Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan is an apt representation of the theory of epic theater

Brecht’s Epic Theatre is a theatre of destroyed illusions and a wide awake audience which took birth from the theory of Korschian Marxism which saw ideology as a material force that served as an important tool of dominance. It is a theatre of instruction and hence is also termed Didactic theatre and because of the binary opposition present in its themes it is also known as Dialectical Theatre. The biggest aim of Brechtian plays is to alienate the audience to bring about an understanding which can affect change, Brecht terms this phenomenon as the Verfremdung’s Effekt (Alienation Effect or the A-effect), which comes from the Chinese play tradition. The audience is never one with the actor, they are always aware that the play is not real and that whatever is being presented on stage is not reality but a depiction of a certain reality. The ‘A-Effect’ is also known as the technique of defamiliarization wherein the familiar is made strange through alienation tropes such as addressing the audience directly, changing clothes in front of the audience, use of songs etc, which ensures that the audience is at all times rational, intellectual, and act as scientific observers so that they are able to question the industrial world and its authoritarian structures. As Walter Benjamin while summarizing Brecht’s theatre said â€Å"for its public the stage is no longer ‘the planks which signify the world’ (in other words, a magic circle), but a convenient public exhibition area. For its stage, the public is no longer a collection of hypnotized test subjects, but an assembly of interested persons whose demands it must satisfy. For its text, the performance is no longer a virtuoso interpretation, but its rigorous control. For its performance, the text is no longer a basis of that performance, but a grid on which, in the form of new formulations, the gains of that performance are marked†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 1 and so Bertolt Brecht’s theory of Epic Theatre transforms into its praxis in his play The Good Person of Szechwan. The Good Person of Szechwan is a purely Marxist play that deals with the social conditions of its milieu and how the people who are put in those situations react to it and towards one another. The major theme being that of survival in a world that is ruled not by goodness of character but by the evil and corruption of the society. The juxtaposition of poverty with plentitude is a leit motif in the play. Wang’s ‘The Water Seller’s Song In The Rain’ brigns forth this juxtaposition beautifully when he laments, â€Å"I sell water. Who will taste it? -Who would want to in this weather? All my labour has been wasted Fetching these few pints together. I stand shouting by my Water! And nobody thinks it Worth stopping and buying Or greedily drinks it. †2 Since its rainy season and there is plenty of water no one bothers buying the water from Wang and this plentitude becomes poverty for Wang. We start to pity Wang’s character when we realize that he is a proletariat and is burdened by poverty, but Brecht alienates us from Wang’s character by showing us his cheating and swindling side so that we rationalize his character and see him as the representative of the proletariat ideology of swindling and cheating. There is no Bourgeois enemy present in the play. The problem is within the proletariat and not amongst the proletariat and bourgeois. The problems that Shen Teh or the other characters face are due to their social conditions. The province of Szechwan can be seen as a microcosm of what is happening all over the world. Throughout the play there is constant reference to â€Å"hunger. † Hunger is seen as annihilating honor. Shen Teh’s hesitancy to take the God’s in is because she has an empty stomach. She says â€Å"†¦I’m afraid that a rumbling stomach is no respecter of persons. 3 The motif of hunger and poverty can also be seen in Brecht’s other play The Life of Galileo. The play starts with Galileo saying â€Å"Put the milk on table†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 4 and Andrea replying â€Å"Mother says we must pay the milkman, if we don’t he’ll be describing a circle round us, Signor Galilei†5 and later on when Galileo says â€Å"†¦an d I like to eat decently. It’s when I’m eating I get most inspiration. A rotten age. They haven’t paid me as much as the man who drives their wine-carts. †6 We are always reminded of the juxtaposition of plentitude with poverty. The play is dialectical in its split between Shen Teh’s self fulfillment and Shui Ta’s self preservation. It is the â€Å"inevitable clash between desire and fact and as the paradox of ends and means. These are two sides of the same coin. Shen Teh’s wish to be generous must employ Shui Ta’s profiteering meanness, or else she would be deprived of her charitable self. †7 Prosperity is associated with lack of goodness and â€Å"social conditions twist the natural goodness of human beings into opposites†8 and hence if Shen Teh wants to prosper then she needs to give into Shui Ta’s calculating nature. In The Good Person of Szechwan we have constant interruptions that are brought about by the musical interludes and all these songs work to alienate the audience from the play and to make them question the situation being presented in front of them. They are made to question the worth of Shen Teh’s goodness as it leaves her not ennobled but economically emaciated. Walter Benjamin says that, â€Å"the interrupting of action is one of the principle concerns of epic theatre. Therein lies the formal achievements of Brecht’s songs with their crude, heart rendering refrains. 9 and hence ‘The Water Seller’s Song In The Rain’ comes just after the love scene between Shen Teh and Yang Sun, disrupting the audience from getting involved in the play and again bringing their attention to the dialectics between poverty and plentitude. Brecht says that â€Å"in the epic theatre moral arguments only took second place. Its aim was less to moralize than to observe. â € 10 So we see that Shen Teh’s goodness is constantly thwarted by the social circumstances and harsh necessities of survival in a competitive world but no moralizing comments are made. The play begins on a note of despair and ends with one. For Shen Teh to survive it is necessary that Shui Ta also survives. The God’s in the play are ignorant, humanized and a satire on the hegemony in Christianity, questioning the absolutism of Christianity in the early twentieth Century. Instead of one god head we are presented with three Gods and none of them can do anything to lift Shen Teh out of the drudgery that she is a part of even though she is good. In the trial scene the gods are seen as nothing but impostors, their omniscience and all powerful stature is questioned. The idea of justice is questioned, deconstructed and done away with. Neither is virtue rewarded nor vice punished, instead vice is seen as a means to an end. Shui Ta is not punished for any of the crimes and Shen Teh is not rewarded for her goodness. Brecht here blends divine justice with legal justice by making the Gods don on the attire of the magistrate to mock at divine justice. It is a Marxist onslaught on the institutionalization of religion. In his other play The Caucasian Chalk Circle we have the character of Azdak whose method of delineating legal justice is more serious in purpose and intent as compared to the three Gods here who appear as mere fools. One is forced to question if justice is being delayed or if there is no concept of justice in an industrial world. The open ended-ness of the trial scene erodes the moralistic nature and it prises upon the mind of the audience and affects change. Brecht in all his plays comments on â€Å"Jetztzeit†, a term that Walter Benjamin coined for the presence of â€Å"now† in Brechtian plays. According to Walter Benjamin, â€Å"history for Brecht was an ever present arena, never as with Lukacs a thing of past† and hence we see that Mother Courage and her Children, The Good Person of Szechwan or The Life of Galileo all have topical references in the World War I and II, the failure of the Russian Revolution/Communism/Dictatorship and questioning of the viability and feasibility of science in a post Hiroshima-Nagasaki world, respectively. Also epic theatre is literarized. â€Å"The literarization of theatre by means of verbal formulas, posters, captions, is intended to, and will, make what is shown on the stage unsensational. 11 The performance is not aimed to draw the audience into the play but to make them stand at the periphery so that they question the bourgeoisie ideology and break free from it, so that the proletariat is emancipated and socialism can be constructed. Brecht believes that society can be changed through intellectual action and that is the reason t hat his plays are so highly dialectical. We see the dialectics between Good and God when Shen Teh as Shui Ta sings the ‘Song of the Defencelessness of the Good and The Gods’ â€Å"The good Cannot remain good for long in our country Where cupboards are bare, housewives start to squabble. Oh, the divine commandments Are not much use against hunger. So why can’t the god’s share out what they’ve created Come down and distribute the bounties of nature And allow us, once hunger and thirst has been sated To mix with each other in friendship and pleasure? †12 Gods here are seen as privileging the aristocrats and Christianity is seen as a perpetrator of class difference. The motif of hunger is again visible in the song. Hunger can not be satiated by following the commandments, one need to have money to buy food and that money comes not from praying but by being economically independent and well of. When the audience hears the song they realize the futility of religion in an economic world. It brings to the forefront the debate between spirituality and materialism. It makes the spectators question both the value of a bourgeoisie society and that of religion. Being but a Marxist play every theme is given a Marxist interpretation, even the idea of love and marriage. Shen Teh has to choose between Yang Sun and Mr. Shu Fu. It is as Shui Ta that she favors Mr. Shu Fu for he can provide her with a future but as Shen Teh her emotions sway her towards Yang Sun. In a direct address to the audience Shen Teh sings; â€Å"I would go with the man whom I love. I would not reckon what it costs me. I would not consider what is wiser. I would not know whether he loves me. I would go with the man that I love. †13 â€Å"As Shui Ta she knows the worthlessness of her charming but rascally lover Sun. But with her emotional feminine self, as Shen Teh, she cannot give up the physical passion and tenderness that bind her to him. In Shen Teh’s love the drive for self-fulfillment and the need for self preservation clash in hopeless combat that can never be decided. 14 Brecht in The Good Person of Szechwan presents us with a Marxist theme, a dialectical debate between poverty and plentitude, goodness and god, religion and materialism etc, all of which is made apparent to the audience by the alienation effect brought about by the musical interludes that are present through out the course of the play, Shen Teh’s changing clothes in front of the audience, direct address to the audience; in an attempt to make sure that the play raises questions in the minds of the audience and breaks their identification with the bourgeoisie ideology. In totality Brecht’s play The Good Person of Szechwan is an apt representation of his epic or intellectual theatre that is built on the concept of critical theory translating into intellectual action on stage wherein Brecht seeks to illumine historically specific features of a milieu in order to show how that milieu influenced, shaped and often battered and destroyed the individual. Instead of focusing on the universal elements of human situations and fate, Brecht on the other hand is interested in depicting the attitude that people adopted towards each other in a specific historical situation or context.

Bank of the Philippine Islands

BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is that country's second-largest bank, trailing only Metropolitan Bank ; Trust. It is also the Philippines' oldest bank and one of the oldest of all Asian banks. BPI offers a full range of commercial and retail financial services, including corporate finance services, asset management, and brokerage and other financial consulting services.BPI's retail network includes more than 700 branches throughout the Philippines, as well as branches in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The bank also operates a network of more than 1,200 automated teller machines and more than 8,500 retailer-based point-of-sale machines. In 1999, BPI pioneered online banking in the Philippines with the launch of online bank BPI Direct in 1999.In addition to its banking products and services, BPI has also developed a strong non-life insurance operation, chiefly under subsidiary BPI/MS Insurance Corporation. Listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange, BPI has long been majority controlled by Philippines conglomerate Ayala Corporation. * leader in electronic banking, having introduced most of the firsts in the industry, such as: * automated teller machines (ATMs), * a point-of-sale debit system * kiosk banking * phone banking internet banking * mobile banking * owned by the Ayala Corporation Business Evolution * post World War II era, BPI evolved from a purely commercial bank to a fully diversified universal bank * accomplished mainly through mergers and acquisitions in the eighties when it absorbed an investment house, a stockbrokerage company, a leasing company, a savings bank, and a retail finance company * Since the late 1990s – consummated three bank mergers * 1996 – merged with City Trust Banking Corporation 2000 * consummated the biggest merger then in the banking industry when it merged with the former Far East Bank ; Trust Company (FEBTC) * formalized its acquisition of three major insurance companies in the life, non-life and reinsurance fields * 2005 – acquired and merged with Prudential Bank MERGERS April 2007 – Bank of the Philippine Islands (Europe) Plc * October 2008 – BPI, Ayala Corporation and Globe Telecom signed a Memorandum of Agreement to form the country’s first mobile microfinance bank * 2009 – entered into a strategic bancassurance partnership with The Philippine American Life Insurance Company (Philamlife) to form BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp Principal Subsidiaries * BPI Family Savings Bank, Inc. * BPI Capital Corporation * BPI Leasing Corporation * BPI Direct Savings Bank * BPI International Finance Limited, Hong Kong BPI Express Remittance Corporation * Bank of the Philippine Island (Europe) Plc, * Ayala Plans, Inc. * BPI/MS1 Insurance Corporation Reasons Of merger * Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, BPI’s Chairman, said the purchase would further â€Å"enhance† the operations of BPI with increased or widened network. * N ew incentive package by BSP with respect to mergers and acquisitions * BPI has been on the lookout for some good acquisitions in order to bolster its position as a rising regional financial powerhouse. The merger is seen to offer a good strategic fit to BPI in penetrating the attractive customer segment of Prudential composed mostly of middle market entrepreneurs. * With the merger, BPI will solidify its position as the country’s second largest bank with combined assets totaling P456. 09 billion. * BPI expects to gain at least 200,000 new accounts with the acquisition. BPI and FAR EAST BANK TRUST COMPANY MERGER The majority stockholders of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) and Far East Bank and Trust Co. FEBTC) approved the merger of the two banks, making the combined entity the 10th largest financial institution in the region with over $3. 5 billion in capital. The merger catapulted BPI/FEBTC as the country's largest bank, accounting for 14 percent of the entire banking i ndustry's total resources with combined  assets of P372. 4 billion. The merged institution will also have the largest branch network of 680. BPI president Xavier Loinaz, in an interview, said they expect the integration of the two banks to be firmed up by the end of March this year. We think that by end of March this year, they (merger process) would be falling into place,† Loinaz said, when asked about the merger timetable. FEBTC president Octavio Espiritu assured FEBTC employees that they will work out ways to thresh out remaining issues regarding the merger particularly the possible massive displacement of FEBTC personnel. While they are finalizing the integration, both Loinaz and Espiritu said the performance of their respective banks in 1999 was relatively â€Å"flat†. â€Å"We haven't seen any growth for the year, pretty much the same level as last year.Loans are flat for 1999,† Loinaz said, adding that BPI's bottomline was also â€Å"flat†. The sa me thing with FEBTC, Espiritu said the bank's income was down due to loans provisioning amounting to about P2 billion for the year. This year, Loinaz said they are still waiting for the economy to turn around. â€Å"Last year was quite disappointing. We showed a slight drop in (bottomline) the previous year,† he added. Loinaz said they do not expect â€Å"too much† from the first year of merger of BPI and FEBTC.But, he informed the stockholder that for 2000, the pro-forma projected earnings per share for the merged bank would be 5. 37 percent, 6. 31 percent in 2001 and 6. 79 percent in 2001. Based on BPI's closing price on Oct. 20, 1999, the day that the merger agreement was signed and announced, the exchange ratio represented an implied value of P82. 50 per FEBTC share or an implied premium of 18 percent to FEBTC's closing price on that day. According to Loinaz, they look forward to working with DBS Bank which now owns about 20 percent of the merged bank. DBS Bank is the second largest bank in the region.

Decision Support Systems and Competitive Advantage Assignment

Decision Support Systems and Competitive Advantage - Assignment Example These systems do not make decisions by themselves, but through the presentation of information in a manner that enables decision-making possible and informed (Power, 2002). Â  Their application majorly in most organizations is to help create competitive advantage. This refers to an organization’s resources, capabilities or skills that significantly enhance its success within the market it operates and against rivalry situations it encounters. Such results from carrying out activities better than competitors thus creating value and superior performance to consumers and clients alike (Parsaei, Kolli & Hanley, 1996). A decision support system can only create a competitive advantage for an organization when certain criteria are met. These involve: using it and making it become an important and significant strength of the particular organization once it is implemented; being unique and proprietary to the organization and taking of the advantage provided by its sustainability until the adequate payback is received, which normally takes at least three years. These criteria have to be carefully considered to derive the benefits of the decision support s ystems throughout (Power & Business Expert Press, 2009). Â  Managers have increasingly integrated the use of decision support systems in their organizations through the use of sophisticated data-driven systems to obtain information that was initially present in ordinary files and those on computer storage systems (Green, Stankosky & Vandergriff, 2010).

Managing Expansion Change Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Expansion Change - Case Study Example A significant problem is that customers make regular complaints about service at the hotel. Moreover, the hotel has accrued significant debts, meaning that it has been operating below the break-even point. The aforementioned problems comprise part of what PDR Hotel & Resorts will inherit when it finally gets acquisition rights for Mortloch Hotel. To begin with, PDR Hotel & Resorts will have to make a turn around in the quality of services in order to boost customer confidence in the hotel. Secondly, PDR Hotel & Resorts will have to develop mechanisms to improve service delivery, among them deploying qualified personnel in the various departments who will embrace excellent human resource management skills. Thirdly, the group will have to focus on the customers' complaints and provide solutions since customers are the cornerstone of success of any business organization. Additionally, PDR Hotel & Resorts has to look into ways of solving any problems that arise due to debts. The significance of the above problems is that PDR Hotel & Resorts plans to buy Mortloch Hotel as part of its expansion programme, yet it is evident that the hotel currently has a clouded image. If the purchase is not critically appraised, PDR Hotel & Resorts may end up tarnishing its reputation in case the trend at the hotel continues even after the group acquires it. Therefore, when PDR Hotel & Resorts eventually acquires Mortloch Hotel, the group will have to prove indisputably that the hotel is in deed under new management, with new services that will leave customers craving to make subsequent visits. In order to facilitate an effective and problem-specific structure to increase revenue, it is imperative to improve quality and service while minimizing the running costs in order to eliminate debt. The theme of research on the process therefore lies around improving the customer base, staff management, service delivery, and ultimately, revenue collection and expenditure. There has to be a clear pattern of accountability in all departments in order to improve customer-staff relations. Additionally, the management has to work towards common objectives in order to improve service delivery and staff morale. Marchington and Wilkinson (2005) identified effective human resource management such employee participation as the best way to resuscitate a collapsing organization. This review presents the objectives of investing in Mortloch Hotel, the strategies to overhaul its management and limitations to the programme. Such strategies will include improvement of the hotel's facilities and staff training to boost service delivery. A review of ideas by other authors forms part of the discussion and analysis of ideas in this text. Objective of research As part of investment in an expansion programme that

Leininger's nursing theory research article summaries Paper

Leininger's nursing theory article summaries - Research Paper Example The qualitative research design used focus groups guided by Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality. The setting for the study covered three different regions of a southeastern state in the United States. The participants included fifteen self-identified African American women who had recently breastfed; they were recruited by lactation consultants and by word of mouth. The research study on three focus groups was undertaken with initial guiding questions. New ideas that emerged were thoroughly investigated in the group, and included as a guiding question for the next group. The categories identified from the data included reasons to start and stop breastfeeding, advice about breastfeeding whether useful or not useful, and cultural issues pertaining to breastfeeding distinctive to African Americans. The three main themes identified for all categories were â€Å"perceived lack of information about benefits and management of breastfeeding, difficulties breastfeeding in public, and lack of a supporting system for continued breastfeeding† (Lewallen & Street, 2010, p.667). The authors concluded that women should be taught early in their pregnancies about the benefits of breastfeeding. They should also be provided with continued support and teaching once breastfeeding is established. Further, it was considered The socio-cultural factors that influence care and caregiving vary in different places, with both beneficial and harmful effects on the caregivers. The cultural and social structural factors that impact caregivers of people living with HIV/ AIDs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were found to be religious beliefs, economic issues, education, and social stigma and discrimination. Leininger’s culture care diversity and universality theory helps provide caregiving by family in a culturally congruent manner to those requiring nursing assistance (Aga et al, 2009b). A second research study

The Roman History of Cassius Dio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Roman History of Cassius Dio - Essay Example Suetonius and his work the â€Å"The lives of the twelve Caesars" gives us an insight into the character of Nero. While the emperor did not see any direct action in Britain, the causes for the revolt grew under his watch. Thus, one can argue that Nero's lack of concern or apathy towards the provinces and empire contributed to the revolt. As such, the main argument in favor of seeing Nero as responsible for the revolt is his lack of interest or complete disregard for the provinces. Accordingly, using the texts of the Dio, Tacitus, and Suetonius, this essay will first examine the circumstances surrounding the revolt of Boudicca and the manner in which Nero's behavior contributed towards it. The province of Britain did not have a very hostile population. In fact, Tacitus claims that "The Britons themselves submit to the levy, the tribute and the other charges of the empire with cheerful readiness†¦". Instead, the province, which was in charge of Suetonius Paulinus, revolted as a r esult of growing political and economic mistreatment by the Roman provincial administration. This reached a climax with the death of the King Prasutagus who ruled the Iceni autonomously. In his will, he divided his kingdom between Nero and his daughters in order to win approval with the imperial order. However, instead of winning favor, his queen, Boudicca, was flogged, his daughters ravaged and his family, along with those of other nobles were plundered. This incident, along with the abuses of the procurator and the governor, prompted Boudicca and a vast number of Britons to revolt. Further injustices against the Iceni included the takeover of their property by the procurator and the change in the status of their kingdom from autonomous to provincial. Furthermore, financial concessions made to the British earlier became void. Dio stated that the revolt cost approximately 80,000 Roman lives and almost destroyed the Ninth Legion.

Set of Economics Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Set of Economics Problems - Essay Example This phenomenon is explained with the help of a model. First of all Assume an economy composed of n citizens, with one of them serving the role of a self interested public official. This official is considering whether to implement a project. Here we take a situation where there is only one citizen i who derives positive utility from the project Ui > 0. All other citizens in the economy including the public official derive utility U-i ≠¤ 0. The public official may corrupt citizen i by proposing a bribe, which the citizen may accept or reject. For each unit of bribe b, we also assume citizen i suffers a cost (1+ÃŽ ¬), with ÃŽ ¬ ≠¥ 0. We assume Ui à · 1+ ÃŽ ¬ > U-i and complete information. Sub-game Nash Equilibrium is used in dynamic games. More informally, we can say that it means if the players used to play any smaller game that consisted of one part of the larger game then their behavior symbolizes Nash equilibrium of the smaller game. In any finite game like one mentioned above, we implement a common method of backward induction in which one considers the last actions and outcomes of the game first and determines which actions would be required to maximize utility in possible circumstances. For example the public official is proposing bribe and corrupt the citizen i keeping in mind his own benefits. However, the citizen may accept or reject the bribe. In case if the citizen accepts the bribe then it will include in corruption on the part of the public official as well as the citizen to maximize their own benefits. Furthermore, this corruption results in social inefficiency and harming the overall economic growth of the country. Now, suppose the project is a driving license for citizen i and citizen i is a dangerous driver. In such a case there would be negative externalities of the project for all other citizens. However, these negative externalities are small.

Thesis and Content Outline about Art in south Africa Research Paper

Thesis and Content Outline about Art in south Africa - Research Paper Example A debate had been disclosed. In the coming years, there would be an extension amongst anti-apartheid forces, that there existed immense power in educational resistance. Therefore, whites planned an extensive marginalization of black ability, forcing upper echelons of the world art to exist (Peffer 43). 2. The use of sculptures, banners, dramatic sketches, poems, murals and t-shirts to express their vision resistance. Posters were everywhere painted black to mourn the dead, decorated houses to increase their villages, sculptures representing chairs. It was an art rooted in battle for liberation, extraordinarily rich, in opposition. 1. The whites’ schools restricted the black artists from their schools in priority to still life, oil painting, drawing from life and landscape studies. Whites were cautious in their arts, claiming they possess European convention naturalism â€Å"according to Skotnes†. Blacks were not allowed in theatres, cinemas or art museums through a separate part of amenities. 2. The art is set in commercial galleries and call the country. The works have been organized into pictorial formatted magazines, showcased in various museums in the world â€Å"New African Art Magazine for optima† which made it to centers of the art world, Paris (Williamson 14). In conclusion, the art of the world has a substantial contribution, which defines several aspects in distinct cultures. While some people set great reputations, others never get the opportunity because they do not master institutions and defining rules of ‘art’. Influential players within the art world include criticism, art history and art

Summary of global report on conflict governance and state fragility Essay

Summary of global report on conflict governance and state fragility 2011 - Essay Example It is worth mentioning that the aspect of governance needs to be applied and developed for the purpose of settling any sort of conflict, occurring in the societal system (Marshall & Cole, 2011). Thus, these three dimensions are regarded as the major holistic approaches of the societal system. With this concern, this paper intends to provide a brief summary about the global report focused on the aspects i.e. conflict, governance and state fragility 2011. Summary One of the commonly observed matters in the global system is the rise of conflicts in the society. The emergence of such conflicts eventually results in causing the incidents associated with political violence. The trend of the conflicts has become a continuous process in the globalization period. From the mid 1950s, the wars have been increasing in this global world, especially after the Cold War. It can be apparently viewed in this similar concern that around 21 nations of the world have experienced conflicts in the year 201 1. A few of the issues linked with the rise of the conflicts were the extension of boundaries, terror of militants and also the reported cases relating to trafficking, production along with supply of drugs. One of the leading examples of those conflicts was the attack of LTTE in Sri Lanka (Marshall & Cole, 2011). ... The increased level of conflicts during the year 2011 had indicated a beginning in the form of posing unfavorable impact upon intra-state along with inter-state wars and humanitarian operations at large. In recent times, a gradual decline in the conduct of wars in the global world reveals the reduction of problems relating to conflict by a certain degree (Marshall & Cole, 2011). Autocracy and democracy are regarded as the major forms of governance. These forms can be utilized in the maintenance of social order in a society. In this similar concern, The Polity IV Project has marked the level of both these forms for each country by taking into concern the political situations that prevail in the nations. In relation to the autocratic system, the participation of the citizens is often viewed to be constrained due to various crucial factors. These factors might entail restrictions especially upon political participation, limitations in the application along with the execution of relevant guidelines or effective regulations and weaker checks imposed over executive power. While determining the trend of governance, it can be viewed that in the year 2011, only Qatar and Saudi Arabia were rated as fully autocratic nations throughout the globe (Marshall & Cole, 2011). A few of the autocratic nations of the world such as Gabon, Togo, Syria and North Korea have implemented the succession of dynasties in executive leadership for the purpose of forestalling succession crises. On the other hand, certain nations such as Taiwan, Mexico and Senegal have move towards democracy from autocracy form. The reasons for this might be the increasing desires of various political groups towards strengthening their respective positions, non-maintenance of

Animism and the Alphabet Essay Example for Free

Animism and the Alphabet Essay Animism and the Alphabet Response The author writes about human being how to develop writing system such as European civilization and the Greek origins. Then talk about â€Å"hieroglyphic† and explain the development of the writing process, this was human primeval communication, which a method of identifying with the animal draw on the wall. After they slowly learn to use images or picture to present what their said. Then, he thinks the ideograms of writing Ideographic scripts must make use of a vast number of stylized glyphs or characters, therefore, there are only a few people who highly trained it. Its hard for writing and training, more and more people choice it as how to describe way. With the advent of the aleph- beth, this new innovation changed new distance and open between human life and the rest of nature, people know how to practice and improve their writing ability. So the author is saying that† the larger, more than human life world is no longer a part of the semiotic, no longer a necessary part of the system† The development of human being language benefits our environment, people will reduce hunting to treat as sign and less depend on nature. I don’t agree the author’s views, because people should be eager to explore new stuff. More innovation can show human being value. Even if some ways is like a double edged sword, try to change new method, the writing system will be benefit more and more in the future.

Ethical Analysis Of The Video Game

Ethical Analysis Of The Video Game Our group chose the video game software development industry as our target industry to examine. We chose this industry because it has had a very interesting dynamic of financials versus ethical issues in the past. First, the institutional investor should be very interested in this industry financially for several reasons. It is a $25 billion industry as of 2011. 49% of U.S. households own a game console, with the average household owning at least one console, smartphone or PC. Eight video games are purchased per second in the United States (esa). Research into an industry leader gathered that Activision Blizzard (ATVI) has been grossly outperforming the market for the last 10 years. With healthy earnings, a substantial profit margin, a modest dividend yield, and a manageable price to earnings ratio, this stock will easily be a welcome addition to any institutional investors portfolio. However, our group suggests that ethical and social issues should also be taken into account when choosing to invest in an industry and a particular stock. Specifically, there is speculation of links between video games and violent crimes, obesity, anti-social behavior and a variety of health problems. The link to violent crimes hits especially close to home in relation to the speculative link between the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting and the video game Doom. In addition, there has been news regarding unethical treatment of development employees. All these will be scrutinized below and must be contrasted with several benefits games afford the community such as high profits and gainful employment for the business. Video games can also produce the benefits of increased attention, positive psychological conditioning, and an outlet for aggression and stress in its players. Following this analysis we will conclude as to whether an institutional investor can feel justified ethically and fina ncially in investing in the video game industry. Ethical Issues and Pressures facing the Gaming Industry The gaming industry battles several ethical dilemmas. These are moral and social choices that have to be made that may or may not conflict with achieving higher profits. These ethical issues could be subdivided into different categories. There are issues pertaining to the nature of the product or game itself, the effect this product has on the consumer engaging in the game, as well as the ethics related to game development such as workplace ethics and developer employment practices. Therefore, there are a vast amount of ethical issues and pressures facing the industry in general that could be addressed, and to cover each and every one of them would far exceed the scope of this analysis. As a result, we will only focus on those ethical issues pertaining to the industry that we believe are especially important for an institutional investor to take into account when making an investment decision for this industry. One ethical issue pertaining to the nature of the game is the ethics of representation. Many activists have criticized video games for being misrepresentative of real demographics. Games like Grand Theft Auto have been criticized for not only misrepresenting minorities as criminals, but also for promoting race violence. In addition, the University of Central Florida concluded that video games vastly misrepresent females. This study chose 33 games and found 41% to contain no females, 28% portrayed women as sex objects, 21% portrayed violence against women, and 30% misrepresented females in terms of their body as well as their positions as damsels in distress or insignificant participants (Dietz, 1998). Do video game manufacturers have a social responsibility to portray population demographics as accurately as possible? If so, does that limit their ability to make riveting gameplay? What is known from previous litigation is that the First Amendment protects gameplay development as free speech and manufacturers are free to create gameplay as their want. Another aspect of the ethics of representation is the portrayal of realism. The more realistic the gameplay the better the user experience, but can being too real be going too far? Recently, seven Navy seals were disciplined for divulging classified tactics and procedures to a Medal of Honor video game. The video game makers, Electronic Arts, state on their website that this game gives the player an authentic experience that puts the gamers in the boots of a soldier (Lerman, 2012). Being too realist can not only divulge secret information to the public, but it also could be seen as training gamers for real situations like that in the game. Examples of this are games like Grand Theft Auto made by Rockstar games. Video game activists, led by Jack Thompson, have been exerting pressure to limit the violence in games, labeling violent games as murder simulators (Jack Thompson (activist)). Violence in video games is seen to be worse than violence in movies, TV or music because games are in teractive. Each play gradually desensitizes and emotionally hardens (termed operant conditioning in psychology) the players to the graphic violence. A 2005 American Psychology Association study corroborates that by stating that there is a causal link between violent video games and teen aggression (Committee led by Elizabeth Carll, 2005). In addition, the games give players weapons training and procedural tactics to carry out maximum damage in the real or virtual world. A much publicized example is Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the assailants in the Columbine High School purportedly being frequent players of the id Software game Doom (Video game controversies). There is much speculation as to whether these games actually influenced and aided these brutal crimes, as there is the larger debate as to whether things such as the realism of violence, gore and sex have a causal link to mimicry of these activities in the real world. Another major ethical issue arises from the fact children are a large part of the video game consumer base. 18% of the video game population is boys under the age of 17 (esa). This statistic may not seem significant but the next few are: studies have shown that 97% of children play video games and that 50% play video games every day (Irvine, 2008). Parents have been concerned about the violence, murder, and crime that many games promote, and their effect on their children especially when they spend long hours every day engaging in these games. One large organization focused on this is MAVAV: Mothers against Videogame Addiction and Violence. If there is physical and psychological harm being done by video games, children are very much in harms way. Because of this, the Entertainment Software Review Board (ESRB) exerts pressure to regulate the exposure of certain games to people of certain ages. Apart from the adverse effects that violence, gore and sex in games can have on the players, there is a link between overplaying of games and several health issues. The physical issues are many: repetitive strain injury, skin problems, muscle stiffness, vision problems, dizziness, headaches, and so on all the way up to even death (Video game-related health problems). Some muscle and skin problems related to video games have been playfully termed PlayStation thumb, Nintendinitis, Wii fractures and so on. In addition, there is a link between video game overplaying and sleep deprivation, nausea and obesity. There is also a list of non-physical effects like addiction, anti-social behavior and increased aggression. Most of the ethical issues discussed so far are tangible to the consumers, and publicly felt because they have a somewhat direct effect on the players. However, there is very little revealed about the behind the scenes developer employment practices that take place before a game is made available to the market. Crunch Time is one of the major reasons developers employment practices and work ethics are subject to a lot of scrutiny. Crunch Time is defined as the period in a games development cycle where the developers have to shift their working patterns into the highest gear in order to ship a game on time (Xbuttonkill, 2011). This has led to developers working as long as 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, Mike Capps, President of Epic Games, said on an industry panel that he wouldnt hire someone if they werent willing to work 60 hours per week. When developers use crunch time as an employment condition, and force their employees to work long hours, their only concern is to get t he game released on time and make millions. In other words, they tend to depend on crunch time to decrease the risk of competition. They do not seem to care about the physical and mental health problems unreasonable hours have on their employees. The risks of crunch time span even beyond physical and mental health problems. Studies show that overworking affects marriages, and causes children to lose attachment to their parents, because developers get to spend less time at home (Groen, 2011). Corporate Social Responsibility in the Gaming Industry In order to combat such ethical issues and pressures, companies in the gaming industries have outlined certain Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) which they take upon themselves. Part of this initiative includes ensuring that the video games content is appropriate in terms of health care and promotes an educational message. Video games such as: Bully, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) have been scrutinized for many years for the violent and sexual content involved in the games (Leigh, 2011). Both video game developers and the government have recently been taking actions to create a social impact. Governments of many countries have also been involved in activities to control video game threats. For instance, the Chinese government has restricted the number of hours a person can play a video game. The Thailand government banned GTA 4 after a cab driver got carjacked in the similar fashion shown in the game (The Telegraph, 2008). Various countries, due to violent content, have also banned video games such as Wolfenstien, Carmageddon, and Fallout 3 (Leigh, 2011). Many companies have already done much to improve the social and environmental impact of their activities through the creation of programs to tackle the issues of game content. These companies also create games to promote education and participate in events to encourage social awareness and development. Blizzard Entertainment, producers of one of the most famous video games, World of Warcraft, has introduced a function known as Parental Control, which allows parents to control the hours played by their children. Many other games including World of Warcraft have also been promoting Screen-warning messages to control the excessive use of gaming and promote the effects of gaming on health. Some of the World of Warcrafts screen messages were: Take everything in moderation (even World of Warcraft) and Bring your friends to Azeroth, but dont forget to go outside of Azeroth with them as well (Martinez). Games for Change (G4C) is a non-profit organization that has been promoting education and valuable messages through its video games. According to the company, video games are one of the most innovative and powerful learning tools for people any age in 21st century. According to the Mr. Asi Burak, Co-President of Games for Change, video game developers should not consider the quantity of the games sold but should consider the behavioral change that the game could provide (Rowley, 2011). The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which is exclusively dedicated to serve the business and public affair needs of video game producers, took another CSR initiative recently in the gaming industry. ESA introduced the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) that assigns rating to the video games so that the parents and buyers can make an appropriate and informed decision. The rating gets divided into three categories: A.) rating categories, which suggest the age appropriateness and divides games into categories of Early Childhood, Everyone 10+, Mature etc. B.) Content descriptor, which reveals the content that may have triggered the rating or may be the interest or concern for the parent such as crude humor, alcohol reference, blood, nudity, intense violence etc. And C.) Interactive elements tell the user about the interactive aspect of the product like explaining the games ability to share your personal information, location and ability to interact with others (ESRB). Some organizations help gaming companies get involved with Corporate Social Responsibility through charity. Gamers Outreach Foundation is one such charitable organization that uses interactive entertainment through video games to help others. The company focuses on three initiatives: Project Go Cart, Fun for Our Troops and Gaming for Others. With these initiatives the company collects donations that are eventually used to provide entertainment in the form of video games to people such as U.S Troops and patients in hospitals (Gamers Outreach). The above is just the tip of the iceberg in the endeavor that several firms and organizations of the gaming industry have done to improve its social and environmental impact of its activities. Some firms have done more than others. Rockstar Games, which produces Grand Theft Auto, in our opinion, does not live up to the efforts of other companies. As mentioned above, even though some governments have banned GTA 4, the company is launching GTA 5, with similar if not more violent and sexual content. Regardless of some firms disregard for social responsibility, there are companies which, in our opinion, have made an unprecedented effort to improve the impact of its activities and increase social awareness. One of these companies is Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) who has done much to improve the social and environmental impact of their activities. Throughout numerous countries and various initiatives, SCE carries on activities to encourage a strong, healthy and productive social environment. In Japan, they have set up company visits where students can visit the headquarters as part of an integrated studies system and career education. Along with gaming classes held in schools with the objective of providing media literacy to students, SCE supports several schools in their e-learning approaches. One such program uses PSPs in classes in order to support individualized learning and motivation for scholastic proficiency. In North America, SCE provides joy to families in need a s part of their ongoing Holiday Giving program. They host an annual Nite to Unite (NtU) benefit dinner, which is an unparalleled effort by the interactive entertainment community to make a difference in the lives of Americas kids. NtU is an auction supported by members of the association and the interactive entertainment industry, raising funds for the ESA Foundation. SCE employees participate devotedly in such charities along with other community programs and partnerships for the independence and development of disadvantaged children. Since 2007 they have expanded their PSP in Education Program where PSP has been used extensively at more than 400 educational and training institutions in the UK, as its exceptional ability to capture and play educational digital content has made it a gripping new mobile learning program. In Asia, the SCE also actively participates in innumerable charities working to increase education and provide media literacy to students, reducing the gaming indust ries carbon footprint, and achieving basic goals of ending poverty and hunger in society. Leading by example, SCE offers job opportunities to low-income workers during the annual Asia Game Show; it also has a game console-recycling program in various shopping centers (Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.). Virginia Techs Investment Strategy Before we even look at whether Virginia Tech should invest in the gaming industry, we need to look at how Virginia Tech invests when it comes to social and ethical issues. First, we need to look at whether Virginia Tech should take corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical issues pertaining to industries into account in its investment decisions. We also need to see if these reasons for taking CSR and ethical issues into account are purely financial or ethical. We believe that Virginia Tech should definitely take CSR and ethical issues into account when investing in industries. The reasons for this are both financial and ethical. The ethical reason for whether or not Virginia Tech should invest in specific industries has to do with core values. According to their core values, Virginia Tech promotes personal and institutional integrity: integrity demands that all members of the universityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦engage in continual civil discourse and ethical behaviorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦inte grity demands maintaining standards of personal and professional behavior of the highest order (Virginia Tech). If Virginia Tech promotes integrity among all members of the university and wants them to engage in ethical behaviors, they should want to invest in industries which promote similar values as well as engage in ethical behaviors themselves. The financial reason for whether or not Virginia Tech should invest in specific industries has to do with examples from the past. We have seen companies such as WorldCom (2002), Tyco (2002), Enron (2001) and Madoff Securities (2008) crash due to poor ethical standards. Even though all four of these examples would have been excellent financial investments before they crashed, that did not stop everyone who invested in these companies to lose almost all of their securities. If people researched the CSR and ethical cultures of these companies before they invested, they could have possibly avoided a poor investment. The point is that we believe that ethics and financial success cannot be separated from each other. This is why we believe that it would absolutely be appropriate for Virginia Tech to sacrifice some expected financial return for ethical reasons. The reasons for this have mostly been covered already. First, Virginia Tech needs to be corporately responsible even if others are not. It is in Virginia Techs core values to hold themselves to high standards especially when it comes to integrity. If Virginia Tech does not act according to its core values, it should not be looking at investing in the first place. Second, we believe that good ethics will result in long-term success. If Virginia Tech wants short term returns, it could invest in companies such as WorldCom, Tyco, Enron or Madoff Securities: companies which get high returns at the cost of ethical standards. However, if they are focused on long-term financial success, they would see that those firms who have solid ethical standards will obviously be the better choice. Lastly, we need to look at whether or not Virginia Tech should invest in other industries or businesses for reasons other than maximizing financial return. We believe that there are multiple reasons to invest in industries or businesses other than financial return. One reason is to increase jobs in your home county/region/state. Virginia Tech, being a public institution of Virginia, should want to improve their home states economic state by investing in Virginia businesses to increase jobs. Virginia Tech should also want to invest in their alumni. If there was a business that had an alumni running or working for it and another business which would have a slightly higher financial return, Virginia Tech should invest in the first firm to portray kindness to their alumni. Lastly, Virginia Tech should invest in industries or businesses to create goodwill. The financial gain from goodwill can hardly be measured since it can lead to inside tracks for other deals as well as near infinite go od press. These are only three reasons for Virginia Tech to invest in other industries or businesses, there are likely many more. In all examples, it is important to remember that financial considerations need to be made as we need to make a profit in everything we do. However, the main thing to realize is that there are other considerations that need to be taken into account including corporate social responsibility, ethical issues and alternate investment purposes. Should Virginia Tech Invest in the Gaming Industry? According to the aforementioned reasons, and based on our gaming industry analysis and the ethical and CSR issues facing it, it is evident that an investment decision in the gaming industry by Virginia Tech is not as clear-cut and unambiguous as it seems. In other words, there are several conflicting factors that need to be taken into consideration prior to making such a major decision. These include but are not limited to ethical and financial issues, and whether these match with the institutions social and ethical investment policy. If Virginia Tech only desires to consider the ethical issues pertaining to the gaming industry, there will be a lot of strong reasons to support its decision not to invest in the industry due to a clear contradiction with its core values and virtues. Based on our ethical analysis for the gaming industry, we have seen how developers portray a lot of violence and racism through their games, not to mention the portrayal of realism, and the effect this has on the children and adults engaging in the game. The health problems that consumers suffer resulting from addiction and the long hours spent playing these games is also a serious issue that can never be taken for granted. Last but not least, we can never understate the unethical employment practices deployed by most developers, forcing their employees to work unreasonable hours of crunch time for the mere sake of making money and increasing the companys profits. Apart from the ethical issues, there are other reasons why Virginia Tech might not consider investing in the gaming industry. We believe that Virginia Techs investment policy should include investing in an industry that would increase employment in its home state. And since Virginia is not a state where the gaming industry has a stronghold, such an investment will not directly create a positive effect on employment and job creation in the state. In addition, there are not many alumni involved in this industry for Virginia Tech to support through its investment. Many organizations have shown significant effort in promoting corporate social responsibility and goodwill within the gaming industry. Gamers Outreach Foundation and Games for change (G4C) are two examples of gamers working for the greater good. However these organizations are usually non-profit third parties that do not relate specifically to the gaming industry. In addition, a publicity test might further support Virginia Techs decision not to invest in the gaming industry. The institution might be heavily criticized for becoming a major stakeholder in an industry that was suggested to blame for the tragic massacre that took place on its campus five years ago by a video game fanatic. While there might be some evidence that the Virginia Tech shooter was actually influenced by video games, we believe that if Virginia Tech invests in certain firms in the gaming industry, the institution will be making a stance against ethically inept video game companies. Since such an investment should not be in the industry as whole, we would suggest limiting the investment to those firms within the gaming industry that have proven to be more socially responsible than others. For example, unlike most game developers, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) is an ethically strong and socially responsible firm that has used its products and activities to promote a productive and healthy social environment. Realtime Associates is another videogame developer that has exercised its corporate social responsibility through producing serious games. They have also worked with Hope Lab, a non-profit organization, to develop and produce games that improve the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illness (Hope Lab). These included the videogame Re-Mission, which was specifically targeted to young adults and children with cancer. As a result, investing in the gaming industry through socially responsible firms like Sony and Realtime Associates will not only guarantee a high financial return on investment, but will also meet the objectives of the institutions investment policy and core values. Conclusion Although the ethical issues and pressures facing the gaming industry might not at first seem to be in line with Virginia Techs investment policy, we believe there is a considerable investment opportunity for an institution like Virginia Tech in this industry. However, we do not consider that such an investment should be made in just any firms inside the gaming industry. From our research we have found that the industry is quite diverse and there are several firms pioneering strong ethics and social responsibility in this industry. In our opinion, Virginia Tech should favor these firms with a proven track record of high ethical standards and social responsibility.

Personal Narrative †Vision of Jesus Essay -- Personal Narrative Writi

Personal Narrative – Vision of Jesus Jesus has appeared in the desert, and in the city. Jesus has appeared on paper, and in sculpture. Jesus has appeared on television, and in art. He has also failed to appear in His tomb. You’d figure that after all that travelling, He’d have to get a bite to eat sometime, so He also decided to appear at â€Å"Tim Horton’s.† Now, I would have thought that The Son of God would have appeared at a more high-class joint, like â€Å"Red Lobster,† but I, sir, am no theologist. The Lord works in mysterious ways. One thing I know, though, is that the lady who spotted the Blessed Visage on the side of that donut and coffee joint does not deserve her newfound reputation of having bats in her belfry. If we all believe that she has bats in hers, it’s a bad thing that we don’t have any in ours. She just happened to be buying a coffee, when she saw The Holy Ghost appear on a wall, and no one else did. Children do that sort of thing all the time, yet they are not ridiculed. Don’t you remember the lazy afternoons of childhood, lying in the green summer grass, staring at cloud littered sky, and picking out the different shapes created by the clouds on the deep blue canvas? â€Å"Look, it’s a lamb!† â€Å"Over there! Unbuttered popcorn!† â€Å"Whoa, that sort of looks like an old man’s beard!† â€Å"Hey, it’s Our Savior, Jesus Christ warning us about the upcoming Apocalypse!† Why not? It’s just the same. Just because the canvas on which she spotted this Holy Image was a solid brick wall, and not high up in the sky, close to Heaven, do we really have to question her mental stability? There are numerous similarities between a brick wall and the sky, enough that Jesus could ... ...le figure, are the turfs of the ghosts of Hamlet’s Father, Richard Nixon, and Elvis. So, if the King of Rock and Roll can be seen at a restaurant, why not the King of Kings? I’m sure He gets hungry sometimes. Others are using the excuse that He disappeared soon after a new set of lights were installed. â€Å"The real Jesus,† they say, â€Å"said He’d stick by His followers through thick and thin. He wouldn’t skip out on us like this on such short notice.† Remember that Jesus is a busy man. He probably had to eat and run. I bet He didn’t even get to finish His coffee. A martyr’s work is never done. After reading this, I hope that this whole thing is now cleared out. Maybe now you can see who is really the crazy one. All is takes is a little logic to explain how this religious stuff works. That’s about all I know about that theology stuff.

The Themes of Abortion and Pregnancy in Hills Like White Elephants :: Hills Like White Elephants Ernest Hemingway

Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters’ opinions and feelings. Hills Like White Elephants displays the differences in the way a man and a woman view pregnancy and abortion. The woman looks at pregnancy as a beautiful aspect of life. In the story the woman’s pregnancy is implied through their conversation. She refers to the near by hills as elephants; "They look like white elephants" (464). She is comparing the hills to her own situation, pregnancy. "They’re lovely hills. They really don’t look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees" (465). Just as the hills have their distinct beauty to her, she views pregnancy in the same fashion making the reference to the hills having skin—an enlarged mound forming off of what was once flat. The man views pregnancy just the opposite. When the girl is talking about the white elephants and agrees that the man has never seen one, his response is, "I might have, just because you say I haven’t doesn’t prove anything" (464). This sho ws the defensive nature of the man, and when the woman implies the he is unable to differentiate between what is beautiful and what is not. Another issue that is discussed in this story is abortion and two opposing views. When the conversation turns from the hills to the operation one is able to comprehend the mentality of the woman. "Then what will we do afterwards?" (465) shows the woman is concerned about what will occur after the operation. "And if I do it you will be happy and things will be like they were and you will love me" (465). Here, the woman implies she wants the reassurance that he will still be there after the operation, because an abortion places an emotional strain on the on the woman. Throughout the story it is evident that the woman is not sure if she wants to have the abortion—shown in her hesitation to agree. The woman feels that people gain freedom through experiences. "And we could have all of this, and every day we make it more impossible" (466).

The Effect of Anorexia on Teen Girls :: essays research papers

What is Anorexia? Anorexia Nervosa, or, ana, is and eating disorder where people starve themselves. Anorexia usually begins in teens, or those nearing puberty. People with anorexia have extreme weight loss, usually 15% below the person's normal body weight. Anorexics have many varieties of losing weight, some of which include intake of laxatives, over-exercising, and not eating. Symtoms of Anorexia Physical Symptoms There are many symtoms of anorexia. Some are visible changes, like extreme weight loss. Others involve the inside of the body. The symptoms of anorexia are: Avoiding eating Denying hunger Avoiding social occasions involving food Food rituals to eat less, such as eating in secret, Eating foods in a certain order, excessive chewing, playing with food, and eating unnaturally small amounts of food Dramatic weight loss Refusing to gain weight Denial Obbsessing over diets and weight loss Excessive weighing, and obbsessing over small changes in weight Fear of gaining weight, and/or being fat Distorted body image EX)Perception of being over-weight, when actually underweight Basing their worthiness on appearence and body image Obbsessing over excercise routine Changes in Behavior Anorexia can induce many behavioral changes as well. Insomnia Mood Swings Depression Intense feelings of lonliness Sneaky behaviors involving food Emotional outbursts Fear of others opinions on their eating disorder Withdraw from daily life Causes of Anorexia Possible Causes Cultural Pressures - In many societies, Being extremely thin is important for women, and represents beauty, succsess, happiness, and self-control. Women are targeted with messages form the media that they must diet to meet this standard. But, this "ideal" body image is almost impossible to reach for most women, leaving them very dissatisfied with their body image. Mental Issues - Psychological characteristics that can make a person more likely to develop anorexia include: Low self-esteem, feelings of being worthless, poor, or distorted body image, depression, difficulty expressing emotions, a need for control, obbsessing over perfection, physical or sexual abuse, a need to feel special or unique. People who are driven to lose weight are often determined in other areas of life, such as schoolwork, career, physical fitness, and/or exercise. Family Enviroment - Some personal lifestyles can contribute to the development of eating disorders as well. Families with anorexic or bulimia can sometimes be: Overprotective, strict, and over-worrying. Other family issues that can lead to the devolopment of eating disorders are: Valueing body image and appearence too much, criticizing a child's weight or body shape, and being sexually or physically abused. Genetic Factors - Anorexia occurs eight times more often in people who know, or have realatives with an eating disorder. But, scientists don't know what the inherited factor is yet.

Biopsychosocial Assessment of Dr. A. Elizabeth “Bessie” Delany Essay

The following information for this biopsychosocial assessment of Dra. Annie Elizabeth â€Å"Bessie† Delany was found from the autobiography of Bessie and her sister, Sadie (Delany, Delany, & Hearth, 1993). Bessie Delany was born in 1891, she is the third daughter of Henry and Nanny Delany. she studied at Columbia University and she became the second female dentists in New York. In that time the segregation, violence, and discrimination took a big part of Delany family, and her parent had a very difficult time raising their family. Bessie and her parents were involved in politics social activism known as the civil movement. Bessie’s parents were an example of life for their children and others in their community. By being a family who succeeded in life. In those days, white people thought that the success for black was waste of time since at that time it was unusual for black people to become successful in their life’s. sheets (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 199 3). In the book, â€Å"Having Our Say†, Bessie and Sadie Delany reflect on their personal, professional, and social experiences. Both Bessie and Sadie would be considered in Older Adulthood as defined by Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2010). At the time that the book was written, Bessie was criticizing the positive and negative. She often got upset as she sees that people were doing the right things. Bessie was the younger of the two sisters, she was a leader, her personality showed anger comparing to her sister that she was very calm. Bessie was reliant on her sister Sadie. For example, Bessie didn’t have a pension and depended upon Sadie’s Board of Education pension to live throughout retirement. (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 1993). Biological Issues During the adulthood stage, people have many biological issues like when a person reaches this point in life they begin to face aging problems. One of those issues is the senescence that an individual is affected in different parts of the body, at various rates due to some parts of the body being stronger and resist aging. Older people regularly suffer the most visible effects of physical appearances, like shakiness of the hands and legs. Problems with bodily coordination, shoulder struggles, reduced agility, an increase in wrinkles of the skin, and the slowdown of the Psychomotor skills all occur currently (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, pg. 588-589-590 According to the textbook, Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment, the slowdown of the Psychomotor skill specifies that the central nervous system is slowing down the information processing. Older people may come across problems such as difficulty remembering things as well as learning or retaining new information from memory. Problems can arise in certain activities such as driving a car. This can cause an increase in the risk of accidents while they drive. Even in older adulthood, however, if an individual has a healthy physical and mental state, Psychomotor skills can be highly functioning, and the person doesn’t have to have these challenges. Not everyone ages at the same rate, this is true for biological functioning (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, pp. 588-590). Bessie Delany’s Biological Development Based on descriptions of Bessie in the book, there are a few of examples that may show signs of aging in her adult biological development. Bessie was walking along with her sister and mother when a boy called them â€Å"grandmas† because of their grey hair, slow movements, and wrinkles (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 1993, p. 250). Her body showed her that her youth was gone because they were walking slowly as elders do. Bessie stopped driving a vehicle because of her body changes as her hand movements are diminished, reflexes are different from when she was young. Because of her age, Bessie had also stopped cutting her trees. She did not feel confident to be climbing a ladder and utilized sheets (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 1993, pg. 297). Assess Bessie’s Development Normal or Healthy? Yes, Bessie’s biological development was healthy because she still functioned at a high level. She always ate healthily, ate different vegetables every day, and they also included fruits and vitamins. Usually, in her daily routine, she took Vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, as well as minerals and zinc. Bessie participated in exercises such as yoga, and she also enjoyed cultivating their garden that helped to maintain mental and active physical conditions. Identified Biological Strengths. Bessie had many strengths, despite her age, and she did not lose her vision. She was very independent, motivates her father to become a professional. Her professional goal became a dentist. (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 1993, pg. 297). She decides to be a professional instead of being a mother. She had a very strong character, where she didn’t like what she sees, she will protest, especially when she suffered racial attacks. She had a great memory. As she could remember her early childhood. (Delaney, Delaney, & Hill Hearth, 1993, pg. 289). Bessie’s Biological Needs Bessie did not have any outstanding biologicals needs, she was healthy at the age of 101 years old. Reference Delaney, Sarah L., Delaney, Annie Elizabeth, Hill-Hearth, Amy (1993). Having our Say. The Delany Sister’ First 100 years. N. Y. New York. Dell Publishing a Division of Random House, Inc. Zastrow, Charles H. & Kirst-Ashman Karen, K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and Social Environment. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

Adolescence & the human individual Essay

During childhood, children basically accept parental authority (Smentana, 1989) and an equilibrium is established in which parents largely determine and control relationships with their children within a context of acceptance and availability (Steinberg and Silverberg, 1986). However, in the state of approaching adolescence and especially during puberty, parent-child relationships are transformed in a number of ways (Collins, 1990). These changes entail increased assertiveness by both parents and children, decreased perceptions of acceptance, inhibited communication, increased incidence of conflictive exchanges, decreased expressions of physical affection and positive feelings among family members, and adjustments in the amount and kind of influence that children exert in family decision making. Difficulties with communication derive in part from sensitivities and embarrassment associated with pubertal changes and this, combined with the adolescent’s socio-cognitive development and querying of the inequalities in the parent child relationship, often result in tensions and heated exchange (Hill, 1988). Most families, while they sustain close bonds during children’s teenage years, experience such an escalation of conflict, particularly during the early stages of adolescence. Although much of the conflict has been described as â€Å"mild bickering, disagreements and conflicts over everyday issues and emotional stress during early adolescence† (Smetana, 1988), its effects can be debilitating. The role of parents is made more difficult by the legal and status ambiguity of the adolescent period. In today’s society, adolescence is an indeterminate period of transition with no rite of passage to mark the distinction between childhood and adulthood. It has been suggested that this has detracted from the capacity of some young people to function as successful adults (Campbell and Moyers, 1988). There is a lack of clarity in the status and legal rights of adolescents which sends confusing messages to parents and teenagers in their relationships with each other. However, several writers have suggested that these apparent perturbations in relationships may serve the positive function of facilitating adolescents’ independence and diminishing dependence on parents. Via conflicts, family members allow themselves to express distinctive and separate views (Grotevant and Cooper, 1986). It is true that during adolescence, a boy or girl must break, or at least loosen, the ties that bind him or her to home and parents. However, one should not assume that the complete break with, or indifference towards parents or open conflicts with them are a sign of maturity. Quite the contrary is true. Release from home authority is necessary, but revolt is probably not, although a proportion of each adolescent generation leaves home completely as a result of familial conflicts (Henricson and Roker, 2000). For the majority of youth, while once dependent upon their parents, adolescents begin to substitute their friends as the centre of their lives. The centrality of friends and friendship in the life of adolescents has been frequently stressed. It has been claimed that friendships are the most prominent features of the social landscape during adolescence and acceptance by peers generally, and especially having one or more close friends, may be of crucial importance in a young person’s life (Coleman and Hardy, 1990). Friendship among adolescents fulfils important tasks, such as providing much of the social context that allows proper performance of actions which will be accepted and rewarded by the peer group, strengthening the self and reaffirming its worth and value. Adolescents use the peer group to express their divided feelings and incoherent images in accordance with their emotional needs and to reinforce their behaviour as they conform to peer norms and behaviour styles (Tatar, 1995). Adolescents perceive popularity and attainment of social status among peers as beneficial and positive, reflecting their desirability as a friend. Adolescents also form larger, more loosely organised groups called crowds. Unlike the more intimate clique, membership into the crowd is based on reputation and stereotype. Whereas the clique serves as the main context for direct interaction, the crowd grants the adolescent an identity within the larger social structure. Adolescents are very aware of the differential social status conferred upon different groups, and this knowledge can affect self-evaluation: categorisation of the self as a member of an unpopular or lower status group can be detrimental to feelings of self-worth and self-esteem (Denholm, Horniblow, and Smalley, 1992). Susceptibility to peer pressure is reported to peak between the ages of twelve to sixteen years (Tarrant, North, Edridge, Kirk, Smith, and Turner, 2001). Peer conformity is a complex process that varies with the adolescent’s age and need for social approval and with the situation. Adolescents reported that they felt greatest pressure to conform to the most obvious aspects of peer culture, such as, dressing and grooming like everyone else and participating in social activities. Although peer pressure toward misconduct peaked in early adolescence, it was relatively low compared with other areas (Brown, Lohr, & McClenahan, 1986). Due to their greater concern with what their peers think of them, early adolescents are more likely than younger or older individuals to give in to peer pressure. Although, when parents and peers disagree, even young adolescents will not consistently rebel against their families. Instead, parents and peers differ in their spheres of greatest influence. Parents have more impact on adolescents’ basic life values and educational plans, while peers are more influential in short-term, day-today matters, such as type of dress, taste in music, and choice of friends (Berk, 2000).

Renal System Physiology Physioex

Exercise 9: Renal System Physiology: Activity 3: Renal Response to Altered Blood Pressure Lab ReportPre-lab Quiz ResultsYou scored 25% by answering 1 out of 4 questions correctly. 1. If all other variables are kept constant, how does the afferent arteriole radius affect the rate of glomerular filtration (select all that apply)? Your answer : b. A decreased afferent arteriole radius will increase the rate of glomerular filtration. Correct answer: c. An increased afferent arteriole radius will increase the rate of glomerular filtration. . A decreased afferent arteriole radius will decrease the rate of glomerular filtration. 2. If all other variables are kept constant, how does the efferent arteriole radius affect the rate of glomerular filtration (select all that apply)? Your answer : d. A decreased efferent arteriole radius will decrease the rate of glomerular filtration. Correct answer: a. An increased efferent arteriole radius will decrease the rate of glomerular filtration. b. A decreased efferent arteriole radius will increase the rate of glomerular filtration. 3. If all other variables are kept constant, how does blood pressure affect the rate of glomerular filtration (select all that apply)? Your answer : c. If blood pressure goes down, the rate of glomerular filtration goes up. Correct answer: b. If blood pressure goes up, the rate of glomerular filtration goes up. d. If blood pressure goes down, the rate of glomerular filtration goes down. 4. In the absence of other renal processes (including tubular reabsorption and secretion), more glomerular filtration leads to a larger urine volume.You correctly answered: a. trueExperiment ResultsPredict Question: Predict Question: What will happen to the glomerular capillary pressure rate and glomerular filtration rate if both of these arteriole radii changes are implemented simultaneously with the low blood pressure condition?Your answer : b. Glomerular filtration rate and pressure will rise above baseline values.Stop & Think Questions:If blood pressure were to drop (for example, as the result of blood loss), what changes in the nephron would allow the kidney to maintain ts normal glomerular filtration rate (select all that apply)?Your answer: c. afferent arteriole constrictionCorrect answer: a. afferent arteriole dilation d. efferent arteriole constriction2. Comparing the glomerular filtration rate and glomerular capillary pressure with the baseline values (from the first run), how effective was the increased afferent arteriole radius in compensating for the low blood pressure?Your answer : b. The afferent arteriole dilation improved the low glomerular capillary pressure and filtration rate marginally.Correct answer: c. The afferent arteriole dilation returned the low glomerular capillary pressure and filtration rate almost to baseline values.3. Comparing the glomerular filtration rate and glomerular capillary pressure with the baseline values (from the first run), how effective was the decreased efferent arteriole radius in compensating for the low blood pressure?You correctly answered: b. The efferent arteriole constriction improved the low glomerular capillary pressure and filtration rate marginally.Experiment Data:Post-lab Quiz ResultsYou scored 0% by answering 0 out of 4 questions correctly. 1. If all other variables are kept constant, when blood pressure decreases, glomerular filtrationYour answer: b. remains approximately the same.Correct answer: c. ecreases.2. If afferent arteriole radius decreases in response to an increase in blood pressure, then glomerular filtrationYour answer: a. increases.Correct answer: b. remains approximately the same.3. If all other variables are kept constant, when the efferent arteriole radius decreases, glomerular filtrationYour answer: c. decreases.Correct answer: a. increases.4. With blood pressure held at a constant value, which of the following combinations will raise the glomerular filtration rate above baseline values? Your answer: c. afferent rteriole constriction and efferent arteriole constrictionCorrect answer: b. afferent arteriole dilation and efferent arteriole constrictionReview Sheet Results1. List the several mechanisms you have explored that change the glomerular filtration rate. How does each mechanism specifically alter the glomerular filtration rate?Your answer: Renal mechanisms have effects on water excretion . GFR is large compared to the amount of urine produced. Most water in the filtrate because of renal processes and independent of ADH action2.Describe and explain what happened to the glomerular capillary pressure and glomerular filtration rate when both arteriole radii changes were implemented simultaneously with the low blood pressure condition. How well did the results compare with your prediction?Your answer: The simultaneously implementation of both arteriole rates changing caused glomerular filtration rate and low blood pressure conditions went above the baseline value.3. How could you adjust the afferent or efferent radius to compensate for the effect of reduced blood pressure on the glomerular filtration rate?Your answer: You can co nstrict or dilate them.4. Which arteriole radius adjustment was more effective at compensating for the effect of low blood pressure on the glomerular filtration rate? Explain why you think this difference occurs.Your answer: There was a greater increase of glomerular pressure when afferent radius is increased ra ther than the decrease of the efferent radius.5. In the body, how does a nephron maintain a near-constant glomerular filtration rate despite a constantly fluctuating blood pressure?Your answer: Auto-regulation

History of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Essay

In 1996, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted to improve availability and continuity of health insurance coverage, combat fraud and abuse in health care delivery, provide access to long term care services and simplify administration of health insurance by standardizing information exchange between healthcare organizations. This act primarily protects the privacy and security of an individual’s health information in response to the rapid grown of health insurance and information systems (Questions and Answers on HIPAA). Transmission standards and code sets were included in HIPAA to standardize health-related information and to facilitate faster electronic data interchange (EDI) which allows exchange of information from computer to computer. The transactions and code set standards apply to patient-identifiable health information transmitted electronically. Without the need for human involvement or intervention to complete the process, the practitioner will be able to cut costs by eliminating third party clearing houses, administrators or billing services (Kibbe, 2001, p. 8). With the standardized information exchange, availability of patient information electronically can be obtained with ease. To protect the security and confidentiality of this information, Privacy Rule was issued to implement the requirement of HIPAA. The major goal of the privacy rule is to assure that an individual’s health information is protected from unauthorized access and disclosure while still allowing the exchange of information through EDI to facilitate payments and to provide high quality health care. Individually identifiable health information, called Protected Health Information (PHI) is any data that contains the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health, provision of health care to the individual, and the payment of such in the past, present or future. It is the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) responsibility to ensure that the Privacy Rule is enforced and implemented with respect to voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties (Office of Civil Rights, 2003). There are some instances, however, when disclosure of PHI is needed or permitted. Covered entities (health care providers, clearing houses, etc. ) may disclose protected health information to the public health authorities when public health and safety are at risk. This happens when an individual contracted a communicable disease that raises public concern. If an employee developed a work-related illness or injury and the employer requests for the employee’s PHI in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other similar state law, the covered entities may release information about the individual. Likewise, information for treatment procedures requiring historical information and provided for by several health care services is granted to the health service providers, including consultations and referrals between providers regarding a patient. Protected Health Information of abused, neglected or domestic violence victims may also be disclosed to appropriate government authorities (such as reporting suspected domestic abuse to social welfare agencies) as long as the individual gives consent to disclosure, or the disclosure is authorized by law (Office of Civil Rights, 2003). The passage and implementation of HIPAA definitely improved the conditions of health care services. Uniform transmission and code sets standards paved the way for more efficient processing system, standardizing the way physicians, health insurance and health care providers handle and exchange information. With increased efficiency, costs are decreased. As Kibbe (2001) puts it in his article, â€Å"If there’s a silver lining to the HIPAA regulations, it’s here. These standards can save your practice time and money. † Although accessibility of information is one benefit of HIPAA, Privacy Rule protects the individuals from unauthorized disclosure of their Protected Health Information ensuring confidentiality and security of data exchanged in the process.

Unionization of employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Unionization of employees - Essay Example Industrial Revolution was one of the major turning points in human development. It is the process of change from an agrarian, handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. This revolution had a major impact on the society and the labor force. Initially, this revolution made people work in factories for long hours perhaps from 14 to 16 hours. As a result of which many of them including children were forced to work in this manner and was very hard for them.Industrial revolution began in England in the 18th century which involved technological changes such as the use of iron and steel, new energy sources, the invention of new machines that increased production in relatively less time. Many of them did not survive the hardship and died. Though Britain was where the Industrial Revolution began, it was also the place where reformations started. In 1932 when middle class males won the right to vote in Great Britain all the reformation started. Workers formed socie ties and in due course it was called trade unions also known as the unionization of employees began (Wikipedia, 2008). The aim of trade unions was to fight for better working conditions and better pay as a result changes were also brought to the working conditions such as 10 hour work days, child labour laws and required school. Therefore, a trade union is an organization which was formed to promote and protect the interests of a collection of workers. Even today, unionization is helping employees and is fighting for there rights. This research paper aims to provide information on how unionization of employees has had an impact on various aspects. The status of unionization of employees varies for country to country or state to state. While in some countries trade unions possess substantial freedom, from the right to Freedom of Association, to public demonstrations and active protest against political opponents such as strikes, in other countries it is totally opposite and are actively suppressed by political or military rules, with little or no freedoms. Additionally, in these countries the prospect of violence or even death is high. Like it or not unionization of employees are political in nature, and often attract both positive and negative consequences. Over the last few decades, trade unions have developed into a number of forms propagandize by differing political and economic regimes. Trade unions in the early days, such as the Friendly Societies, often offered a number of benefits to insure members against unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. Similarly, in many industrialized countries, these functions have been taken up by the state. In addition, the provision of professional training, legal advice, and representation for members still remain among the main benefits of trade union membership. The second and one of the most important aims of unionization of employees is that they are able to operate openly, are legal bodies and are recognised by employers, they may negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions. If the demands are not met, employees union may organize strikes or resistance to lockouts if their particular goals are not agreed by the authorities. They may also go to the extent of camp aigning, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties for public office who will help to fulfil their demands (Wikipedia, 2008). There are several researchers who have devoted several years working on the effects of unionization of employees. Brown and Medoff (1978) are the pioneers who worked on this issue. Following the pioneering work and inspired by the controversial work of Freeman and Medoff (1984), a number of empirical studies have studied the impact of union on productivity particularly in UK and the USA. Although a number of authors have estimated positive union productivity differentials, there is a common agreement in the literature about unionism

How to use social media to raise awareness and reduce the rate of car Research Proposal

How to use social media to raise awareness and reduce the rate of car accidents - Research Proposal Example In addition, new hypotheses may be generated using numerical data collected during a research. However, it is the qualitative analysis of data rather than numerical computation that actually gives meaning to any given research. This research proposal attempts to study research methodologies (qualitative and quantitative), their characteristics, importance, suitability of application and circumstances under which one method is more suitable than the other. Further, it investigates the importance of using mixed methods of research. It is divided into three sections. The first section tackles into detail qualitative research, quantitative research and mixed research methods. The second section studies into detail the process of undertaking a quantitative research study, taking into detail the steps involved. The third section attempts to apply the processes and concepts of quantitative research methods to conduct a research on How to use social media to raise awareness and reduce the rate of car accidents. This type of research is n normally used when a researcher aims at gaining a deeper understanding of a specific event rather than a superficial understanding/ knowledge of a large sample in a population. The main goal of qualitative research is to provide a concise outlook into the order, structure and the exact relationships between the research parameters. Rather than introduce manipulative variables that impose the researcher’s operational definitions on the research parameters, it allows the true meaning of the research emerge on its own from the research. This means it is more flexible and adaptable to most situations since data collection tools, methods and concepts are easily adjusted to meet the needs of the research at any stage. In order to bring the best results out of every research situation, qualitative

Does Spelling Transparency Affect Visual Word Recognition And Short Essay

Does Spelling Transparency Affect Visual Word Recognition And Short Term Memory - Essay Example Before this is attained the logographic stage represents a group of arbitrary symbols without any meaning. When the alphabetic stage is attained (phonological recoding), transparent languages, as Italian, Greek and Spanish where a 'd' sounds like a 'd', the assembled pathway or assemble phonology is opened. It is not 100% infallible. The inconsistencies in the phonological recoding will mean that reading development will not be at the same rapidity for each language. A European study was completed of 14 European languages. It was found that "more transparent the language, the quicker students acquired logographic to phonemes (Ziegler, 2010). There were two other studies completed to confirm the findings. The socio-cultural behavioural differences were limited by taking similar cities which taught bilingual cultures. These two studies having taken into account the socio-cultural difference confirmed the findings of the European study. One study was done in Montreal where English and F rench are taught and in Whales where parents have a choice of sending their children to a Welsh or English speaking school. There is a relationship between those children, who have an understanding of a phoneme, rhyme or syllable, and those children who have better reading skills (Natasza 2010) "While early phonological awareness deficits do not have a strong influence on children's later reading development, deficits in sequential naming speed measure do. The deficits will require use of different lexicons to have a high level of spelling accuracy." (Landerl, Wimmer , 2008) In transparent languages, acquisition of the alphabetic stage comes more easily. (Ziegler 2010) A conclusive example are the two Japanese written... This paper stresses that it has been shown that spelling transparency is determined by the accessibility of the grapheme to phoneme association and its link to creating words. It has been demonstrated that there are different degrees of transparencies from Italian to Kanji where a "d" is a "d" and where a language stay completely in the logographic stage. The more transparent a language is the more access a reader has to an addressed process and to fewer lexicons thus easier comprehension to visual recognition. If a language is opaque and has a complex morphological system, the channeling processes requires the development of address processes and at least two lexicons. Visual Recognition takes longer. This report makes a conclusion that the phonological short term memory has been treated separately because of the importance of phonetic awareness and the effect on dyslexic children. The different mapping and lexicons have been shown to be an integral part of spelling transparency thus one can conclude that Spelling transparency effects word recognition. One can conclude that Spelling transparency has an effect on phonological short term memory for non cognitive impaired subjects. In assembled phonology, priming is stronger with pseudohomophones. and other lexicons must be used in addition to the phonological lexicon in order for words to be more easily recognized in transparent languages by their phonological components. French is a transparent language but there are many homophones.