Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Aesthetics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aesthetics - Essay Example In the year 1959, Frank Sibley proposed a different perspective regarding aesthetical concepts saying that these concepts do not depend on any rules or conditions; however, perceptions play a crucial role in judgment or appreciation of the artwork. Subsequently, the article discussed two types of aesthetic concepts: closed concepts and open concepts, where closed concepts come along with some conditions and open concepts enjoy no conditions attached. Lastly, Author indicated that although a number of theorists and scholars have proposed various definitions of art; however, all of them fall in one of the three categories: representation, expression, and form. Since centuries, art and beauty remained some of the influential and significant notions of the human society that inspired individuals to develop aesthetical understanding of existing, as well as non-existing objects. However, particular studies focusing on aesthetics began in early 18th century as theorists and philosophers proposed their theories of harmony, art, music, etc. In such efforts, Immanuel Kant has been prominent as a number of theorists used Kantian thoughts for their basis. In brief, Kant proposed that inclusion of concepts and perceptions into art causes impurity in artworks, and thus, objectivity or universality is essential for purity in the artwork. The author of this article has specifically conversed about different aesthetic concepts that existed since eighteenth century in this sub-topic of ‘Aesthetic Concepts’ in his article, ‘Aesthetics’ (Slater, 2005). In this regard, author indicated that 18th century witnessed development of wild romanticism in art and literature that enabled appreciation of a significant aesthetic notion, ‘Sublimity.’ To validate his point, author has indicated usage of similar term in Edmund Burke’s book in which, Burke showed closer

Monday, October 28, 2019

The effects of the video game industry on Japan Essay Example for Free

The effects of the video game industry on Japan Essay Much in the world today is of Japanese origin. Indeed, Japanese influence can be seen all over the world? on television, in comic books, in video games, in electronics, in the film industry, and even in music. In fact, currently, 60% of all the cartoon shows being broadcast on television the world over are from Japan. (Croal) Indeed Japanese anime characters have established a substantial base of fans in Europe and North America (Shuhei). Similarly, the Japanese video game industry has been very successful in the world. It has proven to have many positive effects on the world, even though many people have repeatedly tried and failed to vilify it. Perhaps one of the most important industries in modern Japan, video games have both opened up great possibility for Japans economic future and caused the rapid spread of its culture in the world. The rise in the Japanese video game industry elevated the countrys standing in the world. The first video games ever were created in computer labs of prestigious and well-known colleges by studious types, whereas in modern times, video games, complete with complex storylines and characters and with sophisticated music and game play, are created by paid professionals. The very first video games were invented by students at colleges with big computer facilities, because they had nothing better to do. [Making games] soon became a competitive field of play for these students. (Kohler, 24) Soon after, video games became something to sell, and at first were available for Magnavox TVs, played on the Odyssey systems made especially for Magnavoxes. (These Odyssey systems were not as consoles are today? i. e. , they did not have multiple games, only one game installed in the system, with the first games not even closely depicting what they were supposed to show. One game, a tennis game, was simply two white dots that were actually squares representing the players or rackets, and one line down the center of the screen signifying the net.) Then, games moved over to computers for a while, after a string of very primitive gaming consoles (which, strangely enough, happened to have the controls for the games on them, with the players having to keep score with paper and pencil, for some of the first games). These computer games were mainly based on board games, Dungeons and Dragons, and other fantasy/fiction games with a small emphasis on the graphics of the games. (Fierman) Soon, industry-changing games were released by companies who, before this point, had games only in the arcades. Along with these games came Shigeru Miyamotos invention of the gaming console (these had been invented by now) with a very stylized and appealing design, and with removable controllers, connected to the system with cables. Innovations like the ones of Miyamoto kept making the industry grow, as it became bigger and more effective in the worlds markets. Now, video games have evolved into an effective means of entertainment (at least stereotypically for males of 15-25 years of age), even better and more money-making than the movie industry. Japanese video games originality was what gave them a good hold in the relatively new and rapidly rising industry. Japanese culture was the major factor making Japanese games different from any other games. The Japanese peoples will to easily accept technology, after having stayed away from it for years, epitomizes Japanese cultures amalgamating nature. Despite the technological advancements that Japan went through, there has always been a traditionally Japanese factor in all of Japans development. The Japanese brought anime-style characters into games because of their overwhelming popularity elsewhere. In fact, Japanese video games are very heavily influenced by Japanese culture? the styles of art and music, and the various aspects of modern Japanese theater. Another major aspect of Japanese culture? the importance of depictions over writing? is obviously relevant in video games. As writer Frederik L. Schodt, author of two books and many articles on Japanese comics, puts it: [The Japanese consider comic books to be] an effective? way of transmitting information, and they use them everywhere? [people now] live in an age that emphasizes the image? [and therefore] naturally have no bias against comics. They are?the shikaku sedai, the ? visual generation. (Kohler, 6) The video game industry as a whole has had a generally positive effect on the Japanese economy, and the lifestyles of its people. One of the biggest innovations in early video game technology was that of the so-called programmable home gaming console, which was one in which different game cartridges could be made to fit into specialized slots in the console, as long as these cartridges were specialized for the console. (Fierman) One of the main economic advantages that this innovation brought was the hiring of designers to work on video games?prior to this, the programmers of the hardware of the games had to design the characters, backgrounds, and storyboards as well as the game-playing systems. Not more that a decade after this innovation, games became what they are now. In fact, because video games have been a growing industry ever since they were introduced to the world, they have also become a replacement for or a cause of the falling industries like that of movies. (See chart, compiled by Dentsu) Soon, many aspiring young artists were given chances to make and oversee all the art in these programmable game cartridges. One such man, Shigeru Miyamoto, came to Nintendo (whose Japanese name, nin-ten-dou, translates into English as the place where luck is left in heavens hands) as a toy designer (Nintendo was a toy producer and entertainment company at the time). His talents were soon realized for what they were, and his rising positions within the company eventually led him to become a designer for games. His first game Donkey Kong was a smash hit. In modern video games there has been a rising emphasis on music, especially since there was none or very little in the video games of old, because it can alter the reviews of games, leading to success or failure. This weight put on music makes jobs for composers, synthesizers, and music directors, the soundtracks even selling as well as pop music. (Kohler) In fact, these musicians work is so profitable to the industry (and indeed commonplace) that programmer Fumito Ueda chuckled in response to a question regarding the idea of taking out even the music from his mainly dialogue-less game. He said, If I took out the music, it would be even harder to bond with Ico [the name of the main character and the game itself], even if the players had maximum sound effects. (Kohler, 253) Video game companies have also had to hire marketing experts and people to work in their sales departments, and they have had to also send their games to production houses where they are produced and made ready to sell. Stats of video game jobs Perhaps because popular video games, ever since the rise of the industry, have been heavily Japanese-influenced, many people the world over have tried to vilify this very profitable industry, and have repeatedly failed. In the years when video games were pioneers in the world market, there was much opposition and skepticism regarding them. Many renowned authors of economics, and even some who became known for their pieces regarding video games, reasoned that the budding new industry would quickly fade away. One author went as far as saying, the invasion of our world [United States video gaming industry] by these aliens [the producers] of Space Invaders will quickly find their business being driven back to their own planets. (Duus, 135) Another writer, University of Miami professor Eugene F. Provenzo, wrote in his book Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintendo, about how children were not being taught some of video games intentional lessons. In Japanese video games, manga-style characters (i. e. , characters from animated anime shows) are usually used because these characters have no distinctive race, and thereby no affiliations with any nationalities; this was to teach the players of these games something about different races? that they dont necessarily have to interact negatively. (Another use of the characters of ambiguous race was that anyone could play these games, and consumers would not think these games to be for a certain type of people.) He brought up an example of a single fourth grade boy who he talked to, who did not know much about ninja or their weaponry (these specific ninja refer to the bad-guy foot soldiers of the Shredder, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) except for the fact that the Chinese and Japanese (he was not sure which the ninja were) were enemies. The boy said, just because they are from Japan they might want to do something different from you. And they are dangerous because they might want to fight with you. (Kohler, 9) This argument is not very solid, as it is repeated several times in his book and in some conferences Provenzo attended, and yet it relies on a single source? a fourth grade boy who happened not to know about ninja. The Japanese video game, although it has been in a constant state of rising ever since it was started up in the early 70s, has had to face problems with Japans dangerously fluctuating economy. Japan had been in a bubble and bust economic cycle, for about a year before the first video games were made. This bubbling and busting kept most of Japans economy stagnant, even though the gaming industry was slowly ascending the economic ladder of relevance and importance. (Duus, 143) There were also technical difficulties, which made the rise of the gaming industry even slower? at first, there was a lack of technology like that of today, making the economic climb very difficult, coupled with the opposition of the people in many countries like the United States, of video games in general (but more specifically foreign games). (Throsby) But more recently, things have gotten a lot better for the world-wide gaming industry, an $18-billion-a-year business (Dvorak), and Japans economy has actually gotten a small boost from this great surge of successful video game companies, which created healthy competition for larger companies like Nintendo and Sony, against each other and smaller companies like Sega, Namco, and Atari. With entertainment [all forms excluding adult entertainment, and anything to be read? basically movies and TV shows and video games] being almost one fifth (about 18%, to be closer to the precise percentage, according to Throsby) of the Japanese Economy, and with video games claiming a bigger and bigger piece of both entertainment and the market in general, it can be easily drawn that this industry is on the rise. (See chart, compiled by Dentsu) Japanese culture has been spread in the world by the widespread appearance of video games in the economies and lifestyles of the people of the world. The highest form of the art of video games is only seen in Japan, and they influence all other games heavily. (Throsby, p. 5) ? The newer generation is accustomed to having everything visual (Japanese) as opposed to having everything good be verbal (American) ? The highest form of the art of video games is only seen in Japan, and they influence all other games heavily The video game industry has had a profound influence on the modern world. Even though this industry has provided lots of jobs to the Japanese and offered a growing export market to their country, it has been repeatedly yet unsuccessfully attacked by opponents. The industry has brought its country farther in the world than the preceding flow of anime into the rest of the world. Now, the young generation of today is more thoroughly a visual generation, as opposed to the verbal generations before them? this Japanese style of thought allows for the new generation to easily accept and become attached to Japanese video games, and the Japanese cultural ideas of amalgamation, without leaving tradition behind. III. Conclusion ?The video game industry has had a profound influence on the modern world.? Even though this industry has provided lots of jobs to the Japanese and offered a growing export market to their country, it has been repeatedly yet unsuccessfully attacked ? The Japanese video game industry has brought its country farther in the world than the preceding flow of anime into the rest of the world. oThe young generation of today is a very visual generation, as opposed to the verbal generations before them? this is a Japanese style of thought, and allows for the new generation to easily accept and become attached to Japanese video games?leading the future world to become one dominated by Japanese (and other) video games ? The rise of Japanese video games is inevitable. Bibliography Croal, NGai. Fall of the Video King. Newsweek online 18 Oct. 2004. 11 Jan. 2005 . Dentsu Communication Institute Inc.. Japans Video Game Industry. 2004. 2 Apr. 2005 . Duus, Peter. Modern Japan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Dvorak, Phred. Nintendo Girds for New Hand-Held Game Player From Sony. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition). New York, NY: Nov 8, 2004; p. B1. 11 Jan. 2005 .. Fierman, Joseph. electronic game. Encyclop?dia Britannica. 2005. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online 7 Jan. 2005 . Kawakami, Sumie. Video Game Industry Statistics. Mar. 2002. 3 Apr. 2005 . Kohler, Chris. Power-Up. Indianapolis: Brady Games Publishing, 2004. Shuhei, Kishimoto. Shoring Up Japans Content Industry. Japan Echo. Tokyo: Jun 2004, Vol. 31, Issue 3; p. 19-24. 11 Jan. 2005. . Throsby, David. The Production and Consumption of the Arts: A View of Cultural Economics. Journal of Economic Literature. Mar. 1994; p. 1-29. 15 Jan. 2005. http://links. jstor. org/sici? sici=0022-515%28199403%2932%3A1%3C1%3ATP ACOT%3E2. 0. CO%3B2-9.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy â€Å"Let’s play school?† So many times when I was growing up would I pose this question to my younger brother. I would always play the role of the teacher and he would be my somewhat enthused student. Of course, childhood never lasts forever and the unforgiving world of adolescence greets us. I was a miserable thirteen year old, wishing for those days of pretending, while I suffered the torments of a bully and had the feeling that I would never be accepted or fit in. I wondered, would my peers ever treat me equally? Would I ever be able to be what society says a young woman should be? It was during this trying time that I realized my childhood game, coupled with my desire to make kids feel good about themselves, was my destined career choice. I was destined to be an educator. As time passed and I entered college I realized that with the ideas of Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism that I was meant to be a teacher who would teach kids facts and formulas and teach them self worth in the process. To me, school is much more than a place to learn about history and math and reading, it’s a place to grow socially and emotionally. I believe it is vitally important to teach character development and self worth at an early age. This way, by the time a child hits puberty, they have a sense of self-pride, they feel they have a special gift or talent that makes them unique and important in society. Perhaps if I had had an elementary school teacher who taught me these things, then middle school wouldn’t have been such a difficult struggle for me. Many future teachers I speak with say that they want to teach out of West Virginia. They say they want to teach in a big city where they can get a high paying teachers job. But you can’t put a price tag on education; children here in the mountain state need young, dynamic teachers with fresh ways of thinking, as current teachers reach retirement age. This is why I want to teacher in West Virginia.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Positive Aspects of Atticus Finch Essay -- essays research papers

In the past century, there have been many great novels written. One of which is Harper Lee's, 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. In the novel it introduces a prominent character who not only was a good father but also a well respected, and compassionate man. This person is Atticus Finch. Through all the struggles and pressures, he stands strong as a very positive father figure, making sure to educate his children with important values including equality, bravery, and knowledge. Regardless of one?s race or colour, Atticus has a fair attitude towards all people. Early in the novel, a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. Atticus took on the case to defend Tom without another thought simply because he treats everyone equally. From the moment he agreed to defend Tom, he knew right away that it was a case he could not hope to win. However, when his daughter, Scout asked why he was defending Tom, he told her that he must argue it to uphold his keen sense of justice and self-respect. ?Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.? (Page 76) Furthermore, when Jem brought home Walter Cunningham, Atticus was nice enough to let him stay for lunch and treated him as an equal. He never looked down on him even though he was a Cunningham, poor farmers who were in the middle class above the black. ?Jem ran to the kitchen and asked Calpurnia to set an extra plate, we had company. Atticus g reeted Walter and began a discussion about crops neither Jem nor I could follow.? (Page 24) Jem learned important lessons from his father regarding bravery. Atticus? went against the norm, refusing to hunt and his disapproval of guns. He believed that guns do not make men brave a... ...to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire? (Page 204) In conclusion, Atticus has a very significant role in the novel. Through Atticus, the town became aware that, although Tom was black, Atticus still did his best to defend him and never gave up. Most importantly, Atticus proved to his children, and the townspeople that all men are created equal and should be given the same respect as everyone else regardless of their skin colour. He showed his son, Jem the true face of courage. Moreover, he taught his children the importance of education. A strong, solid character, such as Atticus Finch has brought the book, ?To Kill A Mockingbird? to be considered a remarkable classic.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Meaning of Life and Success Essay

Extended Definition Essay Success The most Important thing In my life Is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success Is It the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or Is It simply achieving ones own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success Is, â€Å"the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempt†. The word success itself means to achieve your goal or get the point that you looking for. Some people success meant to them to be rich or to finish school and work high pay Jobs. But for me success means more han that. Success means to me have peace and love; also to get married and to enter heaven after this life is over. To be sure, everybody who has peace and love is a successful succeeding person. Wthout peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you don’t worry about anything that day; that is success for me, because the life is short, you dont have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves you and is always happy for what you are doing, that is success. In addition, if you take care of your old parents and they love you and they live a happy life, which is uccess tor me. Additionally, success Is also something that Is viewed differently In the eyes of everyone. This is because success means doing what I have always wanted do being where I have always wanted to be. My goal In life Is to eventually get married toa good wife and have many happy children and If I accomplished that, then I could view myself as having success. Lastly, meaning of success for me Is to enter the heaven after this life Is over. We know that life in this world is too short, and we don’t know when we are going to die and what we are going to get after this life. That is a simple answer; do good deeds in this world and you are going to be successful in the Ife hereafter. That means you enter the heaven for sure and that is big reward from God to his mankind. There is no dying after this life; that means f you dont enter the heaven you will be the loser and who ever go in the heaven will be the winner. In conclusion, I still agree with the Idea I presented: however according to the dictionary and many other resources, success means to them achievement. But according to my own opinion success means to believe the ones of God, and to have eace and love in your whole life, and to get in heaven the life hereafter. Meaning of Life and Success BY elm12696 The most important thing in my life is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success is it the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or is it simply achieving one’s own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success is, â€Å"the achievement of Without peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you you don’t have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves uccess for me. Additionally, success is also something that is viewed differently in the eyes of where I have always wanted to be. My goal in life is to eventually get married to a good wife and have many happy children and if I accomplished that, then I could Lastly, meaning of success for me is to enter the heaven after this life is over. We this world and you are going to be successful in the life hereafter. That means you no dying after this life; that means if you don’t enter the heaven you will be the loser In conclusion, I still agree with the idea I presented: however according to the

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Learning Log Format Essays

Learning Log Format Essays Learning Log Format Essay Learning Log Format Essay Write a couple of paragraphs about your personal position and response concerning the concept or question that we discussed in class. [Should be completed after opening discussion where we first engage in a concept or topic] Section 2 Write a couple of paragraphs about how the first reading for the assigned concept/topic influenced your thoughts? Show me that you have read by presenting a brief summary of the philosopher’s position as you understand it. Tell me how it made you feel or what it made you think of. Compare or contrast your personal position to it. Write a couple of paragraphs about how the second reading for the assigned concept/topic influenced your thoughts? Show me that you have read by presenting a brief summary of the philosopher’s position as you understand it. Tell me how it made you feel or what it made you think of. Compare or contrast your personal position to it. Section 3 Choose an additional (meaning not covered in class) Philosopher who addresses the concept / topic we are exploring and reflect on their position concerning it. Include the source you used for your research. [Should be completed when doing your research. ] Be ready to share the philosopher’s position concerning the topic being explored, with the class. Section 4 Write a few paragraphs about how your thoughts have changed (evolved, improved, or became more clear) since our initial discussion as a result of our exploration of this concept? Change does not have to involve a reversal of position – it could mean that you understand more. [Should be done after all other work on the topic] In summary a completed log will have four complete sections. Section 1 = Initial response Section 2 = Response to reading 1 Response to reading 2 Section 3 = Research on additional philosopher Section 4= Reflection on progression of your thoughts at the end of our exploration of the concept.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Essays

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Essays Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Essay Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Essay Fetal intoxicant syndrome ( FAS ) is a set of physical and mental birth defects that can ensue when a adult female drinks intoxicant during her gestation. When a pregnant adult female drinks alcohol. such as beer. vino. or assorted drinks. so does her babe. Alcohol passes through the placenta right into the developing babe. The babe may endure womb-to-tomb harm as a consequence. FAS is characterized by encephalon harm. facial malformations. and growing shortages. Heart. liver. and kidney defects besides are common. every bit good as vision and hearing jobs. Persons with FAS have troubles with acquisition. attending. memory. and job resolution. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders ( FASD ) is an umbrella term depicting the scope of effects that can happen in an single whose female parent drank intoxicant during gestation. These effects may include physical. mental. behavioural. and/or larning disablements with possible womb-to-tomb deductions. The term FASD is non intended for usage as a clinical diagnosing. FASD covers other footings such as: Fetal intoxicant syndrome ( FAS ) – the lone diagnosing given by physicians. : Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental upset ( ARND ) – reserved for persons with functional or cognitive damages linked to antenatal intoxicant exposure. including reduced caput size at birth. structural encephalon abnormalcies. and a form of behavioural and mental abnormalcies Alcohol-related birth defects ( ARBD ) – describes the physical defects linked to antenatal intoxicant exposure. including bosom. skeletal. kidney. ear. and oculus deformities Fetal intoxicant effects ( FAE ) – a term that has been popularly used to depict alcohol-exposed persons whose status does non run into the full standard for an FAS diagnosing What are the Statistics and Facts about FAS and FASD? FASD is the taking known preventable cause of mental deceleration and birth defects. FASD affects 1 in 100 unrecorded births or every bit many as 40. 000 babies each twelvemonth. An single with foetal intoxicant syndrome can incur a life-time wellness cost of over $ 800. 000. In 2003. foetal intoxicant syndrome cost the United States $ 5. 4 billiondirect costs were $ 3. 9 billion. while indirect costs added another $ 1. 5 billion. Children do non outgrow FASD. The physical and behavioural jobs can last for a life-time. FAS and FASD are found in all racial and socio-economic groups. FAS and FASD are non familial upsets. Womans with FAS or affected by FASD have healthy babes if they do non imbibe intoxicant during their gestation. Can I imbibe alcohol when I am pregnant? No. Make non imbibe intoxicant when you are pregnant. When you drink alcohol. such as beer. vino. or assorted drinks. so does your babe. Alcohol is a substance known to be harmful to human development. When it reaches the blood supply of the babe. it can do lasting defects to the major variety meats and cardinal nervous system. Is at that place any sort of intoxicant that is safe to imbibe during gestation? No. Drinking any sort of intoxicant can ache your babe. Alcoholic drinks can include beer. vino. spirits. vino ice chests. or assorted drinks. What if I am pregnant and have been imbibing? If you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant. halt imbibing now. Anytime a pregnant adult female stops imbibing. she decreases the hazard of injury to the babe. If you are seeking to acquire pregnant. make non imbibe intoxicant. You may non cognize you are pregnant right off. What if I drank during my last gestation and my babe was all right? Every gestation is different. Drinking intoxicant may ache one babe more than another. You could hold one kid that is born healthy and another kid that is born with jobs. What if a friend. spouse. partner or household member is imbibing while pregnant? Many adult females are incognizant of the effects of imbibing during gestation. Some adult females believe vino or beer is non alcohol. In many instances. she may be enduring from alcohol addiction. She may necessitate to cognize what effects alcohol can hold on the babe. She besides may necessitate assist acquiring into intervention. In such instances. you should reach a intervention professional at a local dependence centre for advice on how to assist. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. nofas. org/faqs. aspx? id=5 Copyright 2001-2004 National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome An individual’s topographic point. and success. in society is about wholly determined by neurological operation. A neurologically injured kid is unable to run into the outlooks of parents. household. equals. school. calling and can digest a life-time of failures. The largest cause of neurological harm in kids is antenatal exposure to alcohol. These kids grow up to go grownups. Often the neurological harm goes undiagnosed. but non unpunished. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ( FAS ) . Fetal Alcohol Effects ( FAE ) . Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ( pFAS ) . Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders ( ARND ) . Inactive Encephalopathy ( intoxicant exposed ) ( SE ) and Alcohol Related Birth Defects ( ARBD ) are all names for a spectrum of upsets caused when a pregnant adult female consumes alcohol. There are schemes that can work to assist the kid with an FASD compensate for some troubles. Early and intensive intercession and tutoring can make admirations. but the demand for a supportive construction is lasting. Surveies on dependence in Ontario have shown about a 10 – 12 % alcohol dependence rate among grownups. with another 20 % imbibing to a degree that places them at high hazard. Legally intoxicated is defined as a Blood Alcohol Level of. 08 % . A 100 pound ( 45 kilogram ) female devouring 5 standard drinks ( A drink equals a 12 oz. regular beer. 1 oz. shooting of 100 cogent evidence spirits. 1. 5 oz. shooting of 80 cogent evidence spirits. or 4 oz. glass of regular table vino ) will make a BAL of. 25 % – three times the legal bound. BAL reduces. 01 % per hr. The Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey. 2000/01 found that: 6. 8 % of misss ages 12 to 14 19. 8 % of girls age 12 to 19 26. 0 % ages 20 to 24 19. 9 % ages 20 to 34 consumed 5 or more drinks on each juncture 12 or more times per twelvemonth. An extra: 32. 2 % ages 15 to 34 13. 8 % of misss ages 12 to 14 consumed 5 or more drinks on each juncture 1 to 11 times per twelvemonth. Copyright  © 2005 Journals and Procedural Research Branch Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Toronto. Ontario. Canada. Most misss are 2 to 3 months pregnant before they find out. Give the premier childbirth age scope. the odds are really high that approximately 20 % of babes have been exposed to multiple orgies in high degrees of intoxicant in the first trimester. before the miss even knew she was pregnant. It is Party Hearty Time. The huge bulk of these misss are NOT alkies. About 50 % of gestations are unplanned. â€Å"If you are imbibing. remain out of the backseat every bit good as the driver’s place! † Maternal prenatal intoxicant ingestion even at low degrees is adversely related to child behaviour. The consequence was observed at mean exposure degrees every bit low as 1 drink per hebdomad. The Canadian Centre for Children’s Research at McMaster University Hospitals ( Hamilton Ontario ) states that 20 % of Canadian kids have serious mental wellness issues. Typical of school boards in Canada. a major southwesterly Ontario School Board ( urban / rural mix ) with 28. 000 Elementary and Secondary School pupils. has 6. 000 pupils having services from the Particular Education Department. Of the 6. 000. merely 250 are classified as â€Å"Gifted† with the balance holding important disablements ( 20. 6 % ) . While non all the persons with disablements are identified as the disablements holding been caused by antenatal exposure to alcohol. the huge bulk of the disablements are of types known to be caused by antenatal intoxicant exposure. FASD is so grossly under-reported that the FAS statistics are about meaningless. There are really few physicians who have received any preparation in naming FASD and most prefer to utilize â€Å"non-judgmental† diagnosings such as ADD. ADHD. LD. MR. RAD. ODD. Bi-Polar. Tourette’s. etc. . These â€Å"diagnoses† don’t connote the female parent has done something that could hold affected her babe during gestation. However. they can besides take to inappropriate intervention and a life-time of hurting. Failure to place the existent beginning can take to more kids being born with the same issues to the same female parents and the rhythm go oning into the following coevals – FASD kids holding FASD babes. Alcohol. endocrines. a vellication in the kilt. hapless impulse control and inability to foretell effects are a deathly combination. Accidents cause people. FASD is non a threshold status. It is a continuum runing from mild rational and behavioral issues to the extreme that frequently leads to profound disablements or premature decease. â€Å"Denial† is non merely a river in Egypt. Alcohol as a Teratogen on the Baby? hypertext transfer protocol: //www. acbr. com/fas/ . Problem: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ( FAS ) is a form of mental and physical defects which develops in some unborn babes when the female parent drinks excessively much intoxicant during gestation. A babe born with FAS may be earnestly handicapped and necessitate a life-time of particular attention. Some babes with alcohol-related birth defects. including smaller organic structure size. lower birth weight. and other damages. do non hold all of the authoritative FAS symptoms. These symptoms are sometimes referred to as Fetal Alcohol Effects ( FAE ) . Research workers do non all agree on the precise differentiations between FAS and FAE instances. Cause of the Problem: Alcohol in a pregnant woman’s blood stream circulates to the foetus by traversing the placenta. There. the intoxicant interferes with the ability of the foetus to have sufficient O and nutriment for normal cell development in the encephalon and other organic structure variety meats. Possible Fetal alcohol syndrome Symptoms: Growth lacks: little organic structure size and weight. slower than normal development and failure to catch up. The fact sheets below were developed by many different writers. In some instances. the fact sheets were placed on the web by a different organisation than the 1 that wrote the papers. However. all of the fact sheets are in the public sphere to promote broad distribution. You are free to copy and utilize these fact sheets. The undermentioned list of abbreviations was used to bespeak the beginning of the papers in the links provided on this page. Many of the sites listed contain extra information beyond the fact sheets that are listed on this page. We encourage you to research each site. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. good. com/user/woa/fsfas. htm RSmith:02-15-94 MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse 1706 East Elm ; P. O. Box 687 Jefferson City. Missouri 65102 The undermentioned Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders ( FASD ) are caused by imbibing intoxicant during gestation: Fetal alcohol syndrome: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Symptoms include little head/body. facial features. encephalon harm FAE: Fetal Alcohol Effects Symptoms normally non seeable. such as behaviour upsets. attending shortages ARBD: Alcohol Related Birth Defects. Anomalies such as bosom defects. sight/hearing jobs. joint anomalousnesss. etc. ARND: Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders Disorders such as attending shortages. behaviour upsets. obsessive/compulsive upset. etc. FASD: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders All of the upsets named above are contained in the spectrum. Full FAS comprises merely approximately 10 % of the spectrum. The other 90 % may hold fewer physical symptoms but are at greater hazard for developing serious secondary conditions subsequently. ( Streissguth. 1997 ) FAS is the taking cause of mental deceleration in western civilisation. But†¦ Most individuals with FAS have an IQ in the normal scope. ( Streissguth. 1997 ) . The incidence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in America is 1. 9 instances per 1. 000 births ( 1/500 ) . Incidence of babes with disablements ensuing from antenatal intoxicant exposure: 1/100! FAS/FAE is a major wellness issue in western civilisation today. More American babes are born with FAS than with Down Syndrome. MD. and HIV combined. â€Å"Alcohol causes more neurological harm to the developing babe than any other substance. † Lecture Summary Fetal intoxicant syndrome is among the most common known causes of mental deceleration and as such. it is a major public wellness job. The intent of this talk is to supply a basic overview of what we know about the effects of antenatal intoxicant exposure. It is surely non intend to be comprehensive but instead to give a wide overview of current cognition in the country. and of ongoing homo and animate being research in the country. Heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure can ensue in the foetal intoxicant syndrome and both alterations in encephalon construction and behaviour have been reported in these kids. Importantly. current informations indicate that persons exposed to heavy doses of intoxicant in utero. but without the facial features of FAS. can besides endure from similar encephalon and behavioural alterations. Animal theoretical accounts have proven to be an first-class research tool in this field. as there appears to be good harmony between the animate being and human informations. The carnal theoretical accounts provide a agency to analyze mechanisms of intoxicant harm. to command for factors non possible in most human surveies. and to assist reply of import clinical inquiries. Fetal intoxicant effects are preventable. and every kid born with a defect related to antenatal intoxicant exposure indicates a failure of the wellness attention system. Lecturer Dr. Ed Riley hypertext transfer protocol: //rsoa. org/lectures/07/index. hypertext markup language Background Fetal intoxicant syndrome is among the most common known causes of mental deceleration and as such. it is a major public wellness job. The intent of this talk is to supply a basic overview of what we know about the effects of antenatal intoxicant exposure. It is surely non intend to be comprehensive. For more elaborate overview. the undermentioned mentions might be helpful. It is of import to retrieve that as the female parent consumes intoxicant and her blood intoxicant degree rises. that intoxicant is freely traversing the placenta and the embryo or foetus is being exposed to the same blood intoxicant degrees. Mentions Stratton. K. . Howe. C. . A ; Battaglia. F. ( 1996 ) . Fetal intoxicant syndrome: Diagnosis. epidemiology. bar. and intervention. Washington. DC: National Academy Press. Streissguth. A. P. ( 1997 ) . Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Background Fetal intoxicant syndrome is among the most common known causes of mental deceleration and as such. it is a major public wellness job. The intent of this talk is to supply a basic overview of what we know about the effects of antenatal intoxicant exposure. It is surely non intend to be comprehensive. For more elaborate overview. the undermentioned mentions might be helpful. It is of import to retrieve that as the female parent consumes intoxicant and her blood intoxicant degree rises. that intoxicant is freely traversing the placenta and the embryo or foetus is being exposed to the same blood intoxicant degrees. Mentions Stratton. K. . Howe. C. . A ; Battaglia. F. ( 1996 ) . Fetal intoxicant syndrome: Diagnosis. epidemiology. bar. and intervention. Washington. DC: National Academy Press. Streissguth. A. P. ( 1997 ) . Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Background What each of these documents described was a common set of characteristics that could happen in the progeny of female parents who drank to a great extent during their gestations. This configuration of characteristics was named the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in 1973 by Jones and co-workers. In order to be diagnosed as holding FAS. the single MUST run into all three standards. There is a specific form of facial anomalousnesss. which will be shown shortly. There is pre and or postpartum growing lack. Normally the kids are born little ( 7drinks/week – 5 or more drinks per juncture ) . The information on the left side of the slide come from Louise Floyd of the CDC. The first four surveies were sponsored by the CDC and the other two estimations on the left side come from the IOM study ( Stratton. 1996 ) . AI/AN stands for American Indian/Alaska Native. The Numberss on the right side are from a recent survey by Sampson et Al. . ( 1997 ) . They demonstrated rates of FAS of at least 2. 8/1000 unrecorded births in Seattle. 4. 6/1000 in Cleveland. and between 1. 3 and 4. 8/1000 in Roubaix. France. Interestingly. in this survey they estimate the prevalence in Seattle for FAS and ARND at 9. 1/1000 births. This would intend that about 1 in every 100 kids is affected by antenatal intoxicant exposure. The last figure from South Africa is from recent work done by Phil May and co-workers. Mentions Egeland G. Perham-Hester KA. Gessner BD. Ingle D. Berner JE. Middaugh JP. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Alaska. 1977 through 1992: An administrative prevalence derived from multiple informations beginnings. American Journal of Public Health. 1998. 88 ( 5 ) : 781-786. Aberdeen IHS Area ( 1995 ) MMWR. vol 44 ( # ) :253-261. BDMP ( 1995 ) : MMWR Vol. 44 ( 13 ) :249-253. Atlanta. Ga. ( 1997 ) MMWR Vol. 46 ( 47 ) : 1118-1120. Sampson. P. D. . Streissguth. A. P. . Bookstein. F. L. . Little. R. E. . Clarren. S. K. . Dehaene. P. . Hanson. J. W. . A ; Graham. J. M. . Jr. ( 1997 ) . Incidence of foetal intoxicant syndrome and prevalence of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental upset. Teratology. 56 ( 5 ) . 317-326. Stratton. K. . Howe. C. . A ; Battaglia. F. ( 1996 ) . Fetal intoxicant syndrome: Diagnosis. epidemiology. bar. and intervention. Washington. DC: National Academy Press. Institute of Medicine: 1996 Clinic-based ( page 89 ) . American Indian/Alaskan Native ( page 88 ) May. P. . Viljoen. D. . Gossage. J. . Brooke. L. . Croxford. J. ( 1999 ) . An epidemiological analysis of informations from kids with foetal intoxicant syndrome and controls in Wellington. South Africa. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 23 ( 5 ) . 110A. May. P. . Viljoen. D. . Gossage. J. . Brooke. L. . Croxford. J ( 1999 ) . An update on the maternal hazard factors associated with the prevalence of foetal intoxicant syndrome in Wellington. South Africa. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 23 ( 5 ) . 91A Background It must be stressed that the facial features fundamentally define FAS. Without these facial characteristics. one can non be diagnosed with FAS. In peculiar. the discriminating characteristics are short palpebral crevices ( the length of the oculus gap ) . a level midface. an indistinct or level philtrum ( the ridge under the olfactory organ ) . and a thin upper scarlet ( lip ) . While each of these can happen in a assortment of upsets. the combination of these characteristics appears to be consistent with heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure. Children with FAS can besides hold other facial characteristics. such as epicanthal creases ( bantam creases of tissues along the oculus gap ) . a low nasal span. an developing jaw and minor ear anomalousnesss. These persons can besides hold a assortment of associated characteristics. Heart defects. skeletal anomalousnesss. altered palmar folds ( those folds on your custodies ) . and urogenital anomalousnesss are among the anomalousnesss found more often in FAS. Reference Streissguth. A. P. ( 1994 ) . A long-run position of FAS. Alcohol Health A ; Research World ( Vol. 18. pp. 74-81 ) . image Facies in foetal intoxicant syndrome Background The encephalon on the left was obtained from a 5-day-old kid with FAS while the encephalon on the right is a control. The effects are obvious. The encephalon on the left suffers from microencephaly ( little encephalon ) and migration anomalousnesss ( nervous and glia cells did non migrate to their proper location in the encephalon. but alternatively many of them merely migrated to the top of the cerebral mantle ) . Although it can non be seen here. there is besides agenesia of the principal callosum and the ventricles are dilated. The principal callosum is the major fibre piece of land linking the two hemispheres of the encephalon ( more on this later ) . Major findings of other necropsies of kids with FAS have found microcephalus. hydrocephalus. intellectual dysgenesis. neuroglial heterotopias. principal callosum anomalousnesss. ventricle anomalousnesss. and cerebellar anomalousnesss. It must be pointed out. nevertheless. that these necropsies have typically been conducted merely on the most terrible instances. since these kids frequently have adequate jobs that they do non last. The interested reader on the pathological alterations that occur in FAS is referred to the undermentioned articles. Mentions Clarren. S. K. ( 1986 ) . Neuropathology in foetal intoxicant syndrome. In J. R. West ( Ed. ) . Alcohol and Brain Development ( pp. 158-166 ) . New York: Oxford University Press. Roebuck. T. M. . Mattson. S. N. . and Riley. E. P. ( 1998 ) . A reappraisal of the neuroanatomical findings in kids with foetal intoxicant syndrome or antenatal exposure to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 22 ( 2 ) . 339-344. Image encephalon harm ensuing from antenatal intoxicant Background The image on the left is a normal midsaggital MRI scan of the human encephalon with the cerebrum and cerebellum pointed out. The information on the right show the decrease in size of the these two countries in kids with FAS and PEA. PEA stands for Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol. and includes kids with known histories of heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure. but who lack the characteristics necessary for a diagnosing of FAS. As can be seen. the extent of decrease in the volume of both the cerebrum and cerebellum is important. While the PEA group shows a decrease in volume. with these sample sizes. this is non a important difference. Other encephalon imaging surveies indicate disproportional size decreases in the basal ganglia. cerebellum. and corpus callosum. The informations are presented as per centum of normal matched controls. References Mattson. S. N. . Jernigan. T. L. . A ; Riley. E. P. ( 1994a ) . MRI and antenatal intoxicant exposure. Alcohol Health A ; Research World. 18 ( 1 ) . 49-52. Archibald. S. L. . Fennema-Notestine. C. . Gamst. A. . Riley. E. P. . Mattson. S. N. . and Jernigan. T. L. ( submitted. 2000 ) . Brain dysmorphology in persons with terrible antenatal intoxicant exposure. image alteration in encephalon size Background One anomalousness that has been seen in FAS is agenesia of the principal callosum. While non common. it occurs in FAS instances ( ~6 % ) more often than in the general population ( 0. 1 % ) or in the developmentally handicapped population ( 2-3 % ) . In fact it has been suggested that FAS may be the most common cause of agenesia of the principal callosum. In the top left image. is a control encephalon. The other images are from kids with FAS. In the top center the principal callosum is present. but it is really thin at the posterior subdivision of the encephalon. In the upper right the principal callosum is basically losing. The bottom two images are from a 9 twelvemonth old miss with FAS. She has agenesia of the principal callosum and the big dark country in the dorsum of her encephalon above the cerebellum is a status known as coprocephaly. It is basically empty infinite. Most kids with FAS do hold a principal callosum. although it may be reduced in size. The decrease in size occurs chiefly in the forepart and rear parts ( knee and splenium ) . One interesting point is that this same form of decrease in the knee and splenium has been found in ADHD kids. The behavioural jobs seen in FAS often are similar to those seen in ADHD. References Mattson. S. N. . Jernigan. T. L. . A ; Riley. E. P. ( 1994a ) . MRI and antenatal intoxicant exposure. Alcohol Health A ; Research World. 18 ( 1 ) . 49-52. Mattson. S. N. . A ; Riley. E. P. ( 1995 ) . Prenatal exposure to alcohol: What the images reveal. Alcohol Health A ; Research World. 19 ( 4 ) . 273-277. Riley. E. P. . Mattson. S. N. . Sowell. E. R. . Jernigan. T. L. . Sobel. D. F. . A ; Jones. K. L. ( 1995 ) . Abnormalities of the principal callosum in kids prenatally exposed to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 19 ( 5 ) . 1198-1202. Background There have been over a twelve retrospective surveies of kids with FAS ( entire N = 269 ) . Overall. these surveies. such as the Seattle surveies or surveies out of Germany. reported an overall mean IQ of 72. 26 ( scope of agencies = 47. 4-98. 2 ) . The information presented here were collected in San Diego. CA as portion of a undertaking at the Center for Behavioral Teratology. The average IQ public presentations of kids with FAS were compared to alcohol-exposed kids with few if any characteristics of FAS. All kids in this survey were exposed prenatally to high sums of intoxicant. nevertheless merely the FAS group displayed the craniofacial anomalousnesss and growing shortages associated with the diagnosing. The other group was designated as holding antenatal exposure to alcohol ( PEA ) and had documented exposure to high degrees of intoxicant but were non dysmorphic. microcephalic. or growth-retarded. In comparing to normal controls. both groups of alcohol-exposed kids displayed important shortages in overall IQ steps every bit good as shortages on most of the subtest tonss. While the PEA topics normally obtained marginally higher IQ tonss than those with FAS. few important differences were found between the two alcohol-exposed groups. These consequences indicate that high degrees of antenatal intoxicant exposure are related to an increased hazard for shortages in rational operation and that these shortages can happen in kids without all of the physical characteristics required for a diagnosing of FAS. Our PEA topics may be slightly similar to persons identified by other groups as holding FAE. nevertheless persons with PEA show few if any of the facial characteristics of FAS. and are non growing retarded or microcephalous. Mentions Streissguth AP. Aase JM. Clarren SK. Randels SP. LaDue RA. Smith DF ( 1991 ) . Fetal intoxicant syndrome in striplings and grownups. Journal of the American Medical Association 265:1961-1967. Mattson. S. N. . Riley. E. P. . Gramling. L. . Delis. D. C. . and Jones. K. L. ( 1997 ) . Heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure with or without physical characteristics of foetal intoxicant syndrome leads to IQ shortages. Journal of Pediatrics. 131 ( 5 ) . 718-721. Mattson. S. N. and Riley. E. P. ( 1998 ) . A reappraisal of the neurobehavioral shortages in kids with foetal intoxicant syndrome or antenatal exposure to alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 22 ( 2 ) . 279-294. image general rational public presentation Background. This was a survey of a wide scope of neuropsychological trials. such as: The Wide Range Achievement Test- which assesses academic accomplishments. the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Boston Naming test-both appraisal of basic linguistic communication operation. the California Verbal Learning Test-a list acquisition and memory trial. the Visual-Motor Integration Test which measures basic visual-perceptual accomplishments. the Grooved Pegboard test-a trial of fine-motor velocity and coordination. and the Children’s Category Test-a step of gestural acquisition. Along the x-axis are the trials included in the battery ; for comparing intents. all tonss were converted to standard tonss with a mean of 100 and an SD of 15. Children with FAS or PEA showed shortages in comparing to controls and they were really similar to each other. There does look to be some indicant that the gestural steps ( on the right of the slide ) are non every bit impaired as the verbal and academic steps. which are on the left and centre of the slide. The return place message is that kids with FAS and those exposed to high sums of intoxicant. but without the features required for a diagnosing of FAS. are likewise impaired. The FAS kids tend to be a spot worse than the PEA kids. but the form of behavioural deificits is reasonably similar over a broad scope of trials. References Mattson. S. N. . Riley. E. P. . Gramling. L. . Delis. D. C. . A ; Jones. K. L. ( 1998 ) . Neuropsychological comparing of alcohol-exposed kids with or without physical characteristics of foetal intoxicant syndrome. Neuropsychology. 12 ( 1 ) . 146-153. image neuropsychological performanceBackground In add-on to the abilities already discussed. a few surveies have documented other specific neuropsychological shortages in persons with FAS. Children with antenatal intoxicant exposure. with and without FAS. have demonstrated assorted shortages on steps of executive operation. These steps have revealed jobs in countries such as planning ( tower task-shown above ) . cognitive flexibleness ( trails trial ) . suppression ( stroop trial ) . and concept formation and logical thinking ( word context trials ) . Generally. public presentation on these steps is characterized by increased mistakes and more trouble adhering to regulations. Therefore. kids are less successful overall. For illustration. on the tower step shown above ( Tower of California-similar to Tower of London ) . kids with FAS and PEA passed fewer points overall and made more regulation misdemeanors than controls. The lone two regulations were to neer put a larger piece on top of a smaller one and to travel merely one piece at a clip. As can be seen the intoxicant exposed kids had many more rule misdemeanors. In add-on. shortages have been found on the WCST ( Wisconsin Card Sort Test ) . a gestural step of job resolution. The WCST trial requires both job resolution and cognitive flexibleness and has been proposed to be sensitive to frontal system disfunction. This trial is a gilded criterion in the step of executive operation in physiological psychology. Children with antenatal exposure to alcohol made more mistakes and had more trouble with the conceptual nature of the undertaking than controls. New informations indicate that they have problem identifying and specifying constructs. Finally. trials of planning ability are besides thought to be sensitive to frontal systems disfunction although few such surveies have been done in persons with FAS. On the Progressive Planning Test which is similar to the Tower of London trial kids with FAS/FAE had trouble with be aftering in front and tended to perseverate on wrong schemes. So far the consequences could be summarized as: 1 ) Heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure is associated with a broad scope of neurobehavioral shortages including visuospatial operation. verbal and gestural acquisition. and executive working 2 ) Heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure causes microcephaly and disproportional decreases in the principal callosum. basal ganglia. and cerebellum 3 ) Child with and without physical characteristics of the foetal intoxicant syndrome show qualitatively similar shortages References Carmichael O. H. . Feldman JJ. Streissguth AP. Gonzalez RD: Neuropsychological shortages and life accommodation in striplings and grownups with foetal intoxicant syndrome. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 16:380. 1992 Kodituwakku PW. Handmaker NS. Cutler SK. Weathersby EK. Handmaker SD: Specific damages in self-regulation in kids exposed to alcohol prenatally. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 19:1558-1564. 1995 Mattson. S. N. . Goodman. A. M. . Caine. C. . Delis. D. C. . A ; Riley. E. P. ( 1999 ) . Executive operation in kids with heavy antenatal intoxicant exposure. Alcoholism. Clinical and Experimental Research. 23 ( 11 ) . 1808-1815. Background Secondary disablements are those disablements that the person is non born with. and hopefully with appropriate intercession could be ameliorated. This slide illustrates the extent of these secondary disablements as a map of age. These are persons with FAS and FAE. As can be seen over 90 % of these persons have mental wellness jobs and approximately 50 % of those over the age of 12 have disrupted school experiences. problem with the jurisprudence. which is often terrible plenty to necessitate parturiency. They besides engage in comparatively high rates of inappropriate sexual behaviour and a important figure have alcohol and drug maltreatment jobs. Interestingly. the factors that are protective against these secondary disablements are: Being raised in a stable. nurturant place. diagnosing before the age of 6. no sexual or physical maltreatment. non altering families every few old ages. non populating in a hapless quality place. and having Developmental Disabilities services. Mentions Streissguth. A. P. . Barr. H. M. . Kogan. J. . A ; Bookstein. F. L. ( 1996 ) . Concluding Report: Understanding the happening of secondary disablements in clients with foetal intoxicant syndrome ( FAS ) and foetal intoxicant effects ( FAE ) . Seattle. WA: University of Washington Publication Services. Image secondary disablements Background. Much of what we know about FAS and the effects of antenatal intoxicant exposure is the consequence of work on carnal theoretical accounts. After FAS was identified it became of import to show that the effects were so the consequence of intoxicant exposure and non due to factors such as other drugs. maternal conditions. or nutritionary variables. The development of appropriate carnal theoretical accounts was really of import in this respect. Models were developed for measuring physical characteristics of FAS every bit good as the behavioral. neuroanatomical. and neurochemical profiles of antenatal intoxicant exposure. The ideal trial animate being would absorb. metabolise and extinguish intoxicant similar to human. conveyance intoxicant and metabolites across.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Andes - The Worlds Longest Mountain Chain

Andes - The World's Longest Mountain Chain The Andes are a chain of mountains that extends 4,300 miles along the west coast of South America and bisects seven countries- Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Andes are the longest chain of mountains in the world and include many of the highest peaks in the Western Hemisphere. Although the Andes is a long mountain chain, they are also narrow. Along their length, the east-to-west breadth of the Andes varies between about 120 and 430 miles wide. The climate throughout the Andes is highly variable and depends on latitude, altitude, topography, precipitation patterns, and proximity to the ocean. The Andes are divided into three regions- the northern Andes, the central Andes, and the southern Andes. Within each region, there is much variation in climate and habitats. The northern Andes of Venezuela and Colombia are warm and wet and include habitats such as tropical forests and cloud forests. The central Andes- which extend through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia- experience more seasonal variation than the northern Andes and habitats in this region fluctuate between a dry season and a wet season. The southern Andes of Chile and Argentina are divided into two distinct zones- the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. There are about 3,700 species of animals that live in the Andes including 600 species of mammals, 1,700 species of birds, 600 species of reptiles, and 400 species of fishes, and more than 200 species of amphibians. Key Characteristics The following are the key characteristics of the Andes: longest mountain chain in the worldincludes the Atacama desert, the driest desert in the worldincludes the Andean Plateau, the second-highest plateau in the worldlocated on the Pacific Ring of Fireincludes of the highest active volcano in the world, Ojos del Salado, which lies on the border of Argentina and Chilesupports a number of rare and endangered species including short-tailed chinchillas, Andean flamingos, Andean condors, spectacled bears, Junin rails, and Titicaca water frogs Animals of the Andes Some of the animals that inhabit the Andes include: Alapca (Vicugna pacos) - The alpaca is a domesticated species of even-toed hoofed mammal that belongs to the camel family. Alpacas are native to South American. They are kept in herds in the high altitude plateaus in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile. Alpacas are grazers that feed on hay and grasses.Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) - The Andean condor is found throughout the Andes, although it is far less common in the mountain ranges of Venezuela and Columbia. Andean Condors inhabit grasslands and alpine habitats up to 16,000 feet. It prefers open habitats where it can locate carrion as it soars above.Short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla chinchilla) - The short-tailed chinchilla is one of just two species of chinchillas alive today, the other being the long-tailed chinchilla. Short-tailed chinchillas are an endangered species of rodent that once inhabited areas of the central and southern Andes. The species was heavily exploited for its fur and as a result their numbers declin ed drastically. Short-tailed chinchillas are currently classified as critically endangered on the IUCN RedList. Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) - The Andean mountain cat is a small cat that inhabits high montane regions of the central Andes. The Andean mountain cat is rare, with less than 2,500 individuals remaining in the wild.Titicaca water frog (Telmatobius culeus) - The Titicaca water frog is a critically endangered frog that is endemic to Lake Titicaca. Titicaca water frogs were once common but have declined due to hunting, pollution, and predation  by trout that have been introduced to the lake.Andean goose (Chloephaga melanoptera) - The Andean goose is a large sheldgoose with black and white plumage, a pink bill, and orange legs and feet. The Andean goose inhabits elevations of the Andes above 9,800 feet in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) - The spectacled bear is South Americas only native species of bear. It inhabits forested areas of the Andes mountain range including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. Spectacled bears have black fur, keen eyesight, and distinctive golden-colored rings of fur framing their eyes.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Conflict Identification and Resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conflict Identification and Resolution - Essay Example The clinic has been sold to a new owner who decided to improve business efficiency and to increase sales. The newly appointed CEO has set the sales targets for the company and informed about these targets two categories of employees: sales and marketing department and doctors. Both sales department and doctors were expected to achieve the new sales targets, while doctors had to sell themselves, and marketers had to sell the clinic’s products and visits to doctors. The crux of the conflict was in an increasing confrontation between the sales department and doctors. On the one hand, doctors were blaming sales and marketing (S&M) department that they do not cope with their work as their work is to sell. On the other hand, marketing and sales department believed that doctors should be actively involved in sales process, as they were people who had direct access to the patients and the power of word of mouth was a good practice in healthcare sector. On the weekly meetings held by t he CEO and devoted to discussions and analysis of the sales progress the conflict between two parties (doctors and S&M) has been growing in result of mutual accusations and insults. It is also important to take into consideration the specific tough character of majority of doctors who often are tough people in result of the nature of their work. Doctors are special category of employees as they are used to make serious decisions quickly in order to save human live. Therefore, they don’t like when management or other employees do not make efficient decisions. The conflict described above is the intergroup conflict between S&M department and clinical department (doctors) (Deutsch & Coleman 2000). The major source of the conflict is obvious – lack of proper communication between different departments. Effective communication is especially critical during quite a challenging time of changes (new owner and newly appointed CEO) in

Friday, October 18, 2019

Economics by the rule of Obama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics by the rule of Obama - Essay Example In California Insurance Exchange Subsidies and Tax credit, Obama-care subsidized those who ranged from 139% to 400% of federal poverty level; 400% poverty level is considered the yearly income of $45,000 for an individual and $62,000 for a family of two. Obama-care is an idea that has been evolving over many years, the initials of the idea started forming its shape when the economy had to see a downward trend, leaving many people jobless, facing money and related issues. It was becoming hard for the people to survive with little or no income. They had to find other sources and till the time they did they needed to have government support.In order to avail subsidies in California, the customer needs to sign up for an exchange program. The customer has to provide last year tax information, projected income, medical history, social security number, employer and income information, policy number, employer coverage tool, and any other information that could affect the health policy. There are different health insurance coverage programs that are available in the region of California these include bronze plan 60% would be paid by the insurance company and the rest of 40% would be paid by the customer, silver plan had a 70%/30% policy of expenses paid by the company and customer respectively, Gold Plan and Platinum plan which has a ratio of 80%/20% and 90%/10% accordingly. They designed a plan where the health insurance would be deducted from the part of their taxes, and no extra burden would be placed on the citizens.

4G Wireless Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

4G Wireless Systems - Essay Example Data packets are sent wirelessly to the satellites that help to transfer data quickly. This change has brought about much relief for the general public as now communication can be easier and much faster and not to mention it has become a lot less tedious. However, the fast paced changes in the technological world make it a lot harder for various companies and industries to keep up. One day a new product is introduced and the next day the team sits down to chalk out the plans to make the product better. A perfect example would be Apple’s effort to introduce new and improved versions of the iPhone and then there is the competition that makes companies run faster and faster. Using the last example of Apple it is now common knowledge that Google’s Android is becoming the competition to the iPhone. In the same manner, wireless systems have evolved from time to time and continue to do so.The wireless communication systems have been defined by giving then designations with reg ards to generations. The first generation was introduced in the early 1980s and made use of analog frequency modulation and were more or less used for the purpose of voice communication. It was not much later in the late 1980s that the second generation of wireless system technology made its way in the market was once again focused on voice communicationÃ'Ž Later, instead of a third generation technology, there was a midway between the second and third generation know as 2.5 generation.  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Case Analysis (Training Class) HR Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis (Training Class) HR - Case Study Example Other objectives include developing trainees’ understanding of their behavior and its effects on the customers, developing an effective language style that yields to a positive customer’s response, and developing a good CSS – customer relationship. Knowledge, skill, & abilities (KSAs) are very important for any job applicant, whereby, knowledge determines the amount of information that one has accumulated, for instance customer service skills. On the other hand, skills involve manipulation of people or data manually, either verbally or mentally, for instance proficiency in communication. Lastly, abilities are the powers entailed in performing a certain task at a particular time to solve problems amicably (Participant guide, 2006). Based on the training objectives provide a training agenda, indicating the time allocated and order of modules in your program. Customer Service Training Program: this is a four-week training program. Modules : week 1-4 Time: 5.00 pm- 7 pm communication skills Week 1 Customer handling techniques; managing the customer’s expectations Week 2 Effective problem solving techniques Week 3 Developing customer relationships Week 4 For each module, describe the goals of the module and the training methods you will use to accomplish it.

Management and Organisations Individual REPORT Essay

Management and Organisations Individual REPORT - Essay Example Through such cultures, the allowance of personal goals to subsume the team goals becomes rather difficult as they go against the core drivers for elements of self-preservation. The elements of team operation have a major effect on considering the different teams and elements types for team effectiveness. The major components of team effectiveness include viability and performance. Performance focuses on success in the delivery of several outputs (that is, services, products, information, or performance events) to the prospective consumers across the organization. The organization viability element has a future orientation and inclusion of continuity. The variability of viability is the ability towards maintaining the integral group membership while responsibility has to do with a shared group purpose. Cohesion refers to the responsibility of appreciating each of the team member’s contributions while capability describes the accomplishment of shared purposes (Cascio, 2006). For gaining success, teams have to focus on the integration of viability and performance. Researchers offer different explanatory models towards helping accurate conceptualization of team effectiveness. There is a pioneering development into input-process-output model in measuring organization effectiveness. Even with the age of the idea, most other models for work group effectiveness have a heavy reliance on it. Inputs have a key change driver for processes in case they mediate the effects of such inputs to their issues (Mullins, 2007). Inputs embrace all personal elements (such as experience, expertise, personality, and status) brought to teams when formation. The process variables engage the interaction of different team members of social information exchange, attempts leadership, and influence) as well as inherently dynamic outputs. They refer to yields from the group. From these, process variables

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Case Analysis (Training Class) HR Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis (Training Class) HR - Case Study Example Other objectives include developing trainees’ understanding of their behavior and its effects on the customers, developing an effective language style that yields to a positive customer’s response, and developing a good CSS – customer relationship. Knowledge, skill, & abilities (KSAs) are very important for any job applicant, whereby, knowledge determines the amount of information that one has accumulated, for instance customer service skills. On the other hand, skills involve manipulation of people or data manually, either verbally or mentally, for instance proficiency in communication. Lastly, abilities are the powers entailed in performing a certain task at a particular time to solve problems amicably (Participant guide, 2006). Based on the training objectives provide a training agenda, indicating the time allocated and order of modules in your program. Customer Service Training Program: this is a four-week training program. Modules : week 1-4 Time: 5.00 pm- 7 pm communication skills Week 1 Customer handling techniques; managing the customer’s expectations Week 2 Effective problem solving techniques Week 3 Developing customer relationships Week 4 For each module, describe the goals of the module and the training methods you will use to accomplish it.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Questions on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Penguin Classics Deluxe Assignment

Questions on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Penguin Classics) - Assignment Example McMurphy is rebellious as well due to his counterattack to the rules of the nurse. The mental ward engrosses inmates that are under the directives of the Big Nurse. She imposes rules that sought to govern the inhabitants of the ward. The rules regulated and dictated on the conduct of the inhabitants of the mental ward. According to McMurphy, these rules were oppressive to the inhabitants of the ward (Kesey, 14). Due to his exuberant nature, he disqualifies the rules and engages the other inhabitants in rebellion. This was besides his smuggling business of wine and women in the ward. These are the key events in the section of the novel. Chief Bromden is aware of Murphy’s attempts. He observes that McMurphy has intentions to revolt against the nurse. His voice formulates the narration of the novel. This is a trustworthy narrator of the events. The events of the novel mainly take place within the mental ward. Bromden is trustworthy as he is observant of the interactions and events of the characters. He is introverted and communicates purely of his observations within the mental ward (Kesey, 26). He also gives an analogy of his society, which implicates that non-conformists always face adversity and bias. McMurphy is subject to charges for battery and gambling (Kesey, 7). Conviction had not been issued, and he ran to the mental ward to escape the law. This fact in the text presents Murphy as an escapist. He opted to be in the ward to evade conviction. McMurphy is proud of rape as his entitlement (Kesey, 86). Evidently, Murphy is entirely inhumane and he deeply advocates for criminal acts. These quotes inform readers much about McMurphy’s traits and intentions. I connect much with Nurse Ratched. She has much attention on humanity. Despite of her authoritative nature, she advocates for justice. This is evident when she intends to report McMurphy to Billy’s mother (Kesey, 102). She could not tolerate McMurphy raping Billy and taking her

Parsley Garden Book Essay Example for Free

Parsley Garden Book Essay The qualities of carelessness and anger can be just as destructive as excessive pride. In Parsley Garden, Al Condraj has made many significant blunders due to his self-pride. In fact, his arrogance has gone straight to his head; Al thinks he is so great and is always right. Unfortunately, due to this absurd thinking, he makes many errors in judgment and doesnt fully think his ideas through before acting on them. Hence, this destructive frame of mind ends up being extremely hazardous to Al. Due to Als smugness, he makes large errors in judgment. When Al wanted the hammer, he didnt consider the consequences of stealing it. Because he is so arrogant, he automatically assumes he is the best thief in the world and that he would never get caught. However, even after getting caught the first time, Al goes back to the store and contemplates whether or not he should steal the hammer again. Al already knows that the workers at the store have a heightened awareness of his actions and that there is a good chance he wont succeed in stealing the hammer a second time. However, he still doesnt care and wants to steal it again. One can now see Als detrimental thinking pattern. Another pitfall in Als judgment is that he doesnt think his ideas through before acting on them. When Al went back to the store to work for the hammer, he did a fantastic job and was even offered one dollar and the job. However, he refused to take the money and job, even though he could have used the extra cash. Al is too arrogant because he doesnt want to work for people he despises. His pride blocks his thoughts so that he doesnt even consider new options. The last damaging cycle caused by Als excessive pride is that Al refuses to do anything when there is a chance for humiliation. For example, he watched Johnny Gale nail boxes for ten minutes, but Johnny was too busy to notice him or talk to him. Al went home because he didnt want somebody working hard to notice that he was being watched and maybe say, Go on, and beat it. Al didnt want to invite a humiliation. As one can see, Als pride is  so great that he will leave an opportunity when there is even a slight chance for embarrassment or humiliation. Overall, Als pride is extremely destructive. He is afraid to perform certain activities when he fears that he could be humiliated. Also, he makes large errors in judgment and does not fully think his ideas through. Hence, Als frame of mind is created by his excessive pride and it largely affects and changes Als life for the worse.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Issue Of Bilingualism With Psycholinguists

The Issue Of Bilingualism With Psycholinguists Bilingualism is a controversial issue that psycholinguists vary in the way they define it due to its multidimensional aspects. It should be carefully viewed with great consideration to certain variables appearing in the coming definitions. Auer (1995), states that bilingualism can be referred to the linguistic competences in more than one language. This bilingual competence can be accessible via the analysis of well-formed sentences involving two languages which may be treated as a window on the bilingual mind (Auer, 1995, p.115). Clearly, psycholinguists deem bilingualism as hidden competence in bilinguals minds, and it can be revealed as bilinguals produce utterances. Conversely, Saunders (1988) declares that bilingualism has different associations in peoples minds. Some people assume that bilingualism is native-like control of two languages which is later on called true bilingualism (p,7). However, bilinguals who have no native speakers competence in both languages reject this def inition utterly. Some linguists stress that this definition is restrictively limited to bilingual individuals who master their two languages completely. Dual monolingual is also a term used to refer to bilinguals mastering two languages as if they were native speaker monolinguals in both languages. However, Saunder (1988) argues that many bilinguals comprehend a foreign language without being able to speak it fluently. Therefore, linguists define bilingualism as the ability to speak two languages at any level of competency. After all these various arguments regarding bilingualisms nature, it is clear that bilingual individuals have different degrees of competence in the second language. Saunder (1988). Colin Baker Sylvia Prys Jones (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd. (in the library). *Definition of bilingualism: According to Baker Jones (1998), when asked about bilingualism, most people believe that they know the answers of the following questions, what is bilingualism? How can a bilingual be defined? They would say that a bilingual person is the one who speaks two languages. However, defining bilingualism and bilinguals is more difficult than what the people think. Bilingualism involves a number of dimensions. There are five main issues that show the difficulty to define bilingualism very concisely. Also, they show that there might be degrees of bilingualism which vary in the same person over time. There is distinction between ability in language and use of language. They are two separate things. For example, a bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages very fluently, but he or she uses and practices only one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language. Another bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages but he or she has some problems in speaking one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language, but this person uses and practices both languages regularly. This distinction can be referred to the degree of difference between proficiency or competence of language (ability) and function of that language (use). Proficiency may vary in a language. For example, the abilities of a bilingual person will vary in using a language among the four skills of that language (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), where that person might be very good in speaking A language but when it comes to writing, the person will use B language to write or read, because his or her ability of writing in A language is weak or low. Another bilingual person might have good abilities (proficiency) in speaking and writing of a language, but he or she cannot use and practice (speak or write) that language, so he or she tends to use another language. This is called receptive competence. Few bilingual people are equally proficient in both languages, but one language tends to be stronger and better developed than the other language. It is called the dominant language and it is not necessarily to be the first or native language. Few bilinguals possess the same competence as monolinguals in either of their languages. This is because bilinguals use their languages for different functions and purposes. A bilinguals competence in a language may vary over time and according to changing circumstances. For example, a child starts to learn a minor language at home or in the childhood. As time goes, he or she learns another language in the school or community and he or she will gradually will lose the minor language, because it is out of use and that person became away from the childhood; the situation where the minor language is used. Leonard Bloomfield (1933). Language. UK: GEORGE ALLEN UNWIN LTD. In the extreme case of foreign language learning, the speaker becomes so proficient as to be indistinguishable from the native speakers round him. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In this case where this perfect foreign language learning is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it results in bilingualism, (the) native-like control of two languages. (P. 55-56). Romaine, S (1995). Bilingualism (2nd ed.). UK: Blackwell Publishers. Proficiency and function are the factors which are related to the terms of categories, scales and dichotomies in defining and describing bilingualism. In one side of the issue of the definition of bilingualism, there would be a definition like Bloomfields definition (1933 p, 55-56) In the extreme case of foreign language learning, the speaker becomes so proficient as to be indistinguishable from the native speakers round him. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In this case where this perfect foreign language learning is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it results in bilingualism, (the) native-like control of two languages. This definition identifies native like control of two languages as being the norm for bilingualism. In the other side, Haugen (1953 p, 7) shows that when a person of any language can produce complete meaningful sentences in another language, he or she would be a bilingual. According to Mackey (1967 p, 555), there are four aspects should be taken into account when defining and describing bilingualism. They are overlapped to each other and cannot be treated separately. These aspects are degree, function, alteration, and interference. The degree of bilingualism indicates the proficiency and competence of language, which is the extent to which the bilingual knows each of the languages. The part of function focuses on the use and practice a bilingual has for the languages. How much each language is used and practiced by the bilingual? Alteration concentrates on the extent to which the bilingual switches between the languages (code switching). And interference is the degree to which a bilingual manages to keep the two languages separate or fused. The four questions are overlapped to each other and they cannot be treated separately. For example, a bilinguals knowledge of a language will to some extent specify the functions to which it is put; and the vice ver sa. The contexts in which bilinguals have the opportunity to use language will affect their competence in it. Josiane, F. Hamers Michel H. Blanc. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism (2nd edition). UK: Cambridge University Press. Hamers Blanc (2000) mention a number of definitions of bilingualism, but they are not satisfied with any one of them because they are one sided as they assume. Moreover, they highlight unidimensionality as being one weakness of bilingualism because when defining it, only one dimension would be taken account, ignoring other sides of bilingualism. For example, a definition of bilingualism may concerns competence, without the other significant dimensions. ( p, 3 23). Hoffmann (1991) mentions the same previous point in the way that the most remarkable and significant feature of bilingualism is the multi-faceted phenomenon of it which is expected to be the point of difficulty when defining bilingualism from one dimension. At first sight, the concept of bilingualism seems to be non-problematical and easy to be defined. However, when moving deep down on the many variant definitions of bilingualism, one can recognise how difficult it is to define a bilingual. According to Websters dictionary (1961), bilingual is defined as having or using two languages especially as spoken with the fluency characteristic of a native speaker; a person using two languages especially habitually and with control like that of a native speaker and bilingualism as the constant oral use of two languages. Many people view bilingualism as the ability of speaking two languages perfectly; like native speakers. This approach comes in one side of bilingualism and it is related to Leonard Bloomfield (1953: 56) who defines bilingualism as the native like control of two languages which concentrates on the dimension of proficiency in language. In contrast, on the other most different side there is a definition of Macnamara (1967a) who defines a bilingual as an individual who acquire a minimal competence in only one of the four skills in a language other than the mother tongue. Between these most two distinctive definitions, there is a collection of other definitions of bilingualism, for example, Titone (1972) defines bilingualism as the individuals capacity to speak a second language while following the concepts and structures of that language rather than paraphrasing his or her mother tongue. The previous three distinctive definitions show the degree of difficulty in providing a concise definition of a bilingual and bilingualism, because those three definitions themselves lack specifity and clarity in the main points on them like native-like competence, minimal proficiency in a second language, and following the concept of structures of the second language. (p, 6-7). Hoffmann, C. (1991). An Introduction to Bilingualism. UK: Longman. An oft-quoted definition is found in one of the early books on modern linguistics, Leonard Bloomfields Language, first published in the USA in 1933. Bloomfield pays special attention to users who become so proficient in the new language that they cannot be distinguished from the native speakers and he considers these users are bilinguals. He relates bilingualism to those individuals who speak a second language with high native level of proficiency. According to Hoffmann (1991), Bloomfield has a clear notion of bilingualism, but there is some contradiction on his definition of bilingualism. For example, if a degree of perfection cannot be defined in bilingualism, so how could Bloomfield talk of perfect foreign language learning? Bloomfield To be removed Opposite of Bloomfield General To begin with

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Tirant lo Blanc :: Essays Papers

Tirant lo Blanc Tirant lo Blanc is considered to be the best novel of its kind. A chivalric romance filled with the usual hunts, battles, banquets, romantic conquests, duels, and knights. Tirant lo Blanc started a flood of chivalric tales after its publication. The stories that followed, however, were full of fantasy, filled with enchantments, dragons, sorcerers and the like. Tirant greatly differed from these books that followed it. Its highly praised for its realistic, down to earth story line, and characters similar to real Catalans in the late 15th century. It is a satirical look at chivalric doings of the time. Another novel of this kind would not follow for another hundred years, when Miguel de Cervantes would write Don Quixote. While Don Quixote has been praised for its literary excellence, Cervantes himself claims that "it's the best book of its kind in the world," and goes so far as to mention that fact in his own satirical comedy. Despite its literary value, the book has remained relatively unknown. This has been attributed to many factors, from controversy over the author(s) to passages that were considered to be racy during the time it was published. It is generally held that Joanot Martorell wrote most, if not all, of Tirant lo Blanc. Martorell was the son of the kings chamberlain in Valencia. He started Tirant in 1460, and the controversy ensues over whether he was able to finish the unpublished work upon his death in 1468. Little is known about Marti Joan de Galba, who claims to have written the last fourth of the novel. He also dies before the book the book is finally published in the 1490s, and the matter is still debated today. The main argument against the idea that de Galba wrote the latter portion of the novel is that there is no substantial difference in either vocabulary and style through out the novel. This implies it is the work of solely one author. Another controversy surrounding the authors of the book deals with the fact that Martorell calls his story a translation, first from English, then to Portuguese, and finally into Catalan. Many problems surround this statement. The first being that no earlier manuscripts or even references to these supposed earlier translations can be found.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Ben Cohen’s “Ben and Jerry’s”

Due to the societal shift in the twentieth century toward material gain and capitalism, there has been an overwhelming emphasis put on monetary accrual and the pursuit of wealth. To generalize, people are no longer satisfied with familial happiness and achieving status through such things as cars and clothes has become the norm. Due to this, the job market has become increasingly more competitive, which in turn has given tremendous power to business. Corporations have all but taken over control of the distribution of assets. Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's writes, â€Å"Corporations have been granted the right to become the major depositories and bestowers of wealth in our society.† Businesses, whether they want to or not, have a tremendous impact on the economic and social status in the world. The underlying problem with this relatively recent shift is that too often is the case that larger corporations neglect to acknowledge the potential danger they pose to the environment and the society as a whole. Therefore, it is the duty of each and every enterprise to take into account the tremendous power it possesses and act in such a way that is not detrimental to society. Unfortunately, as history teaches us, too many businesses take the â€Å"its not my problem† attitude and the result is often times irreversible. Since 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have accepted the fact that indeed companies have the capacity to have a tremendous influence on the economy and ecology, and done everything possible to make theirs a positive one. To run a successful business, several factors must be kept in mind at all times. The business must function efficiently and at the same time produce a quality product. The consumer's interests also must be taken into account, and too often overlooked is the necessity to maintain a satisfied work force, making them feel important and needed. The Ben and Jerry's corporation, but a small two man operation running out of a gas station twenty years ago, has always rendered these qualities vital, no matter what their circumstance was. The two men met in 1963 as seventh graders in a small Long Island gym class. Ben, a native of Brooklyn, New York, attended Colgate University for only a year before dropping out to return to his high school job as a neighborhood ice cream man. He had a brief stint at Skidmore College as well as NYU, and moved to upstate New York before going into business with his partner and long time friend Jerry Greenfield. Jerry was also born in Brooklyn and after high school attended and graduated from Oberlin College. After being rejected form medical school twice and moving to North Carolina, he and Ben decided to make their dream a reality. They decided to move to Vermont, and with a $12,000 investment opened a small homemade ice cream shop in downtown Burlington. When the business began Ben and Jerry sat down and had rather basic goals. Their credo was â€Å"If it's not fun, why do it?† They wanted to enjoy themselves while earning a living, and at the same time give something back to the community. As business began to take off, they needed to set down guidelines in order to achieve all three goals. Ben and Jerry execute what is referred to as a values-led business. â€Å"Values-led business is based on the idea that business has a responsibility to the people and the society that make its existence possible. More all-encompassing and therefore more effective than philanthropy alone, values-led business seeks to maximize its impact by integrating socially beneficial actions into as many of its day-to-day activities as possible*By incorporating concern for the community – local, national, and global * into its strategic and operating plans, the values-led business can make everyday business decisions that actualize the company's social and financial goals at the same time.†(Ben and Jerry's Double-Dip, p.30) Their mission statement, due to the type of company they desired was broken down into three separate parts (p.46): Product Mission: to make, distribute and sell the finest quality product Social Mission: to operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life of the local, national, and international community Economic Mission: to operate the company on a sound fiscal basis of profitable growth This method of business and sense of mission allows Ben and Jerry's to do several things. The business naturally holds profit and success as a priority, but at the same time acknowledges and does its best to help the community and its surroundings. Ben and Jerry's current CEO, Perry Odak, says that he originally â€Å"sought out the company because of its excitement about combining social endeavors with a growing, profitable business.†(p.188) The management in Ben and Jerry's is very people oriented. If run properly, values-led businesses often yield an incredibly motivated workforce. â€Å"If people understand that the work they do produces more than just profits, and they're in alignment with the values of the company, there's no end to what they can contribute.†(p.165) The management at Ben and Jerry's has always strived to keep the employees happy and emote a real sense to the staff that indeed they are important. â€Å"Values-led management aspires to respect employees and seeks to meet their needs as well as the needs of the company.†(p.167) Instead of having top level management be distant and authoritative, the management at Ben and Jerry's is very involved with the employees. Their employees are often surveyed, every eighteen months in fact, on how they feel the company is doing, their thoughts on improving products and management, and how happy they are. Because of this, the workforce at Ben and Jerry's remains quite content, and never feels too distant from top level executives. Management in 1985 implemented what they call a five-to-one salary ratio, which limits the top executive salaries to five times the lowest salary. This idea ensured that as the company prospered, so too did everybody working for the company. Management at Ben and Jerry's has established a list of what they call â€Å"Our Aspirations,† in order to constantly remind themselves not only their goals but what they are in business for. They are fourteen mini-objectives that clearly exhibit to the management what needs to get done and the way in which to do. Briefly, each one(compiled from pp.173-175): To Be Real * actions speak louder than words; be the company that they claim to be To Be the Best * plain and simply, want to be the best ice cream company in the world; if the customers are satisfied with the product, the company will prosper and they'll outperform the competition To Improve Continuously * each time a goal is accomplished, a back check should be done to look for ways of improving upon methods for next time To Learn Continuously * employees constantly should receive training in all areas so their contribution to the company increases To Be Inclusive * people of all backgrounds work for Ben and Jerry's and each one's individuality is embraced and creates a tight knit group To Be Creative * creativity excites customers and naturally helps business To Build Community * no employee of Ben and Jerry's feels alone and everyone on the staff would extend a hand to another employee To Be Open and Trusting * if everyone trusts one another, people feel a lot safer about sharing their opinions and ideas, therefore strengthening the company To Celebrate and to Give Meaningful Recognition * when goals are acomplished, they should be acknowledged; recognition of achievements will only lead to more achievements To Use Consultive Decision Making and Active Listening * people of certain expertise are often employed to help make decisions; leaders of the company also must be take into account employee opinions To Hold Ourselves Accountable * if everyone does their job and takes care of their responsibility, the company will run smoothly To Be Great Communicators * leaders of the company always need to make sure that their staff is well informed of whatever needs to be done To Be Upfront * people need to be directly told what to do and avoiding roundabout communication is vital To Be Profitable by Being Thrifty * when the company invests, they need to be careful about how mow and where they invest. Saving the company money is beneficial to stockholders and employees Rather than hiring outside help for new job openings, Ben and Jerry's hires from within the company, promoting people up through the ranks and delegating more responsibility. In the beginning, when new employees were being hired, management demonstrated the company's goals and methods to the new members, and let them know what their particular responsibilities were to be. In this way people had a clear understanding of the company's direction and what they needed to do in order to be promoted. Unlike many big companies, Ben and Jerry's recognized that the most important asset to their company was its employees, and that is one of the biggest reason that they became so successful (see graph at end). Because of this, Ben and Jerry's offers a wide array of benefits to its employees, realizing the high costs of living in this day and age. Because Ben Cohen and Jery Greenfield believed in themselves and their ideas, their company as become quite successful, accumulating numerous accolades. At the same time, they have not neglected their social duty and have contributed greatly to the society. In 1985, they established the Ben and Jerry's Foundation which is allotted 7.5% of the company's annual pre-tax profits for supporting various community oriented projects. Because of this foundation, they were awarded the Corporate Giving Award form the Council on Economic Priorities in 1988. In '91 held voter registration in their stores and got 1500 more Vermont residents to register. When the Newport Folk festival was in danger due to a lack of a sponsor, Ben and Jerry's took up the reins. They helped to establish a movement to redirect 1% of the U.S. defense budget to fund peace-promoting projects. They received Columbia University's Lawrence A. Wien Prize for corporate Social responsibility. They supported family farmers by printing an 800 number to call on their pint cups. Frankly, the list goes on and on. By sticking to their preset guidelines and objectives, Ben and Jerry's was and still is able to maintain a lucrative business that is great to its employees and beneficial to society.