Middle School Graduation Speech

Today you are graduating middle school. Some of you are sitting in your seats thinking â€Å"its just middle school, its not really even a big deal. † I know that because that was me at the same time last year But it's a big deal. Three years of your life are gone, some of you may believe you have nothing to show for these three years, but that could not be farther from the truth. You have grown, not Just In the getting taller sense- but In the sense that you are becoming the person you are meant to be.You have developed your own ideas and your own sense of the world. You have learned many many things, even if you don't believe so. You have challenged yourself without knowing and made the adults in your life so proud of you in Just three years. So what about the next four years you have here at Greenville? What will you accomplish? What about your years after you leave us? How many heights will you reach? The world Is yours. The world Is yours to conquer and to change. Maybe I t will take you years to decide how you want to live your life, or maybe you already know.Maybe you now now and will change your mind, and that is perfectly fine. Maybe you will start on a road that is not for you or maybe you will get lucky and take the correct path on your first try. You will get hurt and you will fall down. When this happens, chances are you won't want to get back up, but you have to. If you let life keep you down you will go nowhere. So don't listen to things people say about you, because the only opinion of you that matters Is what you think of yourself. Not everyone Is going to love you, actually a majority of people will hardly even like you.But who really cares about those people? If they waste their time trying to knock you down, they obviously aren't even worth me taking the time to talk about. You only have a short amount of time here, and you should use every minute of it wisely so when the time comes and your life flashes before your eyes you are not di sappointed with what you see. So learn everything you can. Take advantage of every opportunity given to you. Stand up and use your words for good, and always remember to dance In the rain.You'll get mixed up, of course, s you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed. ) Kid, you'll move mountains! So†¦ Be your name Buxom or Boxy or Bray or Moroccan All Van Allen Ashes, you're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So†¦ Get on your way!

Industrial Revolution Essay

Industrial revolution describes the period between 1750 and 1850, in which tremendous changes characterized by developments in textile, iron were realized. The revolution was spearheaded by Britain. Modern historians refer to these changes as the first industrial revolution (Clark, 2007). The second revolution was characterized by steel, electronics and automobiles and was spearheaded by Germany (Clark, 2007). The Industrial Revolution was a period filled with drastic social and economic changes. The transformation between hand-made tools and goods to machine-manufactured products changed not only the economy, but also the lives of the workers. The first changes began in Great Britain in the 1780’s and spread across Europe and North America by the 19th century leaving a profound effect on the entire world. The Industrial Revolution effected every aspect of human society including the nature of work, child labor, and health conditions of the workers. Agriculture was a dominant job for workers before the Industrial Revolution. Sebastian Le Prestre Vauban listed many typical jobs including â€Å"†¦mowing, harvesting, threshing, woodcutting, working the soil and the vineyards, clearing land, ditching, carrying soil to vineyards or elsewhere, laboring for builders and several other tasks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wiesner 152) in his tax-reform proposal. This document shows that life as farmer consisted of purely manual labor. Although these jobs were arduous and demanding, the typical agricultural worker was only employed for half the year according to Vauban. Agriculture was a task-based working system where the work was completed according to a completing a task by a certain deadline. As long as the tasks  were completed on time, the hours spent working were not tightly regimented. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, workers moved from the fields to the factories. The Industrial Revolution had a great impact on the human’s rights and conditions and it also resulted in significant technological advancements, but it can be categorically stated that the technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution were paramount when compared to the revolution’s impact upon human rights and conditions. Agriculture was the main-stay for livelihood before the era of Industrial Revolution. Most of the people owned farmlands and workers were employed to work in the farms. Although Industrial revolution brought about significant economic development throughout Europe, there were also considerable social and cultural changes seen as well (Snooks, 2002). Industrial revolution had a tremendous transformation on the middle class, which initially was comprised of industrialists and businessmen to another class of noble and gentry people. There were increased employment opportunities for the ordinary working people in the industries, but under s trict working conditions. There work was monitored and controlled by machines hence long hours of work (Clark, 2007). Industrial revolution led to the introduction of urbanization since many people relocated to the cities to look for employment in factories; such as the water power silk mill and the cotton spinning mill. This was characterized by dense, cramped housing and poor living conditions. There was the introduction of new laws guarding child labor, public health and working condition for the ordinary workers to avoid exploitation of the minority (Snooks, 2002). As much as there were positive effects of the industrial revolution such as urbanization, there was also a negative impact on industrial revolution that comprised of people who were anti technologists such as the luddites (Clark, 2007). There was a change in culture since new cities grew rapidly, affecting families and peer groups. For instance, there was an influence in drugs by peer groups and the following: Economic Changes During the first industrial revolution, there was an unprecedented economic transformation; there was a tremendous increase in population growth that  was sustained. This led to considerable expansions of commercial activities in Europe (Snooks, 2002). Steam power was invented that was used to provide power in the factories, used for mining, and transport. It replaced human labor and introduced machines that could do mining in depth, increase production in the industries, and fast means of transport to the markets. The textile industry was changed by new machines the spinning Jenny allowing for much higher production at lower costs and in less time (Jacob, 1997). Thanks to the industrial revolution that brought about, better transport system such as the canals and then the railway. These provided quick, better means of transporting raw materials from the mines and also finished products to the market. Trade expansion was enabled. There was also much development in metal and chemica l industries due to the industrial revolution that provided better working conditions for its workers (Clark, 2007). Development of all-metal machine tools enabled the manufacture of more production machines for industries. These spread all over Western Europe and North America then to the rest of the world. The industrial revolution facilitated the manufacture of more production machines. Causes of Industrial revolution Industrial revolution came about due to several inventions and the scientific revolution allowing for new discoveries such as technology. Resources required for the industrial revolutions were readily available hence boost industrialization to occur. There was a culture of hard work, developing ideas and risk taking that initiated for the industrial revolution in Europe. Availability of large amount of capital that Europe was ready to use for investment also led to the industrial revolution (Clark, 2007). There was the end of feudalism that changed the economic relationship among the Europe continent, this encouraged industrial revolution. A large population that allowed for industrial workforce was available. Conclusion As much as Western Europe tried to do away with capitalism, industrial revolution contributed to the creation of a true capitalist system. There was wide spread of investments, stock markets, and business corporations. Britain was the main advocator for the industrial revolution due to the agricultural revolution. The British kings lost power and the land holders  gained power (Clark, 2007). There is no doubt that the Industrial Revolution was one of the most influential time periods of human history. It was almost solely responsible for propelling society into the modern economies that we still have in place today. The technological advances of this time are what allowed for the mass production of goods and services for society, which allowed for trade to be conducted on a much larger scale. Additionally, the average family saw in increase in the amount of income that they received because an unskilled worker could find work in one of the many new factories that were opened to pro duce the goods needed for the business world. Unfortunately the workers of the time were usually taken advantage of because of their apparent lack of skill and the abundance of workers available for the same jobs. This created a work environment especially negative for women who would be treated unfairly in the workplace and would receive less pay for the work that they did. Prompted by the oppression that many in the working class felt, literary works were put out to inspire the workers to take back their freedoms. Karl Marx advocated for a revolution of the working class over the management that held them back. Bakunin advocated for the overthrow of the government to get society to a natural state of harmony, and the Pope pushed for a united workers front where the government protected its citizens from being oppressed in the workplace. Over the course of the Industrial Revolution the worker saw vast changes, which ultimately lead to the economic times we have now that are improved from the days of the past. Works Cited Clark, G. (2007). A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World. Princeton University Press. Princeton University Press: Princeton. Jacob, M. (1997). Scientific Culture and the Making of the Industrial West. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Snooks, G. D. (2002). Was the Industrial Revolution Necessary. London: Routledge. (2008, 04). Impact of the Industrial Revolution. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 04, 2008, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Impact-Of-The-Industrial-Revolution-144806.html â€Å"Industrial Revolution Research Paper† StudyMode.com. 05 2011. 2011. 05 View as multi-pages

Revolution in Communication

As a technology, it is called multimedia. As a revolution, it is the sum of many revolutions wrapped into one: A revolution in communication that combines the audio visual power of television, the publishing power of the printing press, and the interactive power of the computer. Multimedia is the convergence of these different professions, once thought independent of one another, coming together to form a new technological approach to the way information and ideas are shared. What will society look like under the evolving institutions of interactive multimedia technologies? Well, if the 1980†³s were a time for media tycoons, the 1990†³s will be for the self-styled visionaries. These gurus see a dawning digital age in which the humble television will mutate into a two-way medium for a vast amount of information and entertainment. We can expect to see: movies-on-demand, video games, databases, educational programming, home shopping, telephone services, telebanking, teleconferencing, even the complex simulations of virtual reality. This souped-up television will itself be a powerful computer. This, many believe, will be the world†s biggest media group, letting consumers tune into anything, anywhere, anytime. The most extraordinary thing about the multimedia boom, is that so many moguls are spending such vast sums to develop digital technologies, for the delivering of programs and services which are still largely hypothetical. So what is behind such grand prophecies? Primarily, two technological advances known as digitization (including digital compression), and fibre optics. Both are indispensable to the high-speed networks that will deliver dynamic new services to homes and offices. Digitization means translating information, either video, audio, or text, into ones and zeros, which make it easier to send, store, and manipulate. Compression squeezes this information so that more of it can be sent using a given amount of transmission capacity or bandwidth. Fibre-optic cables are producing a vast increase in the amount of bandwidth available. Made of glass so pure that a sheet of it 70 miles thick would be as clear as a window-pane, and the solitary strand of optical fibre the width of a human hair can carry 1,000 times as much information as all radio frequencies put together. This expansion of bandwidth is what is making two-way communication, or interactivity, possible. Neither digitization nor fibre optics is new. But it was only this year that America†s two biggest cable-TV owners, TCI and Time Warner , said they would spend $2 billion and $5 billion respectively to deploy both technologies in their systems, which together serve a third of America†s 60m cable homes. Soon, some TCI subscriptions will be wired to receive 500 channels rather than the customary 50; Time Warner will launch a trail full-service network in Florida with a range of interactive services. These two announcements signaled the start of a mad multimedia scramble in America, home market to many of the world†s biggest media, publishing, telecoms and computer companies, almost all of which have entered the fray. The reasons are simple: greed and fear: greed for new sources of revenue; fear that profits from current businesses may fall as a result of reregulation or cut-throat competition. Multimedia has already had a profound affect on how these businesses interact with one another. Mergers such as Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting, and Paramount have set the stage. These companies continue the race to be the first to lay solid infrastructure, and set new industry standards. Following in the shadows will be mergers between: software, film, television, publishing, and telephone industries, each trying to gain market share in the emerging market. So far, most firms have rejected the hostile takeovers that marked the media business in the 1980s. Instead, they have favored an array of alliances and joint ventures akin to Japan†s loose-knit Keiretsu business groupings. TCI†s boss, John Malone, evokes â€Å"octopuses with their hands in each other†s pockets-where one starts and the other stops will be hard to decide.† These alliances represent a model of corporate structure which many see as mere marriages of convenience, in which none wants to miss out on any futuristic markets. One may wonder how this race for market share and the merging of these corporations will affect them personally. Well, at this point and time, it is hard to say. However, there is some thought in the direction we are headed. The home market, which was stated earlier, has its origins based around early pioneers such as Atari, Nintindo, and Sega. These companies started with simple games, but as technology increased, it began to open up new doors. The games themselves are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent and are now offering some of the first genres capable of attracting and holding an adult audience. Just around the corner looms the promise of interactive television, which threatens to turn the standard American couch potato into the newly rejuvenated couch commando. Through interactive television, which will actually be a combination of the telephone, computer, and television, you will have access to shopping, movies, and other types of information on demand. As this technology increases, it will give way to a form that is known as virtual reality. Imagine, with the use of headgear, goggles, and sensory gloves, being able to actually feel and think you are in another place. For instance, going shopping at a mall could be done in the privacy of your own living room, by just strapping on your headgear. Another break through in the home market is video telephony. These are telephone systems that also broadcast video images. Imagine being able to communicate instantly with voice, picture, and text with a business colleague or a loved one thousands of miles away. Interactive multimedia systems promise to revolutionize education. In a complex world of constant change, where knowledge becomes obsolete every few years, education can no longer be something that one aquires during youth to serve for an entire lifetime. Rather, education must focus on instilling the ability to continue learning throughout life. Fortunately, the information-technology revolution is creating a new form of electronic, interactive education that should blossom into a lifelong learning system that allows almost anyone to learn almost anything from anywhere, at anytime. The key technology in future education is interactive multimedia. The purpose of multimedia in education as in so many other multimedia applications, is to: enhance the transfer of information, encourage participation, stimulate the senses and enhance information retention. Multimedia uses a powerful combination of earlier technologies that constitutes an extraordinary advance in the capability of machines to assist the educational process. Interactive multimedia combines computer hardware, software, and peripheral equipment to provide a rich mixture of text, graphics, sound, animation, full-motion video, data, and other information. Although multimedia has been technically feasible for many years, only recently has it become a major focus for commercial development. Interactive multimedia systems can serve a variety of purposes but their great power resides in highly sophisticated software that employs scientifically based educational methods to guide the student through a path of instruction individually tailored to suit the special needs of each person. As instruction progresses and intelligent systems are used, the system learns about the student†s strengths and weaknesses and then uses this knowledge to make the learning experience fit the need of that particular student. Interactive multimedia has several key advantages. First, students receive training when and where they need it. An instructor does not have to be present, so students can select the time best suited to their personal schedules. Second, students can adjourn training at any point in the lesson and return to it later. Third, the training is highly effective because it is based on the most powerful principles of individualized learning. Students find the program interesting, so they stick with it. Retention of the material learned is excellent. Fourth, the same videodisk equipment can be used to support a variety of training paths. Last, both the training and the testing are objectively and efficiently measured and tracked. Educational systems of this type, offered by IBM under the product labeled Ultimedia, engage students in an interactive learning experience that mixes color movie, bold graphics, music, voice narration, and text; for instance, the program Columbus allows students to relive the great navigator†s voyages and explore the New World as it looked when Columbus first saw it. The ability to control the learning experience makes the student an active rather than a passive learner. Other common systems include Sim City, Carmen San Diego, and a variety of popular multimedia games created by Broderbound Softwarek, one of the biggest companies in this new field. Rather than old drill and kill forms of computerized instruction that bore students, this new entertaining form of education is far more effective precisely because kids get totally immersed in an exciting experience. Classroom computers with multimedia capabilities seem to have sky-rocketed in every faucet of the education arena. From pre-schoolers to college students, learning adapting to this multimedia craze was not hard to do. Teachers and Professors alike share in this technology to plan out their curricular schedules and school calendar. Most will agree that classroom computers seem to have a positive effect on students of the 90†³s. As schools and universities become more technology driven, there will be an even bigger plea for more multimedia enhancements. The 1980†³s witnessed the introduction and widespread use of personal computers at all levels of schooling. During the decade the number of computers used in U.S. elementary and secondary schools increased from under 100,000 to over 2.5 million. A majority of students now use computers and computer software sometime during the school-year, either to learn about computers or as a tool for learning other subjects. By the end of the decade, the typical school had 1 computer per 20 students, a ration that computer educators feel is still not high enough to affect classroom learning as much as books and classroom conversion do.

Discussion Question on Employment Pratices and legal Issues in Essay

Discussion Question on Employment Pratices and legal Issues in Diversity - Essay Example These federal laws are complimented and often strengthened by a host of state laws regulating discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Ultimately, such behavior is not only unethical, but can lead to severe legal and financial repercussions for a company and its managers. Employers have an obligation to ensure compliance with EEOC guidelines in the workplace, and to define the role of managers in this process. They can accomplish this, first and foremost, by keeping abreast of all of the applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws. Training programs and workshops for managers should be designed and held on a regular basis in order to reinforce acceptable norms and behaviors for managers and coworkers. Employee and management handbooks should also clearly incorporate methods and approaches to maintaining a work environment that ensures equal access to opportunities for all current and prospective employees regardless of their immutable characteristics. The culture of the organization is often set from the top down, and this is an area where leadership by example will go a long way toward maintaining compliance with EEOC guidelines. Implementation of the ADA has affected the workplace in numerous way

The Women of Uncle Toms Cabin Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Women of Uncle Toms Cabin - Research Proposal Example For example, its depiction of women is one of the book’s most glaring facets which is rarely looked upon. How does Uncle Tom’s Cabin regard women? Are women passive or active agents of change? To better understand the role of women in the book, we can use a feminist approach. One view we can use is that of Susan Lanser wherein she promoted a feminist narratology wherein women’s writings, feminist points of view and questions of gender are directly addressed. This method aims to look at the socio-political context of the writing so as to understand the voice, context and the plot of the story in a more in-depth manner. While Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written before the spread of the women’s rights movement, it provided women with a voice to speak out their concerns against the inequality happening in the society at the time. This is unusual since women at the time had no voting rights and they were expected to be passive observers. Hence, it is also impo rtant to look into the background of the author.

The social responsibility of engineers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The social responsibility of engineers - Essay Example Can a business really have responsibilities? It is only people who can be said to be either responsible or irresponsible. If a corporation is viewed as an artificial person, then it follows that its responsibilities are also artificial. Therefore we conclude that businessmen are the ones who should be responsible. Therefore when saying that businesses should have a social responsibility, implies that the corporate executives running these businesses are the ones to take up responsibility. Even if a corporate executive is an employee of the business owners, he still has direct responsibilities of running the business (Friedman). A businessman is said to be socially responsible if he/she were to act in a way that does not necessarily interest his/her employers. For example, a corporate executive may refrain to increase the price of certain products out of concern that doing this might lead to inflation. Such action could be contrary to the best interests of the corporation. The corporate executive could hire less qualified personnel in order to contribute to poverty reduction. In each of the mentioned cases, the business man would be spending either the employer’s or the customers’ money for a general social interest. His actions would therefore be evidence of social responsibility. If a businessman were to spend the stockholders’ or the customers’ money in a different way from that of his customers, he would be in effect imposing taxes on them. This process may lead to political questions since it is the work of the government to impose taxes and plan expenditures (Friedman). Social responsibility has its consequences. Let us take inflation for example, what if a businessman was told that he has to contribute in fighting inflation, what actions would he take? Lowering the price of the products could lead to a great financial loss. Reducing the rate of production would lead to shortages and if were to reduce the employees’ wages, these would

Blue Velvet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Blue Velvet - Essay Example The premise of the film being a horror fits into the niche of film noir. Acceding to Dancynger film noir "highlights the world of the nightmare, it tends to rely less on movement and pace.' (Technique of film and Video Editing (p 175) I chose to use the word intellectual as part of the theme because film noir has an abstract side to it which encompasses my intellectual basis regarding the film. and considering the theme to be one of intellectual horror. The foundation of the movie revolves around the dark side of human nature, which combines both horror and intellect. To be more specific regarding the film and its theme if the theme is an intellectual horror which theme certainly includes the dark side of human nature and that is the main reason I have identified the theme of Blue Velvet to be an intellectual horror. The thematic montage is one of angst and the dark side of human nature that it stems from. The recurring image of the home is Lynch's way of introducing the theme each t ime the image of the home appears. Many objects are discovered out of sequence during the film. Here is a list of images Used by Lynch to emphasize the theme.

Literacy Criticism of Woody Allen film Manhattan Essay

Literacy Criticism of Woody Allen film Manhattan - Essay Example . and um... the 2nd movement of the Jupiter Symphony... and um... Louis Armstrong, recording of Potato Head Blues... um... Swedish movies, naturally... Sentimental Education by Flaubert... uh... Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra... um... those incredible Apples and Pears by Cezanne... uh... the crabs at Sam Wos... uh... Tracys face.. This dialogue of Isaac (Woody Allen) revealed the philosophy and thesis of the film Manhattan. It disclosed Isaac’s mundane interpretation of life that he has to create a â€Å"fantasy† to make existence bearable. If we notice the contents of his dialogue, there is nothing metaphysical about it but is rather confined to the aesthetics of life such as Groucho Marx, Wilie Mays, 2nd movement of the Jupiter Symphony, Louis Armstrong, recording of Potato Head Blues, Swedish movies, Sentimental Education by Flaubert, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, the crabs at Sam Wo and Tracy’s face (his 17 year old lover whom he broke up to have a relationship with Mary and later attempted to go back at her). It also revealed Woody Allen’s (who happened to write the film also) artistic inclination of his interpretation about life. The hesitation, content and seeming incongruity of this dialogue posits that for an individual living in a city like Manhattan have a meaning in life, one has to create a fanstasy, filled with indulgence (Crabs at Wo’s) and aesthetics. For Woody Allen, life is basically meaningless that one has to look for distractions through fantasy to fill the void. In Allen’s perspective, this distractions will keep our mind away from the ugly truth and inevitabilities of life. That after all of our pursuit, death will eventually come after an inevitable sickness, and we will all die. Such is life, that we might as well entertain ourselves in between. While I admire the artistic rendering of Woody Allen’s film Manhattan, I do not necessarily agree with his thesis that we have to distract ourselves from the

Intercultural Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intercultural Communications - Essay Example This study operated on two essential aspects of international and non-international friendships of students. The scores based on intercultural attitudes and multicultural personality characteristics. The irony of the study regards the fact that students who had international friendships had low scores of intercultural interaction conception. It is vital to note that the study had a limited number of varieties to participants. This regards the fact that USA is an extensive area of varieties of cultural attitudes. For instance, there are schools that are located in rural areas. They differ from those that are located in town areas. The research group should have noted this and integrate varied data from different cultural scenarios. There are considerable and varied reactions to international students. For comprehensive information about cross-cultural interactions, research needs different contexts of intercultural friendships (Williams and Johnson 43). This is essential in eliminatin g barriers to comprehensive results. However, the research had a unique articulation. This regarded the fact that it based its theme on host attitudes, to international friendships. This was different from the familiar perspective of researching on international students, perceptions of their social scenarios. ... There were three hypotheses that based on this. To begin with, students, who had no international friendships, would have low emotional and cultural empathy. In addition, they would have low scores on open-mindedness and flexibility. Additionally, US students with no international friendships would have high scores on racism and related concepts of intolerance and emotional instability. Lastly, students, who had international friendships, would highly score on intercultural experiences and activities. The first hypothesis was the same to the result that stated of international friendships. It stated that students, who had international friendships, scored highly on open-mindedness. It is vital to note that the concept, of open-mindedness, is crucial for cross-cultural interactions. This is consistent with previous findings that state the same. In this sense, individuals, who are open-minded, have less inclination towards withdrawing themselves from other ethnic groups. The scores, of open-mindedness, are core elements of determining prejudice and intolerance. In this sense, highly open-minded individuals would have greater experience in inter-cultural communication and general interaction. As regards level of apprehension in communication, the results confirmed the second hypothesis. In this sense, students, who had international friendships, reported low apprehension in multi-cultural scenarios. This means that such students had low anxiety in cross-cultural scenarios because they had more experiences in the same. These findings are in line with the AUM theory that states of the same. It states that anxiety and apprehension

Exploring the opportunities and challenges of developing Islamic Literature review

Exploring the opportunities and challenges of developing Islamic Financial Services in Seychelles - Literature review Example In the religion of Islam, it is strongly believed that Allah alone is Sovereign and it is He who has the right to ordain a guidance path for the whole humanity. In the Holy Quran, the word â€Å"Shariah† is mentioned once: â€Å" Then, We have set you[Muhammad] on a path (Shari’a) of [Our] commandment, so follow it, and do not follow the whims of those who do not know† (Holy Quran 45:18). This verse of Holy Quran clearly stipulates that Allah has ordered to the Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that He himself has provided some of the basic Sharia rules and regulations in the shape of the Holy Quran and You [Muhammad (PBUH)] has been ordered to follow them. In the last part of this verse, it is also ordered that whims or wishes of others are totally disallowed to be followed instead of the orders of Allah. In the Shariah, it is clearly mentioned and established fact that Allah is the Law Giver and the whole Ummah is merely His Trustee (Kettell, 2011, p.13). More clear ly, every Muslim is under a moral obligation to read, understand and act upon the Islamic rules and regulations mainly enshrined in the Holy Quran. ... s scholar, can develop an independent judgement; not even all the Muslims of the world collectively have any authority to introduce even the slightest change to it. The scope of Shariah is not limited to a single aspect of Muslim life. The Shariah is the guide for human actions which includes every dimension of human life. As a result, it attaches, sanctifies and gives religious importance and religious aspect to activities that may look mundane. Also, it encompasses constitutional and regulatory rules and regulations. Muslims individually and collectively are ordered to conduct their daily economic, social, personal, political, religious and other activities in accordance with the Shariah rules and regulations provided in the Holy Quran, the Sunnah and other sources of Shariah. The sources of shariah Kelly (2008) mentions the following sources of Shariah in the religion of Islam (p.109): The Quran; The Sunnah; The Ijtihad; The Ijma; The Qiyas. The Quran Naqvi (2012, p.23) states tha t Muslims believe that the Holy Quran is the final word from Allah. The Holy Quran is the main source of Shariah. In this main source, Allah has provided numerous orders, rules and regulations relating to different aspect of human life. In order to religiously conduct daily human activities, the Holy Quran provides guidance relating to the essential human activities. Broadly speaking, the Holy Quran provides guidance on two aspects of human life: relationship between humans and the relationship between humans and Allah. Between these two aspects, the majority of the guidance has focused on the relationship between humans. As humans are required to interact for various reasons including political, social, economic, and personal and so on, Allah has included maximum guidance on these issues

The Grupo Modelo Place in the World Market Essay Example for Free

The Grupo Modelo Place in the World Market Essay In previous years, beer’s core segmentation was age group 21-27, this demographic bottomed out in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s, but projections are showing that this core demographic will be the top demographic again by 2010 according to beerprofit. com. Studies have shown the 40% of the adult market are expected to be regular beer consumers by 2011. This paper will discuss Medelo’s international expansion through strategic partnerships, next steps into a foreign market for Modelo, challenges from InBev, Modelo’s direct competitor, and whether Modelo should diversify its business. (HTB, 2008) Modelo’s International expansion with Strategic Partnerships Grupo Modelo is the biggest brewer in Mexico and is based in Mexico City. Model has built several breweries in states throughout Mexico for logistics, warehousing and transportation strategies. Grupo Model best known product is Corona, while it best selling brand is Corona Light. Within Mexico, their biggest selling brand is Modelo Especial which is a premium pale lager thats more comparable in quality to Dos XX than its lightweight Corona. Most beers sold in Mexico are standard light bodied lager brews that are similar to U. S. and Canadian lagers. Especial are sometimes viewed as a premium brands, while Pacifico has a certain cachet on the Pacific coast, and Corona and Sol are both super light bodied brands with painted labels and that appeal to a fun in the sun kind of marketing mentality. In 1985, Grupo Modelo started exploring other markets, first Canada and Japan, and later on Australia and New Zealand. In 1989, the organization moved into Europe when an office in Brussels was opened, later Russia, Africa and Latin America, the Modelo brands are present in 159 countries. In 1997, Anheuser-Busch and Grupo Modelo agreed to purchase 37% of the brewer to gain some revenue and capital opportunities for Modelo. Under the agreement, Anheuser-Busch has invested $605 million, bringing its total investment in Mexicos largest beer company to more than $1 billion. The agreement also allowed for Anheuser-Busch to acquire another 17% at a later date. In 2003, Anheuser-Busch acquired a 17. 7 percent direct and indirect interest in Grupo Modelo and its subsidiary, Diblo, S. A. for $477 million. This gave Anheuser-Busch financial control over the Modelo. By 1996, the acquisition was complete. Our taking a larger stake in Modelo is advantageous for both companies, said Anheuser-Busch Chairman of the Board and President August A. Busch III. Grupo Modelo is a well-managed company with a great heritage. Mexico is a key market in our overall approach to globalizing our company. There is great potential in the Mexican beer market. Our association with Modelo will help grow that market and enhance our already strong relationship with the Mexican-American community. (Chalmers, 2009) Grupo Modelo’s Next Foreign Market and Strategy In 2005, Grupo Modelo and Anheuser-Busch agreed to import Modelos beers into China, the worlds largest beer market, the Mexico City-based Grupo Modelo, who is half-owned by Anheuser-Busch and exclusive importer of Anheuser-Buschs brands in Mexico, including Budweiser and Bud Light. Grupo Modelo holds 62. 8 percent of the total beer market share in Mexico as of Dec. 31, 2005. The agreement with Anheuser-Busch for China covered Corona Extra as well as other Grupo Modelo brands to be distributed in the future. Apart of the strategy was to expand Corona Extra. Corona Extra is the No. 1 Mexican beer sold in the world and the most popular imported beer in the U. S. , regardless of origin. This new partnership ideally complements the international strategy that Modelo has successfully implemented for several decades, said Carlos Fernandez, chairman and CEO of Grupo Modelo, in a statement. Grupo Modelo exports seven brands with a presence in more than 150 countries. (Chalmers, 2006) The Challenges from InBev InBev, the largest beer company in the world produces over 200 beer brands produced and sold throughout the world. Its flagship brands are Budweiser, Stella Artois, Brahma, Becks and Leffe. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries. In 2006 it had a market capitalization of â‚ ¬30. 6 billion and net profit of â‚ ¬3. 2 billion on sales of â‚ ¬13. 3 billion. InBev was created in 2004 from the merger of the Belgian company Interbrew and the Brazilian company AmBev. Before the merger with Ambev, Interbrew was the third largest brewing company in the world by volume, Anheuser-Busch was the largest, followed by SABMiller in second place. Heineken International was in fourth place and AmBev was the worlds fifth largest brewer. On June 12, 2008, InBev announced that it has made a US$46 billion offer for the brewing firm Anheuser-Busch. This merger joined two of the worlds four largest brewing companies (based on revenue) and created a company that brews three of the top beers in the world Bud Light, Budweiser and Skol. InBev also stated that the merger would not result in any U. S. brewery closures and they would also attempt to keep on management and board members from both companies. On Sunday, July 13, 2008, Anheuser-Busch announced that they had agreed to an acquisition by InBev valued at about US$52 billion in cash, or $70 per share. As a condition, InBev will be renamed AB-InBev and Anheuser-Busch would retain two seats on the board of directors. This created a problem for Modelo because Anheiser-Busch has acquired a 51% stake in 2003. Even though the deal was crafted so that Modelo could buy back its majority interest. After the announcement of the AB InBev merger, Modelo sued it US Constellation partner who is partnered with InBev so the InBev could assume a hostile takeover of the company. That arbitration is ongoing. (Kesmodel, 2009) Should Grupo Modelo Diversify its Business? While Modelo still ranks as the 4th largest brewer behind AB-Inbev, SABMiller, Heiniken International, it is the only brewer controls 65%+ in its home country. The other bottlers have found fortune in diversifying into foods, Modelo may be best served with an expansion into other products to boost its name and brand. SABMiller is the outsource bottler Coca Cola Africa. Pepsi has expanded into other brands by acquiring Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Quaker Oats. Its side brands now account for 55% of of its revenue. Modelo could be better served acquiring established food brands or international food processing plants. AB-InBev has diversified, SABMiller has diversified. Heineken has diversified by isolating its beer brands to different markets Europe, Asia, Americas, Caribbean, and South America. With the top selling single beer product in the world, the company can build some momentum based on that product. Conclusion Grupo Model is poised to take a substantial place in the world market. It is known the throughout the bottle world for its robust and efficient processes. It has been able to expand into foreign markets while keeping its signature product as the number one selling product in the world. It has been able to merge with the largest beer company in the world and still keep it operational control over its products and withstand competitive challenges from direct competitors seeking to penetrate its principal markets. With the establishment of the number one brand beer, Modelo seems poised to leverage its brand into different markets and diversifications.

Media and Academic Process Essay Example for Free

Media and Academic Process Essay The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi regimes own actions its history of aggression, and its drive toward an arsenal of terror (WHPR1, 2002). Months before on February 13, 2002 during a Press Conference with President Musharraf of Pakistan, Mr. Bush declared: And I think that statement was clear enough for Iraq to hear me. And I will reserve whatever options I have, Ill keep them close to my vest. President or Saddam Hussein needs to understand Im serious about defending our country (WHPR2, 2002). And During his speech at the Virginia Military Institute on April 17, 2002, Mr. Bush made these claims: And, finally, the civilized world faces a grave threat from weapons of mass destruction. A small number of outlaw regimes today possess and are developing chemical and biological and nuclear weapons. Theyre building missiles to deliver them, and at the same time cultivating ties to terrorist groups. In their threat to peace, in their mad ambitions, in their destructive potential and in the repression of their own people, these regimes constitute an axis of evil and the world must confront them (WHPR3, 2002). With all these statements made in the presence of media persons and the way it had been made that a major part of America and the world really believed that Saddam Hussein and the Iraq is the real threat to the civilized society. Despite the presence of law which prohibits the Bush administration from disseminating government propaganda at home. But in an age of global communications, there is nothing to stop it from planting a phony pro-war story overseas knowing with certainty that it will reach American citizens almost instantly. This is the power of media and especially electronic media. It has the capability to make any one believe in what it wants to convey. The beautiful newsreader on a TV channel giving us the news. After that the news analysis program is aired. The program brings a battery of analysts to our bedrooms, drawing rooms or shops. These serious looking intelligent faces sitting in front of camera with a list of burning issues are giving their view on the issues. Their facial expression and smartness over words, language and the contents can make anyone feel ill informed. This makes us glued to the television screen. And once the program gets finished we have an unusual feeling that now we have gained great information on issues about which we were quiet ignorant few minutes or hours before. A single program made some change in our self and our personal database of information. This is the actual effect of one of the most popular form of media called the electronic media. But the point of concern is not its power but its ability of influencing human especially child psyche. The actual issue which has been raised this time is the way it makes an impact on our world views. The authenticity of the content which is aired is now being discussed. The focus is shifting towards the way it influences religion, culture and social belief. After all the US govt., with all its efforts didn’t found a single weapon of mass destruction. The Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was defeated by the combined US and UK army. But the main issue that led to the war was the weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein regime was allegedly possessing, was nowhere present. This means what the US govt. and its allies were telling the whole world was actually a farce. It was nothing more than a propaganda war against a nation which was adamant to pursue those policies which were not influenced by US. Things mentioned above are some of the many effects caused through electronic media. Moving on to its actual definition, electronic media are those communications mediums which are based on electronic or electromechanical means of production and most often distinguished from print media. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public worldwide include — radio, sound recordings, television, video recording, and streaming internet content. And this electric communication technology goes further than any of the previous products of mans skill. Earlier technologies extended the power of mans limbs, and with the invention of writing, mans memory in a sense could be placed outside of himself. Present communication technologies supplant mans external senses, and more recently, the internal senses of imagination and the most important, the central or common sense, which brings the various data of the external senses together into a cohesive unity (McDonald). The world of information, however conceived, may appear to exist in its own right by means of electronics, and the human user becomes a mere participant in that world. Now if we look upon things that influence a child and how the media impacts those factors in its formative days. The child in its formative sees many things and in accordance with its understanding capability it takes decision. A healthy child hood is very necessary thing to provide sound academia knowledge not just beautified propaganda. The media which include television, radio, internet and newspaper are perhaps the biggest source of knowledge and information. And they are now very much a part of academic development of the child. As, there are many possible factors which affect the child and at the same time these factors come under continuous inferences through media; hence these factors have strongly associated and have become reason can be the Material wealth: It depicts the average financial state of area or the society which breeds crime. It quantifies the very material or average prosperity of the family and the society of which a person is a part of. Media’s depiction of strength, material wealth and prosperity makes a strong case in child’s mind and his purpose of study and academic excellence. Health: This factor under the influence of news and information obtained through media has its importance while quantifying security at the physical as well as mental health of the people. It decides the affluence and the penury that has been faced by the child. Social security and stability: The overall development and upbringing of a child is a multiple of this factor. The child is greatly affected with the type of society media presents and hence his academic performance gets an impact. Family life: The condition of a family on an average is an indication of family life of the child. The divorce rates are being given the status of indicator for quantifying this factor. The rising instances of single parenthood are another very important cause. The separation is a very traumatic experience of a child and can be a reason behind the creation of a situation of loneliness and the state of depression. Community and Social Life: This factor corresponds to the social behavior of the child and how much social his attitudes are. The negligibility in social life corresponds to lower interest of the child in community life thereby increasing another wave of insecurity at personal as well social level. Job Security: This factor is self explanatory and is being indicated through unemployment rate expressed in percentage. A secure job to a youth makes him more confident and ultimately he or she turns out to be a better prospect to the society. At the same time the insecurity in this factor causes frustration and causes the occurrence of diminishing patterns in above mentioned factors especially material well being. So now the fact is that the criminals and misguided youths are very much a off the track output of the same social upbringing that were meant for the development of moral standards right from the formative years. The development of this is very much due to the behavior pattern of the people that are around them. They are the people whom these children treat with respect and are the personalities they admire. A child’s behavior is very much a factor of the behavior characteristics of the personalities he or she often meets and admires and is presented through media. Electronic media have been found to present glamorized Robin Hoods with criminal personalities and unusual behavior of celebrities making headlines. The biggest example of this projection is the presence of Che Guevara as a fashion cult despite the fact that he was always against the US imperialist policies. So the concern is how the media is affecting the child and not just child but also the factors that are directly or indirectly related to the child’s development and academic performance. The news of slowdown in world economy and the rising of Asian economy giants like India and China and the job outsourcing makes the same guy more frightened. He feels threatened. And this perceived threat results in a physical reaction as much as actual physical injury. The same person in a large crowd sees perhaps twenty people around him, but a camera above the crowd reveals a crowd incomprehensible to human imagination. The widespread anxiety among people in the first world about there being too many people is an effect of them seeing thousands of faces on television, whereas someone may walk for hours on the streets of the suburbs without seeing a single person (McDonald). The reality is that the information beaming capability of the electronic media upsets normal community and family relations based on physical contact and proximity, leading to an ersatz community where people have the illusion of being angels. People in their relations are reduced to being pieces of disembodied information without context or substance. The level of sensation present in our lives affects our intellectual judgment. According to report, it has been found that there has been an explosion in recent years in electronic media marketed directly at the very youngest children in our society: A booming market of videotapes and DVDs aimed at infants one to 18 months, the launching of the first TV show specifically targeting children as young as 12 months, and a multi-million dollar industry selling computer games and even special keyboard toppers for children as young as nine months old. Their homes are packed with media options, including TVs, computers, DVD players and video game consoles. Nearly all children (99%) live in a home with a TV set, half (50%) have three or more TVs, and one-third (36%) have a TV in their bedroom. Nearly three out of four (73%) have a computer at home, and about half (49%) have a video game player. In some ways, new media is trumping old: nearly twice as many children in this age group live in a home with Internet access (63%) as with a newspaper subscription (34%). Nearly all of them (97%) have products—clothes, toys, and the like—based on characters from TV shows or movies (Rideout, 2003). But the point of concern is that this rapid changes in our media environment have not been accompanied by a similar growth in our knowledge of how new media may impact children’s cognitive, social, emotional or physical development. These issues are of deep concern not only to parents, but also to educators, health providers, policymakers and advocates. Many experts have argued that it is especially critical to understand media use by the youngest children, noting that because social and intellectual development are more malleable in these early years, media use at this age could have an especially significant impact. According to Valdemar W.  Setzer (1993), some children addicted to electronic games spoke too fast with limited sense, feeling or contents in their speech. This suggests that those children spoke with a speed compared to the use they make of their fingers when playing the games. There is a correlation between speaking and gesturing, which may be explained by the close proximity of the motor and speech neurological centers in the brain. The fact that children do not have the fully developed, active thinking and consciousness characteristic of adults means they dont have to make any effort to switch off these inner activities when playing electronic games and are not sidetracked by outside influences that can act as a buffer to overdevelopment of or addiction to an undesirable trait. Finally, we can say that though a child’s ability to gather information is enhanced by technology but at the same time we are placed under greater stress, and to maintain equilibrium we must find strategies to cope with it. One strategy is to withdraw from the flood of information and go for selected and conscious input. It is one of the ways but there is a need of finding more. References The White House Press Release, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html The White House Press Release, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020213-3.html The White House Press Release,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020417-1.html McDonald, H. Asceticism and the Electronic Media: Technophilia and Technophobia in the Perspective of Christian Philosophy, www.rcp.net.pe/IAL/vm/bec/etexts/macdoeng.htm, 3. Katsh, E. (1989).   The Electronic Media and the Transformation of Law, Oxford University Press. Rideout, V. J. Vandewater, E. A. Wartella, E. A. (2003). Zero to Six : Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers., A Kaiser Family Foundation Report. Setzer, V. W. Duckett, G. E. (1993). The Risks to Children Using Electronic Games,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.ime.usp.br/~vwsetzer/video-g-risks.html

Its Improving Home Energy Efficiency Construction Essay

Its Improving Home Energy Efficiency Construction Essay Introduction The typical home today has an unquenchable thirst for energy and there are many steps homeowners can take to help lower their demand for energy. The main source for todays energy is fossil fuels. The burning of these fossil fuels releases CO2 and CO2 is a major contributor to global warming. It is important that we take a more sustainable approach towards our energy usage. Sustainable energy usage benefits the environment and results in lower energy costs to the consumer. Building Shell The exterior surfaces of a building are called the building shell; this may include the roof, walls, doors, and windows. It is the effectiveness or ineffectiveness rather, of this shell that determines the level of energy demand a building will have. It is the heat exchange through the buildings shell that places the largest demands on energy consumption of the home. Lets take a minute to focus on the walls and structure with respects towards the building shell. A common trend in architecture today is to have many extrusions and intrusions in the walls of a home. This is more aesthetically pleasing to todays homeowner. However, these extrusions require extra framing which results in decreased insulation in corners and potential air leakage. Most single family residential homes are wood framed and any irregularities in the building shell are weak points when it comes to heat loss. Mobile homes are framed with metal studs, generally speaking. The increased metal presence combined with thinner walls and joints between modular sections all create potential weak spots that allow greater thermal conductivity. Multi-family housing units suffer from some of the same design flaws; much of their structural support comes from metal components, larger air handling units, and elevator shafts create weak points, thermally speaking. However from an energy usage point it is better to have an apartment that is surrounded by other apartments, the temperature change from one side of your wall/ceiling will be almost zero, this equates to lower heating and cooling costs. Later I will discuss air leakage and insulation more in-depth, for now just knows that when it comes to the exterior design of a building, simpler is better. Air Leakage What represents 5-40% of building conditioning costs also known as energy consumption, air leakage does. Air leakage is the exchange of air from the exterior to interior, or vice versa, of a building. Air leakage control can increase comfort, reduce damage to intra-wall components, prevent pest infestation, and save energy. While ventilation is needed for the building and human health, the goal is to control that ventilation and have it happen when we deem it necessary. Ultimately this exchange in air is a result of pressure difference from the inside to outside of a structure. The pressure difference is caused by the density difference in warm and cold air. This concept is also known as the second law of thermodynamics that is that warm will always move to cooler areas (when unassisted) until equilibrium is met. Unchecked airflow will seek equilibrium inside and outside by the most direct path. Examples of this process at work during winter months would be warm air exiting the struc ture through leaks in the upper regions of the building and cool air entering through the lower regions, thus creating a cycle that seeks equilibrium. Residents can prevent/reduce air leakage by ensuring that the building shell is properly sealed, air tight. This task can be accomplished by using spray foam around window and door frames as well as checking that the weather-stripping is in proper condition, not worn out. Also, windows and doors must be latched in order to be air tight, it is not uncommon for a window to closed but not latched. Other building practices that should be avoided include duct work, electrical fixtures, and plumbing components being placed in exterior surfaces. This could cause air leakage as well as reduced insulation where these components are present. Insulation Insulation prevents heat transmission through the building shell. In some winter months heat transmission poses a greater threat than air leakage. Insulation is placed in voids/cavities in the building structure to reduce heat transmission. Insulation accomplishes this goal by two means. It forces heat to transfer in the form of a gas, gasses are naturally poor conductors. Second its presence reduces heat convection and radiation. Insulation comes in many forms; it could be foam, fiberglass, wool, cellulose (shredded newspapers), and even straw bales in some construction. Every type of insulation has its own pros and cons. Foam is by far the most effective, it has very high R-values and if sprayed will expand to fill air leaks, on the down side it can be expensive, is not very fire resistant, and does not break down quickly in a land fill (eventually this is where it will end up). Fiber glass is probably the most prevalent form of insulation; it has good R-values, but until the wall is sealed can release particles into the air that are harmful if consumed. Wool/cotton is probably a more sustainable way to insulate a structure, generally it is made out of recycled jeans, can achieve comparable R-values, but due to its unpopularity can be significantly more expensive than more common insulations. Cellulose ranks about the same as wool, it is recycled content, but is blown in place and often will settle over time; this leaves a small section of the cavity insulated once it settles. Straw-bale insulation is a controversial issue, its density makes it a good insulator, and however there is much debate about how long it will last. Each insulation is designated a specific R-value and is labeled as such. The R-value is a measure of how well the material resists heat transmission. The important thing to know about R-values is the higher the better, less heat transfer equals less energy consumption. The inverse of the R-value is the U-value. U-values are used to rate win dows and doors for their efficiency. Windows Doors Windows and doors are the complete opposite of insulation. So much so, that we do not rate them by their ability to resist thermal conductivity, but by their ability to conduct thermal heat transfer. The way we identify windows and doors also known as fenestration is with a U-value. The National Fenestration Rating Council is the private/public group tasked with testing and assigning a U rating to fenestrations. Windows are made up of four basic parts; the glass, sash, frame, and the rough opening, all of these contribute to a windows inefficiency regarding energy. Windows can have several different types of glass including; Low-e, tinted bronze, reflective bronze, and clear glass. The best option for energy savings is to install an insulated, Low-e window. The insulative property is provided by a gas, usually co2 and argon. The gas is injected between the window panes and sealed in place; the use of a gas reduces the rate of convection between panes. The low-e is a coating placed on one pane of glass, usually inside the window, that reflects radiation. This coating is installed on the interior pane for cooler climates and on the exterior pane for warmer climates. The sash/frame is typically made of similar material, being; plastic, metal, or wood. With relation to energy consumption the plastic construction is the way to go. When made of plastic the sash/frame is extruded through a mold and often can be filled with foam insulation. The rough opening refers to the space between the window frame and the structural frame of the opening in the rough framing (the actual opening in the wall). The rough opening is often larger than the frame of the window to allow the builder to make adjustments during installation. Once installed, this space should be filled with insulation; the best to use for this situation is minimal expanding foam spray. Door construction is very similar. Doors can have glazing/fenestration within the door. They too, are given a U-value. When di scussing the U-value of doors/windows the most important for a consumer to know is that the lower the U-value, the better. Lower U-values result in greater energy savings when heating and cooling a building. Heating In North America the heating demands of our homes require a huge amount of energy. This energy comes from mostly from fossil fuels that have been refined, mined, and converted to meet our needs. The residential heating fuels that are used today can be broken down into four major categories; natural gas 53%, electricity 29%, oil 9%, and other types make up the remaining 9%. Huge natural gas reserves have been found in North America and it is considered to be the most environmentally friendly of the fossil fuels. It is the increased availability and societies concern for the environment that has led to exponential growth most recently in the natural gas industry. Electricity is considered to be 100% efficient once harvested. It is the methods by which we harvest electricity that cause environmental damage. The most environmentally degrading method of harvesting electricity is by coal power plants; however more sustainable methods such as harnessing wind and solar power production are b eing developed and implemented. Some electrical providers allow their customers to select the source/means of their power. Oil, once a major source of energy used to heat our homes is becoming quickly outdated as consumers become aware of more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to heat their homes. The other category refers to heat sources such as wood and coal, aside from the environmental impacts these sources are unpopular because they require more work by the consumer. A heating system should be designed to provide the home with heat at approximately the same rate that it is being lost in worst case scenarios. Each fuel type has a distribution system. These systems are given an efficiency rating. This rating measures how well the system operates and can be expressed as; Efficiency = Output Input. The resultant will be a percentage ranging from 35-95% efficient. The efficiency of a system is directly proportionate to the amount of fuel the system consumes. Therefore, the more efficient a system is, the less energy it will consume. High efficiency systems are considered to be any system with an 80-97% efficiency rating. Cooling Second to heating demands are the cooling demands, generally speaking, of a building. There are passive and active methods of cooling a structure. Depending on the designers knowledge and foresight of these methods energy required to cool the structure could vary greatly. Passive methods require no mechanical operations; the result is zero energy consumption. Active methods require the assistance of mechanical operations, although the level of energy consumption is defendant upon the system that is installed. Often it is a combination of these methods that provides the most comfort to the inhabitants of the home. One common passive method of cooling a structure is through the use of landscaping. The use of trees to shade a home is the most cost effective method of cooling. The trees must be deciduous so that they allow the sun to warm the building during winter months. Another passive method is ventilation through windows and other openings. A proper building design can create a chim ney affect, pulling cooler air in at lower portions of the home and releasing warm air in upper portions of the home. Often this chimney affect can be assisted by proper placement of ceiling fans, an example of a combination of passive and active systems. The use of fans to ventilate a home is the most energy efficient way to cool the building. Moving air is more comfortable to the inhabitants and can give the perception of a 4-8 degree temperature change. Window/Room air conditioners are the least energy efficient. The constant start up and shut down process consumes large amounts of energy. They are subject to significant accumulations of dirt, unchecked over time, this causes greater inefficiency and eventual failure of the unit. The use of central air conditioning is another active method to cool a residence. Central air conditioning can provide the most comfort; higher efficiency models reduce energy consumption. Central air conditioning systems are run by a thermostat and slow ly cool a building. This prevents the constant start up and shut down process that occurs with a window unit. Regardless of the system and methods used to cool a building the inhabitants have control over how much energy is used. The warmer the environment the residents can willingly tolerate the less energy will be consumed to cool the structure. Due to the fact that most people do are not present during the construction and design process of their home perhaps the most applicable way to save energy is to perform regular maintenance and select the proper lighting and appliances. Lighting Lighting has a huge effect on a homes energy consumption. There are many different light fixtures and bulbs a one could install in a home. Just as anything else thus far they vary in efficiency. The consumer must read labels to ensure they are actually purchasing the most sustainable, energy efficient light. Often more lighting than what is required is used, different activities require different levels of illumination, be sure to size fixtures adequately. Consumers must monitor their energy use by controlling when lights are on or off. If an area is not being utilized for a period of time the lights should be turned off to conserve energy. Also, residents should clean the globes or covers around the light bulbs, clean fixtures provide more optimal lighting. When purchasing new appliances consumers should purchase energy star rated appliances. Energy Star guidelines are set by the EPA and provide the consumer with a means of determining the efficiency of appliances such as dish washe rs, TVs, clothes washers, and dryers. To help with the cost of these more efficient options some state governments offer a tax rebate to those who purchase high efficiency appliances. Conclusion In conclusion, even with the unquenchable thirst for energy, the consumer has more power than they realize to reduce the energy consumption of the buildings they reside in. With reference to the buildings shell basic is better; irregularities tend to be thermal weak spots. Air leakage can happen anywhere the building shell is penetrated, stopping the unregulated air flow through a buildings shell will result in increased energy savings. The proper insulation is key, to providing comfort and energy efficiency. Windows and doors also known as fenestration create weak points in a buildings shell and must be sealed and properly installed to promote energy efficiency. Heating systems are produced by a wide variety of manufactures, it is crucial that the consumer is well informed with the potential energy consumption of the system before purchasing and installing. Cooling can be accomplished through passive and active means, often the most effective is a combination of both. Lighting fixtu res must be sized and installed properly to promote energy efficiency. Consumers should purchase high efficiency Energy Star appliances to conserve and reduce their homes energy consumption.

Essay on the Character of Katharina in Taming of the Shrew

The Character of Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew      Ã‚   Michael W. Shurgot has written that The Taming of the Shrew "may never be as intellectually stimulating as reading, say, The Merchant of Venice or Hamlet or The Winter's Tale" and that the characters that seem one-dimensional on the page can only become interesting on the stage (328).   Shurgot would seem to imply that Shakespeare did not fully develop his characters, and that the play is only entertaining after a director has taken creative license with the stage directions.   A close reading of the play itself will show it to be interesting enough indeed, for it reveals clues to the motivation of both Katharina's shrewishness and later submissiveness, and the manner in which her character is to be portrayed and viewed.       Agnes Mure Mackenzie would have audiences believe that "Katharina's revolt is temperamental apparently: at least we are given no reason for it in its beginnings," (24).   Baptista says that his daughters will have "a good bringing up," (1.1.99), implying that he has always tried to raise the girls right.   Katharina, he would have us believe, has turned out shrewish despite his best intentions.   He also says that he intends to school his daughters.   This does not necessarily mean that Katharina is intelligent, but she has probably been encouraged to think.   Like it or not, Baptista has reared an independently thinking female.       An audience might assume that Katharina has always been shrewish; her reputation seems to have already been established, as is evidenced by Hortensio and Gremio's heckling in the first scene (1.1.55-61).   This does not mean she is a shrew by nature, only that she had been exhibiting this behavior f... ...hout his even knowing it.       So we see that Katharina is indeed a very complex and interesting character.   Generations of readers and performers have misunderstood her character, and probably misrepresented her.   Tucking Katharina into the "crazy shrew" package may be very convenient for the director looking for an easy production, but it is probably incorrect.   In fact, no production that produces the play as a straightforward farce does the character of Katharina any justice.    Works Cited MacKenzie, Agnes Mure.   The Women in Shakespeare's Plays.   London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1924. Ring.   "Was shrewish Shakespeare a feminist bard?" from http://web.uvic.ca/ucom/Ring/99feb19/bard.htm Shurgot, Michael W.   "From Fiction to Reality: Character and Stagecraft in The taming of the shrew."   Theatre Journal, October 1981, 327-340.

Female Oppression in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Jane Austen

The Theme of Female Oppression in Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. In today’s society, women are faced with oppression in many different ways, whether they are denied a promotion at their job over a man of equal or lesser ability or qualification, or brought up to act a certain way as a female member of society. A female’s fight against oppression, be it social or societal, is certainly a difficult one, and one that - depending on the woman and the society in which she lives- may follow her throughout her entire life. Pride and Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen that follows a woman named Elizabeth Bennet through her struggle to fight oppression in a time where certain behaviour and actions are expected of women. In this novel, the reader can view oppression through Elizabeth’s struggle to maintain a sense of self through her constant fight against societal oppression, the Bennet family’s struggles with class segregation, as well as the standards or roles set for the women in the time in which the novel is set. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Elizabeth through her struggle to maintain her personal identity, despite what her mother, sisters, and other women in society think of her. Elizabeth enjoys physical activities, such as walking , which is uncommon for women in the society in which she lives. â€Å"She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She really looked almost wild.† (Austen, 24). The women often look upon Elizabeth negatively due to her behaviour and personality, especially for her outspokenness, which was especially uncommon and unacceptable upon women. â€Å"‘Lizzy’, cried... ... but the story of those around her through the novel, they can see the different ways that female oppression is illustrated to them. Oppression, specifically female oppression, shows up through Elizabeth’s fight against it, the Bennet family’s struggles to maintain status in a society in which people are segregated by class, as well as the roles and standards set forward by society for women to follow accordingly. In any case, oppression poses a decision to the person facing it: to follow or not to follow? Whichever path a person chooses to follow can affect them for their entire life, either negatively or positively. In Pride and Prejudice, the reader gets to see oppression in many different ways, and is allowed to gain insight through the character’s opinions and statements. Works Cited Austin, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norwalk: The Easton Press, 1997.

Gentoo Install Guide :: essays research papers

Gentoo Gentoo-http://www.gentoo.org/ Gentoo is a distribution that has 3 different install methods. You can just install from the CDs known as stage 3. You can install the base system from CD known as stage 2 and then custom compile the rest of the OS from scratch to bring it to stage 3. This makes the system faster and more responsive but takes some time. Last is the stage 1 install where EVERYTHING is built from scratch. This makes for an EXTREMELY customized and streamlined system. However this method can take DAYS depending on the speed of your computer. A broadband connection would be recommened for a stage 2 or 1 install. Gentoo does all this with what is called Portage. you can basically type "emerge nameofprogram" and it will download, configure and compile the software for you. This makes maintaining the system very easy. Gentoo also has a great support base and is available for the MAC platform as well. install guide Note-The following guide is EXACTLY what I did for my install and it was adapted from the official gentoo installation handbook here.-http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/index.xml 1. Download and burn the x86 minimal ISO and boot from the CD. 2. You will see a boot prompt where you can choose different kernels or view other options. We'll just hit enter since we don't need anything special. 3. You will then see a splash screen with a purple cow and the system will boot in the background. 4. When it's done you will have the standard linux command prompt. You will do everything for the install from here. No GUIs for you . 5. For this guide I will use an internet connection for everything. It is possible to install from CDs as well but including that info here would make it WAY too long. As such we need to maek sure networking is working correctly. To check use the "ifconfig" command. There should be an entry for eth0. If so run this command "dhcpcd eth0" that will request an ip address from the router. If you don't see anything with ifconfig try "ifconfig -a" if there is no ethx entry then the network card did get the correct driver loaded at boot. You will have to look up what kind of network card you have and find the appropriate module (driver) and load it using the modprobe command. I had to do this myself "modprobe pcnet32" to load the correct driver.

My First Job

My First Job I got my flirt job at sixteen because my parents required it. However, I had no intention of getting a job and wanted to continue being a teenager where I had little responsibility. As I looked around my hometown for a job, I found that there were not a lot available. I finally was able to find a Job close to my house at a local Dairy Queen working for minimum wage. Now that I had a Job I had to make decisions in time I spent between friends, athletics, and now work. Having a job gave me another outlook on life.It taught me about the importance of money and the consequences of my financial decisions. It also helped me to understand the control I needed on the flow of my finances and along the way taught me many life lessons. The first day of my Job was November 1 lath, 2012 and I was dreading It. I had heard stories of how terrible working In fast food Is and I had no Idea what to think. As I arrived on I had mixed feelings of fear and excitement. Dressed In khaki shorts and a Dairy Queen polo I walked in to my first job. I was greeted with smiles and friendly remarks such as good morning.The manager explained where I would be working and told me to wash my hands. As I walked to the grill area, where I would be working at, I saw a very clean and well-kept station. My co-workers were all nice and very helpful. As the shift came too close I realized that maybe this wouldn't be as bad as everyone had said. I quickly learned basics of the grill and picked up a few tricks along the way. I learned the precise time to pull the fries out, how to properly cook a chicken sandwich, and to constantly be stocked. Being stocked was a key factor In success cause I never knew when a team bus would pull up and I would get very busy.I remember coming to the end of a busy shift and talking that didn't seem Like SIX hours. The slow shifts were terrible because I wouldn't have anything to do and the hours would drag by. The first conflict I ever had at work came during a busy day in the summer. I was working the grill and we were slammed. There were a couple of softball fields down the road and they had held a tournament earlier that day. Was working hard trying to fill the orders in a timely manner when I heard someone yell about us not working cast enough.I found that really disrespectful to my co-workers and me because we were working very hard. Now no matter how long I wait for food at a restraint I never complain because I understand how hard It can get. After I had been a Dally Queen for a few weeks I was scheduled a closing shift. This being my first Job I had no idea what to expect. When my first closing shift neared the end and I knew I was In for a long night. Firstly, we were not allowed to start closing until the last customer left the store and that wasn't until about ten enormous.There was no washing machine in this store so every dish was to be washed by hand and there were around 100 dishes. The sweeping of the restaurant had to b e perfect and if there was a crumb left it would have to be redone. That first closing shift I did not leave the store until midnight. I learned to dread those closing shifts and only ever tried to schedule day shifts. I went on to spend 5 months at Dairy Queen but as my financial necessity grew I knew it was time for me to move on. I appreciated the opportunity the company had given me and the knowledge they provided me.When I turned in my two-week notice it was met with sorrow and well wishes. I realized in those last two weeks I took great pride in my work and enjoyed it more then before. My last day was filled with good-byes to my co-workers who now had become my friends. As I clocked out my last time I realized that I never wanted to work in the fast food industry again. The explicit work I did at Dairy Queen was preparing food and maintaining the fryers. The implicit work I did was making the food faster without making mistakes. When closing though my explicit and implicit wor k changed.Then my explicit work was to wash dishes and sweep the floors. My implicit work was to wash the dishes quickly and efficiently sweeping up the dirt and trash. At times I liked my Job and there were other times I disliked it. I liked that as a teenager I was able to pay for my own gas and also have some money if I wanted to buy something. I also liked it because it gave me a sense of responsibility because the people at my Job were counting on me to show up for my shifts. But I also didn't like my Job because I would sometimes miss out on hanging out with my friends cause I had to work.I picked up a few skills during my time at Dairy Queen such as how to make an ice cream cone, responsibility, patience, and appreciation. The one that I liked the most was how to make a perfect ice cream cone. The second skill that I acquired at Dairy Queen was responsibility. I had to have responsibility in showing up on time for my shifts, keeping my area clear of debris, keeping my hands s anitary, and keeping my food items well stocked. I learned to have more patience with customers because in the food industry customers can get bit nasty.Finally I learned to appreciate what employees working in fast food do. My first Job really changed my life in many ways. It gave me the opportunity to be financially responsible and to learn to manage my finances. It also taught me quite a few life lessons and ways I could improve myself in a work place atmosphere. I also was able to use it as a resume builder and I use my manager as a reference for other jobs. My first Job may not have been the best but I will use it as a tool for the future and will continue to build on what it taught me.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth various devices are used to present the weird sisters as integral to the plot Essay

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth various devices are used to present the weird sisters as integral to the plot. In a modern context, are they still plausible figures? â€Å"So wither’d and so wild in their attire, that look not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth, and yet are on’t?† This description of the three weird sisters given by Banquo on first setting eyes on them creates an illusion of hell like hags; decayed and disfigured creatures. They are unnatural: they seem to be women but are not. It is Banquo who thinks they are evil: â€Å"What! Can the devil speak true?† Macbeth does not. Macbeth is intrigued by the sisters and later tells Lady Macbeth that he â€Å"burned in desire† to question them further. Macbeth asks the witches to stay showing he is interested in their predictions; â€Å"Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.† The sisters speak dangerous thoughts, the same perhaps already plaguing his mind. If their predictions were already thoughts in the back of Macbeth’s mind, then the sisters lack power over him at this point. By examining the first conversation he has with Lady Macbeth on first returning home from battle, â€Å"And when goes hence†, â€Å"tomorrow as he purposes† this could be seen as evidence of couple having discussed the downfall of Duncan on an earlier date. If this is true then the sisters could be seen as mere triggers; they release the fiery evil within Macbeth. The fact that the sisters are in the first scene of the play confirms that they are important characters and from what they say, â€Å"When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won† gives the impression they know what is going to pass in the rest of the play. They meet in foul weather and talk of â€Å"thunder, lightening† and â€Å"the fog and filthy air†, giving the audience a first impression that Macbeth is a dark, dangerous play in which the theme of evil is central. They embody a malign and demonic intelligence. Their information does tempt Macbeth-but it is crucial to remember: they do not invite him to murder Duncan or even suggest a thing. Information is morally neutral until human beings begin to interpret it. The three hags prophecy that Macbeth will be king, they make no inclination whatsoever how he will come about this regal title. A lingering question still remains; had Macbeth given thought to killing Duncan before, and if the sisters had not made their prophecy, would Macbeth have murdered Duncan that night at the castle? In fact this is an unanswerable question but at the same time also very crucial. For if the answer is yes, the sisters would no longer be integral to the plot but be there just for the means of a supernatural subplot. On the other hand taking it as is given in the play, the implications of this are that Macbeth relies wholly on the sisters to spur him on. Macbeth is not a fool he realises that the prophecies â€Å"cannot be ill, cannot be good† and the forecasts of the future must come at a cost. Later on though, Macbeth no doubt driven by the success of his murdering of Duncan, seems to forget the sisters’ haunt that â€Å"none of woman born shall harm Macbeth† and the movement of Birnam Wood. Banquo’s warning to Macbeth concerning the â€Å"instruments of darkness† might also be seen as prophetical; Macbeth is betrayed as a result of believing these â€Å"truths†, and he comes to realise this in his final confrontation with Macduff. As the play goes on Macbeth is mixing his conscious life with his subconscious and the weird sisters become like a drug for him; the more you get, the better you feel, the more you want. The weird sisters’ prophecies draw out the evil within Macbeth; everyone has the basis to be truly wicked but not all of us have the trigger to pull it off, most of us are too full of â€Å"the milk of human kindness†. Regarding Macbeth, the weird sisters were his trigger. The evil does not come from anywhere else other than human nature. The sisters have not completely managed to corrupt Macbeth though. Both before and after Duncan’s murder Macbeth shows signs that his own natural feelings are still present in his character and that the witches do not have total power over him. He is â€Å"foul† for the things that he has done but is somewhat â€Å"fair† as he still has a natural human conscience. Before the murder Macbeth thinks that it would be cruel to kill innocent Duncan: â€Å"Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek†, â€Å"Had I but died an hour before this chance I had lived a blessed time†. His feelings about Duncan’s murder are very similar to those about Banquo’s murder although he only acted out the first himself. He is sick with worry and guilt about Banquo’s murder, so much so he is turned to near madness by the bloody ghost of Banquo haunting him. On stage, Shakespeare sought to â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦make the Witches actable and recognisable to his audience†¦.†In Britain we either rationalise Witchcraft or mock it and we have the added problem of an audience having seen Macbeth a countless number of times, often in very unconvincing renditions of â€Å"Double, double toil and trouble† it has even become some what of a comic joke book. With hooked nosed women dressed in black with pointed hats chanting round a cauldron; not quite a depiction of three terrifying, blood curdling, residents of hell. Shakespeare himself had to make adjustments to keep up with stage fashion. Originally he had three devils in place of the weird sisters, but the theatrical currency of devils was already starting to devalue through overuse, and they were more likely to induce laughter than fear. James I who was on the throne when Macbeth was written, famously believed in witches, he even wrote the novel, Daemonologie on the subject. Yet, during the lifetime of the king, attitudes to stage witches shifted and they started down the same comic route as the devils before them. This might be why no one in the text of Macbeth uses the word â€Å"witch†. When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, weird characters were deemed capable of prophecy. Macbeth makes the association when he asks why the sisters â€Å"stop our way, with such prophetic greeting†. The modern mind, though, hear the modern denotation of weird, which incidentally, is used to describe those bearded ladies who vanish into the air. Formerly, weird ladies; those who endowed prophetic powers, were presumed to have magical powers as well. Now, ladies who think they have magical powers are presumed to be weird or peculiar Therefore it is becoming increasingly more difficult to make a contemporary western materialistic audience believe in them. Directors struggle to think of new interpretations of how to represent them. Are they young or old, male or female, disfigured or beautiful? Or even to represent them with the appearance of normal human beings, for that in itself is probably the most frightening understanding. Robert Cohen, in his 1982 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production, cast three beautiful women as the witches. Dressed in topless gowns they seduced Macbeth into a life of crime and corruption; here the weird sisters were depicted as real women more â€Å"psychic† than supernatural. Perhaps they too like Macbeth had morality, but had all the goodness sucked away and the evil human nature was dragged out of them and they were left even more corrupt than Macbeth is, at least he has the next life; hell we assume, they have to spend eternity festering in this world. This of course would be going against Shakespeare’s description of them but in my opinion in order to create three plausible figures in a modern context it is essential to create three characters; if they do even have any character that will make today’s critical and realistic mind really believe that they are looking upon true forces of evil, rather than three women in black cloaks chanting round a cauldron. Personally it would not be plausible in my mind that they would be able to take the evil out of a man, who could do such terrible deeds. Perhaps a modern interpretation might be that it is genetics which control the way people make decisions; for if a director were to stage a futuristic Macbeth with the weird sisters as genetic engineers controlling the future, this would gain the desired effect on the audience; pure fear. Also, at the same time keeping up with stage fashions, test tube babies; the idea of creating humans unnaturally. For all our scientific rationality, modern society still acknowledges that there are forces we cannot explain. Some people believe in supernatural phenomenon; ghosts witches, evil forces; others would explain everything as from within the human mind; for example Lady Macbeth who generates the evil is already within Macbeth, therefore are just plot devices, there to release it from him. Even though they cause no first hand evil themselves, they evil that they thus create by delivering their riddle like prophecies is integral to the tragedy of Macbeth and without them â€Å"fair† would not be â€Å"foul† and â€Å"foul† would not be â€Å"fair†.

Interpersonal Violence and Abuse and the LGBTQ Community Essay

Realizing that one of the discoveries about IPV or DV is that it actually cuts through cultures, class, race, creed and colour. Although allegations after allegations that there is no sufficient data about same-sex IPV to fully support whatever theoretical viewpoints there may be on the factors that lead to such occurrences, there have been readily available information to provide the reader with knowledge to understand the issue. If individuals managed to hide their gender preference or homosexuality there is a greater tendency that IPV later on will also be manageably hidden creating potentially risky behaviors as a consequence. I am dismayed that within the MSM (Men having Sex with Men) and Lesbian couples the incidence of them being batterers and them becoming repeated abusers because oftentimes they use isolation as a weapon against their victims. This is their strategy to ensure that they can control their victims. Support services for victims are not necessarily effective due to the nature of the liaison, i. e. , the stigma attached to the LGBT kind of relationship is likely to deter a victim to request or ask for help . Since statistics demonstrate that the prevalence of GLBT IPV/DV is as common as its heterosexual counterpart, the degree and kind of abuse that are inflicted mirror what are commonly occurring in any domestic violence. Just as there may also be a possible resulting homicide, cases of femicide are the most common in either gender categories. For many of the sufferers reporting from fate as survivors of IPV, GLBT victims confess of the issue over power and control where the perpetrator customarily exhibits jealousy and control over the victim. It overwhelms me also to think that size does not guarantee that there is no victimization. In the articles, female Batterers for instance play convincing roles in duping authorities or police officers into thinking that they were the victims by reason of their small size (Fountain and Skolnik, 2007). Age-range prevalence is an aspect that researchers find difficulty in making fairly accurate or close to accurate approximation. Teens in GLBT set-ups provide the lowest data primarily because teens fear the ramifications for reporting. Let me emphasize again here because I am really moved into thinking about a very close friend of mine who into this kind of relationship and suffered the same fate. One of the concepts pointed out in literature values the role- identification that each partner assumes. It refers to the accepted notion the unknowing public assumes that the batterer usually is the â€Å"masculine† (whether in male-male or in female-female/transgender relationships); something to do with â€Å"physical size, strength, appearance and mannerisms,† as well as economic standing as common bases (Miller et al. , 2000). However this may be true in some of the cases, the profile of batterers are diverse. One distinct difference between same-sex and heterosexual IPV is the significant disparity between sex differentiations on physical violence as presented by Archer (2002). Moreover, the elements of alcohol and drug abuse are not discounted; prior experience as children to domestic violence is also another factor and the force that is known as â€Å"patriarchal power† that is imposed on the relationship is widely known. Literature conclusively added the factor on perceived power or powerless ness as significant in the rise of partner violence in both heterosexual and same sex relations. Researchers point to a curvilinear relationship which refers to the rate of violence among those partners whose status is high or lower (Miller et al. 2000). Attachment styles, whether the issue is on the gender preference or the occurrence of violence in the home or in partnership are examined, is in most cases a primary consideration. Understanding how the batterers (including their victims) have gone through their growing up years give clue to the present treatment they give to their partners. Attachment styles have been thoroughly studied and are proven to be vital influence to the developing individual and the adult in transition. It is therefore recommended that further studies be made on the correlation of attachment styles and potential violent behavior a person may manifest in a relationship especially among the GLBT population where data is still inadequate. It is worthwhile to note also that the WHO’s global strides to make domestic violence a worldwide agendum along with other forms of violence (source:www. who. int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005html) is a big and very positive step to reduce the worldwide incidence.