Parents in Great Expectations Essay

Examine how Dickens portrays the incompetence of parents Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a bildungsroman, which is primarily concerned about the literal and metaphorical metamorphosis of the central protagonist, Pip. However, Dickens main thrust is that of parenting through the utilization of Mrs. Joe Gargery and Miss Havisham to establish their injustices towards children. Miss Havisham from an affluent class abuses her privileges of being a parent by using Estella, her adopted daughter to attack the male gender. In contrast, Mrs. Joe Gargery is from a lower class, yet she too torments pip, but through physical and verbal means. Through Miss Havisham and Mrs. Joe, Dickens dam’s the ethical codes of the rich and the poor and moreover, conveys that the incompetence of parents that transcend economic boundaries. Contrastingly, Charles Dickens utilizes Mr. Joe Gargery as the leading embodiment of how parents should be offering Pip wisdom, but more importantly love and friendship. In the beginning, Dickens emphasizes the ill treatment of children in a low-class through the use of Mrs. Joe Gargery. Mrs.  Joe’s apron symbolizes her unwillingness to perform her expected role and acts as a reminder of the troubles Pip gives her: â€Å"†¦ I may truly say I’ve never had this apron of mine off, since born you were. It’s bad enough to be a blacksmith’s wife (and him a Gargery) without being your mother. â€Å"(Pg 7) Mrs. Joe makes Pip feel guilty by reminding him of her domestic slavery. Thus, Pip is left feeling like he warrants all the abuse Mrs. Joe inflicts upon him. Moreover the â€Å"coarse† apron, â€Å"stuck full of pins and needles,† reflects Mrs. Joe’s unapproachable and unloving nature. Also Through this Dickens’s mocks the traditional gender roles in the Victorian times, as Mrs. Joe is perceived to be more masculine. Other incidents of Mrs. Joe’s rough behavior towards Pip further highlights the injustices of children. Mrs. Joe’s â€Å"trenchant† way of preparing meals portrays her negative attitude towards Pip and Mr. Joe. The adjective â€Å"trenchant† implies a deliberate and hurtful action. â€Å"She jammed the loaf hard and fast against her bib – where it sometimes got a pin into it, and sometimes a needle, which we afterwards go into our mouths†. (pg 8) This is peculiar for a married woman, of a mature age to be acting in this way. In addition this again demolishes the stereotypical mother figure. Furthermore, Dickens depicts the incompetence of parents in a wealthy class through Miss Havisham’s exploitation of Estella to highlight the ill treatment of children. Miss Havisham wallows in self-pity because the person she loved left her alone, on her wedding day. Miss. Havisham never recovered or allowed herself to recover. Her bluntness and harshness was not coming from a rude old lady, but more from a lonely women trying to break free and escape. Miss Havisham surrounds herself in an environment that reflect her inner feelings: â€Å"†¦ The passages were dark†¦ † (p. 57) This can be seen as suppression; keeping her problems inside and letting them kill her slowly. How she damages herself harms Estella as well. Estella was raised in a controlled environment, and psychologically disturbed by Miss. Havisham. Miss. Havisham say’s she cannot love anymore because of her uncontrollable suspicion that everyone is out to hurt her; hence Estella will never experience love. By adopting Estella, it shows her longing for companion – however hides this by claiming it is only for training purposes to break all men’s hearts. Because of this Estella will never know what real love is. On the other hand, Dickens use of Mr. Joe exhibits elements of hope and contrastingly conveys the humanity of parents. Mr. Joe is not just a father figure to Pip, but as an â€Å"equal† too: â€Å"I always treated him as a large species of child and no more than my equal† This quotation exhibits the genuine love Pip has for Joe and their close relationship. Mr. Joe conveys an interest about Pip’s education: â€Å"I say, Pip, old chap! † cried Joe, opening his blue eyes wide, â€Å"what a scholar you are. An’t you? † (p. 42) Joe is proud of Pip and doesn’t want Pip to be uneducated like him. He treats Pip like his own, even though he is adopted. He admits in Chapter seven that the only reason he is staying with Mrs. Joe is solely because of Pip. Lastly, Joe’s acceptance of Pip back into his house again reinforces his father qualities. Through Joe, Pip realizes the importance of family and friendship. In addition appreciates his relationship with Joe. Ironically, Dickens had a life somewhat similar to that of Pip’s life. Dickens grew up in Kent and moved to London, like Pip. His mother made him work in a Blacking warehouse at age twelve due to his father’s financial dilemmas. This incident in his life trampled him psychologically. Through his experience, Dickens’s sympathizes for children and mocks the abuse of children in society as a whole. Dickens wrote strongly about people who ill-treated children through his novels, for example Oliver Twist. The underlying fact, in ‘Great Expectations’, is that parents lack sufficient love for the maintenance of emotional stability in their children.

Reading English 6 Essay Essay

A. Compare the three main types of plate boundaries. How do they work? How are they similar and different? There are three different plate boundaries. There is convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. They all do different motions. Convergent boundaries are boundaries where the two plates are coming at each other or converging. Divergent boundaries are boundaries where two plates are moving away from each other or diverging. Transform boundaries are boundaries where two plates are shearing past each other or one plate moves to the left and the other moves to the right. Convergent Boundary A convergent boundary consists of two tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere that come together. If an oceanic plate was involved subduction would occur. Subduction is when two plates converge and one goes under the other. Usually if there are two oceanic plates coming together the older/denser plate would get subducted. If there was a continental plate with an oceanic plate the oceanic plate would subduct, because it is denser, but it is a whole different story if they are both continental plates. Since they are both continental there is no subduction mainly, but there is a collision. They become crumpled and faulted which make the biggest mountain ranges, like the Himalayan Mountain Range. B. What real world boundary have you chosen? Where is it located (countries involved, general area of the world, etc. )? My team chose the Cascadia Fault. The plates involved are the Juan de Fuca plate and the North American plate. The countries involved are United States and Canada. It is in northern California, Oregon, and Washington. For Canada it is just the southern part of it. It is in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth. C. Describe in detail how the plates of your real world example are moving. Pay particular attention to details such as crust types of the plates involved, processes that are ongoing, etc. D. What kind of stress is occurring at your real world boundary? How does the stress affect the rock? E. Describe the area around your real world plate boundary. What are some unique landforms (continental and/or oceanic) created by your real world boundary? F. What type of fault is associated with your real world plate boundary? Explain how the footwall and the hanging wall move. G. Identify at least two other areas of the world where you could you find a boundary like the one you researched.

Floods and subsequent death Essay

Hurricane Katrina formed in the United States in the year 2005, causing floods and subsequent death many people. It is estimated that more than 1800 people lost their lives due to the hurricane. This data makes it the worst in the history of the United States since the year 1928. It is considered to have been the hurricane most costly and deadly in the history of the U. S and was considered a natural disaster. Among the affected places is St. Rita’s nursing home which has let to the trial of the owners Sal and Mabel Mangano. The nursing home was situated in New Orleans in St Bernard parish. It has been build 20 years before the hurricane struck. This home was situated in a depression in the ground. The approximate number of residents of the nursing home was 65 and out of these 35 of them died when the hurricane struck. This has led to the indictment of the owners the Manganos, after investigations were done on deaths at nursing homes and hospitals. Their trial was for negligent homicide where it was alleged that they willfully caused the deaths of 35 people by not evacuation them and also tying them to their beds. However I beg go differ with these allegations and they should not have been convicted for negligent homicide. Nursing Home Establishment Sal and Mabel Mangano were the owners so St. Rita’s nursing home having built it 20 years before the hurricane Katrina. The area where they built the nursing home had patches of terra firma. In marshlands this is a good area and the reason why they had considered it, was because in 1965 during the hurricane Betsy this is the only area that did not flood. In this consideration it means that with the establishment of the nursing home they had considered that incase there was a hurricane, there at St. Ritas it would not flood. This shows clearly that they would not have intentionally neglected their residents to suffer and drown in the floods and the subsequent death hence they should not have been convicted. For this consideration they had in mind that, just like in 1965 the hurricane was not going to affect them and for this reason they did not evacuate but instead they went up their one story building. A Show of Kindness During the time of imminent floods the Mangano’s has intended to safe other people by inviting them to St. Rita’s nursing home among these their staff and relatives as well as their won relatives. The reason they had done this was because they were kind enough and were ready to help other people. If they had a motive of willingly exposing their residents to flood and death they then could not have invited their resident. They had the best intention and they felt that they would not be affected by the floods and thus they did not neglect their residents or even wish for them to die. They had offered shelter to more than 25 people who had gladly accepted since they were exposed to the disaster of the hurricane. Safety Before the worst hurricane happened on 29th of august 2005, the mangano’s felt that everything was alright. They checked and inspected the area which showed that the ground were dry, the parking lot and the roof was also alright. However it is at this juncture that the hurricane struck. Sal mangano had herself gone outside with several other men to inspect the situation and ensure that everything was alright and that the people inside could not be in any danger whatsoever. Meaning they were concerned greatly about the safety of the people who were already inside at St. Rita’s nursing home, they could have done anything to ensure that these people were safe. The Hurricane Katrina Even when the hurricane struck the manago’s did not neglect heir resident in cat they went inside and tried to fortify the windows and the doors in desperation of trying to protect them. All the same a strong wind and a strong flow of water hit the nursing home’s walls and even penetrated inside, rising in the building. The mangano’s alongside their relatives some of them as well as their staff worked relentlessly during this time of the floods and also made frantic efforts to safe the people at the nursing home. This means all this time what they had intended was the good of the people at the nursing home and more than anything they used their judgment with the utmost good intentions of saving the people. Conclusion According to the law in the united sates of America the Louisiana requirement is that an evacuation plan should be in the nursing home but id does not state about being mandatory during an actual o evacuation. The law also recognizes a safe place and allows the nursing home to evacuate to such a place In this context the mangano’s did not willfully ignore these rules because they did everything that they could in fortifying their doors and windows in an effort to make their residents secure and to protect them from harm fro the Katrina hurricane and to protect them from drowning as well. St Rita’s nursing home was for the elderly people and others with special needs. One of the reason s why then mangano’s did not evacuate them is because they felt that by moving the people they would have been doing more harm than good, since most of the frail ones would have suffered or even died in transit. This again comes to show that the mangano’s made one judgment which was in consideration of their residents to protect them more than to harm them. The mangano’s did not at any one time leave or abandon their residents, they were there themselves and they had also invited their relatives and other people to offer them shelter, if they were willingly exposing them to danger they would not have invited their relatives and they also so would have rescued themselves leaving their residents to die. Therefore, the mangano’s used their judgment and safety measures. They felt that this area where the nursing home was situated probably could not be affected by the hurricane. They should not have been convicted of negligent homicide for the above reasons. References: Carrie Khan, Nursing home owners not guilty. 5th December, 2008. http//www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=14261612 Dawn Fratangelo, what happened at St Rita’s Nursing Home? 3rd march, 2006. Http//www. msnbc. msn. com/id/11658446 Paul Rioux, St. Rita’s owners say no help was offered before Katrina hit, 15th September, 2005. http//seniorjournal. com/NEWS/Eldercare/5-09-15StRitaNoHelp. htm

Facility and venue management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Facility and venue management - Essay Example The external environment of a venue can include the infrastructure, availability of social amenities, reliability of the means of transport to get into or out of the venue, and the security of the area within which the venue is established. All these factors are not the main ones in the establishment of a venue in a place but are a crucial consideration (Kronenburg 6). This implies that a combination of internal factors and external factors assure success of a venue established in a place to serve people, guarantees its success. How internal factors affect success of a venue Success for a venue means that it has put in place different systems that ensure profitability in its different context without compromising its future productivity. This means that a venues that has to succeed, needs to implement various systems that will ensure that they are able to exploit the environment efficiently. In this aspect of the a company, a management can implement different plans that will establi sh different personnel in the management of the venue are actively involved and are giving their maximum to attain the success of it. This means that the management of venues should streamline itself to optimize the productivity of all the workers within it and all human resource personnel who it depend on for success (Kronenburg 11). Another aspect of the internal factors that a venue should consider is the technological development which it puts in place to process different data, or to optimize use of resources within it. For example, to ensure that a venue is able to make profits, it can implement a technology of energy saving which will ensure that they do not use the expensive energy and implement use of solar energy, which is very sustainable. On the other hand, a venue do not have to process the entry of the people through manual operation as it takes long and very inaccessible when there are large crowd. To ensure they solve this, the venue management will can establish an internet based system through which people can book their tickets for entry and pay for them from wherever there are without necessarily visiting the premises. Another thing that can attract customers into a venue is its level of cleanliness and environment that ensure that occupants are able to access all the needs within short time (Kronenburg 31). How external factors influence the success of a venue There are different external factors are not the main things a venue is based but which pose important implication on its performance at any given time in different areas. For example, in establishing a venue, initiators need to understand that policies of a reigning power, which could be a government or other organization responsible, guide people in an environment to ensure orderliness in the area. The government has their policies that dictate how business can be done in such areas and they impose on them venue opened. This means that if the taxation is heavy, the amount of profit a venue ought to make is scale down limiting its success (Kronenburg 79). Another aspect of the external environment that is important to a venue is the demographic differences of the people living within as could be related to their economic power, age as well as their gender differences and

Apply to University Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Apply to University - Personal Statement Example I have the zeal to know how computers operate and how I can use them to positively influence the world in my own way. English is my second language and I have had some difficulties learning it since I did not have enough learning materials in my native place. I figured out that if I become a computer expert I can make these materials available to kids who crave for knowledge and, consequently, help in dissemination of knowledge. I have studied Information Technology in my bachelors. The IT course equipped me with basic knowledge and skills in computer programming, web designing in form of HTML, information searching and retrieval and subject indexing and thesaurus construction. These skills and knowledge should give me a head start in computer science. I do not have any previous work experience as I have just completed my bachelor’s degree in IT. However, during my bachelors I undertook a work placement programme at a nearby high school for two months. My duties were akin to those of a system administrator where I helped the school’s system administrator configure computers and check for security breaches. I also helped students who did not know how to use computers to use them effectively. As a result, I grew my computing and management skills which should prove helpful for this course in the long run. I have a host of interests and hobbies. However, the ones I love most are to play and watch football, to play chess and to participate in enlightening debates. I believe football is a competitive and passionate sport. This should make me a competitive and passionate person in all my undertakings. Debating helps me grow my English language and vocabulary and equips me with the skills of thinking at my feet and adequately relaying information. Lastly, chess equips one with planning, thinking and overall strategizing skills. All these skills will be

Venus Compared Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Venus Compared - Term Paper Example The ancient Greeks used it as a means of worship, honoring their gods and goddesses with as perfect representations as they could create. Inheriting that tradition from the Greeks, the Romans developed an artistic approach that would both honor their gods and commemorate cultural and individual achievements. It was here that the figure of Venus first came to life only to be subsumed by the Middle Ages and reborn in the light of the Renaissance which has itself been reflected in later periods. Even as the figure of the goddess herself remains relatively similar in terms of subject matter and context, depictions of Venus from the ancient period through the Renaissance and into the more modern age demonstrate vastly different approaches to the concept of female perfection. Such differences are easy to see when comparing the ancient Capitoline Venus (second century BC) with the famous Renaissance painting of her in Botticelli's painting "Birth of Venus" (1485) and the Botero's contempora ry statue of her in the form of the "Broadgate Venus" (1989). The Capitoline Venus is a marble statue created during the Roman era, probably during the 2nd century BC. The statue presents a very lifelike woman as she shyly prepares to step into a bath. She folds into herself a little bit, which is different from many of the other statues of the time which stood boldly nude and upright. Most of her weight is carried on one foot with her hips and shoulders twisted a bit in a counterpose position. Her shoulders curve in toward her chest and her upper body seems to hover over her lower body, as if she is attempting to protect it from prying eyes. This impression is heightened by her arms which fold inward with an obvious attempt at covering her breasts and pubic area even though she doesn't actually touch her body. Her pose suggests modesty and chastity, both characteristics she protects (Guerber, 1990). However, she is not the vision of perfection one might imagine. â€Å"Her modesty in covering her breasts with her hand only serves to emphasize them, while her head turns shyly to one side. However, the beauty of her body is impaired by the too large head weighed down by the hair and the common facial features† (Morton, 1990, p. 366). The beauty of her body suggests her divine nature as something worthy of worship while her pose, particularly as compared to other statues of the time, suggests her function; however, the not-so-perfect head may also be a reflection of the Roman's understanding that their gods and goddesses were not perfect. They had their own flaws, petty jealousies, and other weaknesses. The way this statue is made thus reflects the cultural beliefs in which it was made. Goddesses might be divine and have a degree of perfection well beyond the ability of normal women, but they still had their modesty, they still moved like mortal women, and they still had their own small flaws that got in the way. The period between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance saw very little art celebrating goddesses of any kind, so it isn't until the Renaissance that Venus was able to reemerge into the art world. When she did, she did so in a big way. Understood broadly as the goddess of love, Venus was reborn in statues and paintings throughout Italy with perhaps one of the most famous portrayals performed by Botticelli. While she had appeared in other works before him, Boticelli made a splash with his â€Å"Birth of Venus† (1485). In this image, Venus is again portrayed in the nude as she had been in ancient art, which was breaking the rules of the time as only divinities (Jesus, Mary, and the saints) were accepted when depicted nude. He did draw a line, though, in determining

The Marketing Mix (4 P's) on Mercedes When Entering The China Market Essay

The Marketing Mix (4 P's) on Mercedes When Entering The China Market - Essay Example China is a member of the prestigious BRCIS organization which represents the five biggest emerging economies across the world. The purpose of this paper is to describe the marketing mix of the company with an emphasis on its social corporate responsibility efforts. The four Ps of the marketing mix are place, product, price, and promotion. The place the firm is evaluating for further product distribution is China. China is one of the best economic success stories of the past few decades. Its economy has been growing at an approximate rate of 9% during the past 30 years. The current gross domestic product per capita of China is $7,600 (CultureGrams, 2011). The People’s Republic of China is the most populated country in the world with an estimated population of 1.3 billion inhabitants. There is a fast growing middle class in China due to the rising economy of the country, especially in the larger mega industrialized cities such Beijing and Shanghai as well as up and coming cities where major manufacturing centers are located or are being developed. China is the world’s top exporter of goods and the Chinese economy continues to grow exponentially since it has become the hub of manufacturing in the world due to their low wages, lower material costs, an abundance of highly educated professionals, fully developed infrastructure in all the major industrialized cities, favorable governmental foreign investment policies, and lax environmental laws (Mudwig). The country is an excellent location to establish a manufacturing location due to the before mentioned factors, as well as having one of the strongest emerging economies and a fast growing middle class. The heavy industrialization of China led to growing concerns regarding pollution. The Chinese people, like many global citizens are starting to educate themselves more about the importance of safeguarding the environment and how their level of industrial growth has caused China to become one of the most p olluted countries in the world, with 20 of 30 most polluted cities in the world (Worldbank). Mercedes Benz has been importing its luxury vehicles in North-East Asia region since 1986. The Mercedes Benz brand has been building some of its vehicles in China since 2006 through Beijing Benz, a joint venture between Daimler Chrysler and Beiki who is the fifth largest automaker in China. Although Mercedes Benz sales of its luxury vehicles have grown tremendously during the last few years, with sales for 2011 exceeding the sales figures of 2010 within the first 10 months, by September 2011 sales have started to slow down compared with previous year sales (4-traders, 2011).The company is concerned that the level of sales growth that the company has achieved so far is starting to get affected by the global economic downturn. The Chinese economy is starting to feel the effect of decreased global demand for exported goods. The products that Mercedes Benz have been distributing and manufacturin g in China have been mainly its E-Class and C-Class models of its luxury auto line. Currently both the long wheelbase C and E-class luxury automobiles are built in the Beijing Benz plant through a joint venture. Mercedes Benz vehicles are highly regarded in the Chinese market and with one of the fastest growing middle classes in the world the company has enjoyed great sales growth for the last 5 years. Due to a faltering economy the company’

Nursing Care of People with Substance Related Disorder and Dual Case Study

Nursing Care of People with Substance Related Disorder and Dual Diagnosis - Case Study Example Initially he liked drinking with his friends but over past few years, his drinking has become quite escalated to the extent he is alcohol dependent in order to cope with daily cores. His convulsive consumption of alcohol is very pronounced, since he says that normally he takes a couple of beers in the morning and ends in the evening by consuming two or three bottles of wine and some mixers. Joe also appears to be very depressed and hopeless as he explained that he was feeling very low and regrets about having lost the only things that matters to him. Looking at his medical history, he appears to have lost considerable weight, which he explains by saying that he does not like eating, and he lacks appetite most of times due to nausea. It appears that Joe is in need of nursing care of people with substance related disorder and dual diagnosis. Dual diagnosis refers to the comorbid condition of a person who is suffering from a substance abuse problem and mental illness (Elder, Evans & Niz ette, 2009). High-risk alcohol consumption is not a problem that affects Joe alone, but it is prevalent in Australia, with about 3200 people dying as a result of excessive alcohol consumption and around 81000 people being hospitalized annually (Australian Government, 2011). Moreover, the Australian community incurred approximately $15.3 billion in 2004/05 from alcohol-related social problems (Australian House of Representatives, 2010). Assessment: Biopsychosocial assessment It involves interview or interviews combined with physical and psychological examinations that are aimed at gathering all the information related to physical, psychological, and social issues that may be affecting problems such as addiction, emotional and personality difficulties (Myers & Salt, 2007). Joe, in his late 20s, appeared to have all signs of a late stage alcoholic developing into alcohol withdrawal. He looked sweaty, eyes dilated and his hands were trembling badly. His blood/alcohol level was at that m oment low. His nose and cheeks were red with tiny spider veins and when asked to extend his hands out in front, they were very tremulous. He looked more of a featherweight person with a distended abdomen. He scored high on the CAGE assessment test and did not have other drug substances in his system. Mental health status assessment Mental health assessment helps a healthcare practitioner to get the overall picture of how well a patient feels emotionally and their ability to think, reason, and remember (Fabricius, Langa & Wilson, 2008). He appears to have a memory lapse, as he cannot remember people close to him - he kept confusing their names. His thinking was relatively slow, and the speech was somehow slurred. It was apparent that he had lost control of his drinking and now his drinking has escalated. He was confused and depressed by his situation. The divorce and custody of his child appear to have added hopelessness and misery to his predicament. For most of the time, he was fee ling guilty and worthless for losing interest in things that were important in his life. His sleeping habit is quite troubled since he has to take alcohol in order to sleep. Substance use history Substance use history helps a doctor to assess dual diagnosis patient history of how they have been abusing substances, for what given timeframe and

Corporate Social Responsibility and Climatic Change Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and Climatic Change - Essay Example The effects of climate change are disrupting business operations and transportation, for example, in the UK; high-sided vehicles are increasingly at risk of accidents from floods and gale force winds. Such disruptions have the effect of reducing customer demand and purchasing power (Dudek and Wiener 1996, Romm 1999), as products and services become less available due to erratic supply. These disruptions also restrict the ability of the business to grow, as the sales revenues will be insufficient to generate profit for investment purposes. Climate change therefore poses a risk to businesses, and the onus is on re-evaluating corporate social responsibility in a bid to gain efficiencies, and to reduce the businesses contribution to the climate change problem. Climate change is commonly associated with industrial factories churning out smoke from cooling towers, however, non-industrial organisations contribute to climate change through their carbon and greenhouse emissions generated by their operations and product/service lifecycle (Grubb 1989, Cantwell 1995, ICTSD 2005). Whilst this represents an element of change and uncertainty, climate change-focused corporate actions can have benefits for the organisation in the way of new products and new markets (Mendelsohn 2000, Richards 2001, Lawrence 2002, Jochem and Madlener 2003). Climate change strategies are also perceived as risky due to the large scale, renewable energy investments that are associated with reducing the carbon footprint (McCarthy et al 2001, Egenhofer et al 2004). For instance, if fossil fuels ran out, Shell, BP and other large fuel providers would have to invest large amounts in alternatives, which BP has started doing with its Autogas even though it is not widely availabl e. The transport industry also contributes to climate change and global warming through vehicle emissions and businesses in this sector are beginning to take notice, and accepting responsibility for the part they play. For instance, in September 2006, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group donated three billion dollars over ten years from his organisation to fund the development of low carbon energy sources such as wind turbines, cleaner aviation fuel and ethanol (BSR 2006). This demonstrates the levels of commitment expected from businesses, and Virgin have acknowledged their role especially as they run train services and flights that contribute to global warming. Corporate social responsibility in United States is now recognised as the fifth largest venture capital investment category after biotechnology, software, medical and telecommunications (CSM 2001, Raynard and Forstater 2002). The market for clean technology is set to expand and is already worth an estimated $40 billion (Raynard and Forstater 2002). This is not surprising considering that the United States is responsible for a significant proportion of global emissions. This is also representative of the increasing market and customer awareness of their environment, and businesses in this region are already capitalising on this. This also demonstrates that businesses are adopting strategies that are action and adaptation oriented to focus on the energy efficiency aspects and renewable energy sourcing (Burton 1996, Adger 2003, Hertin et al 2003, Berkhout et al

The Reality of the Truth Essay Example for Free

The Reality of the Truth Essay What exactly is the truth? Is it reality, sincerity, integrity? Is it accuracy and honesty? How can we tell the difference between the truth and lies? Why does the media have the power to decide for us what is true? As Oscar Wilde once said The truth is rarely pure and never simple. This statement sums up the difficulties of telling the truth, and this is furthermore shown in Rob Sitch et als Frontline, Lies by Michael Leunig and the poem Nothing to Report by May Herschel Clarke. The television show Frontline follows the day to day running of a current affairs show. It shows both on and off air aspects of what people involved with television go though on a daily basis. Mike Moore (Rob Sitch) plays the naive host of the show, who seems to think the whole world revolves around him. An example of this is when Emma sarcastically thanks him for helping with a story and he says Thats ok. Brian is the executive manager of the show and he ultimately decides what is shown on the show and what isnt. Brooke is another reporter who uses deception and manipulation to present the truth. Emma does work behind the scenes and often she should be credited, but the reporters need their ego maintained so she is never recognised for her hard work. Marty is another reporter who has been in the business for a long time, and although he knows about Frontline presenting the incorrect truth, he does nothing to stop them. Like all current affairs shows, the team at Frontline are concerned with gaining ratings every night, rather than telling the real truth to people. One example of this is during the episode Add sex and stir where Brooke interviews a woman booted off her sports team because she wasnt a lesbian. This in fact is not the truth because she was kicked off the team due to her poor form, not her sexuality. Viewers are then manipulated into thinking that the sport is a lesbian sport, and the reputations of the team and sport are ruined. Marty sums up this sensationalising of real truth in one quote, Ancient current affairs recipe my grandmother gave me, you take any story, add sex and stir (Marty, Add sex and stir) Dismissal of the real truth is another technique that the current affairs show Frontline uses to gain ratings. In the episode We aint got dames, Mike wishes to do a story on illegal sweatshops, but Brian dismisses it as being too heavy for the viewers. After much persuasion, Mike thinks he has convinced Brian to show his story (because his ego has finally been satisfied), but the story ends up being a fashion show, totally insulting any work that Mike has done. Although this story did attract more viewers than the sweatshop story would have, it only promotes the fact that viewers lack in knowledge about the real current issues, and they need to show pretty people with bright lights to get their attention. There are many techniques used in Frontline which expose the manipulation that current affairs shows go through to gain ratings. Irony is shown in the episode The siege, where Brooke asks Mrs. Forbes to sign a contract so only frontline can report her story because, Some shows are very unscrupulous (Brooke, The Seige) Brooke says not to give the story to other stations because they might twist her story around to bring out a point she wasnt making, but the irony was that their show was doing exactly that. Use of a handheld camera behind the scenes of the current affairs show can bring out the truth behind the lies, what we see on television may not be true in real life. This applies to Mike in the episode Add sex and stir where he is on Burkes Backyard. He is asked questions about current affairs and does not know how to answer them, then tries to defend himself by asking Burke about plants but he knows everything about them. Although he is shown as an intelligent and well presented man on television, in real life he doesnt know anything. This is also seen when Mike takes part in an ABC debate, but during his introduction all of his material is said and Mike doesnt have anything good to say, which shows that he is not a good speaker in person as he is behind the desk. There is also use of verisimilitude in the show Frontline, with many real media personalities being on the show to make it seem more realistic in telling the truth. Examples of these celebrities are Harry M Miller, Cheryl Kernot, and Bert Newton. The cartoon Lies by Michael Leunig also exposes that the media manipulates and distorts the truth, so it really is presented to us as a lie or the untruth. The cartoon shows people living in their world, but everything has the label lies on it. The billboard which says lies shows that many companies engage in deceptive advertising, and although they arent supposed to do that, they still convince people to buying their products. The newspaper titled lies shows that journalists write from their own perspective and can distort the truth to suit their opinions. The person wearing the lies shirt shows that behind brand name corporations there are lies. An example of this is making clothing in sweatshops then selling it for triple the price of what its really worth (like Nike shoes) and people are paying top dollar just to wear a symbol, which supposedly brings them into an elite group of people, but really they are just lying to themselves. The point Michael Leunig is trying to make is enforced through the main technique of repetition. The word lies is seen 11 times in the comic, and it is the only word on the cartoon. If lies was only mentioned once, many people would not take notice of it, but since it is printed on the billboard, buildings, truck, newspaper, shirt and drink, it shows that lies are everywhere and it really is a big issue. Like the television series Frontline, this cartoon exposes that the world we live in is full of lies and deception, and the media controls what we see and listen to. It is their opinion what we believe, and many people, rather than refuting what is being presented to them in the media, just believe it and keep going with their lives. The poem Nothing to Report by May Herschel Clarke is written during the war times (1940s). During this time, leaders of the country were trying to convince people to fight overseas as a soldier, with hope of coming back as a brave hero. For this heroic image to come to light, anything negative about death in the war would have to be shielded from the people, or else they wouldnt enlist. Ms Clarkes poem targets this issue, talking about how easily death can come, One minute we was laughin next he lays beside me, grinnin dead. After the death, the papers had nothing to report; therefore they were with holding the truth from people. May Herschel Clarke couldnt possibly have been the only one with a death not reported, but no one else seemed to be doing anything about it, because the media has always been very powerful. The poem is written in colloquial language, which could reflect on her education, upbringing or location. This could also be written in that style to follow a rhyming sequence. The last line is a metaphor which shows that the paper is such an effective form of communication, it might as well be a person. Theres nothin to report the papers said This text is very similar to the television series Frontline, in trying to expose the media in its with holding and distortion of the truth. Another example in frontline of withholding the truth is during the episode This night of nights where Mike wishes to do a story about Telecom tapping into phone conversations, but seeing as they are a major sponsor of the television show, frontline cant expose the truth, and give Mike a mobile phone to help him forget about it. If this truth was exposed, telecom would have received many complaints and much abuse, but they would have deserved it. Instead there are still people at home not suspecting a thing. In the end Mike is disadvantaged from not pursuing the story because they listen to his phone conversation about being caught drink driving, and expose him in the newspapers. In the poem Nothing to report, the last line sums up that the media does with hold information and it shouldnt be their right to decide what we see or dont see. Telling the truth is a hard concept to deal with. From the texts Frontline (Rob Sitch et. al. ), Lies by Michael Leunig and Nothing to Report by May. Herschel Clarke we can see that the media does control what we see and believe, but it isnt necessarily the truth. Why does the media have the power to decide what is true? Well if they presented us the facts and let us decide for ourselves, they wouldnt have ratings. We are surrounded by the media (as seen in lies) and it is hard for us to ignore it all. The truth is rarely pure and never simple, in listening to the truth there is always some form of bias, but we must leave it to ourselves to find out many versions of the so called truth and decide for ourselves what we believe.

The Human Microbiome Project

The Human Microbiome Project Microorganisms are important for animal and plant life, their presence in the surroundings is essential for survival of all life forms. This importance can be proved by the large number of prokaryotes in human body, mainly bacteria, it was found that there are ten time more bacteria than human cells. Normal flora describe the microbes that colonize human body, during birth and after, and remain for life. Microbes of normal flora are found in many body sites, such as moist skin, gastrointestinal tract, mouth, respiratory tract, urinary tract, and vagina, but other important human organs, such as lungs, brain, and heart are free from microbial flora. Number of microorganisms living in skin is small compared to other sites, because skin medium is dry, and contain dead cells, with slight low pH. The human respiratory tract, mainly nose, is colonized by Staphylococcus aureus , which is main cause of surgical wound infection. The mouth contains biofilms of Streptococcus mutans, which are p resent as plaque on teeth surface. Similar to the skin, and unlike small intestine, not many microbes live in the stomach, because of the gastric acid, Helicobacter pylori is an example of stomach bacteria. Human microbial flora are important to the human, staphylococci and propionibacteria, release fatty acids to prevent growth of skin fungi, bacteria in respiratory tract can cause infections when epithelium of respiratory tract get damage. Vaginal flora, mainly lactobacillus protect host, as women with low lactobacillus levels taking antibiotics to treat infection develop other infections. Human flora also benefit the host, they colonize body sites, making it difficult for external microbes to colonize and infect, they also help in vitamin production, and cause small antibody release , which help in immunity. Oral microflora produce substances as fatty acid, peroxides to protect from external microbes, and also cause disease such as gingivitis, and dental plaque. Normal flora spread from site to another can cause deadly infections, as from wound. Bacteroides of the gastrointestinal tract produced substances that are carcinogens, and can cause cancer for colon. Human Microbiome Project (HMP) Researchers found, usually that everybody carries huge number of pathogens, and microorganisms as possible to cause diseases. While most of these microorganisms coexist with the host body (healthy individuals) and remnant of the human microbiome without any diseas and living with each other in the human body, which are play important vital role in human health. Researchers sampled of healthy volunteers in USA had included total samples was from 15 body sites in men, while in women was 18 body sites, from each volunteer was collected three samples at different body sites. Collect the samples from a total of 18 body sites, in 5 major body areas, in males were sampled from the skin, mouth (oral cavity), nose, two sites behind each ear and each area inner elbow, lower part of gastrointestinal tract(stool), and tinal tract regions. On the other hand, in females additionally sampled from three vaginal sites, as following: nine sites in the oral cavity with saliva, four sites on the skin, three sites in the vagina, a pooled sample of the anterior nares (airway), and one sample of stool. In late 2007 with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap for biomedical research community, represent important issues that affect human health in general, launched the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), which focuses on describing the different types of microbial which are associated with human health and disease. Human Microbiome Project is to study the microbes which are living in and on the human body and included catalogue the genetic identity and characterize of many organisms such as bacteria, viruses and live in intimate contact with human body. The Human Microbiome Project is became able to uncover microbes and the National Institutes of Health launched the results of the five-year project. Also, has been developed metagenomic protocols through generation a population-scale framework to produce metagenomic data and large group of quality-controlled resources, during standardized methods. Have been isolated around 800 reference strains from human body sequences. Although, these data are biggest resource to develop of current and future studies and represent a diversity of the human microbiome. Since launch HMP in late 2007, HMP has received $153 million from Common Fund of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $20 million an additional. The main goals of this project are: This project is to prove if there is a shared core microbiome between different groups of people and in and on the different sites of the human body, also to studying different medical conditions  and explain whether there are a correlations between changes in microbiome and disease. To take benefit of recent technologies by studying samples from different sites of the human body to characterize the human microbiome, to provide new technological approaches from a standardized data resources, and HMP is working to manipulation of the human microbiome to improve human health. In addition, Human Microbiome Project provided contribution important to develop new fields in the technological and bioinformatic tools, through five year effort. The first stage of this initiative was included the sequencing of many hundreds of microbial reference genomes which isolated from human body sites. This information acquired from the reference genomes can help to functional annotation and classification of 16S rRNA from microbiome samples. In human body microbial partners carry out a several of metabolic reactions which are important for human health, still are not encoded in the human genome. Although, the large number of microbial kinds existent in the body did not isolated, because, the inability in the lab to reproduce suitable growth conditions for microbial. Therefore there are huge number of microbial are still undetectable. It is important the study of microbial communities directly from their natural habitats by benefit of advances in sequencing technology. The HMP is working to characterize the human microbiome communities by using different complementary analyses included: 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), metagenomic sequencing and whole-genome shotgun (WGS), which focused on examination of the intestine microbiome through the use of WGS data. The metagenome is includes the collective genomes of the human microbial flora. Generating a huge amounts of data from the sequencing and analyzes of reference genomes about the complexity of the human microbiome which are isolate from different sites of the human body and providing more information about human health and disease. 16S and wgs sequencing occurred in a four stages are: containing of a mock data pilot stage, a clinical pilot stage, in July 2010 stage 1 completed and clinical stage 2 currently in progress. Has been funded Fifteen demonstration projects to explain the nature of relationship between the microbiome, health and disease. It is known that the human microbiome is consists of the genes and genomes of the microbiota which resident throughout human body. The Human Microbiome Project resources, includes the following: 600 microbial reference genomes, 700 metagenomes, 60 million predicted genes, and 70 million 16S sequences from healthy adult microbiomes. The human microbiome including of microbial genes, genomes, and gene products of the microbiota which interact with the human body host to prime immunity and in same time to maintain host health. Also, the microbiome is contribute to maintenance and development of the immune system. The HMP is surveying the microbiomes pass the bodies of a group of healthy adults to produce data groups of microbiomes, to developing of reference strains by a classification of microbial genome sequences, and evaluating the properties of microbiomes which associated with specific skin diseases, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital. Recently, has been developed three programs in technology are: the ethical, legal implications, and computational tools to support this field (microbiome research). In addition, there are four projects listed under the HMP program, depending on the four data sets produced, including: data sets produced in individual demonstration project activities; targeted 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences; reference strain microbial genome sequences; and whole-genome shotgun metagenomic sequences. Whereas, the second major resource of the HMP is include five major areas of the human body (healthy adults) are: skin, mouth, nose, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina. In spite of, in the early years at birth, the generating of the microbiome, occurs through interact between the diet, maturing immune system and microbial communities. (Koenig et al., 2011) (Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010) . Difficult to understand what is happening through interactions between the microbiome function, early microbiome events and changes during the stages of life, such as using antibiotics possible to be predisposing factor to allergies later in life (Bisgaard et al., 2011). Also, because microbiome disorders might occur in childhood can lead to many diseases such as asthma, and type 1 diabetes. Each site of the body contains a unique microbiome important to maintain for the host health, for example the gastrointestinal microbiome which directly interacts with the immune system of the host (Round and Mazmanian, 2009). In addition to many functions as energy supply for host cells and digestion of food. The microbiome acquired be through anew each generation but it is not inherited. Currently, a lot of international efforts focused on enhance the understanding of the complexity of the human microbiome and determining the multiple pathological mechanisms for explore in human health and disease. The International Human Microbiome Consortium (IMHC) is open to support most research programs of human microbiome, the aim of the IMHC is the collection of information and understanding how the human microbiome is working to maintenance of human health and occurrence of diseases, for the purpose of illustrate that the relationship between the human microbiome, human health and disease. Also, other goals are in- depth study in the complexity of the microbiome in health and disease in general, make a full analysis of the human microbiome about human health and/or disease, creating the novel diagnostic tools of the disease and development of new methods to prevent and treat diseases and therapeutic interventions. In addition, that future researches aims to detect and to look for the important role of metagenomic analyses to defining DNA sequences and help to detected human infections because of the complexity of the human microbiome.