Analyse Cast Away (Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 2000) in depth as an example Essay

Analyse Cast Away (Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 2000) in depth as an example of New Hollywood and examine film from industrial, formal- - Essay Example A FedEx delivery van pulls into a ranch with a big overhead iron sculpture which reads Dick and Bettram. The ranch is an island in a sea of prairie. The radio plays Elvis Pressley â€Å"Heartbreak Hotel† as the driver picks up a package stamped with a logo of two wings embraced by three halos. As the driver leaves, Elvis sings â€Å"I’m All Shook Up†; it’s not a radio, she’s an Elvis fan. The van door reopens in Russia. The package is delivered to her husband who is with another woman. The next package is delivered by a little boy to Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) who pulls a timer from the packet and continues his lecture on urgency, how time rules life. Back in Memphis, Chuck proposes marriage, actually he doesn’t, but promises to discuss it on New Years Day when he returns, to Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) in a car at the airport. He was paged at Christmas dinner for this troubleshooting trip. She has given him a family heirloom, a railroad pocket w atch used by her grandfather on the Southern Pacific, with her picture in the case. Chuck rushes to the plane. The plane crashes in the Southern Pacific. Chuck washes ashore, alone, on a small island. Chuck must learn survival skills such as building a fire, collecting edible plants, fishing and crabbing. An episode of self-help dentistry caps his early time on the island. Four years later, he is a competent provider and will survive. One day half a portable toilet shed washes up. He sees it as a sail to get past the breakers. He designs and builds a raft and awaits the changing winds and tides to escape. Finally, he is cast adrift again hoping for a sea rescue. When a freighter finds him, he is on his way to a home that no longer exists. He is dead in his home. Kelly has married and has a child. He knows he must find a new life. The Socio-Cultural Perspective of Cast Away Cast Away is set from 1995 to 1999. The coming millennium brought discussions of time or urgency versus the com pass or importance (Covey, 2004). The religious aspects of the millennium and associated doomsday scenarios concerned the populace. The man versus the machine debate gained momentum. This film addressed these pressing and timely issues. The Clock Versus the Compass (Covey, 2004) The first speech Chuck Noland gives involves the importance of time. The film opens in rural Texas, a crossroads in the middle of nothing, where time is measured in days, not seconds. An artist listens to Heartbreak Hotel, foreshadowing the sight of the husband in Moscow. Chuck is in Moscow to troubleshoot the truck delivery issues faced by FedEx. He rewards the boy delivering the package with a portable CD player and an Elvis tape; Chuck is a fan too. Chuck is explaining through an interpreter that time is a relentless master, time rules over everything, time is like fire, it can give warmth or burn. Logistics is life, more important than his asking Kelly to be his wife. Christmas is a pager at dinner and t wo minutes in a car at the airport. Scheduling dinner requires both people with calendars looking for gaps in urgent activities. Kelly and Chuck are not priorities in their own lives. Traditional Hollywood views time as a â€Å"ticking bomb†. A deadline is set, for instance, the kidnappers will call for the money by noon. The action centers on accomplishing a task by a certain time. This film reverses that trend. Time is irrelevant on that island. Survival is relevant. Then in Act III, when Chuck is exhausted and just hanging on, time becomes relevant

The Development Of Fundamental Movement Skills

The Development Of Fundamental Movement Skills The Development on Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) during childhood is important for the development of that child as well as them being successful in sport, so they can learn other life skills. (Okely Booth 2004) To understand when Children should start to learn FMS is to understand the long term development model (LTD), knowing this will help indentify when children need to learn which skill by which age. (Balyi, 2004). During the first stage of the LTD is the FUNdametal stage which focuses on children aged 6-9. During this stage the children starts to learn the basic Fundamental movement patterns. Learning these skills is important as they are the building blocks to sport specific, for example kicking is a base in a number of skills in football, If a Child learns these skills it will contribute significantly their future athletic achievements (Balyi, 2004). Once the Child reaches 9 and 11 it is the most important periods of skills development, during this period they are developed enough to learn and complete general overall sports skills (Balyi, 2004). It has been recommended that all Children should of mastered all the basic FMS by the age of 8 (Gallahue and Ozmun, 2006) Jess et al (2004) also reported the importance of FMS stating that they allow children to pass through a proficiency barrier to allow the development of skills in the future. Booth et al (2004) reported that in a random sample of Year 4, Year 6, Year 8 and Year 10 children that less than 40% had mastered all the skills using subjective measures, suggesting that when the children should be learning FMS skills they are not developing them in the correct way There have been a number of studies that have looked on how to measure FMS mastery. The 2 main methods reported are objective and subjective. Objective measures are the result of the skill, i.e. the time taken to run 10 meters or the number of catches. The advantage of using objective measures is it allows a high level inter and intra and Inter-rater reliability over attempts and measurers (Spray 1987). Another important is the tester does not need a high level of knowledge about the skill (Hands Larkin, 1998). The second way to measure FMS is using subjective measures. This is done by using a checklist for each FMS that identifies coaching points that the subject needs to do while completing the skill. Knudson and Morrison (1997) defined subjective measures or qualitative analysis as the systematic observation and introspective judgment of movement and skills for the purpose of improving that skill. The checklist which will be used in this study is The New South Wales Fundamental Movement Skills (NSWFMS) guidelines (2000), this is a resource for primary school children. The advantage of using subjective measures is that it can help identify one point in the skill that is weak. That information can then lead to trying to develop that weakness (Hands, 2000). However the criteria can be read and identified differently by different assessors. In terms of research in the area of what affects FMS movement skills there has been a lot reported in what factors affect FMS ability. It has been reported that Physical Activity level (Fisher et al 2004) has an effect on FMS ability with Children who take part in more physical activity have better FMS skills. There has also been mixed views on the effect of gender on FMS skills, Fisher et al (2004) reported no difference in fundamental scores between boys and girls, however. Okley and Booth (2004) reported that boys did better than girls in the sprinting and the object control skills, which in this study would be the throw and catch, the girls performed better in the rest of the locomoter skills which in this case is the balance. The reason for this difference could be done to what reported that FMS are affected more by the activities done by boys while girls are affected by psychosocial or environmental factors (Cliff 2009). There has been however a small majority of research looking at how age effects FMS. Okely Booth (2004) did one such study looking at using subjective measures and found for certain parts on FMS Skills, Year 3 Children had mastered the skill better than Year 1 Children. For Example only 1.5% of the year 1 boys and 0% of girls completed the hips then shoulders rotate forward coaching point for the throw compared to 13.5% of year 1 boys and 1.7% of year 3 girls. It is also important to note with regards to age that even Children in the same year can be further developed, meaning their body can do more and they may be able to process the FMS in formation easier. It is important to understand this when the analysing results as one Year 6 child could be biologically more developed than another and therefore be able to perform the skill better. (Gallahue and Ozmun 2006). This paper will therefore look at age and specifically the difference between year 1 and 6 children due the lack of research looking at Year 6 Children and the fact it has been reported that all Children should have mastered FMS by Year 8. The study will also use subjective and objective to get a better idea of which children have mastered the skills. The results can be used to see what areas of each skill children are failing to master and then interventions can be designed to improve them as it has been reported that a well-planned and implemented fundamental movement skill intervention in has an effect on childrens motor skills, physical activity levels and will keep the child interested in Physical Education. Section 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESIS Aim The Aim of the study is to assess Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) mastery in primary school children, to examine if there is a relationship between subjective and objective for FMS and to compare mastery of these skills by children in Year 1 and Year 6. Objectives To measure Fundamental Movement Skills in Year 1 and Year 6 children To analysis the skills using the New South Wales Criteria To study the relationship between year groups and the subjective and objective measures Hypothesis The Year 6 children will have high objective and subjective measures for all the FMS than the Year 1 children. Section 3: EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The Children will be tested for 2 hours in a normal PE lesson for 2 separate weeks. Each Child will be asked to wear suitable kit and footwear. The school sports hall where normal PE lessons take place will be used as the testing site once a risk assessment form was completing and checking the sports hall is suitable to complete the testing. These checks will be done before each testing session. Also ethical approval will need to be given before any testing can take place. Also before testing each child will undertake a warm up overseen by a PE Specialist. Subject Population A sample of 30 Children aged 10-11 (year 6) and 30 children ages 5-6 years (year 1) will be recruited for this study from a local primary school in Coventry. Informed consent from the parents will be obtained as well as agreement from the Child as each participant is under the age of 18. Fundamental Movement Skill Measurements Both subjective and objective measures will be measured, with the subjective being taken while the child performs one of the skill trails. The subjective measures will be analysed using The New South Wales Fundamental Movement Skills (NSWFMS) guidelines (2000) (see appendix for criteria). Using Qunitic Software each video will be watched 5 times and notational analysis will be used to measure how many of the skill components have been achieved. This will give an overall percentage of how that Child has mastered the skill. That will compare to the actual result for that skill. The criteria will also be used during the demonstration to allow the children to know all the points that make up the skill, also no feedback will be given after each attempt. Fundamental Movement Skills Each Child will complete 5 fundamental movement skills, (Balance, Kicking, Catching, Throwing and sprinting). A description of what each test involves is shown below. FMS Test Method Balance Subjective Measures For the subjective measures the children will be asked to Stand on their dominant leg, children will be asked to stay as upright and still as possible keeping eyes forwards for 20 seconds, with their other leg bent. Objective Measures The objective measures will involve the children balancing for 20 seconds on a balance board device (Tunturi by MFT, Germany) connected to a laptop, The percentage of time spent on either side (left/right) will be used as the measurement. Each Child will have a practice before being called up/ inputted into the laptop system. Catch Subjective Measures The Children will move their body to become in line with the travelling path of a soft tennis sized ball, a thrown by the researcher and PE specialist in a measured square area of 1m by 1m. Objective Measures The number of successful catches the children make out of 3 will be recorded. Jump Subjective Measures The Children will be asked to start with knees bent and then using their arms for momentum, jump up as high as possible into the air. Objective Measures The Childrens jump height of the jump will measured using Quintic Biomechanics software (Quintic Biomechanics v17 software, Coventry, UK) and recorded in meters. Throw Subjective Measures The Children will throw a small soft ball over-arm, towards a target placed on the sports hall wall. Objective Measures Points will be awarded to determine the precision of the throw. There were three sections, each with different amounts to justify the accuracy of the throw. Sprint Subjective Measures Children will be asked to ran as fast as they could along the 10 m measured track and then joined the back of the queue. The time will be recorded as use as the measure. Objective Measures Children will be ask to sprint as fast as they could down a 10m track, split times will be recorded at 5m and 10m using the SMARTSPEED timing gate system (SMARTSPEED, UK). Any children will also be able to withdraw their assent and not take part even if their parents/guardian has given informed consent, at any time during the testing. Statistical analysis A combination of correlations and ANOVAs will be used to examine the relationship between the objective measures and the subjective measures but also each of the two year groups. Microsoft Excel will be used to produce the graphs and SPSS will be sued for the statistical analysis. Section 4: PROPOSED TIME PLAN Date Action to be completed before deadline 6th December 2010 Complete and hand in Project Proposal 10th 24th January 2011 Go to schools and collect data ready for analysis 27th January 4th February 2011 Complete data collection, produce table of results and complete graphs 4th- 8th February 2011 Complete data analysis 10th- 20th February 2011 Write discussion and put in info from proposal such as Introduction and Methods. 21st February 2011 Check final project with supervisor and compile lab file 23rd- 1st March 2011 Check for any errors in project and print out 2 copies ready for binding 11th March 2011 Hand in 2 copies of the thesis and lab file. 12th March 2011 5th April Revise for Viva Seminar Section Five: REFERANCES Balyi I., Hamilton A. (2004) Long-Term Athlete Development: Trainability in Childhood and Adolescence. Windows of Opportunity. Optimal Trainability.Victoria: National Coaching Institute British Columbia Advanced Training and Performance Ltd. Booth M, Macaskill, P, McLellan L. (1997) NSW Schools Fitness and Physical Activity Survey. Sydney. NSW Department of School Education. Cliff, D, P., Okely, A.D,. Smith, L.M and McKeen, K. Relationships Between Fundamental Movement Skills and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Preschool Children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 2009, 21, 436-449 Fisher, A., Reilly J.J., Kelly, L.A., Montgomery, C., Williamson, A., Payton, J.Y., Grant, S., (2004) Fundamental Movement Skills and Habitual Physical Activity in Young Children Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. 684-688. Gallahue, D, L and Ozmun, J,C. (2006) 6th edn. Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults, USA: McGraw Hill Hands, B. (2000) How can we best measure fundamental movement skills? Health Sciences Conference Papers. Paper 5. Hands, B., Larkin, D. (1998). Australian tests of motor proficiency: What do we have and what do we need? The ACHPER Healthy Lifestyles Journal, 45(4),10-16. Hands, B. Martin, M (2003) Implementing a Fundamental Movement Skill program in an early childhood setting: The childrens perspectives Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles Jess, M., Dewar, K. and Fraser, G. (2004) Basic moves: developing a foundation for lifelong physical activity, British Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 35 (2): 23-7. New South Wales (2000) Move It, Groove It Physical Activity in Primary Schools Summary Report. A NSW Health Physical Activity Demonstration Project (DP 98/1) Okely, A.D Booth, M,L. (2004) Mastery of fundamental movement skills among children in New South Wales: prevalence and sociodemographic distribution Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 7 (3) 358-372. Spray, J. A. (1987). Recent developments in measurement and possible applications to the measurement of psychomotor behavior. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 58, 203-209. Section 6: APPENDIX

AIDS in Africa :: HIV Disease Epidemic

Africa’s AIDS Epidemic Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become an epidemic for many underdeveloped regions. Although it does exist in the developed nations, it is more prevalent in places like South America, Asia, the island countries and most heavily of all Africa. There are many aspects to the problem of AIDS in Africa. Public health departments lack the resources to treat patients properly and to control the epidemic through education. Thirty-three million people have AIDS in the world. Africa has two-thirds of that number. According to the United Nations Aids Program on HIV/Aids, and World Health Organization (WHO), estimates, seven out of ten people newly infected with HIV in 1998 live in sub Saharan Africa. Among children under 15, the proportion is nine out of ten. Of all Aids deaths since the epidemic started, eighty-three percent have been in the region. These numbers sound even more astonishing considering only one-tenth of the world’s population lives in Africa, south of the Sahara. The amount of Africans affected by the epidemic is frightening. Since the start of the epidemic, an estimated 34 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa have been infected with HIV. Approximately 11.5 million of those people have already died, one-fourth of them being children. During the course of 1998, Aids has been responsible for an estimated two million deaths in Africa. There is about 21.5 million men and w omen living with HIV in Africa, plus an extra one million being children. Four million of those people contracted the infection in 1998 alone (Mail & guardian). No country in Africa has escaped the virus. Most of the new infections are concentrated in East Africa and especially in the southern part of the continent. In fact, the southern region of Africa holds majority of the world’s most hard-hit countries with the most AIDS cases. According to the Department of Health, South Africa’s current estimates show that over one person out of every five between the age of 15 and 49 is living with HIV or Aids in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was especially hit hard. There are twenty-five surveillance sites in the country where blood taken from pregnant women is tested anonymously as a way of tracking the HIV infection. The most recent data, from 1997, show that HIV prevalence was below ten percent in just two sites.

Language and Taboo Essay

Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing this letter to complain about the episode 3 from the Season 13 of Modern Family where the small girl Lilly uses the f-word over and over again. This is unacceptable and inappropriate! I as a parent don’t want my child to hear the vulgar language on TV. TV programs have a special kind of effect on the children. This is so because they find the TV actors to be their role models. They want to wear the same clothes, act the same way and even talk the same way – basically live up to them. That’s why the script writers of the Modern Family need to be use appropriate word to express the ideas. I fully acknowledge that the f-word was used on purpose. If there is no other way to make the show funny, but to use inappropriate words, then I am sorry. But you need to keep in mind that the show is for the whole family to watch. I am so loud about this issue because a serious problem rose up in our family after watching the episode. Me and my family were all sitting in our living room and watching â€Å"Modern family†. When Lilly dropped the f-bomb, my younger son started laughing hard. As soon as the episode finished, he got up and stated: â€Å"What a f****ing good show it was. It was f****ing funny†. I was left speechless. Me and my wife had an hour long talk with him to explain how bad the f-word is and that he cannot use it in any circumstances. After listening for the hour-long harassment he turned to me and kindly asked â€Å"Dad, why can’t I use that bad word if Lilly can? † Dear reader, do you see where I am leading to? Lilly just showed him that using the word is completely okay and that it makes people lough out of it. Lilly’s dad laughed at each every time she pronounced the word. This is not right. That shouldn’t have been the reaction from her dad. This made my younger son Erik think that using the curse language is natural and funny. After watching the last episode yesterday, he got even more interested in watching the next episode. He is anxiously waiting for it because there is a chance of learning some new â€Å"nasty† words. On the other side, as You can assume, I will not stand still and will not allow him to watch the next episode because it is inappropriate for his age. Apparently, one family after another will realize the impact of the show on their children and will stop viewing it. I am sorry to say but You will be at a loss. According to a study by a university, â€Å"children exposed to profanity in the media think that such language is normal, which may reduce their inhibitions about using profanity themselves†. The study has shown that the children who are exposed to the vulgar language more often are more aggressive verbally and even physically. I as a parent don’t want my son to be caught by police because of assaulting someone on the road. Also, Erik can be beaten up by some elder boys if they hear him swearing at them. If anything of this kind happens, the responsibility lies on You! According to another research at the University of Bristol, â€Å"Swearing provokes a physical stress response which will increase the blood pressure level†. If my son starts using the f-word over and over, he might have high pressure and become a physically misbalanced person. None of the parents would like their son or daughter to have high pressure because of watching â€Å"Modern Family†. â€Å"Modern Family† is a show which should reduce the pressure by easing the life. The whole point of the show is to show how the modern family is different from past and make jokes about it. But making a small girl swear gives a complete opposite impression. Being a parent in this situation is a very tough job. It is very important to say the right thing at that moment. If a wrong message is given, then the child may go out of control. We never faced any problems of this kind with our elder son and so it is the first time we are having such a serious and vital conversation at home. For the future episodes please use appropriate language so that we could sit with the whole family and watch the series together again. We used to enjoy doing it. But now I am afraid that we can’t do it anymore due to the fear of inappropriate language. We managed to erase the f-word from the head of our young kid this time, but I am afraid the next time we won’t be able to do it anymore. So, we would plead you to revise your scripts and remove all the inappropriate vocabulary out of it. It is a show for all of us and lets not make fun of the swear words and stay away from them. They are not needed. There are many other ways to make people laugh and I am sure that your editors will be able to come up with some better ways to make people laugh.

The Problems of British Society

There are many issues the British society is facing, it is not a perfect society. British society just like Chinese society,European society and American society have positive things but also some problems that need to solved. British society is not perfect, it means it has a lot of issues. We need to look at them in order to find out what problems are and also suggest some methods. This essay will discuss three important issues, firstly, we are going to discuss that waves of immigration brings tension and stress to UK.Then, it will states the social crisis from population aging. Finally, it will look at how the monarchy affects British society and presents some arguments for abolishment. â€Å"Immigration is regarded by the public as the biggest problem facing British society, a major new survey taking stock of the state of the country reveals †(Boffey, 2013). Many people think that conflict between settlers and persons born in Britain is the principal reason of division.Boff ey (2013) makes the point that during the past twenty years, both immigration and emigration grew rapidly,the number of people going in Britain is more 100,000 than leaving Britain annually since 1998. According to modood & Sault (2013),â€Å"Large-scale population flows into and out of a nation have many social and economic implications†. Therefore, it gave rise to a set of implications at national and local levels, for example,the allocation of the welfare state, degrees of concentration on health and educational provision, unemployment or skill shortages.In this situation, the speed of control and number of immigrants is necessary, the immigrant restrictionism should be made correctly. There are some suggestions have been provided, such as immigrants must learn to speak English, the governments use BELTS to process immigration and student visa applications . Actually it is a test that checks out your proficiency in English language. Only those people who have sufficient ab ility to pass the test can have quality to stay in UK. Similarity, the welfare state should be open to those born abroad who have contributed to society and play by the rules.In my opinion, it is a good method to relieve stress effectively from immigrants in the UK. Secondly, let us have a look at aging population in the UK. According to the BBC News (2013), â€Å"The UK is ‘woefully underprepared’ for the social and economic challenges presented by an ageing society, a Lords committee has warned†. (BBC, 2013). An ageing population problem is when a country has a high percentage of old generation people. The problem may lead to a series of crises in public service provision.Drabble said: â€Å"From 2010 to 2030 there is expected to be a 50% increase in people aged 65 and over and the UK is by in no position to cope unless significant changes are made, according a special inquiry by the House of Lords†. (Drabble, 2013) The Royal Geographical Society (2013) summaries two megatrends causing these demographic changes, the first reason is low / declining fertility rate. Women have been having fewer children during the past 40years; though birth rates have grown in a bit in the past 20 years. In Britain, women are presently having 1.9 children,the highest figure since 1973,but far lower than 1964. The second reason is rising longevity. Individuals have longer lifetime benefits from improvements in diet, health and preventative health care. In the 20th century, the average life span added up by 30 years. With the elderly being the fastest growing age group in UK, it will create increasingly force in healthcare and social services. According to BBC (2013),†Peers said significant changes in pensions, health care and employment practices were needed to help people ‘sustain a good quality of life’ as they aged†.Thus, the state should assist people in later life was a priority. There are some suggestions has been raisen from Royal geographical society (2013), for example, raise the age of retirement, sustain or increase levels of migration-to help fill labor /skills gaps and improve financial planning for older age by increasing older people’s incomes and reducing costs for older people. Some people argue that spending money on the elderly is a waste of money, it is better to spend on the young who can still contribute to society.However, this is the fact that the elderly ever contributed the nation when they were young. Therefore, the problem of the elderly must not be neglected. In my opinion, these suggestions are effective to solve these social problems? Finally, we will discuss the monarchy in UK. â€Å"Calls for the U. K. to abolish the monarchy and become a republic are ever-present†(Khazan, 2013), this is because there are some problems produce from the monarchy. Firstly, the monarchy is a waste of taxpayers money. According to Buckingham Palace, Ithas been acknowledged that s ustaining the royal family costs Britons 53 pence, or about 81 cents, per person, per year. The total came to about 33. 3 million pounds (about $51. 1 million) for 2012-2013, according to the Palace, up from 32. 4 million pounds the previous year (Khazan, 2013). Therefore, the public are confused to this money is given to them instead of being given to support troop or fund hospitals. And it is enough to pay for thousands of teachers, nurses or polices officers at a time of sweeping public spending cuts.(Smith, 2012) However, it has been argued by Cole that â€Å"Britain’s royal family is an affordable indulgence†. (Cole, 2011) â€Å"Britain’s royal family is worth a staggering ?44 billion as a brand, according to a new study. †(Thornhill,2012) This is no doubt that the monarchy’s quality brings in heaps of tourism revenue, millions of tourists come to England to see the Monarchy per year, and many ships in London thrive on tourism. Although there are some benefits from the monarchy, there are still some suggestions on abolishment exist. Because in the past, the monarchy was the dominant power in UK.Nowadays, all affairs are solved by the British government, and the monarchy has no place in UK anymore. There are other methods have been suggested to solve, such as make a vote too decide whether to abolish the monarchy according to the opinion of the public. In my opinion, it may be not an effective method to solve by soliciting public opinion. In conclusion, it has been discussed which three key problems are influencing the British society. These problems are about immigrants, aging population and monarchy. For immigrants, the method of group of control by setting the level is used to solve the problem.For Aging population, it is inevitable cultural phenomenon with the development of economy and technology, it has been suggested to sustain the elderly quality of life as central concentration by improving financial planning. At last, whether to maintain the royal family has been suggested to decide by making a vote in the public. Among these methods, I think solutions on issues of immigrants and aging population are effective. But for the monarchy, I think the opinion of the public may be not decisive factor to abolish the royal family.

Dry Ice Science Fair Project Ideas

Dry Ice Science Fair Project Ideas There are a lot of interesting science fair projects you can do using dry ice. Here are some ideas that you can use as-is or can modify to make your own unique science fair project. Dry Ice Projects How can you store dry ice so that it lasts? Caution: Do not place dry ice in a sealed container, since the pressure build-up may cause it to burst.Does dry ice sublimate more quickly in air, water, oil, etc.? Can you explain why?If you put dry ice in water, how cold does the water need to be before the dry ice stops producing fog?Experiment with a dry ice sound lens. Sound travels more slowly in carbon dioxide than it does in air. If you fill a balloon or rubber glove with carbon dioxide by allowing dry ice to sublimate, you can hold the balloon about a foot away from your ear and listen for sounds that normally would appear very faint, such as the ticking of a clock or dropping of a pin. What is the best distance to hold the balloon from your ear? Do both of your ears hear equally well? Be safe! Do not use a balloon that still contains a piece of dry ice or one that is full where it is likely to burst. The popping of a balloon near your ear could cause injury. Just use a balloon or glove that contains a lot of carbon dioxide, but isnt in danger of popping. Can you find a way to harness the power of dry ice sublimation so that it can power a device? A Heros Engine can be made by puncturing opposite sides of a plastic film canister with a tack or pin held by pliers. Tie a loop in a piece of thread and catch the loop between the lid and the container so you can suspend the canister. When you put a piece of dry ice in the canister and close the lid, what happens? What happens if you change the pattern of the holes? What happens if you place the device in water? Not everyone has a film canister available, so you can substitute other containers, but you need to keep in mind your container can burst if too much pressure builds up. Look for containers that have plastic lids that can pop off under pressure.

Music

Music Film Showing in EnglishThe Book ThiefGifted HandsLike Stars On EarthSubmitted by: Siojo, Louisa Mae S.Section: NS1-o1Book ThiefSummaryThe Book Thief is narrated by Death, who tells a story of a ten years old girl named Liesel Meminger. It's January 1939, Liesel, her mother and his brother Werner are being taken to the small town of Molching, just outside of Munich, Germany, to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Werner died in the train f mysterious causes having to do with poverty, hunger, cold, and lack of medical treatment. Her mother buries the boy in a cemetery by the tracks and Liesel picks up a book, "The Gravediggers Handbook", which was fell from a young grave diggers coat on the grave of her brother and brings it with her. When she arrived to her new home Liesel is reluctant to enter the Hubermann house on Himmel Street, but is coaxed by her foster father, Hans, to whom she takes an immediate liking.The Band ConcertWe meet five days a week, and play five days a week. Being a member of the Concert Band is not only a great opportunity to practice the wonderful collection of songs we play, but is always fun. Some of my best friends I know are people that I met through the band and they are ones I have been playing since elementary school. It feels nice to know that it is possible to be with your friends every day doing something you all share a passion for. I can come into the class confidently that I will always have a great time with exceptional instruction. Our band director, Mrs. Bollaro, is there every day to help us master our music. Not only does she provide great tips to all of us, we...

Definition and Examples of Multilingualism

Definition and Examples of Multilingualism Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers to communicate effectively in three or more languages. Contrast with monolingualism, the ability to use only one language. A person who can speak multiple languages is known as a polyglot or a multilingual. The original language a person grows up speaking is known as their first language or mother tongue. Someone who is raised speaking two first languages or mother tongues is called a simultaneous bilingual. If they learn a second language later, they are called a sequential bilingual. Examples and Observations Majesty, the Herr Direttore, he has removed uno balletto that would have occurred at this place. - Italian Kapellmeister Bonno in Amadeus Multilingualism as the Norm We estimate that most of the human language users in the world speak more than one language, i.e. they are at least bilingual. In quantitative terms, then, monolingualism may be the exception and multilingualism the norm... - Peter Auer and Li Wei Bilingualism and Multilingualism Current research...begins by emphasizing the quantitative distinction between multilingualism and bilingualism and the greater complexity and diversity of the factors involved in acquisition and use where more than two languages are involved (Cenoz 2000; Hoffmann 2001a; Herdina and Jessner 2002). Thus, it is pointed out that not only do multilinguals have larger overall linguistic repertoires, but the range of the language situations in which multilinguals can participate, making appropriate language choices, is more extensive. Herdina Jessner (2000b:93) refer to this capacity as the multilingual art of balancing communicative requirements with language resources. This wider ability associated with the acquisition of more than two languages has also been argued to distinguish multilinguals in qualitative terms. One . . . qualitative distinction seems to lie in the area of strategies. Kemp (2007), for example, reports that multilingual learners learning strategies differ from those o f monolingual students learning their first foreign language. - Larissa Aronin and David Singleton Are Americans Lazily Monolingual? The celebrated multilingualism of not just Europe but also the rest of the world may be exaggerated. The hand-wringing about America’s supposed linguistic weakness is often accompanied by the claim that monolinguals make up a small worldwide minority. The Oxford linguist Suzanne Romaine has claimed that bilingualism and multilingualism are a normal and unremarkable necessity of everyday life for the majority of the world’s population. - Michael Erard New Multilingualisms [I]n paying attention to the language practices of young people in urban settings, we see new multilingualisms emerging, as the young people create meanings with their diverse linguistic repertoires. We see the young people (and their parents and teachers) using their eclectic array of linguistic resources to create, parody, play, contest, endorse, evaluate, challenge, tease, disrupt, bargain and otherwise negotiate their social worlds. - Adrian Blackledge and Angela Creese Sources Bleichenbacher, Lukas. Multilingualism in the Movies. University of Zurich, 2007.Auer, Peter and Wei, Li. Introduction: Multilingualism as a Problem? Monolingualism as a Problem? Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication. Mouton de Gruyter, 2007, Berlin.Aronin, Larissa and Singleton, David. Multilingualism John Benjamins, 2012, Amersterdam.Erard, Michael. Are We Really Monolingual? The New York Times Sunday Review, January 14, 2012.Blackledge, Adrian and Creese, Angela. Multilingualism: A Critical Perspective. Continuum, 2010, London, New York.

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

Critical Response - Research Paper Example David Grindstaff’s Queering marriage: An Ideographic Interrogation of Heteronormative Subjectivity â€Å"maps the contemporary scene of heteronormative power and resistance through two rhetorical performances of gay male identity† using his and other theorists’ ideas. I totally agree with him when he said: â€Å"The recent controversy surrounding same-sex marriage marks the institution, practice, and concept of marriage as a significant site of power and resistance within American culture (p. 258)†. In my opinion, human rights apply to everybody regardless of gender, race, and preferences. Grindaff said that â€Å"†¦the decision to sanction same-sex marriage would extend legal and economic advantages to same-sex couples, which appears to carry the promise of social equality on a broader scale† (p. 258). I totally agree with him. There are advantages that married couples enjoy and when same-sex marriage is approved, it will be unfair for the cou ple not to enjoy such advantages. As Pastor Allen has shared: Though my partner and I had a commitment ceremony in 2003, and obtained a marriage license this past July in Washington D.C., we learned that marriage is more than our religious convictions and our commitment, but also about laws that will protect us. Marriage equality is not about religious rights, but the right to equal benefits. At the end of 2003, the U.S. Government Accountability Office identified 1,138 federal provisions where marital status is a factor in determining or receiving benefits, rights and privileges. These include next-of-kin hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent; automatic inheritance in the absence of a will and inheritance of jointly owned real and personal property through the right of survivorship. These benefits allow all marriages access to the social and emotional supports that can produce healthy families and communities (Same-sex marriage is about equality, not religion. August 2010). Wilson’s â€Å"conservative† response to Andrew Sullivan rejects same-sex marriage for purely symbolic reasons. He first locates his grounds for equating â€Å"heterosexual marriage† (identity) with procreation (act) in scripture: the Torah links â€Å"sex to procreation the highest standard by which to judge sexual relations† (p 159). In other words, heterosexual marriage, in its ideal or symbolic form, serves procreative purposes (p. 267). Although I must admit that this is true it does not mean I agree. There are couples who get married but do not have children on purpose and there are married couples who cannot have children for several reasons such as physical and financial. And there are people who opt to have children but never get married. Kristen Houghton said in her article, â€Å"The reality of the word "marriage" is a meeting of two minds and the joining of two lives. Husband and wife need not always beco me Daddy and Mommy. Decide how you want to live and be realistic about your expectations, your needs, and your wants. To become or not become parents is a personal

Does the media lead USA foreign policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Does the media lead USA foreign policy - Essay Example The influence of media on US foreign policy is not, however, a new phenomenon. In the 1890s, two newspapers allegedly brought the Americans to the doorstep of war against a European country. The present contention on the effect of media on the US foreign policymaking implies a more pervasive, consistent and more powerful influence, although there is also an opposing contention that it is media itself which is being manipulated by the government to influence public opinion. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the collapse of the Cold War has taken away many of the constraints that used to hound media in the reportage of events all over the world. In addition, communications technology grew by leaps and bounds during this period allowing media networks access to almost anything in all corners of the world. The inevitable question that, therefore confronts many is whether or not US foreign policymaking has become susceptible to media’s growing influence and is now being led by it. Al beit media has increased its impact on public opinion and even on policymakers to the extent of speeding policymaking, studies and researches done on the subject show that its impact is not significant enough to alter foreign policies per se or change the course of policymaking. Historically, significant changes in US foreign policy occurred in turn-around periods where policies drastically changed from one paradigm to another. The 1890s and the 1930s, for example, were watersheds in US foreign policies. Today, after the collapse of the Cold War, the world is witnessing another evolution of US foreign policy as an imperceptible confluence of forces are seemingly dictating upon it to reformulate in the light of emerging events that see the economic rise of certain countries threatening to outdo and outrun America’s own (Trubowitz 1998 1-4). The change in foreign policy in the 1890s was spurred by the explosion of the economy at home. Although the US was used to dealings with

The Effects of Violence Video Games on Children Behavior Essay

The Effects of Violence Video Games on Children Behavior - Essay Example The increased involvement of the people in the playing of video games has portrayed the negative effects that they can lead to. This is particularly true of violent video games as there has been a strong association between the playing of violent video games and increase in crime amongst youths. It has been analyzed that the playing of violent video games has resulted in many criminal acts which include robberies as well as murders. This paper will serve to explain the history of these violent video games and their strong association with acts of crime that have taken place owing to the negative impact of these violent video games. There has been a great rise in the popularity of video games and the number of people playing these games has widely increased. It is believed that children of the age group from 8 to 18 years in the United States have an exposure of 40 hours out of seven days to different forms of media. There has been a sharp increase in the exposure to video games by th e children and the teenagers. It has been analyzed that children even as young as two years play video games on an average of one hour every day. In the age group of 8 to 13 year old boys, it has been seen that they tend to play video games for more than approximately 7.5 hours in a single week. Another very important aspect that has been highlighted is that a research among teenagers explained the fact that the games that they purchased were not reviewed and analyzed by their parents and hence there is no check on the nature of the video games that are played by these children (Anderson et al 2001). It has been found out that 75 percent of the teenagers actually purchase and play video games that are meant for adults and these games have very high content of violence and negativities portrayed in them (Adams, 2010). The extent of the violence exposure has been explained by the statistics in a study which shows that in the United States, the young generation is exposed to 40,000 kil lings by some form of media by the time they acquire the age of 18 years (Anderson 2005). The history of video games dates to the years following 1970. But the video game that became a matter of debate was the game which was named "Death Race 2000". This game was based upon a car which was to be driven over bodies that were made of sticks. The game did not have good graphics but still the violent theme of the game sparked many debates. The last decade of the twentieth century came with many new games which were far more violent than the Death Race. These games included Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Wolfenstein 3D and Night Trap. All these games were based on violent themes. The Mortal Kombat was particularly a game which received much attention and became the favorite of young children. It was based solely on killing the opponents. This led to major controversies and the matter became a national issue. The matter also reached the Senate and a prominent member from the Senate Joe Li eberman presented the idea that restrictions should be imposed on video games. Night Trap was removed voluntarily by the shop owners following these issues and the video game industry also became aware that such games could result in blows to their industry. Thus, the video game industry formed a body which is termed as Entertainment Software Rating Board in the year 1994 to check on the violent and sexual material of the

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

Infectious disease - Research Paper Example Dr. Kai Kliiman has also been an efficient manager for the National Tuberculosis Program. The authors have a biased interest as they tend to incline their article to their point of view. Though there is also some vested interest which is obvious through the biased interest, the article does not tend to show any prejudices. Since the article talks about established facts and has less to do with assumptions, this article shows the biased interest of the authors than the vested interest. This is a peer reviewed article and this can be confirmed by the article itself. The article does attribute the critical revision, provision on study materials, collection and assembly of data and other important aspects of the article just to both the authors and no other source of cross check involved and hence it is obvious that this is a peer reviewed article. The article â€Å"Predictors of extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis† is about the study conducted on several patients in Estonia suffering from culture confirmed pulmonary-tuberculosis. The article educates the readers about the brief study conducted on patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and the efforts to identify the their causes. ... s and continents in which it is prevailing and is spreading, and also speaks about the number of deaths that are reported every year owing to this infectious disease. The article speaks much about the studies conducted on patients of Estonia, which had the highest number of cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Initially the reader gets exposed to the details of the spread of the disease in spite of the measures that had been taken and also the effect of NTP (National Tuberculosis Control Program). This in association of HIV virus is spoken about and their combined effect is also talked about. â€Å"In certain African countries and many parts of Southeast Asia, HIV is becoming more and more endemic. Where tuberculosis is also endemic among the population, a weakened immune system will increase the risk of getting tuberculosis. This is an extremely worrying situation and the WHO and the IUATLD are doing all they can to prevent the disease from spreading† (Dr.Pallisgaard, 21). The adoption of several sophisticated methods for this study is also mentioned in the article. The study has taken into consideration factors like sex, age, place of birth, economic status and other factors like drinking habits, marital status and employment and studied their effects too. These tests were conducted dividing the patients into three separate groups, namely the extensively drug resistance tuberculosis, multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and non- multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. All the data pertaining to the patients has been collected and stored in a database. Tests have been conducted in highly equipped labs and highly qualified people as per the directions of WHO. In each case susceptibility has been gauged separately and

E-commerce Practice Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

E-commerce Practice - Personal Statement Example From the brainstorm for the website, I realized that there was a need to develop research about the industry, our product and potential clients. Though e-commerce provides an almost unlimited market, the main challenge is directing traffic to the site and translating this in turn to actual sales, a proposition that has become more challenging considering technical requirements and saturation of industries (Lefebvre & Lefebvre 30-31). Afterwards, I had to communicate the site's requirements to developers so that it can best reflect the product and performance objectives to maximize the productivity and effectivity of the site. Finally, there was a need to develop performance measures for performance and maintaining competitiveness. The entire process of setting up the company is time consuming and challenging. Often, I encountered tasks that were beyond my existing skills or competencies which challenged me to research and cultivate the means to augment my skills or competencies as necessary.

Security within Your Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security within Your Organization - Essay Example CIA Triad is a framework, which covers almost every aspect of information security in its storage, processing and transition. I had the opportunity of working with the Defense Equipment Production Division (DEPD) for two years in my early professional life. The experience gave me an opportunity to closely observe the implementation process of CIA Triangle, the hindrances that it may face and the workarounds that can be useful in CIA implementation for organizations. The nature of this write-up is academic and does not contain any real names, scenarios or information. DEPD had implemented several information security policies to ensure a safe and secure information infrastructure and communication mechanism. The organization had implemented details security policies to address various internal, external, infrastructural, information access and denial of access, authorization and authentication threats that may be launched from within the organization or from some external source. These security policies laid down detailed SOPs (Standard Operation Procedures) for Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information to its legitimate resources. One important aspect of information security mechanism and its implementation is to educate people about it. DEPD had covered this important aspect through a Knowledge Dispersion Department (KDD). The department used to held regular training sessions where internal and external Information Security experts were invited to educate DEPD staff on various security issues that may result in information leakages, denial of access and theft of confidential information. I attended several sessions held by KDD and this imparted a great knowledge and sense of security to me in the forth-coming years. Being a defense organization DEPD faced numerous challenges of information security. The most important among these was the denial of

E-commerce Practice Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

E-commerce Practice - Personal Statement Example From the brainstorm for the website, I realized that there was a need to develop research about the industry, our product and potential clients. Though e-commerce provides an almost unlimited market, the main challenge is directing traffic to the site and translating this in turn to actual sales, a proposition that has become more challenging considering technical requirements and saturation of industries (Lefebvre & Lefebvre 30-31). Afterwards, I had to communicate the site's requirements to developers so that it can best reflect the product and performance objectives to maximize the productivity and effectivity of the site. Finally, there was a need to develop performance measures for performance and maintaining competitiveness. The entire process of setting up the company is time consuming and challenging. Often, I encountered tasks that were beyond my existing skills or competencies which challenged me to research and cultivate the means to augment my skills or competencies as necessary.

Phase 3 Discussion Board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Phase 3 Discussion Board - Assignment Example The stakeholder management process is required in order to enhance the stakeholder communication plans. Expectations are constructed and established in a stakeholder management process in order to manage the communication process between several stakeholders in an organization. The stakeholder management process helps an organization to make an administrative decision, project coverage and financial support that is an effective part of the communication process. It helps to avoid the negative impact on the communication process. Effective stakeholder management process supports to gather effective information about the stakeholders’ views that helps to execute the communication process transparently and smoothly. Overall, the stakeholder management process helps to develop a positive image of the specific upcoming future projects for public, neighbors and other stakeholders. Answer 2 The leading organizations around the globe are trying to capitalize on the opportunities that have been developed due to the advanced technology and globalization. Electronic communication has become the most important medium for every large and small organization. It helps to research every necessary thing. Moreover, they can buy information from online and can sell or share the information thorough online. E-mail is the major contributor to the organizations for sharing of ideas. Every decisions of an organization generally shared through e-mail. The leading and large global organizations generally use e-mail to keep track of products, availability of products, stock, profit and loss. Very few individuals within an organization are not familiar with this specific process. Now-a-days, major of the employees within an organization have access to company e-mail. This process helps to develop a healthy workplace environment (Hill, 2009). Moreover, this process helps to bring space in the project communication process. The organization even recruits and select new employees buy and sell small products and business through the help of internet. Now-a-days, several organizations around the globe are tending to implement internet meetings, such as meeting through Skype has helped both the employees and employers to save their effective time. This process has helped the organizations to improve project management and communication process. Answer 3 Strategic information associated with project communication processes are shared through documents. Effective project management process needs almost 50 various types of documents for tracking, planning, communicating and reporting. Resource spreadsheets, feasibility studies, supplier contracts, change request forms, financial and project communication plans, implementation reviews, project status reports and several collaborative communication degrees are required ingredients in a successful project communication process that can be shared through the documents. Several important notice and reports are also need t o be shared through documents. Documents play an important role in the project communication process. The major aim of sharing information through document is effective planning, execution and closure of a project management and communication process (Berman, 2007). Appropriate utilization of documents can increase the effectiveness and transparency of a specific project communication process. The stakeholder management process

Eualuation of National Solidarity Program

Eualuation of National Solidarity Program EUALUATION OF NATIONAL SOLIDARITY PROGRAM: PEOPLE PARTICIPATION, CHALLENGES AND SUSTAINBALITY The case of Sayed Abad District of Wardak Province Tariq Salari Table of Contents (Jump to) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Context of the study 1.2. Rationale of the study 1.3. Hypothesis: 1.4. Limitation of the Study: 1.5. Organization of the thesis: ABBREVIATIONS AF Afghani (Currency of Afghanistan) ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit AusAID Australian Agency for International Development CDCs Community Development Councils CDP Community Development Plan CRDP Comprehensive Rural Development Program CSO Central Statistics Organization DAC Development Assistance Committee DFID Department for International Development EPA Environmental Protection Agency EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FP Facilitating Partner IFAD International Fund for Agriculture GDP Gross Domestic Product HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ILO International Labour Organization IWG-PA Informal Working Group on Participatory Approaches Methods KW Kilowatt N Number NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NGO Non Governmental Organization NSP National Solidarity Program OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PDPs Provincial Development plans PIDRA Participatory Integrated Development in Rain-fed Area SAHEE Sustainability for Agriculture, Health, Education and Environment SCA Swedish Committee for Afghanistan UN United Nation UNDP United Nation Development Program UN ESCAP United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific UNESC United Nation Economic and Social Council UNRISD United Nation Research Institute for Social Development USAID United States Agency for International Development USFAA United States Foreign Assistance Act WB World Bank WCARRD World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development WECD World Commission on Environment and Development WMP Watershed Management Program 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Context of the study In the 1950s and 1960s many top-down development programs failed because of the wrong policies of the governments, donors and non-governmental organizations, which people were not involved in the design and implementation of the projects. World Bank (1994) proclaimed that top-down fashion entailed long bureaucratic process; they prefer participatory approaches because it is â€Å"learning by doing† which means people learn throughout the process. Top-down forms provide limited opportunities for participatory learning and decision-making as well. It obstructs local culture and habits (FAO, 1997). Shah (2012) stated that it is assumed that if local people were involved in the project cycle, it would be more successful. In most countries top-down policies caused the isolation of the people, increase in poverty, social and economic inequalities and deprivation. Many governments, non-governmental organizations and development agencies have acknowledged that traditional top-down approaches in many developing and developed countries failed to reach the benefits of rural people (FAO, 1991). Moreover, Binns et al. (1997) asserts that top-down strategies have failed to raise living standards of rural people; these approaches ignore rural people’s perception, needs and understanding. It is clear that without people’s participation it would be difficult for the planners to understand the socioeconomic and cultural situation, needs, problems and priorities of the rural communities. In the last few years the term of participation has become popular, especially in relation to sustainability of rural development projects (Bagherian et al, 2009). In the 1970s people’s participation recognized as a missing component of development projects which caused intensifying poverty (Karl, 2000). Participatory approach got momentum after the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) organized in 1997. WCARRD emphasized on the organization and active participation of rural people in the development programs (UN ESCAP, 2009). Local participation is considered as a vitally important factor for rural development projects, since rural people are the only one who knows their own problems better than anyone else. Hence, participation improves ownership, helps with rural people’s knowledge and boosts sustainability of rural development projects. In 1990, after more than four decades of providing foreign aids to developing countries, the assistin g and major donor agencies came up with the issue of benefits and activities in long term after stopping aids fund. They tried to establish local governance to manage resources and ensure long term sustainability (Bossert, 1990; Mohammad, 2010). A project can be sustained when the beneficiaries are involved in the project cycle; they will train throughout the project and would be enabled to work for their community in the future. Agriculture and livestock sector plays a vital role in the rural economy of Afghanistan. According to the World Bank (2012) rural population measured 76.14% where agriculture is the primary activity. Despite of the many challenges rural economy contributes to more than half of the country’s GDP. The three decades of war, turmoil, instability, revolution and social disruption enormously affected rural people in terms of social development and economic growth. Social institutions and economic infrastructures have been destroyed, sources of livelihoods, housing, schools and hospitals were demolished (Rahimi, 2013). After a long time, the government of Afghanistan and International Community in 2002 began some initiatives to reconstruct and stabilize the country through local communities. Zakhilwal and Thomas (2005) suggest that for longer peace and stability, rural participatory policies are needed to include those people who were often excluded from the decision-making before, especially women who have historically been victims of imbalanced development. The Transitional Government of Afghanistan in 2002 has started national programs. One of these programs was National Solidarity Program (NSP) to create, build up and maintain Community Development Councils (CDCs) as effective foundations for local governance and socioeconomic development (NSP-Web, 2014). NSP as a bottom-up program was created in 2003 to develop the ability of Afghan communities to identify, plan, manage and monitor their own development projects (NSP-Web, 2013). Development projects have a crucial role in the local development, since they improve the living standards of local people, empower local people and educate rural communities. Hence, it is important to be sustained which depends on the project selection, project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Without active participation of local people, it is impossible to achieve this goal (sustainability), which NSP projects couldn’t meet this criterion many projects have failed to produce expected outcomes. This study examines people participation in NSP projects and it explores major obstacles of people participation and likely sustainability of two projects in Sayed Abad district of Wardak province. 1.2. Rationale of the study Since 2001 government have put the issue of local participation in the centre of their policies and much more attention has been paid to rural areas and community participation, to bring people together in order to utilize the local resources, as well as to improve the livelihood of the rural people. In the first couple of years government tried to build capacity at local level in the public sector and civil society but these efforts had light impact. Subsequently, Afghan government jointly with the International Community initiated national programs to cope with poverty, engage directly people in the reconstruction process of the country, empower local people and make them responsible for their own development (Rahimi, 2013). Mostly the process of these programs has been bottom up, which has mainly focused on minorities and underprivileged strata of the community. But it is supposed that in some regions these initiatives have not succeeded to perceive the objectives of community par ticipation and empowerment in the local projects and many times it criticized that minorities, especially women have not been involved in these efforts, and still people are suffering from the elite and power-holders interference in the rural development projects. This study attempts to answer the empirical questions which often asked that whether in the NSP program people meaningfully participated and whether people’s participation incorporated with sustainability of the projects. With this background and empirical questions, the entire study was designed to meet the following objectives: To identify the level of involvement of local people in the National Solidarity Program (NSP) projects in the study area. To explore the barriers and factors that affect community participation in National Solidarity Program (NSP) projects in Sayed Abad district. To examine the sustainability of the NSP projects in the study area. To make recommendations based on the findings of this study. 1.3. Hypothesis In Sayed Abad district of Wardak province, elite power holders, socio-cultural situation and personal relationship caused isolation of minorities, especially in case of participation of women in the National Solidarity Program. Threatened security conditions, lack of substantial information and conflicts among tribes are the biggest challenges for community participation in the National Solidarity Program in Sayed Abad district. Meaningfully Participation of people in National Solidarity program likely lead to sustainability of projects in Sayed Abad district. 1.4. Limitation of the Study The limitations are mainly related to the availability of information and time, difficulties of collecting primary data in rural area of Afghanistan. It is not an easy task because of the threatened security conditions and a high illiteracy rate of the citizens. Some of the limitations are listed below: Lack of time and financial limitation. Security problems in Wardak province. Unwillingness of the respondents to give information due to security problems. Bureaucratic policy in the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development. Lack of secondary data due to absence of database in the provincial office of NSP. Absence of the officials and members of Community Development Councils (CDCs). 1.5. Organization of the thesis The entire thesis has been organized in five chapters. The first chapter highlights the context of the study, objectives, hypothesis and limitation of the study. Chapter two includes an extended literature review about the history of participation, definition of participation and sustainability, typology of participation, factors influencing participation and sustainability, relationship between participation and sustainability of the projects, social exclusion and inclusion and a short description of NSP. Principle concepts, information about study area, methods and tools used in the analysis are elaborated in the chapter three. Chapter four explores the results and findings in a logical scientific manner to accomplish the objectives and test the hypothesis of the study. Chapter five presents conclusions based on research outcomes and also some recommendations for enhancing the people’s participation in rural development projects and sustainability. In the next chapter the st udy is summarized and finally the sources of research materials, books and research papers related to the present investigation are listed.

Hitler’s Quest for Aryans Essay -- History, Holocaust

Imagine being shoved off of an old, dirty train and not having a clue where you were headed. Everyone on the train is in incredible shock, and not much is heard except horrifying screams and cries from those around you. No one has access to food or water. Believe it or not, that is what you would have experienced if you lived in Germany, Poland, or Hungary about seventy years ago. Nearly six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was much more than a cruel, belittling era; it was an atrocity beyond measure. On September 11, 2001, three thousand people were killed from a terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in New York City. That is not even a comparison to the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered. The word â€Å"holocaust† has multiple meanings. In the early times, it meant a burnt offering to the gods (Downing 4). Middle Age citizens referred to it as a huge sacrifice or destruction (4). Between June 1941- March 1945, there were approximately four thousand Jews murdered each day (4). There is no way anyone can grasp how bad it must have been. Death, around camps, was expressed in many ways; starved, froze or worked to death, gassed in death chambers, or even shot for no reason at all. As the death rates rose, finding a place to bury everyone was becoming a perplexing challenge. With Hitler’s wish for living space, his goal for world domination and World War II as a cover, Hitler and his Nazi regime were able to carry out one of the greatest crimes in human history with about three and half million Jews being murdered at the death camps. All Hitler wanted was to eliminate defective genetic diseases, which in the end could endanger his wish for the Aryan race worldwide. ... ...sign was up above that read â€Å"Arbeit Machttrei† or work will make you free. This was a trick to the prisoners to make them believe they were going to an actual work camp. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire fence and had nine watch towers. The first few days at camp were spent in quarantine. Meaningless tasks were done and they were given very little food. Sleeping conditions were beyond awful. Some people even considered camp â€Å"a living hell† (Downing 31). The Holocaust was by far one of the worst events in history. So many people were killed for no reason at all. Hitler’s gal was not only to kill all Jews, but also to have a worldwide race of Aryans, blonde hair and blue eyes. There will never be enough horrifying words to describe the physical and mental pain each and every prisoner went through. Do you think you could have survived the Holocaust?

An Analysis of Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Road Not Tak

An Analysis of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken In "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost, many questions arose about the meaning of the poem. One common interpretation of the poem about assertion of individualism, where the speaker is taking the road not traveled so that he can assert his individualism, is a nice interpretation. However, I believe that the speaker is really having a hard time making up his mind, and the poem is a conversation with himself trying to rationalize his decision. It seems as if both ways might lead to great occurrences, but only one way is the right way. There are four points in the poem that stick out where the speaker is either vague and unclear or contradictory in evaluating his choices. The first is in the first stanza where it says "And sorry I could not travel both"(2). The second point is contradictory and between lines seven through ten particularly, where the speaker is musing over which path to take. Another particularly interesting point is in line thirteen where it says, "Oh, I kept the first for another day!" And the final point to look at is in line sixteen where Frost writes the vague word "sigh," with no further explanation as to its connotation. "And sorry I could not travel both" (2). This seems to be a no-brainer observation, but also one that many struggle with. The choices that are made in day-to-day lives are ones that will stick with that person forever, and many times it can be frustrating not to at least explore what the other choice could have had in store. There are limitations to being human and finite, and one of those is the inability to look in the future and know what is the best possible decision will be. It is important to look at all possible outcome... ...as a happy and reflective sigh, as if to indicate satisfaction in the decision he made. Either way could completely change the tone of the poem, depending on the meaning of the simple word sigh. To eliminate the controversy hear, it could be important to think of a sigh as an audible release of breath, or as a contemplative sigh, as if Frost were simply thinking of the past. Frost is a brilliant poet who allows the reader to sink into the poetry so that the reader has an opportunity to view the poetry in his or her particular way. It is interesting to note some of the potentially confusing or sticking points in the poem that can cause some individual reflection. This allows the reader to have their own special connection to the poem, because a poem can conjure up many different thoughts in many different people. Frost was a poet who had that great ability.

Full Metal Jacket (1987) Essay

The Film: Pro-War or Anti-War? A question as to the war sentiments of this film can be most accurately answered through an analysis of Private Joker.   As his nickname suggests, the young marine is glib; using his sharp wit, average John Wayne interpretations, sense of irony and his readily apparent above-average intelligence to keep himself detached from the training and the Vietnam War.   It is as if he knows the futility of his actions, covers the meaninglessness of it all by going through the motions and yet uses his humor as a defense mechanism.   His message is clear:   It means nothing to me but I do it anyway. Hence, in answer to the question of whether the film is pro or anti war, I would have to say neither.   It does acknowledge both sides of story.   Its general message is not to preach, merely to tell a story or a situation like it is.   An illustration of this is how Private Joker wears a hat with the message ‘Born to Kill’ on it and at the same time sports a peace sign on his marine uniform.    In fact Private Joker himself put a name to the vacuum of opinion he (or man in general) is in:   the duality of man.   This philosophical concept, while very Jung-ishly technical is another way (at least in the film’s context) of putting confusion and hypocrisy.   It speaks of an inner battle being waged inside a man’s soul; not necessarily about good or evil, right or wrong†¦but more about belief. What is exactly that you believe in? Another illustration of this so-called duality is seen during the hazing of Gomer Pyle.   Once again the inner battle of Private Joker can be used as an anchor of this concept.   Initially, he hesitated in throwing the poor man a blow with his makeshift weapon.   In the end, however, he did land a few good hits.   The inner struggle can be seen later on when Joker covers his ears to drown our Pyle’s cries.   If Joker had been fully comfortable from the beginning with the physical hazing, I doubt that he would have bothered to cover his ears.   This just goes to show how one’s soul gets racked when one does something that half of him disapproves of. Portrayal of War What sets the film apart from other war movies is that it has a lot less drama.   There are no heart-wrenching one-liners.   It painted the circumstances of the war without the usual dramatic coatings that tug at one’s tear ducts.   On the other hand, it did not paint war either as fiercely brutal.   Like what I mentioned earlier, war was painted it like it was.   In that sense, one can say that the portrayal of war in this film is realistic.   It must be said however that if one has not experienced war first-hand, one can never really know what it is like. And even with that, each war is different.   Hence, all I can offer is my perception of the war that was portrayed in the film. War, with its shallow characteristics were equally portrayed along with the intricacies that usually accompany loss, brotherhood, bloodshed and self-realization.   One the one hand, Kubrick masterfully conveyed the message that war, from a soldier’s perspective, is merely about the survival, detached from the political machinations that caused it in the first place. Justifiable War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my opinion, the film does not touch upon issues of morality.   It makes no judgment calls.   What it does is bring all the ingredients of war into the mix and calls for the viewers to come up with their own conclusion.   There is, at least in my view, no hard and fast message about the justifiability of war that can be easily gleaned from this film.   Therefore, in answer to this question of whether or not the film viewed war as justifiable, one must look into each character. If one pegs the answer to the character of Animal Mother, war is justifiable—as long as one is the victor.   His character is of the opinion that war is the ultimate means to display one’s superior strength.   On the other hand, the character of Eightball pointed out that the Americans were in Vietnam to help the locals.   He was very miffed about the fact that the supposed beneficiaries of their aid were very ungrateful of it.   Therefore, through this perspective, it can be said that war can be justified if the cause is rooted in good intentions. Relationships among the characters   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like all war movies, the concept of brotherhood plays a central role.   The ties of brotherhood were bound by the most powerful forces on earth: hardship, pain, loss and bloodshed.   It is amusing to note however, that even in the midst of war there were competitions being waged on the same side.   Although some of the competitions were outright obvious (i.e. Animal Mother and his Alpha-Male swagger towards Private Joker), others were less evident.   This highlighted one more characteristic of war.   While it is essentially about winning over the enemy, it is also about besting the rest of your team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is also the idea that one person is responsible for the next one.   Like most other responsibilities in life, this may not be a great gift but it must still be done.   Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) says it all.   It speaks of a responsibility one man to another no matter the cost.   The burden is not always welcomed, like with Private Joker and Rafterman, but it is always there. The enemy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the viewing of the film, I walked away with two concepts of the ‘Enemy’.   During their training days, I was of the conclusion that the enemy (as a general concept) was on some level respected.   This can be seen in the Marine’s Prayer when they recite that a line about shooting straight and narrow against the enemy.   The general idea is that while the enemy might be good, a Marine is always better.   However, there is still a begrudging respect accorded.   This respect to the potential abilities of the enemy is obvious from how hard the Marines train for combat.   Nothing is left to chance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, during the war portions of the movie, I got the feeling that the soldiers overly relied on the idea that American Marines are the best that they underestimated the enemy.   It was amazing how they still displayed shock over the Tet Offensive.   It was of course masterful on the part of the Vietnamese fighters to lull the Americans into the false sense of security.   However, the Americans should have known better.   They completely underestimated their opponents and paid handsomely for the mistake. Reinforcing stereotypes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my opinion, the film mainly reinforces the stereotypes of machismo and women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The stereotypes of the macho man, valued only for his brute strength is to a certain extent unavoidable—Full Metal Jacket is a war movie after all.   The stereotype of the soldier is reinforced as well: the image of an un-thinking, un-feeling killing machine that does not weigh any moral or ethical issues, believing only the sanctity of the command.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role of women is viewed through a narrow lens as well.   There are only 2 women that make an appearance in the film:   a prostitute and a sniper.   The idea of Ann Margret, although she never made an appearance, can also be considered as a third role of women. The obvious implications of these three roles are far-reaching and will take more than 10 pages to fully discuss in detail.   However, it is quite obvious that the film also reflects the belief of the times that women, despite the many advances for the cause, could be viewed as either a prostitute, a treacherous killer or an object of sexual desire. Meaning to the wartime experience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first half of the film shows the harsh indoctrination of boys into angry, killing Marines.   The severe methods employed by the group’s drill sergeant left no room for innocence and self-assurance to survive.   These marines, although it was their training that hardened them, one can say that it was the war that wizened, matured them.   This can be clearly seen as we see how the central character (the narrator of sorts), Private Joker progresses during the film.

Dickens created Essay

All the characters that Dickens’s has labelled criminals, Toby Crackit, Mr Chitling and Kags Adress and respond to each other very sarcastically and also very aggressively, in a way that suggests to the reader that they are not all friends as you first think and that they have no loyalty to each other and are just with each other because they have the same basis of work and business ethics. Fagin is described in chapter 50 as he is getting arrested as a rough, battling character struggling with the police and being all muddy and bleeding, Dickens has put Fagin in this situation which could best describe him and what he is all about, not necessarily his features, but his links with the police and his links with crime. Dickens describes the main criminal in chapter 50 at his lowest point, when he enters that room with his fellow criminals, ‘Blanched face, sunken eyes, hollow cheeks, beard of three days’ growth, wasted flesh, short thick breath; it was the very ghost of Sikes. This sentence is full of short descriptive sentences that are saying to the readers that Sikes is destroyed, he has been hiding away for the crime of murder and is just a translucent figure of Sikes when he used to be a strong and ironically ghastly figure with no power, Sikes is now battered, Sikes has now got nothing and Sikes is on the run! Leading up to the climax of chapter 50 Dickens describes the mob of Londoners chasing down Sikes in the tight alleys and roads of London, he depicts them as a crowd of a ‘strong struggling current of angry faces’ that are all out after Sikes ‘the murderer’, Dickens has used those descriptions to show the sheer scale of the force wanting to capture this one man, a current of people, suggesting it is like a river of people flowing along the streets. Later in the scene an old man cries ‘I will give fifty pounds to the man who takes him alive’, fifty pounds in those times was an enormous amount of money which again shows the sheer scale of the wanting of this man. The climax is ultimately the death of Bill Sikes in this chapter, when Sikes is on that roof ready to try his escape Dickens finally de-humanises the villain at last by instead of calling him Sikes calling him ‘the murderer’ to tell the audience just exactly what he is, which is nothing. The way Dickens depicts the death of Sikes is very dramatic in the way that he dies, jumping off a roof and accidentally hanging yourself isn’t the best way to go or the most common in any story, Dickens used this way of death to give justice, melodrama and a gothic feel which would add real feel to how the audience would feel at the death of a person who has been hated by most throughout the whole story. The speed of Sikes death is quite important, the use of verbs such as staggering, tumbled, which is when Sikes loses his balance and goes over the edge of the building. Sikes death is also set at night time to add a little more drama and a chase factor to the dramatic end. The noose in those times was common for convicted murderers to receive when arrested, so for Sikes to die in a noose was justified in the end. Dickens had a message to the reader in the end of this chapter which is to draw attention to a range of social injustices in those times, which means a lot of people getting away with crimes which obviously dickens felt strongly about, Dickens didn’t just simply tell people about this he used a range of techniques to excite the reader and to please the reader. Overall Dickens created this chapter to avenge Nancy’s death, we know this because Sikes cries ‘The eyes again! ‘ referring to Nancy’s eyes. Which leaves the reader feeling happy about Sikes death and making the reader want to read his next edition in his paper.

Anglo Saxon Culture as Reflected in Beowulf

Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon culture. Cultures usually have distinct figures that reflect their culture as a whole. The importance of religion, values, and heroes are reflected a great deal in the epic poem of Beowulf accurately showing the Anglo Saxon culture as a whole. Men dominated the Anglo Saxon society and the people loved a great hero like that of Beowulf. They believed a hero should be a keeper of his promises, be boastful and produce great physical strength. Also Beowulf was an outstanding fighter and loyal to everyone he met. He believed no one was greater than anyone else; Beowulf showed great respect even to his enemies by fighting them one on one (â€Å"Anglo Saxons† 48). Even when Beowulf knows fate is against him and he is going to die; he continues to keep fighting; â€Å"†¦No prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise† (Beowulf 60). Beowulf’s boastful self-confidence, his overpowering strength, and his victories in battle make him a classic legendary hero and a model for the Anglo Saxon culture. A very important element in the society of the Anglo Saxons was the mead hall. The mead hall was essentially a meeting place for dinners, story telling and the party for victories (Bjork 89). The mead hall symbolizes security, fellowship, and all that is good in the world (Bjork 90). The mead hall was thought to be the safest place in the entire Kingdom. In Beowulf the mead hall was described as â€Å"the foremost of halls under heaven† (Orchard 77). This mead hall was called Herot serving as a palace for King Hrothgar. This is where Beowulf dismantled Grendel in an epic battle. Beowulf preferred to fight with his bare hands. The typical Anglo Saxon warrior was not blessed with the great talents Beowulf was blessed with so they used various weapons like: the spear, sword, shield, seaxe, and bow and sling. The spear was the most common weapon of choice and could be used as a missile or used in hand-to-hand combat. The sword was not a common weapon used at all because it was very expensive to produce. The sword was usually given to a great warrior who has demonstrated courageous acts in battle. All warriors had a shield that was made of wood and usually lined together by metal. A seaxe was a single bladed knife that was carried on the belt on the warrior and was used more as a tool than an actual weapon (Beowulf 112-113). Anglo-Saxons valued religion very highly. There is much controversy over Beowulf in dealing with pagan and Christian beliefs because historians believe both were integrated although Christianity seems to be more prevalent. Religion was the center of people’s life at this time and is demonstrated in Beowulf when Beowulf calling for God exclaims †¦ â€Å"the almighty the maker of the earth†. Up until the 6th century it is back and forth between Christianity and Paganism. The greatest sources of information on the pagan period of religion are from the 7th to 8th century testimonies, such as Beowulf (Orchard 25). Paganism dealt with the worshiping of many gods. The celebration of glory has such emphasis in Beowulf because human praise is the highest goal of the pagan characters. Anglo Saxon warriors wore helmets for battle with a pagan god on them named Freyr. Those who grew up praying to Thor to protect them with their shield and helmet before they went to battle were involved in the pagan religion (Orchard 33). Paganism seemed to be the religion of choice for many Anglo- Saxon warriors while Christianity did not evolve as quick in warriors (â€Å"Saxons Culture†). Margaret E. Goldsmith who wrote â€Å"The Christian Theme of Beowulf† exclaimed the teaching of St. Augustine and St.  Gregory are incorporated in Hrothgar’s sermon. Goldsmith said Beowulf was sort of a Christian historical novel, with selected bits of paganism purposely laid on as â€Å"local color† such as the references to fate or Wyrd (Bloom 127). All considered Beowulf shows religion, expresses values of everyday life and explains what a true hero in all about in Anglo Saxon times. The Anglo Saxons express their cultures through wonderful literature such as Beowulf, which is a record of heroic deeds. The Anglo Saxon society believes in great men such as Beowulf that have good morals and exemplify devotion to their country. Beowulf derives its main plot from folk tales; and as W. P. Ker has said, â€Å" it is difficult to give individuality or epic dignity to commonplaces of this sort (Bloom 14). The author of Beowulf recognized the obligation of giving his hero emotional and ethical value through association with events the Anglo Saxon people would recognize as hero-like. It was not enough that Beowulf should display unequaled strength and courage in his victories over gargantuan monsters but the value of these exploits must be enhanced by Beowulf’s deep and emotionally justified concern for those he fought (Bloom 14). The physical power of Beowulf does not give him the moral dimensions and the title of an epic hero. The loyalty and unselfishness Beowulf displays makes him the ultimate Anglo Saxon hero and the great epic of Beowulf will never be forgotten because there is no greater idol than Beowulf.

Strategic Mangement Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Mangement Case Study - Essay Example This analysis is useful, because it helps to understand both the strength of current competitive position, and the strength of a position the company is looking to move into. At the early maturity of the industry's lifecycle, the number of new entrants into the smaller production end of the industry continued to grow. However, concentration was occurring among the medium and large players as a result of both local acquisitions and acquisitions by overseas purchasers. The newer producing countries, such as Chile, are perceived to be the bigger threat due to rapid advancements in production quality. The demand for the wine in the domestic market and in the international market was growing since the establishment of the company. We can see that from the fact that in 1998 from 120 tonnes of grapes crushed and less than 1 per cent export volume to 670 tonnes crushed in 1999 and greater than 49 per cent export volume, growth was achieved with minimal comparable overheads and infrastructure. The export figures testify that the growth of the buyer power is increasing over the time. Coopers Creek's own branded product was the winery's focus and, in 2000, it was anticipated that it would sell more in the USA than in the UK. The owner of the winery was concentrating on the development of a small number of markets and selling a broad range of higher margin wines in the on-premise segment. This focus allowed the company to reach consumers willing to pay more expensive prices as New Zealand wines became a permanent category on restaurant wine lists. Supplier power This factor defines the ability of a supplier to control the cost and supply of the inputs in the market. With the management of the quantity and quality of the grape supply proving to be a critical resource issue within the New Zealand industry, investment in plantings are important for the industry as a whole. In order to be successful and sustain profitability in the market, wineries are obligied to reduce costs of production by investing extensively in their own vineyard plantings. Over supply of the wine that takes place in the industry when the harvest is better than previewed, leads to production of lower-cost wines, either by growers forming a cooperative to utilise the excess grapes and produce their own wine or by wineries focusing on low-cost competition. It is anticipated that a low-cost competitor would affect the export market more than the domestic markets. Major decisions in the production of the wine are made at the supply stage and sometimes this involves the buying of bulk wine from other New Zealand producers to keep supplies going. For example, Tesco's in the UK wanted to do a summer price promotion in 1997 on a New Zealand wine. When one of the larger New Zealand wineries failed to respond, Coopers Creek took up the challenge, although it did not have all the wine to meet Tesco's requirements. The

FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCE - Assignment Example From the Table in 4(a), it is evident that the higher the portfolio’s expected returns, the higher the standard deviation. This also means that the higher the returns the higher the risk, hence the above discussed risk-return relationship holds for shares property and bonds. This relationship is also observed in the chart in 4(b), since, for example, the shares are moving more radically and their returns are the highest; and this trend holds even for property and bonds. The radical plunge in prices in the last quarter of 2008 is majorly attributable to the effect of the global financial crisis that occurred during that time. This decline in prices was a major indicator of the crisis, which was accompanied by a significant reduction in demand in the financial markets, as many people observed their retirement accounts water down (Bartram and Gordon, 2009; Dwyer and Paula, 2009 ). It is important that the investments are spread over a variety of assets like the fixed income, equities and cash. This is because each asset class perfoms differently from the others as a result of its unique balance of risks and rewards. Diversification calls for the need to know the security an investor needs. Therefore, diversification is where there is a need to spread each asset investment over different types of securities. Most importantly, an investors needs to know their risk profile so they decide how to allocate their assets, on the basis of risk-return relationship. From example, from 4(a), one can combine growth fund which is very risky, with conservative fund which is less risky – so that one can continue enjoying substantial returns and even in the event of a crisis one does not lose significantly (Kapur and Orszag, 1999). b. If your group had $50,000 to invest in a managed fund, which specific portfolio would you choose from those offered in Question 4? Justify your choice by including a reference to the characteristics of financial

FINGERPRINTING Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

FINGERPRINTING - Research Paper Example Statistical analysis in science is a tool that puts a numeric value to the â€Å"thing† being tested, it does not prove the validity of the actual science. The empirical study of fingerprints has taken place over the past 100 years and has proven that fingerprints are unique and individual. From the critical perspective, fingerprint comparison and identification methodology remains reliable and valid as scientific evidence and to this day has yet to be considered inadmissible as evidence in a court of law. Fingerprints are developed while the fetus is still in the womb. The friction ridge detail begins to develop on the hands and feet of a fetus during the 12th or 13th weeks of pregnancy (Ashbaugh, 1999, p.54). These â€Å"ridges do not run from one side of the hand or the finger to the other in a continuous stream, but are broken and noncontinuous. The arrangement of these ridges, like all natural things, is unique† (McRoberts, 1994, p.l). From the scientific perspective, early pioneers in fingerprint history are considered Sir William J. Herschel and Dr. Henry Faulds. Herschel is actually credited for â€Å"being the first European to recognize the value of friction ridge prints and to actually use them for identification purposes† (Aushbaugh, 1999, p.21). However, Alphonse Bertillon in Paris, France was first to devise the first truly scientific method of criminal identification, called anthropometry or Bertillonage. Bertillon â€Å"included fingerprints on the rear of his anthropometric cards as a final check of his identification. Upon Bertillon’s death in 1914, Bertillonage was discarded in France and replaced by fingerprint identification† (Ashbaugh, 1999, p. 28). In 1893, fingerprinting was added to the files at Scotland Yard, but anthropometry was still considered the primary method of identification until 1901. Sir Francis Galton, a British scientist, through testimony and demonstrations, was able to