Literary Merit Essay Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s plays have long been regarded as works of literary merit due to their complexity and thematic depth, as well as their universal appeal and ability to stand the test of time. One of Shakespeare’s most renowned plays, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, subsequently referred to as Hamlet, is an ideal example as it satisfies the requirements of literary works of merit. Complexity is a characteristic of literary merit found in Shakespeare’s works, and most evidently, in his characters. Hamlet, for example, is considered to be the epitome of complex characters, as he displays many layers throughout the play.It’s obvious that this tragic character is indecisive and unsure at times, including when he contemplates suicide, in his relationship with women, and when to kill his uncle, King Claudius. For example, in Act Two, Scene Two, Polonius, advisor to Claudius, reads aloud a love letter written by Hamlet to Ophelia, his supposed love i nterest. In this letter, Hamlet declares his love for Ophelia, and tells her never to doubt his love. However, when talking personally to Ophelia in the next act, Hamlet tells her that he never loved her.Yet, at Ophelia’s funeral in the final act of the play, Hamlet tells the attendees that he had more love for Ophelia than does forty thousand brothers for each other. This happens to be one of many examples of Hamlet’s complexity, mostly due to his â€Å"feigning† of madness throughout the vast majority of the play. This characteristic of complex characters is one reason why Shakespeare’s works are considered to be of literary merit. Another characteristic of literary merit that Shakespeare’s works display is thematic depth, especially in Hamlet. A major theme in this tragedy is that of revenge, which can be seen frequently throughout the play.There is the obvious plot of revenge in the play as Hamlet tries to avenge Claudius of King Hamlet’ s death. There exist two other plots as Laertes attempts to avenge Polonius’ and Ophelia’s deaths, as well as Prince Fortinbras avenging his father’s death. A thematic depth is composed as these three separate scenarios are woven together, calling the value and necessity of revenge into question. Another prominent theme in Hamlet is death. From the appearance of the dead King Hamlet’s ghost in the opening scene to the carnage of the final scene, the knowledge of life and the mystery of death are examined.Hamlet’s â€Å"to be or not to be† soliloquy is a perfect illustration as he ponders over the idea of suicide. Because Shakespeare is able to bring up discussion and call certain ideas into question with such themes, his works are thematically deeper, making them of literary merit. Despite having been composed over four hundred years ago, William Shakespeare’s plays have stood the test of time and have proven valuable in many academic fields, other than English. The cause of this is Shakespeare’s ability to provide insight into the human condition, as well as his ability to include universal themes in his plays, so as to gain more appeal.Shakespeare’s plays explore ideas that are prevalent in the human condition, such as vengeance, romance, and jealousy, which creates universal appeal and paves the way for the analysis of the human condition in the sub-fields of humanities: psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. In the case of Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, his The Interpretation of Dreams, explores the foundation of Hamlet on the Oedipus Tyrannus (Oedipus Rex). Freud explains that Hamlet’s hesitation at avenging his uncle is due to the repression of his subconscious desires.Another example of this cross-curricular analysis of Shakespeare’s works can be seen in Laura Bohannan’s essay, â€Å"Shakespeare in the Bush,† in which Bohannan attempts to tell the story of Hamlet to a group of Nigerian villagers. This essay, along with Hamlet is used by students of both anthropology and linguistics as a way of understanding the effects of perspective on one’s perception and expectations. Therefore, because Shakespeare’s works have stood the test of time, and continue to be valued in many academic fields, his works are of literary merit.Ultimately, William Shakespeare’s works, specifically Hamlet, have all demonstrated their literary merit because of their complexity and thematic depth, along with their value and ability to stand the test of time. Works Cited Bohannan, Laura. Shakespeare in the Bush. Print. Freud, Sigmund, A. A. Brill, Daniel T. O'Hara, and Gina Masucci MacKenzie. The Interpretation of Dreams. New York: Barnes ; Noble Classics, 2005. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York, NY, USA: Washington Square, 1992. Print.

Disraeli’s policy during the Bulgarian Crisis of 1876 Essay

To what extent was Gladstone’s religion the driving force behind his attempt to ‘sabotage’ Disraeli’s policy during the Bulgarian Crisis of 1876? ‘Of all the Bulgarian atrocities perhaps the greatest’1 was the label Disraeli ascribed to Gladstone’s 1876 pamphlet The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East, which ‘concentrated into a single utterance a profoundly excited public mood struggling for articulation’.2 With the publication of this pamphlet, Gladstone effectively undermined Disraeli’s policy of unwavering support for the Turks in the face of the Bulgarian massacres, and emerged at the forefront of the Bulgarian Agitation. The popular pressure that ensued ultimately forced Disraeli to abandon any overt military support of the Ottoman Empire, and to declare neutrality in the issue. While the consequences of Gladstone’s action are known, his reasons for involving himself in the debate are questionable. Gladstone’s fervent religious beliefs could have provided the main impetus for his involvement, but other arguments, such as his intervention being an anti-Conservative political strategy, are perhaps more plausible given an examination of the evidence. In examining this issue, it is important to understand the depth of contempt that Gladstone and Disraeli held for each other’s foreign policy. It was not their principles that differed: both believed in a policy of non-intervention in European affairs except for in those that could impact British interests. However, their methods were entirely different. Disraeli believed very strongly in the ruling right and superiority of the established aristocracy in Britain, and this certainly transferred across to his foreign policy, as illustrated by his endorsement of Austrian aristocratic Habsburg rule in Italy in 1851. He felt that Britain had a duty to Europe as the wealthiest and most powerful Empire, and that this would best be served by preserving British influence and furthering the spread of the British Empire. Gladstone also wished to preserve British interests, but often found this to conflict with his nationalism, ‘sympathy with the unalienable rights of smaller nations to their nationhood’3. In terms of Italy, therefore, Gladstone could not support Austrian rule because it contravened his nationalistic beliefs, despite the fact that Habsburg domination could have proved more beneficial to Britain. This is mirrored in his stance in the arbitration of the Alabama settlement: Gladstone appeared to capitulate to American demands as opposed to supporting British interests, as he believed that it was the most moral course of action. It was from these differences that the deep opposition to each other’s foreign policy was born. Disraeli saw Gladstone’s policy as counter-productive in terms of British interests, accusing him of wanting to dismantle the Empire, while Gladstone found Disraeli to be far too much of an imperialist and insensitive to the rights of foreign nations. Disraeli not only poured scorn on Gladstone’s foreign affairs, but also disliked his dogmatic religion. It is possible that the modern focus on Gladstone as a highly religious politician was brought about by Disraeli’s very public attacks on his fervent religious beliefs. Disraeli held nothing but scorn for Gladstone’s religion, and talked with disdain of him always ‘preaching, praying, speechifying or scribbling’4. For Disraeli, Gladstone used his religion to mask his true intentions – to appear pious while actually manipulating and manoeuvring his way through politics. Perhaps it is Disraeli’s emphasis on ridiculing Gladstone’s religious beliefs that has inspired the concept that he was first and foremost a highly religious man. However, the general consensus is that Gladstone’s Evangelical upbringing led to a strong sense of religious morality that could be said to have permeated all aspects of his life, including his politics. In modern Britain it would rarely be expected for a Prime Minister to admit to religion colouring their policies: as Alastair Campbell famously declared, ‘we don’t do God’. Blair’s revelation that he ultimately looked to religion for his decision in declaring war on Iraq was frowned upon by many who felt that personal beliefs and convictions should not have an impact on decisions that will affect whole countries. However, in the far more religious Britain of 1876 this was not so controversial. Religious issues permeated every aspect of life, including law and politics. The attitudes of the day are clearly demonstrated in the Bradlaugh Case, in which confirmed atheist and elected MP for Northampton Charles Bradlaugh was barred from taking up his parliamentary seat because of his refusal to take the religious Oath of Allegiance required for entry. This issue was disputed regularly in parliament, showing the height of religious feeling of the time. Gladstone in particular made no secret of his religion, or of his beliefs that it was entirely applicable to politics. In his book The State in its Relations to the Church (1838), Gladstone raised the idea that religion and politics were inextricably linked: the Church was the conscience of the State, while the State had a duty to lend its consistent, unwavering support to the Anglican Church. Although his views later changed to reject the exclusivity of the Church of England, throughout his life he retained the belief that religion should be firmly ingrained in the running of the country. Gladstone’s beliefs caused him to take an ethical stance in foreign policy, which contrasted greatly with Disraeli’s firmly imperialist ‘Beaconsfieldism’ that attempted to secure the best outcome for Britain, sentiments that prefigured the practical criticism of mixing religion and politics today. Disraeli and Gladstone held the greatest of contempt for each other in their foreign affairs, each believing the other’s policy to be entirely nonsensical and unworkable, attitudes that stemmed from their differing interests. While Disraeli held British interests at heart, Gladstone had ‘a catholic largeness of vision and sympathy embracing Europe as a cultural and spiritual community’5 stemming from his views on the unity of the Christian church, and believed that European affairs should be conducted with the best interests of the community at heart. Although Disraeli felt that it was necessary to support the Turks despite their actions in Bulgaria in order to deter Russia from gaining power on territory on the pretext of moral intervention, Gladstone would have found this inexcusable according to his personal moral code and ‘European sense’, principally derived from ‘the intense fervour of his Christianity’6: as Magnus perceptively states, Gladstone felt that Disraeli’s ‘interpretation of [British] interests excluded considerations of justice, or of humanity’7. It was not only Gladstone’s ‘European sense’ that would have rendered support of the Turks inexcusable, but the very nature of the events taking place in Bulgaria. Gladstone consistently cast himself as a moral crusader in his policies, particularly regarding Ireland and in his opposition and criticisms of ‘Beaconsfieldism’. Following the brutal massacre of 15,000 Bulgarians, Jenkins’ argument that the moral Gladstone was ‘spontaneously seized with a passionate sympathy for the sufferings of the Balkan Christian communities’8 seems plausible. Gladstone would most likely have been incensed by Disraeli’s initial denial of the rumours of the massacres, already believing Disraeli’s foreign policy to be aggressive, expensive and unprincipled. However, Abbot refutes Jenkins’ claims in stating that ‘the part played†¦by Gladstone’s ‘high moral principles’ has tended to be exaggerated’9, and states that the vast majority of his moral outbursts in terms of foreign policy were made when he was in opposition. As a moral stance in foreign policy was a common one for the opposition to take at the time, this indicates that Gladstone’s intervention was possibly not entirely fuelled by religion. Gladstone’s role as a cabinet minister during the Crimean War could have provided another factor in his intervention. The Treaty of Paris that brought the war to a close increased the necessity for co-operation within the concert of Europe, as it had substituted a ‘European conscience expressed by the collective guarantee and concerted action of the European powers’10 for a pre-Crimean war guarantee of the protection of Christian minorities by the Russians. Turkey had promised better treatment for the Christians of the Ottoman Empire, and Gladstone felt morally obliged to ensure that the terms of the Treaty were not breached, particularly with reference to the protection of the Balkan Christians. Following Russia’s breach of the Black Sea clauses in 1870, Gladstone was even more determined to ensure that the European Concert continued to function in its protection of the minorities. It seems unlikely that Gladstone wanted to preserve the terms of the Treaty of Paris for purely political reasons, as the maintenance of the balance of power within Europe required Russia to be contained, not encouraged to expand into the Balkans supposedly in order to protect the inhabitants. It is possible then that Gladstone intervened for the same reason as the Russians gave: in order to protect the Christians from an alien nation with an alien religion that mistreated them. A sample from his pamphlet gives a clear indication of his attitude towards the Turks – ‘Their Zaptiehs and their Mudirs, their Bimbashis and their Yuzbashis, their Kaimakams and their Pashas, one and all, bag and baggage, shall I hope clear out from the province they have desolated and profaned’11. While this has racist overtones, it is difficult to determine whether this is due to a difference in religion. Jenkins raises the possibility that Gladstone could have felt sympathetic towards the Christians, but quashes it with the statement that ‘Gladstone was stronger on the rhetoric of indignation than on detailed knowledge of what was happening in the Balkans’12, never having visited the area or displayed any previous interest in it. Indeed, on the subject of previous massacres of Christians, Gladstone had remained suspiciously quiet, despite episodes like the massacre of the Maronite Christians in 1860 which left between 7,000 and 11,000 dead. It seems unlikely that a wild desire to protect those of the same religion only appeared during this particular occurrence, particularly as Gladstone failed to intervene when the news of the massacres initially broke, waiting another two months to bring himself into the limelight. Although Feuchtwanger claims that Gladstone’s ‘life in politics was a constant quest for God’13, the historian’s emphasis on Gladstone as a singularly moral, religious politician is overly simplistic, and does not take into account Gladstone’s practical, political nature. There is an obvious practical angle for Gladstone’s participation in the Bulgarian Agitation: propping up a declining Ottoman Empire was not a viable long term policy for Britain. The tradition of Palmerstonian foreign policy supported Turkish rule in the East, partially in order to maintain a balance of power in Europe, but mostly as a matter of self-interest: in order to protect trade routes in the Mediterranean. Particularly following the Crimean War, the expansion of a hostile Russia would have been detrimental to British trade and to British power and influence within Europe. In the short term a strong Turkey would act as an efficient barrier to Russian expansion, but th e Ottoman Empire had become increasingly corrupt and weak; the Bulgarian uprising and subsequent massacre was not the only such occurrence. Moreover, overtly supporting the Ottomans would anger the Dreikaiserbund of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia: although it was best not to allow the alliance of these three countries to grow too powerful, neither was it sensible to pursue a policy of mindless support for the Turks whose influence was already declining. Prior to the confirmation of the truth of the massacres, Disraeli, advised by the pro-Turkish British ambassador Elliot, had made moves towards supporting the Turks against Russia, and even went so far as to dismiss the rumours of the massacres as ‘coffee house babble’. In sabotaging Disraeli’s policy by stirring up public opinion, Gladstone effectively limited the options open to the prime minister and possibly prevented him from forming a dangerous alliance with Turkey. Furthermore, it has been suggested that Gladstone in fact saw a better solution to the problem of Russian expansion than bolstering Turkey. From his attitudes towards Italy it is clear that Gladstone favoured nationalism, and believed that all people had the right to national self-determination. Blake claims that Gladstone was ‘hostile to any sort of forward policy’14, an unnecessarily harsh statement from the pro-Disraeli biographer: in fact, in supporting nationalism, Gladstone proposed a solution ahead of his time. The creation of Balkan states was the solution used in 1935 to contain Russia, but it would have been equally applicable here. It could be argued that Gladstone was contradicting Disraeli’s policy because he could see a flaw in the reasoning. It is evident from his pamphlet that he wanted the Turks removed from Bulgaria, but further to this, Magnus claims that ‘he repeatedly urged that the matter should be taken out of Russian hands’15 and that this was a solution more ‘realistic’16 than Disraeli’s. Ever politically expedient, Gladstone intended to attack British support of the Turks as well as advocating Russian containment, reasserting the balance of power in Europe. Of course, it is entirely possible that Gladstone was simply launching a direct attack on the policies of the government without any real moral or religious reasoning. A response not born out of righteous indignation or passionate sympathy for the suffering of the Bulgarians but of an attempt to make the government appear weak or badly led would explain his delay in joining the Agitation. Gladstone’s particular rivalry with Disraeli would have provided motive enough for such an attack: the two men held the greatest contempt for each other, stemming from the repeal of the Corn Laws and the split of the Conservative party in 1846. Although their practical aims were often remarkably similar in foreign affairs, their ideologies differed vastly and each held the other’s principles in utter contempt. It would not be beyond the bounds of rational thought to assume that in sabotaging Disraeli’s policy the only thing that Gladstone intended to do was to make him look like a fool. It could be argued that even in this there was a religious motivation. Disraeli’s Jewish background has led to the suggestion that his anti-Russian foreign policy had more to do with anti-Christian feeling. Feuchtwanger claims that Gladstone was aware of this and distrusted Disraeli for it: ‘all his deep suspicions about Disraeli were aroused; he now even suspected him of being influenced by Judaic sympathy for the Turks and hatred of Christians’17, although Blake dismisses such suspicions as ‘absurd’18. At a stretch, the poor relationship of the two politicians could also be said to have its roots in their differing religious views. Gladstone may have resented Disraeli’s conversion from Judaism to Christianity, which could be interpreted as only having been undertaken for social gain and not true faith. Shannon suggests that Gladstone’s return to the political arena could have been for selfish reasons; that he wanted to restore his ‘bond of moral rapport with the ‘masses†19 and adds that ‘it was less a case of Gladstone exciting popular pressure than popular pressure exciting Gladstone’20: rather than Gladstone carefully crafting his attack on Disraeli, he merely saw an opportunity to join ‘the virtuous passion’21 sweeping the nation and manipulate it to his advantage. Again, this would explain the delay between the beginning of the Agitation and Gladstone’s involvement. His action in publishing the pamphlet drew him back to the forefront of political life, and his continuing focus on the Midlothian campaign throughout the next four years was an important factor in ensuring his re-election as Prime Minister in 1880. Many historians agree with Shannon’s interpretation that Gladstone wanted to ‘reforge his links with†¦.mass audiences’22, but disagree on the reasoning for this. Shannon and Blake are both of the opinion the Gladstone simply seized upon the opportunity to ‘take part in†¦a moral crusade’23 in an attempt to inject himself back into the contemporary political field. Although the consequences of his action suggest that this is a realistic motive, and that he could have chosen to speak out against Disraeli to ensure his own self-advancement, this does seem unlikely considering Gladstone’s character; Blake’s portrayal of Gladstone is excessively negative, probably due to his pro-Disraeli sentiments. The perhaps more reliable Jenkins contradicts these claims of intervention for self-advancement, as ‘It did not follow that what he did was contrived for his own convenience’24 and claiming that he ‘was driven on Bulgaria by the same sort of elemental force which had seized him at the time of his Neapolitan pamphlets’25. This is a far more accurate judgement given the evidence: Gladstone constantly looked to his moral principles in seeking to do what was best for Britain and for Europe, and it seems unlikely that he would have stirred up such a commotion merely to return himself to the forefront of political affairs. Shannon states that Gladstone’s ‘first love had been the Church, and to the Church he remained ever faithful’26, but despite the politician’s overt Christianity historians are unable to agree on the extent to which his religion impacted his policies. In terms of his reaction to the Bulgarian Atrocities alone, numerous theories have been put forward as to the cause: his animosity towards Disraeli, his strong belief in nationalism, a wish to unite with the masses protesting a cause. Although these theories are superficially disparate, a closer examination reveals that they are all underpinned by Gladstone’s strong sense of morality. This morality caused him to reject Disraeli’s policies as unprincipled, to campaign for the creation of the Balkan states and to view Europe as a spiritual community that Britain had an obligation to protect and preserve. Ultimately, Gladstone’s politics were motivated by morality; a morality derived from his fundamental, unwavering religious beliefs.    1 Blake, R., Disraeli, St. Martin’s, 1967, p.602 2 Shannon, R.T., Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation 1876, Nelson, 1963, p.110 3 Abbot, B.H., Gladstone and Disraeli, Collins, 1986, p.95 4 5 Shannon, R.T., Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation 1876, Nelson, 1963, p.4 6 Shannon, R.T., Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation 1876, Nelson, 1963, p.5 7 Magnus, P., Gladstone, Penguin Books, 2001, p.240 8 Jenkins, R., Gladstone, Macmillan, 2002, p.401 9 Abbot, B.H., Gladstone and Disraeli, Collins, 1986, p.22 10 Magnus, P., Gladstone, Penguin Books, 2001, p.239 11 Feuchtwanger, E.J., Gladstone, British Political Biography, 1975, p.183 12 Jenkins, R., Gladstone, Macmillan, 2002, p.404 13 Feuchtwanger, E.J., Gladstone, British Political Biography, 1975, p.13 14 Blake, R., Disraeli, St Martin’s, 1967, p.760 15 Magnus, P., Gladstone, Penguin Books, 2002, p.241 16 Ibid. 17 Feuchtwanger, E.J., Gladstone, British Political Biography, 1975, p.181 18 Blake, R., Disraeli, St Martin’s, 1967, p.600 19 Shannon, R.T., Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation, 1876, Nelson, 1963, p.13 20 Ibid. p.110 21 Ibid. p.107 22 Jenkins, R., Gladstone, Macmillan, 2002, p.406 23 Blake, R., Disraeli, St Martin’s, 1967, p.600 24 Jenkins, R., Gladstone, Macmillan, 2002, p.401 25 loc. cit. 26 Shannon, R.T., Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation 1876, Nelson, 1963, p.3

Critical Appraisal

Introduction This essay will critically appraise a paper investigating the relationship between moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy and risk of foetal death written by Andersen et al. (2012). This was a cohort study that used the data from a sample of 91,843 Danish mothers. It was found that 55% of the cohort abstained completely during pregnancy, whilst the rest of the cohort reported consuming alcoholic drinks during this time. The authors reported that there was a substantially increased risk of either spontaneous abortion or stillbirth in women who consumed even moderately low amounts of alcohol (2-3.5 drinks per week) before their 16th week of pregnancy. However, alcohol consumption after 16 weeks appeared not to have an effect. The introduction of this paper is extremely short, although it does manage to summarise why the study was conducted and the aim of the research is clear. The authors highlight that previous research into the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on foetal death have produced conflicting results and that there appear to be geographical trends in the outcome of such studies. Although a lack of conclusive evidence is a solid basis on which to conduct a new study, the authors do not explicitly detail why the current study will be any different and how it will seek to overcome the limitations of previous research. The Critical Appraisal Skills Progamme (CASP, www.casp-uk.net) recommends approaching critical appraisals using three steps. The first step is to assess whether the study is valid by evaluating the methodological quality. The methodology of the current study is clearly laid out and replicable. Despite this, one criticism of the methodology is the use of self-reported alcohol consumption data. Self-reported data is vulnerable to social desirability bias by which participants may withhold or fabricate certain behaviours in order to fit in to what others expectations of them. Social desirability has been found to confound reports of other health related behaviours, such as diet (Klesges et al., 2004) and physical activity (Adams et al., 2005). Using the levels of evidence hierarchy (Foster, 2011), cohort studies lay below systematic reviews and randomised control studies in their ability to avoid bias. Therefore, the study’s design helps reduce the risk of other biases that could confound the results. The statistical analysis used was the hazard ratio. This analysis calculates the ratio of the hazard rate corresponding to the two conditions of an explanatory variable (Spruance et al., 2004). In the current study, it was found that women who drank even just low levels of alcohol during pregnancy had higher hazard rates of early foetal death than those women who abstained. This is a suitable statistical analysis that answers the research question at hand. The second step in the CASP recommendations for appraising evidence is to examine the results. It is important to consider how clinically important the results are and how much uncertainty surround them. Potentially, the current study has excellent clinical utility. Firstly, the sample size was large and as a result, the findings are likely to be very representative of the population as a whole. There is some cultural bias to be aware of as the sample was collected exclusively from a Danish sample. Therefore, the results may not be generalisble to women in other countries. For example, in the UK, alcohol consumption has been found to be much higher, especially among females in their teen years (Mukherjee et al., 2005). The last step suggested by CASP is to assess whether the results are useful. The current results may certainly be useful in the area of health policy development. The knowledge that even low alcohol consumption within the first trimester of pregnancy can increase the risk of foetal death strengthens current Government guidelines that recommend that women abstain completely from alcohol during pregnancy. In the United Kingdom, the Chief Medical Officer currently advises that women should avoid alcohol altogether but that if they must drink, to consume no more than 1-2 units once or twice a week. However, the current paper suggests that just two drinks per week could increase a woman’s risk of losing the baby. Nevertheless, the conclusions drawn by the study are based on the assumption that alcohol consumption contributed to the increased risk of foetal death and should be interpreted with caution. The study did not collect data on various other variables that may have contribut ed to the increased risk, such as illegal drug use during pregnancy has been associated with foetal death (Wolfe et al., 2005). Furthermore, consumption of large quantities of caffeine (Wisborg et al., 2003) has been found to be associated with a higher risk of early foetal death. The current study collected information on coffee consumption and it was found that 32.6% of women consumed between one and seven cups of coffee during their pregnancy. Therefore, coffee consumption and not just alcohol may have had an impact on the results. In the discussion, the authors acknowledge the large number of confounding variables that may have impacted upon the study. The discussion of the study does discuss the potential usefulness of the results. However, the authors state in the introduction that discrepancy amongst previous research was a driving force behind the study but fail to discuss why or how the current study may have alleviated this issue. In conclusion, this is a reasonably strong piece of research that could contribute considerably to health policy. However, it is flawed in some key areas and so the results should be interpreted with caution. For example, if the study is to be replicated, future researchers may consider additional outcome measures that could identify participants at risk of social desirability bias. Nevertheless, the finding that even very low consumption of alcohol before the 16th week of pregnancy may contribute to early foetal death suggests that this should be further investigated as health policy may subsequently consider recommending women abstain completely from alcohol until after their 16th week. References Adams, S.A., Matthews, C.E., Ebbeling, C.B., Moore, C.G., Cunningham, J.E., Fulton, J. and Herbert, J.R. (2005) The effect of social desirability and social approval on self reports of physical activity. American Journal of Epidemiology, 161(4), pp. 389-398. Andersen, A.N., Andersen, P.K., Olsen, J., Gronbaek, M. and Strandberg-Larsen, K. (2012) Moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy and risk of fetal death. International Journal of Epidemiology, 41, pp. 405-413. Foster, N. (2011) Making sense of the evidential hierarchy. In: Carmen, A. (Ed), Assessing Evidence to Improve Population Health and Wellbeing. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Klesges, L.M., Baranowski, T., Beech, B., Cullen, K., Murray, D.M., Rochon, J. and Pratt, C. (2004) Social desirability bias in self-reported dietary, physical activity and weight concerns measures in 8-to-10-year-old African-American girls: results from the Girls health Enrichment Multisite Studies (GEMS). Preventative Medicine, 38, pp. 78-87. Mukherjee, R.A.S., Hollins, S., Abou-Saleh, M.T. and Turk, J. (2005) Low level alcohol consumption and the fetus. British Medical Journal, 330(7488), pp. 375-376. Spruance, L.S., Reid, J.E., Grace, M. and Samore, M. (2004) Hazard ratio in clinical trials. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 48(8), pp. 2787-2792. Wisborg, K., Kesmodel, U., Bech, B.H., Hedegaard, M. and Henriksen, T.B. (2003) Maternal consumption of coffee during pregnancy and stillbirth and infant death in first year of life: prospective study. British Medical Journal, 326, pp. 420. Wolfe, E.L., Davis, T., Guydish, J. and Delucchi, K.L. (2005) Mortality risk associated with perinatal drug and alcohol use in California. Journal of Perinatlogy, 25, pp. 93-100. Critical Appraisal Critical appraisal is the use of explicit, transparent methods to assess the data in published research, applying the rules of evidence to factors such as internal validity, adherence to reporting standards, conclusions and generalizability.[1][2] Critical appraisal methods form a central part of the systematic review process.[3] They are used in evidence-based healthcare training to assist clinical decision-making, and are increasingly used in evidence-based social care and education provision. when an entrepreneur is think about setting up in business it is important to think carefully about what is needed to make the idea a success, how the business will compete against other firms and how much money is needed to run it, these items would usually be included in a business plan. * The nature of the business it history and its legal structure * The product it offers, what make it different from anyone else, why customers would buy it and how it is protected from the competition. * The nature of the market and the firm’s customer base . * The objectives of the business( set-out target that entrepreneur would like to achieve ) * The strategy ( this set out how the objective is going to be achieved * Approach to marketing * The founder and employee * The firm’s operations ( where it is based, the production facilities it requires, the capital it has) * A forecast of sale over a period in the future. Idea generation (ideation) is critical to the design and marketing of new products, to mar-keting strategy, and to the creation of effective advertising copy. In new product development, for example, idea generation is a key component of the front end of the process, often called the â€Å"fuzzy front end† and recognized as one of the highest leverage points for a firm (Dahan and Hauser 2001). Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract.[1] Ideation is all stages of a thought cycle, from innovation, to development, to actualization.[2] As such, it is an essential part of the design process, both in education and practice.[3]

Discuss how eukaryotic organisms came into existence Coursework

Discuss how eukaryotic organisms came into existence - Coursework Example The study of the origin of the eukaryotes is a dynamic branch of this science, and much research has taken place in order to try and explain the development of this unique and structurally and functionally distinct class of organisms (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006). There are many theories and models regarding this debate, and many of those models are conflicting in nature (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006). This paper purports to discuss the most commonly accepted and relevant models of the origin of eukaryotes, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and presenting a conclusion about the needs for future research into this field, and the specific parameters that should be aimed for in that future research. Discussion/Body: Let us begin our discussion with an understanding of a eukaryotic organism. The eukaryotic organisms, as opposed to the prokaryotic cells, have originated rather recently in the history of evolution (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006). ... is no structurally developed control center like the nucleus of the eukaryotes (White, 2006), and the organelles, if present, are simple and non-membranous (White, 2006). Such organisms had the capability of surviving in the harshest of environments, as was necessary in the early development of the world’s ecosystems (White, 2006). They reproduced by simple binary fission (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006) and could metabolise with or without the availability of oxygen (White, 2006), using a variety of chemicals as substrates for metabolism. In contrast, the eukaryotes are defined by the presence of a well-defined nucleus, which is membrane bound (White, 2006). There are a variety of organelles, which are complex in nature and many are also membrane-bound (White, 2006); the division of labour is enhanced and made more efficient in the eukaryotes (White, 2006). Such organisms are increasingly oxygen-dependent (White, 2006), and have a reduced capability to withstand extremes of enviro nments, requiring a more stable environment around them (White, 2006). There is a general consensus of scientific opinion that the eukaryotes came into being by the ‘fusion’ (Rivera & Lake, 2004) or ‘association’ (Rivera & Lake, 2004) of different prokaryotic organisms (Rivera & Lake, 2004). Unfortunately, the consensus of opinion is limited till here. From this conjecture, several theories have arisen in an effort to best explain the behavior of eukaryotes, both genetically and phenotypically. Two of the most common models are the ‘nucleus and mitochondria co-origin’ (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006) model and the ‘nucleus-first, mitochondria-later’ (Bacterial phylogeny, 2006) model. Let us study the co-origin model first. Scientists supporting the co-origin model claim that a fusion

Thank you for smoking Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Thank you for smoking - Movie Review Example He tries to explain the curiosity of the tobacco industry and the interest they have. This is usually misunderstood for being wrong as the world has a negative influence about it. The challenge arises when Nick has to go on a talk show of Joan Lunden where he has to face people who are against smoking and a person who has been suffering from cancer because of this smoking habit. (Dargis, n. p.) He tries to defend himself by saying that if this person suffering from cancer faces death it would not benefit the tobacco industry; moreover they'd be losing a customer which they wouldn’t want. Hence it is not the tobacco industry that wants the cancer stricken persons death but other antismoking vigilantesthat would benefit from the individuals death by making their contributions rise. Nick considers to be "trafficking in human misery". The way Nick advocates his point and proves all the antismoking vigilantes are wrong is a proof of his capabilities. Nick has mastered the art of ly ing and knows how to manipulate people in a way that they fall for him. The best thing that attracts one to this movie is how Nick practices this art of lying. Nick represented the monopoly of the tobacco industry on the platform he's been provided. The purpose behind this movie was to symbolize the image of activities which involve smoking as appealing and refined hence considering it be a habit interlinked to social and moral values. The personality of Nick is very impressive, and hence, one gets quite influenced by the way he speaks and motivates by the power of his words. Nick uses the force of the visual provocation to attract its viewer in approval of smoking. He knows that by developing a positive image of something it helps to persuade humans. Furthermore the virtues he depicted convinced the audience even more. During the beginning of the movie Nick works on the agenda of developing a positive image of himself in front of the masses. The purpose behind this was to lay the f oundation and to give credibility to the movie. Another thing that he flaunts during the movie is the moral flexibility that convinces and helps to build upon trust within each other. The way he knows how to play along with words and to mold them in such a manner that they turn in favor of him and help him to keep his audience away from the truth. The movie has a huge baggage of sexual activities and abusive language incorporated in it. The movie delivers a stark image of how Nick is successful in transforming words, changes and altering message, other modes of negotiation and various methods of communication so that he develops confusion in their minds and nothing becomes clear. The strategies used in the movie are merely to manipulate and leave the viewer in a dilemma. Furthermore, this film still exhibits the essence and the beauty of love although showing immense fraud, deceit and manipulation. Nick although being very stubborn and taking support of all sort of lies and tactics to manipulate others is influenced by the love of his son. There are many segments in the movie that show emotional bonding and an outburst of feelings in a very passionate manner. The change in the course of the movie comes at the time when Joey who is Nick's son makes him rethink and develop second thoughts about his work. The reason that joey gives him. Usually it is seen in such movies that the protagonist changes by the end but this movie turned to be different in such a manner that Nick just swayed, changed his target audience and used his art on them. This made him a hero in the eyes of his son and gave him a reason to be like his dad. In the end Joeys wins a debating competition proving that he's walking on the same lines as his father. The movie

Literature and art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literature and art - Essay Example Both of them are actually a representation of the creator’s thought process. They reveal their creator’s inner self for the world to see. It is interesting, however, that whereas artists do it by their selection of color, line, space and symmetry; writers do it by the selection of their plot, theme, characters and setting. It seems as if both art and literature actually have a story to tell to the world at large. Although arts demand much more imagination from the world, in that the viewers have to come up with their own explanations about a lot of things, whereas in literature, a writer normally gives almost the entire story to the reader, however, even here, the reaction of each reader is different. Based on our own life experiences and knowledge, we form our own interpretation, both after looking at a piece of art or after reading a piece of literature. Both art and literature give depth to common ideas, bringing certain nuances to our notice as well as creating room for certain new ideas. Both art and literature have been used time and again for the purpose of creating awareness among the public about certain issues as well, what is more, both of them depict emotions extremely well. They are not only a joy to behold or read, but they also cause us to pause and think about ourselves and the world. Not only do both of them bring beauty in our lives, but they also create a world of ideas where others can come and gain more insight into the world. The thing that surprised me the most about literature was, that before I always used to think that literature was only the feelings or thoughts of the writer depicted on page. I thought it was one dimensional. However, for me it was surprising to see that everyone who partakes in it comes out with his or her own understanding of the piece of writing. Whether it is poetry or fiction, the words of the writer are not limited, although they appear to be so. There are always more meanings than one that can be gleaned from literature. There is the writer’s original meaning, undoubtedly, but there are also other elements in the writing that may cause one to come to their own conclusion about it. Literature is very rich in meaning, and the fact that it can elicit such varied responses from the readers is a cause of wonder for me. I never thought of literature like that, like I said, I thought that literature was only limited to what the author had to say and nothing more. A good piece of writing is truly a joy to read, no matter what genre of literature it is, however, for me, fiction is the most appealing out of all these genres. The same events or the same story can be told in a myriad of ways in fiction to elicit different responses from the readers, or even to create to a different set of readers. I am fascinated by the richness of fiction. There is such a treasure of ideas and thoughts in fiction: the changes in a society, the ideals of enlightenment, the discussion of emotions , laying bare the ugliness and beauty of life all at the same time, there is so much that fiction has accomplished. I like the way fiction draws the reader into a woven web of a tale and then transports them into a world other than their own where they get to meet people and go places and then learn life’s lessons from them. Without fiction this could only be possible for the well-traveled amongst us, but due to literature we can learn a

Racism As Social Phenomenon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Racism As Social Phenomenon - Essay Example Likewise, Muslims are always biased against Christians and occasions of Islamic groups killing Christians based on religious difference have been reported in several parts of the continent. In addition, for racism to take place certain elements have to be involved and they include actions which are considered to be arbitrary and harmful towards one or a group (Fluehr-Lobban, 2005). A good example is Muslims killing or causing bodily harm to the Christian faithful. Secondly, there is a belief that one race is superior to the other. A good example of this was that both the Germans and Britons thought that they were superior more than the other. Thirdly, the belief in separation which can be easily identified and a good example of this is that Muslims and Christians use two different religious books the Quran and the Bible respectively and lastly the possession of power by the superior race and a good example of this is that Africans were discriminated as they were living in lands which were not theirs or lands belonging to the white men. However, prejudice based on attitude cannot be considered to be racism unless an action is taken to support the prejudice held by a group towards the other it is not considered racism. This action may be harmful to either of the groups depending on the amount of power wielded by either of the group. In the end, the group which always has the most powers is always the one which wins on racism hence becoming the perpetrators of racism. A good example is that when a Christian applies to rent an apartment owned by a Muslim, and the Muslim hates all Christians generally but treats his Christian tenant with dignity and respect then the act is considered to be prejudice.

Premartial Cohabitation and Marital Instability Essay

Premartial Cohabitation and Marital Instability - Essay Example Conflicts would then arise after several weeks when both discover that their assumptions are different and they have differences on views about certain issues. These differences in views can result in arguments and emotional conflicts which were not expected during the period of courtship. According to Markman (1993) "The reality is that while couples may seem to get along "OK" and while a man and woman may be "in love," it takes more than love to build a lasting, satisfying marriage. It takes an understanding of each other and of the dynamics of intimate relationships as well as the ability to effectively use relationship skills. Couples that participate in marriage preparation seem to have a higher degree of marital satisfaction and a lower divorce rate." There are many beliefs that give false assurance to couples that their marriage would work out in the long run. Those who cohabitate before marriage believe that having lived together gives them an edge in their relationship, perhaps knowing as much about themselves and their partners even prior to exchanging vows. However, research has shown that couples who have lived together have higher chances of divorcing. The reasons for this are not well understood but it is possible that people who are willing to live together are also more willing to get divorced. Evidence shows that cohabitation also develops attitudes which make people more receptive to divorce, such as the attitude that the relationship is temporary and can be dissolved (DeMaris and Rao 2000). Other believe that having children strengthens relationships. Studies have shown that the most stressful period in marriage is after the first child is born. Although couples who have children together have decreased risk of getting divorced, the decrease in the risk factor is only much lower than the time when parents were more likely to stay within the marriage "for the sake of the children" (Pape 1992). It is also believed that children who grew up in broken homes are more cautious about marital relationships and are strongly determined to avoid the possibility of divorce. It is popularly believed that those from broken homes lead successful married lives similar to those who come from intact families. However, studies show that there is a higher rate of divorce among children from broken homes than those from intact families. An explanation to this is that children learn about marital commitment and stability from their parents and those who come from broken homes have their sense of commitment and permanence compromised by their parents' divorce (Amato 2001). According to Gottman, professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, it is what is considered "mundane" in life that creates the love in marriage. The connections established by couples in the numerous "mindless" moments result in positive emotional climates. Gottman published his findings after 14 years following 670 couples and monitoring their bodily responses using video cameras and sensors. He can somehow predict whether a couple would stay together or separate after a 30-minute interview (Marano, 1997). Dr. David Schnarch, who together with his wife Dr. Ruth Morehouse, describes their counselling practice: "Our approach focuses on people's adult strengths rather than their childhood wounds because what's good and solid in us is

The role of international law and human rights in the cold war and the Essay

The role of international law and human rights in the cold war and the post cold war eras - Essay Example Countries sign agreements that bind them to follow certain regulations and standards that they set. It is divided in to public and private or conflict international laws. The public international laws entail things like the maritime laws, United Nations and Geneva conferences. The private international law simply tries to come up with where and how a case can be handled. On the other hand, human rights are said to be freedom that every individual has a right to experience. Examples of rights are: right to life, education, culture, work, freedom of expression and civil rights. Every nation has its own rights clearly set and understood by its people. International human rights are practiced in all the nations (David, pp. 3-20). International law and human rights are very vital tools that have played a major role in protecting individuals from subjection to torture and abuse. Very many countries have joined in the practice of international law and human rights but some remain stubborn. During the cold war and post cold war era, individuals are seen to believe that the two fields will become better. Implementation of the laws has not been easy either and to reach to perfection is expected to take time. During the cold war era, the human rights and international laws were not given very much attention. This was so because human right laws were considered as a forceful intervention. During the era, citizens of various countries were experiencing suffering due to lack of human rights to protect them. The constant subjection to suffering led to the formation of institutions that work internationally like the United Nations. Further more, the Geneva conferences led to the formation of the international laws. To date, many nations have become members of the United Nation and its main agenda is to protect individuals internationally from torture that comes from civil war and poor governance (David,

Systems Theory and Human Relations Essay Example for Free

Systems Theory and Human Relations Essay Systems theory within organisations states that businesses retrieve inputs from the external environment, transform these inputs from processes and procedures and then out put them back into the environment. Below is a diagram to illustrate this with examples of each. The inputs generally come from other organistaions outputs, and the outputs of organisations tend to become inputs for other organisations. Within the organisation as a system, each of the different transformation activities may themselves may be looked at as individual sub-systems with their own inputs-transformations-outputs. They may also be looked at to interact with different sub-systems. The 5 main sub-systems are as follows: †¢Task – goals and objectives of the company †¢Technology – the tools and knowledge in which are used to carry out tasks †¢People – attitudes, skills, needs etc Structure – both formal and informal, flow of authority, grapevine etc †¢Management – co-ordination of the other 4 sub-systems and interactions with outside world Human relations approach pays greater attention to the social factors at work and the behaviour of employees. Employees come to work for more than just monetary needs, they come to interact with each other also. Therefore employees need to be able to interact with each other and not be excluded, Hamiltons work plan enables this and also encourages this. One way by which Hamilton uses this approach is by humanising the workplace, recognising the importance of the informal structure and also giving concern for the manufacturing staff. Hamilton does many things to humanise the workplace, such as: †¢Regular walk abouts by directors †¢Quarterly updates/briefs †¢Nights of social events such as Christmas funded by the company †¢Attend certain MDW meetings †¢Works council to communicate to management about certain issues on shop floor †¢Birthdays always celebrated †¢Weddings and anniversarys celebrated †¢Shop sales Child care vouchers †¢Easter eggs provided by company These policies and procedures that are representative of the human relations approach, all help with the management of change within Hamilton. Below are some point and how they help with managing change: †¢Communication – By communicating with staff through quarterly briefs, team meetings and notice boards, all staff are aware of changes and why they are going to be made. †¢Multiskilling – By Hamilton training staff on at least 3 machines in the factory, this enables Hamilton help to manage production planning. It also helps make the employee feel needed by investing in them. †¢Production planning – Enables Hamilton to prduce there good more efficiently and to help cut down on set-up times and change over’s. †¢Works Council – Helps staff to communicate any issues with changes that are being made before they are being introdced. This then means they can rectify these issues which the staff have. †¢Social Events – Help keep staff morale high and help build relationships and work teams within the business. As I looked at one of the subsystems of management and how it relates to the external environment and how it manages changes in the environment, I realised Hamilton is effected a lot by external factors such as: †¢Social attitudes †¢Government policies – taxes †¢Trade unions †¢Customers †¢Other organisations †¢International relations †¢Economic climate – exchange rates †¢Suppliers †¢Technoligical innovations – dulux paint pod †¢Providers of finance One of the biggest external factors is the economic climate, the exchange rate with China is very poor at the minute. As you can see from the graph above Hamilton has seen a major drop in the exchange rate within the last 12 months. This therefore creates high production costs within the company, to try and reduce the impact the management has undertaken numerous actions such as: †¢Improve communications with suppliers †¢Improve technology internally and externally †¢New suppliers †¢Longer term agreements †¢Reduced spending †¢Production planning †¢Aggressive with suppliers †¢Re-structured sales force

Android-Arduino Communication System

Android-Arduino Communication System ROBOTIC CONTROL WITH ANDROID PC USING X-BEE T.M.Sirish J.R.SURESH BABU Abstract — The paper is concerned with the Android-Arduino communication and Computer communication by integrating mobile wheel robots with X-Bee communication protocol. Arduino controls tasks such as obstacle and collision avoidances following, autonomously movement, and indoor localization of group robots are implemented toward an autonomously control of robot. Mobile robotics is a technology and a research area where we witness tremendable advances for the last decades and it finds application in areas like agriculture, medical services, hazard environments, space explo-ration, military, intelligent transportation, social robotics, and entertainment. XBees provide wireless communication. As a system, the advantages are very obvious compared with other technology. Keywords— X-Bee, Adruino, Android, IR, Ultrasonic I. INTRODUCTION Robots may interact in the same location as users control them from any place in the world using internet and wireless networks for this purpose. Sensor based approach uses various kinds of sensors such as IR sensors and ultrasonic sensors.IR sensors are generally used for measuring the difference in reflectivity of surfaces depending on the properties like color, roughness. Ultrasonic sensors are used to measure the distance to an object. Robots are built to navigate using these out puts according to the application. The idea is to design the Sensor platform with accurate angle control this continuously collects the distance data in an automatic way where the Robot is controlled by Android app and transfer ultrasonic sensor data to PC. An idea is to build an actual robot that is subject to wireless operation from a PC or a Android. It reads sensor and robot data from file and to Generate map of surrounding environment. Robots are capable of interacting with the objects. The design i n this paper comprises of the chassis will also house the PCB and proximity sensors that will continually provide feedback to the user. Proximity sensors are able to assist the operator in navigating across inhibiting terrain even if communication link with the operator is broken. Robot automatically stops if it detects an obstacle. Due to the Android and Arduino combination, the robot can interact with the person and provide an easy development platform for future improvement. The paper[1],[2] deals with the route navigation and the Application of Zigbee and [3],[4],[5] and [6] emphasis task scheduling on low cost arduino and distance measuring sensors. II. PRINCIPLE OF WORKING Wireless sensor network system will not only reduce the system cost in term of facilities setup and labor cost. It also provides flexibility in system in term of distance or location. The fundamental design and implementation of ultrasonic sensor based robot on Android/PC featuring a XBee based technology[1] The developed platform is cost-effective and as well as the effect on reducing energy consumption. The platform consists the components Android phone, Arduino mega adk, Motor Driver shield, ultrasonic sensor[5], IR sensor and Xbee module. It features the Atmega16U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter. The Arduino programming is very simple; uses its own language based on the popular C high level programming language and supports all standard C and some C++ functions. The operating voltage of the board is 6 to 20 volts. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts. This is designed to control a robot with an aid of Android application[6]. Xbee is interfaced to the control the robot using android application. Where one end of xbee is interfaced with android application which is used to transmit the commands and receiver end robot is attached which is used to control in all directions. Figure 1: Arduino Mega adk Operating voltage 9-12 volts IR Range 6cm Ultrasonic Range 3 cm Degree of rotation 180 degree Communication frequency 2.4 Ghz Table 1 Specifications III. HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE X-bee The X-bee modules allow serial links of TTL signals on distances of 30m indoors, 100m outdoors with line of sight which would be enough to control the electronic wheelchair. IEEE 802.15.4 standard for Zigbee operates in the band: ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medical), 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in the U.S. and Australia, and 2.4 GHz in most jurisdictions around the world[2]. This technology is simpler, cheaper and has lower power consumption than other WPANs such as Bluetooth. The problem is to the need to detect the obstacle in the path of the robot, to sense and find alternative paths of the robot. Figure 2. XBee The Ping which works by sending out a burst of ultrasound to detect the closest object and listens to the echo after hitting the object. The short pulse from the Arduino board is send to trigger the detection, and then listens for a pulse on the same pin using the pulse. The second pulse duration is e the time taken by the ultrasound to travel to the object which is equal to the time taken to travel back to the sensor[4]. This time can be converted to distance by the velocity of light. We use IR transceiver and comparator IC LM324 for detecting the obstacle. The component deals with two major issues. They are as follows: 1. It avoids the collisions with walls and other obstacles. 2. It avoids the prototype be fallen down from the steps on its way. Figure 3. Ultrasonic Range Finder B Android Android is a Linux based Open Source operating system developed by Google to power smart phones. In order to provide productive application development, applications can be developed using Java and easily tested and deployed to devices with Android. Development can be done with a simulator or with real devices. Using Android Application Programming Interface (API) features a rich ground of options for robot developers. Programming by commands commonly feature for robots, works seamlessly on Android. Using Android’s API, a programmer can make his robot to act. Android’s API also offers easy access to camera and orientation sensors. Some devices have only accelerometer, while other have accelerometer and compass, and others gyroscopes. The same orientation function calls can be used to query these sensors, independently of the device. One limitation that most mobile phones don’t have a USB Host port, so no USB accessories such as mice can be connected to them. To b ypass this limitation, Open Accessory API allows accessories to be the USB Host. This allows external custom hardware to interact with Android programs. Navigation of a mobile robot in an unknown environment is possible by sensors which obtain the information of surrounding environment. For effective communication between mobile robots we need to use some sensors. Therefore mobile phone sensors can be categorised such as the Sensors used for collecting information about environment, for communication between mobile robots, for collecting information and also for communication[5]. IV. DESIGN The Android application makes it effective to Control a robotic vehicle which is interfaced to the control unit on the robot for sensing the signals transmitted by the Android application. With an aid of the smart-phone/PC with Android OS, upon a GUI based touch screen operation the Remote operation is achieved[6]. At the Transmitting end, it uses an Android application device remote through which commands are transmitted and at the receiver end, the directions such as forward, backward and left or right are controlled by the commands from the Android by the user end which are used for controlling the robot. The movement is achieved by motor shield that is interfaced to the Arduino. Serial communication data sent from the android application is received by a Zigbee receiver interfaced to the Arduino. Figure 4. Block diagram of communication The shield for Arduino has the DC Motor interface. The interface is built around the L293DC Motor driver IC. It has a obstacle sensor to detect within 6cm range. If IR is used, we can be able to detect the obstacle. The interfaces have to be selected with the jumper. The obstacle sensor is an IR sensor which is used for detecting the obstacles and acts in impulsion to safeguard. In ultrasonic sensor, we use ping function which detects the distance of the closest object in front of the sensor and sends the data to the mobile. To run the DC motor, enable line be high, set I1 line to High and I2 line to Low which rotates in one direction and set I1 line to, low and I2 line to High which rotates in another direction[1]. V. FUTURE WORK Extensions of our current work include an extension to camera implementation which will be useful for deploying sensor networks in large areas. VI. CONCLUSION The system is highly flexible and scalable and can be expanded to other applications. On the software side, our Android application ensures that the system enables energy saving, and can suggest task scheduling with both instantaneous power and cost considerations. Our future work includes the implementation of additional applications, the refinement of our implementation, especially with regard to communication and possibly porting our network stack to other platforms. Acknowledgment I am very grateful to my guide Mr.J.Sureshbabu, Scientist-B, National Institute of Electronics Information Technology(NIELIT),Chennai who provided us with effective information regarding the functioning of System.I also extend our sincere thanks to all those people who have helped us successfully design and implement this system. REFERENCES [1] Route Navigation System in ZigBee-Based Sensor Networks Li Wenze ; Sch. of Inf. Telecommunication., Beijing Univ. of Posts Telecommunication, BeijinChina ; Han Yufen ; KangGuixia;SunJing Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, 2009. WiCom 09. 5th International Conference bejing on 24-26 Sept. 2009 . [2] Applicability of ZigBee for Real-Time Networked Motor Control Systems Ulugbek R. Umirov1, Seong-Hyun Jeong and Jung-Il Park Department of Electronic Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Korea Control, Automation and Systems, 2008. ICCAS 2008. International Conference seou on14-17 Oct. 2008, 2937 – 2940. [3] Low cost Arduino/Android-based Energy-Efficient Home Automation System with Smart Task Scheduling Kim Baraka, Marc Ghobril, Sami Malek, Rouwaida Kanj, Ayman Kayssi Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering American University of Beirut Computational Intelligence, Communication Systems and Networks (CICSyN), 2013 Fifth International Conference on 5-7 June 2013 Madrid, 296 301 [4] New approach of ultrasonic distance measurement technique in robot applications G.Hueber, T.Ostermann, T.Bauernfeind, R. Raschhofer, R.Hagelauer Dept. of Microelectronics. Research Institute of Integrated Circuits, A-4040 Linz, Austria. [5] Remote Controlling for Ring-type Traveling Ultrasonic Motor Based on Zigbee Juping Gu, Laiwu Luo,Xiao Wu, Hui Yang ,Liang Hua ,Shenbei Qin Yuyun Liu Department of Electrical Engineering, Nantong University Department of Electrical Engineering, Southeast University., China. Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), 2013 International Conference on 26-29 Oct. 2013 Busa, 748 – 751. [6] Controlling Physical Objects via the Internet using the Arduino Platform over 802.15.4 Networks V. Georgitzikis, O. Akribopoulos and I. Chatzigiannakis. Latin America Transactions, IEEE (Revista IEEE America Latina)(Volume:10 ,Issue: 3), April 2012 ,1686 – 1689.

Stadium Safety Structure Development In The Uk Criminology Essay

Stadium Safety Structure Development In The Uk Criminology Essay With our entry into the 21st century, the stadium safety issue has been basically solved by a series of complete stadium safety structure regulations in the UK. However, there are many British football fans who still have memorized the traditional football culture, which is the terrace culture (Ruthven, 2011). It is ironic that this terrace culture has brought many tragedies to UK football and UK society, many British football fans are still thinking terrace culture is the true way of watching a football match. Therefore, the Football Supporters Foundation (FSF) campaign was organized to bring back terrace culture (Kilmore, 2011). The whole process of terrace culture was replaced by all-seater stadiums, which took many authorities and peoples blood and efforts. The whole process of changing is a successful stadium safety reform course. The stadium safety reform faced many issues, which came from both external and internal influences. For example, some issues came from the inaction of some football authorities, the over loyalty of football fans and the neglect of politicians (Ingle, 2005). Fortunately, stadium safety has made their legislation to protect those loyalty football fans lives and health. Johns (2004) stated that One of the philosophies of the Football Licensing Authority is safety cannot be achieved by means of externally- imposed regulations; those responsible must understand and believe in it for themselves'. Therefore, only if the whole of football industry realizes the significance of safety, then the stadium safety structure can be run effectively. Moreover, it also needs to be updated very often to tackle challenges and to fit the modernist footballs changes in the future. This essay is written to answer the question of how the stadium safety structure in the UK developed and what challenges and changes face it in the future? Current stadium safety structure in the UK: Currently, the structure of UK stadium safety is composed by Football Licensing Authority, Safety Certificate, Green Guide, Safety Advisory Group, Safety Officer, Ground Regulations, Football Association (FA) and Police. Although these elements do overlap slightly, it has completely achieved the safety mission (Football Safety Structure in England, 2005). The process of stadium safety development: The process of football stadium safety development was always with horrible tragedy; almost every little progress was caused by victims blood and grief. Fortunately, nowadays, a comparatively completed stadium safety structure has been conducted. This comparatively completed stadium safety structure took a long time to complete. Inaction of legislation: The football industry was very hysteretic compared to other industries in the area of safety legislation. In 1840, with the first railway regulation released, government had started to establish a statutory regulation of transport in the UK. Moreover, in the entertainment industry, because some moral concerns to monitor the performance were shown, every single music theatre and hall had been approved by local authorities licensing since the 1880s. In addition, because of two horrible disasters that happened at Victoria Hall in Sunderland in 1883 and at Exeter theatre in 1887 respectively, the fire legislation had been followed in the entertainment industry. Football was seen to be a wholesome pleasure sport, and so dodged the intendance from the moral concerns aspect, and because a football stadium is an outdoor building, so its safety shortage had been ignored by related monitory authorities. However, many issues had appeared about the stadium safety in the football industry (Johns, 2004). Since the sports codification was released in 1863, the popularity of the football industry had developed rapidly. It was often to see, over 20,000 fans crowed in a stadium to watch a game (John, 2010). In order to contain as many fans as possible, football clubs began to establish bigger stadiums. The bigger stadiums location was dependent on the cheap land price and proximity to urban areas. This resulted in many stadias locations that were not suitable and safe. For example, many stadias entrances were along narrow streets, it was often to find overcrowding and injuries occurred as a result. Moreover, the quality problem of stadiums stands also caused a few accidents. For example, on the 5th of April 1902, the disaster of a collapsed wooden stand caused 25 spectators to die and over 500 spectators injured at Ibrox Park, Glasgow. In the aftermath, the disaster was attributed to the wooden stands quality but no person was charged regarding the overcrowding at that stand. However, th e Ibrox Park disaster was a signal to the Football Association (FA) that they need to protect themselves against litigation from football fans in the accident of future tragedies. Therefore, one legal legacy of the disaster appeared for football industry in the UK. That was that the FA was registered to be a limited liability company (BigSoccer, 2011). Since the tragedy of Wembley FA Cup final happened in 1923 and over 1000 spectators were injured, people and related authorities began to regard and blame the overcrowding issue. Because some members of Parliament criticised the stadium, they pushed pressures on this issue. The government organized an inquiry, and former Home Secretary Edward Shortt was in charge of the inquiry. Consequently, he stated that there was abnormally large attendance on special occasions (Johns, 2004). Subsequently, the chief constable of Birmingham claimed that because the quality of stadium could not be guaranteed and the overcrowding happened frequently, football should establish a safety licensing system like other industries. However, this proposal was laid aside due to FAs uncooperative attitude, but some of this proposals technical recommendations began to impact the management of football stadium safety (The Time, no date). In the next 20 years, there were some accidents in football stadia caused by overcrowding. Due to overcrowding only occurring in some particularly significant games and infrequently resulting in injuries to the public, there was no sustained pressure for football stadium safety progress. From the police aspect, police claimed in some regards in stadium safety, but due to the absence of legislation, they took a laissez-faire attitude towards safety in the football industry. For example, in 1932, the Chief Constable of Cardiff stated publicly that Ninian Parks maximum capacity was not 25,000 spectators, but its records were double that maximum number in the past. The Welsh FA only simply warned the club to concern the issue (Johns, 2004). In 1934, a man died in overcrowding at Hillsborough stadium. A local MP of Sheffield made an inquiry immediately to Parliament. The explanation of the accident from the Sheffield chief constable was that some clubs were not complying with the stadium safety advice of police (Hillsborough Stadium, no date). In 1936, there was a fatality at a rugby match in Cardiff, which caused a licensing scheme from Police Federations. Therefore, the main reason of police inactivity was facing much opposition from the football authorities and government, when they were warning clubs on safety in absence of legislation. In the post-war period, football became the most popular sport for entertainment in the UK. Because of the horrible and grieved memories of war, people enjoyed football match more than before (Johns, 2004). As mentioned previously, the overcrowding situation only happened in some big games, but the attendances of match were very high for every match after the Second World War. Therefore, some crude quality of stadiums could not bear such a high burden and thus caused disaster. In 1946, 33 people died and 400 people were injured at Burnden Park, Bolton. In the official inquiry, Justice Moelwyn Hughes stated that the overcrowding i ssue had happened again and again, and it had become a frequent type of accident. Consequently, Moelwyn Hughes suggested running a licensing system by local authorities, which should include a penalty for disobeying these regulations. However, the licensing proposal was rejected by the cabinet due to the burden of local authorities, materials shortage in post-war and the absent of legislation. Thus, the proposal of licensing by local authorities was replaced by another Moelwyn Hughes recommendation, which was a system of self-regulation. The self-regulation was an application for the Football Association that their stadium safety should pass the qualification inspection. (Oddculture, 2011) A system of self-regulation in any industry does not work unless its objectives are deeply rooted in the culture of the industry. Football enjoyed no over-riding commitment to ensuring safety. Therefore, in 1952, the Police Federation proposed legislation for the safety of fans like the safety legislation of audiences at theatres and cinemas. This proposal also blamed some inaction reports from the police and the FA (Johns, 2004). In the hooliganism aspect, this emerging problem provided a different channel to deal with the crowd management issue for clubs and authorities. Because of the emerging problem of hooliganism, the 1969 government report claimed that although the self-regulation systems performance was good enough, the 1948 certificates still needed to be updated regularly for inspections (Kurland, 2010). Finally, the FA of England, Scotland and Wales forced their clubs whose stadias capacity were 10,000 or more, to accept an annual certificate inspection. The first legislation: The signal of self-regulations failure was the disaster of Ibrox Park, Glasgow in 1971. There were 66 people dead in this crush of overcrowding. It was the fourth incident of crushing on that stairway in the previous ten years. In 1961, two people had been killed and 44 injured, in 1967 11 people were injured, and in 1969 30 people were seriously injured. The disaster of Ibrox Park caused a controversy about the legislation. Subsequently, Wheatley called a recommended for licensing system run by local authorities (BBC, no date). In the report of Wheatley, the existing controls were not enough, legislation was necessary. The Safety at Sports Grounds Act was proposed by the Conservative government then it was passed by the Labour government in 1975. This Act built a system of inspection, which was run by local authorities, and also created a series of technical safety criterions in football stadia. Nevertheless, the implementing cost was a huge burden for small clubs. Wheatley thought the issue of overcrowding was not vital enough for smaller clubs in the short term. Therefore, only the clubs that were in the first division of English and Scottish and plus the three international rugby stadiums were included in the initial Act plan. In 1979, the Act would include the Clubs of the English second division. This Act also cared some anomaly, for small stadiums, such as Shrewsbury Towns stadium of division two, which only had 16,800 capacities, but some large stadiums, such as Sheffield Uniteds stadium of division three, which was 44,000 capacity, which were not included in this Act. (Sefton Council, 2010) Significant changing in 1980s: On the 11th May 1985, 56 people were killed in a stand fire in Bradford. At that time, the 1975 Safety Act had not covered the Third division, if it was covered the maybe this disaster would be avoided by licensing inspection. After the disaster of Bradford, the Act was conducted to all Football League clubs as soon as possible and the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act was passed immediately for preventing another fire disaster. In 1924, the Shortt report had already noted that the danger of fire in wooden stands was another risk in football stadium, apart from overcrowding. After the disaster of Bradford, Mr Justice Popplewell made a report and he stated many questions of hooliganism rather than safety. Popplewell also stated that there were fences built around the football pitch at Bradford, which caused the higher death toll (FireSafe, no date). He also recommended such fences were not effectively addressing hooligan concerns, but instead disturbed the evacuation effor ts. Unfortunately, these fences that guarded against hooligans became one of the reasons that caused the Hillsborough disaster (Taylor, 1989). On the 15th April 1989, such fences contributed to the death 96 Liverpool fans during the match of FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, Sheffield. As well as these fences, inadequate policing and signposting were also the main reasons for such a high death toll (Taylor, 1989). After this disaster, senior police officers claimed misinformation and that hooligan should be blamed for this disaster, and some newspapers followed this misinformation. Lord Justice Taylor investigated this accident. Taylor considered the situation of society the anger of Liverpool residents and football fans, and he dismissed such theories held the police responsible for the tragedy (Taylor, 1989). The result of Hillsborough was the all-seater stadium safety policy, which was applied to the first and the second divisions. This was the recommendations of Taylors report. Graham Kelly, then chief executive of the FA, thought that Thatcher despised football, had little or no interest in sport and drove those around her who were interested in the national sport underground. There was no football lobby because she wouldnt give the game room (Taylor, 1989). Therefore, from Thatchers personal position, the government was never to allow football to develop along its wrong way. The government insisted to conduct an all-seater stadiums policy to also try and combat the increasing threat of hooliganism (Johns, 2004). After the Hillsborough disaster, a new department called the Football Licensing Authority was established to monitor the licensing and regulation of stadia. The government also had power to reassess clubs financial position during the process of stadium safety improvement (Taylor, 1989). Therefore, the Hillsborough not only resulted in the rebuilding of stadiums safety structure, but also for reinventing football clubs themselves. It built a base for the later boom of the Premier League. Critical Analysis: Hillsborough brought a determination to ensure that football did not suffer again and the fans safety was now the highest concern of authorities. Why did British football need to suffer such tragedies to truly realize the significance of stadium safety? There are three main reasons. Firstly, football is not an ordinary industry. The custom of football fans is very traditional, which is dependent on loyalties rather than value for money or safety. Football fans were simply not to change their loyalties of clubs even if their clubs had stadium safety issues (Ingle, 2005). In fact, the terrace culture was an important element to attract them to watch games in the stadium. Secondly, football fans were composed predominantly by the working-class. Generally, some fundamental needs such as health, education and housing are normally concerned by working-class. The issue of football fans safety was not a fundamental need, so football fans did not push many pressures on the government over thi s issue. Therefore, there were not many pressures from customers, so government did not need to demand a change (Peter, 1979). Thirdly, The football authorities did not expect the relationship between clubs and local authorities to be close, because the football authorities feared that any regulatory scheme run by local authorities might err on the side of excessive caution, resulting in clubs being put to considerable expense and being subject to a great deal of official interference (Johns, 2004). Consequently, this too close relationship would negatively impact the development of football industry. Finally, only by football fans, football authorities and government cooperating together, would the new approach to prevent another tragedy be found as soon as possible (University of Leicester, 2002). Challenges and changes in the future: Hooliganism: Hooliganism will be a challenge for British football safety in the future. The issue of Hooliganism is hard to solve because of its specific character. Mr Justice Taylor stated that it is hard to explain the cause of hooligans misbehaviors and it is hard to recognize hooligans when they have not been previously charged for any misdemeanor. Moreover, according to Taylors report (1989), hooligans were separated into two groups and almost every normal football fans can be classified in one group, which is depends on the different characters of different groups. For example, the first group is composed by some football fans misbehaving spontaneously in the game because of an external impact. Some worse hooligans are the new hooligans. They plan their violence for fun and the football match itself is not important to them. The second group would be likely to imitate the first element, which we have just identified. Thus the first group always have follower to misbehave with them (Taylor, 1989). Football Supporters Federation (FSF): The all-seater policy was established due to the issue of overcrowding. However, the standing terrace culture is not the main reason to cause overcrowding. If standing terrace gets a good management, it also can be very safe like all-seater stadiums. The Football Supporters Foundation (FSF) campaign is organized for Safe Standing and the FSF petition for Safe Standing had amassed over 5,000 signatures within a day. Four reasons will be stated below to prove Standing terrace should be reused (Ruthven, 2011). Atmosphere of watching The perception of safe standing with football game is better than all-seater. In the safe standing areas, groups of mates can all congregate together and stand together. But now it is a near impossibility if you cannot afford season tickets. Some supporters escaped from all-steater stadiums because it has killed the atmosphere of truly football watching (Ruthven, 2011). Prices of tickets With the more comfortable and better all-seater stadiums established, ticket prices also increased. The high price is even hard to afford for the average football fans to enjoy a game with their whole family. In Germany, the Bundesliga is still keeping the standing terrace, so the tickets prices are cheap. British football fans do not believe that the prices can be as low as the Bundesliga, but they hope the appearance of standing terrace will decrease the British football tickets prices (Kilmore, 2011). Choice of fans The current situation with illegal standing often sees fans who do want to sit to watch the game, but also many fans are forced into seats, when they like standing. In fact, government should make more choice for fans. Some people want to sit and enjoy the game in peace and others wish to stand and generally want to be louder. By creating a designated standing area again, it keeps everybody happy. Proven it is available In fact, some records and evidences have proven that standing terrace is viable for stadium safety. With many fans using the example of the Bundesliga in Germany, who maintains the existing terracing with good managing even safer than the all-seater stadiums. Many English fans think German fans enjoy games better, with much lower ticket prices. the German football authorities improved the fans match day experience better, but the English football authorities only saw the revenue all the time(Kilmore, 2011). Conclusion: A complete safety structure cannot be only achieved by external element, the internal element is also very important. Especially, football is not an ordinary industry. The custom of football fans is very traditional, which is dependent on loyalties rather than value for money or safety. The external element such football clubs and authorities do not have many pressures from internal that football fans on the issue of safety. Therefore, the process of stadium safety development took much longer time than other ordinary industries. Nowadays, the complete stadium safety structure of UK has finished the safety very well, but it still cannot satisfy British football fans request. Football fans want to get back the soulness nature of their super stadiums (Kilmore, 2011). The UK football authority falls into an awkward situation that they are committed to improving the football fans match day experiences; they have to prevent risks of hooliganism and overcrowding. Therefore, UK stadium safe ty structure will still need to face many challenges and change in the future.

Monopolies Essay -- Monopoly Business Marketing Essays

Monopolies What is a monopoly? According to Webster's dictionary, a monopoly is "the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market.† Such power in the hands of a few is harmful to the public and individuals because it minimizes, if not eliminates normal competition in a given market and creates undesirable price controls. This, in turn, undermines individual enterprise and causes markets to crumble. In this paper, we will present several aspects of monopolies, including unfair competition, price control, and horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers. Unfair Competition Barriers to Entry. In general, a monopoly by one company possesses the power to create barriers to entry for competing companies in a particular market. Also, once a company has achieved a loyal following, it then becomes easy for that company to maintain control of the market. Thus, leading to elimination of potential competition. Increasing Returns. In some markets, the profits for high volumes of goods are extremely exaggerated. For example, in the manufacturing industry, each product requires a certain material and labor cost to produce it. Large companies are often able to under-cut competitors’ prices, drive them out of the market, and then raise prices again.1 Consequently, this increased volume increases profit, allowing such companies an even greater power. Incomplete Information. Often, once a company gains control of a particular market, that company does not disclose complete information in regard to their products. Such is the case in the current Microsoft antitrust case. Microsoft not only does not disclose complete information on their software products, but also goes one step further by making their software products incompatible with other operating systems. As a result, the consumer has no choice but to buy Microsoft software products exclusively. Once a company has successfully dominated a business market, they can use that control to move into other markets by:  · Squeezing out competitors  · Dominating sales of the product  · Controlling prices of the product  · Acquiring additional companies, inside and outside, of the field Enforcement. The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice is responsible for protecting the competitive process through enforcement of antitrust laws. The Division has challenged bar... ...titive effects. Third, the Agency assesses whether entry would be timely, likely and sufficient either to deter or to counteract the competitive effects of concern. Fourth, the Agency assesses any efficiency gains that reasonably cannot be achieved by the parties through other means. Finally the Agency assesses whether, but for the merger, either party to the transaction would be likely to fail, causing its assets to exit the market. The process of assessing market concentration, potential adverse competitive effects, entry, efficiency and failure is a tool that allows the Agency to answer the ultimate inquiry in merger analysis: whether the merger is likely to create or enhance market power or to facilitate its exercise. Conclusion No one company or individual should have exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market. Prosperity in the high-technology economy of the 21st Century will depend on strict enforcement against monopolies that lessen competition along with continued encouragement of innovation. The Department of Justice must continue to open markets and ensure that they are competitive for the benefit of American businesses and consumers. Monopolies Essay -- Monopoly Business Marketing Essays Monopolies What is a monopoly? According to Webster's dictionary, a monopoly is "the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market.† Such power in the hands of a few is harmful to the public and individuals because it minimizes, if not eliminates normal competition in a given market and creates undesirable price controls. This, in turn, undermines individual enterprise and causes markets to crumble. In this paper, we will present several aspects of monopolies, including unfair competition, price control, and horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers. Unfair Competition Barriers to Entry. In general, a monopoly by one company possesses the power to create barriers to entry for competing companies in a particular market. Also, once a company has achieved a loyal following, it then becomes easy for that company to maintain control of the market. Thus, leading to elimination of potential competition. Increasing Returns. In some markets, the profits for high volumes of goods are extremely exaggerated. For example, in the manufacturing industry, each product requires a certain material and labor cost to produce it. Large companies are often able to under-cut competitors’ prices, drive them out of the market, and then raise prices again.1 Consequently, this increased volume increases profit, allowing such companies an even greater power. Incomplete Information. Often, once a company gains control of a particular market, that company does not disclose complete information in regard to their products. Such is the case in the current Microsoft antitrust case. Microsoft not only does not disclose complete information on their software products, but also goes one step further by making their software products incompatible with other operating systems. As a result, the consumer has no choice but to buy Microsoft software products exclusively. Once a company has successfully dominated a business market, they can use that control to move into other markets by:  · Squeezing out competitors  · Dominating sales of the product  · Controlling prices of the product  · Acquiring additional companies, inside and outside, of the field Enforcement. The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice is responsible for protecting the competitive process through enforcement of antitrust laws. The Division has challenged bar... ...titive effects. Third, the Agency assesses whether entry would be timely, likely and sufficient either to deter or to counteract the competitive effects of concern. Fourth, the Agency assesses any efficiency gains that reasonably cannot be achieved by the parties through other means. Finally the Agency assesses whether, but for the merger, either party to the transaction would be likely to fail, causing its assets to exit the market. The process of assessing market concentration, potential adverse competitive effects, entry, efficiency and failure is a tool that allows the Agency to answer the ultimate inquiry in merger analysis: whether the merger is likely to create or enhance market power or to facilitate its exercise. Conclusion No one company or individual should have exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market. Prosperity in the high-technology economy of the 21st Century will depend on strict enforcement against monopolies that lessen competition along with continued encouragement of innovation. The Department of Justice must continue to open markets and ensure that they are competitive for the benefit of American businesses and consumers.

The History of Math Essay -- Mathematics Education Logic Numbers Essay

The History of Math Mathematics, study of relationships among quantities, magnitudes, and properties and of logical operations by which unknown quantities, magnitudes, and properties may be deduced. In the past, mathematics was regarded as the science of quantity, whether of magnitudes, as in geometry, or of numbers, as in arithmetic, or of the generalization of these two fields, as in algebra. Toward the middle of the 19th century, however, mathematics came to be regarded increasingly as the science of relations, or as the science that draws necessary conclusions. This latter view encompasses mathematical or symbolic logic, the science of using symbols to provide an exact theory of logical deduction and inference based on definitions, axioms, postulates, and rules for combining and transforming primitive elements into more complex relations and theorems. This brief survey of the history of mathematics traces the evolution of mathematical ideas and concepts, beginning in prehistory. Indeed, mathematics is nearly as old as humanity itself; evidence of a sense of geometry and interest in geometric pattern has been found in the designs of prehistoric pottery and textiles and in cave paintings. Primitive counting systems were almost certainly based on using the fingers of one or both hands, as evidenced by the predominance of the numbers 5 and 10 as the bases for most number systems today. Ancient Mathematics The earliest records of advanced, organized mathematics date back to the ancient Mesopotamian country of Babylonia and to Egypt of the 3rd millennium BC. There mathematics was dominated by arithmetic, with an emphasis on measurement and calculation in geometry and with no trace of later mathematical concepts such as axioms or proofs. The earliest Egyptian texts, composed about 1800 BC, reveal a decimal numeration system with separate symbols for the successive powers of 10 (1, 10, 100, and so forth), just as in the system used by the Romans. Numbers were represented by writing do wn the symbol for 1, 10, 100, and so on as many times as the unit was in a given number. For example, the symbol for 1 was written five times to represent the number 5, the symbol for 10 was written six times to represent the number 60, and the symbol for 100 was written three times to represent the number 300. Together, these symbols represented the number 365. Addition was d... ...eat impetus to areas of mathematics such as numerical analysis and finite mathematics. It has suggested new areas for mathematical investigation, such as the study of algorithms. It has also become a powerful tool in areas as diverse as number theory, differential equations, and abstract algebra. In addition, the computer has made possible the solution of several long-standing problems in mathematics, such as the four-color problem first proposed in the mid-19th century. The theorem stated that four colors are sufficient to color any map, given that any two countries with a contiguous boundary require different colors. The theorem was finally proved in 1976 by means of a large-scale computer at the University of Illinois. Mathematical knowledge in the modern world is advancing at a faster rate than ever before. Theories that were once separate have been incorporated into theories that are both more comprehensive and more abstract. Although many important problems have been solved , other hardy perennials, such as the Riemann hypothesis, remain, and new and equally challenging problems arise. Even the most abstract mathematics seems to be finding applications. Word Count: 4793