College students need tax deductions - response to questionnaire Essay

College students need tax deductions - response to questionnaire - Essay Example Further, 7 (about 44%) of them stated that they do not work, i.e. they do not hold any sort of job, whereas 2 (about 12%) of them worked around 10 to 15 hours per week; 3 of them (about 19%) claimed that they worked 15 to 20 hours per week and the rest of them (about 25%) stated that they worked more than 20 hours per week. The findings show that a majority of the students does little to no work in the way of employment. When asked how many hours would suffice for them to afford college, about 19% said that they did not need work to afford college, and a similar percentage said that they had never thought about this question. Another 19% said that 20 hours per week would suffice, whereas 6% said that 15 hours and about 37% said that more than 20 hours per week would be sufficient. Around 44% of them stated that they had never thought about the tax rates for single college students, and an identical percentage stated that it is too high, only 2 (12%) thought that the current tax rate is reasonable. However, 100% of them would support a decrease in the current tax rate. Out of these, around 19%, about 12% and 50% wanted the tax rate to be reduced to 20 percent, 18 percent and 15 percent respectively, with about 6 percent stating that they did not want it changed. About 62% said that they found it hard to cope with their studies due to their work responsibilities whereas the other 48 or so percent did not have any such problems. When asked what problems they have had to face due to juggling work and studies together, the responses were quite varied: some of them simply stated that they do not work, whereas those who worked stated that their grades suffered, they were sleep deprived, had little to no social life, had professors who gave them extra work on weekends when they had to work most of the weekend, had a lack of concentration at both work and college as well as an unbalanced diet. In short there are

The decade of the 1860s saw the success of the nation-building efforts Essay

The decade of the 1860s saw the success of the nation-building efforts of Bismarck and Cavour in Germany and Italy, respectively - Essay Example Denmark, Austria, and France were against the development of Germany. Bismarck declared war against these countries. He ensured there are no external forces preventing the development of Germany. The Germans made him chancellor. He used his position to formulate laws that promoted economic growth. He dominated the political field and ensured there is no instability. Germans concentrated in developing the economy rather than participating in war. There was the need of morals and virtues in the nation, for it to grow. Bismarck passed legislation that made Catholic Church an official influence in Germany (McKay 98). He wanted the people to follow right morals and respect God. Many countries in the 1860s depended on the system of alliance for their survival (McKay 100). Bismarck ensured Germany consolidated its power in the European block. He created a system of alliances to tackle his competitors (McKay 30). Germany became powerful and it was easy for it to acquire important resources. Bismarck always collected taxes without the permission of parliament (McKay 200). He wanted to ensure his economic policies came to success. Germany grew because he united the liberal middle class and German nationalist. He knew how to distribute resources. Victor Emmanuel led Italy. Under his leadership, Cavour united Italy when he became prime minister. He wanted to see the economy of Italy grow. The newspapers were the tool Cavour used to spread his policies (McKay 45). He used the newspapers to bring unification in Italy. He wanted to be a superpower in Italy. Cavour wanted this to be a success by forming an alliance with France. He had command of the Italian army. Cavour used that opportunity to fight enemies of Italy’s alliance. Thus, Italy received much international support. The country grew significantly in the economic sector (McKay 111). Furthermore, unity is very important for the growth of a country. Cavour

The Architectural Theory of Semiotics

The Architectural Theory of Semiotics This essay will examine the architectural theory of semiotics and its relationship to the built work of Peter Eisenman, specifically his project titled House VI. This essay will define the theory of semiotics from Saussure through to Chomsky. It will then go on to describe how Peter Eisenman, influenced by the writings of Noam Chomsky would apply semiotic linguistic principles to his design process namely those of deep structure and also syntactic transformational; expression. In doing so Peter Eisenman would set architecture on the path towards breaking free from drawing as the main vehicle for design. Semiotics in architecture is the search for a deeper discourse with the built environment, a way of understanding the rich array of metaphor, ambiguity, rhetorical nuance and metonymy that can occur in architectural meaning. A meaning that does not change and evolve over time dependant on specific context, convention or simple accidents.[1] It is the attempt at better understanding of just how a building communicates. The general study of signs was known as semiology in Europe and semiotics in the United States, it is these theories that have been applied to graphic and visual communication. Both the theories of semiology and semiotics appeared around the same time in the early 1900s. This new scientific approach to language and signs was proposed in Europe by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) and parallel to this in the United States by Charles Sander Peirce (1839-1914). Both were looking at the fundamental building blocks and structure of language, and the necessary conditions for language to exist.[2] Ferdinand de Saussure theorised the synchronic approach, that language should not only be looked at in its historical context but also in how it relates to a specific moment independent of its developmental context.[3] Differentiating between language as a system of enabling communication and the way language is used by individuals through speech. Saussure sought to discover and better understand the underlying principles of language, the structure and signs that all languages share.[4] Both Saussure and Peirce sought to understand the structure of signs, looking at the structure would facilitate a better understanding of how meaning was extracted from a sign. Peirce looked at the relationships of the structures as a way of categorising the signs.[5]The categories that Peirce divided signs into were Icon, Index and Symbol. An Icon bears a physical resemblance to the thing it represents, an Index represents a direct link between sign and object, and a Symbol relies purely upon the reader of the sign having learnt the connection to the meaning. Saussure determined the meaning of a sign by using what he called value. What was important for Saussure was the relationship between signs in the same system. He took a positive versus negative approach judging a sign by not only what it means but what it doesnt mean in relation to something else. For example a book is not a magazine or film.[6] Semiotics looks at the oppositional relationship of things as key to communication and cognition, undestanding something by understanding what it is not.[7]This signification helps to categorise reality so we can understand it. However Saussure was only concerned with language at not the part of the reader of language in the process, which contrasts with Peirce who believed that the sign is affected by the person who is reading the sign. It would be Roland Barthes in the 1960s who would take this theoretical idea forward. Barthes saw the science of signs as encompassing a much broader range of systems than just language. Barthes linked semiotics to any system of signs no matter the content or limits of that system. Semiotic meaning can be derived from images, sounds, gestures and objects. The system of signification could cover many forms of social and ritual convention.[8] The semiotic theories would also start to link with architecture. Architecture being similar to language in that it too is system of signs. A very obvious example of this would be to compare a house to a hospital, both buildings give off different signs as to their function and purpose. Our ability to read this purpose occurs much in the same way as a book is read and understood.[9] To distinguish architecture from building requires an intentional sign which suggests that a wall is doing something more than literally sheltering, supporting, enclosing; it must embody a significance which projects and sustains the idea of wallness beyond mere use, function, or extrinsic allusion. Thus its paradoxical nature: the sign must overcome use and extrinsic significance to be admitted as architecture; but on the other hand, without use, function, and the existence of extrinsic meaning there would be no conditions which would require such an intentional act of overcoming.[10] The crossover of linguistic semiotic theory with architecture would occur more thoroughly around 1966 when Peter Eisenman began looking at the work of Noam Chomsky.[11] Eisenman at the time viewed both language and architecture and being made up of three semiotic categories, these being semantics, pragmatics and syntactics. These three categories contain similarities to Peirce and his division of signs into icon, index and symbol. Semantics refers to the relationship between form and icon, pragmatics form to function and syntactics the relationship of physical form to conceptual space.[12]Eisenman was also interested in another idea closely related to the early theories of semiotics, that of structuralism. Using structuralist principles to go beyond function in architecture to discover the innate order of things, subverting simplistic readings of space by adding complexity through architectural semiotics.[13] It was through the reading of Noam Chomsky that the idea of deep structure became apparent to Eisenman as a useful means of investigating architecture. This syntactical opposition of line, plane and volume generated a physical architecture from a series of abstract rules. The essence of Eisenmans theoretical musings at this time would be distilled into his Houses project. The most thorough exploration of this would occur in House VI. House VI was commissioned by Suzanne and Dick Frank. A small building, it would be one of Peter Eisenmans first built works. Construction would take place between 1972 and 1975.[14] The building acts as a record of the abstract series of rules used in the process of design, with the Chomsky influenced theories of syntax and deep structure crucial to the transformative process. The building would become the manifestation of a system of relationships, with the system acting as generator of both form and meaning. The semantic generator of form is replaced by the syntactic. [15]The axonometric drawings dont just represent the house they become the house. As Eisenman states The diagrams for House VI are symbiotic with its reality; the house is not an object in the traditional sense that is the result of a process-but more accurately a record of a process.[16] The priority of the drawings in considering the house remove the pressure placed upon a finished building to deliver complete meaning. The building forms only a part of the conversation, as technical drawings are used to enhance the experience. Drawings and finished building-the entire process- should be viewed holistically, each providing an important summation of the architectural intent.[17] The axonometric drawings reveal the starting point for the design of House VI and the syntactic structure that these would form. The starting point is a cube divided by a four square and nine square grid. Eisenman then starts a series of simple movements of this grid in the process creating two centres. The hierarchy of these overlayed patterns develops the expressive interrelationship.[18]However rather than a further refining of this relationship, instead Eisenman materialises the expressions of the inherent geometries through axonometric sketches which turn the competing axes of the four and nine square grid into walls or voids cutting through the building.[19] In House VI Eisenman attempts to move away from the idea of function as the driving narrative of design, and along with this the overarching human scale design considerations which restrict architecture. This moves Eisenman towards an autonomous architecture, a conceptual matrix[20] that fragments the relationship between concept and percept. House VI seeks to place the viewer not at the end point of design but instead engaged actively in continual intrepretation and reinterpretation of process. This engagement with the viewer enables a reanimation of the process, a conversation between the viewer and the building that undermines the physicality of House VI as an object instead making it an active part of its surroundings. The concept at odds with the viewers historical perception of a general solidity normally associated with building.[21] Eisenman attempted to introduce an architectural system free of external reference, autonomous, not restricted by function and the classical notion of architecture as referential to the human body. Eisenman saw traditional architectures primary concerns being semantic through the linking of physical indicators to the external meaning, form and function. He viewed the possiblities of a semantic architecture as having been exhausted by both modernist and classical architecture. To unlock new variations in architecture the syntactic dimension needed to played with. Semantic architecture sought solutions to problems and was dependent on preconceived external requirements.[22]Through his exploration of linguistic theory the semantic became absorbed by the syntactic. It was Eisenman interest in Noam Chomsky as mentioned earlier that gave him the knowledge base to theorise a generation of form previously undiscovered by both classicist and modernist architecture. Form in its syntactic nature led to an antifunctionalism that enclosed any meaning generated by the form back within itself, creating an interplay of oppositions and empty positions.[23] House VI can almost be seen as design itself, with the rules the of transformational process inscribed within the final object. What these explorations into syntax sought to achieve was a design not limited by cultural preconceptions of function. These preconceptions Eisenman theorised were limiting the developmental possibilities of architecture. How could a design be achieved without being slave to the aesthetic experiences of the architect? Removing ego would allow for an exploration into multiple manipulations never previously conceived. Eisenmans work is driven by the continual process of thinking and rethinking both philosophy and architecture. It is an attempt to broaden the critical search for inspiration away from the architectural precedent by incorporating other fields of inquiry into the discussion. This reactivation of architectural dislocation moves it away from the complacent relationship of tradition, extending the possible search parameters of occupiable form.[24] The architectural development of Eisenman as an architect can be seen a continued battle against complacency in the profession. Eisenman sees House VI as still having the ability to provide shelter, the main driving function of the house. However this need is not pushed to the point of romanticism and nostalgia. The living room does not require the need to have a beautiful view, columns in the dining area do not hinder any activity in that area nor do they aid functionally or decoratively the area. The design of House VI is not driven by the need to accommodate every whim of its occupants, it is driven by the syntactic rules set out at the project start.[25] Critics of Eisenmans work suggest that his writings describing his theories do not describe his design process in a concise manner, that they deliberately ambiguous in order to allow Eisenman to close a critical examination. It is suggested that Eisenman uses jargon and rhetoric as a way to control the critical debate, to conduct it on his own terms. Eisenman can be seen as distancing himself from his own work, through the claims of an autonomous design process, the object is separated from creator.[26] Mark David Major and Nicholas Sarris criticise Eisenmans theoretical writings and the objects they refer to by suggesting that the theories arent quite of the analytical quality that Eisenman would have us believe, and the objects express more traditional notion than Eisenman would like. This is their cloak and dagger theory of Eisenman and his architecture. They describe Eisenman of using theories that cannot be objectively used to discuss other architecture, perpetuating a myth of Eisenman as architectural genius. Major and Sarris go on to describe Eisenmans writings of House VI as being closer to what is the architectural ideal rather than pursuing an analytical discourse. They suggest that Eisenman is doing both architecture and himself an injustice because rather than seeking to expose the application of the elegant and simple rules of composition used in the design of House VI he instead obscures them with rhetoric. Finally they put forward that the rules that Eisenman has laid out for himself do not strictly limit the architectural possibilities open to him and that aesthetic and tradition considerations could still subconsciously influence the design.[27] House VI acts as a commentary on architectural form, the principles of composition and the processes involved. Eisenman uses House VI to highlight the historical failures of architectural composition by highlighting drawings hold over the profession, but in doing this he limits the scope of his critique to traditional drawing based architecture.[28]The problem with drawing being in its ability to describe or show process. A finished architectural drawing becomes an object rather than an act of design. What Eisenman was attempting to achieve with House VI was the display of the design process, however paradoxically by displaying the process he in turn made it an image. The images can be reanimated through writing but the process itself is doomed to ambiguity. Eisenman used House VI to push at the boundaries between process driven design and drawing, but was ultimately limited at this time due to drawing being his primary medium of communication.[29]Eisenman saw the reliance on drawing as stumbling block in his search to free architecture from its emphasis on form and function. What he achieved with House VI however was for the first time to bring the industries reliance on drawing into question. House VI with its grids used a traditional method of architectural practice common since the Renaissance, but he managed to turn that process in upon itself revealing a infinite possibilities in turn made form utterly meaningless. The shifting priorities of design were brought forward with House VI and in doing so Eisenman shifted the future of architectural practice. Eisenman through his study and introduction of semiotics sought to not only break free from the not only the cultural practices of his profession but also its limiting historical traditions. Drawings role in the design process reached a visibility not seen before in architecture. House VI helped to define the limitations of drawing on the design process, by using an approach such as semiotics and applying it to the design process, drawing was held up in the spotlight. This led to the questioning of the role of drawing and attempts to seek other modes of representation. What Eisenman achieved with House VI was to pave the way for computational design, this was by no means the original intent with the idea of using computers not even thought of at this stage.[30] But in opening the architectural discipline up through the science of semiotics and the syntactic approach of House VI he enabled and eased of that future possibility to take place. Eisenmans buildings encourage exploration in architecture through the non-traditional means not as the only course of action but instead as an important alternative. [1] (Mallgrave and Goodman 2011) [2] (Crow 2010)p7 [3] (Mitrovic 2011)p148 [4] (Crow 2010)p15 [5] (Crow 2010)p30 [6] (Crow 2010)p41 [7] (Hattenhauer 1984)p72 [8] (Crow 2010)p54 [9] (Davies 2011)p24 [10] (Patin 1993)p88 [11] (Patin 1993)p91 [12] (Patin 1993)p88 [13] (Chapman, Ostwald and Tucker 2004)p389 [14] (Luce 2010) [15] (Patin 1993) [16] (Luscombe 2014)p560 [17] (Luscombe 2014) [18] (Luce 2010)p127 [19] (Luce 2010)p129 [20] (Luscombe 2014) [21] (Luce 2010)p132 [22] (Patin 1993)p89 [23] (Patin 1993)p91 [24] (Benjamin 1989)p50 [25] (Benjamin 1989)p51 [26] (Major and Sarris 1999)p20.2 [27] (Major and Sarris 1999)p20.4 [28] (Luce 2010)p132 [29] (Luce 2010)p132 [30] (Luce 2010)p134 Bibliography Benjamin, Andrew. â€Å"Eisenman and the Housing Tradition.† Oxford Art Journal Vol.12, 1989: 47-54. Chapman, Michael, Michael J Ostwald, and Chris Tucker. â€Å"Semiotics, interpretation and political resistance.† Contexts of Architecture. Launceston: ANZAScA, 2004. 384-390. Crow, David. Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics in the Visual Arts. Lausanne: AVA Publishing, 2010. Davies, Colin. Thinking About Architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2011. Hattenhauer, Darryl. â€Å"The Rhetoric of Architecture: A Semiotic Approach.† Communication Quarterly, 1984: 71-77. Luce, Kristina. â€Å"The Collision of Process and Form.† Getty Research Journal No.2, 2010: 125-137. Luscombe, Desley. â€Å"Architectural Concepts in Peter Eisenmans Axonometric Drawings of House VI.† The Journal Of Architecture, 2014: 560-611. Major, Mark D, and Nicholas Sarris. â€Å"Cloak and Dagger Theory.† Space Syntax Second International Symposium. Brasilia: Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, 1999. 20.1-20.14. Mallgrave, Harry F, and David Goodman. An Introduction to Architectural Theory 1968 to the Present. Chicester: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. Mitrovic, Branko. Philosophy for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Patin, Thomas. â€Å"From Deep Structure to an Architecture in Suspense: Peter Eisenman, Structuralism, and Deconstruction.† Journal of Architectural Education (Taylor Francis, Ltd) 47, no. 2 (November 1993): 88. Sargazi, Mohammad Ali. â€Å"Explaining the Meaning of the Symbols in Architectural Semiotics and Discovery.† Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol 1, 2013: 129-134.

love is worth the inevitable pain Essay -- essays research papers

Love is Worth the Inevitable Pain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not the typical Hollywood love film. A Hollywood love film is a film where a couple gets together in the end and lives happily ever after, but this is a love story that shows the reality of love and the consequences that come with it. Love is not one hundred percent bliss, it also comes with pain. To get rid of this pain after a break up or death a company, Lacuna, has invented a way to erase people from their memory. The two main characters in the movie fall in love and then they both decide to erase each other from their memories. Clementine, Kate Winslet, erases Joel, Jim Carrey, because she becomes bored with their relationship. Joel goes to the Barnes and Nobles where she works to see her and she has absolutely no idea who he even is. Joel probably would not have erased Clementine, but he found a card that told him he was erased from her memory and he did not think that he could go on with the memory of her. This film is completely different from a Hollywood version, at the end of this movie it leaves room for interpretation for the viewer to think for themselves whether Clementine and Joel will end up happily ever after, there are no clear answers. The scene begins with Joel and Clementine lying naked on a rug in the middle of the floor covered only by a repugnant quilt. The quilt has a tranquilizing effect however because of its warm colors, which is perfect for this scene. The colors of the quilt subconsciously give the feeling that everything is comfortable. As they are lying on the floor Clementine asks Joel if she is ugly. As soon as she asks the question the shot changes and it shows Joel instantly respond with an â€Å"uh huh,† in a manner saying no. The camera then goes to Clementine, but once she starts to speak, it instantly shows Joel again. Clementine tells Joel about how she remembers when she was little a little girl and she thought she was ugly, as the camera is still on a close up of Joel. Usually while someone is talking the camera would be on them, but in this scene the camera is on a close up of Joel while Clementine is talking to show his expressions and to see the sincerity of his emotions and the lo ve he has for Clementine. The next shot is a picture of Clementine when she was little. The picture of her is a somewhat average litt... ...something. I believe that this line is repeated to show a new beginning for their relationship, because this is a disclaimer that Clementine uses both times she meets Joel to warm him of the way that she is. Joel responds with â€Å"I can’t see anything that I don’t like about you.† Clementine says â€Å"But you will. You will think of things and I’ll get bored with you and feel trapped because that is what happened with me.† Joel says â€Å"OK† as if he is relieved, which Clementine promptly answers with â€Å"OK.† They both decide that they want to try and start over with their relationship even though they know that it probably will not work out because it has already failed once, but there is a possibility for it to succeed. They now understand that the risk they take to have a relationship and fail, is far greater than to not have even attempted to have one at all. The movie ends with the song â€Å"Change of Heart† playing while Clementine and Joel are walking in the snow towards their new beginning. The director is implying that they had a change of heart and that things in the end did work out for them to live together happily ever after, but not with out loves temporary and necessary glitches.

No Advertising Essay

â€Å"What do I wear in bed? Chanel N °5, of course. †Marilyn Monroe mentioned in her interview in 19521. When referring to fragrance, it is hard not to mention Chanel N °5, due to its uniqueness, longevity and popularity, it is associated by others with women, famous and not famous, who have worn it in different eras over its decades. Chanel N °5 is the first perfume launched by CoCo Chanel in 19202, it is not only one of the world’s top selling perfumes3 but also represent a world of fantasy and reflection of the desire and pleasure of the time period. ?Prior to the introduction of magazine, newspaper is the main communication source of information and advertising in the society4. At that time period, it is one of the most effective method for advertisings to enter the house of consumer since the limitation of technological development of radio and television have not yet been discovered. Different from newspaper, magazine does not aim to target everyone, it often has very specific group of target group, presenting information and areas of interest that its target group would enjoy. In the early age of magazine, there was a great emphasize in targeting elite class of the society, which be seen from extremely informative full page of texts. After a realization of increasing number of middle class and immigrants, magazine shifted its target from the elite to middle class5, which lead to the necessity of the use of imagery to communicate. Editors of magazine has shift from elite man with a background of mostly literature to middle class man with a background relating to merchandise. Magazine realized that the profits are not made through subscriptions, but through companies market their products by buying spaces in the issue6. Advertisement in magazines has become one of the most prominent method of marketing or in another word, methods of creating desire. Chanel has always been featured their advertisement in leading female fashion related magazine such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. This essay will explore the comparison of Chanel N °5 fragrance magazine advertisement from a different time period of 49 years in relationship to the cultural shift and the impact of advertisement from self satisfaction to sexual attraction which represents through values hold in gender, stereotypes, lifestyle, desire and fantasy. The two advertisements that will be used to analyze are the magazine ads of the famous Chanel N °5 perfume. ‘Chanel becomes the woman you are’ print ad in 1959 (Fig1) starring Suzy Parker, one of the most recognizable faces of the 1950s as a supermodel and actress. Suzy Parker was the signature face for Coco Chanel as she has always been associated with elegance and glamour7. The dominant part of the advertisement presents a black and white dreamy photograph of Suzy Parker in a beautiful evening gown with the perfect hair and make up, glancing slightly away from the viewers. The ads also features the well known bottle/ product, Chanel N °5 as a secondary focus with a tag line ‘Chanel becomes the woman you are’ with a paragraph expanding on it: ‘A perfume is different on different women because every woman has a skin chemistry all her own. Chanel N °5 is subtly created to blend with your own delicate essence- to be like Chanel N °5, yet deliciously like you alone. Chanel becomes you because it becomes you. ’. Similarly in one of the contemporary most famous campaign for Chanel N °5 in 2004 (Fig2), Nicole Kidman, a talented and beautiful Australian actress who enters the hollywood famously known for her elegant beauty8 was enlisted to represent the fragrance. The technological development of film, television and recent main information communication and sharing method, the internet, allow advertising to go beyond just a printed page enter to the phrase of story telling. The 2004 Nicole Kidman advertisement has a direct connection to the campaign of a mini-movie/ film which everyone has access through various sources. Due to the popularity of internet and information sharing, it is not a difficult for viewers who see the ads in the magazine to recall and connect the story in the film to print ads, allowing Chanel to create a full advertising campaign which successfully tell a story of the world famous star, Nicole Kidman, who escape from the publicity and fall in love with a stranger. The last scene of the film is used in the print ad, displaying Nicole Kidman when she returns back to her world, with a dialogue: ‘And then she was gone, as she forgotten, i know i will not†¦ her kiss, her smile and her perfume’9. The film does not mentioned any word about or show viewers what the perfume it was, the only clue was the necklace ‘N °5’ The print features in magazine depicts a beautiful photograph of Nicole Kidman in a dark background contrasting with her body- the closing eyes and ambiguous posture: turning away from or about to face the viewers in a beautiful modern black evening gown with her simply perfect up-do hair and her N °5 necklace which is wear to her back. The ads does not contain any words or explanation, only present N °5 with the signature bottle which is constantly shown throughout since the first ads. â€Å"Perfume is intended to contribute to our understanding of gender as performance rather than expression, and of identity as practice rather than essence†10 stated by Angela Partington. Fragrance has always been known as the connotation of identity, as the word ‘wear’ is used to describe the action of using. As can be seen in the 1959 Suzy Parker Chanel N °5 Ads, the tagline ‘Chanel becomes the woman you are’ aimed to create a personal, even intimate connection with the object. It does not promotes how special the product itself is, instead, it makes the individual consumer as an important ingredient. The ads makes consumers feel that it is specific individual ‘you’ who makes it extra unique and special. This advertisement illustration the shift from the emphasize in character as moral and internal sense to ethics to identity as a self focused behavior11. In contrast, the Ads featured Nicole Kidman presents an identity of a fantasy figure of famous star, a break from reality in which all women desire to have in real life. The opposite sex attraction is used as the message of this ads. It puts the audiences in a fantasy world and convince them to believe that using the produce will create the same outcome for them. This shows the values holds in identity of the society which self satisfied identity is not enough, it is more of the relationships to other people, the representation of ‘you’ through others’ eyes. The advertisings of Chanel N °5 in the two ads does not only symbolize the values in identity, it is also a great representation of gender and sexuality values hold in the society as well. Both of the Chanel N °5 Ad depicts women in a beautiful evening gown which certainly is going to attend an important social event. The two ads illustrates the roles of women in the society as a powerful individuals who has social status, not the women in the past who expect to stay home. They are the representation of the equality and balance of gender roles, and what women in the time period are desire to be. As sex roles evolved, with women entering the workforce and pushing for equality, sexual appeals casting the woman as a sex object is no longer a popular and rightful subject to present12. Referring to ‘The Erotic History of Advertising’, there is a shift of the theme of turning on men to representing the power- women in control13. It can be seen in the 1959 Chanel N °5 Ads, as the ad does not have any reference to any sexual attraction, only focusing herself in control of her own identity and representation. The different approach, however, generating the same effects, is taken in the 2004 Nicole Kidman Ads, it is the representation of the current society, how the society control her as a role of super star and how she uses perfume to make a man ‘remember’ or be under her control. It seems like there is a great manner in revisiting the theme of sexual attraction in the society. â€Å"Fragrance is a material, symbolic and visual object, and ‘image’/ fantasy articulating not just luxury and glamour, but a range of desires for transformed bodies, auto-erotic, sensual and socio-sexual experiences. 14 The discussion of gender and sexuality cannot be complete without the discussion of skin explosion as sexuality. Chanel has always been known to represent elegance, glamour and class15 which is why advertisings by Chanel are almost always associate with women attending an event in a beautiful gown . ‘Chanel becomes the woman you are’ ads display elegance in a simply conservative way, as seen through her fashionable dress of ruffles, covering Suzy Parker’s whole body, left only with the main emphasize of her face- her identity. This demonstrate their aim to sell personal identities for self satisfaction which is well supported with the text and tagline. The ads display how the society before may seen the use of sexuality to sell as an unacceptable methods and unfashionable topic to talk about in the society. In contrast, the 2004 Chanel N °5 Ads presents sexuality through various motifs such as the skin which shown through the very low cut back dress and the emotion on Nicole Kidman’s closing eyes. It is clear today that one of the leading marketing trend that would attract people’s enjoyment and attentions would involve more skin as the viewers are no longer limited to women but also to men. However, Chanel have use sexuality in a very elegant way through one technique described by the brand researcher William Baue, ‘focusing on fantasy allowed Chanel to harness the power of sexuality without crossing the border into distaste’16 Fantasy has always been associated with fragrance as a method to create desire17 which is the main motive of advertisement. In both ads, Chanel has chose to represent the brand itself through an actress- an individual whom placed in between the line of reality and dream. In 1959 Ads, even though the focus of the campaign is ‘you’ as a viewer, however, Chanel chose to represent its viewer as Suzy Parker, the famous actress. The connection of reality and fantasy is quietly made in a way that viewers may not even realize the fantasy they are dreaming of. Even through the text in the ads describe the quality and ingredients which makes the perfume becomes you as a person, it also touches on the fantasy aspect in term of the values of gender, power, identity and status described above. In obvious way, the ads featured Nicole Kidman shows and put viewers into a fantasy world in reality. Due to the technological development, the film became dominant part of the campaign allowing viewers to explore, take a break from reality and leave them with a desire- desire to become like Nicole Kidman and putting the message in their face that Chanel N °5 will allow ‘you’ to be like that. The unchanged method of using fantasy as desirable motifs to sell fragrance18 have proved that the women from then and now have and will always been interested and attracts to the word ‘could’, what she could be, what she could do and where she could go- the stage of dreaming. The development of technology allowed the 2004 Nicole Kidman campaign to successfully tell a fantasy story which almost force viewers to create their imagery fancy lifestyle picture in her head, which then lead to the desire to own the object advertised. In conclusion, the different time period advertisement of Chanel N °5 perfume in magazine advertisement demonstrate the shifting values from identity as self satisfaction toward the impressions of others. Advertisement of the two ads has became the reflection of the society’s value in gender, lifestyle, sexuality and desire. Moreover, fragrance will always be sold with a desirable motif through fantasy, it only varied in the term of the presentation method and techniques, mostly through the language of photography and language, that would attracts and communicate the people of the time.

Concept Comparison and Analysis

Concept Comparison and Analysis Jessica Watts NUR 513 July 2nd, 2012 Coleen Lucas Concept Comparison and Analysis Core concepts are the basis for a theory or model; concepts help in the development of theories. Theorists have developed different models or  theories but have common core concepts. This paper will identify the core concept of ‘the role of nursing,’ which two theorists, Dorothea Orem and Virginia Henderson both utilized. We will compare and  analyze the concept definitions among both theorists, and discuss the practical use of Orem’s self care theory. Core ConceptThe core concept of ‘The role of nursing’ was used in both Dorothea Orem’s self care model and in Virginia Henderson’s nursing care model. Dorothea Orem’s definition of nursing is â€Å"actions deliberately selected and performed by nurses to help individuals or groups under their care to maintain or change conditions in themselves or their environmentsà ¢â‚¬  (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 4). Virginia Henderson’s definition of nursing is â€Å"assisting individuals to gain independence in relation to the performance of activities contributing to health or its recovery† (Timetoast, 2011).Their theories in relation to the concept differ where Orem’s concept requires the patient to have a self deficit and in need of nursing care or support; while Henderson’s concept states that nursing is required regardless if the patient is sick or healthy. The concepts are also similar in the fact that they both support the patient is regaining optimal health. Their concepts are applicable in different nursing settings because the goals of each are the same. Orem’s Self Care Theory—MetaparadigmsWithin Orem’s self care theory, there are five metaparadigms: nursing, health, environment, human being, and nursing client. Orem views nursing as an art, a helping service, and a technology. Orem’s de finition of nursing is â€Å"actions deliberately selected and performed by nurses to help individuals or groups under their care to maintain or change conditions in themselves or their environments† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 3). Orem encompasses the patient’s, the physician’s, and the nurse’s perspective of the patient’s health condition.Her goal of nursing is to make the patient and members of the patient’s family capable of meeting the patient’s self care needs, maintain an optimal state of health, to regain previous state of health after an illness or disease, and to decrease the effects of a chronic illness. Orem uses the terms ‘health’ and ‘healthy’ to describe living things ; â€Å"it is when they are structurally and functionally whole or sound, in conjunction, with physiological and psycho-physiological mechanisms and a material structure in relation to and interacting with other human beingsâ⠂¬  (Current Nursing, 2010, para. ). Orem’s environment is the elements, conditions, and components within the environment. According to Orem a human being â€Å"has the capacity to reflect, symbolize and use symbols; a unity that can function biologically, symbolically, and socially† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 5). A nursing client is a human being who has health related or derived issues that cause them to be incapable of continuous and complete self care; they are the focus, only when their self care needs exceed their self care capabilities. Theory of Self CareOrem’s definition of self care is the â€Å"practice of activities that the individual initiates and performs on their own behalf to maintain life, health, and well being† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 12). The human ability to engage in self care is determined by age, developmental state, life experience, social and cultural orientation, health, and available resources. Orem describes three self care requisites; universal self care requisites, developmental self care requisites, and health deviation of self care; all are directed towards the provision of self care.Universal self care requisites are the maintenance, provision, balance, prevention, and promotion of human functioning. â€Å"Developmental self care requisites are associated with developmental processes derived from a condition or associated with an event† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 14), for example adjusting to a new job or adjusting to bodily changes, such as menopause. Health deviation self care is required in conditions of illness, disease, or injury. Health deviation is seeking, securing, modifying, learning, and effectively carrying out medically prescribed measures. Theory of Self Care DeficitOrem’s theory of self care deficit specifies when nursing is needed. â€Å"Nursing is required when an adult (or in the case of a dependent, the parent) is incapable or limited in the provision of continuous effective self care† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 16). Orem’s created five methods of helping; which are acting for and doing for others, guiding others, supporting one another, providing an environment that promotes personal development, and teaching one another. Theory of Nursing Systems Orem describes how the patients self care needs will be meet by the nurse, patient, or both in her theory of nursing systems. The design and elements of a nursing system defines the scope of nursing responsibility in health care situations, defines general and specific roles of nurses and patients, and defines reasons for nurses’ relationship with patients† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 17). Orem recognized that members of the health profession usually develop specialized technologies. â€Å"A technology is systematized information about a process or a method for affecting some desired result through deliberate practical endeavors, with or without use of materials or instruments† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 17).Concept of Orem’s Theory Orem interrelates concepts in such a way, that it creates a different perspective of a particular phenomenon. Orem’s theory is logical, simple, and generalizable; and is a basis to test hypotheses. â€Å"It contributes to and assists in increasing the general body of knowledge within the discipline through the research implemented to validate them† (Current Nursing, 2010, para. 21). According to Orem, her theory in Current Nursing, 2010, can be used by practitioners to guide and improve their practice and it must be consistent with other validated theories, principles, and laws. MajorAssumptions, Strengths, and Limitations According to Current Nursing, 2010; some major assumptions of Orem’s theory are: people should be self-reliant and responsible for their own care and their family; people are distinct individuals; nursing is a form of action and interaction betwee n two or more people; successfully meeting universal and developmental self care requisites is an important component of primary care prevention; knowledge of potential health problems is necessary for promoting self care behaviors; and self care and dependent care are behaviors learned within a socio- cultural context.Some strengths to Orem’s theory, according to Current Nursing, 2010; are: it provides a comprehensive base to nursing practice; it has utility for professional nursing in the areas of nursing practice, education, administration, and research; specifies when nursing is needed; and Orem’s self care approach is contemporary with the concepts of health promotion and health maintenance today. As with any theory there are always limitations to its use; Orem’s theory’s major limitation is that her theory is illness oriented and only calls for nursing care when there is an illness present. Global health care needs, as identified by clinicians or pa tients/consumers, are addressed through the generation of research evidence that is effective, but also feasible, appropriate and meaningful to specific populations, cultures and settings† (The Joanna Briggs Institute, 2011). Concepts are the bases for a theory or model and aide the development of theories. The common concept discussed in this paper was the role of nursing, which is common and essential to Orem and Henderson’s theory.Orem believed that a patient needed to have a self deficit for nursing care while Henderson believed in nursing care whether the patient was healthy or ill. While each theorist had different definitions of the role of nursing, both had the same concept of nursing care. â€Å"Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings.Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocac y, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles† (Definition of Nursing, 2010). Orem’s self care model demonstrated the role of nursing in caring for an individual with a self care deficit and/or illness. Nursing interventions help individuals regain optimal health and well-being.References Current Nursing. (2010). Dorothea Orem’s Theory. Retrieved from http://currentnursing. com/nursing_theory/self_care_deficit_theory. html Definition of Nursing. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. icn. ch/about-icn/icn-definition-of-nursing/ Timetoast. (2011). Breif history of Nursing. Retrieved from http://www. timetoast. com/timelines/22792 The Joanna Briggs Institute . (2011). Retrieved from http://www. joannabriggs. edu. au/JBI%20Approach

Dogma essays

Dogma essays According to the Catholic encyclopedia Dogma signifies an opinion or that which seems true to a person; sometimes, the philosophical doctrines or tents and especially the distinct philosophical doctrines. The main character of the movie is Bethany whom is a catholic that doesnt enjoy attending church and is questioning her faith, which she apparently lost when she was a young child. She is portrayed as the Hero in the movie. As the movie goes on we learn that she is a distant blood relative of God. At the beginning of the movie she is visited by Metatron, which is the voice of God. He claims he is in the highest choir of Angels, after coming into Bethanys room in a cloud of flames as he tells her about the prophets she is going to meet. In Dogma Metatron is what seems to be a Herald for he is the announcer of the events to take place. As Bethany continues on her voyage she meets two prophets, who do not fit the description of any biblical figures for they talk about sex, smoke drugs and use vulgar language. The journey that Bethany takes is one to New Jersey hoping to follow Metatrons instructions to stop two rebellious angels from entering a church which would then allow them back into heave. She then meets Rufus the movies fictional thirteenth apostle. Rufus is portrayed as a mentor in the movie Dogma. Rufus leads Bethany on her journey and although his features are not old which is commonly seen in a mentor he speaks wisely in the manor of faith and morals. Cardinal Glick can be considered the threshold guardian for they have to try and get him to stop the rededication ceremony of the church. There are many themes we see throughout the course of the movie Dogma. The movie is based on Religion-vs-Faith. In this I mean that it is question what is religion and the meaning of faith. We are consistently reminded in the movie that there has been a fall from good to evil. This i...

Writing Contests and Competitions

Writing Contests and Competitions Writing Contests and Competitions Writing Contests and Competitions By Daniel Scocco This page will be updated regularly with the latest writing contests and competitions from around the web and the world! Make sure to bookmark it. If you are promoting a writing contest, or are aware of one that is not listed here, please send the details to info@dailywritingtips.com and well include it here as soon as possible. Last update: 08/24/2016 Upcoming Contests and Competitions Name: Atlantis Short Story Contest Prizes: $450 total, first prize is $300 Entry fee: starts from $10 Deadline: November 30, 2016 Description: Authors from all around the world are welcome to enter the one and only contest that offers a criqitue for every participating story! Name:

Absolute Thresholds and Differential Thresholds

Thus, the differential threshold is a relative concept. Weber’s law (1834) states the positive relation between the first stimulus and the second stimulus. The greater the initial stimulus, the stronger the additional intensity need for the second stimulus to be perceived as different. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Amount of stimulusOne stimulusTwo stimuli MeasurementDistance between stimulus and nothingDistance between two stimuli Compare between absolute threshold and differential threshold, absolute threshold just include one stimulus while differential threshold include two. In measurement, absolute threshold measures the distance between stimulus and nothing while differential threshold measures the distance between two stimuli. As I am a marketing student, therefore, the first thing which comes to my mind when I am trying to start off with this piece of journal is that, do these differences between the two thresholds matter with marketers’ marketing strategies? And after I do some research on the internet and with my personal experience, I am quite sure that it does matter. The importance of two thresholds can be different to marketers under different situations. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Advertising ElementsExposure, Size, ColorAdvertising quality PeopleInvolvement, motivation, attention, attitude Concerning advertising elements, absolute threshold focuses on exposure, size, color, etc to attract target customers’ attention while differential threshold focuses on the advertising quality appear to customer in order for them to percept the different between those. These two thresholds are based on different people and are closely related to their involvement, motivation, attention, attitude on the particular good or service. So different people will have different threshold when percept the same object. When a firm launches a new product or a new brand emerges in the market, this is when the absolute threshold is more important to marketers. Because absolute threshold measures the minimum intensity that the customers can percept, as the new brand or product probably needs recognitions from them, otherwise poor sales arise. Therefore, the higher the exposures of advertising advance to gain consumers’ attention. On the other hand, the well use of five sensory techniques in the advertising can easier imprint in their mind. When a firm is modifying a product or service (positive improvement or negative change) that either willing or unwilling to let a customer in perceiving the difference, the differential threshold will be considered to be more important. Because differential threshold measure the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before people can perceive, the intensity modify of a product that cause the customer percept or not is what marketers’ concern. For instance, marketers want to know to what degree of a price cut or a bigger meal can be percept by customers, and thus affect their motivation to consume more. On the other hand, marketers want to know to what degree of raise in price or a smaller meal that can’t be precept by customers, or else it will increase the customer’s cost risk and decrease his or her motivation in purchasing. When taking in the consideration in such a negative change, it reminds me with one of my personal experience. As I am a fan of Coca-Cola, I used to drink at least three cans a week and I would save those cans up on my own desk in order to bring those cans for recycling once a week. One day when I was doing the same practice after washing the can and try to put it to the group of cans on my desk, I found out that the can was smaller than those cans that I bought before, and when I took a look on the volume of the Cola, the drink can was cut to 330 ml from 355 ml which indicates a 7 percent reduction in the size of the can. I was kind of shocking that how come a Coca-Cola fan could not recognize such a change in size. After attending the lecture, I know that there is another dimension of sensory discrimination what is known as the â€Å"just noticeable difference† (JND). Weber’s work was applied to marketing by Miller (1962) which states that a 7 percent change in other sizes of similar products is needed before a change is noticed. This implies and explains what I experienced and how the marketers try to apply this theory in their strategic moves. Absolute Thresholds and Differential Thresholds Thus, the differential threshold is a relative concept. Weber’s law (1834) states the positive relation between the first stimulus and the second stimulus. The greater the initial stimulus, the stronger the additional intensity need for the second stimulus to be perceived as different. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Amount of stimulusOne stimulusTwo stimuli MeasurementDistance between stimulus and nothingDistance between two stimuli Compare between absolute threshold and differential threshold, absolute threshold just include one stimulus while differential threshold include two. In measurement, absolute threshold measures the distance between stimulus and nothing while differential threshold measures the distance between two stimuli. As I am a marketing student, therefore, the first thing which comes to my mind when I am trying to start off with this piece of journal is that, do these differences between the two thresholds matter with marketers’ marketing strategies? And after I do some research on the internet and with my personal experience, I am quite sure that it does matter. The importance of two thresholds can be different to marketers under different situations. Absolute thresholdDifferential threshold Advertising ElementsExposure, Size, ColorAdvertising quality PeopleInvolvement, motivation, attention, attitude Concerning advertising elements, absolute threshold focuses on exposure, size, color, etc to attract target customers’ attention while differential threshold focuses on the advertising quality appear to customer in order for them to percept the different between those. These two thresholds are based on different people and are closely related to their involvement, motivation, attention, attitude on the particular good or service. So different people will have different threshold when percept the same object. When a firm launches a new product or a new brand emerges in the market, this is when the absolute threshold is more important to marketers. Because absolute threshold measures the minimum intensity that the customers can percept, as the new brand or product probably needs recognitions from them, otherwise poor sales arise. Therefore, the higher the exposures of advertising advance to gain consumers’ attention. On the other hand, the well use of five sensory techniques in the advertising can easier imprint in their mind. When a firm is modifying a product or service (positive improvement or negative change) that either willing or unwilling to let a customer in perceiving the difference, the differential threshold will be considered to be more important. Because differential threshold measure the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before people can perceive, the intensity modify of a product that cause the customer percept or not is what marketers’ concern. For instance, marketers want to know to what degree of a price cut or a bigger meal can be percept by customers, and thus affect their motivation to consume more. On the other hand, marketers want to know to what degree of raise in price or a smaller meal that can’t be precept by customers, or else it will increase the customer’s cost risk and decrease his or her motivation in purchasing. When taking in the consideration in such a negative change, it reminds me with one of my personal experience. As I am a fan of Coca-Cola, I used to drink at least three cans a week and I would save those cans up on my own desk in order to bring those cans for recycling once a week. One day when I was doing the same practice after washing the can and try to put it to the group of cans on my desk, I found out that the can was smaller than those cans that I bought before, and when I took a look on the volume of the Cola, the drink can was cut to 330 ml from 355 ml which indicates a 7 percent reduction in the size of the can. I was kind of shocking that how come a Coca-Cola fan could not recognize such a change in size. After attending the lecture, I know that there is another dimension of sensory discrimination what is known as the â€Å"just noticeable difference† (JND). Weber’s work was applied to marketing by Miller (1962) which states that a 7 percent change in other sizes of similar products is needed before a change is noticed. This implies and explains what I experienced and how the marketers try to apply this theory in their strategic moves.

Forensics and security report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Forensics and security report - Essay Example It is within this background therefore that this particular report intends to provide an analysis on security assessment touching on the processes involved, the key technologies used and the necessity for forensic procedures and policies. With the increased dependence on the computer systems, the risk relating to information security has no doubt joined a range of risks that organizations have to manage (Landoll, 2011). Regardless of the risk type, all risk assessments normally contain the following processes: Defining the Security Domain: This step involves the identification of the major security areas that are deemed vulnerable to security risks or simply the identification of the risk within a chosen domain/field of interest. Risks are often about events ,as a result, their identification can begin with finding out their sources, which may be either internal or external Identifying Assets: This stage involves identifying as well as determining the value, sensitivity, as well as the criticality of not only the assets but also the operations that may be affected if a given threat occursto ascertain the operations and even assets that are most significant. The step often involves classifying that which is significant or of value to the organization including the tangible assets such as the data processing machines/equipment, buildings and employees, as well as the intangible assets, which may include the intellectual property Identifying threats: This step involves detecting threats deemed to harm and, therefore, seriously affect not only the critical operations but assets as well. The threats may include things such as disgruntled employees, intruders, terrorists, criminals and even natural disasters. Identifying Vulnerabilities: This entails identifying and estimating the probability that given threats may materialize by relying on past information as well as judgment of well-informed experts. This often calls for a

Community college budget cut Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Community college budget cut - Research Paper Example Other than reducing student enrollment, some institutions have been forced to limit the number of programs they are offering due to the budget cuts. Laying-off of workers has been reported in some institutions because the institution can no longer sustain them. This phenomenon is evident in states that fund their institutions of higher learning. The paper will explore community college and state university budget cut, and how this political issue will affect the government and the people of the United States, now and in the future. In her article, â€Å"State Colleges Forced to Limit Programs,† Laurie Beth Harris asserts that the state colleges will be forced to limit their programs due to the budget cuts. The author begins by stating that the demand for jobs in the fields of health care and engineering has continued to expand. However, states such as Texas, Florida, and New York have abolished programs at the public universities in subjects like engineering and computer science. The elimination of these programs is attributed to the budget cuts. Apart from elimination of the entire programs, the schools have been incapable of expanding popular programs to meet the demand of the students. For instance, in Raleigh North Carolina, Wake Technical Community College has seen its enrolment expand by approximately 30% in the previous three years and at the same time getting budget cuts from the state of approximately 21% (Harris 1). The community college is popular for its nursing program, which is limited to 275 students; however, there are close to 1000 individuals waiting to be enrolled into the program. This has forced Wake Tech to develop a waiting list for the nursing program. While some students are waiting to be enrolled into the nursing program, others are positioned in a prenursing program. With the limited spots (275 individuals) for the nursing program, stakes

Counterargument of an essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Counterargument of an - Essay Example It is not the advertising that attracts and influences the individual but the contents included in the advertisement. Â  A company’s main aim may not be to sell their products or services alone because there are other important objectives of advertising such as advertising the company itself and introducing the new product in market. Company’s main objective varies from time to time and is considered necessary when it serves the purpose it is intended. However, the most important thing is to reach the target market as much as possible but not all people. Advertising may be received differently by consumers depending on whoever does the advertising and the contents of advertising. Consumers are different depending on the target market and therefore advertising is not bound to have similar effect on most consumers as alleged. Company’s main objectives cannot be targeting children alone since it depends entirely on what the company deals in. There is no way a company dealing in electronics would want to target kids since kids do not even have the capacity of purchasing the products. Furthermore, if any company targets kids, the kids may change their taste either by intending to experience something new or due to change fashion and

Country (China) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Country (China) - Research Paper Example As a function of seeking to understand and find the current economic situation that China faces today, the following analysis will not only provide a brief historical glimpse into the determinant factors which it helps to define China within the way it can currently be understood, the analysis will also be contingent upon discussing the outlook and ramifications of economic policies that are currently engaged within the People’s Republic of China. Through such a unit of analysis, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding with respect to the determinants of Chinese economic policy as well as the threats and potential weaknesses that the nation faces within the immediate and distant future. Firstly, in seeking to answer the question of whether or not the People’s Republic of China can be considered as a triad nation, the reader must understand that triad nations are defined as those nations that only represent 8% of the world's total population – but account for 50% of its gross domestic product. Due to the fact that the Chinese population is currently in excess of 1.3 6 billion individuals, it cannot be assumed or understood that China is in any way indicative of a triad nation. Whereas it is true that the GDP of China is massive, the population differential that is thus far been discussed ultimately convinces the reader that China cannot be considered as such. Currently, China exhibits an unbelievably low unemployment rate of around 4.1%. Before discussing or analyzing this statistic to a further degree, it must be understood and appreciated that many of the statistics that come out the People’s Republic of China are ultimately suspect. Without casting further aspersions upon the way in which the People’s Republic of China is administered, it must be understood that the Communist Party is ultimately the sole power that directs the fiscal and economic policy within the People’s Republic of China. As such, the level and extent to which this entity can be relied upon for verifiable truth and reasonable statistics may well be quite limited. However, notwithstanding this fact, the rate of unemployment that is exhibited within the People’s Republic of China is astoundingly low. By means of comparison, the gross domestic product of the People’s Republic of China is currently in excess of $8.20 trillion dollars. Somewhat surprisingly, the GDP per capita, measured within the same 2012 time period, only stands at $6090. As can relatively be noted, the GDP per capita as compared to the total gross domestic product of the entire nation is quite low; blending a level of understanding with regards to why she labor is so abundantly available within China and helping the reader to come to an understanding of why the People’s Republic of China continues to the a producer of so many consumer goods that require simple and complex levels of application. Many economists and businessmen alike have termed China’s rapid growth as an economic miracle. Part of the reason for this is the fact that the GDP growth rate between the period of 1990 and 2010 averaged approximately 12%. Although the GDP growth rate currently stands at a lower level due to the 2007/2008 economic slowdown,

The impact of the different responses of residents may have upon sex Essay

The impact of the different responses of residents may have upon sex workers in the UK - Essay Example The studies each involved areas that had â€Å"street-based sex work†.4 The relevant areas were identified as Westside, Eastside, Riverside, Southside and Central. The research involved random interviews with a variety of residents and the results were mixed. Some residents expressed what was categorized as â€Å"extreme/proactive intolerance†.5 This typology was objected to sex workers on the basis of moral beliefs and often acted out in the form of â€Å"street patrols† and â€Å"vigilantism†.6 Another typology discerned by Pitcher et al was characterised by â€Å"modest intolerance†.7 These residents did not agree with sex work and generally wanted sex workers out of their communities and neighbourhoods. However, they were prepared to accept prevention policies.8 Some residents were ambivalent in that they were sympathetic toward sex workers and at the same time concerned. ... ir parents in the morning are exposed to girls in the street.10 Some residents were characterized by Pitcher et al as â€Å"proactive /support† minded.11 These residents were amenable to coexistence and would participate in programmes designed to respond to the issues. The idea was to find a solution that would accommodate sex workers and to set parameters that would be tolerated by all.12 A similar study was conducted by Williams in two big cities in England. This survey concluded that the responses of residents to sex workers were also diverse. Some residents were entirely â€Å"oblivious† or â€Å"passive† toward sex workers and their conduct. On the other hand, some residents were â€Å"violent and/or otherwise harmful to the women involved.†13 Some residents felt justified in their negative responses to sex workers on the grounds that sex workers were harming the environment, for instance, they irresponsibly littered the place with used condoms, syrin ged, used underwear and used sanitary provisions. Other residents were particularly intolerant to the perceived association with illicit drugs and other crimes and generally felt that sex workers were responsible for â€Å"the decline in the quality of neighbourhood life† and the decline in â€Å"the value of residents’ property†.14 In the Police Research Group Crime Prevention Unit Series Paper, Matthews reports that during the 1980s the increase in street prostitution and its associated kerb-crawling became particularly disturbing for women who were frequently â€Å"harassed†. One such resident expressed a desire to move away from the area but was unable to do so because her parents were unable to sell their home. The resident reported that a number of her female friends and associated shared her feelings of being

Software testing issues Related to project Failure or Success Essay

Software testing issues Related to project Failure or Success - Essay Example Such is the case that if the defects are transferred all the way to the final acceptance testing phase of the project life cycle, the greater risk of time consumption and costing increases. Consequently, small effort advanced towards quality assurance will help reduce expenses to a greater degree with regard to detecting and rectifying the defects. To better understand the effectiveness of the processes of agile software; it is important to gather facts on defects identified in the previous projects and also examine how the same defects can be eliminated following process improvements and application of newer methodologies. This paper presents comprehensive view on the defect prevention techniques and practices that can be followed in agile software development. In handling this topic the paper will look into related work and further discusses the need for defect deterrence. Additionally, the work will address handle issues of improvement workflow along with the illustration of various stages, the root cause analysis and determination of precautionary action. Agile software defect simply refers to â€Å"Imperfections in agile software development process that would cause agile software to fail to meet the desired expectations†. During the long and complex process of agile software development, lot of defects frequently occurs. One misleading notion is that defects crop into the process at the start of the cycle and is eliminated all through the remaining development phases. The truth is that defects form part of the development process from the very beginning to the end, a factor that makes its prevention an essential part in the agile software process quality improvement. Defect prevention (DP) refers to quality improvement process whose aim is to discover regular causes of defects and prevent their reoccurrence through alteration of the relevant process (es).

The impact of the different responses of residents may have upon sex Essay

The impact of the different responses of residents may have upon sex workers in the UK - Essay Example The studies each involved areas that had â€Å"street-based sex work†.4 The relevant areas were identified as Westside, Eastside, Riverside, Southside and Central. The research involved random interviews with a variety of residents and the results were mixed. Some residents expressed what was categorized as â€Å"extreme/proactive intolerance†.5 This typology was objected to sex workers on the basis of moral beliefs and often acted out in the form of â€Å"street patrols† and â€Å"vigilantism†.6 Another typology discerned by Pitcher et al was characterised by â€Å"modest intolerance†.7 These residents did not agree with sex work and generally wanted sex workers out of their communities and neighbourhoods. However, they were prepared to accept prevention policies.8 Some residents were ambivalent in that they were sympathetic toward sex workers and at the same time concerned. ... ir parents in the morning are exposed to girls in the street.10 Some residents were characterized by Pitcher et al as â€Å"proactive /support† minded.11 These residents were amenable to coexistence and would participate in programmes designed to respond to the issues. The idea was to find a solution that would accommodate sex workers and to set parameters that would be tolerated by all.12 A similar study was conducted by Williams in two big cities in England. This survey concluded that the responses of residents to sex workers were also diverse. Some residents were entirely â€Å"oblivious† or â€Å"passive† toward sex workers and their conduct. On the other hand, some residents were â€Å"violent and/or otherwise harmful to the women involved.†13 Some residents felt justified in their negative responses to sex workers on the grounds that sex workers were harming the environment, for instance, they irresponsibly littered the place with used condoms, syrin ged, used underwear and used sanitary provisions. Other residents were particularly intolerant to the perceived association with illicit drugs and other crimes and generally felt that sex workers were responsible for â€Å"the decline in the quality of neighbourhood life† and the decline in â€Å"the value of residents’ property†.14 In the Police Research Group Crime Prevention Unit Series Paper, Matthews reports that during the 1980s the increase in street prostitution and its associated kerb-crawling became particularly disturbing for women who were frequently â€Å"harassed†. One such resident expressed a desire to move away from the area but was unable to do so because her parents were unable to sell their home. The resident reported that a number of her female friends and associated shared her feelings of being

Types of surveillance Essay Example for Free

Types of surveillance Essay Surveillance may be physical, which involves watching a particular entity physically, known as visual surveillance; or it may be achieved by listening (this is known as aural surveillance). Surveillance may also be achieved through the use of image amplification devices like field glasses, binoculars, satellite cameras and so on (Bogonikolos). Electronic circuits have been developed to complement physical surveillance, for example, the Closed-Circuit TV, also known as CCTV, VCR, phone bugging, e-databases and proximity cards have been developed to facilitate surveillance. Apart from physical surveillance, other types of surveillance exist, for example communications surveillance exists which include mail covers and phone interception (Bogonikolos). Another type of surveillance is known as data surveillance or Dataveillance which involves the systematic use of personal data systems to monitor actions and communications of people and suspects. It is less expensive than physical and electronic surveillance because of the automation features it has. Dataveillance may be personal or mass. Personal dataveillance occurs where a person has been identified as a suspect or is of particular interest while a large group of people are monitored in mass Dataveillance. This mass dataveillance is done to protect the entire population and to deter people from causing harm to others. Tools and Techniques of Surveillance Dataveillance Techniques are used for checking data to make sure that it conforms to certain standards and specifications. Front-end verification (FEV) is a method of data surveillance that involves checking the information supplied by an applicant with other additional sources of information about that person in order to identify discrepancies (Bogonikolos). When front-end verification is applied to everybody, mass dataveillance is said to have taken place. Mass dataveillance is a continuous process that involves the following: authentication and screening of all transactions, audit of individuals, and the profiling of persons and transactions to identify possible threats of terrorism. Mechanisms that may be used to achieve this include computer data matching, in which personal records are compared and analyzed. These methods may however result in the black listing people that may be innocent. Data surveillance is cost-effective. Physical surveillance is expensive because it requires many resources. Surveillance attempts to track what people do, say and where they go (Bogonikolos). Visual Surveillance Closed-Circuit TV (CCTV) is one of the most common electronic techniques of visual surveillance. CCTVs may be deployed on roads, railway stations, ATMS, petrol stations, lifts, lobbies and areas that are easily prone to attack. Recording may be done in real-time or time-lapse mode. Cameras may also be used and this is extremely portable. Video Surveillance can help to reduce the risk of attack, protect citizens form attack, monitor crime and subsequently gain crucial evidence that may lead to the identification and prosecution of suspects. Cameras may also be deployed in a covert manner so that people are not aware that it exists (Bogonikolos).

History of Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents

History of Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents Biological warfare (BW), also known as germ warfare, is the use of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, other disease-causing biological agents, or the toxins produced by them as biological weapons (or bioweapons). There is a clear overlap between biological warfare and chemical warfare, as the use of toxins produced by living organisms is considered under the provisions of both the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Toxins, which are of organic origin, are often called midspectrum agents. A biological weapon may be intended to kill, incapacitate, or seriously impair a person, group of people, or even an entire population. It may also be defined as the material or defense against such employment. Biological warfare is a military technique that can be used by nation-states or non-national groups. In the latter case, or if a nation-state uses it clandestinely, it may also be considered bioterrorism. History: Biological warfare has been practiced repeatedly throughout history. Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms: Deliberate poisoning of food and water with infectious material Use of microorganisms, toxins or animals, living or dead, in a weapon system Use of biologically inoculated fabrics The ancient world: The earliest documented incident of the intention to use biological weapons is recorded in Hittite texts of 1500-1200 B.C, in which victims of plague were driven into enemy lands. Although the Assyrians knew of ergot, a parasitic fungus of rye which produces ergotism when ingested, there is no evidence that they poisoned enemy wells with the fungus, as has been claimed. According to Homers epic poems about the legendary Trojan War, the Iliad and the Odyssey, spears and arrows were tipped with poison. During the First Sacred War in Greece, in about 590 BC, Athens and the Amphictionic League poisoned the water supply of the besieged town of Kirrha (near Delphi) with the toxic plant hellebore. The Roman commander Manius Aquillus poisoned the wells of besieged enemy cities in about 130 BC. During the 4th century BC Scythian archers tipped their arrow tips with snake venom, human blood, and animal feces to cause wounds to become infected. There are numerous other instances of the use of plant toxins, venoms, and other poisonous substances to create biological weapons in antiquity. In 184 B.C, Hannibal of Carthage had clay pots filled with venomous snakes and instructed his soldiers to throw the pots onto the decks of Pergamene ships. In about AD 198, the city of Hatra (near Mosul, Iraq) repulsed the Roman army led by Septimius Severus by hurling clay pots filled with live scorpions at them. Medieval biological warfare: When the Mongol Empire established commercial and political connections between the Eastern and Western areas of the world, its Mongol armies and merchant caravans probably inadvertently brought bubonic plague from central Asia to the Middle East and Europe. The Black Death swept through Eurasia, killing approximately one third to one half of the population and changing the course of Asian and European history. During the Middle Ages, victims of the bubonic plague were used for biological attacks, often by flinging corpses and excrement over castle walls using catapults. In 1346, the bodies of Mongol warriors of the Golden Horde who had died of plague were thrown over the walls of the besieged Crimean city of Kaffa (now Theodosia). It has been speculated that this operation may have been responsible for the advent of the Black Death in Europe. At the siege of Thun lEveque in 1340, during the Hundred Years War, the attackers catapulted decomposing animals into the besieged area. Modern times: The 18th Century: The Native American population was decimated after contact with the Old World due to the introduction of many different fatal diseases. There are two documented cases of alleged and attempted germ warfare. The first, during a parley at Fort Pitt on June 24, 1763, Ecuyer gave representatives of the besieging Delawares two blankets and a handkerchief that had been exposed to smallpox, hoping to spread the disease to the Natives in order to end the siege. William Trent, the militia commander, left records that clearly indicated that the purpose of giving the blankets was to Convey the Smallpox to the Indians. British commander Lord Jeffrey Amherst and Swiss-British officer Colonel Henry Bouquet, whose correspondence referenced the idea of giving smallpox-infected blankets to Indians in the course of Pontiacs Rebellion. Historian Francis Parkman verifies four letters from June 29, July 13, 16 and 26th, 1763. Excerpts: Commander Lord Jeffrey Amherst writes July 16, 1763, P.S. You will Do well to try to Inocculate the Indians by means of Blankets, as well as to try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race. I should be very glad your Scheme for Hunting them Down by Dogs could take Effect, Colonel Henry Bouquet replies July 26, 1763, I received yesterday your Excellencys letters of 16th with their Inclosures. The signal for Indian Messengers, and all your directions will be observed. While the intent for biological warfare is clear, there is a debate among historians as to whether this actually took place despite Bouquets affirmative reply to Amherst and each having written to the other about it twice. Smallpox transmitted to Native American tribes could have been due to the transfer of the disease to blankets during transportation. Historians have been unable to establish whether or not this plan was implemented, particularly in light of the fact that smallpox was already present in the region, and that scientific knowledge of disease at that time had yet to discover bacteria or develop an understanding of plague vectors. Regardless of whether this plan was carried out, trade and combat provided ample opportunity for transmission of the disease. See also: Small pox during Pontiacs Rebellion. The 19th Century: In 1834 Cambridge Diarist Richard Henry Dana visited San Francisco on a merchant ship. His ship traded many items including blankets with Mexicans and Russians who had established outposts on the northern side of the San Francisco Bay. Local histories document that the California smallpox epidemic began at the Russian fort soon after they left. Blankets were a popular trading item, and the cheapest source of them was second-hand blankets which were often contaminated. During the American Civil War, General Sherman reported that Confederate forces shot farm animals in ponds upon which the Union depended for drinking water. This would have made the water unpleasant to drink, although the actual health risks from dead bodies of humans and animals which did not die of disease are minimal. Jack London in his story Yah! Yah! Yah! describes a punitive European expedition to a Pacific island deliberately exposing the Polynesian population to Measles, of which many of them died s:South Sea Tales/Yah! Yah! Yah!. While much of the material for Londons South Sea Tales is derived from his personal experience in the region, it is not certain that this particular incident is historical. The 20th Century: During the First World War, Germany pursued an ambitious biological warfare program. Using diplomatic pouches and couriers, the German General Staff supplied small teams of saboteurs in the Russian Duchy of Finland, and in the then-neutral countries of Romania, the US and Argentina. In Finland, Scandinavian freedom fighters mounted on reindeer placed ampules of anthrax in stables of Russian horses in 1916. Anthrax was also supplied to the German military attache in Bucharest, as was Glanders, which was employed against livestock destined for Allied service. German intelligence officer and US citizen Dr. Anton Casimir Dilger established a secret lab in the basement of his sisters home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, that produced Glanders which was used to infect livestock in ports and inland collection points including, at least, Newport News, Norfolk, Baltimore, and New York, and probably St. Louis and Covington, Kentucky. In Argentina, German agents also employed Glanders in the port of Buenos Aires and also tried to ruin wheat harvests with a destructive fungus. During the 1948 Israel War of Independence, Red Cross reports raised suspicion that the Jewish Haganah militia had released Salmonella typhi bacteria into the water supply for the city of Acre, causing an outbreak of typhoid among the inhabitants. Egyptian troops later captured disguised Haganah soldiers near wells in Gaza, whom they executed for allegedly attempting another attack. Israel denies these allegations. During the Cold War, US conscientious objectors were used as consenting test subjects for biological agents in a program known as Operation Whitecoat. There were also many unpublicized tests carried out on the public during the Cold War. E120 biological bomblet, developed before the U.S. signed the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention Considerable research on the topic was performed by the United States (see US Biological Weapon Testing), the Soviet Union, and probably other major nations throughout the Cold War era, though it is generally believed that biological weapons were never used after World War II. This view was challenged by China and North Korea, who accused the United States of large-scale field testing of biological weapons, including the use of disease-carrying insects against them during the Korean War (1950-1953). Biological agents: Biological warfare is the deliberate use of disease and natural poisons to incapacitate humans. It employs pathogens as weapons. Pathogens are the micro-organism, whether bacterial, viral or protozoic, that cause disease. There are four kinds of biological warfare agents: bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae and fungi. Biological weapons are distinguished by being living organisms, that reproduce within their host victims, who then become contagious with a deadly, if weakening, multiplier effect. Toxins in contrast do not reproduce in the victim and need only the briefest of incubation periods; they kill within a few hours. Biological Weapons Characteristics: Anti-personnel BW: Ideal characteristics of biological weapons targeting humans are high infectivity, high potency, non-availability of vaccines, and delivery as an aerosol. Diseases most likely to be considered for use as biological weapons are contenders because of their lethality (if delivered efficiently), and robustness (making aerosol delivery feasible). The biological agents used in biological weapons can often be manufactured quickly and easily. The primary difficulty is not the production of the biological agent but delivery in an effective form to a vulnerable target. For example, anthrax is considered an effective agent for several reasons. First, it forms hardy spores, perfect for dispersal aerosols. Second, pneumonic (lung) infections of anthrax usually do not cause secondary infections in other people. Thus, the effect of the agent is usually confined to the target. A pneumonic anthrax infection starts with ordinary cold symptoms and quickly becomes lethal, with a fatality rate that is 90% or higher. Finally, friendly personnel can be protected with suitable antibiotics. A mass attack using anthrax would require the creation of aerosol particles of 1.5 to 5 micrometres. Too large and the aerosol would be filtered out by the respiratory system. Too small and the aerosol would be inhaled and exhaled. Also, at this size, nonconductive powders tend to clump and cling because of electrostatic charges. This hinders dispersion. So the material must be treated to insulate and discharge the charges. The aerosol must be delivered so that rain and sun does not rot it, and yet the human lung can be infected. There are other technological difficulties as well. Diseases considered for weaponization, or known to be weaponized include anthrax , ebola, Marburg virus, plague , cholera , tularemia, brucellosis, Q fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Coccidioides mycosis , Glanders, Melioidosis, Shigella, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus , Psittacosis, yellow fever , Japanese B encephalitis , Rift Valley fever, and smallpox [19][31]. Naturally-occurring toxins that can be used as weapons include ricin, SEB, botulism toxin, saxitoxin, and many mycotoxins. The organisms causing these diseases are known as select agents. In the United States, their possession, use, and transfer are regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Select Agent Program. Anti-agriculture BW: Biological warfare can also specifically target plants to destroy crops or defoliate vegetation. The United States and Britain discovered plant growth regulators (i.e., herbicides) during the Second World War, and initiated an herbicidal warfare program that was eventually used in Malaya and Vietnam in counter insurgency. Though herbicides are chemicals, they are often grouped with biological warfare as bioregulators in a similar manner as biotoxins. Scorched earth tactics or destroying livestock and farmland were carried out in the Vietnam war and Eelam War in Sri Lanka. The United States developed an anti-crop capability during the Cold War that used plant diseases (bioherbicides, or mycoherbicides) for destroying enemy agriculture. It was believed that destruction of enemy agriculture on a strategic scale could thwart Sino-Soviet aggression in a general war. Diseases such as wheat blast and rice blast were weaponized in aerial spray tanks and cluster bombs for delivery to enemy water sheds in agricultural regions to initiate epiphytotics (epidemics among plants). When the United States renounced its offensive biological warfare program in 1969 and 1970, the vast majority of its biological arsenal was composed of these plant diseases. In 1980s Soviet Ministry of Agriculture had successfully developed variants of foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest against cows, African swine fever for pigs, and psittacosis to kill chicken. These agents were prepared to spray them down from tanks attached to airplanes over hundreds of miles. The secret program was code-named Ecology Biodefence: Role of public health departments and disease surveillance: It is important to note that all of the classical and modern biological weapons organisms are animal diseases, the only exception being smallpox. Thus, in any use of biological weapons, it is highly likely that animals will become ill either simultaneously with, or perhaps earlier than humans. Indeed, in the largest biological weapons accident known- the anthrax outbreak in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in the Soviet Union in 1979, sheep became ill with anthrax as far as 200 kilometers from the release point of the organism from a military facility in the southeastern portion of the city (known as Compound 19 and still off limits to visitors today, see Sverdlovsk Anthrax leak). Thus, a robust surveillance system involving human clinicians and veterinarians may identify a bioweapons attack early in the course of an epidemic, permitting the prophylaxis of disease in the vast majority of people (and/or animals) exposed but not yet ill. For example in the case of anthrax, it is likely that by 24 36 hours after an attack, some small percentage of individuals (those with compromised immune system or who had received a large dose of the organism due to proximity to the release point) will become ill with classical symptoms and signs (including a virtually unique chest X-ray finding, often recognized by public health officials if they receive timely reports). By making these data available to local public health officials in real time, most models of anthrax epidemics indicate that more than 80% of an exposed population can receive antibiotic treatment before becoming symptomatic, and thus avoid the moderately high mortality of the disease. Identification of bioweapons: The goal of biodefense is to integrate the sustained efforts of the national and homeland security, medical, public health, intelligence, diplomatic, and law enforcement communities. Health care providers and public health officers are among the first lines of defense. In some countries private, local, and provincial (state) capabilities are being augmented by and coordinated with federal assets, to provide layered defenses against biological weapons attacks. During the first Gulf War the United Nations activated a biological and chemical response team, Task Force Scorpio, to respond to any potential use of weapons of mass destruction on civilians. The traditional approach toward protecting agriculture, food, and water: focusing on the natural or unintentional introduction of a disease is being strengthened by focused efforts to address current and anticipated future biological weapons threats that may be deliberate, multiple, and repetitive. The growing threat of biowarfare agents and bioterrorism has led to the development of specific field tools that perform on-the-spot analysis and identification of encountered suspect materials. One such technology, being developed by researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), employs a sandwich immunoassay, in which fluorescent dye-labeled antibodies aimed at specific pathogens are attached to silver and gold nanowires. Biological agent A sampling of Bacillus anthracis-Anthrax A biological agent is a bacterium, virus, prion, fungus, or biological toxin that can be used in bioterrorism or biological warfare. More than 1200 different kinds of biological agents have been described and studied to date. Applying a slightly broader definition, some eukaryotes (for example parasites) and their associated toxins can be considered as biological agents. Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, even death. These organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment; they are found in water, soil, plants, and animals. Because many biological agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for preservation, they are a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings. Antibiotic resistance: Antibiotic resistance is a specific type of drug resistance when a microorganism has the ability of withstanding the effects of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance evolves via natural selection acting upon random mutation, but it can also be engineered by applying an evolutionary stress on a population. Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a horizontal fashion (between individuals) by conjugation, transduction, or transformation. Many antibiotic resistance genes reside on plasmids, facilitating their transfer. If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multiresistant or, informally, a superbug. The term antimicrobial resistance is sometimes used to explicitly encompass organisms other than bacteria. Antibiotic resistance can also be introduced artificially into a microorganism through laboratory protocols, sometimes used as a selectable marker to examine the mechanisms of gene transfer or to identify individuals that absorbed a piece of DNA that included the resistance gene and another gene of interest. Causes: The widespread use of antibiotics both inside and outside of medicine is playing a significant role in the emergence of resistant bacteria. They are often used in animals but also in other industries which at least in the case of agricultural use lead to the spread of resistant strains to human populations. In some countries antibiotics are sold over the counter without a prescription which compounds the problem. In human medicine the major problem of the emergence of resistant bacteria is due to misuse and overuse of antibiotics by doctors as well as patients. Other practices contributing towards resistance include the addition of antibiotics to the feed of livestock. Household use of antibacterials in soaps and other products, although not clearly contributing to resistance, is also discouraged (as not being effective at infection control). Also unsound practices in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry can contribute towards the likelihood of creating antibiotic resistant stra ins. Certain antibiotic classes are highly associated with colonisation with superbugs compared to other antibiotic classes. The risk for colonisation increases if there is a lack of sensitivity (resistance) of the superbugs to the antibiotic used and high tissue penetration as well as broad spectrum activity against good bacteria. In the case of MRSA, increased rates of MRSA infections are seen with glycopeptides, cephalosporins and especially quinolones. In the case of colonisation with C difficile the high risk antibiotics include cephalosporins and in particular quinolones and clindamycin. Mechanisms: Antibiotic resistance can be a result of horizontal gene transfer,[30] and also of unlinked point mutations in the pathogen genome and a rate of about 1 in 108 per chromosomal replication. The antibiotic action against the pathogen can be seen as an environmental pressure; those bacteria which have a mutation allowing them to survive will live on to reproduce. They will then pass this trait to their offspring, which will result in a fully resistant colony. The four main mechanisms by which microorganisms exhibit resistance to antimicrobials are: Drug inactivation or modification: e.g. enzymatic deactivation of Penicillin G in some penicillin-resistant bacteria through the production of ÃŽÂ ²-lactamases. Alteration of target site: e.g. alteration of PBP-the binding target site of penicillins-in MRSA and other penicillin-resistant bacteria. Alteration of metabolic pathway: e.g. some sulfonamide-resistant bacteria do not require para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), an important precursor for the synthesis of folic acid and nucleic acids in bacteria inhibited by sulfonamides. Instead, like mammalian cells, they turn to utilizing preformed folic acid. Reduced drug accumulation: by decreasing drug permeability and/or increasing active efflux (pumping out) of the drugs across the cell surface. Conclusion: Specific consensus recommendations are made regarding the diagnosis of anthrax, indications for vaccination, therapy for those exposed, postexposure prophylaxis, decontamination of the environment, and additional research needs. Of the numerous biological agents that may be used as weapons, the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense has identified a limited number of organisms that could cause disease and deaths in sufficient numbers to cripple a city or region. Anthrax is one of the most serious of these diseases.