to the sender (Ch. 11, p. 345). For this reason, there is a strong possibility for miscommunication between the top management and employees to arise. As a result, it will be difficult to achieve the goals and On the contrary, the use of upward communication has more advantages since the receiver of the messages are able to send their personal opinion regarding the message they receive from the sender (Ch. 11, pp. 345 – 346). Since the top management is able to learn about the personal concerns of the team members, there is a stronger chance wherein the top management can win the support of its team members in terms of achieving the organizational goal and objectives. Although commonly mistaken as one, corporate leadership and management skills are different in so many ways. Leaders are individuals who are capable of inspiring other people and often times have important characteristics such as: (1) the drive to achieve their goals; (2) desire to lead; (3) self-confidence; (4) competitive cognitive ability; (5) honesty and integrity; and (6) sufficient knowledge in doing business (Dessler, pp. 296 – 297). On top of these personality traits, leaders are expected to be influential among his followers without having the need to use violence or coercion. With regards to the differences between a manager and a leader, it is important to know that leaders are individuals who do not only influence, select, equip, and train the followers with different abilities and skills but also persuades them to willingly participate with the leader in terms of

Situational Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Situational Business Ethics - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that the hospitality industry, such as hotels and restaurants, has to a certain extent a form of unwritten code of ethics, which inexplicably nestle in the heads of employers or managers. Hence, a code of conduct expressing a restaurant’s ethics is as significant as a successful marketing plan. When a restaurant chain enlarges its operation globally, local talent should be employed and trained in relation to: honesty, responsibility, harmony, understanding, and quality. Moreover, equality of all employees in relation to human rights should be addressed justly, promptly and rightfully to the contentment of all involved. This study outlines that the subsequent reaction of the customer and the management to Hatton’s actions contributed to the ethical dilemmas that the company has to resolve through the peer-review process. In this case study ethical issues and possible problem or conflict resolutions will be discussed. Of course, there is a necessity to communicate ethical practices and an effective management is not possible if ethical conducts are not forcefully carried out. Serving others is a dignified line of work and can be exercised in a polite and honest fashion with sensible ethical imperatives to gain the advantages of growth, prosperity, and success. The primary stakeholders in the study are Ruth Hatton, the customer, and Diane Canant, the supervisor. Ruth Hatton’s responsibility is to be well-informed with their Code of Business Ethics and Conduct and conform to all policies and procedures of the company. Claims of lack of knowledge, poor judgment, or good intentions will no t be tolerated as reasons for failure to comply.

The Musical Talents of Alexander Scriabin Assignment

The Musical Talents of Alexander Scriabin - Assignment Example It is important to note that the combination that brought the legato notes and staccato notes created the new performance in the Prelude Op. The notes make the tonal variation and rhythmic balances different from the Old Guard. Prelude OP. 11 is one of the admired pieces that many other composers have thought of performing because of the great composition that combined various components in music. Scriabin composition borrows its attributes from Beethoven and Mozart. Mozart and Beethoven projected short slurs with the rare crossing of lines (Chang 20). It is notable that Scriabin prolonged the slurs and crossed the lines to come up with a combination that was perfect. Critics have attributed the performance to Scriabin accident that led him to use the left hand more than the right hand (Damare 77). The notes played in the concerto are quite high and are unique because no composer or pianist had played such notes especially when using the left hand. The sterling tempo in the concerto Prelude 11 performance stunned many artists because it did not only increase its tempo towards the climax, but also the arrangement of note that created the effects. Critics observed that the tempo of the music often fluctuated but surprisingly remained stable without creating any disorder (Damare 79). The turbulent sound that streams due to the high notes played in the concerto did attract many viewers during Scriabin’s performances. Scriabin’s songs emulated Russian folk tunes, which had asymmetrical rhythms. The Preludes took the 5/8 motivic structures. Critics have observed that Scriabin concerto resembled the songs of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky, and Modest Mussorgsky (Chang 23). It is important to note that Scriabin did not perform his tunes the traditional way but incorporated the new ideas to sing notes that were higher than the traditional notes played on the piano. Scriabin used the piano to play his notes; although piano was not new to Scriabin or his audience, the concert music that he played had new notes which demonstrated a new style of performance. The Prelude OP. 11 comprises of new notes that his predecessors had not played. Scriabin’s childhood was very instrumental to his skills as a composer and a pianist. Born of a mother who was a pianist (though she died when he was one year old), Scriabin took piano lessons with Nikolai Zverev.  

The effect friendships have on a child's development Essay

The effect friendships have on a child's development - Essay Example However, like Roald Dahl writes beautifully in his renowned book Matilda, friendship is not really confined to one or more persons. Children are affected easily by the totality of their external environments and this also thus concludes the various kinds of interactions that they undergo in everyday life. In Matilda, the young girl befriends her books due to the lack of people that she is able to communicate with. Her brother does not prove to be a good friend and neither do her parents, thus she takes to her books and finds that those books turn her into a very gifted individual full of faith and belief in the better things in life. He writes, â€Å"Sometimes Matilda longed for a friend, somebody like the kind, courageous people in her books. But it occurred to her that talking dragons and princesses with hair long enough to climb, such people would only exist in storybooks.† (Dahl, Roald) this goes to show the kind of need that the young girl had in her life for someone that would talk back to her and give her advice and listen to her little whims and fancies as well. Children usually imitate whatever happens around them and so if a parent sees his child overdoing something or doing things that are unusual of him, they may come to the conclusion that he must have picked it up from somewhere. At the young ages between three to about ten, the kind of friends that a child has makes a great amount of difference on his mind and health. These friends help to shape the child’s character when the parents are not around and help to build a sense and level of confidence within the child. No child is able to communicate everything he or she wants to their parents, and thus, they sometimes find the comfort in doing so with their friends. Most friends even listen and try to help if someone is in some kind of trouble, but of course this stage comes in later after further development of the child’s mind. Roald Dahl wrote a book called Matilda which was about a young girl born into the wrong family in the sense that she had nothing in common with her parents or brother. Matilda was very curious about the world and loved to read and know more. She wanted to go to school and get educated and make friends. "Both Matilda and Lavender were enthralled. It was quite clear to them that they were at this moment standing in the presence of a master. Here was somebody who had brought the art of skulduggery to the highest point of perfection, somebody, moreover, who was willing to risk life and limb in pursuit of her calling. They gazed in wonder at this goddess, and suddenly even the boil on her nose was no longer a blemish but a badge of courage."  (Dahl, Roald) From these lines it is clear that Matilda had found a friend and confidante in Lavender and in doing so, they were comfortable in carrying out tasks that even they felt were wrong, however they did it anyway because of a kind of backing that they had from each other. She could conf ide in Lavender and was sure that the latter would keep her secrets. This is how children get affected by their friends and are able to do things together with a better sense of confidence. Just by having someone around them helping them, they

Plato and Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Plato and Aristotle Essay Plato and Aristotle were two philosophers who made an impact on philosophy as we know it as today. Plato is thought of as the first political philosopher and Aristotle as the first metaphysical philosopher. They were both great intellectuals in regards to being the first of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to better life by improving the societies in which they were part of during their lives. The views of Plato and Aristotle look different but they do have some similarities to them. Plato is mostly known for his Theory of Forms and Aristotle is known for his thoughts in universals. Even though they both thought a bit differently they did agree in a few things. Plato and Aristotle not only had an impact on society in the past but today’s society as well. Plato was a teacher to Aristotle and lived during the Peloponnesian War, which lead to the end of the Athenian democracy. He had eyewitness account of Socrates, his mentor, trial and execution. Unhappy with the political corruption that plagued the Athenian democratic government, he removed himself from politics. He strongly felt that neither a moral individual nor a state could be established in a democratic environment. Plato felt that the common man was not intelligent enough to deal with concepts that influence the state such as economics, policies and other relative matters. He thought of philosophers as being the most intelligent among men. He viewed political incumbents in the Athens government basically as bought individuals in office for the good of themselves and not society as a whole. Another danger was that extreme liberties given to the people in the democratic society could potentially lead an anarchy. Aristotle was a student of Plato’s and teacher of Alexander the Great. He created his own school in Athens. He thought of metaphysics to be the first philosophy, which was a large interest to him. Aristotle’s stated that forms were universal. According to Aristotle, notion of Essential properties makes something what it is, and accidental properties are the differences of that item. Aristotle believed the state and the individual are similar and democracy would be the better government. In Book VII of The Republic by Plato, Socrates describes the Allegory of the Cave. It is a metaphor to illustrate the effects of education on the human soul. It can also be understood as what is real and what is believed to be real in life. Even though Plato had his ideal city, the forms was really what people could connect with. There is so much one can take from his thoughts on the forms that could be applied to society today. Plato starts out comparing people that are uneducated to prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn their head. All they can see is the wall of the cave in front of them. A fire behind them burns bright. Between the fire and the prisoners, there is an area for puppeteers to move around and hold up the puppets to cast shadows on the wall that is in front of the prisoners. This is what the prisoners see every single day. This is all they know; shadows, echoes, the smell of the fire, and darkness. They believe that that shadows are reality. One of the prisoners is allowed to go outside of the cave. Once they reach the outside of the cave, they are blinded by the light because they have not seen such. Once their eyes start to adjust, they start seeing shapes and objects around them. They see that the sun is what creates light and that the tall objects with leaves are trees. They are colorful with moving parts. They go back outside to tell the prisoners, but they are not believed. Those still inside of the cave thinks the person just came in from the outside ill because that is not what they see in the cave, they did not see the outside for themselves, so therefore, it does not exist. So now the person that just came in from the bright sun light cannot see very well in the darkness of the cave, their eyes have not adjusted to the darkness, and people think they are crazy. This is where this view fails for Aristotle because it is not realistic. Aristotle rejects Plato’s Theory of Forms, and makes the way for his realistic approach, which underlines observation first and abstract reasoning second. Being a student of Plato’s, I believe he was indebted to justify at lengths why he disagrees with doctrines of his teacher. He provided detailed arguments against many of Plato’s doctrines, a lot of his major works, focusing in particular on the Theory of Forms. In Aristotle’s critique he thinks this theory is essentially an assertion of the superiority of universals over particulars. Plato argues that particular instances of beauty or justice exists only because they participate in the universal Form of Beauty. Say a there are two objects, one is colorless and the other one is red. The colorless one goes where the red on is located. Since the colorless object and the red object are participating, they are both red objects. They have a certain nurture and nature. However, Aristotle argues that universal concepts of beauty and justice derive from the instances of beauty and justice in this world. We only arrive at an idea of beauty by observing particular instances of beauty. This universal quality of beauty has no existence beyond this idea that we build from particular instances. He is staying that the particulars come first and the universals come after and therefor, Aristotle places emphasis on the importance of observing the details of this world. Which leads me to understand his thoughts on happiness a little more. With putting the weight on observing happiness can measured by a person’s life. Aristotle lays out in Book X in the Nicomachean Ethic’s, the continuation of his thoughts on pleasure, happiness and the end of life, and ethics and politics. His view on happiness and the end of human life really made me question his way of thinking. Aristotle suggests that happiness is the final end of life because nothing is greater than happiness or the good life and it goes against his universal theory. Aristotle proposes that happiness, or the good life, is taken to be a most final end. â€Å"We said, then, that happiness is not a characteristic, for in that case it could be present even to someone asleep thought his life, living the life of plants, and to someone undergoing the greatest misfortunes. †(Nicomachean Ethics, 1176a-1176b). The good life for humans is the life of choosing to life the life according to the virtues. â€Å"For we choose everything, so to speak, for the sake of something else-except happiness, for it is the end. † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1176b). Also, it seems that only humans can be happy because the happiness is an important nature of every individual human and it is unique to humans in that the function of humans is what distinguishes them from other kinds of things. Happiness is a self-sufficient activity desirable for its own sake. One seeks nothing from happiness beyond the actual experience or performance of it as an activity. Activities that are desirable in themselves are activities in conformity with virtue and indicates that the greatest happiness must be activity in conformity with the highest virtue. It is wrong to confuse happiness with various kinds of amusements involving bodily pleasures, as many people do. Such amusements are neither virtuous nor ends in themselves, but are merely relaxing diversions in which one occasionally engages for the sake of future activity. The greatest happiness is activity in conformity with the highest virtue is excellence. Intelligence is mans highest possession and the objects of intelligence are the highest objects within his grasp. It is clear that the life of contemplation and theoretical wisdom must be the greatest of human virtues and the highest form of happiness. The objects of the contemplative life are the unchangeable and eternal verities that underlie and govern the universe. From contemplation of these truths the soul derives a feeling of purity and stability. â€Å"Further, this active is most continuous, for we are more able to contemplate continuously than we are to do anything else whatever. † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1177a). Also, the wise person is able to contemplate by himself, the wiser he is the more adept he will be doing so. Contemplative happiness is not dependent on other men. It is the form of life in which human beings come most nearly to being divine, the life that harmonizes with intellect, and that life seems to be the happiest, according to Aristotle. There is another kind of happiness, based on moral virtue and practical wisdom, which is concerned with feelings that spring from mans bodily nature. It can be defined as the harmonious coordination of all parts of mans complete being. This kind of happiness is not as exalted as the contemplative, but it helps prepare us for the higher happiness and, since man is not all mind and reason, gives us something to fall back upon when we are unable to remain continuously at the higher level. â€Å"For if there is a certain care for human things on the part of gods, as in fact there is held to be, it would be also reasonable for gods to delight in what is best and most akin to them – this would be the intellect – and to benefit in return those who cherish this above all and honor it, on the grounds that these latter are caring for what is dear to gods as well as acting correctly and nobly. † (Nicomachean Ethics, 1179a). This person is the happiest and a wise person would be extremely happy. I believe this idea has some hints of Plato’s forms. The one person who went outside of the cave and saw it all was brought down by all the people in the cave that didn’t see the outside. Aristotle states that you cannot be happy with a lot of friends because they are not true friends. I believe those excess friendships would be a similar situation in the cave. They would not bring your happiness, only suffering. Aristotle and Plato have similarities in their city states as well. Plato gives a place to women, but Aristotle does not seem to care for women. When reading Plato, the texts are in Socrates’s voice. It makes it hard to connect what he is saying, especially in the Republic since it is a play. Also, one cannot tell if Socrates, Plato, is being serious or straightforward or if it’s Socrates’s thoughts or Plato’s. In Nicomachean Ethics, the text is Aristotle’s lecture notes and he is the author of them. While reading, it seems that Plato comes out and gives his opinion on matters, but Aristotle presents them, but does not come out and say what his thoughts are. Plato and Aristotle were two philosophers who made a huge impact on philosophy. They were both great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to better life by improving the societies in which they were part of during their lives. Although they are thought to have completely different views, when laid out, their views have some similarities.

Structural and Functional Properties of Tendons

Structural and Functional Properties of Tendons Chapter One Literature Review 1.0 Introduction Tendons are dynamic structures; their extracellular matrices are continuously being synthesised and broken down over the course of an individual’s lifetime. The macromolecules, namely collagen, proteoglycans, hyaluronan and the non-collagenous proteins form the extracellular matrix of tendons. In normal tendon exists a fine balance between the synthesis and degradation of these macromolecules resulting in a strong healthy tendon. It is evident that damage to tendons, such as in overuse tendinopathy results in changes to the levels and types of macromolecules present in tendon with decreased levels of collagen and increased levels of proteoglycans, hyaluronan and non-collagenous proteins, causing a weakened tendon that is prone to rupture. These degenerative features have thus far been partially characterised. By identifying the levels and various types of macromolecules present in normal tendons and tendons exhibiting overuse tendinopathy an understanding of the basis of the condition can be determined and possible ways of preventing or ameliorating tendon degeneration can be considered. The terms overuse tendinopathy and pathological tendon will be used interchangeably throughout this study. This literature review will attempt to define and characterise the structural and functional properties of tendon and will discuss the current literature regarding the levels, types, synthesis and catabolism of macromolecules present in the extracellular matrix of tendons and also attempt to define and characterise the pathological aspects of overuse tendinopathies. Chapter Two of this thesis will dictate the materials and methodology used in these studies. Chapters Three, Four and Five will present the results of this thesis. Finally, chapter Six will include the discussion and discuss any limitations and future considerations. 1.1 Synovial Joint Joints are articulations found between adjacent parts of bone that allow controlled frictionless movement (for review see; Mankin Radin, 1997). In the human body there are three different types of joints and these are grouped according to the type of movement they make. They include the freely movable joints (synovial joints; i.e., most joints of the extremities such as the knee joint), slightly movable (cartilaginous joints; i.e., the vertebrae and ribs) and those that are immovable (fibrous joints; i.e., the skull). The majority of the joints found in the human body are synovial joints (for review see; Mankin Radin, 1997). There are six different types of synovial joints including the ball-and-socket joints, hinge joints, saddle joint, pivot joint, gliding joints and condyloid joints. A synovial joint contains a joint cavity that is enclosed by a fibrous capsule linking the adjoining bones. This joint capsule is lined by a synovial membrane that secretes a lubricating and nutritious fluid called synovial fluid that is rich in albumin and hyaluronan. The surface of each bone is typically covered with articular hyaline cartilage or in some circumstances fibrocartilage. In addition, the joint capsule is supported by accessory structures such as tendons and ligaments, which provide stability to the synovial joint (Sledge et al., 2001). 1.1.1 Articular Cartilage Articular cartilage covers the adjoining ends of bones in joints and has a white colour (for review see; Mankin Radin, 1997). It is a tissue that is devoid of blood and nerves and provides a wear resistant surface with low frictional properties for the joint and attains its nutrients via diffusion from the synovium into the synovial fluid (for review see; Mankin Radin, 1997). Furthermore, articular cartilage is resilient and flexible. This allows articular cartilage to withstand large compressive and tensile forces as well as allowing it to distribute load on subchondral bone during joint loading (Kempson, 1980) even though it is only a few millimetres thick (Hardingham, 1998). Its biomechanical properties are dependent on the structural composition of the extracellular matrix, which is comprised of water (70-80%), collagens (predominantly Type II collagen), proteoglycans (predominantly aggrecan) and non-collagenous proteins (Kuettner et al., 1991; Poole, 1997). The predominant cell type present in articular cartilage is called the chondrocyte. These cells are responsible for the maintenance, synthesis and degradation of all the extracellular matrix components (Kuettner et al., 1991; Buckwalter Mankin, 1998). Mature articular cartilage can be divided up into four zones including the superficial (tangential) zone, the middle (transitional) zone, the deep (radial) zone and the zone of calcified cartilage (Huber et al., 2000). The organisation and composition as well as mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix varies within these zones. The deeper zones have high proteoglycan levels and low cellularity whereas the more superficial zones contain low proteoglycan levels and increased cellularity (Aydelotte et al., 1988; Buckwalter Mankin, 1998). 1.1.2 Joint Capsule and Ligament The joint capsule is a fibrous connective tissue that is attached to the skeletal parts of a joint beyond their articular surfaces. The principal function of the joint capsule is to seal the joint space and to supply stability by limiting movement (for review see; Mankin Radin, 1997). Most joint capsules are strengthened by ligaments. Ligaments act together with the joint capsule and the peri-articular muscles to provide stability to the joint preventing excessive movements. They permit free movements when lax, but can stop unwanted movements when tight by virtue of their high tensile strength. Occasionally joint capsules are strengthened by tendons, such as the extensor tendon in the finger joint. The joint capsule and ligaments proceed to hold the bones together and to guide and limit joint movements. Ligaments attach one bone with another bone and have a limited vascular and neural supply which enable them to repair relatively well after damage (Bray et al., 1990). The knee joint is a good example of different types of ligaments. The medial collateral ligament fuses with the joint capsule, and the cruciate ligaments and the lateral collateral ligament, which are both completely independent of the joint capsule. 1.1.3 Synovial Membrane The synovial membrane (synovium) lines the non-articular surfaces of a joint such as the joint capsule and ligaments, and is responsible for secreting and absorbing synovial fluid, which contains hyaluronan (Mason et al., 1999). Synovial fluid lubricates the joint and provides at least partly for the nutrition of articular cartilage, invertebral discs and menisci. The synovial extracellular matrix acts as a scaffolding to support synoviocytes and plays an important role in cell migration and differentiation. It is mostly composed of collagen particularly Type III collagen, with smaller amounts of proteoglycans such as decorin and biglycan (Mason et al., 1999), non-collagenous proteins such as fibronectin, elastin and lamina, hyaluronic acid as well as lipids, serum proteins and electrolytes (Hirohata Kobayashi, 1964). The synovial membrane has only been detected in vertebrate animals (Henderson Edwards, 1987). Furthermore, synovial tissue is not arranged into discrete layers, but rather represents a continuum from surface to deep zones. The extracellular matrix of the synovial membrane varies in composition from its surface to its deep zones (Hirohata Kobayashi, 1964). 1.1.4 Tendon Tendons are dense fibrous connective tissues found between muscles and bones (for review see; Benjamin Ralphs, 1997). The primary role of tendon is to absorb and transmit force generated by muscle to the bone to provide movement at a joint. In addition tendons operate as a buffer by absorbing forces to limit muscle damage. Each individual muscle has two tendons, one that is proximal and the other distal. The attachment of the proximal tendon of a muscle to bone is called a muscle origin and that of the distal tendon an insertion. A normal tendon has a bright white colour and a fibroelastic texture and enables resistance to mechanical forces. Tendons come in many shapes and this is most likely due to their function, they can be round or oval in cross section or they can come in the form of flattened sheets, fan shaped, ribbon shaped or cylindrical in shape (for review see; Benjamin Ralphs, 1997). In a muscle like the quadriceps which creates strong forces the tendons are short and broad, while those that are involved in more delicate movements like the finger flexors, long and thin tendons are present (Kannus, 2000). Tendons are arranged in a hierarchical fashion (see Figure 1.1). A group of collagen fibres form a primary fibre bundle or subfascicle; this is the basic unit of tendon. A group of subfascicles form secondary bundles or fascicles, which form tertiary bundles constituting the tendon as a whole. The primary, secondary and tertiary bundles are encased in a thin connective tissue reticulum called the endotenon (Elliott, 1965; Kastelic et al., 1978; Rowe, 1985). The endotenon carries blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics to deeper areas of the tendon (Elliott, 1965; Hess et al., 1989). The whole tendon is surrounded by an epitenon, which is a dense fibrillar network of collagen (Jozsa et al., 1991). The epitenon is contiguous with the endotenon and like the endotenon is rich in blood vessels, nerves and lymphatics (Hess et al., 1989). Many tendons are surrounded by a connective tissue called the paratenon. Paratenon allows free movement of the tendon against the surrounding tissues (Schatzker Branemark, 1969; Hess et al., 1989). The myotendinous junction is the site of union with a muscle, and the osteotendinous junction is the site of union with a bone (Kannus, 2000). In tendon, blood vessels represent between 1-2% of the entire extracellular matrix (Lang, 1960; Lang, 1963). Some blood vessels may originate from the perimysium at the musculotendinous junction and blood vessels from the osteotendinous junction (Schatzker Branemark, 1969; Carr Norris, 1989; Clark et al., 2000). At rest, rabbit tendons have been shown to have blood flow of around one-third that of muscle, and it is known that blood flow in tendon increases with exercise and during healing in animals (Backman et al., 1991). The oxygen consumption of tendons is 7.5 times lower than that of skeletal muscles (Vailas et al., 1978). 1.1.5 Tendon Extracellular Matrix The major cell type present in tendon is the fibroblast (also known as tenocytes; Ross et al., 1989; Schweitzer et al., 2001; Salingcarnboriboon et al., 2003), which are embedded within an extracellular matrix (see Figure 1.2). These cells are sparsely distributed, comprising only 5% of the dry weight of adult tendon (Ross et al., 1989; Schweitzer et al., 2001; Salingcarnboriboon et al., 2003). These cells lie in longitudinal rows and have many cell extensions that extend into the extracellular matrix (McNeilly et al., 1996). Fibroblasts are responsible for the synthesis and degradation of all the macromolecular components that make up the extracellular matrix of tendon, including the most abundant macromolecule present in tendon, collagen, as well as proteoglycans, hyaluronan and non-collagenous proteins (Vogel Heinegard, 1985; Curwin, 1997; O’Brien, 1997). The extracellular matrix is made up of parallel bundles of collagen aligned longitudinally (60-85% of tendon dry weight) associated with elastin fibres which constitutes approximately 1-2% of the dry weight of tendon (Tipton et al., 1975; Hess et al., 1989; Jozsa et al., 1989; Curwin, 1997; Kirkendall Garrett, 1997; O’Brien, 1997). Tendon consists of 55-70% water, most of which is associated with proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix (Elliott, 1965; Vogel, 1977; Merrilees Flint, 1980; Riley et al., 1994b; Vogel Meyers, 1999). The proteoglycan content of tendons is approximately 1% of dry weight of tendons (O’Brien, 1997).Water and proteoglycans have important lubricating and spacing roles in tendons that allow collagen fibres to glide over one another (Amiel et al., 1984). The structure, composition and the organisation of the tendon matrix is crucial for the physical properties that tendons posses (Riley, 2004). The collagen component gives tendon its great tensile strength (Scott, 2003) whereas it is the proteoglycan component of the tendon matrix that enables tendons to withstand compressive load (Schonherr et al., 1995), while elastin fibres increase tendon extensibility (Scott, 2003). 1.1.6 Tendon cells The cell population of tendon has so far been poorly characterised (for review see; Riley, 2000), the majority of tendon cells have the appearance of fibroblasts (also known as tenocytes) and constitute about 90-95% of the cells present in tendon (Ross et al., 1989; Schweitzer et al., 2001; Salingcarnboriboon et al., 2003). The remaining 5% to 10% of cells present in tendon are chondrocyte-like cells (fibrochondrocytes), which are mostly present in the fibrocartilaginous regions of tendon where tendon attaches to bone. Also present in tendon are some mast cells, capillary endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and nerve cells (Hess et al., 1989; Jozsa Kannus, 1997). Fibrocartilage cells are large and have an oval shape and they are often packed with intermediate filaments (Merrilees Flint, 1980; Ralphs et al., 1991). Tendon cells are linked to one another via gap junctions (McNeilly et al., 1996; Ralphs et al., 1998), allowing cell-to-cell interactions (McNeilly et al., 1996). Fibroblasts have a branched cytoplasm surrounding an elliptical, speckled nucleus. The rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus are well developed with few mitochondria in the cytoplasm (Ippolito et al., 1980; Moore De Beaux, 1987). Like other connective tissue cells, fibroblasts are derived from mesenchyme. It is believed that in tendon there are a small number of mesenchymal stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into chondrogenic, osteogenic and adipogenic cells if the conditions allow (Salingcarnboriboon et al., 2003). Tendons have been shown to respond to mechanical load by modifying their extracellular matrix (Banes et al., 1988; Ehlers Vogel, 1998; Buchanan Marsh, 2002; Lavagnino Arnoczky, 2005). Tendon cells receive their vascular supply from the surrounding paratenon. Tendons were once considered almost static and unable to participate in repair. However, the activity of tendon cells has been shown to be active throughout an individual’s life as they express various matrix components (Chard et al., 1987; Ireland et al., 2001; Riley et al., 2002). Regional differences in cell morphology and activity exists in tendons, synovial-like cells that are found in the endotenon and epitenon surround the main fibre bundles (Banes et al., 1988). A greater proliferative capacity and a different matrix synthetic activity is characteristic of these synovial-like cells compared to the fibroblasts within the fibres, and are the first cells to respond following acute tendon injury (Gelberman et al., 1986; Banes et al., 1988; Garner et al., 1989; Gelberman et al., 1991; Khan et al., 1996b). Tendon Extracellular Matrix Macromolecules The following section will discuss the major extracellular matrix proteins and their roles in tendon. This will include the major constituent of tendon, collagen, the small and large proteoglycans and the non-collagenous proteins as well as hyaluronan. This section will also discuss the synthesis of collagens, proteoglycans and hyaluronan. 1.2.1 Collagens Collagen is the most copious protein present in the extracellular matrix of connective tissues and accounts for approximately 90% of the total protein of tendons, or 65% to 75% of the dry weight of tendons (von der Mark, 1981; O’Brien, 1992). There are currently 28 different collagen types (numbered I-XXVIII) present in vertebrates with at least 42 different alpha chains (Veit et al., 2006) with this number continuing to mount (Brown Timpl, 1995; Aumailley Gayraud, 1998). Collagen molecules can be defined as an extracellular protein that contains at least one triple helical domain (van der Rest Bruckner, 1993). Collagen provides the tendon with its structural integrity as well as assisting in various physiological functions. Collagen consists of three polypeptide alpha chains, which combine to form a homotrimer (three identical alpha chains) or a heterotrimer (two or three different alpha chains). Covalent bonds known as collagen cross-links develop between individual collagen molecules in a collagen fibre (Eyre et al., 1984; Bailey et al., 1998; Bailey, 2001; Brady Robins, 2001). The collagen arrangement gives tendon its great tensile strength. Cross-links are formed from a pathway of different chemical reactions that result in divalent cross-links that join two polypeptide chains, to multivalent, i.e. tri- or even tetravalent, cross-links (Bailey Lapiere, 1973; Eyre et al., 1984). These cross-links come about from enzymatic modification of lysine or hydroxylysine residues by the copper-dependent enzyme lysine oxidase (Robins, 1988). Collagens are divided into two subgroups, the fibrillar and non-fibrillar collagens. Non-fibrillar collagens can be further divided into seven subfamilies including microfibril collagens, fibril-associated collagens with interrupted helices (FACIT) collagens, network collagens, MULTIPLEXIN collagens (proteins with multiple triple helix domains and interruptions), basement membrane-associated collagens, transmembrane-associated collagens and epithelium-associated collagens (von der Mark, 1999). The non-fibrillar collagens present in tendon include Types IV, VI, IX, X, XII and XIV (von der Mark, 1999). The fibrillar collagens present in tendon include, Types I, II, III, V and XI (Kielty et al., 1993; Kadler et al., 1996; Fukuta et al., 1998; von der Mark, 1999). The fibrillar collagens contain a continuous triple helix domain, 300 nm in length, capable of undergoing the staggered, lateral associations required to form fibrils (Mayne, 1997). The resulting fibrils provide the structural support for tissues. All the fibril-forming collagens have a similar structure and size, being composed of a large, continuous central triple-helical domain (COL1) of approximately 1000 amino-acid residues Collagen Type Structure type Distribution Function I Fibril forming Occurs in most tissues, tendon, bone, skin etc Main component of tendon, skin, bone, dentin, cartilage, ligament etc II Fibril forming Hyaline cartilage, invertebral disc Restricted to fibrocartilage; forms less-organised meshwork III Fibril forming Vessels, kidney, liver, skin, tendon Normally restricted to endotenon; forms smaller less organised fibrils IV Forms meshwork Basement membranes, tendon Basement membrane of tendon blood vessels V Fibril forming Skin, bone Core of Type I collagen fibril forms template for fibrillogenesis VI Beaded filaments Vessels, skin, intervertebral disc Cell associated found in seams between fibrils VII Epithelial-associated Dermoepidermal junction Forms anchoring fibrils in the skin VIII Microfibril Descements membrane in the cornea Forms a lattice IX FACIT Hyaline cartilage, vitreous humour, tendon Cell and matrix interactions with Type II collagen fibril surface X Forms meshwork Growth plate, tendon Restricted to insertion fibrocartilage XI Fibril forming Hyaline cartilage Core of Type II collagen fibril forms template for fibrillogenesis XII FACIT Embryonic tendon and skin, periodontal ligament Mediates cell/matrix interactions with Type I collagen fibril surface XIII Transmembrane Endothelial cells Adhesion of cells to basement membranes XIV FACIT Foetal skin, tendon Mediates cell/matrix interactions with Type I collagen fibril surface XV Multiplexin Blood vessels Stabilizes skeletal muscle cells and microvessels XVI FACIT Skin, Cartilage XVII Transmembrane Skin, cornea, lung Connects epithelial cells to the matrix XVIII Multiplexin Endothelial cells, liver, eye Needed for normal development of the eye XIX FACIT Basement membranes Forms radially distributed aggregates XX FACIT Corneal epithelium, skin, cartilage and tendon Binds to collagen fibrils XXI FACIT Many tissues Matrix assembly of vascular networks in blood vessel formation XXII Fibril forming Tissue junctions Interacts with components of microfibrils XXIII Transmembrane Metastatic tumour cells, heart retina Cell adhesion, Binds to heparin XXIV Fibril forming Expressed in tissues containing Type I collagen Developing bone and cornea Regulating Type I collagen fibrillogenesis XXV Transmembrane Neurons May play a role in adherens junctions between neurons XVI Testis and ovary of adult tissues Development of the reproductive tissues XVII Fibril forming Cartilage, ear, eye and lung Unknown XVIII Basement membranes around Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. Unknown flanked by a variable amino-terminal domain of about 50-520 amino acid residues and a highly conserved non-triple-helical carboxyl-terminal domain of about 250 amino acid residues (for reviews see; Kielty et al., 1993; Fichard et al., 1995; Pihlajaniemi Rehn, 1995; Prockop Kivirikko, 1995; Bateman et al., 1996). The amino- and carboxyl-terminal extensions are commonly referred to as amino- and carboxyl- propeptides, respectively. The C-propeptide is called the NC1 domain, whereas the amino-propeptide is divided into sub-domains. The first is a short sequence (NC2) that links the major triple helix to the minor one (COL2) and a globular amino-terminal end (NC3) that shows structural and splicing variations. Collagen Types II, IX, X and XI (Fukuta et al., 1998) are present at specific sites within the fibrocartilage region of tendon, found at the bone insertion and where the tendon is subjected to shear forces or compression (Fukuta et al., 1998; Waggett et al., 1998). Collagen Types II, IX, X and XI were once thought to occur only in cartilage (Visconti et al., 1996; Fukuta et al., 1998; Riley, 2000). It has now been shown that these collagens are found in the fibrocartilaginous regions of tendon, which wraps under bone. Their presumed function is to help resist compression and shear forces at these sites (Visconti et al., 1996; Fukuta et al., 1998; Waggett et al., 1998). Collagen also plays an important role in attaching tendons to bone. Where the tendon attaches to bone, tendons commonly widen and give way to fibrocartilage, a transformation where the aligned fibres originating from the tendon are separated by other collagen fibres arranged in a three dimensional network surrounding rounded cells (Liu et al., 1995). This arrangement helps to transmit tensile forces onto a broad area and reduces the chance of failure under excessive loading. The following review will focus on the collagens that are known to exist in tendon; this includes collagen Types I-VI, IX-XII and XIV. 1.2.1.1 Type I Collagen Type I collagen is the predominant and most studied collagen type present in the extracellular matrix of tendon, ligament and bone representing approximately 95% of the total collagen content or 60% of the tendon dry weight (Evans Barbenel, 1975; von der Mark, 1981; Riley et al., 1994b; Rufai et al., 1995). It is synthesized by a number of cell types such as fibroblasts, osteocytes and odontoblasts. Type I collagen consists of two ÃŽ ±1(I) chains and a shorter ÃŽ ±2(I) chain (Kielty et al., 1993), these two chains are products of separate genes and are not a posttranslational modification of a single molecule (for review see; Kivirikko Prockop, 1995). The two ÃŽ ±1(I) and one ÃŽ ±2(I) chains of a monomer of Type I collagen are primarily comprised of approximately 338  repeating tripeptide sequences of Gly-X-Y in which X is frequently proline and Y is frequently hydroxyproline (OHPr). The ends of the ÃŽ ±1(I) and one ÃŽ ±2(I) chains consist of short telopeptides of between 11-26 amino acids per chain. In longitudinal sections, the monomers are arranged in fibrils in a head-to-head-to-tail orientation. Each Type I collagen molecule consists of a long central helical region with a short non-helical domain on both the amino- and carboxyl-terminal ends. In tendon, the Type I collagen-containing fibril, organized into fibres (fibril bundles), is the major element responsible for structure stabilization and the mechanical attributes of this tissue. The fibril contains collagen molecules assembled into a quarter-staggered array, and this striated fibril has a 67 nm periodicity (for review see; Kadler et al., 1996; Orgel et al., 2006). Each alpha chain consists of a repeating triplet of glycine and two other amino acids marked as (Gly-X-Y)n. It is the glycine residues located in every third position that makes it possible for the three alpha chains to coil around the other. It has a molecular weight of 290 kDa. When viewing collagen fibrils under the light microscope they have a crimped appearance, during tendon loading the crimp stretches and the fibrils become aligned, and after loading the crimp will reappear, this is an important elastic component that tendon possesses (O’Brien, 1992). The Type I collagen ÃŽ ± chains contain approximately 290 residues of OHPr per molecule. Proline and OHPr constitute 20% to 25% of all amino acid residues of Type I collagen. The parallel arranged bundles formed by the Type I collagen fibrils gives tissues a high tensile strength with limited elasticity, and therefore is suitable for force transmission. The Type I collagen molecule has the ability to form microfibrils (filaments) as well as larger units of the fibrils or fibres (for review see; Kivirikko Prockop, 1995). The diameter of the collagen fibril is usually between 20 nm and 150 nm but can range up to 300 nm, this depends on the stage of development (Dyer Enna, 1976; Jozsa et al., 1984; Fleischmajer et al., 1988). 1.2.1.2 Type II Collagen The homotrimeric Type II collagen molecule was first discovered in cartilage by Miller and Matukas in 1969 who extracted collagen from cartilage in an experiment that involved pepsin digestion. Type II collagen, although most commonly found in articular and hyaline cartilage is also expressed in tendon particularly around the fibrocartilaginous region and consists of three identical ÃŽ ±1(II) chains (Eyre et al., 1992) which forms a meshwork structure that gives Type II collagen the ability to entrap the negatively charged proteoglycan molecules, thereby resisting the swelling pressure of proteoglycans. Each Type II collagen chain has a molecular weight of approximately 95 kDa. The entire collagen Type II molecule is shaped like a thin rod and is 300 nm long and 1.5 nm wide and has a total combined molecular weight of 295 kDa. This molecule is essential in connective tissues that are subjected to compression such as tendon and articular cartilage. Type II collagen molecules consists of a long central helical region flanked at its amino- and carboxyl-terminus by short non-helical regions termed amino and carboxyl telopeptides (Eyre et al., 1992). As with all fibrillar collagens, Type II collagen molecules are arranged in a quarter-staggered array to form collagen fibrils. Lateral associations of these collagen fibrils forms collagen fibres (Mayne, 1997). In tendon, collagen Types IX and XI as well as the proteoglycans decorin, fibromodulin and lumican inhibit collagen Type II fibril formation reducing fibril thickness (Vogel et al., 1984; Hedbom Heinegard, 1989; Hedbom Heinegard, 1993). 1.2.1.3 Type III Collagen Type III collagen is the second most abundant collagen present in tendon, representing up to 10% of the total collagen content in various tendons (Hanson Bentley, 1983; Riley et al., 1994b). Type III collagen is a thin collagen fibre consisting of three ÃŽ ±1(III) chains with a molecular weight of 290 kDa. In tendon most Type III collagen is found in the endotenon and epitenon (Duance et al., 1977), and is also found in between Type I collagen fibril bundles in aging tendons and at the insertion (Kumagai et al., 1994). It can also be found in skin, blood vessels, ligament and internal organs such as the gastro-intestinal tract but is not found in bone (Epstein Munderloh, 1978; McCullagh et al., 1980; Amiel et al., 1984). It strengthens the walls of hollow structures like the intestines and uterus. The fibrils of Type III collagen have a generally thinner diameter compared with Type I collagen fibrils (Lapiere et al., 1977; for review see; Kadler et al., 1996), however the triple helical domain is longer in length being composed of 340 amino acid repeats compared to 338 amino acid repeats in Type I collagen. In the early repair of the injured tendon, Type III collagen fibrils are quickly synthesized to restore strength and elasticity (Williams et al., 1984; Dahlgren et al., 2005). However, the fibrils do not have the same tensile strength quality as Type I collagen and so lack the functional properties needed in a tendon experiencing maximal load. The repair processes continues with Type III fibrils slowly being replaced by Type I collagen fibrils in an attempt to normalize the properties of the tendon (Duance et al., 1977; Williams et al., 1984; Dahlgren et al., 2005). Type III collagen contains high levels of OHPr and glycine. It has been reported that these high levels of glycine may cause localised helix instability resulting in increased susceptibility to proteolytic cleavage and rapid turnover of the extracellular matrices containing this collagen (Linsenmayer, 1991). The frequency of Type III collagen is considered to be an indicator of tissue age, and is common in the early stages of healing and scar tissue formation where it provides mechanical strength to the matrix (Burgeson Nimni, 1992). 1.2.1.4 Type IV Collagen The non-fibrillar collagen, Type IV (Bailey et  al., 1979), is a basement membrane-associated collagen (Light Champion, 1984) composed of triple helical isoforms consisting of six genetically distinct chains [ÃŽ ±1(IV) to ÃŽ ±6(IV)]. Each chain is characterised by a long collagenous domain of approximately 1400 amino acid residues of Gly-X-Y repeats, that are interrupted at several sites by a short non-collagenous sequence and approximately 15 amino acid residue non-collagenous amino-terminus, and an approximately 230 amino acid residue non-collagenous domain at the carboxyl-terminus (Mayne, 1997). Type IV collagen has been reported to represent approximately 2% of the total collagen content of tendon (Ahtikoski et al., 2003). Unlike the fibrillar collagens discussed so far this collagen does not form fibrillar aggregates but are directly incorporated into the basement membrane without any prior excision of the pro-peptide extensions. Type IV collagen is found uniquely in the basement membrane of tendon blood vessels (von der Mark, 1981) where it forms a key structural compo

Marketing Is The Life Blood Of Any Organisation Marketing Essay

Marketing Is The Life Blood Of Any Organisation Marketing Essay When people think of marketing, most would immediately think of it as a business trying to get the consumer to purchase its products. However the concept of marketing and the marketing process is much more complex than that assumption. Today, practically everything is marketed to some degree. The marketing of goods is the most obvious one, however you can consider places to be marketed, think of the government ministers mass exodus every saint patricks day under the guise of marketing Ireland to the rest of the world! Organizations, such as colleges and universities market themselves to prospective students. Sporting events such as the Cheltenham race festival or the six nations rugby engage in marketing. Even people are marketed as Kotler points out, some people have done a masterful job of marketing themselves- think of Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Michael Jordan (Kotler, 2006 p8) The American Marketing Association defines marketing to be marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large AMA. (2007) Definition of Marketing. Available: http://www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/pages/definitionofmarketing.aspx Last Accessed 10 March 2010. As I previously stated the process of marketing is much more than a vendor trying to convince a consumer to purchase their product. It is about delivering value to the consumer, satisfying customer needs, meeting or exceeding customer expectations, creating strong brand identity, winning new customers and retaining current ones and companies being able to adapt to changing market conditions. The process of marketing occurs in a dynamic environment (Bradfield, 2010), that is constantly changing, however a core concept in the marketing process is the so called marketing mix or the 4 ps of marketing, first referred to by Jerome McCarthy in 1960. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkBvzS_fJ2gfeature=related Last Accessed 11 March 2010. The marketing mix refers to product, price, place and promotion. When you talk of a product or service, you have to offer a product that fits the need of the consumer. Today, consumers have more choice than previous generations and are more demanding. It should satisfy other criteria such as product durability, product differentiation, i.e. what makes your product stand out from the crowd, what features does your product have, is there after sales care/warranties etc. The price of the product being offered has to take into account how much customers are willing to pay for your product and for the producer to make a profit. This is a dif ficult question to answer as a product that is priced too high in relation to other products may not sell well, however sometimes a higher price in the minds of consumers equals better quality for which some consumers are prepared to pay a premium for. But on the other hand a product that is priced too low, possibly on the assumption that it will win on price alone, may not sell well either as it is considered inferior to other similar products due to its low price. The place in the marketing mix is all about how the product or service gets to the consumer. It must be convenient for the consumer to access the product. This element of the mix is evident in the rise of businesses like Amazon.com that allow consumers to shop for goods 24/7 and have the goods delivered to them. And the last element of the mix, promotion refers to how the consumer is made aware that the product exists, of the benefits it can bring to them and the value of the product. As I said at the beginning of the paragraph marketing occurs in a dynamic environment and marketing thought is constantly changing. It must be pointed out however as Gareth Morgan shows in his book Riding the waves of change, that the 4ps takes the view from that of the producer, in that everything in it is from their point of view. Whereas marketing thought today tends to put the consumer at the centre and everything is geared towards meeting their needs rather than that of the producer. From a marketers point of view, it is impossible to satisfy everyone all of the time so marketers engage in what is called market segmentation. A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants.(Kotler, 2006 p240) When marketers identify a market segment they can they target their efforts on that group. Markets can be broken up on a number of different basis. The process of market segmentation In marketing a product or service an organization can follow a mass marketing strategy or it can use the process of market segmentation. The mass marketing strategy(tied into the production concept, which I will detail in the next section) is probably now an outdated method of marketing for most products due to the sheer variety on offer to consumers. In pursuing a mass marketing strategy, a company targets a market as whole and offers the one product or service to the whole market. The company hopes for higher profits by engaging in mass production and mass distribution techniques, thereby lowering its overall costs. Examples of previous mass marketing strategies was Coca Cola who at first only produced one size bottle of coke. (Kotler, 2003, p279) The market segmentation process is what is practiced more commonly today. A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of wants. (Kotler, 2003,p279) In defining a market segment, Kotler talks of a seven step process. The first step is to group customers who have a similar needs. For example with cars you can identify groups who have a need for people carriers. The next step is for each identifiable market segment to break it down further by classing it according to other variables such as demographics(gender, race, age etc), behavioral patterns(usage, user status etc), and geographic variables. The third and fourth step combined is to take each segment that has been broken down and to establish how attractive each segment is to the organization based on factors such as profitability and segment size. Step five, after identifying a particular segments unique needs, the company must set forth a set of benefits to satisfy those needs (The product of the marketing mix) and it must determine a price for the product. The sixth step is to determine the attractiveness of each segments positioning strategy and finally to expand the positioning strategy to include the whole marketing mix. Marketing Concept The marketing process is all about the customer. The philosophy that the customer is king and is the core of the business. Kotler again speaks of six competing concepts under which the process of marketing is carried out. They are the production concept, product concept, marketing, selling, customer and societal concepts. The production concept is as I said previously tied in with mass marketing. The production concept does not take into account the consumers needs, rather it focuss on building a product and then trying to sell this to the consumer. The production process favors low cost due to high volume manufacturing. The product concept concentrates on building better quality products, with more features in the belief that is what consumers want. The selling concept is probably the concept most people equate with marketing. This is where a producer actively tries to sell its goods/services to consumers through advertising and aggressive selling. The risk with the selling concept is producers hope that consumers who do fall for the hard sell, will actually like the product. Obviously consumers may like the product and return to do more business but on the other hand they may hate it and actually bad mouth the product to friends. The marketing concept is more customer orientated than the previous concepts. Here the customer is king and everything the business does is centered on the needs of the customer. Marketing Plan BarryDoyleDesign Jewelers 1.Executive Summary Barry Doyle Design(BDD) Jewelers is a husband and wife operation that has been in business for several years. Barry has learned the trade from his father whilst Adrianna is a qualified gemologist. It specializes in custom made high end jewelery as well as holding a range of contemporary and Celtic themed stock jewelery. The business has targeted the wedding sector quite successfully in the past and through its website is also chasing international customers, especially those of Irish ancestry who would be interested in its Celtic line. 2. Situation Analysis BDD Jewelers products have been very well received and they have a percentage of returning customers. To grow the market, product awareness is called for through marketing at trade exhibitions and wedding fairs, an upgraded web site and a more visible shop location, funds permitting. The key target markets are couples seeking to marry, individuals looking for a unique product and those who make one off purchases for special occasions etc and to expand the business through targeting of galleries willing to stock the production jewelery. Due to the weakness of the US Dollar against the Euro in the last year, international sales has been slow, however with the expectant rise in the US economy that situation is expected to revert to past positive performance. The wedding market remains stable with modest growth forecast for the next year. 3. Market Demographics Due to the the firms use of the Internet, it has no defined geographical area. However a rough estimate is that 70% is from the domestic market while 30% make up the international side. The customer base is evenly split between men and women. The largest age group who make a purchase is those in the 25-40 bracket and in the middle to high income bracket. 3.1 Market Needs BDD Jewelers provides its customers with a wide variety of jewelery. As a business it seeks to provide to its customers jewelery of the highest craftsmanship coupled with unique and contemporary designs. A first class after sales service is provided, jewelery resizing and jewelery repair. 4. SWOT Analysis Strengths Good reputation among customers Central location Quality Workmanship Good access and relationship with suppliers Weaknesses Poor shop visibility Limited marketing budget in comparison to larger retailers Due to business size possible problems in meeting supply requirements Opportunities Government incentives for small business Threats Economic slowdown can have a negative effect on the amount of discretionary income people have for luxury items Inferior quality products 5. Market Assumptions The fore casted market growth in the sector for the the next 3 to 5 years is 9%. The threat of new custom made jewelers to the market remains small, due in part to the high skill involved and start up costs, however the larger jeweler chains may become more aggressive in their pricing and marketing which could affect sales of our stock production lines. 6. Strategic Intent The businesses core marketing objectives over the next year is to make inroads into getting the stock production line into third party retailers such as niche high end jewelers (galleries)and to develop the wedding market with more visible promotion of the business at wedding fares. An overhaul of the website is required to make it look more appealing. In the mid to long term, a new future premises is needed(most likely in the same general area) with more exposure to pedestrian traffic. With projected growth in the business, the employment of more skilled craftsmen to met demand for the custom designed jewelery side of the business. The possibility of forming partnerships with Irish distributors in the US market with the help of the IDA. 7. Marketing Mix Strategies BDD Jewelers marketing mix is made up of the following A. Product..Will strive to produce the highest custom made jewelery alongside a more affordable yet equally high quality range of stock jewelery. B. Price..Will vary according to specific customer requirement such as gemstones for the setting or the level of detail required. In the stock range, price is comparable to major retailers. C. Promotion..Due to high return for custom designs, it is felt that an increased marketing campaign be engaged upon. This will be achieved through magazine advertising, networking, website links, the yellow pages and trade/fashion shows. D. Place..For internationally received orders, delivery is via UPSFedEx express delivery. Domestic orders can also be shipped with tracking or can be picked up in store. 8. Sales Forecast In year one, months 1 to 3 will be spent trying to establish a foothold within the gallery market. It is expected after month 3 sales to this sector will begin incrementally. Within a three month period sales will be rising also in the wedding market sector due to an increase in the visibility of the business at wedding fairs and an advertising campaign in magazines etc. 9. Implementation In order to achieve desired results, the following milestones must be met on time and in budget. A. The development of the plan B. Identify the channels to be used in the marketing plan C. Establish a review process

Urban Legend of Cry Baby Bridge :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Cry Baby Bridge The legend I collected was told to me by one of my softball teammates. My teammate is twenty-two years old. She told me this story on our team bus while we were driving at about noon. The atmosphere was light as a few of my other teammates were listening to, and quoting Dane Cook – a popular comedian. Here is the legend she told: There is this small bridge in a small city nearby. There was a car accident and a small child or baby died. And, um, it was in the local papers. It is said that at night, when your drive over it, you can hear the sound of a baby crying. And you know how signs on the side of the road reflect light and stuff? Well, you can’t see it with normal lighting, but when a car’s lights hit the sign at the right angle, you can see a baby’s footprints. My teammate originally heard this story from her classmates during her junior year in high school. My teammate had no problems remembering the story; she was more worried that I would think she thought it was true. There were pauses in her story telling as I wrote down what she said. She related the story with little emotion or suspense. The laughter in the background also affected the impact of the legend because it is difficult to be scared when there is laughter all around. My teammate also did not make a significant effort to enhance the effect of the story through hand motions or vocal tone inflections. Throughout the United States there are other legends and stories similar to the one my teammate told. A similar legend was told to me by my friend from high school. She is nineteen years old. She originally told me the story our sophomore year. I asked her to re-tell it to me a few weeks ago over the phone. There was not much emotion in her voice. Also, there were not many pauses as she had to tell me quickly because she had a class. In Aurora, Colorado, there is a legend about the Third Bridge. The Third Bridge can be found on Quincy Road heading east out of town. The bridge is next to a power plant in an otherwise, dusty, and deserted area of land. The legend states that a van of young children crashed and everyone was killed. Urban Legend of Cry Baby Bridge :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends Cry Baby Bridge The legend I collected was told to me by one of my softball teammates. My teammate is twenty-two years old. She told me this story on our team bus while we were driving at about noon. The atmosphere was light as a few of my other teammates were listening to, and quoting Dane Cook – a popular comedian. Here is the legend she told: There is this small bridge in a small city nearby. There was a car accident and a small child or baby died. And, um, it was in the local papers. It is said that at night, when your drive over it, you can hear the sound of a baby crying. And you know how signs on the side of the road reflect light and stuff? Well, you can’t see it with normal lighting, but when a car’s lights hit the sign at the right angle, you can see a baby’s footprints. My teammate originally heard this story from her classmates during her junior year in high school. My teammate had no problems remembering the story; she was more worried that I would think she thought it was true. There were pauses in her story telling as I wrote down what she said. She related the story with little emotion or suspense. The laughter in the background also affected the impact of the legend because it is difficult to be scared when there is laughter all around. My teammate also did not make a significant effort to enhance the effect of the story through hand motions or vocal tone inflections. Throughout the United States there are other legends and stories similar to the one my teammate told. A similar legend was told to me by my friend from high school. She is nineteen years old. She originally told me the story our sophomore year. I asked her to re-tell it to me a few weeks ago over the phone. There was not much emotion in her voice. Also, there were not many pauses as she had to tell me quickly because she had a class. In Aurora, Colorado, there is a legend about the Third Bridge. The Third Bridge can be found on Quincy Road heading east out of town. The bridge is next to a power plant in an otherwise, dusty, and deserted area of land. The legend states that a van of young children crashed and everyone was killed.

Essay --

Currency/Exchange Rate Currency- Yuan Exchange Rate - 1 Chinese Yuan - 0.17 USD On December 1, 1948, the new People’s Bank of China introduced Yuan notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000, and later in 1949, the bank introduced 200, 500, 5000, and 10,000 Yuan notes. 50,000 Yuan notes were then added in 1950. Practices, Regulations, Laws In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, the practice of law in China became known to become a rich mix of old traditional values and Western influence. Because of traditional values, law in China is heavily based upon Confucian philosophy that Chinese culture has become so famous for. the system is based on gaining control through moral education. Though the Chinese culture has seen great change throughout the millennium, the law of the People’s Republic of China is undergoing reform, as the nation feels the need to emphasize of the strengthening of rule of law. Similar to the United States, the Chinese people honor the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. This document is often described to be the â€Å"highest and ultimate source of legal norms† in China. The value of different forms of laws is set under the Constitution in a form of hierarchy as follows: 1. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 2. National laws, iss ued by the National People’s Congress 3. Administrative regulations, issued by the State Council 4. Local decrees, issued by the local People’s Congresses 5. Administrative and local rule, issued by an administrative agency or by a local People’s Government. Aside from high level governmental law systems, the People’s Republic of China has also set up courts for different levels of public affairs under the Organic Law of the People’s C... ...d very fresh. Attractions When at China, there are many different places that people can visit. However, the top ten places that they must go are the main cities like Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai where they can make their first stop before going on to other attractions. From Beijing, people can go to the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, Ming Tomb, Lama Temple, and even the Beijing Capital Museum. From Xi’an, people can visit the Terra-cotta army, Banpo Museum, Huaqing Hot Spring, City Wall, and even the Xi’an Great Mosque. From Shanghai, people can travel to the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, and the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. China is a large country with a various type of attractions. There are a lot of ways visitors can adventure China and do their sightseeing as there are a lot of things to sightsee. Essay -- Currency/Exchange Rate Currency- Yuan Exchange Rate - 1 Chinese Yuan - 0.17 USD On December 1, 1948, the new People’s Bank of China introduced Yuan notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000, and later in 1949, the bank introduced 200, 500, 5000, and 10,000 Yuan notes. 50,000 Yuan notes were then added in 1950. Practices, Regulations, Laws In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, the practice of law in China became known to become a rich mix of old traditional values and Western influence. Because of traditional values, law in China is heavily based upon Confucian philosophy that Chinese culture has become so famous for. the system is based on gaining control through moral education. Though the Chinese culture has seen great change throughout the millennium, the law of the People’s Republic of China is undergoing reform, as the nation feels the need to emphasize of the strengthening of rule of law. Similar to the United States, the Chinese people honor the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. This document is often described to be the â€Å"highest and ultimate source of legal norms† in China. The value of different forms of laws is set under the Constitution in a form of hierarchy as follows: 1. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 2. National laws, iss ued by the National People’s Congress 3. Administrative regulations, issued by the State Council 4. Local decrees, issued by the local People’s Congresses 5. Administrative and local rule, issued by an administrative agency or by a local People’s Government. Aside from high level governmental law systems, the People’s Republic of China has also set up courts for different levels of public affairs under the Organic Law of the People’s C... ...d very fresh. Attractions When at China, there are many different places that people can visit. However, the top ten places that they must go are the main cities like Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai where they can make their first stop before going on to other attractions. From Beijing, people can go to the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, Ming Tomb, Lama Temple, and even the Beijing Capital Museum. From Xi’an, people can visit the Terra-cotta army, Banpo Museum, Huaqing Hot Spring, City Wall, and even the Xi’an Great Mosque. From Shanghai, people can travel to the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple, and the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. China is a large country with a various type of attractions. There are a lot of ways visitors can adventure China and do their sightseeing as there are a lot of things to sightsee.