The Effects of Global Climate Change

The Effects of Global Climate Change The humanity has made significant progress in all spheres of life. It is not an exaggeration to say that during the last century more inventions were made, than during the whole of history. Man flew into space, tamed atomic energy, found a way to cure many diseases that were considered incurable, and every new day is marked with a new breakthrough. However, there is a downside. For a long period of time people didn’t think about the consequences of their exponential development.Vast tracts of forests were cleared for agricultural purposes, thousands of tons of carbon dioxide dissolved in the atmosphere, hundreds of species on animals and plants become extinct every year. The rapid development of humanity renders a bad influence on Earth. One of the examples of these influence’s is climate change. It’s not a secret that a couple of hundreds of years ago the climate on Earth was colder than now. Many scientists warn about what i s called global warming – a process of a constant increase of the annual temperature across the whole planet.For the first time its surge was recorded in the last quarter of the 20th century, and since that time the average temperature had increased by 0,7Â °?. The further one goes from the equator, the more obvious climate changes become. So what are the possible consequences of global warming? According to the recent reports of the United Nations, during the 21st century the average temperature will rise more than 1, 4-1, 8Â °? and will cause Arctic glaciers melt faster. The sea level will increase by 10 cm.It doesn’t seem to possess any danger, but in reality it will become a serious threat for those countries which are located not very high above the sea level. Some specialists predict that till the end of the current century the ocean will rise on the whole a meter. Netherlands, Great Britain, Japan, as well as the islands of Oceania and the Caribbean basin will be at risk. 30-40% of species and ecosystems will become extinct, because their habitat will change much faster than they adapt. If the temperature increases by one degree Celsius dramatic modifications to forests’ composition will occur.Some species have already begun to react to climate changes. For example, migratory birds start to fly away later in autumn and to come back much earlier in spring. Global warming will negatively affect precipitation maps. In arid regions, such as Central Asia, Australia, and Mediterranean, South Africa and so on, situation will become even more complicated due to the reduction of precipitation. At the same time, some regions may suffer from abnormal cyclones and the heavy rains that have become much more frequent. The recent hurricane in North America may be a demonstration of these processes.Such changes will have a bad effect on agriculture. Due to warming, it may improve in Northern Europe, but in Southern Europe, Africa and many regions of Asia high temperatures, droughts, floods and soil erosion will cause an irreparable damage. Specialists predict that yields in Africa and Asia will decrease, and Australia and New Zealand will face a great lack of drinking water. A risk of floods in Europe will increase, and the Eastern coast of the United States will undergo increased numbers of hurricanes and soil erosion.Besides, global warming will create a favorable environment for various diseases, so a dramatic growth of epidemics and pandemics can be expected. Scientists have discovered that Earth warms much faster than it did before, and there is convincing evidence that it is humanity who is responsible for that. At the moment research, which aim is to find solutions for this problem is being conducted. Every country should take action to prevent causing more damage to our planet, because the consequences will be serious for everyone.

Conquering Arayat Essay

Thesis Statement: Conquering the town of Arayat is more than just trekking the mighty â€Å"Bunduk Alaya† but also discovering their fascinating history, savoring their tasty cuisine, celebrating their unique festivities and most of all learning more about their interesting people. I. A number of historians have proposed varied explanations regarding the etymology of the name â€Å"Arayat†. a. Some people believe that Arayat originated from Fernando de Arayat. b. Another historian argues that it came from the Kapampangan word â€Å"Dayatan†. c. A different account states it rooted from â€Å"Alaya† another Kapamangan term. d. A present-day researcher claims it obtained its name from the biblical Mt. Ararat. II. The fusses faced by the present day Arayat rooted from its controversial history. a. The origin of Arayat is still unknown but historical accounts show that it already existed between 1335 and 1380. b. The people of Arayat showed abhorrence to the coming of the Spaniards and other invaders. c. Arayat gained notoriety when it became the hotbed of many rebellious groups after the colonial war. 1. The prominent HUKBALAHAP movement stayed at the town till it faded at early 1950’s. 2. Following the Huks, HMB was established to fight against the US-sponsored Philippine government. 3. The said to be sons of HMB, NPA still continues to reside at the town. III. Arayat’s culture is a unique blend of its history, geography, customs and traditions. a. The Legend of Mt. Arayat is one of the well-known literatures in the town and in Pampanga. b. When it comes to architecture, Arayat exhibits classic and exemplary designs of its illustrious parish church and memorable national park. c. From the trees of Mt. Arayat, the towns boast of their high quality wood competent for global exportation. d. Its unique halo-halo by Kabigting’s is what makes Arayat a cut above the rest when it comes to Kapampangan desserts. e. Arayat’s major celebration is the feast day of its patroness, St. Catherine of Alexandria, every 25th of November. f. 90% of Arayat’s population is dominated by the devotees of the Roman Catholic religion. IV. The town of Arayat is not second-rate when it comes to its tourist attractions. a. The most outstanding landmark of Pampanga stands at the heart of Arayat. b. The Mount Arayat National Park offers a historical yet contemporary vacation experience. c. St. Catherine of Alexandria is the 7th oldest parish in Pampanga. d. The Cong. Dadong Dam was built to supply water to seven towns of Pampanga. V. Arayat is a home to several infamous revolutionary personalities, national government officials and Armed Forces of the Philippines generals. CONQUERING ARAYAT Demographics The town of Arayat lies in the northern tip of Pampanga, and is surrounded on the northwest by Magalang, on the northeast by Cabiao (in Nueva Ecija), on the east by Candaba, on the south by Sta. Ana, and on the west by Mexico. Its total land area is 17,694 hectares with a population of 118,312; less than one fourth is forested. Only 19 kilometers away from San Fernando, the capital town of Pampanga, Arayat is about an hour drive from Manila. The town is the biggest in northern Pampanga, It is composed of 30 barangays/barrios namely: Arenas, Baliti, Batasan, Buensuceso, Camba (Kaledian), Candating, Cupang, Gatiawin, Guemasan, La Paz (Turu), Lacmit, Laquios, Mangga-Cacutud, Mapalad, Matamo, Palinlang, Paralaya, Plazang Luma, Poblacion, San Agustin Norte, San Agustin Sur, San Antonio, San Jose ( Mesulo), San Juan ( Bano), San Mateo, San Nicolas, San Roque (Bitas), Sto. Nino (Tabuan), Suklayin, and Telapayong, not to mention subdivisions that sprout outside the town proper among which are: Fidela, Guemasan, San Nicolas, Aliwalas, Castillo (Bitas), and Leonor Subdivisions. Arayat is generally a plain or a level land, except the areas where Mt. Arayat stands and its vicinities, with a type I climate and two distinct seasons: dry and wet. The rainy or wet season normally starts in May and runs through October, while the dry season is from November through March of the following year. The Origin of the Name â€Å"Arayat† Some researches state that the name â€Å"Arayat† is derived from the name of Spanish encomiendero, Fernando de Arayat, who was first administrator of the town and who most likely came from a village in Spain called Arayat. Eventually another particular historian allegedly claims that it was the natives who coined the original vernacular name â€Å"Dayat† from their word â€Å"dayatan† literally meaning â€Å"irrigated seed bed†. Nonetheless, a particular researcher argues that Arayat was earlier known as â€Å"Alaya† meaning â€Å"east†. Mount Arayat was then called â€Å"Bunduc Alaya† or â€Å"Eastern Mountain†. The same source states that the Spaniards subsequently made up the word â€Å"Arayat† . However, on a different approach, a contemporary researcher proposes that Mount Arayat is the biblical â€Å"Mount Ararat† where Noah’s Ark apparently landed. But the same researcher does not say how the current name evolved; nor does he explain how come there is another Mount Ararat in the Middle East. Pre-Colonial History The accurate date of the founding of Arayat cannot be determined. However, between 1335 and 1380, historical accounts confirm that it was among the few Pampanga towns already existing. It was allegedly founded by either Prince Balagtas, a monarch of the Madjapahit Empire who came to Luzon, or his son Araw (Lord) Malangsic. It was then called â€Å"Bayan ning Pambuit† and situated in the barrio of Panlinlang. The present Poblacion was still a jungle with balugas (aetas) and other pagan tribes as residents. It was a widespread encomienda consisting of the town as it is known now. At that time, it was an extensive encomienda consisting of the town (present Arayat), and parts of Magalang, Sta. Ana, Candaba, San Miguel de Mayumo (in Suclayin) and Cabiao (in Nueva Ecija). It the present, it is cited in the northern part of Pampanga. It is bounded by the towns of Magalang on the northwest, Cabiao on the northeast, Candaba on the east, Sta. Ana on the south and Mexico on the west, with a total area of 17,694 hectares. The town of Arayat is the biggest in Northern Pampanga Colonial History By 1571, Arayat had emerged as one of the prosperous settlements in Pampanga. But by 1590 when the first Augustinian mission was established in the town by Fray Juan de Valderama, its population numbered only 100. This can be explained by the fact that many young men had been conscripted into the military service to help the Spaniards contain rebellions and defend the country against foreign invaders like the Dutch, the British and the Chinese. As early as 1660, there existed in Arayat a Spanish military for which figured well in the local revolts. Truly, Arayateà ±ous shared the Pampango’s reputation for bravery. The town bred such revolutionary personalities as Generals Jose Alejandrino, Mamerto Natividad, Benito Natividad and Ananias Diokno. Arayat was once the hideout of insurrectos. Hacienda Alejandrino in Panlinglang and Arenas (then called Baliti) was in fact attacked and destroyed because the insurrectos were known to be holding out there. Post Colonial History After the last group of invaders (the Japanese) left the province particularly the town of Arayat, it remained a nest to rebellious groups like the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo Laban sa mga Hapon). In the late 1940’s Arayat gained unsavory reputation for being the breeding ground of HUKBALAHAP rebellious movements. At that time, Mount Arayat was often the scene of many military attacks. By early 1950’s the Huk rebellion reached its pinnacle and then diminished and disappeared gradually. This markee the formation of a new revolutionary army the HMB (Hukbong Mapagpalayang Bayan or People’s Liberation Army). HMB directed its fight against the newly established US-sponsored Philippine puppet republic. The thick forests of Mount Arayat and its hard terrain gave these rebellious groups advantages to lure the military away from tracking them. These characteristics of the mountain kept these rebellious groups secured and tenable. During the Marcos regime, a new vigilant group emerged, the NPA (New People’s Army) and even up to this time still growing in terms of numbers of members. At present there are still HMB’s and NPA’s residing in the town of Arayat. People there regard HMB’s as â€Å"matwa† meaning â€Å"older† men and the NPA’s as â€Å"anac† meaning â€Å"younger† men. The reason behind this is that the NPA is believed to be the younger generation of the HMB. It would be usual for people living in Arayat to see these rebels wandering around town. They learned to share their beloved town to these people. According to some of the people there when it comes to dealing with these rebels, â€Å"if you do not bother them, they will not bother you as well†. Literature Legend of Mt. Arayat (Sinukuan) There are various legends about the mystical Maria Sinukuan and the mighty Mt. Arayat. Here is one version popular in the town of Arayat: Long Ago, before the invaders came, the mountain of Arayat was alleged to be inhabited by an enthralled woman who was believed to be the fairy god mother of the townspeople. This lady is popularly known as Mariang Sinukuan. Her naturally curled black hair reaches down to her ankles. Her nose is finely chiseled and her eyes are framed with long, black lashes. Her lips were well-formed, her eyebrows were arched and her skin was flawlessly brown. But Mariang Sinukuan was not only known for her physical beauty. She possessed a kind and charitable heart because she always helped those who were in need. It was said that Mt. Arayat was flourished in all kinds of fruit trees. Aside from the fruit trees, it was said that animals of all kinds once rambled this mountain. The eccentric thing about these fruit trees and animals was that the fruit trees bore unusually big fruits all year round and the animals were owned by no other than Mariang Sinukuan. She used to distribute these fruit trees and animals to the deprived. Poor families often woke up to see fruits and animals for their needs at their doorsteps. They knew it was Mariang Sinukuan who left these foods while they were sleeping. the natives were very thankful to be graced by the enchanting goddess. And to show their appreciation and reverence, they never tried to go to her dwelling place in the mountain. The people considered her abode as a sanctified place. But such was not always the case. There came a time when the inhabitants were no longer satisfied with what the captivated lady left at their doorsteps. They wanted to get more. One time, some young men decided to go up Mt. Arayat. They wanted to get more of Mariang Sinukuan’s fruits and animals. They started for the mountain early at dawn. They reached the base of the mountain at sunrise. There were guavas bigger than their fists that drooped from the trees. Pomegranate branches almost reached to the ground because of the many and big fruits they bore. Ripe mangoes were just within one’s reach. Fowls of every kind were abundant. Pigs, goats and other animals wandered around. The young men were still viewing this marvel of nature when from nowhere came Mariang Sinukuan. They were impressed by her radiance. They could not find any words to say to her. It was Mariang Sinukuan who first spoke to them. She welcomed them and said that they could eat as much as they want but they shouldn’t take anything home without her knowledge. After recovering from their astonishment, the young men began to pick up fruits. They ate and ate until they could not eat anymore. Afterwards, one of the men encouraged the others to pick some fruits and fill the sack that he brought. But the other man said that they shouldn’t do that because the lady already warned them. However, the man insisted on getting some more fruits, he said that they’re plentiful and the lady won’t know the difference. And so the young men started to fill their sacks with as many fruits and animals as they could get hold of. Then they started for home. As they were about to begin their descent they felt their sacks becoming heavier. They didn’t mind this, but they had not gone ten steps farther when they felt that their load was pulling them down. Putting the sacks down, how surprised the young men were to find that the fruits and animals had become big stones. They remembered Mariang Sinukuan’s warning. The young men became horribly terrified. Leaving their sacks behind, they ran as fast as their feet could carry them. But before they reached the base of the mountain, they saw someone blocking their way. It was Mariang Sinukuan who was very mad. Because of the covetousness of the young men, Mariang Sinukuan punished them. With the wave of her wand, she changed the young men into swine. This was not the last time that people tried to get hold of Mariang Sinukuan’s fruits and animals. Again and again they tried to steal them. At last, fed up with the people’s greediness, Mariang Sinukuan stopped leaving food at their doorsteps. She caused the fruit trees and animals in the mountain to fade away. She no longer showed herself to the people for she was dismayed with their materialism. Architecture St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church Found in Arayat, St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church is the seventh oldest Church in Pampanga. This Church was built in the Spanish era in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria. The Church, measuring 70 meters long, 16 meters wide and 12 meters high, is known for its classical architecture. The presbytery, ceiling and the main altar have been recently renovated. The original stone facade has been covered with cement and painted white. Mt. Arayat National Park Situated at the base of the well-known Mount Arayat is the Mount Arayat National Park, a major tourist attraction not only in Pampanga, but whole Luzon. It is noted for its swimming pools, refreshing surroundings and its cool water falling from its waterfalls. This Park was originally a project of Dona Aurora A. Quezon, wife of the late Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth, and has been developed into its present state during the post war era. Arayat Institute Arayat Institute is one of the oldest schools that offers complete general secondary course and is recognized by the government. Together with new Berline High School these two public high schools are subsidized by the government, on the other hand, Mangga-Cacutud and Camba Public High Schools, schools cater mostly from barrio youth. All baranggays have their own elementary school. Agriculture and Woodcraft Arayat croplands cover 7,716.49 hectares or about 60% of the total area. It can be also said that it falls within the category of those with traditional industrial structures as reflected by its lands use, agriculture has the widest area, followed by forest land, swamp and marshed land. Rice and sugarcane are the main staple products of the town, followed by corn, mongo, watermelons, turnips, peanuts, camote and different kinds of vegetables. Fresh fish are abundant in its rivers and swampy areas. The forest land of Mount Arayat is the source of firewood, charcoal and the famous â€Å"Teak† wood used in furniture making. Cuisine It is not only having the most prominent landmark of Pampanga (Mt. Arayat) situated in its lands that the town of Arayat is proud of, it also boasts of having the best halo-halo in the country – Kabigting’s Halo Halo. It is not your usual halo-halo for it has caramel made from carabao’s milk, cream of corn and beans cooked for a day to acquire a sweet taste. So how did this pride of Arayat came to be? Sometime in 1970 gave rise to this famous delicacy when Geraldine Kabigting suggested to his brother Jacinto Kabigting to add an interesting flavor to the established and traditional tropical fruit flavors of halo-halo and so they added the caramel, cream of corn and beans. Susan and Johnny Medina who just reside near the Kabigting’s Residence have tasted the newly discovered exotic flavor of halo-halo. Subsequently days after the first taste-test, the group of Travel Time with Susan visited Kabigting’s Residence to savor and introduce their halo-halo on air. Kabigting’s Halo-halo was made popular through that documentary story from Travel Time. Unexpectedly, foreigners and tourists began to go and dine in the place. Ordinary people from the community, known politicians (Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Lilia Pineda, Dong Gonzales, Monz Laus, etc.) artists (Chesca Garcia, Angel Aquino, etc.) media people (ABS-CBD Crew, Jessica Soho, etc.) and even former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo personally went there to taste their infamous halo-halo. They also serve special pancit palabok. Kabigting’s residence served as the place to order Kabigting’s Halo-halo which is located at Paralaya, Arayat, Pampanga. It has branches also at Robinson’s San Fernando and Marquee Mall. Festivals Arayat is all the luckier in the facade of recent destructive natural calamities such as the 1990 Killer Earthquake and June 1991 Mt. Pinatubo Eruption, it being phenomenally spared of major damages in lives and properties. The town is blessed to have as its Patroness, St. Catherine of Alexandria, in whose affectionate concern and fortification, brings harmony and serenity among the people reign, despite the diffident livelihood of the people and their diverse political and ideological persuasions and viewpoints, not to mention social differences. By her compassionate intervention, Arayat remains to be on the forefront in so far as tranquility and progress are concerned. The feast day of St. Catherine of Alexandria is celebrated every 25th of November. In line with this, 25 other fiestas in small baranggays of Arayat are celebrated in honor of Santa Catalina (St. Catherine of Alexandria). Religion As with the rest of the town of Pampanga, Roman Catholic remains the dominant religion in Arayat, numbering for more than 90% of the entire population. Iglesia ni Cristo is second followed by the Aglipayan Church, Seventh Day Adventist, Rizalists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Methodist. The people of Arayat, although pre-occupied with different problems, are not negligent in their religious obligations. The Catholics are keeping pace with the demand for more religious facilities and services. The town’s old catholic church, St. Catherine Parish, which was built in the Spanish era, was the object of the recent major renovations through the collective efforts of mandated organizations. And due to demands of religious services to barangay northwest of the Pampanga River and to bring such services more accessible to people, the St, Isidore Parish (Camba) was established by the Archdiocese of San Fernando. The religion that catches our attention the most is the Rizalist. Like Mt. Banahaw, Arayat too has a mystical side for it is in her foothills that Rizalist gathers every December to honor the national hero in quiet ceremonies. The cult was brought about by Mariang Sinukuan, the female incarnation of Rizal. This religion negates the concept that Rizal is the reincarnation of Christ because they believe that Christ does not exist. For them, Rizal is God himself, the Alpha and the Omega, the Kristong Kayumanggi and the savior of the Philippines. There may be many different names but He is only one. Famous Sites MT. ARAYAT The most popular landmark of not only the town of Arayat but as well as the whole province of Pampanga is the majestic Arayat Mountain or also known as â€Å"Bunduk Alaya†. Mount Arayat is an extinct volcano on Luzon Island, Philippines, rising to a height of 1,026 m (3,366 ft) ASL. There is no recorded eruption of the volcano, and its last activity probably dates to the Holocene era. One academic report indicates activity within the last 2000 years, but it is believed that this refers to the volcano’s geothermal activity. Mount Arayat is equally recognized as â€Å"Mount Sinukuan†, entitled after the renowned Goddess and charmed lady, Maria Sinukuan. It has three peaks, the two highest of which the Northern Peak with 1086 meters altitude and the Southern Peak with 984 meters height. Fluttering at the foot of Mt. Arayat is the well-known Pampanga River. One does not have to mount its summit to see its natural beauty, for it is centrally located in the region, so that one will without doubt, take pleasure in its magnificence as he travel along national highways of Central Luzon. MOUNT ARAYAT NATIONAL PARK Located at the base of the highly recognized Mount Arayat is the Mount Arayat National Park, a primary tourist attraction not only in Pampanga, but the whole Luzon. It is noted for its swimming pools, natural, revitalizing and lush surroundings and its cool water cascading from its waterfalls. This park initially a project of Doà ±a Aurora A. Quezon, wife of the late Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth, has been refurbished into its present state during the post war era after it has been shattered in the course of the World War II. It was established on June 27, 1933 to save and preserve the flora and fauna blossoming therein. The 3,564 feet high mountain at Baà ±o, Arayat is an perfect spot for outdoor activities with its picturesque vicinity under cool shades of fertile green trees, mountain wind, natural falls and two standard sized-swimming pools, recreational halls and picnic huts. The former President Quezon and his wife fell in love with the place when they visited their medical officer, Dr. Egmidio Cruz, a native of Arayat. He really liked the cool breeze of the serene and calm town. He immediately bought farms which later named Caledian & Suclayin, after his properties in his native Tayabas which bore the same names. During the summer he brought other government officials and foreign visitors to Arayat. Eventually he had several improvements done in the town. He was responsible for the concreting of roads, building of a bridge linking Arayat and Cabiao, as well as the development of recreational facilities at the base of Mount Arayat, with the construction of a swimming pool, dressing headquarters and a nursery. The project was discontinued when the World War II broke out, but resumed afterwards under the supervision of local officials and civil-spirited citizens. It now bears the name Mount Arayat National Park. ST. CATHERINE PARISH CHURCH The people of Arayat, although preoccupied with economic difficulties are not negligent in their religious obligations. The Catholics are keeping pace with the demand for more religious facilities and services. The town old Catholic church, St. Catherine Parish, which was built in the Spanish era, was the object of the recent major renovations vis-à  -vis the church proper, the convent and the church patio, through the collective efforts of mandated organizations. The church was built in honor of the Patroness of the town, St. Catherine of Alexandria who brings tender concern and safety and preserves serenity and tranquility among the people of Arayat, despite wide-ranging political and ideological points of view and beliefs, not to mention social differences. By her compassionate intervention, Arayat continues to be on the forefront in so far as harmony and advancement are concerned. Santa Catalina de Alexandria (St. Catherine of Alexandria) is the 7th oldest parish in Pampanga built in 1590. CONG. DADONG DAM The P3.4-billion Cong. Dadong Dam, also known as DELTA to the natives was designed to irrigate 10,270 hectares of farms in seven eastern towns of Pampanga. Recently, there are controversies that emerged regarding the discontinued use of the well-recognized dam. FAMOUS PEOPLE Like other towns in Pampanga, Arayat has bred some prominent and outstanding national figures from the Spanish era to the present. Noteworthy to mention are: Generals Jose Alejandrino, who is a contemporary of Jose Rizal, Mamerto Natividad, his brother Banito, Ananias Diokno, and Dr. Egmidio Cruz, the medical officer of foremer President Manuel Quezon and his wife Former executive secretary and Ambassador Amelito R. Mutuc and Press Secretary Leoncio R. Parungao, both of the Macapagal administration, also came from Arayat. Not to mention military figures that made their marks in the high echelon of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, namely: Commodore Lodogovildo L. Gantioqui of the Philippine Nave, Col. (Ret.) Vicente A. Pascual, former Deputy Judge Advocate General, Major General Rene R. Cruz, former RaCom V. Commander and PC-INP Deputy Commander for Administration. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Arayat Map, JPG, http://www.batch2006.com/visit_porac.htm. [ 3 ]. Holy Angel Univeristy Center for Kapampangan Studies, History of Arayat (Angeles City, Pampanga, n.d.), p. 1. [ 4 ]. Den Mar, â€Å"Arayat – Our Ancestral Home,† Arayat,http://arayat2012.tripod. com/ index2.htm (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 5 ]. Holy Angel Univeristy Center for Kapampangan Studies, loc.cit. [ 6 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 7 ]. Holy Angel University Center for Kapampangan Studies, loc.cit. [ 8 ]. Ibid. [ 9 ]. Ibid., p.2. [ 10 ]. Michael Raymon Pangilinan, â€Å"Arayat,† Kapampangan Online, http://kapampangan-online.com/arayat (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 11 ]. Dugdale Pointon, â€Å"Insurgency in the Philippines,† Insurgency in the Philippines, http:// www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_philippines.html (accessed Decmeber 30, 2010). [ 12 ]. Mariang Sinukuan, GIF, http://arayat2012.tripod.com/maria.htm. [ 13 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 14 ]. Ibid. [ 15 ]. Holy Angel Univeristy Center for Kapampangan Studies, loc.cit. [ 16 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 17 ]. Ibid. [ 18 ]. Teak, JPG, http://www.indonesiafurniture.co.id/About/index.html. [ 19 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 20 ]. Kabigting, JPG, http://foodxpress.wordpress.com/. [ 21 ]. Pampanga Directory, â€Å"Pride of Pampanga†, http://pampanga directory.net/the-pride-of-arayat/ (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 22 ]. Saint Catherine of Alexandria, JPG, http://www.flickr.com/photos/58989268@ N00 /favorites/page36/. [ 23 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 24 ]. Rizalistas, JPG, http://www.mnnetherlands.com/dir/_page/100298/. [ 25 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 26 ]. Alex Castro, â€Å"Mountain of Myths†, Indung Kapampangan, http://kapampangan.word press.com/category/mount-arayat (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 27 ]. Dennis Villegas, â€Å"The Second Coming of Rizal†, Philippine Online Chronicles, http://www.thepoc.net/thepoc-features/buhay-pinoy/buhay-pinoy-features/8307-the-living-god-rizal-from-rizalistas-eyes.html (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 28 ]. Mount Arayat, JPG, http://www.lakbaypilipinas.com/travel_pampanga.html. [ 29 ]. WikiMapia, â€Å"Mount Arayat,† http://wikimapia.org/842045/Mount-Arayat (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 30 ]. Mount Arayat National Park, JPG, http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines /Pampanga/blog-7999.html. [ 31 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 32 ]. Jheng Arceo, â€Å"Things to do and see: Natural Parks and View Sites,† Jheng’s Blog, http: //jhengarceo .spaces.live.com/(accessed Demcember 30, 2010). [ 33 ]. Holy Angel University Center for Kapampangan Studies, loc.cit. [ 34 ]. Saint Catherine of Alexandria, JPG, http://www.andropampanga.com/churches /arayat_church.htm. [ 35 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit. [ 36 ]. Cong. Dadong Dam, JPG, http://www.flickr.com/photos/heraldicwhisper/26178 66344/#/. [ 37 ]. Tonette Orejas, â€Å"Pampanga dam with abundant water underused,† Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 8, 2007, http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id= 20070808-81413 (accessed December 30, 2010). [ 38 ]. Holy Angel University Center for Kapampangan Studies, loc.cit. [ 39 ]. General Jose Alejandrino, JPG, http://jinkysjourney.wordpress.com/. [ 40 ]. Den Mar, loc.cit.

Mckinsey 7's internal analysis of KONE Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mckinsey 7's internal analysis of KONE - Article Example KONE Corporation has an articulate organizational structure designed to ensure that the company performs well (Gandhi, Selladurai & Santhi, 2006, p. 41). The organization has a two-tier structure, representing two business lines: New Equipment Business and Service Business. The organization further divides its structure into five regions in which it has a presence: Central and North Europe, Greater China, Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Western and Southern Europe. Its president, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, heads the entire organization, and enjoys the assistance of different managers heading the departments of Customer Experience, Finance, Human Resource, Marketing and Communications, Safety Quality and Installation, Legal Affairs and Strategic Alliances (KONE in brief, n.d, n.p). KONE Corporation has invested in the latest technology for purposes of manufacturing its products and in delivering its services since technological advancements make operational processes more efficient (Hanafizadeh & Ravasan, 2011, p 51). In addition, it has adopted the use of technology to ensure that administrative services at the organization are effective. KONE, being a global leader in the escalator and elevator industry, ensures that it updates its systems so that the customer has the best experience when using its products. The organization rolled out the People Flow experience which ensures that people using KONE products are able to shop smoothly, comfortably, safely and without delays caused by waiting in queues for space (KONE in brief, n.d, n.p). The values shared at KONE are simple to understand and follow (KONE.com, 2014, n.p). The first one is Customer Delight. This entails ensuring that the customer receives the best services and working to exceed the expectations of the customers. KONE stays with their customers throughout its product’s life cycle to assist whenever the need to do so

Mystery Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mystery Story - Essay Example "Mother, this house has a market value of $80,000. Chad is offering you over 12 times that much. You can easily find a better place to live with less upkeep and a dishwasher." Bud had sat silent for most of the evening since Chad had arrived. Chad had come to talk, but Bud needed to be heard. "Mother this is a chance of a lifetime. Mr. Lewis says that they are ready to cancel the project if you don't move soon You will be left to battle with the neighbors that are angry at you for holding out." Bud Everly apologized to Chad Lewis and broke out the bottle of Cognac that Chad had offered as a gift upon his arrival earlier. Chad Lewis spoke first, "I thought you said you could convince your mother to sell. Bud, you're letting me down and you're letting yourself down. We had an arrangement and your mother can't get in the way of that." As the sun came up the next morning the weather was as crisp as apple cider and hot as a Roman spa. Detective Sonny Broshears had gotten the call shortly after 10 AM. The dispatcher had simply said that old lady Everly had died. Fell down the stairs. The TV repairman found her when he arrived to fix the satellite system. Paramedics were already on the scene. Though he was vaguely familiar with the isolated house on the outskirts of town, he had never met the widow. Sonny brushed the bagel crumbs from his jacket as he drove down the long lane. He mentally noted that the house was tidy and compact with a well-manicured lawn as green as the love of money. The summer heat had erased all traces of last night's storm and as he meandered the gravel drive Sonny pulled in behind the ambulance and walked toward the house. A paramedic was waiting in the yard and Sonny asked, without introduction, "Has another officer been on the scene" "No, the Examiner is on his way but your the first cop to show," the EMT droned. Sonny studied the drive and thought out loud, "The whole area is wet. What was she doing Watering the lawn" The paramedic offered, "No, they've probably got sprinklers. Probably automatic. They were off when we got here at about 10 O'clock." "Well, who was parked in that spot there that's still dry It's about the size of a police cruiser. Are you sure nobody has left" Sonny asked. "You're it, the one and only." The paramedic seemed disinterested and Sonny went inside. He met a second emergency worker at the top of the stairs. The paramedic informed Sonny that the body was still at the bottom of the stairs and it looked like she had taken a pretty nasty tumble. She was dead before they had even arrived. Sonny glanced at the morning paper, still unread, lying on the kitchen counter. "I'm Detective Broshears, in charge of the investigation. Why don't you guys just go outside and wait for the Examiner. In the meantime, don't touch anything." The widow Everly's crumpled body lay in an unnatural heap at the foot of the stairs. Sonny studied the

Managing Diversity in Hotels in Lebanon Research Paper

Managing Diversity in Hotels in Lebanon - Research Paper Example Diversity in the workplaces has been beneficial because the diverse groups possess more tools, heuristics, perspectives, insights and knowledge when it comes to problem solving than homogeneous groups. The owners of these hotels also have different nationalities and possess diverse cultural backgrounds, therefore, integrate diverse people into the workforce. As diversity increases in the hotel industry, managers have seen an increasing number of matters concerning the management of diverse workplaces. This has prompted them to adopt strategies and methods that will help them in managing diversity (Groschl 225). This paper is concerned with the strategies, aspects and enhancements that are being utilized in managing diversity in the hotel industry of Lebanon. Diversity can be explained as the varying individual differences that organizations are faced with ranging from the visible differences such as age, sex, and ethnicity to the invisible differences such as social class, sexual orientation, culture, religion, educational background, skills, personality, and experience. Diversity management involves the handling and comprehension of these individual differences that the employees and the clients possess in an effort to achieve the desired goals of the hotel industry. Diversity management not only recognizes that every individual is unique and has a particular vital role in the organization but also includes the achievement of the organization’s goals as a tool to foster the advancement of the individual (Heres and Benschop 437). In simpler terms, it involves proper management of diverse human resources to ensure that the best outcomes for the business are realized. Lebanon for a long time has valued its tourism industry immensely as it provides a sizeable source of revenue to the country’s economy. Cultural tourism has always been a part of Lebanon’s broad tourism industry with many Europeans finding their way into the culturally diverse country. The hotels feature diverse workforces like their diverse customer base. In the advertisements the hotels showcase mountain ski resorts, discos, and well preserved churches among other features that attract tourists from different places in the world. They offer international cuisines and a wide variety of beverages to the customers’ preferences. The hotels are also strategically located near bars, restaurants, pubs and even churches such as the Maronite Catholic Cathedral, which are amenities exclusively meant to serve the tourists since Lebanon’s population is largely composed of Muslims (Beirut Hotel 2013). Managing cultural diversity is important for the line managers, expatriate managers and the Human Resource professionals in order to create effective programs that will help the hotel meet its goals. They must possess relevant information on the different cultures and ethnicities that will help provide a base on the activities that should be done to increase the efficiency of the diverse workforce. It is important for the managers to attend trainings and workshops to assist in managing the diverse workforce. Many hotel managers are required to take such trainings in order to effectively manage diverse workforces. Take the example of The Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Beirut. This hotel recruits employees from across the globe and receives a diverse customer base. In order to manage and serve the employees and the customers, the managers have undergone training on how to manage a culturally diverse hotel. In order to successfully manage a diverse workforce, some strategies such as adopting recruitment and training programs, and corporate diversity programs can be used.

Idea of Landscape and American Dreams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Idea of Landscape and American Dreams - Essay Example Since Adams’ used the term, it evolved to be part of Americans’ life. It connotes the Americans’ desire for equality2, independence and togetherness. They envisioned a lifestyle that would be affordable to Americans, enhance unity and freedom of expression. Americans experienced other challenges apart from the great depressions. The great migration from south to north was a serious challenge to Americans. Several other authors such as Isabel Wilkerson envisioned the American dream in their works. Wilkerson’s the warmth of other suns is an account of the Great Migration in America. It reveals the historic development in America that transformed the American society is a tremendous manner. The Great Migration was an exodus of nearly six million people in America. Wilkerson’s provides an analysis of the migration from 1915 to 1970. The story provides an analysis of the trips made by Americans during the Great Migration. Black Americans migrated from th e south to the north. Their relocation and migration had great impacts on the North. The migration involved the abandonment of the old confederacy states in beginning of 1915. Black Americans were poor and with had low levels of education. In the book, Wilkerson provides an account of three blacks immigrants from the south. Wilkerson provides a background of the immigration story as a progressive occurrence. Ida Mae, a central character in the book, had several challenges in life with her husband George. George had meager earnings and lived with Mae and her three children. George solely depended on earnings from the feudal southern agriculture. This is a depiction of the American dream of the southern blacks hoping for proper employment. Employment in the feudal southern agriculture had insignificant earnings. Mr. Edd, George’s employer, did not provide good employment terms like other southern white masters. Underpayment for the works of the employees was a vital characteris tic of the southern white masters. This is a depiction of the American dream of proper and appropriate employment conditions. George lacked basic education to advocate for his employment rights. The American dream is to elevate the education level of all to enhance empowerment. The American dream ideology envisions a society that embraces unity and inclusiveness. It envisions a society that is free from discrimination. The society that Americans deserve and hopes to live in is free from exploitation of individuals based on class or race. All these, however, are evident in Wilkerson’s book. In 1937, George’s cousin underwent torture by a white posse. The white posse erroneously suspected Mr. Edd’s cousin for stealing turkeys. The inhuman act is a sign of discrimination based on class. Southern whites had evident discrimination against African Americans, based on class and race. Wilkerson’s masterpiece work documenting the migration of black Americans provi des a true picture of their plight. Critics point at the plight of the blacks during the decade-long migration of the blacks as a depiction of a failed society. They show the extent to which the society neglected part of the population. Whites regarded blacks as poor and illiterate. Isolation among the society members was real and evident in diverse forms. Joblessness among the black Americans and dependency on the white plantation owners from the southern was a sign of unfulfilled dreams. As connoted by the

Week two questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week two questions - Assignment Example In the process of considering what to put into market, besides having business growth in mind it is also very important to establish the suitability of the product to the customer. In that line, the organization might be forced to constantly seek the opportunity to introduce new products and new procedures to invade new markets and also to create new organizational forms. Establishing good ideas from bad ideas is one major factor in establishing a market niche. Being able to relate what the customer expectations are in regard to a particular product especially the final product quality whether high or low does not depend on the price elasticity of demand. Rather, it associated more with the specific needs that the particular product is meant to satisfy. This is a concept that is proposed to understand a pattern among successful advertising companies. It states that campaigns made unique propositions to the customer and this convinces producers to switch brands. In other words, it means any aspect of an object that differentiates it from other similar objects. Example of a product with an excellent unique selling proposition is the Bata shoes from Bata Company. Purchasing a pair from their stores definitely leaves a customer satisfied. They have a convenient and customer friendly online store for which they sell shoes and other accessories. They have excellent services since they offer free shipping and free return shipping for the purchased shoes that customers don’t want. This sometimes works in favor of Bata Company when the customers keep the purchased pairs of shoes. But in the case when the customers refuse to take the pairs of shoes and opt to ship them back, it cuts into the margin of the company and this lowers the net profits. Besides all these, Bata is known as the convenient, customer friendly, and most trusted way to purchase shoes online. This has made

Cars Pollution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cars Pollution - Research Paper Example In the year 1991, an incident in California, drew attention of a major section of shoppers as well as people associated with Food and Liquor chain in northern California (Rajan, 1996, p. 3). It might have raised the eye-brows of many shoppers who confronted the situation where they would have to choose paper over plastic bags at the check-out line (Rajan, 1996, p.3). ‘â€Å"Automobile pollution is a disease,† cried the banner on one side of the bags and, on the other, â€Å"Cure your car!†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Rajan, 1996, p.3) This message is supposed to spread awareness and warning message to the passersby such that people think before using their vehicles and consider other means of travel when use of cars can be avoided. Despite all caution messages, people’s daily lives seem to be unfulfilled without the use of car. Speaking of the automobile use in a continent like North America, it has been seen that the use of automobiles have reached a remarkable stage. Not on ly do regular office goers and other busy people use cars, but also that section of the society which comprises the young adults contribute to the number of people using cars on a daily basis. Irrespective of the fact that the increase in the use of cars which is taking the shape of something lethal in North America, people are getting obsessed with the use of cars and almost cannot live without one. According to Jeff Gearhart, â€Å"Automobiles are responsible for a majority of lead pollution in North America, or approximately 16 pounds of lead per vehicle over its lifetime† (Gearhart, Griffith and Mills, 2003). The level of lead present in cars is important to consider because it contributes to health and behavioral problems in children and adults. Paradoxically speaking, the use of cars is directly proportional to the percentage of pollutants entering the atmosphere. As a consequence, a major section of the population is also consuming harmful gases like nitrogen oxide, su lphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and hydrogen oxides as well, which may even result in permanent damage of the lungs and the respiratory system. The question is very likely to arise as to why is it that cars form one of the principal sources of air pollution. The simplest answer might be that cars are always run by fuels like petrol, diesel, gasoline which play the role behind brining in deadly air pollutants. Choosing something like green vehicles which are designed in a way that burn less gas, and also are able to use alternative fuels thereby avoiding gas, and buying hybrid cars (example: Toyota Prius) which although run on gas yet has an electric motor operated by a battery which enables the engine to stop when the car comes to a halt thereby emitting zero amount of harmful gas, might be an excellent way to prevent pollution (Welsbacher, Anne, 2009, p. 13 and 14). Again, â€Å"†¦in bumper-to-bumper traffic, a driver breathes the not-yet-dispersed carbon monoxide, hydro carbons, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, lead and other toxics emitted by the car in front.† (Fermi, 1969, p.35) However, cars that are smaller in size produce less amount of pollution than cars that are bigger, as the amount of gasoline burnt by small cars is less and eventually produce less pollution reminds of another interesting fact which is, cars that move faster cause less pollution as compared to the slower moving ones (Fermi,

Discourse on the Method by Rene Descartes Essay Example for Free

Discourse on the Method by Rene Descartes Essay Discourse on the Method is Descartes attempt to explain his method of reasoning through even the most difficult of problems. He illustrates the development of this method through brief autobiographical sketches interspersed with philosophical arguments. Part 1 contains various considerations concerning the sciences. First, all people possess good sense, the ability to distinguish truth from fiction. Therefore, it is not a lack of ability that obstructs people but their failure to follow the correct path of thought. The use of a method can elevate an average mind above the rest, and Descartes considered himself a typical thinker improved by the use of his method. Descartes benefited from a superior education, but he believed that book learning also clouded his mind. After leaving school, he set off traveling to learn from the great book of the world with an unclouded mind. He comes to the conclusion that all people have a natural light that can be obscured by education and that it is as important to study oneself as it is to study the world. In part 2, Descartes describes his revelation in the stove-heated room. Contemplating various subjects, he hits on the idea that the works of individuals are superior to those conceived by committee because an individuals work follows one plan, with all elements working toward the same end. He considers that the science he learned as a boy is likely flawed because it consists of the ideas of many different men from various eras. Keeping in mind what he has learned of logic, geometry, and algebra, he sets down the following rules: (1) to never believe anything unless he can prove it himself; (2) to reduce every problem to its simplest parts; (3) to always be orderly in his thoughts and proceed from the simplest part to the most difficult; and (4) to always, when solving a problem, create a long chain of reasoning and leave nothing out. He immediately finds this method effective in solving problems that he had found too difficult before. Still fearing that his own misconceptions might be getting in the way of pure reason, he decides to systematically eliminate all his wrong opinions and use his new method exclusively. In part 3, Descartes puts forth a provisional moral code to live by while  rethinking his views: (1) to obey the rules and customs of his country and his religion and never take an extreme opinion; (2) to be decisive and stick with his decisions, even if some doubts linger; (3) to try to change himself, not the world; and (4) to examine all the professions in the world and try to figure out what the best one is. Not surprising, Descartes determines that reasoning and searching for the truth is, if not the highest calling, at least extremely useful. For many years after his revelation, Descartes traveled widely and gained a reputation for wisdom, then retired to examine his thoughts in solitude. In part 4, Descartes offers proofs of the existence of the soul and of God. Contemplating the nature of dreams and the unreliability of the senses, he becomes aware of his own process of thinking and realizes it is proof of his existence: I think, therefore I exist (Cogito ergo sum). He also concludes that the soul is separate from the body based on the unreliability of the senses as compared with pure reason. His own doubts lead him to believe that he is imperfect, yet his ability to conceive of perfection indicates that something perfect must exist outside of himnamely, God. He reasons that all good things in the world must stem from God, as must all clear and distinct thoughts. Part 5 moves from discussion of a theory of light to theories about human anatomy. Descartes considers the fact that animals have many of the same organs as humans yet lack powers of speech or reason. He takes this difference to be evidence of humankinds rational soul. He considers the mysterious connection of the soul to the body and concludes that the soul must have a life outside the body. Therefore it must not die when the body dies. Because he cannot conceive of a way that the soul could perish or be killed, he is forced to conclude that the soul is immortal. In part 6, Descartes cautiously touches on possible conflicts with the church over his ideas about physical science. Finally, he implores his readers to read carefully, apologizes for writing in French rather than Latin, and vows to shun fame and fortune in the name of pursuing truth and knowledge.

Consider It Cured Essay Example for Free

Consider It Cured Essay Our caned, very anti-social doctor is in the house. He is not interested in simple medical cases. He loves to solve medical cases that are highly mysterious. He is not a people person. His talented, young medical staffs; his oncologist best friend; the hospital administrator; and even his patients do not escape our doctor’s â€Å"rudeness. † In spite of his not â€Å"very good behavior,† our doctor’s capability to treat mysterious medical cases prove to be indispensable. His expertise is highly respected by his colleagues. That even though our doctor is treating them (medical staffs, oncologist best friend, hospital administrator, and patients) â€Å"harshly,† they could not thank him enough for his great medical ideas. You know who I’m talking about. He is the famous Dr. Gregory House of the TV series Dr. House M. D. The â€Å"success† of the series is not only attributed to Dr. House but to everyone in the house. This medical drama is just one of the many medical dramas that are taking the limelight. These medical dramas expose us to what is happening inside hospital institutions. Or let me be more specific, these medical dramas more or less expose us to different hospital scenarios. Have you been hospitalized? If not, have you been in a hospital? Have you seen real â€Å"actions† in hospitals? Have you seen the commotions of the doctors, nurses, and other medical staffs? Or your ideas on hospital scenarios are based only on medical television dramas? Are these medical dramas happen in real life? Are all mysterious medical cases always solved? Is it true that most patients of mysterious medical cases always survived? What are the real scores in hospitals? What is the real situation in hospitals with actual patients, in hospitals not seen in the limelight? I had been in a hospital several times, visiting a sick member of my family. To be honest, I have never seen an actual breathtaking scenario during those visits. This is good news though. Remember Rescue 911? I used to watch this show because it’s informative. I learned some medical tips. I was able to see actual footages of rescue operations and first aid application. Rescue 911 was able to show the actual procedures on saving patients in cases of emergencies. No doubt, Dr. House is a â€Å"good† doctor in the series. Good† doctor because he has helped a lot of patients. Are all real-life doctors as good as Dr. House? Are all real-life doctors able to treat most of their patients? Do you think medical dramas have changed the image of real-life doctors? Are these changes advantageous or disadvantageous to real-life doctors? How have medical dramas influenced real-life medical cases? More often than not, viewers of medical dramas treat these as real events and situations. These medical dramas affect the way people think of medical cases. Another fact, these medical dramas have changed the image of real-life doctors and nurses. Some might find Dr. House’s qualities to real-life doctors. Others might think that all medical cases are treatable and that most patients can survive any life-threatening situations. Because doctors and nurses in medical dramas are really good (I’m not saying that real-life doctors are not good), some real-life patients expect that nothing is impossible to our real-life doctors. Too much expectation could fail them. Because in real-life, not all diseases are treatable and not all patients can survive. Again, I’m not saying that our real-life doctors are no good. There are many patients too that are treated and survive, and we can credit these successful medical cases in our real-life medical experts. Let me just remind you that the medical dramas we watch are fictional, meaning there is a deviation from the actual situation. These medical dramas are products of very creative and imaginative minds. Thus, these medical dramas are designed to entertain us, not to change the way we think about our real-life doctors. Aside from the entertainment we get in watching a medical drama, the end of each episode often gives us a relief because, our Dr. House did it again. He made the patient, and his or her family, happy. The happy endings make the viewers happy also. Medical dramas could be informative, but we should not get carried away. Best to consult real-life doctors than our medical dramas’ doctors. Here is another should be avoided situation. Medical dramas might influence some patients to rely on the medical dramas’ diagnosis on certain diseases. Again, this is a big NO, NO. Should we find ourselves sick, better visit our doctor and have him/her examine you. Our real-life doctors are the ones authorized to give diagnosis and to give the prescribed medication. Though medical dramas are products of fiction, they are not totally wrong. Directors of these medical dramas consult the expertise of medical practitioners to make the episodes more realistic. Since the lead actors and actresses are not really medical practitioners, to whom are we going to put our confidence if our health condition is at risk? Real-life doctors have undergone lots and lots of training before they could earn their first patient. Medicine is not the normal four-year college course. Sick persons entrust their lives to real-life doctors. A sick person who is admitted in hospitals is hoping that doctors could ease his or her pain, that doctors could cure his or her illness, that doctors could add more years to his or her lives. A doctor has great responsibilities to his or her patients. The experiences of real-life doctors are countless. Each experience has taught them how to become effective and efficient doctors. Survival of the fittest could very much explain how a doctor earned his or her title. Many say that to become a doctor, one has to be very brilliant and very knowledgeable. The truth is, brilliance and knowledge are not enough. Aspiring doctors need a lot of courage, patience, and a very healthy body to withstand pressure and long hours of study. Compare the long hours of medical trainings or real-life doctors to our medical dramas’ â€Å"doctors. † We all know that good actors perform and act well. Good actors should portray their roles effectively for the success of the show. We can prove the effectiveness of an actor’s portrayal when the audience believe and trust him. Same is true for the actors-playing doctors in medical dramas. In fact, they are very good actors. I have no doubt for that. Why? Because some viewers believe in them. Because their portrayal is good, some viewers think of medical dramas as fiction. How long are these actors trained to become â€Å"good† doctors in their medical dramas? Are these long hours of training justifiable enough to trust their diagnosis? With the long years of medical trainings, how come that there are still mortality? How come real-life doctors could not cure all their patients? Recall that Dr. House loves to handle mysterious medical cases. In the event of these mysterious medical cases, not all doctors are successful in finding the correct diagnosis. Like in medical dramas, real-life doctors are also doing their best to save their patients. Like in medical dramas, real-life doctors are also frustrated when their patients die. Like in medical dramas, real-life doctors share with their patients’ happiness after a successful operations or treatments. The day to day events in most city hospitals are not boring. Real-life doctors and nurses are very busy. They could be handling two or more medical cases at the same time. Real-life doctors treat real-life patients. Real-life doctors encounter real-life illnesses. Real-life doctors are always on the move. Since they are in the real-world, they are portraying the role of real-life doctors. The real-life doctors are not the cast of a fiction medical drama. With real-life doctors, we are talking about real or non-fiction medical dramas. These medical dramas are the real ones––the stories of patients who survived and those who do not; and the stories of doctors who continuously serve the needs of sick people. Medical dramas on television have affected the viewers’ point of view in terms of medical issues. This is true to some viewers. There are still viewers who know the difference between fiction and non-fiction; viewers who know what to believe; and viewers who live on reality. But we should bear in mind that when in comes to one’s health, the best person to consult to are medical practitioners. Also bear in mind that fiction can never become non-fiction. Medical dramas can never be applied to real-life situations. There is a big difference between those medical dramas and the real-life situations in hospital. There are no points for comparison because giving entertainment (like what medical dramas do) is totally different from giving treatment and taking good care of humanity’s health (like what doctors do). The main goal of medical dramas, like any other television shows, is to entertain. If they want to educate the viewers, that is another story. But still, we have to choose who to believe. Remember, life is at stake here. We are not doctors to take a risk. Real-life doctors know best.

Disadvantages Of Arv Treatment Health And Social Care Essay

Disadvantages Of Arv Treatment Health And Social Care Essay Herbs have been used extensively in hopes of improving immune response and reducing symptoms. No known herbal remedy has been shown to cure AIDS or even reduce chances of AIDS-related infections. Still, some herbs can be worth trying if used safely and in consultation with a qualified practitioner who not only understands herbs but also has experience treating AIDS and HIV infection. Immunity-boosting herbs (such as Astragalus, Echinacea, and Ginkgo) may help revive an ailing immune system, and certain herbs (such as Garlic) may help battle bacteria and viruses. Deglycyrrhizinated licorice can soothe the mouth and throat ulcers that often accompany full-blown AIDS. Unfortunately, there is no known scientific explanation yet, for how herbs have these powers in treating AIDS and the only information available about how useful herbal treatments and remedies can be, is based on the knowledge gained from people living with HIV/AIDS. This means that not all herbs and remedies have the same effect on all people. Some communities have their own knowledge of health and nutrition, based on local traditions and culture. This may complicate the administration of herbal remedies from region to region, as the fundamental factor is now depending whether the patient is willing to cross cultures in order to obtain treatment. In some extreme cases, any external medical recommendations that a patient may receive is compared with their cultural practices and the recommendations of their traditional healers. Patients will only take action if the recommendations they receive appear to make sense and provide some benefit. Ironically, some traditional beliefs and food practices may not be useful at all, judging that a herb like Garlic root should work whether the patient is of Chinese or African descent. Patients with HIV/AIDS often become frustrated with management of the disease and are willing to try anything in the hope of staying healthy and living longer. One of the greatest disadvantages is that HIV/AIDS is not a traditional illness and so far, there is no hard evidence to believe that traditional medicines or herbal remedies can treat HIV and cure AIDS. However, certain herbal medicines may help to treat many of the symptoms of opportunistic infections that are part of AIDS. While some of these medicines may be undoubtedly helpful, others may be dangerous as they may do more harm than good. This happens when the patient mixes pharmaceutical drugs and herbs resulting in contra-indications or when they take certain foods that should be otherwise avoided. The notion that herbal medicines are natural and therefore safe is as widespread as it is misleading. Some of these remedies have been associated with severe adverse effects caused by the toxicity of the herbal ingredients. Others may cause problems because of contamination or adulteration [9]. Herbs and spices should be used in moderate amounts. Exceeding these amounts may cause problems and have a toxic effect; moreover, the function of the herbs and spices will not be increased. Herbs do not replace healthy eating and should not be used in place of a healthy and balanced diet but they do retain the bodys natural pH (alkaline) and this in turn, as discussed before, forces the microzymes to stop mutating into bacteria, viruses and funguses that cause opportunistic infections. 2.1.7 Advantages of Herbal Treatment: On general note, Herbal therapies seek to boost patients immune systems, inhibit opportunistic infections, alleviate symptoms, and inhibit HIV itself. Herbal medicines are very cheap in comparison to the conventional form of medication Herbal medicine helps the body to maintain its natural pH, which is alkaline; this in turn starves and inhibits all adverse microzymes from growing or mutating. Herbal medicines can be consumed without the aid of any kind of prescription, although a herbal or medical practitioner has to be consulted prior Herbal medicines are known to be more productive in comparison to other forms of medication in curing certain conditions. Herbal medicines offer long lasting benefits in terms of overall wellness. In certain situations, Herbs are considered a possible means to minimize drug side effects. Unlike with the convectional highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), herbs do not need to work in combination in order to get effective results Herbs are readily available and once a patient knows which herb to use, he/she can grow their own. 2.1.8 Disadvantages of Herbal Treatment: Curing period is usually longer in comparison to conventional medication Drug-interactions can be hazardous to a patient ,if they decide to mix herbs and drugs Herbal medicines are known to be ineffective against serious ailments Herbal medicines are taken without prescription which means that in some cases, individual might be undergoing a trial and error process with their medication. Herbal medicines can cause allergic reactions in some cases Herbal medicines will not eliminate the HI virus out of the body Most governments do not approve of any kind of herbal medication. Its usually consumed upon the persons own risk, and when it comes to branded herbal supplements one cant expect any kind of quality assurance 2.2 Expert Systems and their use on the Internet 2.2.0 Expert systems An expert system is a computer program that incorporates concepts derived from experts in a field, uses the available information, heuristics and inference to suggest solutions to problems in that particular discipline or give advice. An expert system should have good decision making, this is strongly dependent on various capabilities that include the effective acquisition, storage, distribution and sophisticated use of the human experts in the field in question. The most widely used way of representing domain knowledge in expert systems is as a set of production rules which is also how humans generally infer decisions. Expert systems were made to provide knowledge and advice to a larger number of users than one user. An Expert system can be viewed as a teaching tool because it is equipped with the unique features which allow the users to ask questions on how, why and what format, expert systems also allow automation of many tasks that could not be effectively handled by human experts. In addition, an Expert system attempts to emulate how a human expert solves a problem, mostly by the manipulation of symbols instead of numbers. As a result because of the low cost per user and automation of numerous tasks ,expert system making has become very attractive and in the long run is much cheaper than getting human expert advice, its development is however relatively costly but its operation is easy and quite cheap. Maintenance is easy as well because once an expert system is developed it is simple to add new information to the knowledge base and new rules can be developed. 2.2.1 Advantages of Expert systems Availability: The expert system is always available 24 hours a day and will on no account tire Can capture scarce expertise, collected from a number of experts and integrate their opinions. Consistency: The computer does not make common futile human mistakes such as forgetting, getting drunk or strike when it is most needed. Data can be kept up-to-date. Efficiency: Expert systems have an increased output and productivity as well as decreased decision making time. Flexibility: Expert systems can operate in hazardous environments. They can also work with incomplete or uncertain information. Scalability: The system can be used at a distance over a network therefore can reach a large population. The computer can store far more information than a human expert. 2.2.2 Disadvantages of Expert systems Expertise can be hard to extract from humans Expert system users have natural cognitive limits (therefore can not perform as perfectly as a human) Experts vocabulary is often limited and highly technical Expert systems may not be able to arrive at valid conclusions and sometimes produce incorrect recommendations Knowledge is not always readily available Lack of trust by end-users Most experts have no independent means to validate their conclusions 2.3 Structure of Expert systems A typical expert system consists of: A knowledge base; this contains the specific domain knowledge that is used by an expert to derive conclusions from facts The inference engine, which is responsible for using the rules and facts to derive conclusions whether it is through forward, backward chaining or a combination of both. An explanation system, which provides information to the user about how the inference engine arrived at its conclusions A fact database, which contains the case-specific data that are to be used in a particular case to derive a conclusion and A User interface, which provides access to the inference engine, the explanation system, and the knowledge-base editor. KnowledgeBase Fact Database Expert System Shell Inference Engine Knowledge Base Editor Explanation System User Interface User Figure2.1 A basic structure of an Expert System. An Expert System can be rule-based, frame based or both. In a rule-based system, the knowledge base is a database of rules. Rule-based systems are computer systems that use rules to provide recommendations or diagnoses, or to determine a course of action in a particular situation or to solve a particular problem. Its line of reasoning or the inference engine technique can be forward chaining, backward chaining, or a combination of both and the Rete algorithm. 2.4 Inference Engine The knowledge in the knowledge base is used for reasoning and inferring conclusions. An inference rule is an abstract structure that contains a set of rules that mathematically delineates a (usually infinite) set of finite length strings over a (usually finite) alphabet. It is a two part structure using First Order Logic for knowledge representation. If then The brain of expert system is the inference engine which is generally a large number of rules and facts. The inference engine matches facts and data, which is in the fact database against the inference rules to infer conclusions which result in actions. The process of matching the new or existing facts against inference rules is called Pattern matching. Pattern matching in the inference engine can use any of the following algorithms: Linear Rete Treat Leaps Most of the rule engines under study implement and extend the Rete algorithm. Leaps is also used widely but is questionable due to poor maintenance. Rete based engines have proprietary enhancements to the Rete algorithm like RetePlus, Rete III and ReteOO. The Rete algorithm is responsible for ensuring that there is a clear distinction between rules and facts in the database. This algorithm takes the form of a network, with nodes and paths. Each path from the root node to a leaf in the tree represents the left-hand side of a rule. Each node stores details of which facts have been matched by the rules at that point in the path. In situations where new data or facts are added, it means the Rete algorithm will propagate and change data stored at the node accordingly. In this way, the system only needs to test each new fact against the rules, and only against those rules to which the new fact is relevant, instead of checking each fact against each rule. 2.4.1 Methods of Inference Engine execution There are two methods of execution for rule based expert systems, forward chaining and backward chaining. And systems that implement both are called hybrid production rule systems. 2.4.2Forward Chaining This is a data driven and thus reactionary method. When applying forward chaining, the first step is to take the facts in the fact database and see if any combination of these matches all the antecedents (conditions) of one of the rules in the rule database. When all the antecedents of a rule are matched by facts in the database, then this rule is triggered. Usually, when a rule is triggered, it is then fired, which means its conclusion is added to the facts database. 2.4.3 Backward Chaining This method is goal driven, meaning that we start with a conclusion which the engine tries to satisfy. An inference engine using backward chaining would search the inference rules until it finds one which has a then clause that matches a desired goal. If the if clause of that inference rule is not known to be true, then it is added to the list of goals. Searches for sub goal conclusions begin, in hopes that, that will help satisfy some part of the current goal. It continues this process until either the initial conclusion is proven or there are no more sub goals. 2.5 Expert system shells Expert systems can be built that contain all the useful methods without any domain specific knowledge. These systems are called skeletal systems, shells or Artificial intelligence tools. The interpreter is separated from the domain-specific knowledge and thus creating a system that could be used to construct new expert systems by adding new knowledge corresponding to the new problem domain. Examples of shells include CLIPS, eGanges, OPS5, ART, JESS, and Eclipse. 2.6 Systems currently in use 2.6.1 Expert System for HIV/AIDS information The above expert system was created under the motivation of a Microsoft sponsored project called IHISM, which aims to contribute to the digital divide by developing an HIV and AIDS public information portal accessible through mobile phones [10]. The Expert system was tailored made with reference to Botswana, according to UNAIDS estimates, HIV/AIDS has affected every segment of Botswana society and one-third of Botswanas sexually-active population between the ages of 15 and 49 (out of a total population of 1.5 million) are infected with the virus, which is the highest rate in the world [11]. The information service portal would allow the public to request for information on topics related to HIV and AIDS such as descriptions, infection, testing, counselling and support, opportunistic diseases and paediatric care etc. The portal represents this information in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) service where the user inputs a query on any of the subjects. The system is meant to act as an online expert in HIV and AIDS information such that, some information may have to be derived through inference as opposed to simple data retrieval. The system is to accept as input a FAQ from the user and provide the most relevant answer to the question. Challenges of the system: Users may ask the questions differently in pursuit of the same answer System should be able to systematically analyse the questions and provide an appropriate answer System should be able to determine the various forms in which a typical FAQ question could be mapped to the relevant answer. Participants agreed that the expert system was not only easy to use 2.6.2 A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection The HI virus mutates often and so a patient has to be frequently changing their medication course. And because of the strict drug adherence guidelines, it therefore becomes desirable to have a treatment- decision support system that is capable of self-learning. Basing on the fuzzy discrete event system (FDES) theory, a self-learning HIV/AIDS regimen selection system for the initial round of combination antiretroviral therapy, which is one of the most complex therapies in medicine, was developed [12]. The system consists of a treatment objectives classifier, fuzzy finite state machine models for treatment regimens, and a genetic-algorithm-based optimizer. System focuses on the four historically popular regimens with 32 associated treatment objectives involving the four most important clinical variables (potency, adherence, adverse effects, and future drug options). Advantages of the A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection: Higher flexibility and scalability Easier knowledge upgrade for accommodating fast treatment strategy evolution with minimal system modification. Challenges of the A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection: Patient-specific medical simulation raises several moral, ethical and policy questions that need to be answered before the methodologies can be put to widespread use. 2.6.3 A grid-based HIV expert system This system is for physicians to provide an adaptive interactive advice on treatment applied to drug resistant HI virus. Its knowledge base comprises of distributed data from infectious disease patient databases, literature on in-vitro and in-vivo pharmaceutical data, mutation databases, clinical trials, simulations and medical expert knowledge. The research uses a variety of statistical and numerical methods to identify relationships between HIV genetic sequences and antiviral resistance to investigate consistency of results. Access to and integration of data is done through existing Internet servers and emerging grid-based frameworks like Globus [13]. Advantages of the grid-based HIV expert system: Cellular automata-based simulations are used to predict the drug behaviour overtime Limitations of grid-based HIV expert system: Little data privacy. Sensitive clinical information is often kept on highly secure hospital networks 2.6.4 HIVPCES: a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system Diagnosing HIV-patients and prescribing the correct drug regimen can be a complex task whose outcome is dependent on a large number of variables. The cost of an incorrectly administered drug even for a very short time can be enormous; the HIV virus has specific drugs that can manage its growth at different levels of its life cycle. HIVPCES is a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system. It is an interactive expert system to diagnose HIV patients, and is managed centrally and accessed either as part of an intranet, or as an Internet site.781273 The user interface has been carefully designed to provide a high-level of interaction and therefore improve some of the current limitations of Web applications. The system comprises three modules: (1) A patient self-monitoring personal diary, to create a follow-up patient record; (2) A data analysis and visualisation tool; and (3) A section to allow patients to ask for advising and remote doctor support. abstract Advantages of a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system: Provides health professionals with new means for tele-monitoring and tele-caring patients. Limitations of a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system: Low system security Users anonymity features are required but hard to incorporate in this clinical domain. 2.7 Outline of proposed system In the vast world of medical expert systems there is little attention given to HIV /AIDS and when the topic does get acknowledged, little focus is put into the treatment and much more attention on the common FAQs about the virus. This system aims to center on HIV/AIDS suffering patients and offer advice on supplementary natural treatments such as herbal medicines that these patients can use. Unlike some of the current existing systems, which look at drug adherence plan, i.e. narrowing the users down to only, those on the HAART program, the proposed system can be used by patients whose CD4 count has not yet plummeted therefore allows the patient to have a informed decision on how to maintain a healthy life and have a boosted immune system. Proposed system will offer information on particular herbs, that is, the name, healing effects and the contra-indications and explanations for every herb it advises. Advantages of proposed system: Caters for both physicians and patients Caters for patients not yet on the HAART program, thus serves a wider user range Knowledge base is an integrated pool of various expert views therefore each answer supplied is about 85% System is a web based application, which is easily accessible from any computer or location with Internet access. 2.8 Conclusion The collected information above was used for the design and methodology of the proposed system. This chapter reviewed the domain in study i.e. HIV/AIDS, expert systems and a review of systems currently in existence. The following chapters of the document consist of the integration and modification of the gathered literature.

The Medias Influence on Body Image Essay -- Papers Eating Disorders H

Eleven million women in the United States suffer from eating disorders- either self-induced semistarvation (anorexia nervosa) or a cycle of bingeing and purging with laxatives, self-induced vomiting, or excessive exercise (bulimia nervosa) (Dunn, 1992). Many eating disorder specialists agree that chronic dieting is a direct consequence of the social pressure on American females to achieve a nearly impossible thinness. The media has been denounced for upholding and perhaps even creating the emaciated standard of beauty by which females are taught from childhood to judge the worth of their own bodies (Stephens & Hill, 1994). To explore the broader context of this controversial issue, this paper draws upon several aspects influencing women?s body image. First, this paper examines the concept of body image and the problems associated with chronic dieting and the diet industry. Next, is an exploration of the prevalence and the source of body dissatisfaction in American females. It also considers existing research that presents several important aspects regarding the nature of the connection between advertising and body dissatisfaction. From these distinctions, it will be shown that the media has a large impact on women?s body image and that the cultural ideal of a thin body is detrimental to the American female?s body perception which often results in poor eating pathologies. Body image can be defined as a individual?s subjective concept of his or her physical appearance. Body image involves both a perceptual and attitudinal element. The self-perceptual component consists of what an individual sees or thinks in body size, shape, appearance. A disturbance in the perceptual element of body image is generally reflected in a... ...t Life Size. Sex Roles, 34, 287-293. Ogletree, S/, Williams, P., Mason, B., & Fricke, K. (1990). Female attractiveness and Eating Disorders. Sex Roles, 22, 791-797. Rabek-Wagener, J., & Eickhoff-Shemek, J. (1998). The Effect of Media Analysis on Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Body Image among College Females. Journal of American College Health, 47, 29-37. Shaw, J., & Waller, G. (1995), The Media?s Impact on Body Image: Implications for Prevention and Treatment. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 3, 115-123. Stephens, D., & Hill, R., (1994). The Beauty Myth And Female Consumers: The Controversial Role of Advertising. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 28, 137-154. Stuhldreher, W., & Ryan, W. (1999). Factors Associated with Distortions in Body Image Perceptions in College Women. American Journal of Health, 15, 8-15.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle (1892), :: English Literature

The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle (1892), The Ostler by Wilkie Collins (1855), and The Signalman by Charles Dickens (1864). All of these are mystery stories How do the writers try to create excitement, mystery and suspense? Which of the stories you have read was the most successful and why? I have chosen to write about three stories – ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle (1892), ‘The Ostler’ by Wilkie Collins (1855), and ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens (1864). All of these are mystery stories that have been written in a similar way, with classic ‘mystery and suspense’ techniques. These stories were all written in the nineteenth century, and reflect this period with the use of old language and settings. Also the use of horses & carriage and the disadvantage of there being no electricity. Many archaisms are used in all three of the stories and these reflect the period. Nobody would use such language today, which also helps to draw the reader into the story because the reader has to concentrate on the complicated language and long sentences. The narrative structure in ‘The Signalman’ and ‘The Ostler’ is very similar, with both narrators reliving the stories and telling them to the reader, where as, in the ‘Speckled Band’, the reader seems to be being told the story as it happens. In the ‘Speckled Band’ even though he is speaking from a time after the events of the story Dr Watson tells us the story as it happens so you feel included, as though you are there in the story with the characters. This also makes the story seem more believable – factual rather than fictional – that it actually happened and that Dr Watson was there. This allows us to share his thoughts and feelings to further include us in the story. For example ‘I find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange.’ This shows us Dr Watson’s feelings. Sherlock Holmes is one of the main characters in this story and he is very well known for his success as a detective. He is visited by a young woman (Helen Stoner), who needs his help after the very sudden and unexplained death of her sister, as she is worried for her own safety. This character actually narrates the first part of the story (after Watson’s introduction), while she tells Sherlock Holmes of the unsolved mystery. Her story is told in first person narrative so the reader relives the time when her sister dies. Pathetic fallacy is again used to create an ideal setting for a murder.

Lifestyle – Then and Now

Lifestyle is the way a person lives. The human body and mind have adequately adapted to their changing lifestyle. Many factors have affected the lifestyle of a person – technology, health, environment, culture, society, etc. One of the biggest changes that affected mankind has been the discovery of fire and the wheel. Many years and discoveries later, it was the invention of electricity. Due to electricity, technology developed. Technology has changed all the fields such as – warfare, agriculture, transportation – air, sea and land travel, , manufacturing, medicine, communication, information, etc.With the advancement of the human race, many new inventions and discoveries were added to the ever growing list. But along with the advantages, it brought some disadvantages as well. Earlier people had more interaction with each other. There was no TV or computer to distract them. They were able to spend time with each other and they were more relaxed. The TV and the co mputer have become a kind of addiction for most of the people now and they find it hard to stop using it. Now most of the time both the parents would be working long hours and there is no time for them to be with their family.They are stressed out most of the time and are too tired to talk even when they get some free time. In earlier days not many people had a car. There might be one car in the whole neighbourhood. It was something that only the rich could afford. Most people used the public transport or walked if they wanted to go somewhere. Walking was a part of life and not considered to be a great task. Many people lived as joint families in large houses with many children, aunts, uncles, and other relatives.There was always someone to talk to, someone to share the household chores with, etc. With the advancement of technology, nuclear families have emerged. It has brought with it more independence for the individual but more loneliness as well. All in all, lifestyle has change d significantly from the days of the early caveman to the present day technology savvy man. There have been both positive and negative changes that have happened. In the years ahead, many more changes will still take place. The human race will continue to adapt and evolve to embrace these changes.

Truth, Honesty, and Integrity

Truth, Honesty, and Integrity By: Alexis Woodward Some of the basic fundamentals for creating a meaningful life are those of truth, honesty, and integrity. In order to maintain a quality of purpose in life we need to base our actions of the things we know are right and avoid doing any of those that are wrong. Truth allows for us to be relaxed in our lives creating a more security and less anxiety. If you do not need to worry about what you told each person you do not need to constantly being thinking about what response you need to appropriately give.In order to for us to have a true sense of self you have to be as honest with admitting the truth to yourself as well as to others. Integrity is telling the truth to oneself in the purest form possible. Honesty is how much of the truth you allow yourself as well your truth to other people. The truth is what cannot be swayed. Without others being truthful we would not be able to efficiently cohabitate together. Without integrity we would never be able to appreciate ourselves for our qualities and effectively work to fix our flaws. Honesty and integrity are of the higher forms of our value system.We all seek for the truth both within who we really are as well as in others. True honesty is not just telling the truth but feeling the truth. If you say one thing but feel another you are not being honest with your integrity. Feel better about your accomplishments when you can know what you truly accomplished. We prosper in our development as individuals through truth. Honesty creates a natural peace in the heart. Honesty and integrity when involved with our values generate power and success. Life benefits from being honest with others and ourselves.When I went through recovery the number one thing that was necessary was integrity of being able to be honest with myself and with others. To accept things for what they really are and stop trying to hide from the pain and learn to face and concur it. This allowed for me to mak e the appropriate changes in my life that were necessary for the success in my future. Although truth contains mostly positive results, there can also be negative side effect to being honest. Things like rejection, isolation, hostility, jealousy, animosity and hurt feelings can also stem from too much honesty.Whether something is true or not is irrelevant to whether it is something that should be brought to the light of attention. People tend to avoid hurtful truths so they do not need to face not so desirable aspects of life. However, if you allow the truth through honesty and integrity, it will all link back to positive repercussions. You will find that people will hold you with a great deal of respect, more peace of mind, strong self-belief, and what I find to be the most important aspect of all, strong relationships with others.

A Rose for Emily Character Analysis

Miss Emily Grierson, the protagonist of William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† is an unusual character in the sense that she is depressed, withdrawn, and ill. Isolated in her father’s decaying mansion in Jefferson, Mississippi, unwilling to accept the passing of time, Miss Emily shows several symptoms of a mental illness. Throughout the story, Miss Emily is living all alone (except for her servant, Tobe) in her deceased father’s decaying mansion. Miss Emily’s story is told by the townspeople, who are very interested in the unusual traits that Miss Emily shows. Miss Emily refuses to change with the town and the times, and stubbornly clings to the past. She is a lonely woman because her father scared all of her suitors away when she was younger. All alone and mentally ill, Miss Emily shows that she is mentally sick through her sad, stubborn efforts to cling to the past. Miss Emily shows her first signs of being unable to change with the times at the beginning of the story, when she refuses to pay her taxes and give her house a mailbox. The members of the Board of Alderman visit Miss Emily to collect her taxes, she is very offended at the action. Miss Emily insists that she is not required to pay taxes in the city of Jefferson and that the officials can speak with Colonel Sartoris about the issue. However, at the time of this conversation, Colonel Sartoris has been dead for nearly a decade. Miss Emily struggles with moving forward with time because she does not want to change. She does not want to face the fact that she is all alone and unhappy. Miss Emily is unable to cope with the loss of her father, who was the only man in her life, and this is the main cause of Miss Emily’s mental illness. The story then jumps forward about thirty years, and the townspeople recall another incident of Miss Emily being visited by town officials. At this time, Miss Emily’s father, Mr. Grierson, has just passed away, and there is an awful smell coming from the mansion. Judge Stevens, the town mayor who pity’s Miss Emily decides to solve the problem by sprinkling lime in her yard, rather than to confront her. At this point in the story, the townspeople feel sorry for Miss Emily because she is thirty years old, and still single because her father never allowed her to date or marry. The next day, the women from Jefferson pay a visit to Miss Emily to offer condolences from her father’s death. Miss Emily refuses to admit that her father is dead, and holds on to the body for three days before finally turning it over for the funeral. The smell coming from the Grierson home, most likely from her father’s decaying corpse, shows Miss Emily’s inability to let go of the past and move on with the future. Later in the story, Miss Emily becomes very friendly with a construction foreman, Homer Barron. The townspeople assume that Miss Emily is spending time with this gentleman because she was never allowed to date when her father was alive, and the pity her because Homer is below her social class. As Miss Emily and Homer Barron continue to see each other, Miss Emily goes to the local drugstore to purchase arsenic, with no explanation. The next day, the package is delivered to her home with a note saying the arsenic is for rats. After Miss Emily purchases a sliver toilet set that is monogrammed with Homer’s initials, the townspeople assume that Miss Emily and Homer have gotten married. Soon after, Homer comes home one day, and never leaves again. Miss Emily’s appearance soon decays along with her home. No one from the town ever saw Miss Emily or Homer again, until her death at age seventy-four. When the townspeople come into the Grierson home for the funeral service, the townspeople find a room that appears to have been untouched for a number of years. Inside the room, the townspeople see Homer Barron’s dead corpse laid in the bed with an iron gray hair on the pillow next to him from Miss Emily’s latter part of life. Miss Emily was unable to admit to the loss of both her father and Homer Barron because she had a hard hold on the past, and refused to let go of it until she finally died. Miss Emily was a sad character, because she was depressed, mentally ill, and unable to grasp the passage of time. It is seen by the townspeople through her actions that she was very sad and lonely, and willing to go to great lengths to keep from being alone. Faulkner showed the struggle that Miss Emily had with this through her lack of upkeep to her home, her inability to change with the town of Jefferson, and her refusal to let go of her deceased loved ones.