organic compounds essays

organic compounds essays Carbohydrates are a major source for living organisms. Our mitochondria break down carbohydrates and use the chemical energy released from its bonds to live. Carbohydrates have four functions, which include energy metabolism, structural components, and cell-to-cell contacts and recognition. The basic unit or monomer for carbohydrate is monosaccharide or simple sugars. An example of monosaccharide would be glucose, fructose, and galactose. Carbohydrates are composed of thousands of monomers are called polysaccharides. Some examples of polysaccharides would be starch, cellulose, and glycogen. Lipids store energy, protect and cushion body organs, are structural components of membranes, and are chemical messengers of hormones. The monomers of lipids would be fatty acids. Types of fatty acids would be fats which include oils and animal fats, phospholipids which include the cell membrane structure, waxes which include water proof coating on leaves, fruits, feathers, skins of animals, and steroids, which include cholesterol, sex hormones, and bile acids. Proteins are very important. They provide structure. Organic catalysts are mostly made up of proteins. They are also used to store energy and act as chemical messengers to hormones and antibodies. Amino Acids are the monomers of proteins. The basic parts of an amino acid are an amine group, a carboxylic group, and a side chain and all attached to an alphas of fibrous proteins would be muscles, hair, cartilage, veins, and ducts. Globular proteins are proteins that transport oxygen and nutrients, fight invasions by foreign objects, help maintain homeostasis in the body, transport electrons and catalyze reaction that would take too long in their absence. The last organic compound is Nucleic Acids. Nucleic Acids are ...

Nutraceutical Definition

Nutraceutical Definition Nutraceutical Definition The term nutraceutical was coined in the 1990s by Dr. Stephen DeFelice. He defined nutraceutical as follows: A nutraceutical is any substance that is a food or a part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered designer foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages. It is important to note that this definition applies to all categories of food and parts of food, ranging from dietary supplements such as folic acid, used for the prevention of spina bifida, to chicken soup, taken to lessen the discomfort of the common cold. This definition also includes a bio-engineered designer vegetable food, rich in antioxidant ingredients, and a stimulant functional food or pharmafood. Since the term was coined, its meaning has been modified. Health Canada defines nutraceutical as follows: A Nutraceutical is a product isolated or purified from foods, and generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with food and demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease. Examples of Nutraceuticals: beta-carotene, lycopene

Trade Pattern between developed(the U.S.) and developing(South Korea) Term Paper

Trade Pattern between developed(the U.S.) and developing(South Korea) countries - Term Paper Example Even though the U. S has a trade discrepancy with South Korea, it has had a reliable trade surplus of approximately $2 billion to $3 billion in agricultural goods (Carbaugh 213)1. South Korea is the tenth greatest economy in the globe, with a yearly annual GDP fast approaching one trillion US dollars (Todaro 314)2. While it was the seventh biggest export market for the US in 2004, U. S was South Korea’s third largest trading partner and the second largest export market in 2005. In addition, South Korea is the fifth biggest market for the U.S agricultural export and the United States provides more than one fifth of South Korea’s agricultural imports. This paper looks at the characteristics of the United States-South Korea bilateral trade and offers an overview of the tariff reduction as well as elimination schedules of the two countries (Eckes 311)3. Characteristics The main mode of the US-South Korea mutual trade has moved from inter-industry trade to intra-industry tra de. Specifically, the trade model was inter–industry trade on the foundation of divergence in resource donations before 1994. The US exported intensive and natural resource-founded industry goods and technology, as well as capital-concentrated products to South Korea and imported labor-concentrated goods from that nation (Buckley et al. 341)4. Nevertheless, intra-industry trade between the two nations has increased notably in the high technology product sector since 1995. A key rise in trade of high-technology goods between the two nations shows the surge in bilateral intra-industry trade founded on good differentiation. The two nations have also raised their bilateral trade in differentiation mid-technology goods. Comparisons between trade volume and trade surpluses, by sector, can offer insight on bilateral trade patterns between the two nations. In this paper, US-Korea bilateral trade is looked at in six sectors. Agriculture and food, natural resource based industries, tex tiles, mid technology goods, high-technology goods among others. The sectors are determined on the basis of standard international trade classification two-digit code. The agric-food sector includes primary agricultural goods and processed food (Lo?pez 648)5. The natural sector comprises of gas, coal, wood and petroleum products among others. The mid section comprises of fertilizers, chemical materials, non-ferrous metals as well as furniture. The high-tech section has machinery, scientific instruments and transport instruments. The others comprise of the transaction services. The US has trade surpluses and South Korea is in the food and agriculture sector, and until lately, the natural resource-based industries. The US has a trade deficit and South Korea in the high technology section, which has grown with time. The US also has a trade shortage with South Korea in the textile section; however this deficit has declined with time. Indeed, both US imports and exports of textile produc ts have declined ever since 1990, owing to the third country impact in the market. Since other nations like Thailand, China, Indonesia, as well as Latin American nations have become very competitive in the manufacture of textile products, both the US and South Korea have raised their imports of these commodities from these nations. For the middle-technology section,

Tibet Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tibet Civilization - Essay Example It was fused with imperialism and became the religion of the kings during the reign of Song Tsen Gampo who ruled from 617 AD to 650 AD. He married two Chinese princesses who were Buddhists. He had the holy book of Sutras translated into the Tibetan language and thus the common people were able to read and understand the Buddhist scriptures. In the 8th century, King Trisong Detsen brought in the great Buddhist scholars from India, Pandit Shantarakshita, Kamalasila and Padmasambhava to spread the word of Lord Buddha. The first spiritual community was set up as a Buddhist monastery in Samye. This helped the Indian version of Buddhism to be established in Tibet and not the Chinese version. In 842 AD, King Lang Dharma persecuted Buddhists and tried to uproot the religion as he tried to bring back the original Bon religion. By 978, during the reign of King Yeshe, Buddhism was revived and with the help of Indian pundits, Buddhism was brought back as the official religion. According to Smith (2001, p. 45-49), final product of Buddhism was a combination of Mahayana Buddhism and the Tantric movement. Mahayana actually began as a splinter group from the Buddhist Mahasangha and it prescribed a more liberal monastic tradition and attitude for the followers. The followers of Buddhism were used to the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and they had notions of heroes, evil sprits, good, bad and other folklore. Accordingly, Lord Buddha was represented as different godlike Buddha images in different stages. With this belief came the adherence to sutras that are holy utterances and scriptures. Tantras are holy scriptures and writings that explain the process of enlightenment through rebirths and the endless wheel of life. Tantra was practiced by the Siddhi, the expert who knows the secrets of Buddhism. The most important of the sutras are Prajà ±aparamita also called as the Perfection of Wisdom; Suddharma-pundarika or the true Dharma; Vimalakirti-nirdesha or

Truth and the characters in this act Essay Example for Free

Truth and the characters in this act Essay Arthur Miller wrote this play in accordance and reference to the persecution placed upon him and many others by the committee of un-American activities. He was persecuted for his way of thinking, and this inspired him to write the book The Crucible to make people realise that history is repeating. In his mind, the way he and the other communists were treated bared a great likeness to that of the witches of Salem and the way the Jews were treated during the holocaust. This, I think, is why the book and then the play had such a large effect on the country and the way the un-American activities committee treated the so called Comunists. In the sixteen hundreds Salem was ruled by a theocracy so their ideas of truth and justice would have varied from ours. The puritans ideology was that if the bible says its so, its so. Most of us are now aware that most of the bible is not to be taken literally, but symbolically. With relevance to the witch-hunt the puritans believed that no one would lie about something of such importance as witchcraft, after all god damns all liars and what puritan in their right mind would wish damnation upon themselves. Of course we know that the girls had no fear about lying to ensure they get their own way. So if anyone was accused they had to be guilty, and the only way they could save their lives would be to confess to witchery. If they did not confess they would be hung or killed by other means. This to me is a queer justice, as I should hope it is to you or any other fellow human. This however was not the case and many people died, these people can thank a foolish ideology for their death. In my mind the way and personality of the people of Salem did nothing to help the matter, in particular John Procter and Abigail Williams. Again the matter truth and honesty arises. John and Abigail, having had an affair were both adulterers, if they were to confess this their name would be blackened. However if the truth was to arise John and Elizabeths names would be cleared of the crime of witchery and Abigails true motives would have been made clear. So if John and Elizabeth had been entirely truthful with the court they both would have survived. On the other hand if Abigail and the other girls had been truthful from the outset, the only punishment that would have been administered was a public flogging. But we must not overlook the fact that regardless of the previous lies one more lie would have saved them all. If they had confessed to the crime they would have been free. It seems that the epiphany of honesty struck at the wrong time. As the maid to the Proctors, an official of the court and one of the accusing girls, Mary Warren had the power to stop all this foolishness. In act III Mary, with a little encouragement from Procter, does confess and tells the judges that it is all a false but she soon withdraws that claim when she herself is accused. There is a great change in Marys character from acts I and II through III and IV. I think this is probably due to her supreme maturity to the other girls, she realises exactly how foolish she had been and what problems her lies were causing. Proctors behaviour affected the people of Salem in a great many ways. Primarily he was considered somewhat of a heretic due to the fact that he very rarely attended Holy Communion. He put this down to his dislike of Paris and his preaching of bloody hellfire and damnation I dont know how many believed this excuse. Secondly Proctor was not afraid to stand up to the court and tell them how ludicrous they were being about the witch-hunt and trials. He was also the first to admit false confession. In general I believe he was a big influence on the people of Salem. If proctor had confessed to his adultery earlier as his wife Elizabeth beckoned him to, things would have been very different, he would have been a sinner but he would be free. In my eyes there is no justice in Salem. I put this down to mostly one person and that persons judgement and ideology, Head judge Danforth. This is the main interrogator throughout the whole trial. He does his job very well, too well. He has a talent at getting somebody to say something and then he twists this into a confession or accusation. He is very manipulative. Towards the end of the book it starts to show how hell bent he is on killing people. The other judges notice this and when they attempt to prove him wrong or attempt to show him how foolish he is being, he interrupts them. He believes everything Abby says simply because he wants to kill people. He is obsessed with the pain, death and social rejection of others. Of course he is going to snap up every inkling of a hint of witchcraft. Perhaps he is mentally retarded or just I psycho. Another very manipulative character is Abigail. She is very successful, perhaps even more so than Danforth, at changing the way people think and even getting them to see things that arent there or Hallucinate. There are many examples of this. A good example of her mind-manipulation skills is in act III when Mary confesses the false of the accusations. She manages to get the other girls to think that the devil is present and that Mary is bewitching them. This convinces the Judges and Mary is accused of witchcraft and the confession falls through. Abigails methods are very cleaver she is a very good actor. She knows many sure ways of getting people to believe her. When she is trying to make out that Mary Warren is bewitching her, she knows exactly how to convince the judges. She is able to convince herself things are actually happening when they are not. This is why the look in her eyes, her screaming and her cowering etc. are so convincing, because she believes that the devil is there. In the final moments of the last scene the whole truth is revealed and the audience are manipulated to fell sorry for the Proctors and hate Abigail. And ultimately loose faith in goodness and perhaps even God. The scene is one of great emotion. Another very dramatic scene in the play is when Mary warren confronts the court to confess that the whole thing had been a lie. Not only does the sheer idea of the court finding out that they had convicted so many innocent people make it dramatic. In a desperate attempt to save themselves Abigail and the other girls claim that they can see Mary warren with the devil beside her. They start screaming and fainting and pretending to be cold, of course this is all a false but it makes the scene very dramatic.

Demolition Derby :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Demolition Derby      Ã‚  Ã‚   Demolition derbies have made their way through history as races that only involve crashes. There is more to a demolition derby than just crashes. Demolition derbies are more complex than what is seen from the stands because of the long hard work it takes to get a car ready, and the actual competition of the derby.    There are three stories about where the first demolition derby was held. Islip Raceway (Long Island, NY), Hales Corner Raceway (Hales Corner, WI), and an unknown town in Ohio. The first and only story with creditable proof is that Larry Mendelson, a 28 year stock car racer noticed that the most cheering and excitement happened when cars crashed. He held the first demolition derby in 1958 at Islip Raceway. Another story is that Hales Corner Raceway had held a demo years previous to Islip. According to legend, 'Crazy Jim' Groh had a few too many cars on his dealership lot. So he got a few people to drive them as a promotion. The only other proof to back this story are the Happy Days episodes 64, 64, 66 'Fonzie loves Pinkie part1, 2, 3' shows demolition derbies. This show was based in Milwaukee during the 50's. These episodes featured Fonzie battling it out with the Mallachi brothers. The last account is that an un-named town in Ohio was a scene of road rage gone wild in th e mid- 50's. Two cars collided at a busy intersection and both continued to battle it out drawing a large crowd to the scene. This story fails to name a town or date, and only gets some credit ability because Ohio is a mecca for demolition derbies (geocities.com par. 2-5).       When credit needs to be given to the inventor of demolition derbies it goes to Larry Mendelson and Islip Raceway because they were the first to officially organize a derby.    There are many modifications that need to be done to a car before it is ready to go to the demolition derby.   A car cannot be bought demolition derby ready. There are many rules to take into consideration and many alterations that need to be done to car when getting the car ready for a demolition derby.

Animal Farm – Literary Essay

Is it not everyone's dream to live in a world where each person  is equal? Karl Marx came up with a  solution  to the problem of inequality and called it communism. The idea of  communism  looks like a good  plan  on paper but it could never work in real life because of ones’ large desire  for power. George Orwell uses his novel  Animal Farm  to show how one’s greed can lead a great plan to fail, regardless of the situation. He does this by showing how one loses focus of the original idea because they crave power, how one then goes against the original idea, and finally how one turns the original idea into something it was never supposed to be. In the beginning of the  book, Old Major tells the animals his dream of freedom for all animals. Then, Old Major dies, leaving behind his wisdom and his vision for all animals. Throughout the book the other animals carry out his dream and they name it Animalism. They even come up with rules, known as the seven commandments. â€Å"THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS 1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. 2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. 3. No animal shall wear clothes. 4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. 5. No animal shall drink alcohol. 6. No animal shall kill any other animal. 7. All animals are equal,† (page – chapter 2). The animals then  paint  these commandments on the wall and live by them every day. Even though these are great rules the pigs start to lose focus and start to battle for power. After Old Major dies and the plans for Animalism start to take off both Napoleon and Snowball fight for power over the farm. Two people cannot share power, because power cannot be shared. It is greed that pushes one leader to gain all of the power. In the book Animal Farm Snowball and Napoleon are battling for power. Orwell writes, â€Å"At last the day came when Snowball's plans were completed. At the Meeting on the following Sunday the question of whether or not to begin work on the windmill was to be put to the vote. When the animals had assembled in the big barn, Snowball stood up and, though occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep, set forth his reasons for advocating the building of the windmill. Then Napoleon stood up to reply. He said very quietly that the windmill was nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it, and promptly sat down again; he had spoken for barely thirty seconds, and seemed almost indifferent as to the effect he produced, (Chapter 5 paragraph 3). † Napoleon seems to strive for power more than Snowball does and he will take any chance he has to take Snowball down, which completely defeats Old Major’s vision of Animalism and its purpose of equality. Power was not a part of Old major’s vision. While Snowball is very intelligent and seems to want the best for Animal Farm Napoleon is just power-hungry. It is clear that Napoleon is jealous of Snowball, so he begins to plan how to get rid of him. To do this, Napoleon uses the dogs to chase Snowball off the farm. When they return to him it’s as if they have no regret. â€Å"It was noticed that they wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr. Jones,† (5. 15). Napoleon has a taste for power, and now that he has it he is only going to want more. After Snowball is gone, Napoleon has complete control of the farm, which is not a good thing. He rarely speaks for himself because he has Squealer to do it for him. Napoleon gets rid of the meetings, which also gets rid of opportunity for the other animals to speak. He also gives himself all of the luxuries. â€Å"In these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the farmhouse, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near,†Ã‚  (7. ) Napoleon is now the most important animal on the farm, and even re-writes history to make himself seem even better. Napoleon was not the only one to re-write history though, although, he was the one that demanded the others to make false confessions just so they could be killed. â€Å"And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses l ying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the time of Jones,†Ã‚  (7. 6). Napoleon wanted to prove his power to the other animals and he would stop at nothing to do so. One could say that Napoleon became worse than Mr. Jones, the original farm owner, ever was. A plan that started out to make the farm a communist place turns out to be ruled by a dictator, again. George Orwell used the book Animal Farm to write about how Karl Marx’s idea of communism and how easily it can fail because one loses focus of the original idea.

Cannibalism: Crime or Survival? Essay

Cannibalism has gone through stages of acceptance to morally corrupt and unspeakable. When faced in a dire situation, such as isolation and deterioration of the mind and body, cannibalism becomes an option of survival. When people confess of their actions, is it fair for us to judge? What would a person do in that situation, and can one honestly punish another for survival of the fittest? Cannibalism dates back as far as the earliest signs of human life. By definition, cannibalism is â€Å"the eating of any species by another member of the same species,† (â€Å"Cannibalism†). Wolves, for example, will eat another wolf if there is no other form of nutrition to be found. This is an example of survival of the fittest, an instinct born unto all living creatures. Cannibalism is primitive in human nature, dating back to the Carib Indians of the West Indies. In the Arwakan language, â€Å"carib† literally translates to â€Å"cannibal.† The practice of eating human meat, whether in ritual or punishment, has been practiced in nearly every part of the world. The reason for cannibalistic behavior has varied among the people. Headhunters, for example, believed eating parts of a victim’s body would grant them magical powers. Some tribes ate criminals to punish them or gain revenge for the crime. Primitive rites commonly involved human sacrifice, and it was not uncommon for the sacrifice’s family to eat certain parts of the body. This practice is labeled â€Å"endocannibalism.† As time progressed, cannibalism went from common practice in the east to an unspeakable sin in the west. Cannibalism is most commonly practiced due to the result of extreme physical necessity in isolated surroundings. It has been justified as â€Å"a model of behavior in food processing as a response to nutritional stress,† (Ellis et al. 4) Essentially, cannibalism in such desperation comes down to practical logic. If one is starving, one eats what  is offered. Examples of this include survivors of a plane wreck stranded without food; boat wrecks on isolated islands; or, more commonly, families trapped in a snowstorm in any large mountain range. One of the most recent cases of cannibalism known is that of Andes flight disaster. In 1972, an Uruguayan rugby team, along with their family and friends, were on their way to Chile to compete when the plane crashed in the Andes mountain range. Several died in the initial crash, and more died due to the harsh conditions and injuries from the wreck. Ten days passed before the little bit of food that was rationed ran out. The group lived for two months before rescue came, and in that time they had committed the unspeakable act. As a group, the survivors agreed to turn to cannibalism and endocannibalism in order to survive. Out of the original forty-five, only sixteen came from the mountains alive because of their survival technique. This group had indulged in what is called survival cannibalism. Survival cannibalism is an innate form of survival that anthropologists believe exists in all humans. When the rugby team was faced with their dire situation, they indulged on their native instinct to satisfy nutritional need before abiding to the morals of society. When rescued, the team told reporters that it was a sort of communion; they ate as little as possible so as not to desecrate the dead. â€Å"Jesus gave the disciples His blood and His flesh at the Last Supper, so we were kept alive through Him,† explained one of the survivors when the press demanded an answer as to what they ate to stay alive (Stranded Gonzalo Arijon). The Uruguayan and Chilean publics accepted these survivors, even though the media slandered them and called them inhumane and cannibalistic. Another, perhaps more famous case of survival cannibalism is the story of the Donner Party. The Donner Party was a group of families being led west by brothers George and Jacob Donner in the winter of 1846-47. The unfortunate groups of pioneers were trapped in the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains because they did not foresee that they had set out too late in the year with too little provisions. The group traveled through the Great Plains, losing much of their cattle due to heat and starvation. As the group headed on, they left the warmth of the desert-like plains and entered the cold and snow of  the mountains. Their food supply dwindled as they tried to make a pass through the Sierra Nevada range, their remaining cattle became buried in the blizzard-like weather conditions, and many wagons had to be abandoned. The party set up camp in a valley, hoping to wait out the storm and continue on. The wait turned from a few days to weeks, then from weeks to months. The food supply ran out; leather books, oxen hide blankets, and tobacco became a daily meal. Relief parties were sent form California, but they could not take everyone at once. â€Å"If we do not find food, we will have to commence on the dead,† stated Tamsen Donner, wife of George Donner, when the first relief party came to take her oldest children out of the mountains (Burton 166). Tamsen was left with five children and her nieces and nephews to feed as well. The party ran out of oxen hides and leather to eat. The only way a mother was to keep her children alive was to feed them the only food source available. Careful not to choose their relatives, members of the Donner Party ate the only food source available: cadavers of those that had died. When reintroduced into the Californian society, the living members were shunned. Was it right of society to judge them so harshly? How could pioneers claim they would not do the same, when in reality it is more probable that they would? Louis Keseberg, the last member of the party to leave the mountains, was tried for murder. The public should not have demanded that that a survivor of such perils be ostracize d just for living. Another conflicting case is that of Alfred â€Å"Alferd† Packer, dubbed â€Å"Colorado’s Cannibal.† Packer was a mountain guide in 1873 Colorado. He was hired to take a group of men through Bingham Canyon, Utah. This expedition did not end as planned. As with the Donner Party, Packer had not realized that his company had set out too late and would lead to a fatal end. Many men turned around when they were rescued from the cold by a group of Indians, but five remained with Packer. The men set of, no heeding the warnings from the Indians. Sixty days after they left the campsite, only Packer emerged from the canyon. Questions arose to which Packer had no answer, so he lied. He told three versions of his story of survival, and only a few facts were found to be truth. Their food supply had run out and  the men agreed to eat whoever died from starvation. Shannon Bell had killed the four other men while Packer was searching for food. Packer killed Bell due to self-defense, and Packer did not resort to cannibalism until starvation overtook his guilt for the deaths of his men. Alfred Packer was called a murderer and sent to jail, even though he killed in self-defense. It was too quick of a decision to send this man, who was in a starved mindset, to a punishment in which he did not deserve. It is true that Packer was epileptic, and very possibly had several psychological problems, but that did not make him a killer. He was just trying to survive. Learned cannibalism is another category of cannibalistic behavior. It is when one is not driven by hunger to eat the flesh of another human. However, learned cannibalism is often thought of as the cause for Hannibal Lecter-style murders. Anthropologists deny that learned cannibalism is what such killers practiced; it is a method of ritualistic behavior that our human ancestors have passed down through generations. The Japanese army adopted such rituals during their last war. Why did the army commit such a primitive act? Some men state it was to bring to troop together, to give them nerves of steel, so to speak. Others claim it was to clear the taboo in case they ran out of food. Still, some say that it was because the soldiers wanted to gain the powers of the enemy, just as the headhunters had done so long ago. The Japanese military kept these cases filed away, not speaking of the ruthless acts the men committed. Now that the files have been uncovered, the question of whether or not this can be classified as a crime must be answered. With finding that answer comes more questions: Which men are right? Were they really starving, or were they just soulless beings? Was murder enacted to pursue this activity, or were the men already dead? So many questions arise that it is nearly impossible to have a clear, truthful answer as to whether this was a war crime or not. The psychological reason behind cannibalistic behavior ranges from starvation to perversion. â€Å"Cannibalism might be seen as the highest level of sexual perversion. This is closely related to the equally rare carving up of bodies, following sexual crimes and sadism,† state psychologists when asked if cannibalism can be considered a true crime, or if it is just a taboo of western culture (Capraro â€Å"Cannibalism is not a Crime†). Cannibalism isn’t listed as a crime;  the only trespasses a person can be tried for are manslaughter and rape. There is no sentencing to accompany the cutting up or eating of the body. Some people say that cannibalism should be labeled as murder. What if it was not murder that was committed? The custom of the sea dictates that, when a boat is crashed or stranded, survivors are to rely on the dead for food. There is no murder involved if the dead had come to be so due to natural causes. Society has become engrossed with stories of cannibals, murderers, and rapists. People gossip and read in depth about such crimes, feasting on the horrible tales which western culture has only read in stories from Edgar Allen Poe and the like. But what about when it happens in their own culture, to people on their own street? One name sticks out when cannibalism comes up: Armin Meiwes. The case of German native Meiwes is tricky because he could not be sentenced since cannibalism is rarely committed in today’s western culture and is not classified as a crime in Germany. Meiwes’s â€Å"victim,† Bernd Brandes, a man who was in a sexual relationship with Meiwes, had conceded to be killed and eaten by Meiwes. Meiwes could only be convicted for killing upon request and disturbing the peace of the dead (i.e. eating the body instead of burying it). Meiwes admits to being a true cannibal, and is acceptance of his branding as a murderer. But cannibalism does not always involve murder. Brandes consented to having part of him cut off and eaten, thus leaving him alive, and then later asked to be killed and consumed. Meiwes will be forever classified as psychotically disturbed and sexually perverse for his disposition on cannibalism. Society is unacceptable of cases such as Armin Meiwes simply because of the horrific act that is involved. The public demands stronger sentencing, or the death penalty as an eye-for-an-eye repayment. Cannibalism has been passed down through generations around the world, and as time has progressed it has become an ugly, horrible act. Yet, we are obsessed with learning about it. The famous book Hannibal by Thomas Harris spawned movies and general interest in the acts that the main character committed. Harris also gives the view of why cannibalism happens. Most cases of cannibalism occur from a deep psychological problem. Maybe the person who committed the act is  extreme obsessive-compulsive and cannot stand to have a mess; therefore, eating the body disposes of the mess and clears the act from the mind. As a child, the â€Å"cannibal† may not have had a strong relationship with their same sex parent and developed an over-dependent relationship with the opposite parent or a si bling. Such as Armin Meiwes, who had no apparent male figure in his life, consuming the flesh of someone he was close to was a way of keeping the person close to himself forever. As stated before, cannibalism can be seen as the highest level of sexual perversion, therefore many of Freud’s theories on oral fixation and sexual aggression can provide a possible explanation of the thought process of cannibalistic people. The perpetrator of the behavior is fixated on sexual pleasure resulting from the mouth. He or she enjoys the acts of sucking, biting, and chewing, often resulting in a need to have something constantly in his or her mouth. The way cannibalism fits in is that the act of eating another human is on a high level of sexual aggressiveness. The orally fixated person gets pleasure from eating another human, both sexually and orally. Many people who have been convicted of murder and the act of cannibalism have shown to eat those close to them. Either it is a companion, a lover, or a relative that is being consumed. The reasoning behind this is that the consumer wants to remain close to whomever it is for as long as possible, and when that person dies, the consumer sees eating them as a way of reincarnation because he or she is becoming a part of the consumer, thus their life continues. Obviously, this way of thinking is psychotically disturbing and when a person is convicted of such acts, they are put into an institution for the mentally disturbed. Can we send a person to jail for committing cannibalism even though they are psychologically unstable? Or do we take the risk of sending them to an institution to be â€Å"fixed,† and slowly reintroduce them to society? The world pretends to be blind of such acts and prefers to shut away those who do them. This is not taking care of the problem. Yes, the world o f the 1800s chose to shut their eyes against the survival techniques of the Donner Party, but that did not solve the issue of how to deal with the survivors. Survivors of such a tragic incident must slowly be reintroduced into the world. They should not feel that the world is an unsafe place just because they survived. People who willingly commit  cannibalism need to see the wrongs of what they did. On the other hand, people need to see why they did it in order to fully understand the reasoning. What the western culture claims is a taboo, the African culture deems it a ritualistic rite. Today, cannibalism has been turned into a sort of joke. In the cartoons, when two men are stranded on an island, one sees the other and imagines him as a big, juicy steak, thus invoking a chase of sorts. Is that not what happens when two people truly are stranded and starving? The custom of the sea states that when a boat is wrecked, the survivors must be willing to eat whatever is available, even if it is one another. Society does not realize that jokes, shows, and books influence the thoughts of everybody. Many times people will say in a joking matter that â€Å"he tasted just like chicken,† when referring to the eating of one another. In reality, people who make these jokes may someday be faced with the choice of living or dying, and the factor that will keep them alive is eating the person who â€Å"tastes just like chicken.† As disturbing as that thought may be, it is true. Humans’ first reaction in life or death situations is to preserve their own lives. When it comes to women in motherhood, they prefer to save their children’s lives first. If a family is faced with the obstacle of living or dying, such as the Donner Party families, their first choice is going to be to live. A mother wants her children to live, to experience life, even if that means do anything possible to survive. If the family must resort to cannibalism, is it a crime? Can the human race look dow n upon one another just for surviving? It would be ludicrous to believe that people should be abolished just because they chose to live instead of succumbing to death. When boiled down, Cannibalism is essentially only in two categories: survival cannibalism and learned cannibalism. The intrinsic side of modern Homo sapiens deals with survival cannibalism and justifies its cause. The moral side of the human brain cannot fathom the reasoning behind learned cannibalism. Why the ancestors began that tradition is a mystery. Was it first started from starvation? Did the first Homo sapiens not find food and decided to turn on one another? Or was it because of their belief in magic, the belief that humans contained magical powers and by digesting their flesh they absorbed the powers unto themselves? This mystery will remain unsolved, just as the mystery of who started the oral legends in Native American cultures. The reasoning behind society’s outlaws of cannibalism, either  survival or learned, is another mystery, yet it is one that can be solved. In native cultures, such as the Caribs, cannibalism was an everyday ordeal. As time progressed, people on the western hemisphere of the world chose to become more sophisticated. This involved the abolishing of all other cultural practices, from the clothes that were worn to the rituals that were participated in. Christianity was taught throughout the world, and cannibalism fell into the gray area of sins. Only anthropologists understood the need for converging into the act of survival cannibalism, and saw the importance of understanding why it was a ritual so long ago. The society that is shown cannibalistic behavior today is horrified by it because the behavior had not been practiced for so long that even the survival technique became unspeakable. Cannibalism started out as a ritual, a rite of sorts that was common to engage in. Then it moved into a state of survival, a technique only used when one is faced with death. Now, it is considered a perverse, revolting taboo that is blasphemed and blown out of proportion by media. Can one really take an opinion on this? Who can honestly, without a doubt, know for a fact that he or she would not turn to cannibalistic behavior when confronted with starvation? No one can give an honest answer to that question until they have been put in the situation. The brain switches from living by the standards of society to the survival instinct possessed by all living creatures. In all honesty, we are no different from the wolves that will eat a member of the pack in order to live. Works Cited Burton, Gabrielle. Impatient with Desire: The Lost Journal of Tamsen Donner. New York: Hyperion, 2010. â€Å"Cannibalism.† Compton’s by Encyclopedia Britannica. 2005 ed. Capraro, Ingo. â€Å"Cannibalism ‘not a crime.’† News24. 14 Dec 2002. Ellis, Meredith A.B. et al. â€Å"The Signature of Starvation: A Comparison of Bone Processing at a Chinese Encampment in Montana and the Donner Party Camp in California.† July 2010. U of Montana College of Arts and Sciences. Stranded: I’ve Come From A Plane That Crashed on the Mountains. Dir. Gonzalo Arijon. Pro. Gonzalo Arijon. 2007. Zeitgeist video, 2008. DVD.

Free Essays on Welfare Reform

WELFARE REFORM: CHANGING FACES FROM COAST TO COAST HISTORY The welfare system began as a ‘local’ program. â€Å"When and where public relief was needed, it was left up to state and local officials to provide it.† Each town made up their own set of rules and regulations concerning who would be helped. â€Å"By the early 1900’s, a number of states were requiring cities and countries to offer some assistance to their neediest† (Weiss, 1990, p. 34). Because each town was responsible for their own poor, rules were often made to dissuade would-be users of the assistance programs. â€Å"Local authorities were clever about reducing the welfare price tag with strategies designed to discourage people from applying for relief. One popular tactic, used widely until the mid-twentieth century, was to list welfare recipients by name in the town’s annual written report† (Weiss, 1990, p. 35). Given today’s confidentiality policies, this would not be tolerated. Applicants and recipients are granted a great deal of privacy, protecting them from the public humiliation that was popular in historical times.  · PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE During, and following, the Great Depression, President Hoover was against a federally funded welfare programs. â€Å"Hoover was convinced that ‘socialistic’ welfare programs would wreck what remained of the nations’ economy† (Weiss, 1990, p. 38). However, the American people were ready and willing to make a change. During his election campaign, President Roosevelt proposed his creation known as the New Deal. This program â€Å"succeeded in relieving suffering and giving the nation renewed hope.† Job programs were created and millions of people were placed in these programs. While Roosevelt enjoyed the success of his idea, â€Å"he was uncomfortable with the thought that his programs might prove to be the first step toward U.S. adoption of federal welfare on a broad and permanent basis† (Weiss, 199... Free Essays on Welfare Reform Free Essays on Welfare Reform WELFARE REFORM: CHANGING FACES FROM COAST TO COAST HISTORY The welfare system began as a ‘local’ program. â€Å"When and where public relief was needed, it was left up to state and local officials to provide it.† Each town made up their own set of rules and regulations concerning who would be helped. â€Å"By the early 1900’s, a number of states were requiring cities and countries to offer some assistance to their neediest† (Weiss, 1990, p. 34). Because each town was responsible for their own poor, rules were often made to dissuade would-be users of the assistance programs. â€Å"Local authorities were clever about reducing the welfare price tag with strategies designed to discourage people from applying for relief. One popular tactic, used widely until the mid-twentieth century, was to list welfare recipients by name in the town’s annual written report† (Weiss, 1990, p. 35). Given today’s confidentiality policies, this would not be tolerated. Applicants and recipients are granted a great deal of privacy, protecting them from the public humiliation that was popular in historical times.  · PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE During, and following, the Great Depression, President Hoover was against a federally funded welfare programs. â€Å"Hoover was convinced that ‘socialistic’ welfare programs would wreck what remained of the nations’ economy† (Weiss, 1990, p. 38). However, the American people were ready and willing to make a change. During his election campaign, President Roosevelt proposed his creation known as the New Deal. This program â€Å"succeeded in relieving suffering and giving the nation renewed hope.† Job programs were created and millions of people were placed in these programs. While Roosevelt enjoyed the success of his idea, â€Å"he was uncomfortable with the thought that his programs might prove to be the first step toward U.S. adoption of federal welfare on a broad and permanent basis† (Weiss, 199...

What to Do When You Are Bored in Class

What to Do When You Are Bored in Class Who hasn’t zoned out in class before? Whether your professor has a monotonous voice or you just didn’t get enough sleep last night, everyone has times when paying attention in class is a challenge. Here are some things you can do when boredom overcomes you during a lecture: Eat or Drink Something Depending on your class rules, a quick blood sugar or caffeine boost can be exactly what you need. Just make sure it’s not distracting to the rest of the class such as eating something crunchy or something with an overpowering smell. A fruit salad or cereal bar can be ideal snacks for a classroom setting. Chewing gum can also help give you something to do while you’re passing the time. A cup of coffee is a great pick-me-up for any time of the day and could be just the boost you need to make you sit up and pay attention. Record The Class If you simply can’t pay attention to the lecture, try using a recording app on your phone to make sure you at least have the class on file. That way you can listen to it later when you’re able to concentrate better. Some recording apps also give a written version of the recording, which can be convenient for you to look over. Take a Lot of Notes Sometimes when the teacher is droning on and it’s hard for you to keep focused on what they’re saying, it can be helpful to just write down as much as you can from their lecture. Keep your pen moving as he/she speaks and try to capture as much as you can. This will give you something to concentrate on and keep from zoning out. It will also ensure that you have some enviable class notes that your classmates who fell asleep will want to borrow. Participate More If your professor has class activities such as breaking you up into groups or allowing for question and answer periods, make sure you participate, even if you don’t feel like it. It can force you to wake up and engage more seriously with the material. Ask questions, offer to be a group leader or volunteer to take part in an informal debate. Read Your Textbook You might not be able to pay attention to what your professor is saying, but it could help if you look over your textbook to remind yourself of the context of their lecture. As you read, keep an ear tuned to your professor’s voice to see if what they’re saying connects with the content you’re reading to help you follow along better. Count Everyone has days when their attention span is less than desired. You can’t be â€Å"on† all the time. If you find yourself spacing out in the middle of a lecture, give yourself a break and count to 100. Counting will likely be more boring than your teacher’s lesson so take a big breath after you get to 100 and prepare yourself to focus. Every time you space out again after that, count to ten and then get your focus back on track. This gives your brain a temporary break and allows you to reset. Use Fun Note-Taking Tools When you were a kid, you probably liked using crayons or colored pencils or funny erasers and notebooks with your favorite cartoon characters for school. So, make note-taking fun again by buying some cool accessories, whether it’s colored markers, fun stationary, or other things that ignite your excitement. You could also use a note-taking app on your tablet that makes it more entertaining for you to go to class. Whatever you end up doing to get through class, just make sure you’re not interrupting your professor or being a distraction to your classmates. image credit: flickr.com

Economic Integration has been the Most Concrete and Visible Essay

Economic Integration has been the Most Concrete and Visible Achievement of the EU Since its Creation - Essay Example The process of economic integration has been developed by the EU through involving the facet of political integration amid the member nations in order to establish a well-built monetary paradigm which could facilitate to strengthen the trade activities through considering efficient monetary guidelines (Seller, 2007). Political integration has been considered as the practice whereby countries pass over the desire as well as the ability to perform domestic and foreign guidelines of each other in an independent manner. This process is intended to strengthen decision making process of the nations rather than seeking mutual decision in terms of developing their new central organ. The term ‘political integration’ is also defined as a framework whereby the political leaders in different settings of national districts are influenced to alter their desired expectation as well as political activities to a well-structured new centre (Bache & et. al., 2011). Emphasizing upon the different practices and decisions of the EU in the context of monetary phenomenon, the major purpose of this report is to discuss the concept of economic integration in the EU. ... The process is intended to uphold lower prices both for the distributors and customers with the intention of enhancing the joint economic efficiency of the nations (Jovanovic, 2002). The concept of economic integration has been derived from Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) which had been taken by the European Council in the year 1991 and was preserved later under the treaty of EU. EMU has been recognized as an early step in terms of practicing the process of economic integration. The extent of economic integration can be segregated into six different steps which are designed to augment efficiency and empower the economic development of the states. In accordance with the economic integration process designed by the EU, the six major steps are namely the Preferential Trading Area, Free Trade Area, Customs Union, Single Market, Economic and Monetary Union as well as Complete Economic Integration (European Commission, 2012). Preferential Trading Area (PTA): Preferential trading areas (P TA) can be stated as certain areas, regions, states or nations among which the trade activities are conducted in a minimum custom barrier (Holden, 2003). Free Trade Area: It can be recognized as a group or collection of certain countries that appeal to maintain low trade policies as well as control mechanisms in terms of tariffs while performing trade activities amid each other. Free trade areas endorse the approving nations to freely execute trade activities of their products and/services so as to create economic efficiency of both the countries (Rodrigue, 2013). Customs Union (CU): The step tends to set widespread external tariffs between the member nations and

Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Creativity - Essay Example However, Csikszentmihalyi suggested that young students "cannot be creative, but all creative adults were once young students' (Csikszentmihalyi, 1966:156). The entire idea of this statement by Csikszentmihalyi is dependent on the fact that young students "can show tremendous talent, but they cannot be creative because creativity involves changing a way of doing things, a way of thinking, and that in turn requires having mastered the old ways of doing/ thinking. No matter how precocious a student is this he cannot do' (1996:155). In other words Csikszentmihalyi stated that it is education that makes an individual creative. In this context it would be relevant to mention that Amabile suggested that "...creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the second" (Amabile et al 1996). As it is Csikszentmihalyi viewed creativity as the highest achievement of human mind as he states that "Creativity is the central source of life for several reasons. Most of the things that are interesting, important and human are the result of creativity." (1997: 1) Csikszentmihalyi's views in this context suggested that there is an attempt of invoking creativity within young students but there can be no conviction that the method proved the usher of creativity within young students of 12-16 years. It s... knowledge that they wish to acquire but they stressed on the particulars of methods and neglected creativity by keeping it aside as they implied that it is a inheriting part of the young student's mechanism. In this regard we can enumerate the ideas put forward by Emerson who suggested that "by our tempering and thwarting and too much governing he may be hindered from his end and kept out on his own" (Emerson 251) In other words Emerson believed that the students should be given enough liberty to formulate their own approach towards education or they are creative enough to formulate one. This again is an alternative view of Csikszentmihalyi's views that suggested that even if there are no direct evidence of creativity there always remains an element of attempt to be creative all along. Literature review View of Csikszentmihalyi states that "creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognize and validate the innovation." (1997: 6) but in the same context Freire suggests that it " emerges through invention and reinvention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful enquiry men peruse in the world, with the world, and with each other." (Freire 319) Thus it can be enumerated that this element according to Freire is more of a reflex action rather than a formulated procedure and it can be further mentioned that this process of learning is an instrument of survival that was incorporated within us from the prehistoric era and he expects every young student to be creative. Freire stressed that the education of young students must involve their senses. He presents guidelines for creating an educational