Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Nineteen-seventies Was An Incredible Decade. It Was A Essays

The nineteen-seventies was an incredible decade. It was a decade of change, one of freedom, a time for great music. It was also an incredible decade for shock, fear and serial killers. John Wayne Gacy, an amateur clown, was a pedophiliac homosexual. He tortured and killed thirty three little boys and stored their remains under his house. David Berkowitz, a.k.a. the Son of Sam, stalked New York City from nineteen-sixty-seven to nineteen-seventy-seven. He claimed to have been following a voice from his dog that told him when and where to kill. Ted Bundy, who is believed to have killed at least thirty-four people, was charged for only three under his own defense- and in fact, he was commended by the judge for his own defense. He was put to death. With the combination of a very powerful media and a society fascinated with gruesome, sadistic crimes, modern serial killers have been put in the spotlight. We are enraptured with serial killers so much, that we pay seven dollars to go see a movie where everyone except the bad guys gets strangled, mutilated, or shot- and enjoy it in some sick way. The media goes out of its way to glamorize murder and terrify the public. We support killers like Charles Manson on Death Row with our tax dollars. In fact, we support them with more than that. About two months ago there was an art show in California entitled: The Death Row Art Show III. Pieces sold for thousands of dollars regardless of their aesthetic appeal, because of the identity of the artists. Serial killers are becoming as popular as rock stars. Serial killers are a development of the industrial world; they really didn't "come about" until the late eighteen-hundreds when society was becoming modernized and the threat of the new age sort of displaced some individuals so much they felt they had to kill to get their point across to society. Jack the Ripper is probably the most notorious killer in history because he established the serial killer profile. Ripper set up a pattern for the new line of mass murderers who would follow in the tradition of a truly organized killer. He had a sexual obsession with prostitutes that led him to target complete strangers for a days work. When he was done, he laid his victim out in a ritualistic manner with various disemboweled items placed strategically on or around the victim's corpse. Of course, murder has been around for centuries, committed by under-educated thieves. No one was interested in meeting, and hearing about a poor peasant that slit someones throat in a dark alley. But ever since the introduction of serial killers into our society, with their precision and strategy of the murder, the media became fascinated with these people, and so did society. So instead of killing or punishing these horrible people, we now have television networks arguing over movie rights to the killers story. News shows fighting to get the "exclusive interview". T-shirts with the killers faces on them(e.g.. the famous "Manson T-shirt"). The only explanation I can offer is that we are still obsessed with our own mortality, and we always will be. As long as we die, we'll be fascinated by those who seem to be invincible from death like, serial killers, Hitler...its almost as is we like to see the act of death itself, over and over, to observe the exact moment- or what it is that puts us over that incredible brink between life and death. I can honestly say I am fascinated with the serial killer. But since when did we condone the practice of serial killers? Why aren't they put to death promptly after being convicted, instead of being kept alive for the media to interview? You have to wonder who is making money in this. When we allow people like this to dominate our media, it's like we're saying its all right to murder. Did society and the media forget that the victims of those serial killers are us and our families? Its not the serial killers that affected the twentieth century so much, but the spotlight that allowed them to grow. Maybe if not for all the attention, there wouldn't of been so many deaths. There are so many maybes, so many problems. But it all comes down to one thing, basically, money. The media will do just about anything for money. When are they going to learn that they have been corrupting the minds and souls of observers everywhere? --- Works Cited Yofee, Ellen B. "Here Pigs!" Gear October 1995: 10-12 The editors of Time

Sunday, November 24, 2019

DEVELOPMENT OF BIODEGRADABLE FILM FROM PLEUROTUS SAJOR-CAJU WASTE Essa

DEVELOPMENT OF BIODEGRADABLE FILM FROM PLEUROTUS SAJOR-CAJU WASTE Essa Full Paper DEVELOPMENT OF BIODEGRADABLE FILM FROM PLEUROTUS SAJOR-CAJU WASTE Hazwani Binti Husain, Ahmad Yazid Bin Rahman, Norshazila Binti Senawi, Yamunasri A/P Kuthiah, Syaliyana Binti Khairudin, Thivya A/P Nadarajah Jabatan Agroteknologi dan Bio-industri, Politeknik Nilai, 71760 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Article history Received 2 July2014 Received in revised form 5 November 2014 Accepted 25 November 2014 *Corresponding author Graphical abstract Abstract The accumulation of waste results in growing concern on the environmental issues all around the world. Enormous researches have been done to convert waste into valuable materials. This research aims to recycle mushroom waste into valuable biofilm. Mushroom waste from Pleurotus sajor-caju harvested from Rumah Cendawan, Politeknik Nilai has been used to develop biofilm which has the potential to be molded into variety of products. A total of 42 formulations have been developed and 14 best formulations have been chosen. The tensile strengths of these 14 biofilms have been tested by using Shimadzu Universal Testing Machine and the biodegradability characteristics of the films have been tested. Variable of positive results observed. In conclusion, biodegradable film from Pleurotus sajor-caju waste can be developed as a better alternative to the existing plastics in the market. Keywords: Pleurotus sajor-caju, waste, biofilm, tensile strength and biodegradable Abstrak Pengumpulan sisa buangan telah meningkatkan kebimbangan tentangi isu-isu alam sekitar di seluruh dunia. Penyelidikan secara besar-besaran telah dilakukan untuk menukar bahan buangan menjadi bahan-bahan berharga. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengitar semula sisa cendawan menjadi biofilem berharga. Sisa buangan cendawan Pleurotus sajor-caju yang dituai dari Rumah Cendawan, Politeknik Nilai telah digunakan untuk membangunkan biofilm yang berpotensi untuk dibentuk menjadi pelbagai produk. Seramai 42 rumusan telah dibangunkan dan 14 formulasi terbaik telah dipilih. Kekuatan tegangan 14 biofilem telah diuji dengan menggunakan Shimadzu Universal Testing Machine dan ciri-ciri biodegredasi filem telah diuji. Kepelbagaian hasil positif diperhatikan. Kesimpulannya , biofilem dari Pleurotus sajor-caju boleh dibangunkan sebagai alternatif yang lebih baik untuk plastik yang sedia ada di pasaran. Kata kunci: Pleurotus sajor-caju, sisa buangan, biofilem, kekuatan tegangan dan terbiodegradasikan 2015 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved 1.0 INTRODUCTION The durability properties which make plastics ideal for many applications can lead to waste disposal problems in the case of traditional petroleum-derived plastics, as these materials are not readily biodegradable. Other than that, petroleum-derived plastics are resistant to microbial degradation thus will accumulate in the environment [1]. For instance, it can take up to one hundred years to degrade only a few grams of plastic (such as polyethylene) under normal environmental conditions. Because plastics cannot be degraded by natural processes in a short period of time, they are left as plastic waste, causing environmental problems [2]. Since last decades, many attempts have been focused on grafting or blending plastic materials with cheap and biodegradable natural biopolymers, such as starch, cellulose and chitin to create new materials with desired properties [3]. In the mushroom industry, a massive amount of the biowaste accumulated during mushroom production and harvesting, mainly consist of stalks and mushrooms of irregular dimensions and shapes. The amount of biowaste obtained can be up to approximately 50,000 metric tons of waste material per year [4]. Wastes left over in the edible mushroom farms can also become free and alternative source of chitin-chitosan materials, beside the traditional industrial source shellfish waste materials. Waste accumulated during mushroom production and harvest consist mainly stalks and mushroom of irregular dimensions and shapes. Waste disposal create environmental problems for producers due to the large volume and volatile degradation products [5]. This research had been done to determine the biodegradability and the tensile strength of biofilm from Pleurotus Sajor-caju waste as a potential plastic replacer. Figure 1: The effects of Force (N) on variety of formulation of biofilms. Figure 2: The biodegradability of various formulations of biofilms. 2.0 EXPERIMENTAL 2.1Materials Rotten mushrooms of Pleurotus sajor caju were obtained from Rumah Cendawan Politeknik Nilai, Negeri Sembilan and all chemicals used in producing the biodegradable film as well as for analytical procedures were of analytical grade or of the highest purity available. Details of chemicals were sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, starch powder and glycerine. 2.2Preparation of Mushroom powder The rotten mushrooms were washed with clean water to remove dirt or other undesirable materials before leave it drying to room temperature. Then the dried mushrooms were ground into powder in a blender then they were sieved and

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Consult the facilitator regarding the assignment of one of the Eastern Essay

Consult the facilitator regarding the assignment of one of the Eastern religious traditions studied in the course - Essay Example He wished to eradicate ignorance in society and bring about enlightenment, in order to relieve oneself from distress and escape what Buddha called the cycle of suffering and rebirth. The concept of rebirth in Buddhism states that a being, after death, is reborn into the world in another form as a creature superior or inferior to the one in the previous life, depending on how ignorant or enlightened one has been in one’s lifetime. For example, an ignorant human being is likely to be reborn as an animal in the next life, whereas a human being, who has tried to be righteous and upright in the ways prescribed by the religion, can be reborn as a spirit or an angel. Buddhism is, in a way, in addition to being a religion, a philosophy explaining the nature of life and existence. It talks about suffering, which is an inevitable part of life for all human beings - whether among the affluent in society, or one of the deprived – and further goes on to explain that there is not onl y a cause for that suffering, but also an end of the suffering and a method to end the suffering. These are the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism. The method to the cessation of suffering is the Noble Eight Fold Path, which states that making use of â€Å"right perception, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration† (Calyaneratne, 2011), in that order, leads to the attainment of the state of final liberation called Nirvana (Calyaneratne, 2011). This state is, according to Buddhism, the ultimate purpose of a person’s life. Successfully reaching this stage of liberation requires a human being to forgo all worldly things and desires, as Buddhism declares all worldly objects as temporary. The idea is that these objects hinder a human being from complete liberation of the soul and from reaching the superior state or Nirvana; hence, Buddhism condemns the yearning for such objects. Furthermore, since there is no concept of worldly happiness in Bu ddhism and the only path that deserves focus is the Noble Eight Fold Path (Calyaneratne, 2004). The word ‘religion’ brings to one’s mind a guide defining for its followers a code of conduct, a way of life. All religions, no matter how distinct and unmatched they are in their backgrounds, their beliefs about life and their practices, the fundamental values taught by each religion can, certainly, be penned down as quite similar; the dissimilarity lies in the way those values are taught. At the end of the day, all religions, using the similar means of prescribing various ethics, are working towards the ‘good life’, in the interest of an individual and for the improvement of society. Even though this is a very overarching, umbrella perception on religions around the world and religions are gravely different from each other on many grounds, one can draw links between Buddhism and the various other Eastern religious traditions, which consist of â€Å"Hind uism, Confucianism, Jainism, Taoism, and Shinto† (Calyaneratne, 2011). Hinduism and Buddhism origins belong to the same subcontinent – Indian – and the two faiths are known to share a long and interesting relationship (Religion Facts, 2011). While some even consider Hinduism to have been an offshoot of Buddhism, it is widely acknowledged, despite the fundamental differences, that both religions have influenced each other in some way or the other. Confucianism, prevalent in China, values ethics that complement various other

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

For an organization to achieve its business strategy, leadership and Essay

For an organization to achieve its business strategy, leadership and management development is key - Essay Example The roles of both the leaders and managers require training and support so as to make best use of their effectiveness. Leadership and management development involves different practices that are necessary for making the best use of a companys human resource (Storey 2004). Training of employees helps to offer critical skills and information that will catapult an organization to a higher level and compete with other organizations effectively. Leadership and management development is important to businesses because it gives the owners of the business an opportunity to the performance of employees. Training of managers will positively influence employees within a company or business (Fulmer 2007). Leadership and management development enables a business to provide managers with the skills and capability necessary for their respective tasks and make the business succeed. A company that boasts of an effective leadership and management development programs improves the productivity of workers since the programs allow the workers to be motivated. Motivated employees will lead to higher productivity hence the success of the organization. The internal development allows an organization to furnish its employees with the right skills that the organization needs instead of generalizing skills (Fulmer 2007). Employee development helps to retain younger managers who may require an opportunity to grow through training with the organization. Many companies train talented employees on different facets of their jobs, although a section of them may not succeed in providing personal support to the employees. To avoid making such mistakes, managers ought to take a keen interest in the future of their juniors by mentoring them. Young employees need guidance from experienced leaders so as to avoid making mistakes when they must make a decision for the organization. Socialization programs such as offering mentorship can familiarize new leaders with the vision,

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Project - Assignment Example The culture of accomplishing simple results through complicated means ensured his works became perceived as increasingly unique. This fame of his cartoons led to the syndication of his works, which brought increased popularity of these cartoons. The machine I would design would be for lifting utensils into a utensil sink form the table. There would be a lever which would swing when the utensils are placed on the rack. The rack would them be connected to a rod similar to a fishing rod which an individual can utilize to move the lever to the direction of the sink. Through moving the roller of the fishing rod, the lever would swing to the other side and enable the utensils fall into the sink. This Rube Goldberg machine would include a fishing rod, a beam balance, a roller and a pulley fitted at the end of the fishing rod. The utilization of these simple machines would create an effective machine for lifting utensils from table into the sinks after an individuals has completed having a meal. This would effectively ease the work of making clearance after

Friday, November 15, 2019

Association Between Excess Iron and Type 2 Diabetes

Association Between Excess Iron and Type 2 Diabetes Diabetes is a lifelong and costly metabolic disease that could lead to several life threatening complications, such as diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular disease (CVS). Therefore, a better understanding of its pathophysiology and identifying the possible mechanisms underlying this disease could be helpful in preventing its occurrence and complications. Obesity is found to be the major risk factor that derives type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recently several studies has demonstrated that there are other risk factors that participate in developing T2D such as iron accumulation in the liver. Studies showed that high levels of iron are associated with oxidative stress. Iron is considered a strong pro-oxidant through the production of hydroxyl radicals, powerful oxidant species. In addition, iron overload is found to be associated with lipid accumulation in the liver cells (steatosis) which leads to insulin resistance. Fatty liver, oxidative stress, obesity and other factors are considered tr iggering factors that increase the risk of developing T2D. Therefore, iron might be involved in diabetes pathophysiology. It is also anticipated to be a risk factor for developing insulin resistance and other diabetic complications. It is also important to investigate whether high iron levels could increase the risk of diabetes or having diabetes will elevate iron levels. Background Introduction Diet and lifestyle play a major role in prevention of type 2 diabetes (T2D)[2]. Macronutrients, such as carbohydrates and fat should be restricted to decrease the chance of developing T2D. However, the impact of micronutrients on the reduction of the incident of T2D is not well established [2, 3]. Several studies suggested that some micronutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, chromium and iron could cause insulin resistance and diabetes [2]. Iron is considered as an essential nutrient for humans as it is the major component of oxygen transporters in the body, and it is has a metabolic function as a cofactor for several enzymes. However, excess amount of iron is found to be harmful to the body by altering glucose metabolism and the production of reactive oxygen species that play a role in the generation of additional reactive oxidants, such as hydroxyl radicals in which iron salt plays a catalytic role in a reaction. This reaction is known as a metal catalysed Haber-Weiss reaction [4, 5]. Pancreatic islets are found to be more susceptible to oxidative stress as their defence against oxidants is weak. Mouse model with high levels of iron and oxidative stress mediates apoptosis of pancreatic islets with a subsequent decrease in insulin secretory capacity [5, 6]. Previous studies on animals showed an increase in diabetes incidence after parenteral administration of iron. Evidence on the role of iron in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus was first discovered in patients with classic hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). This hereditary disorder is characterised by a progressive accumulation of iron in the heart, liver, pancreas, and other parts of the body. The frequency of diabetes was found to be increased in those patients [5]. Other studies suggested that phlebotomy or iron chelation therapy will decrease iron level and thus improve insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients [7]. Other studies on thalassemic patients showed an increase in insulin resistance[5]. Although the exact mechanism on the participation of iron in the onset of diabetes is not exactly known, however, iron overload found to be associated with hepatic dysfunction, insulin deficiency and insulin resistance.[5] Previous evidence confirms the association between iron overload and insulin resistance. However, further investigation is warranted to prove the relationship between the accumulation of iron and the progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, correlation between hepatic iron overload with chronic liver disease such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been considered. Like glucose, iron level is regulated by a mechanism similar to that for glucose. It is regulated by a hepatic peptide hormone called herpcidin. High levels of iron stimulate the synthesis of herpcidin, which in turn decreases the iron exporter ferroportin in macrophages and intestinal cells and thus reduce serum iron. High consumption of food that contains iron and glucose will also increase the risk of hyperglycaemia and iron overload. Males are at higher risk to develop iron overloading than females, because females lose iron from blood during menstrual cycle.[8] Kowdley et al, investigated the role of serum ferretin levels and the accumulation of iron in NAFLD [9]. An increase in ferretin levels is associated with greater accumulation of iron in hepatic cells, but even in patients without iron overload, ferretin was associated with advance stages of NAFLD. This concludes that iron overload is unrelated to advanced stages of NAFLD characterised by systemic inflammation. This study gives a contradictory role of iron overload in patients with NAFLD.[8] Insulin-resistance is found to be related to hepatic iron-overload syndrome. Typically, in NAFLD, the iron accumulation is mild and involves hepatocytes and sinusoidal Kupffer cells. Nevertheless, iron reduction treatment was found to be beneficial in the treatment of NAFLD disease activity as well as increase in insulin sensitivity.[10] Iron overload has also been found to be associated with diabetic complications, such as diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular disease [5]. Animal studies showed an increase in the amount of iron in the kidneys. An increase in urinary iron was also found in patients with diabetic nephropathy [5]. In patients with CVD, high iron levels are associated with several complications such as myocardial infarction (MI) [5]. Diabetes is found to be associated with more than one risk factor including iron overload, fatty liver and obesity. More research is warranted to investigate the correlation between elevated iron levels and the incidence of T2D. Obesity is another detrimental factor that is found to be prevalent in diabetic patients. It is considered a major cause of inflammation, which may be responsible for developing insulin resistance leading to diabetes. High levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been reported in obese patients [11].Therefore, our study will also investigate the relationship between obesity, T2D and iron levels. Aims and objectives Because iron overload is found to affect major tissues involved in glucose and lipid metabolism (pancreatic B cells, liver, and adipose tissue)[12]. Iron overload is found to be related to several metabolic chronic disease, such as T2D, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver and other complications [12]. Our aim of the study is to investigate the association between excess iron in the body and T2D. This study also aims to elucidate how iron levels and T2D are related to obesity. Plan of investigation A cross-sectional observational study will be carried out. It will include a group of 180 participants. The study population will be categorized into four groups consisting of Group 1: Healthy individuals (controls); Group 2: Obese healthy individuals; Group 3: Normal weight diabetic patients; Group 4: Obese diabetic patients [13]. The inclusion criteria are patients aged between 40 and 70 years with a male to female ratio of 140:40; only postmenopausal women will be included to reduce possible confounding by iron deficiency. The exclusion criteria are any history of uncontrolled hypertension, cardiac, pulmonary, and neurological complications. Participants having recent infectious, inflammatory or neoplastic conditions; or with laboratory evidence of inflammation (C-reactive protein >0.5 mg/dl or white blood cell count >11,000/uL, platelet count >400,000/uL), and individuals who is anaemic will be excluded [13]. Heavy smokers and alcoholics will also be refused enrolment. Methods and materials General measurements: On the first day, every participant will be allocated to the appropriate group after conducting diferent measurements. Body mass index (BMI) will be measured for each patient by dividing their weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) squared. Any participant with a BMI> 30 is considered to be obese. Then, the blood pressure will be taken by a standard sphygmomanometer for each patient while they are on a supine position. Patients will be asked to avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine 12 hours before the measurements.[14] Then each participant will be asked to fill in a 50-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess their iron consumption.[2] Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) will be used to measure blood glucose levels for participants then results will be recorded. Before OGTT they will be asked not to eat, or drink for up to 8-12 hours. Participants will have to ingest 75 g glucose in 250-300 ml water over five minutes. Then the blood samples will be taken after 2 hrs of glucose ingestion. (Normal value less than 140 mg/dL) [15]. Iron overload will be measured by ferritin blood test; overnight blood samples will be obtained. Ferritin can be measured in serum using serum separator tubes (SST), or plasma using lithium heparin or EDTA tubes. Centrifugation and separation within 24 h of sample collection is required and ferritin is stable for 7 days at 2-8Â °C. The samples must be centrifuged to remove precipitates and fibrin [16]. Statistical methods: Statistical analyses will be performed utilising Minitab software. Descriptive statistics will be performed for each group. The mode of distribution for continuous variables will be detected according to Anderson darling test. Serum ferritin values for each group will be compared with the control group and the significant difference will be determined by Student t-test or Mann Whitney test according to the mode of distribution. A p-value lower than 0.05 will be considered significant. By comparing ferritin levels of the control group with the obese nondiabetic group, we will determine if there is a significant relationship between obesity and iron levels. On the other hand the relationship between iron levels and diabetes will be determined by comparing the group of diabetic healthy weight with the control group. We could also determine the role of obesity in T2D. The association between the serum ferritin levels, BMI and blood glucose levels will be determined by Spearman’s r ank correlation test. Higher correlation is demonstrated with Rho values close to 1. The 50-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) filled in by each group of participants will be analysed trough Minitab software. This will help to evaluate the association between dietary intake of iron and the risk of T2D. Fund should be allocated to purchase tools and materials to successfully conduct this project. Tools of measuring glucose level are essential during different phases of this project. These tools will estimate blood glucose levels and provide data that will enrich analysis. Serum separator is essential to estimate iron levels necessary to conduct analysis and find correlation with blood glucose level. Estimation of iron and blood glucose and their correlation is advantageous for participants. The results of this project will reflect on their diet specifications by either increasing or decreasing iron content. This project will provide insights to how much iron should be minimally consumed to reduce the incidence of diabetes. Also, many recommendations for obesity will be flagged up in this project to reduce the incidence of diabetes and raise awareness toward diabetes and its complications. This study also requires the participation of a part-time technical assistant in distributing the questionnaire, collection of data and feedback. An experienced researcher is required to guide me in the experimental part of the study as he has a broad expertise and knowledge in practical issues. Given the large sample size taken in this project, support needs to be offered by researchers and technical assistants to collect blood samples and conduct the required tests to meet the pre-determined objectives in a timely fashion The use of participants in the study helps to make a difference in care for future diabetic patients by providing information about the risk factors that will derive the disease, with the possible interventions. It will also benefit the participant themselves by gaining knowledge about the different dimensions of diabetes and through helping them to improve their quality of life by changing their lifestyle and diet modification. Of note, this study will not cause any harm for participant.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

A Global Theory of Knowledge for the Future :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

A Global Theory of Knowledge for the Future ABSTRACT: There is too much factual knowledge to grasp even a speck of the whole. This makes for an excessive diversity that lacks in coherent unity. With no coherency in the parts, there will be no coherent truth in the whole. Without coherent truth there is only a relative truth. Relative truth makes for contradiction from different viewpoints, perceptions, and perspectives. Contradictions deny a common definition and meaning of truth, morality, justice, and beauty. They also deny common standards, values, principles, and virtues. Uncommon values lead to personal and social conflict and confusion, to the blocking of learning in education, to the disintegration of social unity. To have common standards and values, that a global theory of knowledge requires, concrete factual knowledge should be unified by abstract concepts that are unified by abstruse principles that are unified by symbolic structures. Such principles ultimately derive from an ultimate unity and structure. This ultim ate unity is the keystone that holds the whole systematic structure of knowledge together. Definitions: Spiritual: Intuitive knowledge. The antithesis of sensual. Rational: Logical knowledge. The synthesis of the spiritual and sensual. Sensual: Sensory knowledge. The antithesis of the spiritual. Progressive Ranges: Hierarchical social levels, like person, group, nation, civilization. There is too much factual knowledge to grasp even a speck of the whole. This makes for an excessive diversity that lacks in coherent unity. With no coherency in the parts, there will be no coherent truth in the whole. Without coherent truth there is only a relative truth. Relative truth makes for contradiction from different viewpoints, perceptions, and perspectives. Contradictions deny a common definition and meaning of truth, morality, justice, and beauty. They also deny common standards, values, principles, and virtues. Uncommon values lead to personal and social conflict and confusion; to the blocking of learning in education, to the disintegration of social unity. Such personal and social problems result from learning only the factual leaves on the Tree of Knowledge. This causes one to lose sight of unifying principles that are the roots, and the unifying concepts that are the branches. To have common standards and values, that a global theory of knowledge requires, concrete factual knowledge should be unified by abstract concepts, that are unified by abstruse principles, that are unified by symbolic structures. Such principles ultimately derive from an ultimate unity and structure. This ultimate unity is the keystone that holds the whole systematic structure of knowledge together.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Biography †Aryabhata, the Indian mathematician Essay

Aryabhata (476 CE – 550 CE) was the first Hindu mathematician and astronomers from India. He wrote couple of treatise about mathematics and astronomy. Some of them were lost. His most famous works Aryabhatiya completed in 499 CE and the Arya-Siddhanta. Aryabhatiya consists of 108 verses, in which Aryabhata wrote about the mathematics and astronomy at the age of 23 in 499 CE. He was born in India at Asmaka or Kusumapura in 476 CE. There is no clear evidence of the place of birth (Indian Streams Research General, September 2012). Aryabhata studied in Kusumapura and stayed there for some time. The evidences from Hindu, Buddhist tradition, and Bhaskara I (629 CE) recognize Kusumapura as Pataliputra, currently known as Patna. Aryabhata was the head of an institution at Kusumapura. The University of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time. This university had an astronomical observatory that forces the belief that Aryabhata was the head of the Nalanda University. Aryabhata set up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar (Aryabhata – Indian Mathematician). Aryabhatiya deals with mathematics and astronomy. That consists of an introduction containing astronomical tables and Aryabhata’s system of phonemic number notation. This work consists of three sections: Ganita (means mathematics), Kala-kriya (means Time calculations), and Gola (means Sphere). Ganita covers decimal number system, algorithms for square and cubic roots, geometric measurements, the algorithm for Pi, tables of sines using Pythagorean Theorem, quadratic equations, proportions, and the solution of linear equations. This discusses the Aryabhata’s method to solve the mathematical problem, Kuttaka (means pulverizer) also known as Aryabhata’s algorithm. This algorithm suggests breaking a problem in smaller fractions. Kala-kriya speaks about astronomy. It is about treating planetary motion and include the definition of various units for time, eccentric, epicyclic planetary motion modes, longitude, and latitude. Gola discusses the plane trigonometry to spherical geometry. It also has prediction of solar and lunar eclipses and explicit statement about westward motion of stars because of the  spherical rotation of the Earth about its axis (Indian Streams Research General, September 2012). The Arya-siddhanta was the work on astronomical computations. Surya Siddhanta was the base of this work and considered the start of the day at the midnight, as opposed to sunrise according to Aryabhatiya. It also contained a description of several astronomical instruments: the gnomon (shanku-yantra), a shadow instrument (chhAyA-yantra), possibly angle-measuring devices, semicircular, and circular (dhanur-yantra/chakra-yantra), a cylindrical stick yasti-yantra, an umbrella-shaped device called the chhatra-yantra, and water clocks of at least two types, bow-shaped and cylindrical. Bakhshali Manuscript discussed the place-value system first in the 3rd century. Georges Ifrah, the mathematician from France, acknowledged that awareness of zero by Aryabhata in place-value system because of a place holder for the powers of 10 with null coefficients. Instead of using Brahmi numerals Aryabhata continued the tradition from Vedic times by using letters of the alphabet for denoting numbers, expressing quantities, such as the table of sines in a mnemonic form (Indian Streams Research General, September 2012). The Surya Siddhanta laid foundational rules to determine the true motions of the luminaries and introduced the sine, cosine trigonometric functions. Aryabhata devised the formulae for calculating the area of triangle and circle. He also devised the same for pyramid and sphere. Formulae for triangle and circle were correct. Most historians claimed that formulae for sphere and pyramid were incorrect. He created a table of sines and versine with formula sin (n+1) x – sin nx = sin (n-1) x – (1/225) sin nx versin= 1 – cosine Aryabhata’s definition of jya (sine), kojya (cosine), urkrama-jya (versine), and otkram-jya (inverse sine) influence the trigonometry (Indian Streams Research General, September 2012). Aryabhata concluded that the approximation for pi ([pic]) is irrational. In Ganitapada he gave the formula for the ratio of circumference to the diameter as ((4 + 100) Ãâ€" 8 + 62000)/20000 = 62832/20000 = 3.1416, which is accurate to five significant figures (Aryabhata – Indian Mathematician). The speculation was that Aryabhata used ‘Ä sanna’ (means approaching), to mean that not only is this approximation but also that the value is irrational. This shows quite a sophisticated insight from him because Lambert proved the irrationality of pi in Europe only in 1761. Bhaskara’s commentary on Aryabhatiya discusses the topic known as Diophantine equations, e.g., integer solutions to the equations that have the form ax+by = c. That formula to find value of N stated as N = 8x+5 = 9y+4 = 7z+1. It turns out that the smallest value for N is 85. Vedic text Sulba Sutras discussed these notoriously difficult diophantine equations. Aryabhata provided rules of algebra in the Aryabhatia and those are as follows: and  13 + 23 +†¦+n3= (1+2+†¦+n) 2 In some texts, Aryabhata seems to ascribe the apparent motions of the heavens to the Earth’s rotation. He believed that the planet’s orbits as elliptical rather than circular. Aryabhata correctly insisted that the earth rotates about its axis daily and that the apparent movement of the stars is a relative motion caused by the rotation of the earth, contrary to the then-prevailing view in other parts of the world that the sky rotated. The first chapter of the Aryabhatiya indicated this, where he gives the number of rotations of the earth in a yuga, and made more explicit in his gola chapter (A He used analogy of movement of boat going forward. During this movement person feels an unmoving object going in opposite direction than the boat. With this analogy he discussed the appearance of unmoving stars going uniformly westward. The cause of rising and setting is that the sphere of the stars together with the planets apparently turns due west at the equator, constantly push ed by the cosmic wind. Aryabhata described a geocentric model of the solar system, in which he mentioned that the Sun and Moon in turn revolve around the Earth. He calculated the positions and periods of the planets with respect to uniformly moving points. He stated that speed at which Mercury, Venus, and Sun move around the Earth is identical and is different from the specific speed of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. He represented each planet’s motion through the zodiac. Most historians of astronomy expressed that this two-epicycle model reflects elements of pre-Ptolemaic Greek astronomy. Historians saw another element in Aryabhata’s model, the Å›Ä «ghrocca, the basic planetary period in relation to the Sun as a sign of an underlying heliocentric model. He explained  solar and lunar eclipses. He stated that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight and explained eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth. His theory explained the lunar eclipse occurs when the moon ent ers into the Earth’s shadow and discussed the length the size and extent of the Earth’s shadow. He provided the computation and the size of the eclipsed part during an eclipse. Later Indian astronomers improved on the calculations, but Aryabhata’s methods provided the core. Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation as 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds; the modern value is 23:56:4.091. Similarly, his value for the length of the sidereal year at 365 days, six hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds is an error of three minutes and 20 seconds over the length of a year (Indian Streams Research General, September 2012). Aryabhata’s work influenced the Indian astronomical tradition and several neighboring cultures through translations. His work as translated in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age (c. 820 CE). Al-Khwarizmi cited some of his results and in the 10th century Al-Biruni stated that Aryabhata’s followers believed that the Earth rotated on its axis. Aryabhata’s astronomical calculation methods were also very influential. Islamic world widely used the trigonometric tables to compute many Arabic astronomical tables (zijes). Calendric calculations devised by Aryabhata and his followers contributed the practical purposes of fixing the Panchangam (the Hindu calendar). Other cultures used this for forming the calendar systems. India honored Aryabhata by naming India’s first satellite as Aryabhata. An Institute for conducting research in astronomy, astrophysics, and atmospheric sciences is the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIOS) near Nainital, India. Indian authorities named the inter-school math competition as ‘Aryabhata Maths Competition’, as is Bacillus Aryabhata, a species of bacteria discovered by ISRO scientists in 2009. References Indian Streams Research General: Avhale, P. S; Waghmare, R. V.; Kolhe, S. B. Indian Streams Research Journal. Sep2012, Vol. 2 Issue 8, Special section p1-5. 5p. Retrieved from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=2&hid=117&sid=d84c9078-6d85-4131-9209-e44cdb4cba58%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=a9h&AN=82351338

Friday, November 8, 2019

Using the French Future Tense

Using the French Future Tense When youre starting to learn any language, you need to know how to use the future tense. Although it functions similarly in French as in English, some differences are worth considering.   Basic Future Tense in French The French future tense talks about upcoming events. While the French future tense has a full set of conjugations, the English equivalent is just the modal verb will  plus the main verb. For example: Jirai au magasin demain. / I will go to the store tomorrow.Ils mangeront dans lavion. / They will eat on the plane. Conditional Use The French future tense can also be used in si clauses, to express what will happen if a condition is met: Si jai le temps, je le ferai. / If I have time, I will do it.Je le ferai si jai le temps. / I will do it if I have time. French Vs. English There are some differences between the French and English future tenses. When the action of the verb after certain constructions will take place in the future, the future tense is used in French, whereas in English the present tense is used: Quand il arrivera, nous mangerons. / When he arrives, we will eat.Je vous tà ©là ©phonerai dà ¨s que je pourrai. / Ill call you as soon as I can. In journalism and other factual narration, the future is often used in French even though the events are in the past: Nà © en Martinique, Aimà © Cà ©saire à ©tudiera Paris et redà ©couvrira lAfrique. / Born in Martinique, Aimà © Cà ©saire studied in Paris and rediscovered Africa. In French, the future can also be used for polite orders and requests, in place of the vous form of the imperative: Vous fermerez la porte, sil vous plaà ®t. / Close the door, please. To express something that is going to occur very soon, you also can use the futur  proche  (near future tense). Irregular Verbs The future is  one of the simplest French tenses. There is only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them- even many that are irregular in the present tense- use their infinitive as the root. French has only about two dozen  stem-changing  or irregular verbs that have irregular future stems but take the same endings. The exact same verbs are irregular in the  conditional  and use the same  stems. acheter  Ã‚  achà ¨ter-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  achever,  amener,  emmener, lever,  promeneracquà ©rir  Ã‚  acquerr-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  conquà ©rir, senquà ©rirappeler  Ã‚  appeller-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  Ãƒ ©peler, rappeler,  renouveleraller  Ã‚  ir-avoir  Ã‚  aur-courir  Ã‚  courr-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  concourir, discourir, parcourirdevoir  Ã‚  devr-envoyer  Ã‚  enverr-essayer  Ã‚  essaier-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  balayer,  effrayer, payeressuyer  Ã‚  essuier-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  appuyer, ennuyerà ªtre  Ã‚  ser-faire  Ã‚  fer-falloir  Ã‚  faudr-jeter  Ã‚  jetter-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  feuilleter,  hoqueter,  projeter,  rejeternettoyer  Ã‚  nettoier-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  employer,  noyer,  tutoyerpleuvoir  Ã‚  pleuvr-pouvoir  Ã‚  pourr-savoir  Ã‚  saur-tenir  Ã‚  tiendr-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  maintenir, obtenir, soutenirvaloir  Ã‚  vaudr-venir  Ã‚  vie ndr-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verbs:  devenir, parvenir, revenirvoir  Ã‚  verr-  Ã‚  Ã‚  similar verb:  revoirvouloir  Ã‚  voudr- French Future Conjugations To conjugate a verb ending in -er or -ir in the future tense, add the appropriate endings to the infinitive. For verbs ending in -re, remove the final -e and then add the future endings. For irregular verbs, add the endings to the irregular future stem. Here are the future conjugations for the regular verbs  parler  (to speak),  finir  (to finish), and  vendre  (to sell), and the irregular verb  aller  (to go):    Pronoun Future ending parler parler- finir finir- vendre vendr- aller ir- je -ai parlerai finirai vendrai irai tu -as parleras finiras vendras iras il -a parlera finira vendra ira nous -ons parlerons finirons vendrons irons vous -ez parlerez finirez vendrez irez ils -ont parleront finiront vendront iront

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The life and times of Ghandi essays

The life and times of Ghandi essays Throughout history most national heroes have been warriors, but Gandhi was a passive and peaceful preacher of morals, ethics, and beliefs. He was an outsider who ended British rule over India without striking a blow. Moreover, Gandhi was not skillful with any unusual artistic, scholarly, or scientific talents. He never earned a degree or received any special academic honors. He was never a candidate in an election or a member of government. Yet when he died, in 1948, practically the whole world mourned him. Einstein said in his tribute, Gandhi demonstrated that a powerful human following can be assembled not only through the cunning game of the usual political maneuvers and trickery but through the cogent example of a morally superior conduct of life. Other tributes compared Gandhi to Socrates, to Buddha, to Jesus, and to Saint Fancis of Assisi. The life of Mahatma (great soul) Gandhi is very documented. Certainly it was an extraordinary life, poking at the ancient Hindu religion and culture and modern revolutionary ideas about politics and society, an unusual combination of perceptions and values. Gandhis life was filled with contradictions. He was described as a gentle man who was an outsider, but also as a godly and almost mystical person, but he had a great determination. Nothing could change his convictions. Some called him a master politician, others called him a saint, and millions of Indians called him Mahatma or Bapu (father). I on the other hand call him extraordinarily great. Gandhis life was devoted to a search for truth. He believed that truth could be known only through tolerance and concern for others, and that finding a truthful way to solutions required constant attention. He dedicated himself to truth, to nonviolence, to purity, to poverty, to scripture reading, to humility, to honesty, and to fearlessness. He called his autobiography, My Experiments with Truth. Gandhi overcame fear in him...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper 2 - Essay Example The government also guaranteed losses to the tune of $300 billion due to troubled assets of the Citibank. Subsequently, the restructuring exercise done by the management under the leadership of the newly joined CEO Vikram Pandit did turn the table. The bank showed profit in the last four figures is a testimony to the successful strategic actions taken by the management. Pandit in an address to the company employees listed the following objectives to spearhead the bank to old glories. 1. The focus is now on emerging markets. Citibank is well placed to tap the opportunities due to wide network of its offices throughout the world. Bank aims at remaining number one in emerging markets. 4. Bank would take great strides in the coming years by meeting financial needs of their clients from infrastructure to alternative energy to many development projects in the fastest growing economies in the world. The recent performance of Bank of America does not show much of a promise as BOA made losses to the tune of $8.8 billion in the second quarter this year. The biggest issue with BOA is $408 billion of mortgages that bank is holding in home equity. Banks future is linked with the recovery of housing market and that is not likely to show any sign of recovery because of the high unemployment rate prevailing in the US market. Depressed economy in US and high unemployment rate will keep housing market in a subdued state for quite a long time. For this reason, BOA remains a highly risky stock with not much of a hope of any dramatic improvement in coming years. Moreover, BOA is not active enough in the emerging markets and developing economies with a possibility of getting benefited like Citibank. From the above analysis it seems that though both the banks had worst period during the subprime crisis, Citibank is displaying required dynamism to come out of the crisis through

Friday, November 1, 2019

Marketing management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Marketing management - Assignment Example It is the first step of the STP model where the customers possessing similar set of wants are grouped under a particular segment (Kotler, 2012). The market segments are not created by a marketer instead; it is identified and decided on which consumers to target. Mass marketing is different from segmentation marketing and the later is considered more beneficial in terms of market strategy. The organization can implement a much precise and targeted marketing mix in case of segmentation marketing. The automobile sector is classified into the following: Although most of the developed countries are major hub for the premium cars, the growth rate of the budget car segment is also moving up the ladder as the consumers are becoming more aware of the financial and economic changes in the market leading to cost consciousness. The target customers of this sector are generally young adults and the retired consumers. Car brands which come under the small car segments are Maruti 800 and Tata Nano. The price of this car segment ranges from 2.5 lacs – 3 lacs (Kotler, 2012). This segment constitutes to a very limited market, creating its own niche and the cars are all priced above 15 lakhs. The premium car segment targets the high income group and the elite classes. The car brands are Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Jaguar (Kotler, 2012). The second stage of the STP model is the selection of the target market. It is the customer bases which are targeted by a company to maximise its profit and revenue. Targeting means analysing different segments of the market and identifying the specific customer group as well as the sub markets where the company should compete. The estimation of the specific segment and the target market is done by comparing the financial attractiveness of the segment with the company’s objectives and capital to invest. Emphasis is given on the size of the segment, the resources required for market penetration, the