Friday, September 6, 2019
A Research Paper on G.K. Chesterton and The Man Who Was Thursday Essay Example for Free
A Research Paper on G.K. Chesterton and The Man Who Was Thursday Essay While doing research on G.K. Chesterton and his literary masterpiece, I came upon this article on Gilbert Magazine in which his answer to the question â€Å"What is the difference between progress and growth?†was posted. To this question, he answered: The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside of us.            First of all, I didnt even know he has a magazine. Secondly, since I have never heard of him before, I ask myself why on earth has it taken so long for me to discover such an amazing man? His statement above is just one of the marvelous pithy quotations of a man who never earned a doctorate and, in fact, never even attended a university. I have read some of them and I am amazed at how he can say something about everything and says it better than everybody else.            It is with utter delight that I am taking this journey to the discovery and uncovering of a genius – a journalist, a debater, an artist, a happy man – for in discovering him, I discover passion, wisdom, and myself. G.K. Chesterton: A Poet, Storyteller, and Ironist            G.K. Chesterton cannot be summed up in one sentence. Nor in one paragraph. With all the fine biographies I have encountered that have been written of him, I dont know if the Gilbert Keith Chesterton has really been captured between the covers of those books. In the first place, how could one simplify a man of such complex talents? He was very good at expressing himself, but more importantly, he had something very good to express – the reason why he was one of the greatest thinkers and writers of the 20th century and a champion of the Roman Catholic religion. K. Chesterton is alive and kicking today in a way that most of his contemporaries are not precisely because he enunciated clearly and forcefully the fundamental principles in the light of which issues, whether of today or of yesterday, can be confronted intelligently, and he has dedicated this extraordinary intellect and creative power to the reform of English government and society. Literary types would laud him for his poetry and novels and detective stories and plays; social critics would approve him for his prescient admonitions about eugenics and nihilism and socialism; champions of domestic democracy would like his doctrine of distributism; philosophers would be challenged by his insights and quips; the fundamentalist Christian would defend him for defending Christianity, and the Catholic Christian would enjoy the enjoyment Chesterton derived from his Catholicism. This is a multifaceted man.            Gilbert was a day boy at St. Paul’s. The masters rated him as an under-achiever, but he earned some recognition as a writer and debater. Although he never went to college, he proved that genius cannot be tied down to the rules of the academy, nor need we be subservient to the prejudices of the academy in evaluating genius. Chesterton, in fact, chose to be a journalist, because in that role he could think most profoundly, powerfully, cogently, and effectively.            He was vitally concerned with the injustices of Great Britain to its dependencies. He progressed from newspaper to public debate. He used logic, laughter, paradox, and his own winning personality to show that imperialism was destroying English patriotism.            In 1900 he published his first literary works, two volumes of poetry. In 1900 he met Hilaire Belloc, and in 1901 he married Frances Blogg. These events were two of the great influences in his life. From 1904 to 1936 Chesterton published nearly a dozen novels, the most important being The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904) and The Man Who Was Thursday (1908). In 1911 Chesterton created the ‘‘Father Brown’’ detective stories. During his literary career he published 90 books and numerous articles. He poured out a wealth of lighthearted essays, historical sketches, and metaphysical and polemical works, together with such well-known poems as ‘‘The Ballad of the White Horse,’’ ‘‘Lepanto,’’ and the drinking songs from The Flying Inn. Among his major critical works are studies of Robert Browning (1903) and Charles Dickens (1906). Prodigiously talented, Chesterton also illustrated a number of Belloc’s light works.            Chesterton spoke of himself as primarily a journalist. He contributed to and helped edit Eye Witness and New Witness. He edited G. K.’s Weekly, which advocated distributism, the social philosophy developed by Belloc. Chesterton’s overriding concern with political and social injustice is reflected in Heretics (1905) and Orthodoxy (1909), perhaps his most important work.            I could say that Chesterton was not a philosopher in the sense of one who, like Plato or Aristotle, Aquinas or Bonaventure, Descartes or Kant, Hegel or Kierkegaard, made original contributions to the history of human reflection on the reality of the real. We can, however, say that he made two remarkable contributions which are still immensely worthwhile today: (1) he was unmatched in his ability to satirize the philosophical foibles of his day; and (2) although his philosophy was not unique his manner of expressing it was unique; one cannot read him, even today, without being again and again suddenly pulled up short. In view of his perennial concern with ideas and with ideas that count, with ultimates he has to be called a philosopher, not merely, however, as a lover of wisdom, but as one who possessed a certain kind of intuitive wisdom.            Throughout his life, G.K. Chesterton was one of the most colorful and loved personalities of literary England. To his intellectual gifts he added gaiety, wit, and warm humanity that endeared him even to his antagonists. This English author, journalist, and artist was born in London on May 29, 1874. He died at his home in Beaconsfield on June 14, 1936, but it doesnt matter. To those who know him and are passionate readers of his works, his wisdom lives on. To those like me who simply stumbled upon him, he lives again. In our hearts, his wisdom is timeless. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Masterpiece of a Non-Degree Holder Genius            Versatility of topic, address, genre, device, whatever more there is in the heaven and earth of mind and spirit brought to letterssuch is the hallmark and mandate of Chesterton. He can be straightforward and for right, crisp and to the point, or witty, with a certain malice aforethought. He can take the way of irony or simply snort when his patience is exhausted. He can soar with angelic sweep or swoop like a bird of prey. His descriptive hand is as authentic as any, as witness this from the beginning of The Man Who Was Thursday: The suburb of Saffron Park lay on the sunset side of London, as red and ragged as a cloud of sunset. It was built of a bright brick throughout; its skyline fantastic its ground plan wild. More especially this attractive unreality fell upon it about nightfall when the extravagant roofs were dark against the afterglow and the whole insane village seemed as separate as a drifting cloud. This . . . was more strongly true of the many nights of local festivity, when the little gardens were often illuminated, and the big Chinese lanterns glowed in the dwarfish trees like some fierce and monstrous fruit.            The Man Who Was Thursday was the phantasmagoric 1908 novel of eccentric anarchists, philosopher-detectives and a riddle-writing criminal mastermind who just might be God. Subtitled A Nightmare, this masterpiece by G.K. Chesterton better known for his Father Brown detective series mingles theological brainteasing with cloak-and-dagger capers like a cross-country balloon chase and a  bombing conspiracy fomented over jam and crumpets.            This metaphysical thriller spirals out madly from a marvelous premise: a London counterintelligence chief has formed a corps of â€Å"policemen who are also philosophers.†An initiate tells the books hero Gabriel Syme, who is with the British police: The ordinary detective goes to pot-houses to arrest thieves; we go to artistic tea-parties to detect pessimists. The ordinary detective discovers from a ledger or a diary that a crime has been committed. We discover from a book of sonnets that a crime will be committed We say that the most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless modern philosopher.            Soon after joining these vigilantes, he was hired by an unknown, unseen man to infiltrate the noted anarchist movement, making him stumble upon an anarchist conspiracy to destroy civilization and morality itself. He starts with a loudmouthed poet of disorder, Gregory, and follows him into a meeting of the anarchists. Gregory is forced to keep Gabriels identity a secret for his own sake, for he himself had led the policeman into their secret hideaway.            The undercover Gabriel manages to get elected as one of the seven top men in the organization, alias Thursday, much to Gregorys silent chagrin. Gabriel meets with the other members of the council, all of who appear to be dark and dreadfully evil most of all the President, the huge mountain of a man called Sunday. Little by little, however, Gabriel realizes that the other five people under Sunday are not at all evil, but all of them spies from the police!            In the process, however, Gabriel succeeds in getting an entire French countryside to think he and his new friends are really anarchists (meanwhile they are thinking, or wondering in disbelief, that the entire countryside is full of anarchists after them). They nearly get lynched. When things are settled, this group of undercover police go back to England to seek out Sunday, whom they soon find is the very man who hired them to infiltrate the council in the first place! Sunday leads them on a strange and wild chase, during which the six philosophize about the nature of their strange antagonist.            Phantasmagoric escapades proliferate, and police pursuit collides with the carnivalesque nature of the universe. They realize that they have been seeing him from behind, and from behind he looks brutal; but the apparent evil was misleading. The journey ends at a palatial estate where the six are treated like kings, and finally see Sunday for who he is The Sabbath, the peace of God. The council of anarchists has turned into a High Council commemorating the Seven Days of Gods Creation.            The purpose of Sunday as the evil anarchist was to bring forth good through the others to urge them on to unnatural virtue. As they were fighting, they were fighting Satan. As the hearers grow indignant at Sundays using them for his purposes and allowing them to go through such trials, the paradoxical Problem of Evil seems somehow resolved. The last question asked of the strange man as he recedes into space is Have you ever suffered? and the answer the Christian knows is whispered from the distance. The last scene sees Gabriel Syme waking from his reverie, and chatting philosophy with the other Poet of Saffron Park, Gregory.             Chesterton offers up one highly colored enigma after another in The Man That Was Thursday. He truly knows how to create an atmosphere of hallucinatory suspense, to use the fantastic and paradoxical and fugitive to glimpse the other side of God. In an article published the day before his death, he called this literary masterpiece of his, â€Å"a very melodramatic sort of moonshine.†I guess thats how we would describe a novel set in a phantasmagoric London where policemen are poets and anarchists camouflage themselves as, well, anarchists. By turns hilarious and terrifying, Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday is a lyrical search for truth in a world where nothing is what it seems.            This is not a book. This is a glorious experience. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Modern Horror Writers (Writers of English). New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Chesterton, G.K. The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton. New York: Sheed Ward, 1936. Chesterton, G.K. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. New York: Dodd, Mead Company, 1908. Coren, Michael. Gilbert, The Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton. New York: Paragon House, 1990. Dale, Alzina Stone. The Outline of Sanity: A Biography of G.K. Chesterton. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1982. Dale, Alzina Stone. The Art of G.K. Chesterton. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1985. Ffinch, Michael. G.K. Chesterton. San Francisco: Harper Row, 1986. â€Å"More letters asking Whats the Difference?.†Gilbert Magazine Outlining Sanity. 30 November 2007 http://www.gilbertmagazine.com/page_16.html Titterton, W.R. G.K. Chesterton: A Portrait. Folcroft, Pennsylvania: Folcroft Library
Thursday, September 5, 2019
The facilities management
The facilities management The late 1980s saw a growing awareness and increased recognition for facilities management both in the public and private sectors. Corporate strategies for competitiveness have caused businesses to relook at all their processes and restructure them in a way that decreases costs and improves efficiency. (Alexander, 1994) Definitions of Facilities Management There are many varying definitions of facilities management. The British Institute of Facilities Management perceives it as the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities (BIFM, 2010) Price describes facilities management as an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organisation in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organisation (Price, 2000; Baldry, 2008) The facilities management movement can be summarized as a belief in potential to improve processes by which workplaces can be managed to inspire people to give of their best, to support their effectiveness and ultimately to make a positive contribution to economic growth and organizational success. (Alexander, 1994) The Role of Facilities Management The role of facilities management is gaining recognition within the economy. Government policies in a market economy, such as competitive policies, deregulation and privatisation, have each had an influence on the growth of facilities management over the years. In the Japanese economy, facilities management is already considered as a key element for economic success. They place a greater importance on office productivity and therefore facilities management is seen as a way of improving the efficiency of office workers in Japan. (Alexander, 1994) Alexander, (1994) says that the role of facilities management should be defined by the relationship of facilities to the core business of an organisation in which success is measured by the degree and quality of support they provide to achieving key business objectives or goals. The role and responsibility of facilities management will vary in different organisations. Selecting the correct role of facilities management is critical to the success and effectiveness of an organisation. Creating a facilities management profile based on a case specific basis should potentially lead to successful facilities management practice. The growing pressures of the competitive business world have made organisations realise that they must gain some form of competitive advantage from every section of their organisation. This must also include the costs of running the working environment. In these organisations, facilities are no longer allocated insignificant time but the strategic role of facilities management is widely recognised as well as the benefits of effective management (Baldry, 2008). In the past businesses were operating within a fairly stable economic environment. However the evolution of technology, cost of space, global competition and the greater impact of making mistakes has forced organisations to manage their resources effectively. This issue has given rise and placed more importance on the concept of facilities management. The biggest challenge facilities managers come across is the management of resources in a rapid and constantly changing environment. (Barrett, 1998) As Alexander (1996), emphasizes, the role that facilities management plays in its contribution to the success of the organisation has gained increasing importance since the start of the facilities management concept. Initially facilities management was managed as an isolated activity and considered as an expense like any other cost within a business. Now facilities management is managed as an integrated activity, with the commercial, manufacturing and marketing function of the organisation. Facilities management has bought to the surface many opportunities to gain a competitive advantage over your competitors. Therefore, it seeks organisational effectiveness to help organisations to allocate their resources in a way that allows them to flourish in the very competitive markets. This has therefore encouraged management and business owners to realise that for organisations to benefit from their huge investment in facilities, they have to manage them actively and creatively, with commitm ent and a broader vision (Amaratunga, 2001) The Centre for Facilities Management (CFM) describes facilities management as the process by which an organisation delivers and sustains a quality working environment and delivers quality support services to meet the organisations objectives at best cost It is accepted that facilities management covers a wide range of services and the success or partial failure of an organisations business is dependent on the management of those services (Chotipanich, 2004). Such services can include property management, financial management, change management, human resources management, health and safety management, in addition to services such as building maintenance, domestic services (cleaning and security) and utilities supplies. The essence of facilities management lies in the ways in which facilities are adjusted to business needs and in the effectiveness of the systems that ensure non-core activities deliver value for money (CFM, 1992). At a national level, the strategic objective of facility management is to provide better infrastructure and logistic support to businesses of all kinds and across all sectors. At a local level, its objective is the effective management of facility resources and services in providing of support to the operations of organisations, their working groups, project teams and individuals (Nutt, 2000). Therefore, according to Nutt (2000), the primary function of facilities management is resource management, at strategic and operational levels of support. McNaughton 2007 says Facilities management provides an opportunity for businesses and large conglomerates to focus on their core business leaving the secondary services of security, mailing and cleaning in the hands of the facilities management experts. If implemented correctly, facilities management can benefit your company in the following ways: Reduced risk and increased productivity Reduced operating costs by focusing on core business structures Encourages and sustains a healthy and safe corporate culture Delivers sustainable resource utilisation Optimise asset utilisation Operational and Strategic Facilities Management Facilities management can be divided into two sections, namely operational facilities management and strategic facilities management. Operational facilities management is the interaction within the facilities department itself (i.e the facilities manager and the various functional units such as maintenance, interior planning, architecture etc). The various functional units can be in house or outsourced. Each functional unit should be aware of current techniques and regulations within their specific area of work. The facilities manger is expected to communicate with the core business regularly to identify current facilities requirements. The facilities manager will then benchmark facilities service currently in practice within the organisation against other facilities management organisations and see where an improvement can be made (Barrett, 1998). It can be said that the primary function of facilities management is the operational side as it is the most visible. The function support s the regular needs of the core business. (Chotipanich, 2004) Strategic facilities management looks at the future. The facilities manager will interact with the core business to establish future changes that might occur to the business due to external factors such as competitors etc. The facilities manager will also identify possible developments within the facilities management arena. Interaction between strategic and operational facilities management must occur and the aim is to synergistically balance current operations with the needs of the future. (Barrett, 1998) The figure above (Barrett, 1995) is a generic facilities management model developed by Barrett. It clearly shows the different relationships and communication lines as well as the difference between operational and strategic facilities management. The separation of the core business and facilities management is clear in the above diagram and this emphasises the fact that facilities management is only beneficial if it supports the primary business objectives. It also distinguishes between the current and future environment and makes it easier to understand how facilities management is conducted. Linkages 1, 2 and 3 are at an operational level and 4, 5 and 6 are at a strategic level. The structure of facilities management is related to the needs, environment and circumstances of the organisation at the time. Its practice and composition are particularly important to the characteristics and contexts of the organisation. (Chotipanich, 2004) Barrett (1998) suggests that facility managers should not just select service items from the standard list at random, but provide only those services that are needed by their particular organisation. Facilities management practice is seen as adapting to its situation. Barrett (1998) also stands by the fact that facilities management practice needs to be personalised to a specific organisation. The facilities managers are involved in strategic planning i.e plans for the future as well as daily operations, particularly in relation to buildings and premises. Responsibilities and duties may vary depending on the type of corporation but the most likely responsibilities include: contract management procurement management maintenance of the grounds and buildings general cleaning of the facility and refuse disposal catering and vending health and safety security utilities and communications infrastructure Facilities management is a very important concept in this competitive business world. If this concept is not managed correctly or neglected, it will be to the detriment of your organisation. In the past businesses were operating in a stable economic environment and as a result the setting of goals were done and not redone for a considerable amount of time. In this current economic state, the goals of organisations often change as the economic environment presents new challenges. The increase in competition, employee expectations and the changes in technology forces businesses to manage their resources effectively to stay profitable. References Baldry, D. (2008), Knowledge management practices in facilities organisations: a case study, Journal of Facilities Management British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM). (2010), http://www.bifm.org.uk/bifm/about/facilities Accessed 22 March 2010 Alexander, K. (1994), Facilities Management Theory and Practice Alexander, K. (1996), Facilities Management Theory and Practice Amaratunga, R.D.G. (2001), Theory building in facilities management performance measurement: application of some core performance measurement and management principles Centre for Facilities Management (CFM), (1992). An Overview of the FM Industry Part 1 Chotipanich, S. (2004), Positioning facility management, Journal of Facilities. Nuttt, B. (2000), Four competing futures for facility management Journal of Facilities McNaughton (2007), http://www.eprop.co.za/news/article.aspx?idArticle=9211 Accessed 25 April 2010 Barrett, P. (1998), Facilities management. Towards Best Practice. Barrett, P. (1995), Facilities management. Towards Best Practice. Price, I. (2000), FM and Research, Journal of Facilities.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder Are you having troubles falling asleep at nights? Have you tried warm milk, exercise, yoga, all kinds of sleeping pills and youre still tired? Or that you were told that you had talked during your sleep? Maybe youre having sleep disorders. Sleep disorders can be related to mental conditions, physical conditions or substance inducement. There are about seventy different sleep disorders which are divided into two categories. One category comprises disorders in which a person has hard time in getting sleep or staying asleep or falling asleep at improper time. For example, insomnia, narcolepsy, nocturnal leg syndrome. Sleep disorders which people experience physical events while they are sleeping, such as somnambulism, restless leg syndrome, are categorized in another group. The most common sleep disorder that is suffered by millions of people in the world is probably snoring, which is not medically significant; whereas some sleep disorders can actually be very dangerous as it might caus e a sudden heart attack. One of the most interesting sleep disorders is narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder which is suffered by one in every 2,000 people in the United States. It can be very hard to live with. It is easy for people who know nothing about narcolepsy to think that those who are suffering from narcolepsy are simply because partied too much as people who fall asleep at inappropriate times must be having way too much fun until the early morning. But thats a long way from the truth. Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that is caused by the brains failure to adjust sleep-wake cycles normally. People with narcolepsy experience temporary craving to sleep. Patients usually fall asleep for a period of few seconds to several minutes. In some cases, patients may even remain asleep for an hour or longer if the craving becomes overwhelming. Narcoleptic can easily fall into the REM stage of sleep within 10 minutes; whereas most people do not get into REM stage sleep after 90 minutes. Narcoleptic could not control when and where they fall asleep. T hey might fall asleep when waiting for the traffic light, or they could start snoring in the middle of an important meeting. So, narcolepsy can be very dangerous as patients fall asleep at improper times, such as driving, walking, and so on. Therefore, people with narcolepsy should have someone beside to take care of and avoid driving. Do you think people with narcolepsy seem to have longer sleeping time than normal person? In fact, they spend a weaker proportion of their time asleep during a day. Most of them do also experience frequent awakening during night time sleep due to daytime drowsiness and uncontrolled sleep. How do you know youre actually having narcolepsy? There are several symptoms you might have if you suspect youre a narcoleptic. Cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, and excessive daytime sleepiness are common traces of narcolepsy. Cataplexy is an immediate loss of muscle tone that leads to a feeling of weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control, such as limpness at the neck or knees, sagging facial muscles, or failure to speak clearly. The most critical attack results in a complete loss of tone in all voluntary muscles that leads to total physical collapse in which patients are incapable to move, speak or even keep their eyes open. Nonetheless, patients remain conscious throughout cataplexy. The attack can occur at any time during waking period but mostly triggered by instant emotional reactions, such as surprise, anger, fear or laughter. Episode can last for a few seconds or even several minutes. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 10% of all cases, cataplexy is the first symptom to appear and can be misdiagnosed as a sign of a seizure. Patients should avoid having extreme emotional changes to prevent the attack. Sleep paralysis which is also one of the symptoms can cause fleeting inability to move or speak while in both waking period and sleeping period. Sleep paralysis may too last for seconds or even minutes. Generally, patients remain breathing during sleep paralysis, but, its possible that some patients have experience a disheartening sensation of unable to breath. Hypnagogic hallucinations are dream-like experiences that appear before sleep. The sleeping mind beginning to dream earlier than the body has gone fully asleep is the cause of hypnagogic hallucinations, which means that whatever the patients conscious mind is thinking of will become full sensory hallucinations, similar to what happens in dreams. However, the difference between dreams and hypnagogic hallucinations is these images and sounds are occurring while someone is still actually awake. In additional, hypnagogic hallucinations are usually frightening and vivid. Generally, the excessive daytime sleepiness is the first symptom of narcolepsy to occur. The other symptoms may occur after months or year after the onset of the excessive daytime sleepiness. The excessive daytime sleepiness is mostly last permanently, but sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations may not. How do we really confirm that if were infected by narcolepsy, as having some individual symptoms may not prove that were narcoleptics? For example, hypnagogic hallucinations can occur without narcolepsy. The symptoms of narcolepsy are like symptoms of other illness; therefore, it takes as long as 10 to 15 years to have narcolepsy diagnosed after the first symptoms occur. Narcolepsy is always misdiagnosed as learning problem, seizure disorders or even laziness. Nonetheless, there are some tests available, such as Multiple Sleep Latency Test(MSLT), Polysomnography, and the Hypocretin Test. In the MSLT test, patients are required to have a daytime nap for about 20 minutes every 2 hours. Normal people without narcolepsy usually fall asleep within 10-20 minutes; whereas patients with narcolepsy usually fall asleep within 5-8 minutes. This test also shows that how fast you get into REM stage of sleep which narcoleptics easily get into it. Polysomnography is an overnight sleep study which r esult brain activity, eye movements, heart rate, and blood pressure that can find out how quick one falls asleep, how fast one experiences a REM stage of sleep after sleeping and how often one wakes up during the night. The hypocretin test which has not yet become the main diagnosis tool for narcolepsy can measure the level of hypocretin in cerebrospinal fluid. Nacroleptics normally have lower level of hypocretin. Narcolepsy is so interesting yet dangerous, but what causes narcolepsy? Some say heredity, some say infections. What is confirmed is that narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. It is not caused by mental illness or psychological problem. In fact, scientists have also discovered that narcoleptics are usually lacking in hypocretin, also called orexin, which is a chemical in the brain that helps promote wakefulness. Nevertheless, the causes of low hypocretin level arent well understood. Researchers think that low hypocretin level isnt caused by individual factor, it might be caused by several factors together, such as infections, brain injuries, heredity, and autoimmune disorders. Despite the disorder has been studied for a long time, the causes of narcolepsy are not determined. However, World Health Organization has discovered some narcoleptics were actually born with a gene that increases the risk of having this rare disease. Scientists found that this gene might have joint effect with H1N1 swine flu vaccine to cause narcolepsy. This is because many cases of narcolepsy among children and adolescents that have been reported in 12 countries in 2009 have received the H1N1 swine flu vaccine earlier before as well. Patients are likely to develop narcolepsy symptoms between 2 and 10 weeks after receiving the vaccine. Researchers also claimed that the risk for those who got vaccinated to get narcolepsy is about 9 times higher than those who did not get vaccinated. There are also reports that show children who ages 5 to 15 are most likely to get narcolepsy. Nevertheless, cases which narcolepsy is linked to H1N1 swine flu vaccine have only been observed in Finland and Sweden, although the vaccine is used in all over the world. Hence, the link between H1N1 swine flu vaccine and the sleep disorder narcolepsy is still being investigated by the World Health Organization. Due to the fact that the causes of narcolepsy are still not known, there is no known way to prevent this dangerous sleep disorder, even treatment of narcolepsy is only to reduce the number of attacks. The goal of treatment is to improve daytime alertness and minimizing symptoms such as cataplexy, hallucinations and sleep paralysis. Narcolepsy can usually be controlled with treatment, though. The treatment of narcolepsy is mainly changing in lifestyle. Patients should eat light meals during the day and try to avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine as these are factors that may increase the odds of an attack after meals. Narcoleptics may also take naps during the day for 20 to 30 minutes to maintain well functionality and social obligation. Medications can be used to control the symptoms as well. Medication such as Ritalin helps to reduce excessive daytime sleepiness and improves alertness. It has side effects such as headache, irritability, nervousness, notwithstanding its usefulness. U nfortunately, there are no surgical procedures for the treatment of narcolepsy at this time. From the Chinese traditional medicine point of view, the cause of narcolepsy is explained by the Ying-Yang theory. Narcolepsy is developed because of the Ying of ones body is greater than the Yangs and in additional that ones spleen is not functioning well. These are the two main points that cause one to experience drowsiness and also excessive daytime sleeping. However, in Chinese traditional medicine method, it seems to have better treatment than the normal western medicine method. The Chinese have recently invented a medicine that has no side effects for narcoleptics. According to the research done by Mrs. Yang in China who is a Chinese medicine practitioner, 68 patients who taken this healing method for a period of 90 days, 72% of them have obvious improvement, as in the excessive daytime sleeping has been fully cured; 24% of them have improvement, as in the excessive daytime sleeping has almost cured; the other 4% of them have no improvement. This is a great step of treatment fo r narcolepsy as 96% of patients have improvement after taking this healing method. Therefore, this healing method is now spreading out very quickly in China and also received tons of good comments. In conclusion, narcolepsy is a devastating disorder that causes extreme fatigue and often results in the patient falling asleep immediately without warning. It often causes muscle weakness and comes with snoring. Narcoleptic experiences episodes of uncontrollable sleepiness several times a day and it usually happens after meals, but it may also happen at any inappropriate time during the day and last for about fifteen minutes. Patients will then awaken refreshed, only to become exhausted within the next hour or so. It is known that narcolepsy represents a neurological problem of sleep wake mechanisms in the brain yet the causes are still unknown. Although it is not fatal, it still has serious repercussion if the situation gets worse. Thus, it is a dangerous disorder without a cure as it actually affects the brain and muscles. In my opinion, narcolepsy is horrible as it may affect patients in several areas in their lives included daily activities, social functioning and working abilit ies, and it can result in total paralysis, leaving the patients to suffer for the rest of their lives.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Changes in Macbeths Character throughout the Play Essay -- Drama
How I would advise the actor to portray the Dramatic changes in Macbeth’s Character throughout the play. Macbeth’s character throughout the play would be very complicated for any actor to portray, so there would be a large amount of hard work needed. During the play Macbeth portrays a large variety of different feelings e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, frustration etc, so I would have to thoroughly advise my actor on each scene of the play. Also, I would have to teach him on how to close the finishing speeches of Macbeth’s lines, these are very important because they carry a very big amount of significance and impact. In every single type of play, one of the most significant parts is the first entrance of the main actor. This is eminently important because, when the audience first see how the main actor walks, talks and the type of attire he/she is wearing, they can withdraw a lot of information about them e.g. whether they are honourable, devious, heinous etc. In the first entrance of Macbeth (Act 1 Scene 3), he opens with the line â€Å"So foul and fair a day I have not seen†. I imagine that this line would be said with quite a deep voice. From reading this line I would advise my actor to walk straight, with his head held high as if he was a very dominant and opulent man. Also a little later in the same scene he gets very obsessed with the witch’s predictions and is zealous to hear more, plus he gets a little bewildered when the witches say that he may become the Thane of Cawdor. For my actor to portray this part of the scene I would advise him to elevate the tone of his voice, to show his eagerness, to learn more about the predictions and also, I would tell him to show a very puzzled face to show his bewilderment over one of the predictions. In Act 1 Scene 4 when Macbeth shows his gratitude to King Duncan for the murder of the Thane of Cawdor by saying â€Å"The service and loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself†he seems to be very imperturbable. For this part of Scene 4 I would advise my actor to have a very calm expression but to still show a little gratitude for the honour that has been shown to Macbeth by King Duncan. Later in the play when Lady Macbeth appears, you get to know a little bit about Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship. Firstly when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth meet in the play (Act 1 Scene 5), they seem ... ...ck, and midnight hags! What is’t you do?†. Eventually, the witches bring in three apparitions. The first apparition was an ‘armed head’, he was trying to warn Macbeth of Macduff â€Å"Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth: beware Macduff, Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough†. This apparition was actually true, because at the end of the play, Macduff decapitates Macbeth. The second apparition was a ‘bloody child’, he said â€Å"Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn. The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth†. The third apparition was a ‘Crowned child, with a tree in his hand’, he told Macbeth â€Å"Macbeth will never vanquished†. The last two apparitions were actually lying to Macbeth, so he could feel in power. To act these parts, when Macbeth hears the first apparition I would advise my actor to have a very smug look on his ace trying to indicate that no one can murder him because he has so much power and loyalty. When he hears the last two apparitions, I would advise him to become very egotistical because of the compliments they make to him. But, at the same time I would advise my actor to be quite shocked, because he is being told his future, from ghosts.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Due Diligence when You Buy Websites :: Sell Websites Buy Websites
Due Diligence when You Buy Websites Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com Due Diligence is the period when you will be able to access the company's books and records to verify that all of the information that you have been told thus far is true and accurate. Most often, people unwisely believe that Due diligence is simply the time to verify the financial position of the company. While this is true to some extent, a proper and effective Due Diligence goes way past the financials. Sure, you want to be certain that what you have been told is true but realistically even if the numbers are exactly as they were presented to you, then what? All you would have is a confirmation of the past but absolutely no inclination of what the future may hold for the company or the industry. The Right Approach To Due Diligence Is this the time to look for things that are wrong with the business? Is this the time to strictly verify numbers? Is this the time to disprove what you have been told by the seller? While each of these approaches is somewhat valid none are absolute. Sure, you will want to employ a part of each of these strategies but an effective Due Diligence is when you can really "check things out". Without question, your approach is to use this period to determine whether or not the future looks bright for the business and the industry. To do so, you must investigate far more than the financial aspect. Sure, the various financial statements will give you a picture of the past and perhaps a glimpse of the future but the past is over and done with. You must thoroughly review the company's sales, marketing, employees, contracts, customers, competition, systems, suppliers, and legal and corporate issues. You want to complete the Due diligence period knowing exactly what you are getting into, what ne eds to be fixed, what the costs are to fix them and if you are the right person to be at the helm to put the plans in place to make a great future for the business. In other words, learn everything before you buy! How Long Do You REALLY Need Every seller and every broker working for the seller will try to negotiate the shortest Due Diligence period possible. I have heard situations where this was limited to a week or so.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Crime Control Essay
Crime has become as multifaceted as human nature, impinging on communities and threatening human rights and freedoms. Has the impact of criminal activity become extremely intense, that we as society members have strayed away from honesty and justice? Are individuals no longer valuing integrity and fairness? Criminal justice organizations both public and private sectors goals are to reduce crime within the communities and regain the trust and confidence in a fair and just system for law-abiding citizens. In the process of achieving a fair and just society, due process and crime control tactics must adhere to the ethical dimensions of the criminal justice system. I am prepared to introduce a synopsis that highlights key ethical issues in the justice system that is directly affected by ethical motives. Honesty versus Justice within the Communities Trust is a factor that is lacking within the communities, and the question in mind is how will the criminal justice organization rehabilitate the issue and let justice prevail. Justice is often defined as fairness or the suitable rewards or retribution. Justice focuses more on a person’s rights more than the needs of an individual. So how can justice prevail if community members are fighting against law enforcement, and honesty among officers and the community is obsolete? In many cases, even when people notice a crime, they often turn the other way. According to NPR (2010), â€Å"Witnesses to crimes involving things like gang activities can often be scared away from giving information to police. It does not help that a stop snitching philosophy has been promoted by some hip-hop artists and many urban communities†(para 2). After past incidents of bad treatment by the outside world and law enforcement, it has become a mainstream thought in many minority communities law enforcement is not to be trusted. And if the community cannot trust police officials, the people in the community will not step forward and be honest and aid in the investigations. Police Departments are committed to working with the communities to recognize and resolve community problems. There are departments of employees dedicated to working collectively through an assortment of programs. These programs and services are created in hope that trust and justice will be incorporated back into the community and law enforcement agencies will be able to optimistically impact the community’s quality of life as well as highlight the strengths of neighborhoods. Due Process and Crime Control Tactics Law enforcement has integrated strategies into the communities to prevent and solve crimes that are affecting citizen’s quality of life. Crimes such as theft, burglary, and vandalism are a few areas law enforcement has turned their focus on. Local law enforcement organizations will have to become accustomed to existing policing programs to fulfill the requirements of security. The goal of due process and crime control is to enhance the effectiveness of the community. When the community trusts and believes in the justice field, community members will be more prone to assisting law enforcement. Due process ensures the law is being incorporated in the tactics to prevent and stop criminal acts. Another way for law enforcement to gain the trust and respect of the community is to offer up incentives that demonstrates community enhancements. increased involvement from groups in public decision making increases access to material resources and financial opportunities for underprivileged groups changes in public policy to achieve greater and meet the needs of diverse groups increases in suitable, available community services and common interest groups developing more early childhood and youth programs within the communities Law enforcement organizations have sought to investigate the causes of crime within the communities and lower the level from the hearts of the people being affected by criminal acts. Through the construction of successful joint venture with the community and public and private sectors problem solving procedures are being implemented and ethical standards and being followed. In the awaken of September 11th incident, law enforcement agencies discover that they are understanding that it is important to identify the responsibilities and create goals goals that will reduce crime within the communities and regain the trust and confidence in a fair and just system for law-abiding citizens. According to Lane & Henry 2010, ‘People argue for longer term strategies aimed at dealing with the political, social, economic and cultural factors associated with crime. In doing so, we explore the potential of community development to contribute to crime prevention, particularly community or street crime and violence. Theoretical and practice intersections between community development and certain crime prevention approaches are identified – notably those which link crime and violence with dis-empowerment, poverty, inequality, exclusion, the learning of violence within families and communities, and lack of opportunity for children and young people to develop their potential†(para 1). Conclusion Crime has become as multifaceted as human nature, impinging on communities and threatening human rights and freedoms. The impact of criminal activity has become extremely intense, that we as society members have strayed away from honesty and justice. Law enforcement agencies are working extremely hard to rebuild the union that has been broken. Individuals are no longer valuing integrity and fairness, but with the support from law enforcement, trust will be regained and community members will be more prone to step up and offer assistance. Criminal justice organizations both public and private sectors goals are to reduce crime within the communities and recover the trust and confidence in a fair and just system for law-abiding citizens. In the process of achieving a fair and just society, due process and crime control tactics must adhere to the ethical dimensions of the criminal justice system. I have identified ethical issues in the justice system that is directly affected by ethical motives and come to the conclusion that dedication from both parties is the answer to rebuilding a broken society.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Construction and De-construction of Race Essay
Races exist. They are everywhere in the world. In our history classes, we have discussed the existence of Caucasians, Mongoloids, Negroes, etc. The members of each racial group have common characteristics that make them distinct from other groups. However, in the quest to understand better the human variations across races, professionals from various fields – medicine, biology, anthropology, etc – have conducted studies to prove, or disprove, the existence of races in the scientific sense. In Modern Human Variation: An Introduction to Contemporary Human Biological Diversity , three models of human classification were discussed. First is the typological model which â€Å"focuses on a small number of traits that are readily observable from a distance such as skin color, hair form, body build, and stature. †Diamond (1994) gives truth to this, citing that â€Å"all native Swedes differ from all native Nigerians in appearance†and that one race cannot be mistaken with the other. However, Diamond also argued that â€Å"there are many different, equally valid procedures for defining races, and those different procedures yield very different classifications. †He further discussed other studies in which the differing geographical locations of humans contribute to their varying human traits. Factors such as survival and sexual selection, and a third possible explanation which is no function at all, were considered in human classification. Again, inconsistencies of this theory were later discovered, showing evidences that â€Å"among topical peoples, anthropologists love to stress the dark skins of African blacks, people of the southern Indian peninsula, and New Guineans and love to forget the pale skins of Amazonian Indians and Southeast Asians living at the same latitudes†(Diamond, 2004). With these contentions, the typological model is contradicted. On the other hand, the population model â€Å"looks for breeding populations first and then considers the anatomical and physiological traits that may distinguish them. †This means looking into a single group where members mate only with people within the group. The same article discussed, however, that with the relatively convenient means of intercontinental travel, intermixture of humanity has emerged, thus making the population model relatively ambiguous in the study of human variation today. The third model, the clinal model, â€Å"is based on the fact that genetically inherited traits most often change gradually in frequency from one geographic area to another. †With this framework, the clinal model may seem to be the soundest theory on human classification. However, it cannot be fully relied on since â€Å"the distribution of some traits is partly discontinuous†¦ these can be understood as results of historical migrations or exclusive breeding within more or less closed communities. †We have tried to construct races through scientific studies but failed to establish its exact definition. This brings us back to again to the crux of our contention. Do races exist? Yes, they do. People from all over the world have been grouped based on their physical characteristics, culture, religion, ethnicity, and other factors. Groups were given names so that individuals can easily identify in which group they belong. This is how lay humans understand the word â€Å"race†today. The concept has been constructed to satisfy the human need for order. But as Goodman (2005) puts it, â€Å"race is not a mere social construct, but as a lived experience has devastatingly real effects. †The construction of race led to the emergence of racial discrimination, making some â€Å"races†assume superiority over others. With this assumption, people of the â€Å"superior race†consequently assumed power over the â€Å"minorities†. The political advantage of the â€Å"superior race†gave way for them to gain more access to resources and wealth. Discrimination further reached the social sphere, with the â€Å"minorities†being labeled as the â€Å"ugly†people since their physical traits differ, most of the time in the opposite manner, from those of the â€Å"superior race†. Looking back through world history, our books tell us stories of some â€Å"races†(e. g. Africans) who were enslaved by the â€Å"superior races†during the earlier times. At present, racism still exists in the form of prejudice to certain â€Å"races†that have been generalized to possess certain characteristics. In Asia, the revolt of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has caused prejudice against Muslims in most parts of the world, generalizing these people as terrorists. Accordingly, the social construction of races have inflicted numerous, and perhaps even millions, of incidents of social injustice worldwide. Then again, combining the clinal and population models, Keita et al (2004) contend that â€Å"the nonexistence of ‘races’ or subspecies in modern humans does not preclude substantial genetic variation that may be localized to regions or populations. †The authors cited a recent study on the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome, which can â€Å"make forensic distinctions possible even within restricted regions such as Scandinavia. †It was however clarified that â€Å"because this identification is possible does not mean that there is a level of differentiation equal to ‘races’. †We cannot totally negate the scientific studies conducted and currently being conducted on human biological variation. These studies, as in the point of view of Keita et al have policy implications for health studies. While Keita et al advocate for more refined and detailed study on human biological variation, Goodman is also supported in his position to â€Å"call for a new vocabulary and concepts†to study the same. This way, the widely-known concept of race may be de-constructed. Difference in skin color, hair form, body build, religion, culture, ethnicity, and others, does not make an individual less of a human, and as such these characteristics should not be seen as barriers to social justice.
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