Monday, September 30, 2019

Letter of Intent for a Language Program

Greetings! I am a freshman international student and would like to apply for the offered Paris Summer Program for the main intent of obtaining purposive and applied education on the French language. I have fulfilled the necessary prerequisites for the aforementioned course—French 205 (â€Å"A†) —and is currently taking up French 206. Additionally, I have passed DALF test, a French language proficiency test administered by the government of France. You will also find that I am well versed in the following languages— French, Spanish, Bulgarian and English— and has a good standing in academics with 3 A’s and a B+ in my previous semester. The Paris Summer Program would enable me to upgrade my French linguistic level and at the same time, absorb and understand better the intricate French culture. Such advanced linguistic skills are necessary prelude to my preparation for a future career in international diplomacy, more specifically as country representative at the European Council.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Requisites of the career include units in International Studies and Political Science Program and such program require advanced linguistic skills and exposure abroad. Aside from scholastic considerations, my interest in the program lies on experiential learning on French culture—- history, arts literature and music— and language integration. Hoping for your consideration regarding my application. Thank you very much.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Which the Design Argument Provides Evidence for the God?

June 2011: Examine the ways in which the design argument provides evidence for the existence God? A famous philosopher Kant commented on the proof of the design argument which shows the existence of God stating â€Å"This proof always deserves to be mentioned with respect. It is the oldest, the clearest and most accordant with the common reason of mankind. This was mentioned in his book the Critique of Pure reason. The argument that I am going to put forward and the proofs I am going to provide is the teleological argument.The word teleological comes from the Greek word telos which means end or purpose and logical which means the study of therefore this is the study of the purpose. The teleological argument is an inductive argument therefore proofs are based on premises which means they are drawn from experience and the conclusion is not logically necessary. Aquinas is a very important philosopher in the design argument. In his famous work â€Å"summa theological† Aquinas had his five ways in which he is most remembered for. In the design argument we are most concerned with the final way which is that God is the divine designer of everything.Here Aquinas suggests that non intelligent material requires an intelligent being behind it to make it beneficial. Aquinas used the example of an arrow and a archer; he stated that for an arrow to reach its destination it must be directed by the archer which is the intelligent being therefore applying this to the universe for us to reach are destination and purpose in the universe there must be a higher intelligent being before us which is directing us. Aquinas stated natural bodies seem to act in a regular way to reach some sort of final purpose; this shows Aquinas using science to back up the views of God in the Bible.Also Aquinas argued for design qua regularity; he saw the overall regularity in the world as proof for a designer God. William Paley another famous philosopher mainly known for his Watch Analogy took Aquinas’s ideas further and formed his own version of the teleological argument. Paley compares the world to a machine and sees it made up of all intricate parts which work together for an end result. He saw all the small adaptations in the nature and for him these were proofs of a designing intelligence.An example of the small intricacies in the nature is the water cycle and how it all works together. The watch serves an analogy which demonstrates purpose and telos. All evidence would show that the watch had been designed for a purpose, design and designed with the necessary regularity to meet its purpose. He said every design requires a designer and that all designs have an end function. Paley claimed that in the same way as the watch and other machine’s the universe was full of small intricacies that could not have come about by chance.Paley used the example of the eye. The way the eye is so complexly designed there is no way it could have all come about by chance moreover science till date is unable to create a replica of the eye. Also Paley was fascinated by the solar system and the rotation of the planets. He saw the evidence of a divine hand at work in the universe. F. R. Tennant a philosopher of the 1930’s elaborated on the teleological arguments with his anthropic principle. This principle basically is saying that the world is revolving around human kind.Tennant believed the best evidence of design could be seen in the way the universe supports intelligent life. An example of this would be how the trees release oxygen which supports us humans to live and without oxygen we wouldn’t be alive. This is an astonishing proof of design and existence of God. Also another example of Tennant’s anthropic principle which shows that the world is designed around us human beings is that the sun is placed in the perfect distance. Tennant developed his anthropic principle to add the aesthetic argument in this Tennant argued against Darwin’s Theory of evolution.He said that the theory of evolution cannot explain why humans have feelings as they are not necessary for survival also natural selection cannot account for the existence for the feelings of appreciation etc. Tennant believed that the capacity for joy was putt in us by our designer which is God. Richard Swinburne accepts the anthropic principle. Swinburne believes that the earth is so finely tuned that there is no other explanation other than a designer God. He believes that science explains how the things in the world are so finely tuned in the world and that the Bible explains why.Swinburne believe that we should understand the existence of scientific laws in terms of a purpose which has been put in place for the. The purpose can be best explained by an omnipotent being. Due to the design argument being an a posteriori argument it strengthens the argument as we can see the complexities with our naked eye. However due to it being inductive meani ng based on experiences people interpret the experiences differently moreover it can negatively be argued that the designer or creator does not have to be God and that the jump to conclusion of god is too big†¦

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Women

Women have a significant importance in the society. They play the fundamental role in the improvement of a nation. In many societies, the place of women has been discussed for numerous times. Each society placed the women in their society variously. Their view of women had shaped according to their style of living, culture, laws, and religion. Even in the modern era, the place of the women is still not clear. It can be seen the level of development of a civilization by looking how women are positioned in that civilization. Although women sometimes lived in a state of liberty, they mainly have limited life. Almost every emerging civilization had set limits on women's freedom of expression and travel. Unfortunately, in much of human history, women had treated as they were the second-class citizen and women were expected to be submissive. Mostly, they were depended on their husbands or fathers. To give an example, in Ancient Greece, women did not have many rights. Women were not permitted to become a citizen of the Athenian city-state. Since they were not able to own their property, they were not able to hold full citizenship rights. Women actually had fewer rights than slaves because they were never allowed their own freedoms (GreekBoston.com). Also, Emory Adams Allen stated that Athenian women were always minors, subject to some male- to their father, to their brother, or to some of their male kin (444). There was even this saying in Ancient Greece time †The best woman is the one who never speaks† (Berktay 106) As a matter of fact, many examples can be given from history such as Romans, Ancient Egypt etc. Though, the point is that the women in many societies somehow suffered enough. Surely, the suffering of women is not only belonging to the past. Still, women are exposed to verbal abuse, violence, they are forcing into the marriage etc. It needs to point out that there is not only one homogenous and unchangeable woman concept. However, all the women regardless of their race, status, and religion had faced inequality at some point in their lives.The way women are perceived in societies has many factors. One of the greatest factors can be their culture. Since the roles and activities of men are determined by the cultural systems in the societies, the effect of the cultural factor is essential. Culture cannot be defined as a single concept. It covers many aspects such as the style of living, manners, customs, arts, values, morals etc. As anticipated, culture can differ from society to another one. For instance, Turks and Arabs are often confused to have a same cultural system just because they share the same religion. However, those cultural differences were even before the Islam. In pre-Islamic Arab culture, when someone has a daughter as a firstborn, it would be a shame for them. On the contrary for Turks, there were people who wanted Oghuz Lord's prayers to have a daughter (Gà ¶kalp 26). On the other hand, even after Turks' acceptance of Islam, there were great differences between Arabs and Turks such as the monogamy. Arabs have a polygamy culture rather than the monogamy. For this reason, even though both nations are sharing the same religion, the disparities can be seen effortlessly. After touching upon the effect of the culture briefly, now it should be mention another massive effect of perceiving the women, and that is the religion. This paper is an attempt to discuss how women perceived in Christianity and Islam.Before discussing the place of women in Christianity, it is essential to know about the main concept of the human beings in this religion. ‘How human beings are portrayed in Christianity?' The man is considered to be sinful and filthy. Therefore, when an infant comes into the world, (s)he will be baptized to purified from sins and filths. The reason for baptism is to get rid of the original sin which was Adam's and Eve's disobedience to God for eating a forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. It needs to point out that, according to Bible, Adam committed the sin because of Eve tempted him. Eve is portrayed as a seductive woman. Furthermore, Eve is considered to be the first human who fell into sin. As if she is the initiator of all the evilness. Eve is also responsible for the original sin because she tempted Adam. For this reason, women had linked with evil concepts such as wickedness, sin, and seductiveness. The view of women in Christianity has few problems. Church fathers, theologians, and authors have interpreted the bible to the extreme forms to create a widespread feminist literature. (Berktay 105) To give an example, Saint Augustinus, who preoccupied with an incomprehensible mystery of why God created the woman, states that a woman cannot be created only to be a companion for a man. Moreover, a woman simply cannot be created for helping a man because a man can perform this task better. Hence, Augustinus comes to the conclusion that woman has no value aside from child-bringing (Brundage 85). Another North African Christian theologian Tertullianus, who was an extreme misogynist, declared as: You are the gate of hell woman! You are the first to oppose the law of God; you deceived such a man that even the devil would not dare come close to him. You easily ruined the man who was created in the image of God. Because of your blame, even the son of God must die! (Ruther 157). The Christian Bible consists of two main parts, the first part is the Old Testament and the second part is the New Testament. Old testament almost has the same content in Tanakh which is the holy scripture of Jews. However, Tanakh is called Old Testament by Christians and they interpret Tanakh differently. The woman in Old Testament begins with Genesis 2:18 † The Lord God said, â€Å"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.† It can say that loneliness is not good for the man so that God created a helper for the man, and the helper was Eve. The word of the man refers to Adam. Suitable partner that is in the verse can be defined as a fitting partner for a man. Being partner is also relative to marriage. Afterwards, Eve's creation is mentioned in Genesis 2:21-22 † So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.† According to David Guzik, who is a pastor, God used Adam's own body to create Eve to forever remind him of their essential oneness. Eve and Adam made from same substance. They are more alike than they are different (Guzik). The creation of the human race started in Adam. In Genesis 3:16 † To the woman He said, â€Å"I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.† This verse is the God's curse and punishment upon the woman. The Women were cursed with the severe pain. A woman has to be under the authority of a man, and a wife has to be under the authority of a husband. Man is to lead woman. A woman should be submissive and she must let him to rule over her. Genesis 19 is about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, the man who offers his two daughters to the men to rape them instead of two angles that comes to the Sodom is ultimately dreadful. †Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him. and said, â€Å"No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.† (Genesis 19:6-8). The low place of women is can be seen easily in these verses, Lot is willing to prostitute his two daughters. In Exodus 21:7-11 And if a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. If she please not her master who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed. To sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. And if he has betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. If he takes for himself another wife, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish. And if he does not do these three unto her, then shall she go out free, without money. During the ancient times, slavery was very common for both man and woman. However, when other male servants had right to walk out, female servants had no right to. As in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and the Collages book states that the reason for the different treatment of female slaves is to be found in the fact that a female slave was as a rule her master's concubine (Perowne). These verses refer that it was alright to trade women and female slaves, and undesirable female slaves can be released without money. In addition to that, polygamy was allowed.The distinction between having a male child and female child and it is consequences can be seen in Leviticus 12:1-5: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, â€Å"Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days. † These verses are about the ritual impurity after the child-bringing. After a male child comes into the world and circumcised on the eighth day, the woman will be unclean until the eighth day. As David Guzik's commentary on the main understanding of this ceremony is to understand the idea of original sin. Every birth another sinner was brought into the world, and the woman was here symbolically responsible for bringing a new sinner into the world. (Guzik). Moreover, as it seen the period of impurities is increased when having a female child, and the reason for this can be a female child will also give birth a sinner in the future. Leviticus 21:9 states that † And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the whore, she profanity her father: she shall be burnt with fire.† Since the daughter of a priest represents the religion she needs to be careful about her behaviors and she has the responsibility of being a daughter of a priest. Therefore, they need to follow the religion accordingly. However, this verse states that if she dishonors of herself the consequences would be punished fiercely with burning. It is a massive punishment. It needs to emphasize that Why only the daughters of a priest are responsible to follow the religion properly and they are punished when they dishonor themselves but no sons? The sons of a priest are not even mentioned. The way the widows and divorced women were perceived in the Old Testament was not that positive. To give an example, in Ezekiel 44:22 † They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.† It is obvious that the priests were not allowed to marry a divorced woman or widows except a priest's divorced wife. Discrimination against divorced women and widows can be observed through this verse.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Evaluation Report on Oil & Gas Producing nations Essay

Evaluation Report on Oil & Gas Producing nations - Essay Example The trade policies help in enhancing trades for the benefit of economies. Oil and gas industry mainly ties up with the government for the development with the help of monetary and fiscal policies (Mitchell & et. al., 2012). The objectives of Oil and Gas industry is to expand and enhance security of energy and economic, re-distribution of wealth, economic development, which can be achieved by applying the policies of government of Oil or Gas producing nation. With the help of political influence, the government of the Oil or Gas producing nation indulges into commercial practices for increasing the revenues of the nation as well as the economies of scale. For improvement of the Oil or Gas producing nation the government should take the advice of the outsiders for greater expansion (Petroleum Council, 2013). Government are taking relevant advices from the outsiders to seek advice regarding the policies that are implemented by nation. The government implements various taxes and with the help of the advisers, assistance is taken regarding its applicability. The advice from the outsiders can help the government to obtain the new idea as well as strategy of the outsiders and obtain the knowledge of the new technology along with policies relevant. The new idea along with new technology can be beneficial for the economic development of Oil or Gas producing nation. Exploration and development investment is an important concept for the industry and thus considering outsiders view to a certain extent might prove to be effective in this context. Advice from the outsiders can also be helpful for the Oil or Gas producing nation for developing innovative new ideas by incorporating the same for a better market position in the global market based on the trade policies and tax system (European Communities, 2008). With the advice from outsiders, the government of Oil or Gas producing nation can obtain knowledge

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Theme of Clothing in Shakespeare's Cymbeline Essay

The Theme of Clothing in Shakespeare's Cymbeline - Essay Example After putting on Posthumus’ clothes in a futile attempt to lure his wife, Cloten declares â€Å"How fit his garments serve me! Why should his mistress, who was made by him that made the tailor, not be fit to?† (4.1 1-4), he underlines the importance of one of Shakespeare’s primary themes in Cymbeline: clothing.Cloten’s continuous comparison of the tailor to a creator, most likely a rude joke about Posthumus, points to the complexity ingrained in Shakespeare’s portrayal of clothing, disguise, and costume. Out rightly, the demureness of the play is founded on several fronts. In some cases it can be found within the language used by the characters, bringing out the significance of clothing to symbolize status. In other cases, such as is the case with Imogen’s anger towards Clotenor Posthumus’s changing commitments on the battle front, a character’s dress outwardly displays the characters personalities and manipulates their actions. At points in the play, misleading masquerades move characters to rage and violence.Examples of this are Posthumus’s decision to have Imogen murdered and Cloten’s plan to rape Imogen, in other instances it allows them to see things more clearly as is the case with the battle episodes. The changing of clothes socially derogates characters and moves them towards improved self-awareness and self-fulfillment, most importantly, disguise appears as a not so shrouding cloak that, while concealing the identity of the characters, fails to mask their actual natures. Clothing and disguise function as a way for the characters to conceal and simultaneously reveal themselves to the audience. The frequency of language pertaining to garments is an obviousindication of the significance that clothing has in illustrating the themes of the play. Even before the introduction of disguises, Imogen ridicules Cloten with statements and metaphors relating to clothing. After Cloten intently seek s audience with Imogen by banging on her door, and consequently referring to himself as a gentleman, a Lady declares â€Å"That’s more/Than some whose tailors are as dear as yours Can justly boast of† (2.3 77-79). This part of the play illustrates the uselessness of Cloten’s character, this is quite apparent from the mockery he receives from the servant of Imogen’s court. By deriding his garb, the woman servant challenges Cloten’s ego and his hard held sense of entitlement. Cloten’s response is as scathing, and he chooses to further the clothing debate by drawing a comparison between dress and character, referring to Posthumus as â€Å"A hilding for a livery, a squire’s cloth/A pantler-not so eminent â€Å" (1. 120-121).Cloten, who is widely seen and referred to as an idiot, shows he is not without wit and possesses some skill in rhetoric, if not virtue, by redirecting the servant woman’s debate and continuing to make a point on Posthumus’ apparent insufficiency for the future throne. Imogen, however, seems to close this debate by furthering the metaphorical comparison on garments to include an abstract example, she holds that Posthumus’ â€Å"Meanest garment†¦is dearer in my respect than all the hairs above thee† (2.3 133-135). In conclusion, Imogen alters the discussion of clothing to oust Cloten. At the end of the scene, it becomes apparent that

Week 4 posts 6330 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 posts 6330 - Assignment Example I would like to thank you for the informative post regarding Basic Nursing Care Skills in the ADN course is beneficial to the students’ opportunity to exercise their nursing skills effectively. I support the best practice in this quote, â€Å"The syllabus is well organized with effective headers and tables with the ease of readability which can promote understanding among learners (Slattery & Carlson, 2005)†. The improvement needed in this syllabus is that it requires measureable goals and clear objectives. Your critique on the syllabus for the nurse residency program at a community hospital located in Southwest Florida was quite good in that it provides nurse graduates with no experience, the acute care setting. I support the following quote, â€Å"If the student can achieve the objectives set forth in the course, then there us alignment with the course outcome. This syllabus is beneficial in that it helps learners set high, but achievable goals (Slattery and Carlson, 2005).† The major improvement this syllabus needs is more supervision; this is beneficial since the graduates need mentoring. The post related to the Wound Care Programme is mainly about preparing the nurse in practice many ways of management of wounds was very informative. I would like to support your view on†, one way this syllabus illustrates best practices is with very clear and concise objectives.† A listing of resources helps the students plan ahead; both the actions are good ways of learner engagement (Habanek, 2005). One way to improve this syllabus is by creating a list of meeting dates and expected assignments. This assists the learner take responsibility for their learning and anticipates the course development (Habanek, 2005). Rowles, C. (2012). Strategies to promote critical thinking and active learning, In D. Billings & J. Halstead (Eds.), Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO:

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Analysis of breastfeeding ad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of breastfeeding ad - Essay Example People may find the image controversial, thrilling or some may even judge it as obscene because of the showing of the nipples but it cannot be denied that it only reflects the reality that babies really suck nipples to be fed. If this image will be judged as obscene, its creator can readily defend themselves that they are only portraying a reality. The ad may be controversial but it cannot be readily dismissed as garbage because it was created by a reputable ad agency. It meant that the people who created the ad were professionals and knows what they are doing. The reputation of the advertising agency who created it made the ad credible and served as the ethos. Initially, people may want to dismiss the ad as something obscene or improper but when they realize that it was actually created by a professional and global advertising agency, they would tend to analyze and reconsider their opinion and look the ad closely. Had this image been created by a nobody, it would have dismissed as d isrespectful and obscene. But it received a different treatment when it was made by an advertising agency that breastfed advocated even lauded the ad. The advertisement becomes very powerful because the image used the rhetorical tools of pathos, ethos, and logos effectively. The image of the baby sucking his or her mother’s nipple is very emotional. It is also logical because that is how really babies are fed. It is also credible because it is made by a reputable advertising agency. The ad is so powerful that it stirred controversy.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Management and Leadership Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management and Leadership Paper - Essay Example For instance, both leaders as well as managers are responsible for achieving similar organizational goals – that of steering the organization towards profitable goals; their tasks involve working in groups and managing people; along with other similar shared traits and responsibilities. According to Richard Daft, "leadership cannot replace management but rather is something that is to be practiced in addition to management" (in Prussakov, 2011). Warren Bennis, has listed various key differences between leadership and management which are discussed below: Managers are responsible for handling the day to day administration of the organization while leaders on the other hand are required to ‘lead’ through ‘innovation’. The management team at Nike is focused on innovation and creativity as a part of their strategic policies with a view to retain their competitive positioning in the market and retain their dominance. Hence, while the managers are entrusted with the responsibilities of handling the routine operations the leaders on the other hand, constantly seek to develop new ways to create and innovate their products. For instance, recently Nike developed a new app which uses the iPhone's GPS and mapping capabilities to track the performance of the athletes / runners. Furthermore, the app is moderately priced and connected directly to the company's website which helps the runners / users to share their running routes as well as time with everyone and post their results directly to popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook (NY times, 2010). The managers maintain stability while the leaders initiate change. The manager's task is to maintain and sustain the competitive positioning of the organization while the leader is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and expanding the organization. For instance as observed in the case of Nike, during its initial days, the company experienced rapid growth and began t o be known as a leading and fashionable sports brand during the 1990s. However by the end of the 1990s the growth began to stagnate, with the entry of new players in the market such as Adidas and Reebok along with several other smaller brands. One of the key marketing problems faced by Nike during these times was that the company had begun to lose its brand image, as fashionable footwear for teens, as older people increasingly began sporting Nike gear (i.e. clothing as well as footwear) (Porter et al., 2005). The managers, in this case were responsible to ensure that the company achieves its profit targets and maintains its stability however, the leaders on the other hand, were required to innovate and change the brand image to achieve its long term goals – that of long term sustainability in the market. Hence, as a result, the management at Nike changed its marketing strategy and targeted a younger market segment –the Californian teenager, to revamp its brand image. T he manager encourages and enhances the efficiency of the employees and groups while the leader

Monday, September 23, 2019

Going Paperless Through the Juvenile Offender Tracking System Essay

Going Paperless Through the Juvenile Offender Tracking System - Essay Example Although there has been a decrease of juvenile offenders in the Harris County (Harris County, 2010), there is still a need of keeping the records and tracing juvenile offenders; though there are only a few of them left, the community’s safety should not be risked. The Juvenile Offender Tracking System (JOTS) is the technology used by the Harris Country Juvenile Records Department in keeping track of the youth offenders in their jurisdiction. According to a report by the Justice Information Management System in Harris County (2002), the said technology is used to track misdemeanor by juvenile offenders and keep records of their acts since the first of January 1996. JOTS tracks, specifically, those whose age is â€Å"older than 9 and less than 17.† Texas is not the only state that uses technology as a way to keep an eye of their records. Internet has surely embraced by the justice system.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Once You Open Your Eyes Essay Example for Free

Once You Open Your Eyes Essay When a human being is a victim, they need to have courage and follow their ways, no matter what others say. Jem and Scout see people become victims of prejudice, rumors, poverty, and other atrocities in their own little town, as they grew older. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the children learn life lessons from witnessing people striving to survive different situations within Maycomb. When a challenge causes one to struggle, the children see that person, or themselves, have to have courage to do as they have before. Jem and Scout see their small town judge the Radleys, but the Radleys still do what they have done for as long as any single person can remember. They never talk to their neighbors or open their doors and windows on Sunday. Since they have odd habits, from other’s perspectives, and keep to themselves, citizens of Maycomb start rumors about them, saying â€Å"Radley pecans [will] kill you† (Lee 9). These rumors criticized the Radleys and made people afraid of them. Calpunia had something to say about them, stating one day that Mr. Radley was â€Å"the meanest man God ever blew breath into† (Lee 12). Since he was â€Å"mean,† that held more rumors to be made about them. The stories make children believe Boo was locked up in a damp basement in the courthouse for years and is now chained up in his house. The Radleys stay the way they are; despite the rumors, remaining removed from human contact. The Radleys are victims of misunderstanding and people’s cruel stories â€Å"unwilling to discard their initial suspicions† (Lee 9). Jem and Scout witness the Radleys to stick to their ways since they go against the crowd, despite society’s wants. The Finch children begin to notice many children’s families are victims of poverty, especially the Cunninghams, but the Cunninghams are different; they never take charity or have to depend on others. The Cunninghams are one of the poorest families in Maycomb, but they have the strongest determination to survive; and are the hardest workers. They have a great deal of pride and are respectable people. â€Å"‘The Cunninghams never [take] anything from anybody, they get along with what they have,’ † states Scout (Lee 20). Walter Cunningham would not even take a quarter of a dollar to buy a lunch because of how he was raised. The Finch children realize the Cunninghams are a brave family to live under their circumstances and not accept anyone else’s charity. If one does not accept others’ charity, they suffer more and do not always know when they are receiving their next paycheck. It is scary to not know these things, but the Cunninghams are proud and brave when to not accept the offerings of other people. The Finch children understand this from listening to Atticus talk about the Cunningham family. Tom Robinson suffered because of people and their prejudice beliefs. He also suffers from others misdeeds and died as innocent as a mockingbird. Jem becomes a victim when Tom Robinson was found guilty. He realizes the court does not always work. Jem became a victim of the system’s flaws and shortcomings. He used to believe that the court always worked, but learned it did not, when a jury found a clearly innocent man guilty. This crushed him, but it made him grow up and learn to accept things like this, because when maturing, one has to realize the world isn’t perfect. He had to have courage to accept this factor in life. It is a atrocious crime to take a persons life to merely keep the truth in the shadows; but with the pain of Tom’s death blooms a new hope of equality for the town of Maycomb, with just a baby step. Like all other children, Scout and Jem have to face all the challenges of growing up, but they have to keep going on with their lives, no matter what problems arise for them. Scout experiences the challenges of growing up when her aunt moved in. She criticized Scout for wearing pants and not acting in a lady-like manner, but that was only a small problem, and Scout stayed herself. She kept wearing pants and speaking her mind because she wanted to be an individual. Scout is surprised by prejudice, while going up. She was not aware that prejudice existed. She witnesses others victimize each other because they are different, either because of their color, friends, how they act, or many other reasons. She learns and sees this happen when listening to neighbors gossip about the Radleys, her teacher bad-mouth African Americans, or even her own self be criticized by the way she speaks her mind. Scout does not understand why people are like this, putting labels on certain types of people, like African Americans, saying â€Å"all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women† (Lee 204). Scout knows that not all people are perfect. She has to accept that some humans do not always treat others with kindness. Both Jem and Scout have to be brave and deal with the changes in the world. Scout and Jem learn from people, or themselves, when they are victims of different situations, but they are still brave. Atticus points out that real courage is when someone goes through life, still fighting, even if they are victims of prejudice, rumors, lies, hate, misunderstanding, or life’s shortcomings; to not give up even if you’ve already lost . Jem and Scout learn to keep their ways, adjust, and not judge people without knowing the full truth about them. They hope for the world to be a more understanding place.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

French novels: Proust

French novels: Proust MARCEL PROUST â€Å"We dont receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.† Marcel Proust INTRODUCTION The concept of ‘novel’ had become extremely well defined towards the end of the nineteenth century. Along with other languages, French novels were also slowly becoming extremely popular. One of the chief pioneers of French novels was Marcel Proust. In a time of literary resurgence in the continent of Europe, Marcel Proust played a vital role in bringing about a rise in French literature’s constant value on the literary market. Marcel Proust was a prolific writer who succeeded in grasping France’s cultural and its gigantic literary significance. Coming from a wealthy Jewish bourgeois family, he had to face a lot of personal losses which became a central theme in his writings. Having become a chronic invalid at a very young age, he was confined to lead a morose, depressing life. Despite these odds he managed to keep up with his social and literary acquaintances. Most people who met him or spoke with him thought him to be eccentric. Most of his literary works were a representation of his memories. He converted the treasure-house of his gloomy and haunting memories into a composition of classy literature. When it came to writing, he thought of himself to be the sole creator, a God who brought the very richness of his enchanted stream of memory to life by penning it on a piece of paper. So what made Marcel Proust a legend in the field of literature? What were the obstacles he had to face before becoming the famous author the world knows today? Let us go back in time and witness the making of Marcel Proust. A GENIUS IS BORN In the beautiful city of Paris, France, Adrien and Jeanne Proust welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their prosperous household on 10th July 1871. The baby was named Marcel Proust by his parents. Marcel’s father, Adrien was a renowned physician and his wife, Jeanne was from a wealthy Jewish family. Marcel was a sickly child as he kept falling sick at regular intervals. In 1880 at the tender age of 9, he suffered from a strange but severe state of breathlessness. Worried, his father used his medical skills on his son and realised that Marcel was asthmatic. Medicine wasn’t as advanced as it is today and so his medication did not allow him to play with the other children like a normal child. Upon exerting too much energy he would suffer from breathlessness at regular intervals. Thus he spent most of his time at home and as a result Marcel suffered from depression. In order to rid Marcel of his depression his parents would often send him to Auteuil on holidays or at seaside resorts in Normandy where his maternal grandmother lived. While on vacation, Marcel would spend much of his time reading and trying to write his own thoughts in the form of a short story or poems. EARLY YEARS He attended a school called ‘Lycà ¨e Condorcet’ and wrote various articles for class magazines. However, as fate would have it, his education was disrupted due to him falling ill frequently. Marcel was very fond of his mother, Jeanne and was attached to her. Jeanne saw the passion her son had towards writing. She herself was well read and literate and would often write letters which demonstrated a well developed sense of humour. She also had a very strong command over the English language and guided Marcel in translations. She wanted Marcel to finish his graduation and so she also helped him with his studies and Marcel finally graduated in 1890 at the age of 19. In spite of poor health, 19 years old Marcel decided to enter the military. He was enlisted in the French army and was stationed at the Coligny Barracks in Orlà ¨ans. This proved to be quite an experience for Marcel as he learnt the importance of discipline and comradeship. Before joining the army, Marcel was often considered to be a snob due to his lavish lifestyle but after returning from the army in 1893 at the age of 22, Marcel was a changed man. He was more disciplined and social towards people. Upon his return from the army he studied at the School of Political Sciences and acquired licenses in law in 1893 and literature in 1895. In the beginning of 1895, Marcel spent several years reading and researching the works of art critic and patron, John Ruskin. This helped Marcel in refining his own theories of art and philosophy. Marcel then set out to translate two of Ruskin’s works into French but he constantly faced problems since English wasn’t his first language. So, to overcome this obstacle he made his translations a group affair. He took the help of his friend Reynaldo Hahn and his cousin who was British and got his translation polished. Marcel would often visit Madame Straus’ bourgeois get-togethers and would observe the behaviour of people. Madame Straus was Marcel’s mother’s friend, and so she had no problems with Marcel attending her private parties. These visits proved fruitful as Marcel treated the people at these parties as character subjects who would later serve as sources of inspiration in Marcel’s short stories. In 1896 at the age of 25, Marcel published ‘Pleasures and Days’ which was a collection of short stories he had written during his stint in the army. In 1897, French society and politics were split by the movement to liberate Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus who was unjustly imprisoned as a spy. 26 years old Marcel knew this was false and having a Jewish background, he decided to revolt against the government and fight for Dreyfus’ freedom. Marcel helped by assisting Dreyfus’ lawyer in organizing petitions asking for Dreyfus to be freed. Many of his friends warned him that his actions would lead to social banishment but Marcel defied the risk of ostracism courageously. This experience provided a sense of clarity and Marcel’s impression of the aristocratic society was shattered which became very visible in the short stories that he had written. Through these experiences Marcel was gradually evolving from an egotistical ignorant youngster to a mature prolific writer. TROUBLED ROAD TO SUCCESS Marcel led a very depressing childhood due to constant illness and asthma. However, he never gave up hope and continued to pursue literature. But, the early 1900s proved to be very difficult for Marcel personally. In February 1903 when Marcel was 32 years old, his brother, Robert Proust married and left the family home. Following Robert’s departure, his father died in November of the same year. This was very difficult for Marcel as he was the only person responsible for the family’s well being. However, things took a turn for the worse when Marcel’s beloved mother died in September 1905. Marcel’s emotional armour was smashed and his courage crushed. Marcel went into severe depression following Jeanne’s death. His health continued to deteriorate and Marcel knew that the only way he could get over his mother’s death was if he involved himself completely into the field of writing. A year later in 1906 35 years old Marcel went on to publish the translated version of Ruskin’s philosophies. The book was named ‘Sesame and Lilies’ and was well appreciated by the French masses. The critics lauded Marcel’s skill of translating the language and yet staying true to the philosophies of Ruskin. Marcel developed a hauntingly brooding personality after his mother’s death. In spite of the success of his translated works, he had forgotten what it meant to smile. The loss of his loved ones had left him grief stricken and alone but financially independent to attempt his novel. The year 1908 was a pivotal year for Marcel as a writer. He published his views and ideologies and imitations of other writers in various journals. Imitating other writers’ works helped Marcel in solidifying his own style. Inspired, Marcel began penning a novel which he thought would be his best work. He was unable to rest or sleep as he would spend entire days writing the novel. He wanted to get over his personal loss and so writing became a sort of drug for Marcel. This obsession resulted in a novel which focused on a protagonist who has a problem sleeping as he remembers waiting as a child for his mother to come to him in the morning. The story was obviously based on Marcel’s own feeling of depression caused due to his mother’s loss. Upon finishing the novel, Marcel went to various publishers to have his book published but to no avail. Every publisher rejected his book stating that it was too morose and lacked substance. Tired of being rejected, he shifted his work to a substantially different project which also contained many of the same themes and elements. In 1909, at the age of 38 he began work on another novel titled ‘À la recherchà © du temps perdu’. Marcel decided to divide the novel into several volumes and published the first volume called ‘Swann’s Way’ in 1913. The first book focussed mainly on the theme of involuntary memory. After finishing the book, Marcel went to many publication houses to get his work published but was faced with rejection once again. He went to one of the most famous magazine companies in France at the time called New French Review (NRF). Famous author Andre Gide was given the book to proof read to advise NRF on its publication. However, after going through a seemingly endless collection of depressing memories and melancholic episodes, Gide came across a few syntactic mistakes and decided to reject it. Not losing hope, Marcel managed to meet with another publisher called Grasset and eventually got his book published. The novel became a bestseller and it compelled Marcel to begin writing its respective sequels. While writing the second volume titled ‘In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower’ in 1913, Marcel faced a lot of problems due to the First World War. Marcel’s publisher, Grasset closed down his publication firm and joined the military. Marcel then decided to go to another publisher and got his novel published in 1914. The novel was such a huge success that Marcel was awarded the ‘Prix Goncourt’ award in 1919 at the age of 48. FINAL YEARS In 1920, 49 years old Marcel developed a strange illness which could not be detected by most of the top doctors at the time. The sickness slowed down his work but Marcel continued to write the third and fourth book in the series titled ‘The Guermantes Way’ and ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’. Marcel finished both the books by 1921 and managed to get them published a few weeks before his 50th birthday. Success followed Marcel like wildfire. His name was everywhere in the media and he had become a literary figure in the eyes of the French masses. Soon, other European countries got hold of his books and Marcel soon became an iconic figure in Literature all over the world. Marcel’s books were published in French, English, Italian and other languages. Even though success embraced Marcel in his 50s, he continued to live in misery and illness. Marcel cared less about fame and more about his contribution to French literature. He confided in his estranged brother Robert and told him to finish and publish his work if he were to die. Robert saw the condition Marcel was in and could not help but feel sorry for him. After all, Marcel was his brother and agreed to help him. Marcel spent the entire year of 1922 confined to his cork-lined bedroom. He slept during the day and worked at night to complete the fifth book in his series titled ‘The Prisoner’. On 18th November 1922, Marcel finally succumbed to this mysterious illness at the age of 51. He was buried by his brother in the Pà ¨re Lachaise Cemetary in Paris. TRIBUTE After Marcel’s death, the remaining volumes of his novel which he had written but not completely revised were published by his brother Robert. Robert took the help of Jacques Riviere and Jean Paulhan who were the directors of New French Review. The books published were ‘The Prisoner’ in the year 1923, ‘The Fugitive’ in the year 1925 and ‘Time Regained’ in the year 1927. The merit of Marcel’s novel was that its brilliance was perceived as being one of the major literary works of the Western canon. Legendary playwright and literary critic Graham Greene called Marcel the greatest novelist of the 20th century. Today the book is being read by billions all over the world. Famous publishing company ‘Penguin’ undertook a fresh translation in 1995 based on the latest and authoritative French text. Marcel’s projection of snobbism, vanity and cruelty in his novels were a mere reflection of his own personal experiences. His insight into women and the love men have for women remain unimpaired. Today, Marcel is considered to be one of the greatest novelists of Romance. The entire climate of the 20th century was affected by his series of books which collectively came under the title of ‘In Search of Lost Time’. His books are considered to be supreme achievements of modern fiction. Marcel’s style is considered to be one of the most original in all literature till date and is unique in its union of precision, force, enchantment classicism and symbolism. There is no doubt that Marcel Proust is and will always remain as one of the greatest legends in the field of literature the world has ever seen.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Modelling of β-turns using Hidden Markov Model

Modelling of ÃŽ ²-turns using Hidden Markov Model Modelling of ÃŽ ²-turns using Hidden Markov Model Nivedita Rao Ms. Sunila Godara Abstract— One of the major tasks in predicting the secondary structure of a protein is to find the ÃŽ ²-turns. Functional and structural traits of a globular protein can be better understood by the turns as they play an important role in it. ÃŽ ²-turns play an important part in protein folding. ÃŽ ²-turns constitute on an average of 25% of the residues in all protein chains and are the most usual form of non-repetitive structures. It is already known that helices and ÃŽ ²-sheets are among the most important keys in stabilizing the structures in proteins. In this paper we have used hidden Markov model (HMM) in order to predict the ÃŽ ²-turns in proteins based on amino acid composition and compared it with other existing methods. Keywords- ÃŽ ²-turns, amino acid composition, hidden Markov model, residue. I. Introduction Bioinformatics has become a vital part of many areas of biology. In molecular biology, bioinformatics techniques such as signal processing or image processing allow mining of useful results from large volumes of raw data. In the field ofgeneticsandgenomics, it helps in sequencing and explaining genomes and their perceivedmutations. It plays an important part in the analysis of protein expression, gene expression and their regulation. It also helps in literal mining of biological prose and the growth of biological and gene ontologies for organizing and querying biological data. Bioinformatics tools aid in the contrast of genetic and genomic data and more commonly in the understanding of evolutionary facets of molecule based biology. At a more confederated level, bioinformatics helps in analyzing and categorizing the biological trails and networks that are an significant part of systems biology. In structural biology, bioinformatics helps in the understanding, simulation and modelling of RNA, DNA and protein structures as well as molecular bindings. The advancements in genome has increased radically over the recent years, thus resulting in the explosive growth of biological data widening the gap between the number of protein sequences stored in the databases and the experimental annotation of their functions. There are many types of tight turns. These turns may subject to the number of atoms form the turn [1]. Among them is ÃŽ ²-turn, which is one of the important components of protein structure as it plays an important part in molecular structure and protein folding. A ÃŽ ²-turn invokes four consecutive residues where the polypeptide chain bends back on itself for about 180 degrees [2]. Basically these chain reversals are the ones which provide a protein its globularity rather than linearity. Even ÃŽ ²-turns can be further classified into different types. According to Venkatachalam [3], ÃŽ ²-turns can be of 10 types based on phi, psi angles and also some other. Richardson[4] suggested only 6 distinct types(I,I,II,II,VIa and VIb) on the basis of phi, psi ranges, along with a new category IV. Presently, classification by Richardson is most widely used. Turns can be considered as an important part in globular proteins in respect to its structural and functional view. Without the component of turns, a polypeptide chain cannot fold itself into a compressed structure. Also, turns normally occur on the visible surface of proteins and therefore it possibly represents antigenic locations or involves molecular recognition. Thus, due to the above reasons, the prediction of ß-turns in proteins becomes an important element of secondary structure prediction. II. RELATED WORK A lot of work has been done for the prediction of ÃŽ ²-turns. To determine chain reversal regions of a globular protein, Chou at al. [5] used conformational parameters. Chou at al. [6] has given a residue-coupled model in order to predict the ÃŽ ²-turns in proteins. Chou at al. [7] used sequence of tetra peptide. Chou [8] again predicted tight turns and their types in protein using amino acid residues. Guruprasad K at al. [9] predicted ÃŽ ²-turn and ÃŽ ³-turn in proteins using a new set of amino acid and hydrogen bond. Hutchinson at al. [10] created a program called PROMOTIF to identify and analyse structural motifs in proteins. Shepherd at al. [11] used neural networks to predict the location and type of ÃŽ ²-turns. Wilmot at al. [12] analysed and predicted different types of ÃŽ ²-turn in proteins using phi, psi angles and central residues. Wilmot at al. [13] proposed a new nomenclature GORBTURN 1.0 for predicting ÃŽ ²-turns and their distortions. This study has used hidden Markov model to predict the ÃŽ ²-turns in the protein. HMM has been widely used as biological tools. (a) (b) Figure 1.1 (a) defines Type-I ß-turns and (b) defines Type-II ß-turns. The hydrogen bond is denoted by dashed lines. [14] III. Materials and methods A. Dataset The dataset used in the experiment is a non-redundant dataset which was previously described by Guruprasad and Rajkumar [9]. This dataset contains around 426 non-homologous protein chains. All protein chains do not have more than 25% sequence similarity. It is basically to ensure that there is very little correlation in the training set. In this dataset, each protein chain contains at least one beta turn and has X-ray crystallography with resolution 2 or more. The dataset shows there are mainly ten classes and other classes are made using the combination of these ten classes. Table 1 Datasets Description [14] B. Hidden markov model In our work, we have used the probabilistic feature of HMM for ÃŽ ²-turns prediction. A model is presumed that ruminate the protein sequence being generated with a stochastic process that alternates amid two hidden states: â€Å"turns† and â€Å"non-turns†. The HMM is trained using 20 protein sequences. The probability transition matrix is 2Ãâ€"2 for two states: turns and non-turns. The probability emission matrix is considered as 2Ãâ€"20 as there are 2 states and 20 amino acids. We prepared our probability transition matrix and probability emission matrix according to the knowledge that we have for dataset that is the probability of ÃŽ ²-non-turns is more than ÃŽ ²-turns in a protein sequence and by considering probabilities of each residue as the parameter taken from Chou [7] for calculating the emission and transition matrix. There are more than ten classes and this HMM model parameter is estimated in2 super states and the training was performed. Let P be a protein sequence of length n, which can also be expressed as Where ri is the amino acid residue at sequence position i. The sequence is considered to be generated from r1 to rn in hidden Markov model. The model is trained using Baum-Welch algorithm [15]. Baum-Welch algorithm is a standard method for finding the maximum likelihood estimation of HMMs, in which posterior probabilities were performed by using both forward and backward algorithms. These algorithms were used to compile the state transition probability and emission probability matrices. The initial probabilities are calculated, taking into account a correlation between residues in different position. The most probable path is calculated using Viterbi algorithm [16] as it automatically segments the protein into its component regions. The probability of residue in the protein sequence used to generate the emission matrix given by Where, m is the total number that of residue in the protein sequence and n is the total number of residues in the protein sequence. C. Accuracy measures Once the prediction of ÃŽ ²-turns is performed using the hidden Markov model, the problem arises of finding an appropriate measure for the quality of the prediction. Four different scalar measures are used to assess the models performance [17]. These measures can be derived four different quantities: TP (true positive), p, is the number of correctly classified ÃŽ ²-turn residues. TN (true negative), n, is the number of correctly classified non-ÃŽ ²-turn residues. FP (false positive), m, is the number of non-ÃŽ ²-turn residues incorrectly classified as ÃŽ ²-turn residues. FN( false negative), o, is the number of ÃŽ ²-turn residues incorrectly classified as non-ÃŽ ²-turn residues. The predictive performance of the HMM model can be expressed by the following parameters: Qtotal gives the percentage of correctly classified residues. MCC (Matthews Correlation Coefficient) [18] is a measure that counts for both over and under- predictions. Qpredicted , is the percentage of ÃŽ ²-turn predictions that are correct. Qobserved is the percentage of observed ÃŽ ²-turns that are correctly predicted. IV. results and discussions A. Results This model is used to predict the ÃŽ ²-turns and is based on hidden Markov model. There are basically two classes: turns and non-turns. It is used to predict one protein sequence at a time. It has been observed that it performs better than some existing prediction methods. B. Comparison with other methods In order to examine of this method, it has been compared with other existing methods as shown in table 2. For now, the comparison is done on a single protein sequence. The comparison is for protein sequence with PDB code 1ah7. Figure 2 shows comparison of Qtotal using different algorithms. Figure 3 shows comparison of Qpredicted using different algorithms. Figure 4 shows comparison of Qobserved using different algorithms. Figure 5 shows comparison of MCC using different algorithms. The HMM based method shows better results than some of the already existing algorithms of the prediction. Figure 2. comparison of Qtotal with different algorithms Figure 4. comparison of Qobserved with different algorithms Figure 3. comparison of QPredicted with different algorithms Figure 5. comparison of MCC with different algorithms Table 2 Comparison with other methods V. conclusion In this paper, we presented a way in which HMM can be used to predict ÃŽ ²-turns in a protein chain. Our method is used to predict turns and non-turns of single protein sequence at a time. The results thus obtained are better than some of the other existing methods. The performance of the ÃŽ ²-turns can further be improved by considering other techniques such as using predicted secondary structures and dihedral angles from multiple predictors or by using feature selection technique [19] or by considering combination of many features together. We can also combine different machine learning techniques together to improve the performance of the prediction. References Chou, Kuo-Chen. Prediction of tight turns and their types in proteins.Analytical biochemistry286.1 (2000): 1-16. Chou, P.Y. and Fasman, G.D. (1974) Conformational parameters for amino acids in helical, beta-sheet and random coil regions calculated from proteins.Biochemistry, 13, 211-222. Venkatachalam, C. M. Stereochemical criteria for polypeptides and proteins. V. Conformation of a system of three linked peptide units.Biopolymers6.10 (1968): 1425-1436. Richardson, Jane S. The anatomy and taxonomy of protein structure. Advances in protein chemistry34 (1981): 167-339. Chou, P. Y., and G. D. Fasman. Prediction of beta-turns.Biophysical journal 26.3 (1979): 367-383. Chou, K.C. â€Å"Prediction of beta-turns† Journal of Peptide Research(1997): 120-144. Chou, Kou-Chen, and James R. Blinn. Classification and prediction of ÃŽ ²-turn types.Journal of protein chemistry16.6 (1997): 575-595. Chou, Kuo-Chen. Prediction of tight turns and their types in proteins.Analytical biochemistry286.1 (2000): 1-16. Guruprasad, Kunchur, and Sasidharan Rajkumar. Beta-and gamma-turns in proteins revisited: a new set of amino acid turn-type dependent positional preferences and potentials.Journal of biosciences25.2 (2000): 143. Hutchinson, E. Gail, and Janet M. Thornton. PROMOTIF—a program to identify and analyze structural motifs in proteins.Protein Science5.2 (1996): 212-220. Shepherd, Adrian J., Denise Gorse, and Janet M. Thornton. Prediction of the location and type of ÃŽ ²-turns in proteins using neural networks.Protein Science8.5 (1999): 1045-1055. Wilmot, C. M., and J. M. Thornton. Analysis and prediction of the different types of ÃŽ ²-turn in proteins.Journal of molecular biology203.1 (1988): 221-232. Wilmot, C. M., and J. M. Thornton. ÃŽ ²-Turns and their distortions: a proposed new nomenclature.Protein engineering3.6 (1990): 479-493. Available from :http://imtech.res.in/raghava/betatpred/intro.html Welch, Lloyd R. Hidden Markov models and the Baum-Welch algorithm.IEEE Information Theory Society Newsletter53.4 (2003): 10-13. Lou, Hui-Ling. Implementing the Viterbi algorithm.Signal Processing Magazine, IEEE12.5 (1995): 42-52. Fuchs, Patrick FJ, and Alain JP Alix. High accuracy prediction of ÃŽ ²Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ turns and their types using propensities and multiple alignments.Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics59.4 (2005): 828-839. Matthews, Brian W. Comparison of the predicted and observed secondary structure of T4 phage lysozyme.Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Protein Structure405.2 (1975): 442-451. Saeys, Yvan, Ià ±aki Inza, and Pedro Larraà ±aga. A review of feature selection techniques in bioinformatics.bioinformatics23.19 (2007): 2507-2517.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Tennessee Williams Use of Dramatic Devices To Create Contrast And Conf

Tennessee Williams' Use of Dramatic Devices To Create Contrast And Conflict In "A Streetcar Named Desire" Tennessee Williams uses a number of dramatic devices to highlight the conflicting worlds of the old and new American South. These can be divided into four categories: staging, character and language, and props and costumes. I will be using these categories for reference in this essay. 'A Streetcar Named Desire' is an example of the genre 'realism'. Realism is fiction that is overtly gritty and realistic, showing real people in real situations, and also comments on the state of the world at that time. The play is set shortly after the American Civil War, which was fought over the right to keep slaves; the South wanted to keep slaves on their plantations, working for free, but the North wanted them to work in their factories, for a wage. The North (confederate) won the Civil War and immediately set about industrializing the South. The play is set in New Orleans, one of these newly industrialised areas. In this essay I will examine how Tennessee Williams used these devices to create conflict between the main characters, to provide a social commentary on a changing America, and how these changes affect the main characters of the play. Tennessee Williams stages 'A Streetcar Named Desire' extremely effectively, with much of the play set in the small, confined room of the apartment: Stella: "With only two rooms..." (p.9) This instantly creates and intensifies tension because all the characters are forced to be close together; there is no privacy. When Blanche first enters the play, she is instantly incongruous and out of place: 'she looks like she is dressed for a tea party' (p.3) This contras... ...character; she too is obsessed with the idea of death, and aging. Tennessee Williams even said once: "I am Blanche," which shows he has based her character heavily on himself; they both view men as uncultured brutes, both have an obsession with death. Blanche has this obsession because she had to witness her family, and her old way of life, dying slowly. Now it seems to her like that time in her life was all just a dream of illusion. This is illustrated in the translation of 'Belle Reve', which means literally 'Beautiful Dream'. Blanche losing Belle Reve represents her losing an illusion of life and being brought back down to earth. In conclusion, through careful use of staging, props, costume and language, Tennessee Williams creates a powerful portrait of conflict between the old and new South, between death and desire, and between Blanche and Stanley.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

East Asian Civilization :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Civil Service Examination System of Imperial China served as a qualification system for scholars who wanted to become officials in the Chinese government. Many young men spent their entire lives studying the Four Books, the Five Classics, and memorizing Chinese characters in order to attempt to pass these examinations. The book, China’s Examination Hell, written by Ichisada Miyazaki and translated by Conrad Schirokauer, describes the lengthy, and often rigorous process of taking Civil Service Examinations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins by giving an account of how a young boy prepares for the examinations, learning his first Chinese characters at the age of three. Girls could not take the Civil Service Examinations, and from birth were treated in a way such that they would learn to be submissive. Boys began their formal education at age seven. From that point on, they spent every moment memorizing the Four Books, which included the Analects, Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Five Classics, which included the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, and the Tso Chuan. Young men had the opportunity to take their first Civil Service Examination around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and particularly bright males would most likely continue taking different levels of examinations for the rest of their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also described in the book are the hardships endured by both the candidates for examination and the examiners themselves. The test-taking compounds were not very conductive to rational thinking, as each man was assigned a small, door-less cubicle in which he had to spend three days and two nights at a time. The examiners, by the end of an examination session, had thousands of papers needing to be graded. As a result, even the smallest mistake, such as a stain on the paper or a misprinted character would lead to failure of the examination. The book describes in detail how the Chinese believed in, and in some cases relied on, supernatural intervention in passing the examinations. There are many accounts throughout the book telling about candidates and examiners alike being visited by ghosts, and dreaming about the King of the Dead and the King of Heaven. It was believed that if a candidate was virtuous and performed good deeds, he would be rewarded by passing the Ci vil Service Examinations. Conversely, if a candidate did not have a good moral character, he would fail the examinations, regardless of the quality of his work. East Asian Civilization :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Civil Service Examination System of Imperial China served as a qualification system for scholars who wanted to become officials in the Chinese government. Many young men spent their entire lives studying the Four Books, the Five Classics, and memorizing Chinese characters in order to attempt to pass these examinations. The book, China’s Examination Hell, written by Ichisada Miyazaki and translated by Conrad Schirokauer, describes the lengthy, and often rigorous process of taking Civil Service Examinations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins by giving an account of how a young boy prepares for the examinations, learning his first Chinese characters at the age of three. Girls could not take the Civil Service Examinations, and from birth were treated in a way such that they would learn to be submissive. Boys began their formal education at age seven. From that point on, they spent every moment memorizing the Four Books, which included the Analects, Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Five Classics, which included the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, and the Tso Chuan. Young men had the opportunity to take their first Civil Service Examination around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and particularly bright males would most likely continue taking different levels of examinations for the rest of their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also described in the book are the hardships endured by both the candidates for examination and the examiners themselves. The test-taking compounds were not very conductive to rational thinking, as each man was assigned a small, door-less cubicle in which he had to spend three days and two nights at a time. The examiners, by the end of an examination session, had thousands of papers needing to be graded. As a result, even the smallest mistake, such as a stain on the paper or a misprinted character would lead to failure of the examination. The book describes in detail how the Chinese believed in, and in some cases relied on, supernatural intervention in passing the examinations. There are many accounts throughout the book telling about candidates and examiners alike being visited by ghosts, and dreaming about the King of the Dead and the King of Heaven. It was believed that if a candidate was virtuous and performed good deeds, he would be rewarded by passing the Ci vil Service Examinations. Conversely, if a candidate did not have a good moral character, he would fail the examinations, regardless of the quality of his work.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Mid-Term Break – Creative Writing

I was in the college sick bay all morning panicking and wondering why I was sat in this small clinical room. I was left alone lying on the old squashy but cold bed. I was listening to the bells ring every hour. I was wondering what lesson I should be in now if I had not been in this uncomfortable, small cramped room. At last, the school nurse walked in and said to me â€Å"Simon your next door neighbours are here†. I picked up my coat, put my bag on my back, and walked to the school reception where my neighbours were stood. My neighbours were nice people. They were the type that would help out, like picking me up from school or baby-sitting my brother. My neighbours came and gave me a hug and sat me down by the school reception and said â€Å"Simon, we have some bad news†. All sorts of things were running through my head at that moment, I thought that their cat had died or something but these words came out â€Å"Your brother is in hospital. He has been run over by a car†. On the way home I felt sick. Tears were trickling down my face while I was thinking if my brother was okay or not. On the way home the journey felt like five hours rather that ten minutes. When I finally got home, I saw my father crying in the porch. I tried to comfort him but I was too worried myself to be of any real help. I thought I knew what had happened, my father does not really cry when somebody dies but this time he was really crying. He was alone in his own world. He was cold and noises were muffled. The tears clouded his eyesight. As I entered the house, there were many people talking about different things. I could not tell what they were saying; it was just one loud noise. I could make out big Jim Evans, my uncle, who was saying in a solemn voice, â€Å"it was a hard blow†. My younger sister, Natalie, was in the pram rocking and laughing as though nothing had happened. I wished that I could do that; just pretend that nothing had happened. I went upstairs to my bed room and was met by lots of old men whom I had never seen before, I was embarrassed when they all stood up and started to shake my hand, they told me they were sorry for my trouble. I locked on to someone saying that I was the eldest child away at boarding school when my brother had been run over. I was holding my mums hand when I heard this. At ten o'clock on Tuesday morning, my brother's corpse arrived at the house and was taken upstairs to the attic. The corpse was bound in bandages and they were stained in blood around the body. This made me feel sick. I wanted to get out of the room as quick as I could. The following morning I went upstairs into the attic to say my goodbyes. The room was cold and many candles were lit around the corpse to show respect. Snowdrops soothed the atmosphere and made everything calm. I saw him lying in the coffin. It was the first time I had seen him in six weeks because I had been away at boarding school. He was lying there, but more stiff and paler than I had seen him six weeks ago. He was lying there with a poppy bruise on his left temple where the car had hit him. It appeared as though he was fast asleep in his bed, but it was not his bed, it was a coffin. He had no gaudy scars because the bumper had knocked him clear. This made me feel sick again but I did not want to leave the room. His box was four foot long as if this was a foot for every year.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Sexual Seduction

Sexual Seduction & Freud Psy. 405 Psychoanalysis was huge in the success of Sigmund Freud. Freud proclaimed that we are not the rational rulers of our lives but are under the influence of unconscious forces of which we are unaware and over which we have little, if any, control. Freud was pondering over the sexual basis of emotional disturbances. Sexual abuse as a child or adolescent affects ones future as an adult. Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year (Facts for Family, 2011).Sexual seduction in childhood seems to be reported mostly by woman to be the root of their behavior and main reason for needing some kind of therapy practice. Because of the abuse it affects you more as an adult when you’re trying to have a relationship or sexual contact with others and so I focus on Freud’s theories and therapy practices to understand ways to cope and get passed the abuse. His approach evolves in steps such as levels of consciousness or theory of consciou sness, analysis of mental structures, psychosexual stages of development, defense mechanisms, and means of tapping the unconscious.Provided are some statistics to outline how big of an issue this is. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report Child Maltreatment 2010 found that 9. 2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted (p24). Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center show that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse. Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident.During a one-year period in the U. S. , of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized. Over the course of their lifetime, 28% of U. S. youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized. Children are most vulnerable to child sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 13 (Finkelhor, 2009). Although no one wants to hea r these statistics and believe that this occurs it’s sad to say it doesn’t end here. According to a 2003 National Institute of Justice report, 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually victimized by someone they knew well (p5).Sexual abuse when you’re young and sexual abuse from someone you know well all factors into how you are when you’re an adult. Freud’s seduction hypothesis concluded that emotional disturbances could be related to childhood sexual trauma. To get a little overview and insight into this big issue I will discuss the case of Anna O. Anna O. was Josef Breuer’s patient whom also shared this and many other cases with Freud. This case is what started the development of psychoanalysis. Through her therapy she would recall specific experiences that seemed to have given rise to certain symptoms.Talking about her experiences often relieved the symptoms. She referred to their conversations as chimney sweeping or the talking cure . As their sessions continued, Breuer realized that the incidents Anna remembered involved thoughts or events she found repulsive. Reliving the disturbing experiences reduced or eliminated the symptoms. All nightmares, phobias, and fears which influence you but why you have them is because of the unconscious and Freud suggests ways or techniques of reaching that unconscious through his free association technique.A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex (Facts for families, 2011). Although each individual is different some unique responses to sexual abuse that are common among many is low self-esteem or self-hatred and many survivors suffer from depression. There is a lack of trust for anyone especially if it’s someone they were dependent upon like family and teachers. 93% of victims under the age of 18 know their attacker (Finkelhor, 2009).Many have flashbacks wher e they re-experience the sexual abuse as if it were occurring at that moment, usually accompanied by visual images of the abuse. These flashbacks often are triggered by an event, action, or even a smell that is reminiscent of the sexual abuse of the abuser. Dissociation may also occur where survivors go through a process where the mind distances itself from the experience because it is too much for the psyche to process at the time. This loss of connection with thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of identity, is a coping mechanism and may affect aspects of a survivor’s functioning.Sexuality and intimacy also affect a survivor because they have to deal with the fact that one of their first sexual encounters was a result of abuse. These memories may interfere with the survivor’s ability to engage in sexual relationships, which may bring about feelings of fright, frustration, or being ashamed. Many use coping mechanisms such as grieving, mourning, alcohol, drug abuse, eating disorders, and self-injury and so on mostly because you feel ashamed to confront someone about it. Those who have the courage to let it out often seek therapy.I base this paper on Freud’s seduction theory and therapy technique to help survivors overcome their issues. For example many sexual abuse survivors struggle with developing normal adult sexual intimacy abilities and may feel as though they are defective, damaged, or otherwise flawed (Kress, Hoffman, Thomas, 2008). Freud developed his theory from a clinical study of the relationship between childhood seduction and the development of adult emotional disorder. Freud who had no doubt that sex played the determining role in neurosis and that neurotic conditions could not arise in a person who led a normal sex life.This was discussed in the free-association technique and seduction theory. In this technique survivors will struggle but will be able to build or rebuild a positive self-identity. Much research has been done in the study of incest trauma being the root and even in Freud’s free-association technique, his patient’s revealed sexual seduction, with the seducer usually being an older relative and thus caused adult neurotic behavior. Sexual abuse often affects someone emotionally and sexually later in life when accepting relationships with others. Everyone is different but two things could occur.You either are frightened by any relationship with someone emotional and sexually or you can become a sex addict. Freud was looking for a long-term cure of symptoms individuals had. He soon gave up catharsis as a treatment method and developed from it the technique of free association. This is a psychotherapeutic technique in which the patient says whatever comes to mind. In this technique a patient lies on the couch and is encouraged to talk openly and spontaneously, giving complete expression to every idea, no matter how embarrassing, unimportant, or foolish it may sound.His goal was to bring in conscious awareness the repressed memories or thoughts, which were assumed to be the source of the patients abnormal behavior. The thoughts that came to the patients mind were said by Freud to not be random and have some connection during the free-association sessions. The experiences brought into memory were predetermined and could not be censored by the patient’s conscious choice. Externalizing may also help clients connect with solutions and options they may not normally realize (Kress et al, 2008). The patient’s conflict would be forced out so that it had to be expressed to the therapist.Therapists need to develop clinical skills and interventions that are specific to counseling this population (Kress et al, 2008) just like Freud and his free-association technique. Kress, Hoffman, and Thomas (2008) explained it this way; The technique of externalizing client problems, or separating the identity of the client from the presenting problems, or sep arating the identity of the client from the presenting concerns, may have the effect of increasing the client’s sense of control over the perceived problems and increasing internalized personal agency and, thus, a sense of empowerment (p107).Through the free-association technique, Freud found that his patient’s memories brought up an experience from childhood that had a connection they repressed concerning sexual issues. By 1898, he was convinced that â€Å"the most immediate and, for practical purposes, the most significant causes of neurotic illness are to be found in factors arising from sexual life† (Breger, 2000, p117). He also points out some specifics on the seduction theory such as the seducer being an older relative, often the father and that these seduction traumas were the cause of adult neurotic behavior.His patients were hesitant about describing details of the seduction experience as though the events were somehow unreal or had never really happene d. A consistent research finding about adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse is difficulty with establishing and maintaining intimate relationships (Gil, 2008). By providing a couple of examples you’ll see where Freud would come in with his seduction theory and free-association hypothesis. The case of the women in this article by Rachman, Kennedy, and Yard (2005) resembled the well-known case of Anna O which became the upmost importance in the development of psychoanalysis.The woman, whom they called Miss M, was sexually molested by a male family figure when she was two years old. She then started to masturbate using a pencil and was scolded and blamed for misbehaving. Her mother reacted to her masturbation as if it were an immoral behavior and was not curious as to the origins of her daughter’s premature sexuality. Miss M started to become highly seductive with men. Through therapy she worked out this problem over a period of about a year to understand her trauma and dysfunction.These difficulties impact male selection, interactional patterns, conflict resolution, balance of power, satisfaction, and the nature and frequency of sexual contact (Gil, 2008). Miss M overcame these difficulties and was then able to begin a steady relationship and soon got married and started a family. Another case provided by Rachman et al (2005) was with Laura and her therapist. Laura was sexually abused by her mother, cousin, and brothers. She quickly initiated an obsessively laden, angry, erotic transference.Laura interpreted the empathy of the therapist for her childhood trauma. Laura thought that as the therapist showed interest in her, so just like her mother, the therapist must desire her sexually, and she must respond to the therapist as she did with her mother. Laura reflected that her life was always haunted by being vulnerable to being â€Å"hit on† physically and sexually at any moment by her siblings. When Laura would recall her past she would link what she started to do with others. She was behaving just as her mother did in a sexually abusive fashion.The therapist worked on this behavior but it was not concluded in the article what the result was or what the effect of the therapy had on her. The therapist was also not named in this example. In this same article was an example of a therapist, Bob Kennedy and his patient Vivian. Vivian’s marriage was falling apart. She noted that her husband was unable to satisfy her emotionally. This was because of a sexual involvement with her father when she was young. Through the course of the therapy sessions Vivian accepted the idea that her childhood sexuality with her father was abusive.Survivors will need assistance in strengthening or enhancing the quality of their relationships, as well as addressing unresolved childhood traumas that may unconsciously shape their attitudes and behaviors (Gil, 2008). She eventually abandoned her sexual aggression and gave the impression o f feeling safe, assured there would be no repletion of the abuse she had once suffered. Once she was able to come to this conclusion she then could have a satisfying relationship with her husband. In the article by Bachman, Kennedy, and Yard they explained in detail and through these examples the root to therapy.Once you understand the erotic behavior toward another as a mode of communication from their childhood sexual trauma, that the experience can be viewed as an opportunity for a therapeutic encounter. It’s through free-association analysis that could succeed in accepting responsibility for their own forbidden feelings, their sexuality, aggression, and guilt that had previously been projected onto others. Talking your issue out will make you realize how wrong sexual seduction is. Partners and spouses of adult survivors benefit from assistance as well.Partner and spouses often report feelings of isolation, fear, helplessness and hopelessness, frustration and anger (Gil, 2 008). This could have been why Vivian’s marriage was falling apart and yet it all came down to her abuse as a child. Spouses may also find that their efforts to obtain intimacy are thwarted by the survivor’s need to use reflexive defense strategies (Gil, 2008). Free-association therapy is not easy to go through because you need to dig up everything in your past and in conscious thought that you may not want to relive.There are many steps to relieving the headaches of seduction to the desired outcome in the free-association therapy. Resistance is one of them steps. This is the blockage or refusal to disclose painful memories during a free-association session. Repression also is the process of barring unacceptable ideas, memories, or desires from conscious awareness, leaving them to operate in the unconscious mind. Being sexually seduced brings on anxiety. Freud explains defense mechanisms to reduce anxiety.Psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital) o f personality development include denial, displacement, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and sublimation. Denial is considered denying the existence of an external threat or traumatic event. Displacement is for example replacing hostility toward one’s boss with hostility toward one’s child. Projection is attributing impulse toward someone else. Rationalization is for example saying that a job you got fired from was not a good job for you anyway.Reaction formation for example is someone disturbed by sexual longings who may become a crusader against pornography. Regression is going back to a less frustrating period in life and displacing the childish and dependent behaviors of that time. Repression is denying the existence of something that gives you anxiety. Sublimation is altering impulses by doing socially acceptable behaviors such as diverting sexual energy into artistically creative behaviors. Through these steps free associat ion is not that easy but is effective.No one who is sexually abused is going to be able to be free of their anxiety very fast and effectively. There is always going to be downfalls at some points and each individual is different in the amount of time it will take to overcome it. It’s encouraged for the patients to meet certain situations that arise and learn to cope with the unpleasant sensations by remaining focused in therapy and talks it out. References Facts for Families: Child Sexual Abuse. (2011). American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. No. 9 Finkelhor, D. (2009).The prevention of childhood abuse. Vol. 19 No. 2 Gil, E. (2008). Training topics. 1-10 Kress, V. , Hoffman, R. , Thomas, A. (2008). Letters from the future: the use of therapeutic letter writing in counseling sexual abuse survivors. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3(2), 105-118 National Institute for Justice Report. (2003) P. 5 Rachman, A. , Kennedy, R. , Yard, M. (2005). The role of childh ood sexual seduction in the development of an erotic transference: pervasion in the psychoanalytic situation. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 14, 183-187

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Realists and Liberalists Views

Liberalists and Realists World Views Liberalists and realists have completely different views on the world stage. Liberalists’ views are based on liberty and equality while Realists views are based on security and relationships with great powers. Liberalists believe that an international society can work together to resolve problems. This involves trade between all nations and war would end so that everyone could live in peace and help each other out. Liberalists also believe that war should only occur when it is an absolute emergency and not just to acquire new land or to improve their economy.The realists on the other hand believe that war is inevitable and that the best way of avoiding war is to be strong and let your enemies know that you are ready for anything. Realists believe that if we rely on reason to resolve war that nothing will ever get resolved. After World War Two, realists’ views were favored by the majority of the world. Realists argued that in world po litics there is no government to set rules or protect states, so that each state must look after its own because you cannot always rely on other states for help. I believe that there has to be a happy medium that the liberalists and the realists can come too.Why can’t we all work together to provide security for the whole world. There is no reason why our world has to be going to war all the time over territory or because we need to help an ally. War never really solves anything it usually just leads to more violence and more problems. I say this because even when war sometimes does solve a problem between two nations those nations’ people will never be able to live the same way. The consequences of war can be horrific; people can lose their homes, schools can be destroyed, people’s food sources can be cut off, and ultimately people can lose their whole families due to war.The nations are not only financially weaker but now you have ruined people’s lives on top of it. Both views can be favored at any time in the world; this depends on what is going on in the world. Liberalism is obviously going to be favored if the whole world was at peace. The reason I say this because if there were no wars going on people would not be so worried about security and power of their nation. They wouldn’t have to side with the realists view of security because there is no threat to their nation. While on the other hand if there are wars going on around the world people are going to favor realists iews because they are afraid of what could happen without a strong enough military to protect them. I cannot blame the realists’ views on security because there is a lot of violence in the world and if you do not have a strong enough military tragedies could happen to your nation. I feel that the only reason why Realists views still remain is because there are so many worries in the world. There is always going to be conflict over new global chal lenges such as worry of HIV, climate change, nuclear weapons and even cyber-attacks.We will never be able to eliminate all of the global challenges that arise but I don’t see why there has to be so much violence in the world. Every day in the news more and more innocent people die for no reason whether it’s in the United States or Cairo it doesn’t matter, the violence needs to stop. It is pointless to have nations flush billions of dollars down the drain every year over the dumbest things. Nations should keep their money that they get from taxes and help out their own nation and work to eliminate internal problems instead of always focusing on external problems.Who cares if other nations want to blow themselves up let them work out their own problems, other nations don’t need to jump in and make the problem worse. The only thing that comes out of war and violence is death and death to me doesn’t solve any problems. If it were up to me every nation would have to drop their weapons and talk there problems out. The problem with this though is violence has been in the history of every nation at some point, so everyone just knows violence as a way to solve a problem.I am not saying that we should never again raise a weapon to protect ourselves but we cannot always rely on violence to solve our problems it is just a huge waste of money and just creates a higher death toll. The thing is people think that when two nations go to war over a certain issue that the outcome will result in a resolution of that issue but that is not always true it usually ends in a temporary resolution but then sometime in the near future that issue will rise again whether it is between the same countries or different ones.All nations need to work together to resolve world problems so that those problems will not have to arise again. We should not have to use violence to deal with our issues we should just simply talk it out and combine our ideas to have a resolution for that problem. I know that it is not that easy to do, but we can talk things out without people dying and spending billions on pointless firearms. Yes, talking out our problems may take a while till we can agree on a resolution but war isn’t exactly a fast resolution either.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Factors Determining Demand And Volume Demands Of Homes Economics Essay

Housing has a great impact on the quality of life of people. Be adequately housed, and life in a friendly ambiance is indispensable to wellness. The lodging market besides has an of import consequence on the economic system. An unequal lodging supply, or a malfunction of the lodging market, restricts economic growing. As a consequence, House in the UK has received much attending from policy shapers and economic observers. It seems if house monetary values are lifting quickly often, ingestion growing will go excessively strong. However, the relationship between the economic and lodging monetary values and economic activity is complex. For two grounds, the house is different from the other assets. ( Proudman et al, 2001 ) . First, people tend to populate in their places and the cost of direct services provided by the place. Therefore, the benefit of addition in house monetary values is straight offset by the chance cost of lodging and communal services. Second, UK house is non good in international trade. So Britain householders in entire gate can non recognize their capital additions from house to increased ingestion. Furthermore, there is considerable grounds that there is a lodging deficit in the UK, but the nature of this shortage is complex. A simple comparing between the figure of families and the figure of families is unable to cover the difference between the state of affairss of supply and demand, or desired between the type of lodging and that which is available ( Baker 2003 ) . Besides, some stocks do non run into the demands and aspirations of today ‘s households. Housing end product is deficient to run into the new demand ( John Sloman 2007 ) . There is besides a demand to replace the bearing lodging state of affairs has outlived its utile life. The effects of the mode in which the lodging market operates should be a concern for all.Theoretical foundations of the factors that determine the monetary value on the free marketExtensive survey, free market â€Å" which is an absence of authorities intercession. Individual manufacturers and consumers are free to do their ain economic determinations † ( Sloman 2007:62 ) . Furthermore, the â€Å" Treasure of Nations † , Adam Smith showed that, in a free market, an single make his ain self-interest tends to besides advance the good of his community as a whole through a rule which he called â€Å" the unseeable manus † . He argued, each person maximizing gross for him maximizes the entire gross of the society as a whole, as it is indistinguishable with the sum sum of single income ( Smith 1776 ) . In other words, the free market persons are free to do their ain economic determinations. The consumer is free to take what to purchase with their incomes: free to do determinations as needed. Companies are free to take what to sell and what production methods to utilize: free to do determinations on supplies. As a consequence, demand and supply determinations of consumers and houses are sent to each other through their consequence on monetary values: by â€Å" monetary value mechanism † ( Sloman 2007:62 ) . There are many factors, is used to analysis of alteration in demand or demand and supply sum of the alteration in the market, the lodging or supply. These factors can be divided into two chief classs:Factors finding demand and volume demands of placesHousing monetary values ( in footings of taking consequence ) Monetary values of alternate / complementary places Income consequence ( alteration in the degree of income earned by consumers ) Population degree Preferences ( likes and disfavors ) In instance of ( consequence ) the expected value of future placesSupply and supply factors that determine the sum of placesMonetary values of places in the instance of ( consequence ) Monetary values of alternate / complementary production houses Factors of production monetary values of places Changes in Technology used to bring forth houses Houses a figure of providers Effectss in the instance of the supply of expected future supply of places The factors finding the demands of place purchasers normally affects the place or in other words the consumer and the factors finding the supply of places normally affects manufacturers or providers of place.The monetary values of housesThe United Kingdom house monetary value has increased quickly in recent old ages. Depends on the velocity selected by the home-price index increased preciseness but in February 2004 utilizing the Nationwide and Halifax indices, for illustration, the mean one-year rising prices rate of 17 % ( Baker 2003 ) . Therefore, there is small uncertainty that this growing is non sustainable. But there is uncertainness in the sustainability of the current degree of house monetary values and the likeliness of monetary value diminutions. Reflecting its importance, the lodging market has been a repeating subject in Bank research ( Wood, 2003 ) . Therefore, this subdivision will see foremost the theoretical background factors that determine the monetary value in the unfastened market, and the 2nd, the factors which affect the monetary value of the houses free market, 3rd, analysis of UK lodging market. Harmonizing to the jurisprudence of demand as house monetary values diminution, the figure of place demand should increase but harmonizing to the jurisprudence of supply the monetary value of the place will cut down the sum should besides cut down supply. So when the monetary values of places in a free market will lift after the inordinate demands of the place as the measure supplied is less than measure demanded causes lodging deficit in the market.The monetary value of replacing / Praise the houseIn the UK many places are sold based on leasing and rental system. Sing the different hotels as replacing lodging, if the monetary value of leasing a hotel room is to diminish compared to the monetary value of leasing a house so the house needs more decreased consumer rent hotel suites as cost them less than leasing the house, as a consequence of bulge house monetary values to diminish ( in changeless congratulations as true for the monetary value of complimentary house increases the deman d for houses additions ) .The degree of income earned by the consumerThe degree of income earned something that measures the degree of ingestion of the consumer. In theory, it is known that the more money a individual has so the more that people will desire to pass ( depending on the type of income that individual possesses low / normal ) . So as the degree of income earned place raised demand so increases, the restraint house monetary values to increase.PopulationAs the figure of increasing population, so that means more people need houses to populate in and necessitate to devour more. As the rate of addition in population, the demand for houses additions every bit good due to more ingestion once more doing house monetary values to increase as a consequence.The monetary value of the factors of productionThere are three books considered entrepreneurs as the 4th major factors of production are cardinal factors of production: land, labour and capital. These factors are what make the m erchandise and if the monetary value for either an addition in the measure produced lessenings due to high costs, doing monetary values to increase.The engineering used in house madeTechnology is a factor that ever said to better as a consequence of competition and engineering increased cognition is created to replace the bing one such as computing machines now yearss have virtually replaced facsimile machines. Just like that machine is created in other replace the old, to increase the efficiency of production. As new engineering is introduced to better the production house doing supply to increase, therefore cut downing the monetary value of houses.The figure of providers of houseAs more companies enter the lodging market the degree of competition between houses besides increase. Because there are more options available to devour place monetary values tend to diminish.Expectations of future housePrognosiss, foretelling and presuming for the hereafter is the chief factor in the lodg ing market because the house is a merchandise that can cut down the cost at the clip but place monetary values tend to fluctuate up and down. There are several grounds why the monetary value of other places change and because it besides changes the demand and supply fluctuates over clip. In the UK and many other states, there are many persons who buy a place depends on the future monetary value. This is because they either want to sell the house in the hereafter ( if they predicted that the monetary value of a place will increase in the hereafter, acquiring them more net income in footings of concern ) and some people buy it because it the more expensive now so in the hereafter. So if the monetary value is expected to lift in the hereafter so the demand for the place tends to increase at present. A similar state of affairs is seen in footings of the providers of place. As the monetary value of places tends to increase in the hereafter, providers down the supply house today and give more in the hereafter as providers will gain more income in the hereafter.The authorities impact in the monetary value of houses in free marketAs I mentioned that in a free market economic system, there is no authorities moving on different companies, which gives concerns in a free market freedom to bear down the client the maximal monetary value or give low-wage labour force, which enables companies to derive consumer excess every bit good as the possible benefits and growing. But what if the authorities should come in into this free market system and do the economic system more ethical and just to the work force and society. When a state or an economic system, the authorities is put in topographic point, these companies are normally forced to take down selling monetary values or he enforce Torahs that affect concern public presentation. These Torahs may include minimal pay jurisprudence ; the lower limit pay jurisprudence suggests that workers should non be paid less than a certain degree or all of the minimal pay. Before discoursing the minimal pay can watch the lodging market and the labour used in places. As discussed before the cost of production increases the supply tends to diminish every bit good. Similarly, the pay rate is besides a factor impacting supply in the definition, all other things being equal, the higher the wage, the higher the supply or greater than the measure demanded of labour ( in the long term, the supply tends to go elastic supply ) The Government has a scope of instruments used to steer existent estate monetary values. Many of them are designed to cut down the negative outwardnesss that may be associated with lodging and advance positive outwardnesss. Policy levers are potentially substitutable, so that the same can be achieved frequently ( and possibly better achieved ) utilizing different instruments. There are two major political demands that authoritiess use to command aggregative demand in the economic system to increase production.Fiscal policyMonetary policyEach policy has its advantages and disadvantages, but each is really affectional in increasing the production of an economic system. Fiscal policy tends to utilize the tools of revenue enhancement and public outgo to implement a alteration in aggregative demand ( can besides be used to alter the overall supply ) , the distribution of income, the allotment theoretical account resources and the degree of economic activity in an economic system plus in advancement. On the other manus, pecuniary policy refers to authorities policy in which the authorities, cardinal bank and other pecuniary bureaus tends to modulate the â€Å" money † with the aid of the Federal Reserve. Monetary policy uses three chief tools to command the money supply, these tools include:Reserve demandOpen market operationsThe price reduction rateMone y is an of import portion of any economic system as it is described as a medium of exchange that represents a claim on a merchandise. In economic sciences, the term income is normally replaced by money because it represents the sum of money a individual has and the sum of money that is used in an economic system is by and large described by the â€Å" round flow of income † . The round flow of income is a theoretical account that shows the flow of income between consumers ( purchasers ) and manufacturers ( Sellerss ) . If the sums of money in the escape flow on the flow and contracts doing a recession but if money injected into the flow, so the flow increases doing economic growing. To command or increase the flow, the authorities uses policies, which besides includes the pecuniary policy. The chief nonsubjective pecuniary policy is to keep monetary value degrees of employment and productiveness degrees in a stable economic system. Monetary policy tools are really simple in t heory, but in pattern really hard. The first tool is basically a â€Å" modesty demand † modulating the sum of minimal militias each bank is expected to keep ( cardinal Bankss ) . The ground for keeping these militias is chiefly to fulfill backdown petitions. These militias are chiefly used in a signifier of â€Å" fiat money. † Fiat money is fundamentally money salvaging authoritiess. The 2nd most of import tool of pecuniary policy is â€Å" unfastened market operations † the term refers chiefly to cardinal bank operations in commanding the supply of money by purchasing and selling fiscal instruments. Open market operations are chiefly used to command the degree of ingestion and the round flow of income. As cardinal Bankss increase the money supply, the involvement rate tends to diminish influence more adoption. For illustration, in the instance of the lodging market in the UK, if the additions in the money supply, thereby cut downing the involvement rate from 10 % to 5 % , people will borrow more money because they will non necessitate to pay an extra 5 % . This will do the demand for lodging in this period of growing. But due to strong demand for houses house monetary values besides increases, which could be a cause of rising prices if it is considered on a big graduated table. The 3rd tool of pecuniary policy is the â€Å" price reduction rate † . The price reduction rate is basically the involvement rate on the loan of Federal Reserve ‘s. Federal militias are chiefly used in the jobs of liquidness and other fiscal crisis. Fiscal policy on the other manus is a simple but effectual manner to increase aggregative demand in an economic system. One of the aims of financial policy is to increase the degree of active economic activities in the economic system. For illustration, if the authorities reduces the degree of revenue enhancement cast responsibility on houses ( â€Å" a signifier of revenue enhancement levied on instruments ( this is written ) , and requires a physical cast to be affixed or printed in the instrument in inquiry 2 ) , so it will indirectly cut down belongings monetary values which, harmonizing to the jurisprudence of demand as the monetary value decreases the sum of demand for a good additions, which increases the degree of ingestion. Monetary values may besides fall if the authorities increases disbursement to supply inducements and subsidies. A authorities by and large uses the tools of revenue enhancement non merely a alteration in aggregative demand, but besides increase gross. th ough authoritiess have the power to enforce a 100 % revenue enhancement, but this will merely convey a lessening in turnover, this construct is sometimes called the construct â€Å" nonexempt income snap â€Å" which was illustrated by † Arthur Laffer â€Å" through a Laffer curve ( Guttman account of the consequence is non needed ) . In Conclusion This paper has provided an analysis of the theoretical foundations of the free market pricing mechanism naming context some celebrated neo-classical economic theory as Adam Smith ‘s â€Å" unseeable manus † construct. Then, by analysing the factors that determine the monetary value of places in the free market, the paper showed assorted factors such as involvement rates, demographics, expected gross, supply and demand, location and economic growing. In its concluding subdivision, the paper assessed vividly how authorities lodging policy has affected house monetary values. The authorities is one of the most of import elements of an economic system. Although it is possible for an economic system to run in a free market. But to maintain a stable economic system there are many factors that plays a function and the authorities is able to command these factors, therefore the Government has the power to raise the monetary value to the maximal degree but making so will merely ma ke jobs. This is due to the presence of decreasing returns ( non mentioning to the jurisprudence of decreasing returns, decreasing returns in general ) . So it is a fact that authorities power is 100 % of the economic system but there is a bound to how much power can be used due to decreasing returns to different accomplishments.