The Uses and Gratification Theory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Uses and Gratification Theory - Case Study Example In previous eras, the main sources of entertainment for people tended to be festivals dedicated either to harvesting or in praise of one god or another. In the western perspective, this came to be replaced by theatre and with the modern age came the development of television and the television networks which continue to offer a wide variety of visual entertainment. The advancement in technology has increased the demand for entertainment from individuals, and because of the wide variety of entertainment being offered, it is not a surprise that many of the entertainment companies involved are competing heavily to capture audiences. Because of this, the audience has gained great influence in controlling the type of media they would like to view, and this can be likened to the individual’s lifestyle as well as mindset (Napoli, forthcoming). From the very beginning of the development of media, the main question that has concerned the developers is whether the media has any influenc e on the audience. It has been proven that different types of media can influence the audience, so that in some cases when an individual sees an advert of a product on television, he or she will likely purchase the product. On the other hand, there are those of the view that media has no great influence on its audience since it is they who choose what to watch (Allison, 2006). This article makes a focus on the motives behind the choice of a particular media type as a basis of the Theory of Audience especially uses and Gratification theory. In the past few decades, the invention and development of the internet have revolutionized the lives of many people in the world and one would argue that it is one of the biggest developments in mass media. Every decade of the twentieth century presented its own theories concerning media communication, and while at the beginning, it was thought that media had an effect on the audience, later with the advancement in media communication, researchers found that audiences only used media for their own benefit (Rossi, 2002). Theory of Audience Uses and Gratifications Katz first proposed the theory of Uses and Gratification and the notion behind this theory is, it focuses on a question of why and how people use particular media. In contrast to the effect model view which is what media do with people, U & G is considered as a broader aspect among media researchers who are more concerned about finding what people do with a media (Chandler,1994). This theory is contradictory to the older approach of Audience of a passive group. This theory views the audience as an active group which means individuals have power and selects that media text that best suits her needs and her attempts to satisfy the needs. This theory represents the use of media in terms of gratification of social or psychological need of the individual. This theory shifted the approach of gratification from the functional paradigm to social sciences (Katz, Blumler and G urevitch, 1974).  Gratification can be derived from three distinct sources which are media content, exposure, and social content. The mass media compete with other sources of gratification, but gratifications can be obtained from a medium's content (e.g. watching a specific program), from familiarity with a genre within the medium (e.g. watching soap operas).

Choose one of the three Flexible , Fearful, or Feisty Essay

Choose one of the three Flexible , Fearful, or Feisty - Essay Example I always enjoyed to get engaged in a range of activities most often involved art activities. This activity pattern and craze towards colors polished my creativity. So, in the later stages of my childhood I proved to be a good cartoonist. I participated in many inter school events and won several prizes. Later on, I came to know the fact that being a flexible personality; I was really blessed as I was more adaptive towards new situations. I always enjoyed creativity and innovative ideas. I always liked to show positive attitude and this approach of my childhood has, definitely, affected my current life in a positive way. My flexible personality trait brought up confidence, optimism and tolerance in my personality. It is amazing to note that I never argued like younger siblings while mother used to serve some new food. It always made me curious to have new tastes and flavors. However, sometime ambiguous situations made me confused. As I have told that I was flexible at one end but I was not so clever. I was not very good in decision making as well. This was the basic reason why I most often adopted what my parents felt better for me. I was quite adaptive and bendy towards the decisions they put forward. And now when I am a grown up guy, I can differentiate that my intentions were not wrong. For me, my parents always did what they thought the best among all. From my childhood behavior, I analyze that living with flexibility and adjustment always offers a right path. Life is a continuous process offering give and take relationships. It goes on and on. So, those who prefer to adjust and accommodate with new situations always get the full benefits. This is what I really learn from my childhood. 1. Hanns M. Trautner, Diane N. Ruble, Lisa Cyphers, Barbara Kirsten, Regina Behrendt and Petra Hartmann. â€Å"Rigidity and Flexibility of Gender Stereotypes in Childhood: Developmental or Differential?† Infant and Child Development (2005): New York University,

Differences Between Terrorism And Organized Crime Criminology Essay

Differences Between Terrorism And Organized Crime Criminology Essay In this assignment, we will be analysing both security issues of terrorism and organized crime as national and international security threats. Terrorism and organised crime, both two different forms of criminal activity and an equal threat to human security. It is important that establish the precise definition of both these activities, so we can categorically differentiate each act committed. The definition of organized crime is widely debated term. Organized crime is generally focused mainly on economic profit, acquiring material benefits and obtaining as much of an illegal market share as possible, by the use of serious crimes such as Drug trafficking, fraud, violence etc. (Baylis J and Smith S (2001) p480-481) Whilst terrorism motivated chiefly by ideological aims and by a desire for political change, by the use of violence, in the form of hijacking, bombing and other indistrimintory acts. We can already see the difference, by looking at the definition. However as we do develop details of the differences between these criminal activities, it is also important to analyse the similarities. (Collins, A (2007) p352-353) Both Organized crime and Terrorism differ in motivation and objective. In Shelley, L and Picarelli, JT (2002), states Yet, while the crimes committed by these two groups dont differ in substance, they differ in motive. Terrorists are in essentially political groups; even if they are inspired by religious fundamentalism, their behaviour is designed to bring about political change. While organized crime groups conduct profit-driven criminal activities, through the use illicit and illegal means. Another interesting point, in which they both differ, mentioned by Schmid, A (2005) is Terrorist groups usually seek media attention; organized crime groups do not, Criminal organisation, do not directly attack infastrurer or indiscriminately attack normal citizens, like terrorism does, however there doings bring harm to those involved and create fear amongst people surrounded by there illegal activities. Therefore the magnitude of attack will be confined to small, domestic and under the radar attacks, whilst with terrorism when it blows ups, it is instant and devastating in its impact. Williams, P(2005) I believe that a criminal is not concerned with influencing or affecting public opinion; he simply wants to earn money in the quickest, easiest and most efficient way possible. Whilst, the essential aim of the terrorists violence is eventually to change the political system , about which the organised criminals, couldnt care less. However in some cases this is not true, Shelley, L and Picarelli, JT(2002) go on to discuss about organised criminals that direct contact with the political system and politicians who they seek to influence for their own goals. Phil Williams and Ernesto Savona (1995) gives us a excellent example that Colombian drug cartels and the Italian Mafia were both using terrorist attacks against the state and its representatives for four different reasons, disrupt investigations; to deter the introduction or continuation of vigorous government policies; to eliminate effective law enforcement officials, to coerce judges into more lenient sentencing policies. I believe fundamental is to create an environment more appealing to criminal activity. But this only can occur in weak countries, where the government is weak, which we will discuss later in the essay. Bjà ¶rnehed, E(2004) concludes that based on their objectives they Constitute quite different types of security threats with regard to magnitude of attack, choice of target and weapons. In summary they both have a common enemy, and that is the state in general and in particular its law enforcement agencies. Both types of criminals function in secrecy, in the underworld, and they use the same or similar infrastructures for their activities and the same networks of corruption. Both use the same type of tactics: they engage in cross-border smuggling, money laundering, counterfeiting, kidnapping, extortion and various kinds of violence. Narco-Terrorism, was the first identification of the link between Terrorism and organized crime. This discovery began in the 1980s when it was found that drug trafficking was also used to advance the political objectives of certain governments and terrorist organizations, the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of government by the systematic threat or use of violence Bjà ¶rnehed, E(2004) Since then, much stronger and broader statements have been made, especially in Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) wherein the Council Notes with concern the close connection between international terrorism and transnational organized crime, illicit drugs, money-laundering, illegal arms-trafficking, and illegal movement of nuclear, chemical, biological and other potentially deadly materials.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Bjà ¶rnehed, E(2004) Emma Bjornehead has written a whole chapter on this topic because it is a relatively new phenomena and I believe it is relevant to this composition because it shows that Terrorism and Criminal activity have found a common ground. Various authors keep referring to more or less the same examples, where this new phenomena is occurring. For example Hezbollah engaged in criminal schemes, such as cigarette smuggling, counterfeiting. Al-Qaeda cells in Europe conducting credit card fraud. We see it domestically happening in countries such as Colombia and Afghanistan where opium produces are funding Taliban, to carry out there war against US forces. Williams, P(2005) describes terrorist, using criminal organisation methods to raise funds for their activities as very dangerous. This reliance between each other makes it difficult and a bigger domestic and international security threat because they can share their tangible and intangible resources, to achieve their objectives. Giraldo, J and Trinkunas (2005) puts simple. They try to uncover whether it is a strategic alliance formed by these group, or is it simple marriages of convenience. For example, the language school that provided some visas for the 9/11 hijackers are also reported to have provided visas for prostitutes of a human trafficking ring. This indicates sharing networks, each could complement each other therefore making it easier to carry out objectives. An intelligence analyst even describes it as criminal service providers. This means that both in criminal organisations, due to their established networks, act as service provider for terrorists, so they can carry out their terror activities. Another good point made is that this increased self-reliance of terrorist networks makes criminal organisations difficult to detect, especially as they are both bound by secrecy. The Madrid bombing are a great example, Future-occurred in Spain where members of a small but well-established Moroccan drug trafficking organization led by Jamal Ahmidan, became radicalized and were subsequently integrated into the cell that carried out the Madrid bombings. The contribution of the radicalized drug traffickers is difficult to overestimate: they provided the finance, the logistics, the safe houses, and the connections that enabled the cell to acquire the explosives. Indeed, without their resources and expertise, it is unlikely that the attacks on the trains would have taken place, and certainly not on such a destructive scale. Williams, p(2009) This example so shows that both organisations are sharing its man power and those criminals are venerable to being radicalized, like shown above. It can also be seen as method of attracting people with two personality types: one with strong political views, coupled with a desire to become wealthy. In summary that they cross paths; give in to one another which make them reliant on each other. Organized crime can use the power tool of political crime to create the social and economic context that makes its profitable activities viable. Terrorists, on the other hand, need funding to push their own agendas. . Due to the coordination between the two, an integrated counter-terrorism and organised crime should be implemented, to dissolve the creation of a strengthen connection. Law enforcement agencies have to approach this in a different angle because the traditional separate policing of organised crime and terrorism, do not apply. After 9/11, steps have been taken to increased cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies that police domestic and international matters. I can see the huge benefits that increasing the cooperation can bring. The sharing of information on both sources of threats enables governments to penetrate these secret groups and prevent crimes from being perpetrated. Also breaking down one criminal organisation, can lead to discovering other terrorist organisations at the same time, therefore increasing their leads. However according to Bjornehead, E(2010) states that at times war on organised crime, in particular drugs, can sometimes undermine the war on terror. She one of many examples, that of Taliban and how a reduction is poppy field in Europe, increased the price of opium, which Taliban made huge gains, which is helped fund their terror organisations. Questions need to be raised on which one is a bigger domestic threat, politicians may believe terrorism is a threat as they want direct change in governance and how that government acts, for example USA I believe has a stronger stance and policy on terrorism, rather than organised crimes. Whilst organised crimes havent got a direct objective against the political system, it might be the case that for individuals in society that due to its hidden, secretive nature that criminal organizations themselves, pose a threat to society that goes far beyond the harm posed by the profit-driven crimes they commit. Collins, A (2007) We can also see this in a poll in an 11 countries that was conducted showing that what people feared, and the highest was Criminal activities with 27%, whilst terrorism was third with 15%. Human security centre (2005) There a continuous argument in US about what poses a bigger threat US security. Recent Barack Obama states that The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon. However In a many recently, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), recent stated that Drug-related crime biggest threat to public safety in the Americas. This is also backed up by Retiring CIA chief Michael Hayden Mexico could rank alongside Iran as a challenge for Obama perhaps a greater problem than Iraq. UN news centre(2008) I believe this could be due to drug cartels domince in Mexico, and due it the geography and globalization; it has been spilled in the street of US. Williams, P, (2008) Another difference is Terrorism is a bigger point of discussion in the wider world due to the fact that they seek media attention and not shy to hide its terror activities, Whilst Organized crime is very secretive and behind closed doors. Hence why it is people may perceive it to be a bigger threat. After the post cold war era, there was a huge shift from in national security threats, from communism, to terrorism and organised crime. What the fall of communism did, was not only did it leave eastern countries, lawless and poor, it left it venerable to radical ideologies and organised crime, including what we call globalization. I also believe that ideological terrorism has severely since the cold war, and a new breed of ethnic and religious inspired terrorism. Collins, A (2007) p356 I a published paper by Stephens, M (1996) on globalized crime, and describes why organised crime was on the rise after the Cold war era and in summary; Post-Cold War opportunities such as the lowering of economic and political barriers; the end of communist regimes and the founding of fragile new democracies. Stephens, M(1996) A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division,Library of Congress(2003) discusses areas on the world that are venerable to organised crime and terrorism, and states that in reference the In the former Soviet states, progress toward the rule of law has been hindered by the sudden disappearance of national authority (the Soviet state) in areas having no individual tradition of state authority or civil society but having very well developed traditions of underground criminal activity. Federal Research Division(2003) Both types of organizations lean to enlist the majority of their members from the same pool of an insignificant sector of the population, which are subject to social, cultural or political frustration. This is backed up by Rosenau(1990), Galleotti (2001), Cusimano-Love (2003), and Castells (2000) who have compared transnational crime and terrorism as malicious non-state actors that take advantage of failures in the state-centric global system, such as the limitations of sovereignty, legal jurisdictional boundaries and the opportunities that failed or weak states create for safe havens. As much as globalization ha s been beneficial for many nation states, it has also been disastrous in reference to Organised crime and terrorism, which Williams, p(2002) describes as a motivator and facilitator., opening a way for transnational activity. In this era of accelerated global interaction, transnational organized crime and international terrorism are flourishing. In Baylis, J and smith, s(2005), James D kiras writes has a whole chapter dedicated towards to Terrorism and globalisation, he writes the technology and processes linked with globalization have enabled terrorism to grow from regional phenomenon, into a global one. He also means that the use of Globalization has also lead to changes in the means of conducting terrorism and organised crime. For example in Freedman (2002) Prior to 11 September 2001 most acts of terrorism had depended on the conventional explosives. And then compares it to current situation where the ability to mount simultaneous attacks, commitment and choice targets, using aircraft as guided missiles. I believe that globalisation has a part to play in this change because it has opened up the world. The borders have faded or are no longer as well guarded, the market is globalized, financial and commercial mergers and the deregulation of state intervention provide new opportunities, and communication technology is presenting unexpected innovative technological possibilities. I also believe globalization has spread national crime to international organised crime because large-scale migration across the globe has created new emigrant refugee communities that can serve as recruitment bases and as hiding places, especially as they live a poor lifestyle, they have no alternatives, apart from turning to crime. Organised crime actors share the same objective as legal corporations in a sense that In a increasingly global marketplace, illicit actors, like licit counterparts, take advantage of business opportunities wherever they occur. For organised crime, going across borders, increases their wealth and profit just as it does for legal businesses, as they have new customers and can take advantage of infrastructure to cover their illegal activities. An example used in Collins, A (2007) was after the creation of North American free trade area, trade grew in the billions, and however it was this area, thrived in reference to aid smuggling of illegal goods and drugs. There have been political and economic developments have brought terrorism and organized crime together. There are also clear structural similarities that would appear to make alliance beneficial for both of them and I believe that it is case of marriage of convenience, rather than long term strategic alliance. Collins, A (2007p 361) It is becoming a huge aspect of security, that both organised crime and terrorism are flourishing over one another, and in particular terrorist groups are rely on crime to fund their operation, and criminal expertise is become available to terrorist groups. I believe that in this day of age, where the world become evermore globalized, any security threat that is national, ends up spilling over the borders, and becoming a international problem. Schmid, A(2005) Links between Terrorism and Drug Trafficking: A Case of Narco-terrorism? Galleotti, M. (2001) Underworld and Upperworld: Transnational Organized Crime and Global Society, In Josselin, D. and Wallace W. (Eds.). Non-State Actors in World Politics, Palgrave: New York, pp. 203-17. Ciment, JD and Shanty FG(2008) Organized Crime: From Trafficking to Terrorism, Volume 1, ABC-Clio, Califonia Berry, V. et al(2003) Nations hospitable to organized crime and terrorism[online] Available from: http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/Nats_Hospitable.pdf [Accessed May 2010]. Shelley, L and Picarelli (2001) Methods Not motives: Implications of the convergence of international organized crime and terrorism [online] Available from: http://www.law.syr.edu/Pdfs/0methods_motives.pdf.[Accessed May 2010] Stephens, Mora(1996) Global organized crime as the threat to national security [online] Available from: http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/snyder/globalcrime.htm. .[Accessed May 2010] Williams, P(2009) Strategy for a New World: Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime. In Balyis, J(eds.) Chapter 9 Bibes, P(2001) Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorism.Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 17, Sage Publications Bjà ¶rnehed, Emma(2004) Narco-Terrorism: The Merger of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, Global Crime, 6: 3, 305 324, Routledge, London Kiras, JD(2001) Terrorism and Globalization. In Baylis, J and Smith, S(eds.) The Globalization of work politics: An introduction to IR, Chapter 21, Oxford, Oxford university press. Lutz, B and Lutz, J(2007) Terrorism. In Collins, A (eds.) Contemporary security studies, 2nd edtion, chapter 20, Oxford, Oxford University press. Lutz, B and Lutz, J(2007) Transnational crime. In Collins, A (eds.) Contemporary security studies, 2nd edtion, chapter 25, Oxford, Oxford University press.

Religion Accroding to Class Structure :: Islam Religion Religious Class Essays

Religion Accroding to Class Structure In The Arab World: Society, Culture and State, Halim Barakat discusses the effect religion has on society within the Arab world. â€Å"Religion is the most significant force shaping Middle Eastern societies,† For Barakat (119). This is because religion is both revolutionary and pacifying. The Middle East is divided into rigid social and economic structures, which creates tension between upper and lowers classes. One tries to perpetuate a system of inequality, which forces the other to cope with poverty. Religion is used to serve the needs of both classes, â€Å"to repress and to resist repression,† in this way (130). The duality of religion can help explain the way modern societies in the Middle East function. Over the course of time, â€Å"Islamic conquests resulted in the accumulation of a great deal of money in the hands of Muslims, so they lost the purity of the prophet† (133). This divided society into classes: the rich were content with their status but the poor were not. Religion was used to,perpetuate the rich’s existence as a class. The economic hardship the poor faced was justified through religion and the possibility of a better afterlife. Egypt’s twenty four districts, for example, were divided between the king, the military and the princes, leaving no land for the people. To justify his class’ status, the king told the people they did have land: â€Å"It was the twenty fifth district, and its place is in the kingdom of heaven† (134). In this instance the king used religion as a â€Å"coercive and repressive force,† to serve his intentions (129). Rationalizing the poor’s poverty and the rich’s power through religion wa s a way Muslim rulers â€Å"legitimize(d) and maintain(ed) the prevailing order† (129). The way classes in the middle east practice religion is highly illustrative of class difference. Barakat makes a distinction between what he labels â€Å"official religion,† and â€Å"popular religion†: the former is practiced in rich, urban areas, and the latter in less affluent, rural ones (126). He says official religion stresses the value of strict interpretations of religious texts, monotheism, an absence of intermediaries between believers and God, and a close connection between religion and the ruling class. Popular religion, on the other hand, values interpretations of religious texts, personified sacred forces, spiritual inner selves, and does seek intermediaries between believers and God. Religion Accroding to Class Structure :: Islam Religion Religious Class Essays Religion Accroding to Class Structure In The Arab World: Society, Culture and State, Halim Barakat discusses the effect religion has on society within the Arab world. â€Å"Religion is the most significant force shaping Middle Eastern societies,† For Barakat (119). This is because religion is both revolutionary and pacifying. The Middle East is divided into rigid social and economic structures, which creates tension between upper and lowers classes. One tries to perpetuate a system of inequality, which forces the other to cope with poverty. Religion is used to serve the needs of both classes, â€Å"to repress and to resist repression,† in this way (130). The duality of religion can help explain the way modern societies in the Middle East function. Over the course of time, â€Å"Islamic conquests resulted in the accumulation of a great deal of money in the hands of Muslims, so they lost the purity of the prophet† (133). This divided society into classes: the rich were content with their status but the poor were not. Religion was used to,perpetuate the rich’s existence as a class. The economic hardship the poor faced was justified through religion and the possibility of a better afterlife. Egypt’s twenty four districts, for example, were divided between the king, the military and the princes, leaving no land for the people. To justify his class’ status, the king told the people they did have land: â€Å"It was the twenty fifth district, and its place is in the kingdom of heaven† (134). In this instance the king used religion as a â€Å"coercive and repressive force,† to serve his intentions (129). Rationalizing the poor’s poverty and the rich’s power through religion wa s a way Muslim rulers â€Å"legitimize(d) and maintain(ed) the prevailing order† (129). The way classes in the middle east practice religion is highly illustrative of class difference. Barakat makes a distinction between what he labels â€Å"official religion,† and â€Å"popular religion†: the former is practiced in rich, urban areas, and the latter in less affluent, rural ones (126). He says official religion stresses the value of strict interpretations of religious texts, monotheism, an absence of intermediaries between believers and God, and a close connection between religion and the ruling class. Popular religion, on the other hand, values interpretations of religious texts, personified sacred forces, spiritual inner selves, and does seek intermediaries between believers and God.

Movie Evaluation

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: An Autistic Childs Perspective Message 1: September 11, 2001:†Are you there? Hello? If you’re there darling pick up. I just tried the office, but no one was picking up. Ah, listen, something happened. I’m ok. There telling us to stay where we are and wait for the firemen. I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll give you another call when I have a better idea of what’s going on. I want to let you know that I’m ok and not to worry and I’ll call again soon. This was the first of six messages on September 11 2001 that 11 year old Oscar Schell (Thomas Horn) heard from his father Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks) that were left on the answering machine as tragedy was unfolding. His father was on the 105th floor of tower one as the first plane crashed into the building. This movie is based on events that took place during the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. A young boy (Thomas Horn) named Oscar narrates the sto ry of how the day unfolded from his point of view referring to it as â€Å"the worst day. † Oscar comes home after being released from school because of the events that were taking place.At this point he doesn’t really know what is actually happening. He continues in his routine grabbing a snack from the fridge and then pressing the play button on the answering machine. In this scene He listens to the first of six messages his father left as the events unfolded. He then turns on the television as the messages continue to play and witnesses what has happened and realizes his father is in the building. Just as the news camera captures the first tower falling Oscar falls to his knees, the pudding he got from the fridge spews everywhere and he begins to sob.This movie is categorized as a drama. Certain aspects should be within a drama and relating criteria should be established this includes first and foremost emotion, second would be a powerful message, also if the movie is based from real events, such as this one, realistic scenarios should take place and last but not least quality acting and effective casting, which go hand in hand. In a beginning scene from the movie when Oscars mother Linda Schell (Sandra Bullock) gets a phone call from her husband Thomas Schell while she is at work.You can hear the sheer panic in his voice and the chaos of distraught people in the background. Linda Schell now understands how dyer the situation is because he is in the building. She panics and tries to talk him into staying on the phone with her, they get disconnected. The viewer can easily relate to Linda’s fear and helplessness. Throughout the entire movie you can feel Oscars pain of losing his father. After â€Å"the worst day† Oscar refused to step foot in his father’s closet until one day he gathers the courage to do so. He is sorting through his father’s things when he knocks a vase off of a shelf.The vase shatters and he finds a key and believes it was a last â€Å"reconicense mission† his father created for him. He deems it necessary to continue the game they played that consisted of Oscar going on â€Å"reconicense quests† that his father would develop for him so that he would face his fears of being out in society. Loud noises, lots of people and being out in public put Oscar on edge as he has Autism and he has much trouble trying to make sense out of the simplest things in life and understanding why he can’t make sense of them, but his focus of understanding turned to his father’s untimely death.This movie does have a powerful message of how an unexpected tragedy can change lives forever. We may not have answers as to why or no complete understanding of what truly happens, but we must find a way to move on. As far as depicting real scenarios I believe this movie is right on point with one exception, Oscar was released from school as things started to take place. Before these attacks happened no one felt there was a real threat to humanity, but in a real situation such as this one, school districts, in my opinion, would not have released the children off on their own.Even if no one quite knew what was happening. It is the facilities responsibility to protect and care for those children while they are under their care. This was the only scenario I didn’t agree with. It almost gives a misconception of how schools would react, I think. Last but not least a drama should have quality acting which would foresee effective casting. Someone might seem right for the part but cannot portray the character effectively, which doesn’t make it believable or relatable. If the wrong people are casted, who aren’t quality actors, it would create a different atmosphere for the movie.It may not do so well if the characters aren’t portrayed effectively. I look for actors/actresses who have been awarded for their work and those I’m familiar w ith because there is a good chance the movie will be worthwhile. Overall Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a captivating, emotional and heartfelt movie about a boy with autism whom has just lost his father and learning to cope. With its quality acting and effective casting, powerful message and real life scenarios this movie is a must see.

American Dream Short Essay Essay

Since the United States of America was born the â€Å"American Dream† has been alive. When it was first established the â€Å"American Dream† was defined as the ability of having freedom, democracy, and financial stability. Today it appears that the â€Å"American Dream† has faded there is poverty, crime, government taking full control, and the social classes have a larger margin than ever. According to the article â€Å"More people express uncertainty in chance to achieve the American Dream† the Washington Post-Miller Center Poll found that â€Å"almost two-thirds of people express concerns about covering their families basic living expenses, compared with less than half the public four decades ago.† The thought of working hard, studying, and being able to retire use to be easy but now this has become a hardship. As values have changed and the pace of society has increased Americans want everything right here and right now but don not want to put the effort forward, those that still have the working mentality are those who achieve the true â€Å"American Dream.† People are becoming less motivated and more lazy. We try to finding an easy solution to all of our lives complicated problems, we no longer want to go to school, for it has become a â€Å"nuisance† and children are following in the footsteps of those that are not wise. Reading this article really opened our eyes. It’s not that the American Dream is unachievable, Americans just don’t want to work for it. We have become lazy and feel like everything should be handed to us, instead of believing that we should work for our accolades and make our opportunities. Bibliography Morello, Carol, Peyton M. Craighill, and Scott Clement. â€Å"More People Express Uncertainty in Chance to Achieve the American Dream.† Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Research Proposal on E-Commerce vs Web Store Front

Research Proposal on E-Commerce vs Web Store Front E-Commerce vs. Web Store Front Research Proposal: With the advent of internet technology, organizations have greatly improved in certain ways. One of the most important facets of the computer and internet technology that have undergone rapid change is the E-commerce (Umar, 2004). Ecommerce or electronic commerce is the act of doing business over the internet through the aid of remote computers linked to each other to form a network. Specifically, it allows the users to transact business over the internet, where very little or no physical contact between the two parties is involved (Umar, 2004). Companies throughout the modern world are increasingly changing from traditional in-store format due to the increased opportunities with online business, as well as reduced cost of doing business (Umar, 2004). Currently, most retail businesses maintain a web storefront, while others have completed deviated from their physical location and moved permanently to the online business location. Traditional Versus Online Shopping It is not necessary that the word shopping have the meaning of exchange of goods and services in a specific physical location, as it was the common definition (Columbus, 2009). For instance, it was the only way for the shopper to leave the physical location and visit to the physical market or store in order to shop. However, in the modern world, shopping has greatly been revolutionized primarily through the internet technology. However, there are facets of this revolution that has brought in certain weaknesses with the shopping method, which are not common with traditional in-store method of shopping (Umar, 2004). Traditional in-store shopping method requires that the buyer and the seller meet in a certain area to do the transaction. The buyers must pay in cash or credit card. This method is very time consuming because all these activities requires time. In addition, in any case where the buyer and the seller have to negotiate on the price and nature of the service or commodity, they must do so within a given time, which increases the time spend on the process. For the buyer to choose the right product, he or she must take time seeing the product or service and verify its worthiness before paying for it. This is an advantage over the modern E-shopping, where even scammers have the opportunity to place fake or unworthy orders or products and feign as honest dealers or buyers. This might be a good way for the dishonest parties to execute their ill-intended actions over the intent (Umar, 2004). The traditional method of shopping is advantageous over the internet as far as this issue is concerned because it allows the two parties to carry out intensive verification of the other party’s intentions and degree of honesty. For example, there is enough time of the two parties to spend together and verify each other’s intentions and degree of honesty. In addition, physical shopping is quick because the buyer does not have to ship, especially for household and other goods, which are required on time and place (Columbus, 2009). Despite these advantages with the traditional method of shopping, several issues are associated with it, which are easily solved with the online shopping methods. For example, this method is highly time saving because it allows both parties to transact business over the internet. In this case, the parties do not need to meet physically, but rather the internet provides the opportunity for the two parties to meet and even discuss from remote places. There are also certain ways to enhance security of the transaction. For example, it is possible to operate secure accounts over the internet provided by trusted companies such as PayPal and iKobo. Ecommerce has increased the ability of doing business in foreign and new places. The internet is perhaps the driving force behind the modern concept of globalization. Globalization is a new dispensation in modern world, which has seen business organizations operate on worldwide scale, rather than dealing in specific regions (Umar, 2004). This new dispensation in business has increased the ability of the business organizations to diversify their business over extensive geographical locations, breaking geographical barriers and thus, distributing their risks and losses. This has further seen business organizations reduce the expense of crossing geographical barriers because they do not necessarily need to have physical outlets or these new offices, and those, which have these offices, are connected effectively the technology (Umar, 2004). Shoppers have the opportunity to go over a large-scale window-shopping before they can settle on the items to buy. Comparison of prices over the internet is also simpler than physical shopping because one needs to browse the prices and products over the computer in a sitting location, which further reduces the time needed to make shopping decisions. Shopping experience at Express Company Express Corporation is an American organization that specializes in clothing, and has several outlets in America, Europe and Asia, most of which were opened and operated before the organization embarked on extensive ecommerce. Currently, the organization operates one of the best and consumer friendly website, from where consumers in any part of the world can browse through the great variety of products and product brands available in the company stores. In addition, it allows the potential customer to use a shopping cart, in which they are free to add or remove any item they wish to or not to purchase. The shopping becomes easy because the online buyers are able to decide on the item they want to buy over a long time, which could even be days. This allows the users to make sound decisions on their purchases. Moreover, the website has extensive list of available and products, alongside their prices, quality and other details. Payment is quite easy because the organization accepts cred it cards online, PayPal and iKobo in addition to E-money services. The transaction can take a number of days, while the shipping can be very quick in cases where the customers are located in one of the 60 countries where the company operates in full scale. In addition to these features, the organization’s website allows the users to define their need and search through the website with just a click, and find their preferred product. Ethical and Legal Issues Concerning the Use of Internet in Business The internet technology has proved to be a tool for improving the methodology for doing business (Columbus, 2009). However, several legal and ethical issues are concerned (Umar, 2004). As a relatively new technology in business, the internet, as applied in ecommerce, has several issues concerning the security of the information, the money on transit as well as the product. For example, the organizations doing business through the internet relies heavily on the information on their website, and the information passed between the two parties. This implies that in case this information is leaked or interfered with, then both parties are likely to lose. Confidentiality of the information is also highly regarded in the business done over the internet (Umar, 2004). Ecommerce further requires high product suitability since there are certain products that are hardly offered on the internet. For example, household products such as sugar, soap, and others may not be sold in retail scale over the internet; rather they need traditional method of commerce. Products such as clothing, vehicles and other machineries, information such as music and games as well as academic materials are highly suitable for internet transaction.

Development of Social Policy essays

Development of Social Policy essays The development of health care policy in the last one hundred years has been shaped by many factors. These factors are social, economic and political and include poverty, de-industrialisation and different political ideologies. Social attitudes changed over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and were the main driving force for the development of health care policies. In the early 1900s attitudes were changing and people were becoming more aware of social conditions within the country. The Boer War and the two World Wars had shown politicians that the country was poor, unfit and extremely unhealthy. Unemployment was rising and more and more people were becoming dependant on help from the state. At this time we had the political influence of a Liberal Government whos ideals described as social democratic, would give rise to the health service. Social democratic ideals concerning health care were that care should be available on a needs basis rather than for those who could afford it and should be provided by the state. They believed that all people should be free from poverty. The social democrats thought that its people were the governments responsibility to look after. This ideology led to Labour exchanges and National Insurance being set up in 1911 to help those who were sick and out of work. Women were given the vote and they helped to hig hlight social conditions of the nation. Poverty was rife and was a drain on the economy, and was one of the main reasons the population was so unfit and unhealthy as we will see later. In 1942 Beveridge produced a report that was designed to counter the five social giants of idleness, ignorance, disease, squalor and want. The report was lengthy and considered the whole question of social insurance, arguing that want could be abolished by a system of social security organised for the individual by the state. Beveridge recommended the establishment of...

The Molecular Formula for Water

The Molecular Formula for Water The molecular formula for water is H2O. One molecule of water consists of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to two hydrogen atoms. There are three isotopes of hydrogen. The usual chemical formula for water assumes the hydrogen atoms consist of the isotope protium (one proton, no neutrons). Heavy water is also possible, in which one or more of the atoms of hydrogen consist of deuterium (symbol D) or tritium (symbol T). Other forms of the chemical formula for water include  D2O, DHO, T2O, and THO. Its theoretically possible to form TDO, although such a molecule would be extremely rare. Although most people assume water is  H2O, only completely pure water lacks other elements and ions. Drinking water usually contains chlorine, silicates, magnesium, calcium, aluminum, sodium, and trace amounts of other ions and molecules. Also, water dissolves itself, forming its ions,  H and OH-. A sample of water contains the intact water molecule along with hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions.

Public Affair class summary #5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Public Affair class summary #5 - Essay Example The interest of the reporter refers to what really inspired the reporter to do a particular story. This can be determined by focusing on how the reporter brings out the story or by tracking down his or her past coverage in the media outlets. The next step, as noted by Fitch, in interacting with reporters entails making calls to a reporter. Before contact with a reporter, it is important to consider various tips effective for handling the reporter. For instance, face-to-face communication will require one to maintain eye contact with the reporter while offering responses. Key points should be emphasized using clear and well-structured statements. It is also important that comments made to a report should be specific whether they are going to be on-record or off-record. Both positive and negative information need to be handled professionally in order to avoid any bias or ambiguity. It is important to maintain a positive attitude and tone during any interaction with a reporter to avoid occurrence of any reporter problems during a media interview. Brevity and precision are always preferred during media interviews or in statements written to the media, as Fitch and Holt put it ‘sometimes less is more’. There is a need to create a good rapport with the reporter to win his or her attention. In this chapter, Fitch provides an overview of various forms of media. They include print media, Radio, Television and the internet. The chapter starts by analysing various forms of print media. The chapter indicates that these forms of media form the bulk of where most Americans get their news. They include magazines, newspapers or journal websites. Current financial information can be accessed by reading daybooks recording. Television medium is another form of media used in communication. Television stations offer specific programs aimed at meeting viewers expectations and needs. The programs range from talk

Physiology Assignment about developing human Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Physiology about developing human - Assignment Example blood, will enter into the foetus' and destroy foetal blood cells. The resulting anemia, which results out of destruction of foetal blood cells, that is, haemolytic anemia may be severe enough to cause foetal death. If the foetus survives to be born, this will invariably lead to severe jaundice in the newborn shortly after birth. Several measures may be adopted to prevent this catastrophe. A regular antenatal care and medical supervision in early pregnancy are needed to detect the risk of the blood type incompatibility. If there is a risk, anti-Rh gamma globulins may be injected to the mother at 28 weeks of gestation and within 72 hours after delivery or miscarriage, abortion, or ectopic pregnancy with a mismatched blood type. The foetal health status can be determined in suspected mismatch and isoimmunization by amniocentesis and cordocentesis. Q2. Answer: This is a mathematical model of a bicycle ride on a mountain terrain. This represents a journey. The vertical axes represent the change in the heart rate in beats per minute of the biker as well as the altitude he covers in metres (represented by the blue line). The horizontal axis represents the timeline in minutes. All these parameters were measured from the start of the journey. At the first stage of the journey at time 0, the altitude is just 20+ metres. The heart rate at that point was approximately 100, and that can be taken as the baseline heart rate. As cycling continues, and the biker reaches the base of the mountain, his heart rate gradually increases until he reaches the middle of the altitude to achieve a maximal heart rate of 180. Before that, the biker reaches another lower peak heart rate of 170. The range of maximal heart rates is, hence, 170 to 180.... [ Despite trying hard I could not accommodate in 7 pages, please have a look, if you desire some parts to be compressed, please let me know, I will make the necessary changes. Since it is question and answer, I did not use in-text citations and bibliography]

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sports Laws and Anti-Doping - Essay Example The paper gives detailed information about individuals who find difficult to adjust to the set rules hence apply dubious methods to achieve success. Some, however, have gone against the set policies in their attempts to curb certain impairments that may have been experienced during their career to lead them down career failures. A country may, however, possess a power to intervene into some decisions that these institutions make especially if they affect the welfare of decisions made in the sport or go against specific sport law provisions. Doping in sport is an entity that various countries have made attempts to eradicate and anti-doping organization have been formed where sports men/women are controlled to inhibit the heinous practice. Doping has been witnessed in various instances where an athlete uses various ability enhancing substances to achieve their success. The specific body that controls the sport normally passes judgment on the implication of doping. However, there may be provisions that may involve the government to interfere with certain decision in their attempts to protect their citizens. The independent bodies may be internationally formed, for example, FIFA, which oversee the football affairs across the globe. Inside FIFA, there are certain provisions that limit the actions of the country’s government to interfere with their affairs. Though independent there have been attempts to limit the restrictions of the independent tribunals, especially evident rulings on doping cases. Sports Laws and Anti-Doping Sporting activities have grown famous among individuals over the past few decades and has seen many individuals growing into becoming perfectionist in their specific talented area. Many venture into sport for fun and articulate it as being a leisure activity. However, recent statistics has shown that the sport industry is increasingly becoming commercialized with many individuals not only entering the event for fame but for the financial packages that the modern sports entail (Aketch, 2008). The athletes have applied their talent to gain the favor to apply the sporting activities as a source of livelihood and the majorities have grown up without accessing any form of education to substitute their trade. The financial entity of the sport industry has driven the majority of sport personnel to cheat and apply doping techniques to advance in their career. The rule in any sporting activity is to be the best among competitor and therefore through applying various skill advancing methods, many have gained favor to advance before their rivals. However, there have been massive anti-doping measures that have rooted out the course of this action singling individuals with drug addiction problems and still participate in the sport. These actions have led to a lack in interest from most fans with the majority losing favor towards their once known excelling competitors. This eventually leads to a lack in interest and favor towards the sport. There has since emerged various sport organizations to promote the eradication of doping and unfair play. Examples are FIFA and IOC that oversee the actions in football and Olympics respectively. These organizations share no relation or any form of direct influence from national law and have set their own independent rules that members must follow to gain merit in participating

Check and Balance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Check and Balance - Assignment Example Furthermore, the contribution of his followers towards his narcissism and the effect of the same would also come under discussion. Lastly, the paper would also shed some light on what sort of organizational check and balances were missing in that situation. There are many proofs, which help us to reach the conclusion that Steve Jobs is a narcissist when it comes to leadership style, some of them are discussed below. First, Jobs appears to be one of the most overrated CEOs of the century. His attempts to capture the media, web, literature, telling schools what to teach and what not to teach and others, suggest that he is trying to catch more attention than he deserves (Maccoby, 2004). Second, jobs appeared to be satisfying one of the major criteria of narcissist leaders as they saw the bigger picture, and always moved forward with a vision in mind. Since these people focus on their own selves, they can always see the bigger picture rather than breaking things into small bits to understand them (Maccoby, 2004). Steve stands true on this criterion. Since the day one, he knew what is he was going to do with apple. He changed his title from interim CEO to iCEO indicating that he will work on iPhones and iPods (Gillam, 2008). Third, according to the official figures, Steve owns almost 6.1 billion US dollars and his name occurs in the list of top 50 wealthiest Americans, yet when it comes to corporate philanthropy, his record is one of the poorest compared to other billionaires. Furthermore, he also eliminated the corporate philanthropy division at Apple in 1997 and it has not been more restored until yet (Gallo, 2009).  

History and Analysis of city Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History and Analysis of city - Assignment Example Located at north latitude of 39 degrees 56’ and east longtitude of 116 degrees 20’, Beijing grandly reposing along the north most part of the north China plain; along with the northwest is the Shanxi province and inner Mongolian plain, and from the east is the Bohai sea. Among the neighborhood provinces are the Hebei province and Tianjin to the southeast. Beijing as being considered as one of the three mega cities of China under the direct jurisdiction of the central government is divided into 10 districts and 8 respective counties. The people of Beijing are enjoying the moderate continental climate. 600 to 700 millimeters is the average rainfall Beijing receives yearly and much of it falls in late June, July, and August. Spring is dry and dusty and the best season being considered in Beijing, as well as in the whole of China is the autumn. Beijing serves as the political and cultural center of the modern China. It was the considered as the capital of many dynasties dur ing the past, ancient times. Everything in this place picturesque the aura of the past history, battles, origins and the sensations present in this place will lead encourage anyone to feel the deep respect for the city that holds stories dated back to its origin. Taihang Mountains Beijing claimed to be a gulf by the historians and geologist two to three million years ago. The geographical distribution of Beijing is very significant to be called â€Å"Beijing Gulf†. Beijing is enclosed by Taihang Mountains located at the west and Yanshan to the north, to the east is the Bohai Bay and in front of the Hebei plain to the south. According to geologist and historians, the melting of ice and snow during spring carried enormous amount of mud from the mountains to the gulf. This was transformed to be alluvial plain and is now known to be Beijing. Mountains that surround Beijing serves as the protection cover from the northern strong winds. From the east part blew the wet air, huge pla in stretched far to the southland and wide lengthy rivers and streams are some of the features that this place is made suitable environment for human to live and settle down. Inhabitants of this place are also blessed with temperate climate and plentiful rainfall that suits to agricultural activities. History of Beijing Peking Man Anthropologist’s claim that evidences shows manifestations that more than half a million years ago, in the southwest suburbs lived a Peking man. Climate condition during that time was warmer and compared to the present climate of Beijing. Relics of the Peking man was found as well as the stone tools, how the fire was used up to the tools being used way back 18000 ago. It is considered as the earliest cultural relics China have recorded in the history. The true significance of the city’s origin, tracing back 2,000 years ago, started in the period of the Western Zou Dynasty dated 11th century BC to 771 BC. The feudal lords during this time were given by the emperor plots of land in which one of the plot given was called â€Å"Ji City†. This is considered as the first city in Beijing history. During the Eastern Zhou Period dated 476 BC to 221 BC, the Ji kingdom was abolished and replace by â€Å"Yan Kingdom† but JI remains as the capital during that time. When china was unified by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Beijing has been considered as a strategic place in China’s northern part. Beijing was called â€Å"

New Technology that Could Substantially Improve the Output of the Essay

New Technology that Could Substantially Improve the Output of the Bio-Fuels - Essay Example While, solar energy seems to be new, but it is also being in utilization for many years for drying food products and heating water. Biofuel is such type of fuel that can be attained from living organisms. In this way, the energy stored and wasted by the living organisms can be utilized to attain energy. Living organisms both store and waste energy, like the tree and plants store energy in their stems that can be burnt to extract energy, in the similar way, mammals, birds and other animals can provide undigested food that could be utilized to extract energy by going through a certain process. The energy in the undigested food waste can be extracted in two ways; first methods is to dry the undigested food waste and then burn it to extract energy content of the waste and the second method is to biodegrade the waste and then capture the biogas evolved in the process. This paper assembles the different technologies that can enhance the output of the bio-fuels (Emma, np). Different types o f bio-fuels have to be processed differently and thus a different biofuel is obtained. The different types of bio-fuels that involve technology are biodiesel, bio-ethanol and biogas. Bio-ethanol is attained after the fermentation of such foods and food products that have a higher content of sugar, like sugar cane, corn, switch grass, etc. However, any biotic oil could have the potential to become biodiesel by undergoing a simple process that involve first heating and filtering the oil, then treating the oil with the methanol and then washing and drying (Blair, np). Washing and drying may utilize different chemicals like hydroxides, etc. Biogas is extracted through the bio-digest plant that digests the waste food or animal waste utilizing certain type of microorganisms and bacteria to eat up the wastes and generate biogas. Biogas is mostly methane gas; however, some content of sulphur oxides are also present in the gas. The important factor of the bio-digest plant is that the waster from the plant can be utilized as the fertilizers. The plant could be as small as to support a small house or could be as big as to supply fuel for a bigger power generation unit. The advances in all the bio-fuels technologies change the perspective of inputs to the fuel generation plant. For example, for a biogas generation system animal waste is the primary component, however, the technology made a possibility to utilizing any bio waste to generate bio gas. In the similar way, corn starch is the primary components of the bio-ethanol generation system but advancement in the technology made it possible to extract the ethanol from other food sources like switch grass and other plant waste. The advance technology enhanced the possibility of the bio-fuels to be utilized in a more appropriate manner and have major other application, like bio-aviation fuel, high efficiency bio-fuels, etc. The advanced bio-fuels may utilize food and bio wastes, agricultural residue, forestry residue (wood y biomass, etc), crops and non-food feed stocks. The major issue is to increase the sustainability of the bio-fuels and second generation bio-fuels generation are more sustainable as compared to the first generation bio-fuels. However, the product form the second generation

History and Analysis of city Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History and Analysis of city - Assignment Example Located at north latitude of 39 degrees 56’ and east longtitude of 116 degrees 20’, Beijing grandly reposing along the north most part of the north China plain; along with the northwest is the Shanxi province and inner Mongolian plain, and from the east is the Bohai sea. Among the neighborhood provinces are the Hebei province and Tianjin to the southeast. Beijing as being considered as one of the three mega cities of China under the direct jurisdiction of the central government is divided into 10 districts and 8 respective counties. The people of Beijing are enjoying the moderate continental climate. 600 to 700 millimeters is the average rainfall Beijing receives yearly and much of it falls in late June, July, and August. Spring is dry and dusty and the best season being considered in Beijing, as well as in the whole of China is the autumn. Beijing serves as the political and cultural center of the modern China. It was the considered as the capital of many dynasties dur ing the past, ancient times. Everything in this place picturesque the aura of the past history, battles, origins and the sensations present in this place will lead encourage anyone to feel the deep respect for the city that holds stories dated back to its origin. Taihang Mountains Beijing claimed to be a gulf by the historians and geologist two to three million years ago. The geographical distribution of Beijing is very significant to be called â€Å"Beijing Gulf†. Beijing is enclosed by Taihang Mountains located at the west and Yanshan to the north, to the east is the Bohai Bay and in front of the Hebei plain to the south. According to geologist and historians, the melting of ice and snow during spring carried enormous amount of mud from the mountains to the gulf. This was transformed to be alluvial plain and is now known to be Beijing. Mountains that surround Beijing serves as the protection cover from the northern strong winds. From the east part blew the wet air, huge pla in stretched far to the southland and wide lengthy rivers and streams are some of the features that this place is made suitable environment for human to live and settle down. Inhabitants of this place are also blessed with temperate climate and plentiful rainfall that suits to agricultural activities. History of Beijing Peking Man Anthropologist’s claim that evidences shows manifestations that more than half a million years ago, in the southwest suburbs lived a Peking man. Climate condition during that time was warmer and compared to the present climate of Beijing. Relics of the Peking man was found as well as the stone tools, how the fire was used up to the tools being used way back 18000 ago. It is considered as the earliest cultural relics China have recorded in the history. The true significance of the city’s origin, tracing back 2,000 years ago, started in the period of the Western Zou Dynasty dated 11th century BC to 771 BC. The feudal lords during this time were given by the emperor plots of land in which one of the plot given was called â€Å"Ji City†. This is considered as the first city in Beijing history. During the Eastern Zhou Period dated 476 BC to 221 BC, the Ji kingdom was abolished and replace by â€Å"Yan Kingdom† but JI remains as the capital during that time. When china was unified by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Beijing has been considered as a strategic place in China’s northern part. Beijing was called â€Å"

Setting up a business Essay Example for Free

Setting up a business Essay Introduction Tods tyres is a company which deals in fitting new sets of tyres to fleets of cars. Tod has to record the details of each car, and send the owners a letter when the cars are due for new tyres. Previously, this could all be done manually, but the growth of the company has meant there is a need for a more efficient system. The existing system is all manual, with Tod or one of his clerks keeping a book containing all the details of cars he maintains, as well as the addresses of his clients. He writes out a letter on a basic word processor on his home computer, and changes the address manually. A new design is needed to make the company more efficient, as Well as increase the capacity for adding new customers in the future. Ideally, the system should be very easy to use, as Tod himself is not very experienced with computers. Because Tod holds the details of his customers on this computer, it must be protected from unauthorised use. A good way to do this would be to protect either the entire computer or the database with a password Specification of solution The Solution, for it to be a complete success, must be capable of each of the following: 1. It must store each record in a way that it is easily visible, easily compared with similar records, and easily retrievable with a query 2. It has to be protectable with at least a password, to satisfy the requirements of the data protection act. 3. The database itself must be easy and intuitive to use for its users, and must be a stable and reliable program. 4. The data itself must be transferable to a common storage medium, like floppy disks or CDRs, for cheap and compact back-up storage. However, these disks must be kept safe from unauthorised access, as per the data protection acts. 5. The programme must update the file in real-time; e. g. a change to the database at one workstation will register at the others with immediately after. The solution, as a secondary objective, should be relatively cheap and easy to upgrade in the future. For instance, a few spare RAM sockets would be useful, as data flow increases and extra memory is needed. The program developed to solve the problem should be widely compatible with most widely available platforms, so that the records can be viewed on other computers, in case the office computer is inaccessible, so that backups can be used. It is recommended the whole database be backup as often as possible, but every week or so would be sufficient, depending on the rate of data transfer in and out of the database. The new system should also be easy to use and straightforward to operate. This will mean that Tod and the clerks can use the system quickly and easily, and so reduce operating time and shop stress. Therefore, I think a windows 98 system (stable, basic, and needs a modest spec to run) with Access XP or 2000, whichever is cheaper. After a fitting of a tyre is completed, the quantity of the appropriate tyre available is reduced by the appropriate amount, and the last tyre date of the car data table is updated manually. This way we can easily find how many tyres of each type are in stock, and how long each car has before it is due in again. The solution program must be: 1. Easy and intuitive to use 2. Able to operate on a low spec The firm will want to keep the spending on hardware to a minimum. 3. Able to search for records, for quick access to data. 4. Protected by a password + anti-virus software, under the data protection act. 5. Easy to backup: i. Must support floppy disk backups ii. Must be a commonly used format (e. g. must be able to be read on most machines, etc. ) Feasibility study Although the computerised process would save time in the long term, there is the short-term cost of buying and setting up the computer equipment. However, I think this would save the company time and money in the middle/ long term. To keep the firm efficient whilst it expands, computerising the administration system would free up staff time, making the workforce bigger than it needs to be. This computerised system means the firm will not need to employ a secretary or any other manual filing system, until the database grows too large to manage. This is all part of the process of mechanisation, and cant be helped. If the firm expands too much without checks being made on efficiency, a diseconomy of scale may well result. This would increase running costs, and decrease profits over time. In all, I think the middle- and long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term costs. There is the possible problem of Tod having to personally fill in all the records himself, since he is the only one with the knowledge of who gets the 5% discount or not. The system would result in a much better reminder system, so that more customers will potentially come back to the firm. The only cost would be the cost of the computer equipment, and the cost in time and money of maintenance in the future. The system runs basic hardware and common software, so technicians able to deal with the system would be common. Why use a database? Databases are very practical methods of data storage, because they provide a very simple, uncluttered GUI for a novice user, but can prove very powerful tools for searching and the like for the advanced user. This is why I decided not to use Excel; the interface is comparatively complex in relation, and may confuse the first-time user. Also, databases allow for many more types of record to be shown there is the option to publish the results in an individual record card, which Excel cannot do. Excel is not totally useless for this project; Tod might be able to make use of its graph-making and accounting features, especially as the company grows and needs to be more in control of its productivity and expenses. Hardware Specification Required At the moment, we are going for a very cheap, reliable system, because of the low system requirements of the programs involved. Following the recent leaps in processor speed, and the advent of new technology like the Pentium 4 series, you can purchase new Pentium 3/ duron processors at very low prices. Because of rapid increases in new CPU speeds, we can now set up a very competent system very cheaply. RAM has also become cheaper, which is just as well, because were going to need 128 Meg in each machine in order to maintain a good level of stability, and safely clear the minimum requirements of Windows 98. A 128 Meg RAM chip costs about i 20. We wont bother with DDR Ram; SDR is cheaper and has no noticeable downgrade in performance, as well as the added cost of getting a compatible motherboard, since the technology is relatively recent. I would recommend buying the parts from a registered computer fair, rather than a large- scale retailer, because larger shops are only interested in i 700 home systems and upwards. The older parts used in these systems enable a complete computer to be built for under i 180. CPU: 450-mhz p3 Less than i 25 if used. Hard Disk: 10-gig ATA 133 Surpassed, but cheap and plenty of room for OS and database. RAM: 128 MEG, SDR. Motherboard: Old ABIT models have legendary reliability. About i 50 used. Case: Minitower case. Theyre cheap (ish) and save space on the desk. About i 15. Graphics card: Cheap, low-end versions cost about i 10, or some motherboards carry one on-board. For this sort of application, we really have no choice but to use a database/ spreadsheet program, because they have a better capacity to index and sort data by name, price etc. more easily than having each record on paper, for instance, or even entering the information in a word-processing application. For example, its a lot easier to add a record in-between two others, because a Database program like Access will automatically update other fields, like the Autonumber field, for example. Its also a lot easier to move the records down in the first place, because the database program has many spreadsheet features. The screenshot here shows the option clearly visible. However, performing the same operation in word can send records all over the page. Entity Relationship diagram This illustrates the relationships the solution will need to take into account. The relationships should ideally be linked in real time, so that changing the record in one table will automatically update the fields in another table. Database Notation: ACCOUNTS (Customer account ID, No.of cars name, company address ,company postcode, 5% discount? ) CARS (Customer account ID, Car ID, Model name, Reg number, Last tyres date) CURRENT JOBS (Customer account ID, Car ID, Date in, reg number) TYRE STOCKS(Tyre ID, Number left in stock) Data dictionary Car Database Fieldname Type Description Customer ID Number duplicates OK Car ID Autonumber Duplicates not OK Comments Text (256 characters) Allows other car details to be recorded, e. g. year of production Reg Number Text Only accepts new numbers ( ) Tyre type needed Text (P1000 OR P3000 OR P5000 OR P7000). Indicates which tyre type best suits the car Last change date Date/time Should display the date in days, months and years. Example Accounts Database Fieldname Type Description Customer ID Autonumber Must be indexed, duplicates not OK No. of cars Number Preferably looks up quantity of cars listed 5% Discount? Boolean Tick box Customer Name Text Normal Text Customer Address Text Normal Text Customer Postcode Text Normal Text Example Current jobs Database Fieldname Type Description Customer Account Number Number Identifies customer (lookup from customer accounts, duplicates OK) Car ID Number Duplicates not OK.. Date in Date Reg number Text ( ) Lookup from car table, by car ID Tyre type needed Number Must be below that in the tyre stocks field for that particular tyre in the tyre stock table Example Tyre stocks Database Fieldname Type Description Tyre Type ID Autonumber Gives a primary key for lookup functions Manufacturer ID Text P1000, P3000 P5000, P7000 Tyre price Currency Cost of tyre to buy Number of tyres in stock Number Gives tyre stock Reports Invoice report Fieldname Type Description Customer ID Autonumber Lookup from Accounts table. Car ID Number Lookup from car table 5% discount Boolean Lookup from accounts Sub total Currency formula 1 VAT/ other tax formula 2 Total Currency formula 3 Cars due in report Fieldname Type Description Customer ID Number Lookup from Accounts table Car ID Number Lookup from car table Car Reg # Text string   Lookup from car table Last tyres date Date Lookup from car table Queries Name Function qryaccount Inputting an account number allows the user to access that customers history qryRegistration. Inputting a valid registration number will reveal the owner and other details qrytyrestocks Allows the user to enter a tyre type and view details of how many tyres of that type are left in stock, and how much they are sold to the customer for. qryCarsduein Allows the user to enter a date and view details of the cars that are due for new tyres Validation rules. To ensure the smooth running of the database, it is important to ensure that errors are found and corrected by the user. To ensure these errors are detected, the following measures have been implemented. Format checks all dates input into the system must be in the format DD/MM/YYYY. For instance, a date like 02/06/2002 will be accepted, but anything not in this format or a letter will create the following error message The short date criteria means data is only accepted in numerical A similar set of rules apply for the car registration numbers. They must be in the new style European format, or this error box will appear: Range check A date from before 1950 is very unlikely to be valid. Since Tods tyres hasnt been around very long, a rule preventing dates from before 1953 being put in is useful. Query Design. Firstly, we need a query to highlight cars which are due in for new tyres, i. e. those which the last tyres date was over a year ago. To do this, we can set up the following query. Standard letter query Fields displayed = Car ID, Customer address, customer postcode, date due in Criteria for Date due in date() + 365 This query will produce a list of the cars which are due in for new tyres; this list can then be used to set up a mail merger, so that the customers address, postcode and the registration of the car will be inserted into the letter. An example of this letter is attached at the back of the report. An example of this could be given by a car with a last tyres date of 02/05/2001. This would be picked up by the query, and entered into the mail merge letter with the owners address and postcode. Dataflow diagram Level one diagram Why use a database? Databases are very practical methods of data storage, because they provide a very simple, uncluttered GUI for a novice user, but can prove very powerful tools for searching and the like for the advanced user. This is why I decided not to use Excel; the interface is comparatively complex in relation, and may confuse the first-time user. Also, databases allow for many more types of record to be shown there is the option to publish the results in an individual record card, which Excel cannot do. Test plan Test number Description Expected result 1 Security password Only accepts correct password 2 Relationships cross referencing Extending a field in one table will show relevant contents of other tables. 3 Relationships Real-time updating Updating one table will update the other tables correctly 4 Query Searching for Customers by name will provide the desired result 5. Invoice lookup The mail merges produce the correct customer details, car registration number etc 6 Invoice Calculation 5% discount is applied correctly, totals are added up correctly and end result is formatted correctly (e. g. as a currency) 7 Car registration Validation rules An incorrect format for a car registration will be picked up 8 Date validation rules An impossible date for a new car (e. g. 1953) would be picked up on. 9 Switchboard functionality Changing the amount of tyres left in the switchboard should update the tyre stocks table. 10 Tyre usage rule The current jobs table wont accept more than 5 tyres being fitted at a time. Testing report 1. On opening the database, the user is asked for a password before the database will open. If the password specified is incorrect, the database will refuse access: 2. Extending an entry in the accounts field can display data for the cars owned by a particular account holder: 3. Updating the last tyres date in the table above has updated the data in the original table, so that one table can be used to change or update another: 4. Searching for Cross, the name of one of the customers, brings up the file for Mr. Cross account. 5. The mail merge correctly inserts Elliot Cross Name, Address and Postcode successfully into the table 6. The mail merge also inserts a final paragraph, dependant on whether the account holder is entitled to a 5% discount. 6. An invalid car registration number is picked up by the validation rule 7. The validation rule stops the user from inputting a very suspectable value, a date before 1953 for a new car 8. Using the switchboard to increase tyre stocks (e. g.following a delivery of fresh tyres) automatically updates the tyre stocks table. The table is updated successfully, which suggests the switchboard has allowed for real-time editing of the database 9. Because of the following validation rules in the tyres used field: Putting in a value greater than 5 or lower than 1 produces the following error message: Evaluation The system has left Tod with a powerful database of stock and account details. This has completely computerised the system, making it more efficient and productive. This has meant addresses are accessible at the touch of a button, saving time. The added increase in staff morale has made the firm more efficient, as happier workers are more productive. This increased efficiency will save the firm money in the short run. This means extra profit for the firm. However, improvements could still be made in the future, including these points: 1. Connecting the system to the internet, allowing Tod to simply email reminders to interested clients. This would make the entire system more reliable and efficient, since labour costs are reduced by eliminating the need for a clerk to put the letters in envelopes, etc. It also reduces the possibility for human error, as long as the details are correctly input in the first place. 2. Upgrading the computer to make the system more stable. More RAM in future upgrades may prove particularly useful. Also, over time the company may wish to transfer the details into a bespoke system. This would maximise processing power, since RAM is being dedicated only to the basic functions of the database, and not unnecessary functions such as a windows shell. Also, it would reduce the possibility of time being wasted by employees on unrelated applications, like games on the computer. Tom ONeill Page 2 07/05/07.

How Effective Are Drip Irrigation Systems

How Effective Are Drip Irrigation Systems The article evaluates the efficiency, effectiveness, social, economic and environmental impacts of the drip irrigation system. The drip irrigation system has the potential to increase the agricultural productivity and also to reduce water usage required for irrigation. It is a system of pipes and tubing located under the soil. Water is passed through these pipes which end at near the roots of the plants. This makes the water loss minimal. Initial stage is designing the system and its installation follows it. The article states the advantages and disadvantages of the system and also cites evidence with regard to the social, economic and environmental aspects. Poverty is one of the primary concerns the world faces in its road to development. Eradication of poverty tends to be the prime aims of governments worldwide. Lack of proper nutrition is a major cause contributing to poverty. Improving agricultural standards can help in producing more food and thus counter the lack of food factor. One way to improve agricultural standards is to develop the irrigation methods used. Irrigation is closely related to poverty. Irrigation benefits the poor through higher production, higher yields, low risk of crop failure and higher and year round farm and non-farm employment. Irrigation leads to high value market oriented agricultural production [1]. However, in developing countries like India, the agricultural sector is heavily dependent on the south-west monsoons. In view of the rising temperatures worldwide due to global warming and changes of weather patterns associated with it, dependence on rains is not always a possible solution. Failure of proper rains can cripple the agricultural sector which can lead to an overall rise in poverty. Thus efficient methods of irrigation need to be developed. The drip irrigation system is one such method of irrigation that is being utilised. Drip irrigation is water saving, efficient and effective watering system .The article focuses on the different aspects of the drip irrigation system, its contribution in poverty alleviation and the social economic and environmental impacts of this technology. Subsurface drip irrigation or SDI is another way of terming a drip irrigation system. As stated by C. Shock, drip irrigation is the slow even application of low-pressure water to soil and plants using plastic tubing placed near the plantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ root zone [8]. Water is supplied to the soil at very low rates from the system of the plastic tubing pipes which are fitted with emitters at the ends. Therefore loss of water through evaporation, water run-off and percolation is minimized to a great extent. Also water contact with the stems, leaves and fruits of the plant is reduced which helps in prevention of formation of disease on the plant. Since the tubing is buried under the soil, it is less at risk of damage due to weeding and cultivation activities. Designing a subsurface drip system requires an experienced qualified designer. As G. Harris has stated, proper hydraulic design is the initial step in installing a successful SDI system [5]. This will ensure that the system effectively deals with the constraints imposed by the crop and soil characteristics, field size, topography, water supply and shape. The system must be capable of meeting the crop water need during the peak water demand times. A block or zone, which is the portion of the field that can be watered at the same time, is determined by the characteristics of the drip tubing selected. The optimal tube spacing is determined by the soil characteristics and the depth of tube placement. If the installations are too deep it will restrict the availability of surface applied nutrients limits the effectiveness of the system for crop germination. Adequate flushing velocities must be allowed for in the design to remove sediments from the emitters. This helps to prevent the SDI sy stem from getting clogged and increases the systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life. Following the designing comes the installation part of the SDI system. Proper installation ensures that the system performs optimally and it also determines the life of the system. Installation is done in sites which have not been cropped recently as insect activity or weedy areas could destroy the pipes within days of installation [6].Initially location of the tubing is marked out. A subsoiler can be used or if more accurate positioning is needed, GPS can also be used. Specialized injectors are available for installation of the SDI pipes. The power and water source limitations are to be considered during the installation of the system. Filters are also used which helps in removing particles and keeps the emitters from getting clogged. The major feature of this system that makes it highly desirable is that the water use efficiency will be better compared to other systems or methods of irrigation. Evidence put forward by C.R. Camp show that drip irrigation systems implemented in Virginia require 30% less water compared to sprinkler irrigation for cultivating corn [3]. For cotton, the water usage was reduced significantly by 40%. Implementation of the system in Hawaii helped the farmers to get a greater yield than when using sprinkler irrigation system [4]. Additional advantages include: Drip irrigation systems are suited to farms having uneven topography or soil texture. Precise application of nutrients is possible. Timely application of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides is possible. The drip irrigation system can be automated. Irrigation can be carried out day and night regardless of the wind, daylight availability or other cultivation activities [7]. The SDI system can be used for fertilizing. Nutrients can be supplied in a sustained way, and regulated in rate and composition, according to the crop requirements [7]. The hydraulics help in easy water control the number of points provides excellent uniformity of supply. There are a number of disadvantages for the drip irrigation system. Initial investment is quite high for this system. Root development is limited and hence resulting in root rot and dust problems [7]. The emitters can get clogged frequently and cleaning it is a costly and time consuming process. Accumulation of salts might occur at the interface between the wet and dry zones of the soil. It is generally accepted that irrigation can transform society as well as land and landscapes. Drip irrigation has brought about a number of positive and negative social impacts. It helps in alleviating poverty in irrigated areas, minimizes the differential distribution of benefits across farmers and increases the social benefits [7]. The positive effect it has brought on the demographics of the Waitaki valley has helped arrest the population decline [9]. The additional population would not only strengthen the social structure and networks but also increase economic growth. Thus services such as health and education would become more viable. On the other hand, automated drip irrigation systems tend to require less labour and in low wage economies, where job opportunities lag behind growth in labour force owing to rise in population, reducing hired labour can be socially problematic [10]. This leads to further unemployment. Considering the economic aspects, drip irrigation systems have helped farmers to attain better profits due to higher yield. Farmers can conserve water more and also increase the productivity of their farms. The yield of cotton increased by 21% in Dalby and Moree while in Lucerne, yield improvement was between 13-34% [5]. The profits obtained in tomato cultivation in California were about 867 to 1493 dollars more [12]. Water usage was reduced by 45% for corn cultivation in the Great Plains in USA [13]. In spite of all these a major hindrance in the implementation of the system is the high initial cost. Designing and installation requires qualified people and moreover the cost and time for maintenance of the system is also on the higher side. However in the long run farmers can make up for the high initial costs with the higher amount of yield they obtain. The drip irrigation helps in improving the soil surface and the environment. It allows pre treated coalbed methane waters to flow into the root zone of an agricultural field which minimized environmental impacts by storing detrimental salts in the vadose zone [11]. It reduces off-farm movements of fertilizers and pollutants and improves the water use efficiency of irrigated agriculture [3]. It offers potential for increased water and nitrate fertilizer efficiency and decreases ground water contamination by NO3 [14]. The certain negative traits that the system has on the environment are that root rot may occur and levels of salinity rises. Root development is affected leading to insufficient protection against lack of water and poor root anchorage [7]. Overall, the drip irrigation system is an effective way of irrigation. It saves on water usage and allows farmers to increase their farm output. The increased outputs helps counter the rise in food demand and helps the poorer sections of the society with more food at cheaper prices. Evidence presented in the article show the increased crop yield. Even thought the technology comes at a higher price, the effects of implementing it will be long lasting and positive.

Seaweeds :: Biology, Biodiversity, Marine Food

Seaweeds belong to a group of organisms that has enormous ecological importance and represent a significant proportion of the world’s biodiversity. Seaweeds have always been of great interest in Asian culture as marine food sources (Rioux et al., 2009). In contrast, Seaweeds represent an important economical resource mostly in the countries of East and south Asia where they are not only largely harvested but also intensively and largely employed in the human nutrition (Caliceti et al., 2002). They can be classified as green algae (Chlorophyta), red algae (Rhodophyta) and brown algae (Phaeophyta) depending on their nutrient and chemical composition (Dawczynski et al., 2007). In addition, the seaweed industry uses tones of wet seaweeds annually, either from the wild or from cultivated crop (Dhargalkar and Verlecar, 2009). Seaweeds or marine macroalgae are potential renewable resource in the marine environment and known to be extremely rich source of bioactive compounds (Chandini et al., 2008). Therefore, algae can be a very interesting natural source of new metabolites with various biological activities that could be used as functional ingredients (Plaza et al., 2008). Biological activities are correlated to the presence of chemical compounds, particularly secondary metabolites. The presence of these compounds may assist in predicting some traditional uses of medicinal plants (Kamatou et al, 2008). However, novel potential areas have to be explored in order to maximize the effective utilization of seaweeds. The Phaeophyceae or brown seaweeds are a large group of multicellular algae, and they play an important role in marine environments both as food, and for the habitats they form. Most brown seaweeds contain the pigment fucoxanthin and various pheophycean tannins which are responsible for the distinctive greenish-brown color as the name indicated. Worldwide there are about 1500 species of brown seaweeds and they produce vast numbers of useful secondary metabolites (Davis et al., 2003, Reddy and Urban, 2009). Some species are of sufficient commercial importance, such that they have become subjects of extensive research in their own right. The term cosmeceutical is now commonly used to describe a cosmetic product that exerts a pharmaceutical therapeutic benefit (Choi and Berson, 2006). Therefore, cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with biologically active ingredients purporting to have medical or drug-like benefits. Dermatological research suggests that the bioactive ingredients used in cosmeceuticals do indeed have benefits beyond the traditional cosmetics such as creams, lotions, and ointments (Chen et al., 2005). There are number of synthetic components have been extensively used as ingredients for cosmetics. Seaweeds :: Biology, Biodiversity, Marine Food Seaweeds belong to a group of organisms that has enormous ecological importance and represent a significant proportion of the world’s biodiversity. Seaweeds have always been of great interest in Asian culture as marine food sources (Rioux et al., 2009). In contrast, Seaweeds represent an important economical resource mostly in the countries of East and south Asia where they are not only largely harvested but also intensively and largely employed in the human nutrition (Caliceti et al., 2002). They can be classified as green algae (Chlorophyta), red algae (Rhodophyta) and brown algae (Phaeophyta) depending on their nutrient and chemical composition (Dawczynski et al., 2007). In addition, the seaweed industry uses tones of wet seaweeds annually, either from the wild or from cultivated crop (Dhargalkar and Verlecar, 2009). Seaweeds or marine macroalgae are potential renewable resource in the marine environment and known to be extremely rich source of bioactive compounds (Chandini et al., 2008). Therefore, algae can be a very interesting natural source of new metabolites with various biological activities that could be used as functional ingredients (Plaza et al., 2008). Biological activities are correlated to the presence of chemical compounds, particularly secondary metabolites. The presence of these compounds may assist in predicting some traditional uses of medicinal plants (Kamatou et al, 2008). However, novel potential areas have to be explored in order to maximize the effective utilization of seaweeds. The Phaeophyceae or brown seaweeds are a large group of multicellular algae, and they play an important role in marine environments both as food, and for the habitats they form. Most brown seaweeds contain the pigment fucoxanthin and various pheophycean tannins which are responsible for the distinctive greenish-brown color as the name indicated. Worldwide there are about 1500 species of brown seaweeds and they produce vast numbers of useful secondary metabolites (Davis et al., 2003, Reddy and Urban, 2009). Some species are of sufficient commercial importance, such that they have become subjects of extensive research in their own right. The term cosmeceutical is now commonly used to describe a cosmetic product that exerts a pharmaceutical therapeutic benefit (Choi and Berson, 2006). Therefore, cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with biologically active ingredients purporting to have medical or drug-like benefits. Dermatological research suggests that the bioactive ingredients used in cosmeceuticals do indeed have benefits beyond the traditional cosmetics such as creams, lotions, and ointments (Chen et al., 2005). There are number of synthetic components have been extensively used as ingredients for cosmetics.

asthma :: essays research papers

Introduction Most of you may not think of asthma as a killer disease, yet more that 5,000 Americans die of asthma each year. According to the Mayo Clinic web page, asthma also accounts for more that 400,000 hospital discharges annually. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with a person who has the disease. As far as I can remember, I have had asthma my whole life. My mother and one of my sisters also have asthma, so I have a first hand experience with it. This morning, I will discuss some interesting facts about asthma, I will specifically focus on what it is, warning signs, symptoms, causes, and the treatments that are used. What it is Asthma is best described by its technical name: Reversible Obstructive Airway Disease (ROAD). In other words, asthma is a condition in which the airways of the lungs become either narrowed or blocked. The results are usually temporary but they cause shortness of breath, breathing trouble, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. To know what it really feels like to have asthma, I would like everyone to pick up the straw that’s on their desk and put it in their mouth as if they were using it to drink something. Then, pinch your nose. Try breathing for twenty seconds. A real attack can last up to more than 10 minutes and you are only doing it for 20 seconds. If we had more time, I would have the class go to a stairwell and have you run up and down and see what it is like to have asthma while doing other activities. Symptoms Asthma symptoms can range from mild to very severe. A person may experience only occasional severe episodes one time and then experience frequents mild episodes. According to the book, Living Well With Asthma, there are four main symptoms of an asthma attack. Since an attack can be so overwhelming and frightening, it may be difficult to know what’s going on inside of a persons body. Here are the major elements of an asthma attack:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -Shortness of breath=described as tightness of the chest. Some people have trouble breathing during exercise, others experience it after inhaling smoke, while others need to ingest a particular food-regardless of the circumstance, all people with asthma have trouble breathing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -Wheezing=not all people will asthma wheeze, but many do.