Conjugate the Irregular French Verb Connaître, to Know

Music Masterpiece by Kings Singers and History of Music by String Essay

Essays on Music Masterpiece by King's Singers and History of Music by String Fever Essay The paper "Music Masterpiece by King's Singers and History of Music by String Fever" is a good example of an essay on music. The King’s Singers is a very entertaining acapella group with a wonderful talent for creating a humorous bend on a topic. In this instance, they used the history of music as a theme, recreating styles reminiscent of chronological eras of music with the lyrics being very straight forward without description but rather most often the name of the composer who exemplified the period. The audience was very amused with the use of Beethoven’s name as the music itself was intense and was punctuated by the use of it in interesting uses of the dark themes that can be found in his work. One of the more interesting moments was when the music fell to the Claude Debussy tribute. The tones were amazingly docile with the dissonant harmonies melodiously resonating with the beauty of Debussy’s work. Of course, it could not stay too serious as one of the grou p broke away to sing along, as the others stood by embarrassed, a bit of Wagner. String Fever and their creation of The History of Music was amusing as well but did not quite match the brilliance of the singers. The beauty of the music was clear, but the humor did not translate quite as quickly. The electric cellist was compelling, especially when he fell into a pizzicato during the theme to 2010, which then transitioned beautifully into the next piece. A little bit of Scott Joplin was a joy to here, then soon music from the Sound of Music could be heard, along with some Cole Porter. The History of Music couldn’t be complete without a little Elvis and the Beatles. My favorite was the of course when Another Bites the Dust could be heard. However, Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean was a lot of fun to hear as well as the Theme from Psycho. All in all, the music from both groups was compelling and held the amused interest of the listener. I found the singers to have stronger performance, although the string quartet was quite amazing as well. This type of pl ayfulness is a wonderful way to experience music.

Competitive Strategy Assignment @Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: This is a mandatory assessment Each student should look at the following three videos, for each week of materials you are asked to prepare two paragraphs: The first should contain the key ideas from the materials not a summary you must select the key ideas (most important) and talk about them. The second paragraph should identify an organisation which would benefit from the application of these ideas and explain how the ideas should be applied. Week by week materials for Competitive Strategy Week 3: Corporate Strategy Week 4: Good Strategy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kZDnyDXOc Week 5: Boundaries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ2tmqRkiCM You should consult the rubric Attachment 1 to this document to see exactly what is required and how your assignment will be marked) The review and application materials (two paragraphs for each week) submitted by each student for weeks 3,4 and 5 - will be assessed (possible marks for this assignment are 20 in total). Assessment criteria: This assessment is mandatory. Failure to participate in this assessment will automatically lead to a fail mark in this subject. You may enrich this assignment with ideas from other materials such as journal articles if you wish. This additional research will be necessary to obtain the best marks. We would value feedback on which materials you like best and which materials you liked least. Word limit: 1,000 words Answer Week 3: Corporate Strategy Key Ideas: The main idea of the corporate strategy is that, it is developed and framed by the top management however to achieve the desired organizational goal it requires a cumulative participation from all the levels within the organization. According to Badgayan (2011) everyone within the organization has an important role to play. However, the thinking process should be logical and strategically viable for that organizations mode of business. The main reason behind having a logical and strategic thinking is that this thinking process will help the company to grow in future. The other idea that can be derived on the corporate strategy is that the nature of the corporate strategy is the summation of the three distinctive issues. Those issues are: Directional: What direction the organization should focus on? Portfolio: Which portfolio will help the organization to grow its business? ZEN Energy Systems: What business the organization to own to beat its competitors and what organizational structure and philosophy it should follow to gain superior performance? (Harvard Business Review, 1995) However, other than these the other idea that can be drawn is that a corporate strategy is a combination of four generic strategies. These four generic strategies are: Growth Strategy: To provide the planned growth aspect to the organization. Stability Strategy: To develop a win-win strategy that will provide stability to the organization. Retrenchment Strategy: To focus on one or two SBUs to gain the financial stability within the organization. Mixed strategy: To develop a strategic portfolio that will provide growth and stability to the organization (Harrison and St. John, 2014). Idenificationof Best fit Organization: The Atlassian is one of the fastest growing software companies in Australia (Schroeder, 2014). The main motto of the company is to deliver the jobs on time. Therefore, to achieve this they have implemented the virtual strategy that will allow the employees to work on virtual platform in their flexible time. This flexibility of time has helped the company to grow faster rate and it is providing the employee and the financial stability within the organization (Atlassian.com, 2014). Week 4: Good Strategy Key Ideas: The main idea about a good strategy is that a good strategy focuses on the multiple resources for the accomplishment of a single objective. However, over the period it has been seen that companies did the wrong thing through concentration in the complexity of the strategy. The issues that has been found that though the concept of the good strategy is very simple but it has hindrances within it. According to Rumelt (2008)the major hindrances are: Identification of the Best fit organization: The ZEN energy system is one of the renowned manufacturer and service provider for the solar power. The company has decided to run their business through the solar power solutions. According to Zenenergy.com.au (2014) while analyzing the options on the renewable energy it has experienced that the solar energy will be most sustainable option for the long run. Moreover, it will help them to get the advantage from the government on different issue and this government help will help the company to provide affordable solutions to its customers. However, developing solutions only trusting upon the government help and schemes could turn out to be a wrong decision in future though it is doing quite fine in the current scenario. Therefore, it is very necessary for the company to develop an alternative affordable solution plan without relying on the future government favorability (Harrison and St. John, 2014). Week 5: Boundaries Key Ideas: The main idea about the strategy is to enabling a company to perform better than its competitors though keeping the alignment within the market opportunity, resources and the implementation planning. However, the main thing what the strategy does is to define a specific boundary for the company to guide itself about what it does best and what it should not do (Kryscynski, 2012). On the other hand, the other key idea that can be drawn is that the nature of the strategic boundary is actually to restrict the company from doing what it does not do the best but in helping to do what it does better than the other competitors do (Kryscynski, 2012). The key point is that the formulation of a strategy involves a diagnostic analysis of the following elements: Identification of the Best fit organization: The time telecom is a Melbourne based Telecom Company. This company provided alternative telecommunication solutions to the residential customers (Ltd, 2015). The main reason for concentration on the residential customers is that the company knows that the infrastructure it has that cannot satisfy the large industrial customers. Therefore, it has concentrated highly on the residential customers because it knows its infrastructural boundaries. Currently company has started moving into the small and medium scale industries as because the company has achieved stability within itself through satisfying the residential customers. The expansion plan was only done when the company sensed that the portfolio of the organization and the existing capacity and the capability of the organization could provide adequate service to the newly identified sectors (Schroeder, 2014). References Atlassian.com, (2014). Development and Collaboration Software Company | About Atlassian. [online] Available at: https://www.atlassian.com/company [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Badgayan, S. (2011). What is Corporate Level Strategy. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aku1HUmJzDY [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Harrison, J. and St. John, C. (2014). Foundations in strategic management. Australia: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Harvard Business Review, (1995). Corporate Strategy:The Quest for Parenting Advantage - HBR. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/1995/03/corporate-strategy-the-quest-for-parenting-advantage [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Kryscynski, D. (2012). Introduction to Strategic Management. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ2tmqRkiCM [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Ltd, T. (2015). Time Telecom Pty Ltd. [online] TrueLocal.com.au. Available at: https://www.truelocal.com.au/business/time-telecom-pty-ltd/south-melbourne [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Rumelt, R. (2008). What is Good Corporate Strategy?. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kZDnyDXOc [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015]. Schroeder, H. (2014). An art and science approach to strategic risk management. Strategic Direction, 30(4), pp.28-30. Zenenergy.com.au, (2014). About Us. [online] Available at: https://www.zenenergy.com.au/about-us/ [Accessed 8 Jan. 2015].

National Nightmare free essay sample

Going into high school, I was lost. I was hurting myself, losing weight at a rapid speed, and didn’t want to be around anymore. I felt like there was no one for me to turn to, and all I heard from my therapist was: Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorder, Suicidal. The one thing that distracted me from my anxiety was when I would pass by the cheerleading team. Watching those girls compete and work at those skills was everything I wanted. Joining the team could be the first step to pulling myself up, and starting fresh. Friends and family questioned if I really wanted to be around those girls. The answer was yes. I wanted to better myself and to accomplish what they had been working on for years. I knew the challenges that trying out for the team would present. I was shy and inexperienced, and they had been working for years to represent our school in the best possible light. We will write a custom essay sample on National Nightmare or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I pushed myself try out, and I showed up every week to show them that I could do this, that I wasn’t afraid to fail anymore. I needed this to save me from myself. Night and day I stood in front of the mirror, working on my jumps and facials. I looked into my eyes and saw myself reborn from my sadness. I had a better mindset, I had more confidence in myself, and I was ready to go and fight for my team. We worked hard and were able to make it to Nationals in Florida. The only problem: the dreaded anxiety attack was back. Colors around me started to blend into one orb, until I was almost completely covered in darkness. The only light seeping in was the hot reds and ambers of the stage lights, and the glow of faces in front of me. My chest moved furiously back and forth, my breath refused to live in my lungs, and my body couldn’t stop trembling. The world seemed to be slipping out of my fingertips, and there was nothing I could do. Everything around me was slipping away. All I had worked for seemed to be evaporating into the air in seconds. Then, a hand was on my shoulder. â€Å"Just breathe. You’re going to be okay.† Everyone started to share with me how cheerleading has helped them get over their anxiety. Many shared inspiring words of how amazing they thought I was to come with no experience and to work hard. This memory will always be my favorite one from high school, and we weren’t even performing. It was one group of people who shared their love and self improvement with one another, and to be proud of the goals accomplished as one. To see how much I have grown from my past and to see how much other people have seen me grow is something I will always want to continue to share in this world. Cheerleading has opened my eyes to show that there are always people who care about you. There will always be someone to support you through your worst times. I now have the strength to focus on myself and realize it’s not selfish. It not only benefits me, but the people around me. I’m proud to say that I am happier, healthier, and learning how to love myself. Now, I try my best to talk to someone first because I know it will only help in the end. To this day, I still have the loving words written to me on my nightstand.

Marketing Analysis of 3D Printing

Marketing Analysis of 3D Printing 3D Systems is currently a South Carolina based corporation focused on manufacturing and design of one of the most discussed and popular innovations of the modern world 3D (three dimensional) printers. In fact, this company is recognized to be the inventor of the concept of 3D printing.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Marketing Analysis of 3D Printing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The corporation was founded in May of 1993. This is a holding company and it functions with the help of subsidiaries of the USA, Asian-Pacific area, and Europe. The price range for the 3D printers manufactured by 3D Systems varies from less than 1000 USD to almost one million. The company’s main business is focused on solutions concerning design and manufacturing not only of 3D printers, but also print materials, custom parts for professional and nonprofessional consumers; these materials include ceramics, metals, plastics, a nd edibles (3D Systems Corp (DDD), n. d.). Besides, 3D Systems provides a number of additional devices such as scan-to-CAD (computer aided design), inspection and freedom modeling tools. The engines the company’s printers are based on are various. Among them there are SLS (selective laser sintering), MJP and CJP (multi jet and color jet printing), FTI (film transfer imaging), SLA (stereolithography), and finally plastic jet printing known as PJP. These printers are designed to work with a wide range of materials and their blends. Moreover, 3D Systems provides a number of specially developed software tools such as Cubify and Geomagic that bring more opportunities for design and creativity in application of 3D printing. These software tools allow manipulations with scanners, creation of and work with 3D content and CAD packages. The professionals of 3D Systems have a goal to democratize adoption of products and services provided by the company. The specialists are committed to the increase of simplicity and affordability of the suggested goods to please a wider range of professionals and consumers.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Due to the efforts of 3D Systems 3D printing will soon stop being the prerogative of professional producers or designers, but move to homes and educational facilities (3D Systems Corporation: Annual report on form 10-K, 2013). The main acquisition challenge associated with the industry 3D Systems Corporation competes in is integration of cost-effective solutions and introduction of savings in production and services. The two main competitors of 3D Systems are HP and Stratasys. Currently, the experts agree that even though the whole 3D printing industry experienced a massive growth of revenues over the years between 2010 and 2014, and 3D Systems benefited the most, the future seems to be more favorable for S tratasys (Stoffel, 2015). There are several bases for such conclusion. First of all, Stratasys employs a clever approach to acquisitions, it recently merged with Objet and Makerbot, and joined forces are definitely going to make the corporation stronger in the long run. Besides, the company has accumulated what can be viewed as a war chest of funds, which can be spent on a powerful marketing campaign or as resources to attract better specialists in the industry and strengthen the business even more. Finally, Stratasys has the largest number of 3D printers installed in the world which means that in the future this company will gain the largest income selling proprietary 3D printing materials (Stoffel, 2015). At 3D Systems it is believed that the best way to become successful in the industry that has so many applications a designer has to be able to offer a wide range of technologies for all kinds of consumers (Heller, 2014). This way, 3D Systems provides a number of tools and differe nt kinds of printers specialized on various tasks.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Marketing Analysis of 3D Printing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is where Hewlett-Packard becomes a serious threat because this company’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology is a very adjustable and flexible product that can work with a variety of tasks and materials. Currently, HP is focused on the development and modification of this technology in order to make it even more advanced and be able to modify elasticity, strength, texture and color of printed objects. Overall, HP is a very serious competitor that should not be underestimated as it has a large budget and an impressive team of developers who are empowered by decades of work with 2D printing. 3D Systems is aware of the potential threats posed by its main competitors Stratasys and HP and still has several years before their innovation and design strate gies will hit the market. 3D printing is one of the world’s most successful markets because it is applicable and extremely useful for a number of fields among which there are aerospace, automotive, health and medicine, and a variety of electronic and fashion accessories. In aerospace and automotive field 3D is popular because it can provide light and enduring details of complex shapes. In healthcare 3D printing allows creation of customized means such as prosthetics, bones, organs; besides, it allows modeling of organs, tumors and veins for better visibility. Moreover, in the sphere of fashion and entertainment this technology allows printing various toys, customized action figures, and accessories.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List 3D Systems Corp (DDD). (n. d.). Reuters. Retrieved from reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=DDD 3D Systems Corporation: Annual report on form 10-K. (2013). 3dsystems.com. Retrieved from 3dsystems.com/files/downloads/DDD%20-%202013%2010-K.pdf Heller, S. (2014). 3D Systems Corporation (DDD) Stock: Is Hewlett-Packard  Company a Massive Threat? Retrieved from fool.com/investing/general/2014/11/06/3d-systems-corporation-ddd-stock-is-hewlett-packar.aspx Stoffel, B. (2015). Forget 3D Systems Corporation, I’m Buying Stratasys, Ltd. Stock  in 2015. Retrieved from fool.com/investing/general/2015/01/12/forget-3d-systems-corporation-im-buying-stratasys.aspx

How to Teach Reported Speech to Students

How to Teach Reported Speech to Students Teaching students reported or indirect speech can be complicated by the all the changes that are required when moving from direct speech into reported speech. First off, students should understand that reported speech is quite useful in conversational English as relating what someone has said using quote and unquote is awkward at best. A further aspect of reported speech is encouraging students to use other reporting verbs beyond say and tell. Introducing the Concept to Students Start with Tenses Start with simple examples in which changes are only made in tense. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech Tom said, I enjoy watching action movies.becomes Indirect Speech Tom said he enjoyed watching action movies. Direct Speech Anna told me, I went to the shopping mall.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me she had gone to the shopping mall. Move on to Pronouns and Time Expressions Once students have understood the basic concept of stepping one step back into the past when reporting in the past, they can easily begin to make the minor changes in pronoun and time expression usage. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech The teacher said, Were working on the present continuous today.becomes Indirect Speech The teacher said we were working on the present continuous that day. Direct Speech Anna told me, My brother Tom has been to Paris twice this year.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me her brother Tom had been to Paris twice that year. Practice Provide students with a chart of the principal changes in reported speech (i.e. will - would, present perfect - past perfect, etc.). Ask students to practice the reported speech by beginning with a reported speech worksheet  or by asking them to change sentences from direct to reported speech. Once students have become comfortable with direct to indirect speech transformations, practice reporting through the use of interviews as in this reported speech lesson plan.As students become familiar with the reported speech, introduce a wider range of reporting verbs to help students move post say and tell. Advanced Issues Once the basics have been understood, there are a few more advanced issues to discuss. Here is a quick outline of some of the more problematic aspects of the reported speech that students might find confusing. Reporting Tense: Says instead of Said - Sometimes, in the moment of speaking a speaker may use the present tense to report what has been said. In this case, there is no change in the tense. However, changes in pronouns apply. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher says we are going to work on the reported speech on page 121.Tom: I think this is a great idea!Peter: Andy, I didnt understand.Andy: Tom tells us he thinks its a good idea.Other Reporting Verbs: Advise / Instruct / Etc. Infinitive of Purpose - A number of reporting verbs use the infinitive of purpose to express the idea, rather than using a transition of the tense. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher instructed us to work on reported speech and turn to page 121.Teacher: I think you should hurry up and finish the activity.Student 1: I didnt understand.Student 2: The teacher advised us to hurry up and finish the activity.

Analysis Paper (Article) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis Paper (Article) - Essay Example There is an allegation of conspiracy between the lawyers to prevent the truth from coming out. Here, the jurors were instructed by the judge to enjoy their much awaited business trip and prepare for the next trial, while the two lawyers were summoned by the judge to clean-up their act and settle their issues while awaiting for the continuation of the trial. Thus, in the scenario presented by the author, it is clear that the chief prosecutor is remiss of his sworn duty when he tried to conceal the name of the next witness who is scheduled to give his testimony. According to him, the government had only promised to provide names of the witnesses within one day prior to their testimony. He further added that this will prevent the ensuing of a debate and avoid another stupid argument. However, the district attorney tried his best to settle for a compromise. He manifested his intention to provide a written record of his protest of the manner such case was prosecuted as he claims that mate rial evidence have been withheld in delay for a prolonged period of time. The fact that the prosecution failed to provide the names of the witness shall make the cross-examination process less effective.

EVOLUTION Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EVOLUTION - Term Paper Example The creation theory of evolution theorized that the infinite life forms in the Earth were created by God. Moreover, the creation theory is of the opinion that all life forms have remained unchanged since creation. Consequently, much of the 17th and 18th century biology in Europe focused on the description of animals and plants with no explanation on how they came to being. Carolus Linnaeus is hailed as a first class scientist who developed the classification system for identifying living things. To this end, Linnaeus identified animals and plants based on modes of reproduction and physical appearance. Evidently, Linnaeus used the binomial nomenclature system in naming the plants and animals. Consequently, the Latin concept of genus and species was developed. However, the late 18th century saw the emergence of new evolutionary concepts that suggested that life forms were not fixed. George Louis Leclerc (Comte de Buffon) a French naturalist and mathematician, was credited with stating that living things changed in the course of time (Loxton, 2010). Incidentally, he theorized that these changes were attributed to environmental influences. Leclerc believed the Earth’s age was over 6,000 years and estimated it be at least 75,000 years (Loxton, 2010). Moreover, Buffon theorized that humans were related to the apes. In addition, he is credited with cl aiming that species could achieve change in the course of generations. To this end, Buffon is envisaged as a man who advocated for the explanation of living things through natural laws, as opposed to theological doctrines. Jeane Baptiste Chevalier de Lamarck is the pioneer evolutionist who publicly revealed his theories on the processes that led to biological change. However, his theories have been construed as a great misconception. Evidently, Lamarck theorized that microscopic organisms came into being through spontaneity from inanimate materials. As a result, the organisms evolved or

Postmodernism, Hyperreality and the Hegemony of Spectacle in New Hollywood Essay Example for Free

Postmodernism, Hyperreality and the Hegemony of Spectacle in New Hollywood Essay After the screening of The Matrix on its first release, a dear cousin of mine, film connoisseur and avid fan of classical movies, spontaneously made the following comment: â€Å"This is an entirely new cinema to me! † If anything, The Matrix is a clear marker of cultural change. A film with state-of-the-art production values like this is bound to elicit in us the belated realization of how slow our response has been to the cultural products of an entirely transformed film industry, that of New Hollywood. My cousin’s casual and unwitting remark reflects the embarrassment felt by both professional critic and layman alike in coping with contemporary movies, especially when we still tend to approach New Hollywood products with the standards of the Old Hollywood cinema. Because of our adherence to tradition, we still tend to look for those classical values of â€Å"development†, â€Å"coherence† and â€Å"unity† in narratives only to find with disappointment that narrative plots become thinner, that characters are reduced to one-dimensional stereotypes and that action is carried through by loosely-linked sequences, built around spectacular stunts, dazzling stars and special effects. Narrative complexity is sacrificed on the altar of spectacle† (Buckland 166) as today’s blockbusters turn out to be nothing but calculated exercises in profit-making, all high-concept, high-gloss and pure show. Similar cries of warning about the loss of narrative integrity to cinematic spectacle have been voiced at different periods, usually at times of crisis or change in the history of the American cinema. One could cite, for example, Bazin’s disdain at the â€Å"displacement of classicism† by the baroque style, marking the end of the pure phase of classical cinema. His coined term, â€Å"superwestern, †designates the â€Å"emergence of a new kind of western† (Kramer 290), that, according to Bazin, â€Å"would be ashamed to be just itself, and looks for some additional interest to justify its existence—an aesthetic, sociological, moral, psychological, political, or erotic interest† (150-1). Similarly, in 1957 Manny Farber, taking his cue from Bazin’s superwestern, laments the â€Å"disappearance of this [classical] roduction system and the closing of action-oriented neighborhood theaters in the 1950s†. He claims that directors like Howard Hawks â€Å"who had flourished in ‘a factory of unpretentious picture-making’ were pushed towards artistic self-consciousness, thematic seriousness, and big-budget spectacle â€Å"(Kramer 293, emphasis added). A decade later, Pauline Kael too expresses her fears at the disintegration of filmic narrative which she attributes to the abrasion of traditional film production in general. She laments not only the emphasis on â€Å"technique† â€Å"purely visual content,† and â€Å"open-ended, elaborate interpretations† of the experimental and innovative art film of the New American Cinema, but as Kramer puts it, she was equally critical of the experiences facilitated by Hollywood’s mainstream releases. The lack of concern for coherent storytelling on the part of producers and directors in charge of the volatile and overblown process of filmmaking was matched by the audience’s enthusiastic response to spectacular attractions and shock effects, irrespective of their degree of narrative motivation. 296) Voices of dissatisfaction were heard at another major turn in the history of Hollywood, that is in the late 1970s, when the â€Å"unprecedented box-office success of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), signaled Hollywood’s aesthetic, cultural and industrial re-orientation towards movies with more emphasis on special effects and cin ematic spectacle† (Kramer 301). Unlike the classical movies produced on the assembly line under the studio regime (films that respected narrative integrity and refined story ideas into the classical three-act of exposition, complication and resolution), the products of New Hollywood, says critic Richard Schickel, seem â€Å"to have lost or abandoned the art of narrative. [Filmmakers] are generally not refining stories at all, they are spicing up ‘concepts’ (as they like to call them), refining gimmicks, making sure there are no complexities to fur our tongue when it comes time to spread the word of mouth†(3). Contemporary cinema has come to depend so much on shrewd marketing and advertising strategies that its pictures, as Mark Crispin Miller points out, â€Å"like TV ads, aspire to a total ‘look’ and seem more designed than directed† (49). The difficulty that critics nowadays face with films like The Matrix and the new situation in Hollywood, is not only unlike the layman’s inability to assess â€Å"any recent Hollywood film as a discreet textual artifact that is either ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than the artifact produced under the studio regime,† Cook and Bernink note (99). It has also to do with regarding â€Å"the textual form of recent Hollywood as expressive of changed production circumstances that lead to a different kind of textual artifact†(ibid. ). In other words, as we move on in our globalized, high-tech age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to regard any single movie as a self-contained, autonomous text. On the contrary, as Eileen Meehan contends, it has become imperative to look upon any New Hollywood mainstream release â€Å"always and simultaneously as text and commodity, intertext and product line† (31). In order to revise our critical standards and respond effectively to the new status of the contemporary Hollywood movie, we need to grasp the dramatic changes that the American film industry has undergone in the post-classical period, which started right after World War II and culminated to a point of radical transformation in the post-1975 period, which has eventually come to best warrant the term New Hollywood. These changes have been lucidly described in a number of historiographic studies (Ray 1985, Balio 1985, 1990, Schatz 1983, 1993, Gomery 1986, Bernardoni 1991, Corrigan 1991, Hillier 1992, Wasko 1994, Kramer 1998, Neale and Smith 1998, Cook and Bernink 1999) which collectively shed ample light on the completely new situation defining New Hollywood. What has drastically changed is both the ways movies are made and the ways in which Hollywood has been doing business. After the government’s dismantling of the â€Å"vertically-integrated† studio system, the industry turned to producing and selling motion pictures on a film-by-film basis, resulting in the shift of power from studio heads to deal-makers (agents), in the rise of independent producers/directors, and in a more competitive and fragmented movie marketplace (Schatz 9). To the rise of TV and the emergence of other competing media technologies (VCRs, Cable and Satellite TV) Hollywood responded with a re-orientation towards blockbuster movies, â€Å"these high-cost, high-tech, high-stakes, multi-purpose entertainment machines that breed music videos and soundtrack albums, TV series and videocassettes, video games and theme park rides, novelizations and comic books† (Schatz 9). Despite the â€Å"increasingly fragmented but ever more expanding entertainment industry – with its demographics and target audiences, its diversified multimedia conglomerates, its global(ized) markets and new delivery systems†, the calculated blockbuster, as New Hollywood’s feature film, remains the driving force of the industry (ibid. ). This is testified by the monumental success of the blockbuster at the box-office. Schatz cites Variety’s commissioned study of the industry’s all-time commercial hits, in which only 2 movies of the classical period appear to have reached the top, whereas â€Å"90 of the top 100 hits have been produced since 1970, and all of the top 20 since Jaws in 1975†(9). The big-budget, all-star, spectacular hits of the late fifties and early sixties (such as The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Cleopatra, or Dr. Zhivago) have some sizable profits to show for (all in the vicinity of $25-to $50 million). By the standards of their age, they were considered colossal box-office successes; however, by today’s standards they seem quite puny contestants to the post-75 era of super-blockbusters which generate record-setting grosses, well beyond the $100 million barrier (always in constant dollars). And such a figure applies only to theatrical rentals, which accounts just for a percentage of the total revenue of a movie which also finds outlets in ancillary markets. he industry’s spectacular growth and expansion (its horizontal integration) is to a great extent owing to the take-over of the majors (Paramount, Fox, Columbia, MCA/Universal) by huge media empires (Warner/Time Communications, Murdoch’s News Corporations, Sony, Matsushita, respectively) forming multimedia conglomerates with diverse interests in the domestic and the global market, with holdings in movies, TV production, cable, records, book and magazine publications, video games, theme parks, consumer electron ics (both software and hardware). These huge corporations provide financial muscle for the multi-million production budgets of the blockbusters (since the production costs have themselves sky-rocketed), but also market muscle for promotion. Marketing and advertising strategies have been the key to the unprecedented success of the New Hollywood movie since Jaws: through pre-selling, usually cashing in on the popularity of a novel published prior to production, a movie becomes a media â€Å"event† by heavy advertising on prime-time TV and the press, as well as by the massive simultaneous release in thousands of mall-based multiplex theaters. Calculated blockbuster productions are carefully designed to ensure the greatest potential profit not only through extended theatrical rental (sequels, re-issues, remakes, director’s cut), but also though capitalization in ancillary markets: soon the movie will come out on videocassette, audio-cassette, novel, computer game, and the increasingly popular since the mid-nineties, DVD, let alone an extended market career through by-products ranging from the CD movie soundtrack to T-shirts and toys, which contribute to the impressive surge in profits. It becomes obvious thus why contemporary movies cannot be conceived of as individual entities and cannot be separately examined from their economic intertext that renders them part (or rather the driving belt) of a larger entertainment machine and advertising campaign. Expensive blockbusters, which in the early days of the post-classical period were the exception and now, as Schatz states, have become the rule, â€Å"are the central output of modern Hollywood. But what, aside from costs, are their dominant characteristics? How are they able to attract, engage and entertain millions of people? asks Warren Buckland (166). The blockbuster syndrome has also changed the movies’ mode of address. Designed around a main idea, what is called â€Å"high concept†, a blockbuster becomes increasingly plot-driven, increasingly visceral, kinetic, fast-paced, increasingly reliant on special effects, increasingly â€Å"fantastic† (and thus apolitical), and increasingly targeted at younger audiences. And significantly enough, the lack of complex characters or plot [as for example] in Star Wars opens the film to other possibilities, notably its amalgamation of genre conventions and its elaborate play of cinematic references. But while these movies enjoy a great popularity among younger audiences, as their huge box-office success indicates, the loss of narrative integrity to spectacle, and the sense of escapism and triviality usually associated with high-gloss, star glamour and dumb show, has driven most academics or old-cinema cinephiles to summarily shun or dismiss blockbusters as merely calculated exercises in shameless profiteering. Warren Buckland thinks that these arguments about the loss of narrative potential in the contemporary feature film are overstated and attempts to reverse the â€Å"unhelpful and hostile evaluative stance† (167) of the critics towards the blockbuster. Focusing on a typical action-adventure blockbuster, Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Arc heproposes adopting an analytical and descriptive approach to these films, an approach dubbed by Bordwell and Thompson â€Å"historical oetics. † Part of the argument he makes is that â€Å"historical poetics† can account for the popularity of movies with such a broad appeal (and allows us to take them seriously as aesthetic, cultural objects) â€Å"especially because movies are examined in terms of their individuality, including their response to their historical moment, in which style and composition respond to the historical questions posed in the culture in which the film is made† (168-169). In other words, the issue is not so much about the so-called death of narrative—because narrative is still alive and well—but the emergence of a new kind of narrative, whose meaning is conveyed not through traditional narration but by emphasis on spectacle and the visual impact of the pictures which provide additional narrative pleasure and have changed the patterns of viewer response. Thus Buckland’s concluding remark that â€Å"it is perhaps time to stop condemning the New Hollywood blockbuster and to start, instead, to understand it,† carries more merit than we have been ready to admit. My intention in this essay is to extend the argument about the narrative/ spectacle issue in the direction suggested by Buckland, but within a wider, cultural perspective. The supremacy of the visual and the spectacular over traditional narration in the textual form of contemporary movies is not only expressive of the changed production values and the text’s signifying practices; it is also reflective of the changed cultural patterns and lifestyle habits in postmodernity. Classical cinema favored traditional storytelling because it provided a univocal interpretation of life and reflected a uniformity in entertainment habits: cinema was the predominant form of entertainment, as â€Å"the movies attracted 83 cents of every U. S. dollar spent on recreation† (Ray 26). Its nineties counterpart, with its emphasis on the sensational and the spectacular, on episodic action and generic diversification, is a postmodern cinema entertaining the possibility of multiple signification and the hyperreality of the visual, subject to an increasing commodified experience. As Anne Friedberg puts it, â€Å"today the culture industry takes on different forms: Domestic electronics (fax, modems, cable television) follow the interactive model of dialogic telephone communications. The personal computer turns the home user into a desktop publisher, the microwave turns every cook into an instant gourmet, the Walkman transforms each listener into a radio programmer. Both production and reception have been individualized; the culture industry no longer speaks in a univocal, monolithic voice. 189) This proliferation of entertainment venues offered to the individual points to a general malaise often regarded as the central feature of postmodernism, what Featherstone terms â€Å"the fragmentation and overproduction of culture—the key-feature of consumer culture† (76). As Jameson says, â€Å"in postmodern culture, ‘culture’ itself has become a product in its own right; the market has become a substitute for itself and fully as much a commodity as any of the items it includes within itself† (1991 x). In the â€Å"cultural logics of late capitalism,† Jameson’s code-phrase for postmodernity, what is commodified is not simply the image, which has acquired central role in contemporary culture but lived experience itself. As Guy Debord diagnoses in The Society of the Spectacle, â€Å"everything that was lived directly has moved away into a representation (1983 np). Baudrillard, as Friedberg notes, also talks about â€Å"the same phenomenon—representation of the thing replacing the thing—and extends it into a mise-en- abime of the ‘hyperreal,’ where signs refer only to signs. Hyperreality is not just an inverted relation of sign and signifier, but one of receding reference, a deterrence operation in the signifying chain†(178). A part in this process of the commodification of the sign and the derealization of the real has been played by media technologies, especially electronics, as Vivian Sobchack points out: The postmodern and electronic â€Å"instant† constitutes a form of absolute presence (one abstracted from the continuity that gives meaning to the system past/present/future) and changes the nature of the space it occupies. Without the temporal emphases of historical consciousness and personal history, space becomes abstract, ungrounded, flat—a site for play and display rather than an invested situation in which action â€Å"counts† rather than computes. Such a superficial space can no longer hold the spectator/ user’s interest, but has to stimulate it constantly in the same way a video game does. Its flatness—a function of its lack of temporal thickness and bodily investment—has to attract spectator interest at the surface. In an important sense, electronic space disembodies.

History of Fireworks :: Chine Fireworks Explosives Essays

History of Fireworks The birthplace of fireworks is generally recognized as China, with the first explosive mixture found being black powder, during the Sung dynasty ( 960-1279 ). It is said that a cook in ancient china found that a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal was very flammable and would explode if enclosed in a small space. The first application of this technology was for entertainment. The Chinese are still the leader in the production of fireworks. Once the recipe for black powder was perfected, they found that it was easily used as rocket fuel, and they made hand carved wooden rockets in the shape of a dragon, in the sixth century. These rockets shot rocket powered arrows from their mouth, and were used against the Mongol invaders of 1279. The principle behind these rockets is still used in rocket powered fireworks today. Through adventurous explorers, the knowledge of making fireworks spread west, through Arabia in the seventh century. The Arabs called the rockets Chinese arrows. The Mongols are credited with taking Chinese rockets and gunpowder to Europe around 1241. The first record of their use in Europe are around 1258. Until the 19th century, fireworks lacked a major aesthetically essential characteristic: color. Pyrotechnicians began to use a combination of potassium chlorate and various metallic salts to make brilliant colors. The salts of these metals produce the different colors: strontium burns red; copper makes blue; barium glows green; and sodium, yellow. Magnesium, aluminum, and titanium were found to give off white sparkles or a flash. Even though China invented the fireworks, Europe surpassed them in pyrotechnic development in the 14th century, which coincides with the time the gun was invented. Shot and gunpowder for military use was made by skilled tradesmen, later called firemakers, who also made fireworks for peace or victory celebrations. During the Renaissance, two European schools of pyrotechnic thought emerged: one in Italy and the other at Nuremberg, Germany. The Italian school of pyrotechnics emphasized elaborate fireworks, and the German school stressed scientific advancement. Both schools added significantly to further development of pyrotechnics, and by the mid-17th century fireworks were used for entertainment on an unprecedented scale in Europe, being popular even at resorts and public gardens. In the mid-19th century fireworks became popular in the United States. Injuries associated with fireworks, particularly to children, eventually discouraged their unrestricted use. As a result, in many states of the U.

Vietnam

BIBLIOGRAPHY Author| URL| Retrieved| Skwirk| From the arrival of the first fleet, Vietnam was a divisive issue * Australia deployed a total of 60000 troops, 521 died and 3000 were wounded * In reflection, Vietnam is described as the cause of the greatest political and social dissent and upheaval * Many draft resisters, conscientious objectors, and protesters were fined or jailed, while soldiers met a hostile reception on their return home.The experience of Vietnam lingered with the soldiers for long after they returned home. Social Impacts: * Public response went through several stages during the war. * Early on, when Australia’s involvement was minimal with only the role of trainingVietnamese soldiers, public opinion was less critical, troops only sent to physically fight in 1965, they were just training South Vietnamese soldiers form 1962 onwards * Many, as was the trend in the early 60s, began to embrace the US connection and hence support resulted * Most agreed with the th reat of the communist domino affect(although Menzies masterminded a lot of this), which also led to the acceptance of Australian involvement in the early 60s * Also, in the early 60s, Australia was still very conservative, and the idea of rebellion and challenging authority only set in later in the decade and the 70s.This meant that early on many cautioned from questioning the government’s decision. * As much as war wasn’t ideal, in the early parts, before conscription, Australian’s accepted the war or paid little attention as the Australians fighting were soldiers who joined the Army * The socially divisive impact of Vietnam showed up post 1964 when the National Service Act was introduced. This had the ramifications of sending unwilling Australians to war. Draft resistors who were deemed to not have legitimate excuses were jailed on failing to comply with the National Service Act * They were released in 1972 when Whitlam ended conscription * The amendment of th e Act in 1965 confirmed the inevitable that national servants could be deployed overseas, to Vietnam. * First time, an Australian was conscripted to fight outside of Aust. erritory * Socially, some disagreed more with the notion of conscription than the war itself, this maybe hinted at the fact that communist discontentment was still strong and the Domino theory was real, just not strong enough to make people overlook personal freedoms. * This led to anti-war and anti-conscription protest groups including * DENNIS TEXT * YCAC-Youth Campaign Against Conscription. 1964-7 SOS-Save our Sons. * Formed by parent groups who didn’t want their sons sent to Vietnam. * Formed in 1965, Australia wide, mainly female dominated agency. * Women were accused of being ‘bad mothers’ and communists when they approached MPs or authority * SOS saw many Liberal voters shift to the Labor camp. SOS was one of the first theatres that allowed women expression. * Basically saw ‘everyd ay suburban’ women become nvolved in politics and taking action to influence political decisions * The women’s movement of the 70s benefitted from anti-conscription lobby groups such as SOS * Draft Resistance Movement. Formed 1968 * The Committee for Defiance of the National Service Act. Formed 1969 * Vietnam Moratorium Movement * Formed in 1970, by then Vietnam was the longest war we had served in * Took form of peaceful protests involving many Australians from all states.This highlighted the growing opposition, and to some extent shocked the government * ALP, and Gough fed of this massive public demonstration * Moratorium events were on a massive scale and largely peaceful, these demonstrations seemed to have a larger impact on government and political change. The government realised that, non-radical Australians had strong feelings about the war. * Really instigated the decline of Aust. Involvement in the war * The fact that every night, the horrors of Vietnam were broadcasted on Aust. elevision sets, the movement gathered motion * The Movement galvanised the people, the less radical who wouldn’t normally protest, protested such was the intense feelings about the war * This movement actively campaigned for two causes; the abolishment of conscription and the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam * Politically influenced the Labor parties win of the 1972 election, ending 23 years of Liberal rule * Interestingly, only in 1969 however did an opinion poll suggest that a majority opposed the war itself.Up until then, the outcry was mainly rooted in the issue of conscription rather than conflict itself * However, as unrest grew, many anti-conscript groups became anti-war in the hope that only the end of the war would end conscription. * Another massive catalyst for anti-conscript protests was the reporting of the war. * Vietnam is considered the first ‘live war’ where the atrocities occurring were being broadcasted into Australian liv ing rooms. This made sending young Australians into war against their will even more illegitimate. This also led to a questioning of whether this was was ‘just’, or being undertaken in the most human way possible. * This had the effect of also turning many anti-conscript groups, to become anti-war altogether. The fact that Vietnam was ‘live’ also helped the demise of the Liberal government as people had direct evidence to question what the government was getting Australia and particularly our young men into. Following the Labor victory, and Gough Whitlam’s order for withdrawal, social impact for the returning soldiers would ensue * Trade Unions also opposed the war, they labelled it ‘blood for Dollars’ or ‘diggers for dollars’ because they believed we were only fighting to the US would maintain its investment into Australia. This view was not entirely correct * By the latter stages, the larger majority of opposition came fro m university students. At first, the reaction was modest and many just viewed the war along their preferred political party lines * However, following conscription, uni students began to come out in full force.Some of this sentiment began to be shared in the wider community as the war progressed into the late 60s * One of the major social impacts of the war was the fate of the returned soldiers. Due to the public nature of Vietnam and the atrocities that Australian people witnessed the veterans were not lauded in the same fashion as previous war vets * This was a massive change from before when the ANZACs were treated as heroes * The tragedy of this was that as much as the Aust.People were effected by what they saw, the actual soldiers were scarred far more significantly by what they experienced first hand. * This compounded the negative experience of the returned soldiers as not only where they marginalised they had no-one but each other that could understand what they’d gon e through. * These impacts lasted for much longer after the final Aust. Troops returned in 1972. * This has implications for continuity and change as following Vietnam, for the first time national servants and soldiers weren’t treated with the same admiration.The ANZAC reverence that seemed to follow previous veterans didn’t occur with our Vietnam veterans. * This was a massive change in our attitudes towards the army Political Impacts: * On face value, it’s easy to say Vietnam cost the Liberal party government after 23 years of rule * However on closer inspection it is clear that the political consensus on Vietnam varied between 1965-1972 * White Australia Policy ended in 1972 * We opened our borders to non-white refugees. This in itself was cohesive and divisive.Many of these refugees fought alongside our soldiers but we still had this fear of non-white immigrants threatening the ‘Aust. Way of life’ * Discontent politically only really came with M enzies introduction of Conscription on 1964. * However, Holt won the November 1966 election in a massive victory, highlighting that social discontent was not at its peak. Conscription peaked later * The political effect of Vietnam also became more prominent post 1967 when Edward Gough Whitlam became leader of the opposition. He lead a fierce campaign against conscription which captivated a swing of Liberal voters to the Labor party * This is when the protest movement as well peaked and was in full flight * 1969 election, under Gorton highlighted the swing of voters. From the ALPs flogging of 1966 they increased their share in the House of Reps from 41 to 59 seats highlighting the change in votes. * The Liberal advantage was only 7 seats now * Whitlam would go on to win the 1972 election with promises of withdrawal from Vietnam and the abolishment of conscription. The political landscape was finally shifting to progressivism after many years on conservative rule. This also began to h appen on a state level * WA, NSW, TAS and SA all went from Liberal to Labour in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war * The Liberal’s National Services Act, was the single policy that really brought about the downfall of the Government * In terms of Political party support, the all major parties supported the war early on * Liberal support continued throughout * The DLP were very anti-communist so also supported the war. The ALP slowly began to oppose the war, as a means of attacking the government and also their disapproval also spiked when conscription was introduced * Gough Whitlam no doubt used the divisive nature, and ALPs disapproval of Vietnam to the most advantage. * Trade Unions also opposed the war, they labelled it ‘blood for Dollars’ or ‘diggers for dollars’ because they believed we were only fighting to the US would maintain its investment into Australia. This view was not entirely correct VIEWPOINTS ON THE VIETNAM WAR At the start of the period(1962) the perspective was that sending willing soldiers(not conscripts) was fine * Early on, when Australia’s involvement was minimal with only the role of training Vietnamese soldiers, public opinion was less critical, troops only sent to physically fight in 1965, they were just training South Vietnamese soldiers form 1962 onwards * We had to protect ourselves from the communist menace as well as honour our obligations as port of SEATO and ANZUS * Menzies masterminded a lot of the fear that convinced us that war was right * We were still quite conservative, trusted govt decisions * The gruesome nature of the war was not yet revelealed At Menzies announcement of sending troops in 1965, many different perspectives on the conflict emerged. Some more valid than others. * A lot thought communism was worth fighting against but found that conscripting to do so undermined other rights that were held dearly in a modern democracy * This fuelled anti-conscription p rotests as the reality that young men unwillingly could be sent to Vietnam. Most anti-war groups played on the injustice that this exemplified. * Importantly, the horrors of Vietnam exposed through media had not yet peaked so the atrocities that were taking place weren’t as well known about which led to that not being such a big anti-war factor. Some factions believed that training up a military was justifiable as we had done from 1962-65, but fighting for the South Vietnamese in what was really Vietnam’s civil war was not right. The idea of getting involved in other people’s business emerged * The Government claimed that as part of our SEATO agreement we were obligated to assist the fight against communism in South East Asia, i. e Vietnam. * The grey area with this is that, what does ‘assisting’ constitute? Was training the army enough or should we be physically fighting for the anti-communist forces. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE * CHANGE * During and fol lowing Vietnam, Australians began to question authority more. Beforehand, they were well trained to trust the governments judgement, but what Vietnam revealed was that governments aren’t always right *This questioning came to full voice during the Vietnam protests but overall the experience changed Australia into a more progressive country that no longer was content to swallow everything the government told them * This represented change as previously, we were much more conservative * The exposure to ‘speaking out’ gained from the late 60s during the Vietnam years also may have had some impact on the social movements that picked up in the late 60s, early 70s(lagging behind America) * Women probably benefitted most as movements such as SOS, gave them a voice and they continued to use that to instigate change in the 70s * The general shift from conservatism was highlighted politically as well as socially. Vietnam played a major factor in Whitlam and the ALP winning government for the first time in 23 years in 1972. Political change * The change was also solidified on a state level as WA, NSW, SA and Tasmania all elected Labor governments in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war.Highlighting the progressivism emerging Australia wide * People wanted change with Vietnam, and to an extent the White Australia policy and Whitlam delivered that. Also note that many too were uncomfortable with the end of White Australia as well. * The attitudes towards soldiers and veterans changed significantly for the worst. No longer where they held in such high esteem amongst society * The tragedy of this was that most of them were in desperate need for help and received little to no support other than from the RSL. * This was the first ‘live war’ as some called it. For the first time, citizens had a relatively clear understanding of what occurred in the battlefields * CONTINUITY * The war emphasised the continuation of ANZUS.We stayed wi th the US right till the end effectively with us withdrawing in ‘72, a year before the last US troops * Despite the political outcry, politically we were still militarily tied to the US. We still are today * Second war with the US, first Korea then Vietnam GROUPS AFFECTED * ABORIGINALS * Aboriginals were exempt from national service, many didn’t even know their birthdate so including them in a fair ballot was difficult * The Department for Labour and National Service (DLNS) pushed for the removal of exemption but it never happened as only some states had accurate birth records and some didn’t making conscription difficult. * VETERANS * Received little support after the war * Weren’t lauded as national heroes like the ANZACS were * Suffered from mental trauma * YOUTHS The war inspired them and affected them greatly to make them speak out on a large scale for the first time in history * One of the largest groups that embodied the progressive culture that was emerging * Vietnam, and the distrust of government fuelled their rebellion against authority during the 60s and 70s * FAMILIES * WOMEN * Had a greater influence on politics for the first time * Definitely, they gained confidence from their first exposure to speaking out COHESION: * Youths voice * Youths gained a greater expression in society; this was seen by their major roles in demonstrations. * This impact however can also be seen as a divisive argument because a link to the new ‘teenage rebellion’ that followed Vietnam is quite noticeable * Women’s new status * Similarly to youths, women gained a new voice and expression during Vietnam. * Never before had they been so active in making their views on political policies known. This was the first time effectively where their actions influenced policy this was seen by the effect groups like SOS etc. had on shifting power form the Liberals to the ALP. T * his newfound voice gave them confidence to push for other reforms in the women’s movement. * The Vietnam war changed the status of women in society forever and widely this was accepted as a good thing. * Progressive mindset * Vietnam brought out a new progressive mindset in Australians that had barely seen the light of day under the conservative rule of the Menzies government. * Vietnam made people more judgmental and progressive in their thinking as the war made them realise that they shouldn’t swallow everything the government tells them. This change was evident by the swing of voters to the ALP and away from Liberal * Australia was never going to be as conservative * This was on the whole a good thing but opinion would still be split as the overall effect was that now government’s had less influence as people were now thinking for themselves * This idea of ‘thinking for yourselves’ scared some conservatives. * The change was evident in Federal politics with Whitlam’s election in 1972, but also on a state level the shift was taking place * WA, NSW, TAS and SA all went from Liberal to Labour in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war * DIVISIVE: * The treatment of returned Servicemen * This was a major issue Many of the retuned soldiers weren’t lauded as heroes * Some of them felt the cold treatment was unjust especially seeing some were forced(conscripted) to fight * Conscription: * Most divisive aspect other than maybe the war itself * Divisive on a few levels * Limited rights * Sent soldiers into one of the most atrocious battlefields, the public knew this because of what the media showed them * Left them scarred even after they came home. * The War itself: * Chemical weapons * The media brought this side of the war to peoples living rooms * Scarring of soldiers * Conscription * Removal of rights * ethics * How ethical was it to be getting over involved in Vietnams own civil

Freakonomics Crime and Abortion Essay

Mohammed 2 egalized abortion would have been 50% more likely than average to live in poverty. † This statistic that researchers discovered reinforced the belief that if a woman did not want to have a child because of personal reasons or because she was not ready and if there was an abortion ban, the child would most likely grow up in a poor household and have a higher risk of engaging in criminal activity once they reached adulthood. It is reasoned that because abortion was legalized twenty years before, an entire generation of children with a higher risk of becoming criminals were not born and that’s why the crime rate dropped. The fallacy that is apparent when attempting to explain a crime drop with an abortion increase is that the two are simply correlated and not necessarily causal. The authors refute that claim by providing evidence that there is a link between abortion and crime. â€Å"Sure enough, the states with the highest abortion rates in the 1970s experienced the greatest crime drops in the 1990s, while states with lower abortion rates experienced smaller crime drops† (4). The evidence regarding state data is pretty compelling especially when put in the framework of post-Roe v. Wade and the generational gap that follows the Supreme Court decision. Although there seems to be a link between abortion and the crime rate, it all comes down to how a person’s own beliefs will influence them to interpret the data. Conclusions can be drawn to support different viewpoints and once the moral implications of abortion are taken into consideration, then it no longer becomes a logical argument. Works Cited Levitt, Steven D. Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics. New York, Harper Collins, 2005.

Information About the Magic Mineral Shungite

Information About the Magic Mineral Shungite Shungite is a hard, lightweight, deep black stone with a magic reputation that is well exploited by crystal therapists and the mineral dealers who supply them. Geologists know it as a peculiar form of carbon produced by metamorphism of crude oil. Because it has no detectable molecular structure, shungite belongs among the mineraloids. It represents one of Earths very first oil deposits, from deep in Precambrian time. Where Shungite Comes From The lands around Lake Onega, in the western Russian republic of Karelia, are underlain by rocks of Paleoproterozoic age, approximately 2 billion years old. These include the metamorphosed remains of a great petroleum province, including both the oil shale source rocks and bodies of crude oil that migrated out of the shales. Evidently, once upon a time, there had been a large area of brackish-water lagoons near a chain of volcanoes: the lagoons bred enormous numbers of one-celled algae and the volcanoes produced fresh nutrients for the algae and sediment that quickly buried their remains. (A similar setting is what produced the abundant oil and gas deposits of California during Neogene time.) Later in time, these rocks were subjected to mild heat and pressure that rendered the oil into almost pure carbon- shungite. Properties of Shungite Shungite looks like especially hard asphalt (bitumen), but its classified as a pyrobitumen because it does not melt. It also resembles anthracite coal. My shungite sample has a semimetallic luster, a Mohs hardness of 4, and a well-developed conchoidal fracture. Roasted over a butane lighter, it bursts into splinters and emits a faint tarry odor, but it does not easily burn. There is a lot of misinformation circulating about shungite. It is true that the first natural occurrence of fullerenes was documented in shungite in 1992; however, this material is absent in most shungite and amounts to a few percent in the richest specimens. Shungite has been examined at the highest magnification and found to have only vague and rudimentary molecular structure. It has none of the crystallization of graphite (or, for that matter, of diamond). Uses for Shungite Shungite has long been considered a healthful substance in Russia, where since the 1700s its been used as a water purifier and disinfectant just as we use activated carbon today. This has given rise over the years to a host of overstated and poorly supported claims by mineral and crystal therapists; for a sample just do a search on the word shungite. Its electrical conductivity, typical of graphite and other forms of pure carbon, has led to a popular belief that shungite can counteract the supposed harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation from things like cell phones. A producer of bulk shungite, Carbon-Shungite Ltd., supplies industrial users for more prosaic purposes: steelmaking, water treatment, paint pigments and fillers in plastic and rubber. All of these purposes are substitutes for coke (metallurgical coal) and carbon black. The company also claims benefits in agriculture, which may be related to the intriguing properties of biochar. And it describes the use of shungite in electrically conductive concrete. Where Shungite Gets Its Name Shungite gets its name from the village of Shunga, on the shore of Lake Onega.

The Antacid Rocket Experiment

The Antacid Rocket Experiment If your child has tried the Naked Egg Experiment, he has seen how the chemical reaction between calcium carbonate and vinegar can remove an eggshell. If he’s tried The Exploding Sandwich Bag Experiment, then he knows a little bit about acid-base reactions. Now he can harness that reaction create a flying object in this Antacid Rocket Experiment. With some open space outdoors and a little caution your child can send a homemade rocket into the air by the power of a fizzy reaction. Note: The Antacid Rocket Experiment used to be called the Film Canister Rockets, but with digital cameras taking over the market, it’s become harder and harder to find empty film canisters. If you can film canisters, that’s great, but this experiment recommends you use mini MM tubular containers or clean, empty glue stick containers instead. What Your Child Will Learn (or Practice): Scientific inquiryObserving chemical reactionsThe Scientific Method Materials Needed: Mini MMs tube, a clean used-up glue stick container or a film canisterHeavy paper/card stockTapeMarkersScissorsBaking sodaVinegarTissuesAntacid tablets (Alka-Seltzer or a generic brand)Soda (optional) Tissues are not a necessity for this experiment, but using tissue can help to delay the chemical reaction long enough to give your child some time to get out of the way. Make Baking Soda and Vinegar Rockets Have your child sketch out and decorate a small rocket on a piece of heavy paper. Ask her to cut out the rocket and set it to the side.Help your child cut the â€Å"hinge† holding the cover to the MMs tube so it comes on and off. This will be the bottom of the rocket.Give her another piece of heavy paper and have her roll it around the tube, making sure the bottom of the rocket is easily accessible. Then, have her tape it tightly in place. (She may need to cut the paper to make it fit better).Glue the rocket she drew and cut out to the front of the tube to make the whole thing look more like a real rocket.Move outside to a clear, open area and open the containerFill it one-quarter full with vinegar.Wrap 1 teaspoon of baking soda in small piece of tissue.Warning: You must act quickly in this step! Stuff the folded tissue in the tube, snap it shut and stand it up (with the lid down) on the ground. Move away!Watch the rocket pop right up into the air after the tissue dissolves in the vinegar. Make an Antacid Rocket Use the same rocket from the baking soda and vinegar experiment, making sure to clean it thoroughly first.Take off the cover and put an antacid tablet into the tube. You may have to break it into pieces to get it all to fit. You can use generic antacid tablets but Alka-Seltzer works better than generic brands.Add a teaspoon of water to the tube, snap on the cover and put the rocket - lid down - on the ground.Watch what happens once the water dissolves the antacid tablet. What’s Going On Both rockets are working under the same principle. A baking soda and vinegar mixture and the water and antacid combination create an acid-base chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas. The gas fills the tube and the the air pressure builds to a point where it is too great to be contained. That’s when the lid pops off and the rocket flies up into the air. Extend the Learning Experiment with different types of paper and how much baking soda and vinegar you use. It may help make the rocket fly higher, faster, or even be coordinated to a countdown.Ask your child compare how the different rockets worked. Which worked better?Substitute soda for water in the antacid rocket and see if it works differently.

Urban Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Urban Politics - Research Paper Example Poverty in the United States is seen to vary to a great degree depending on a number of factors; some of these factors include an individual’s education level, age, family living arrangements, area of residence and labor force attachment. Poverty is noted to generally be more highly concentrated in some areas as compared to others. This aspect is clearly demonstrated by the fact that poverty levels are found to be considerably higher in the center of cities as compared to a city’s suburban areas. In addition to this, poverty rates are also found to be about three times as high in the poorest states as compared to the least poor states. Of note is that it is normal for some neighborhoods to be characterized as having a higher concentration of poverty as compared to others. According to Gabe (2015), the incidence of poverty in central city areas is generally found to be considerably higher at 19.1% than that in suburban areas 11.1% within metropolitan areas. As at 2013, nonmetropolitan areas were recorded as having poverty rates averaging about 16.1%. A typical pattern in poverty rates in metropolitan areas is for the poverty rates to generally be highest in the center city areas. These high rates of poverty then proceed to gradually drop off as one moves towards the suburban areas before experiencing a subsequent increase with increasing distance from the core of the metropolitan area. Ever since President Lyndon Johnson first moved to declare a War on Poverty in the United States and the subsequent passage of the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act, the optimism that first surrounded these measures is noted to have rapidly faded over the years. Both the Federal and the State governments have over the years designed and implemented a number of policies designed to help to reducing poverty rates but these have been met with moderate success. The rather unwelcome corollary that has resulted from rural-urban

Why Offenders Abuse Children Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Why Offenders Abuse Children - Assignment Example Incest abuse should be punished more severely than stranger abuse. This is in part because of the effects of incest on the victim and the biological facts behind incest. Since the offender is usually close to the victim, the victim might experience frequent and greater trauma since the reminder is always close. Incest also leads to lack of trust on family members causing a rift in the family. Incestuous abuse usually last for a long period causing more stress and damage than a stranger case would have done. In most cases, the perpetrators use threats to prevent the victims from disclosing the abuse. This usually adds to the trauma since the victim keeps the traumatic experiences to themselves, which according to therapists does not help a traumatic situation but makes it worse.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Child sexual abuse is a complex issue especially when attempting to determine why adults engage in sexual activities with young children. Although there does not exist a clear or a distinct answer to this question, such acts may be committed under two major grounds that include psychological forces and social structure. With regard to psychological forces, the attacker may be motivated by emotional congruence, blockage or sexual arousal. Emotional congruence incorporates satisfying an emotional need by relating sexually to the child. Sexual arousal takes place when the subject child becomes the source of sexual satisfaction. Additionally, blockage may take place when other alternative sources of sexual gratification are unavailable.

I will tell you later Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

I will tell you later - Essay Example Secondly, the paper will focus on the relationship between food and water security and possible solutions to the security of the two. In the conclusion, there will be focus on the solution to safeguard food and water security in both developed countries and developing countries. Food-Water nexus Water and food are extremely connected; the impact of the quality and proper usage of the two is made necessary by the utilization of water resources and practice of good agricultural methods. Water is very essential in the food industry. In the primary production stage, it is used in irrigation, livestock watering and aquaculture. According to Krittasudthacheewa 3, agriculture consumes about 70% of all surface water supplies whereas domestic and industrial usage takes up the remaining percentage. It also performs a main role in the preparation and processing stage where it is used as a means of transport, as an ingredient for washing, pasteurizing, cooling and steam production. In order to p roduce, process and prepare food, a lot of energy is required. Energy is used in the transportation, treatment and production of food. Water enables the production for hydroelectric power which aids in the food production process by provision of energy. ... Poor agricultural practices have resulted to loss of soil due to run off water and had also caused water logging because of hard pans. The pollution of animal waste and water used in irrigation leads to the pollution of surface and ground water. Irrigation flows carry salts, nutrients and pesticides which contaminate the water sources and alter the eminence of the water. The pollution has negative impact on food production especially since the polluted water is to be reused in future. Utilization of polluted water in the food production chain results in low quality and insufficient agriculture produce. It also impacts on the cost of production that rises due to increased costs in the purchase of the necessary curatives needed for maximum production and protection of the impact of the infected produce. It is therefore necessary to practice good agricultural methods while at the same time regulating water usage. Protection of water sources from pollution and unnecessary use normally re sults in increased productivity. The relationship between water and food production should be well balanced to ensure the continued supply for food and likewise existence of suitable and non-polluted water. The disturbance of one has tremendous impacts on the other. The two depend on each other for maximum productivity which is essential to cater for the ever increasing human needs and wants. Impact of food production and water security Water security is the access to safe water for consumption and sanitation. Food security on the other hand is the availability of safe, sufficient and nutritious food to live a healthy life. Interdependence between water and food is the reason why agriculture is responsible for much water exploitation. During food production,

Self-management of patients with continuing care needs

Self-management of patients with continuing care needs In essence, patient self-management in relation to their health, encompasses a patients ability to handle an illness experience, to cope with undergoing treatment or make suitable lifestyle changes (Mulligan 2009). The concept was introduced to the health field by Kate Lorig who reached conclusions patients health and subsequently health service costs connected to them being an inpatient can be reduced by encouraging self-management (Lorig 2001). These ideas are utilized in the generic long-term conditions model which emphasizes patients are not happy to be in hospital unless it is completely essential (DOH 2010), (Appendix 1). Effective self-management is also widely thought to reduce the likelihood of hospital admission, and many argue patients prefer to be given access to the information necessary to facilitate a respected voice in decision making processes (Gibson et al 2004, Newman et al 2004). Linked to self-management is also the concept of self care described as a requirement for success in controlling many chronic illnesses including diabetes (Berg 2007), and asthma (Cortes 2004). Self care is also described holistically as essential to the well-being of those with chronic illnesses with continuing care needs in nursing homes (Bickerstaff et al 2003), in the community, (Sharkey 2005), in hospital, intermediate, or rehabilitative settings (Singleton 2000, Coleman 2004). Conversely, low self-esteem, low health literacy, and/or deprivation are barriers to utilization of self-management strategies (Williams et al 2011). Those most likely to participate in self-management are young, middle-class females (Coben 2005). Whilst those lacking literacy skills may not manage as well and family care-giving actions differ between ethnic and socio-economic groups (Larsen 2009). People who suffer a disproportionally high prevalence rate for chronic conditions are those with learning disabilities (Presho 2009) and ability to comprehend and enact management regimes might affect the efficacy of education initiatives with this population. The Expert Patient Program, a 6 week, lay-led course teaching self-care, is a prominent initiative expected to be more cost effective than usual care (NSF 2010, Richardson 2007). Although the EPPs effectiveness to enable improvements in patients self management ability regarding physical symptoms has been disputed (Gately 2007). Perhaps this is due to complex combinations of assorted medications, lifestyle adaptations, and bothersome side effects which are implicated as adversely affecting patients perseverance with management plans (Barlow 2002, Touchette 2008). GP business care plans developed in the UK propose introducing courses using self-management handbooks could reduce expenditure on asthma management (Appendix 4). Yet Cortes argues such asthma education programs neglect specific needs of older people identified as price of medication, problems undertaking management plans, poor quality of life, and troubles accessing health care (Cortes 2004). These opinions contradict the development of Lorigs ideas that self-management enables the best quality of life, but since healthcare information has the greatest effects on outcomes when it is goal orientated (Bodenheimer 2002, Barlow 2002, Kralik et al 2004), maybe older peoples self management goals need more attention. Concurrent with increased longevity and lifestyle factors like poor diet, obesity and related chronic disease is predicted to increase greatly in prevalence (Wang 2010, Mulligan 2009, Armstrong 2005, and Keen 2010). Diabetes has well recognized links between weight and illness progression (Patel 2003), and has also recently been blamed for advancing cognitive deterioration through vascular dementia (Luchsinger 2001). Therefore tightening diabetes control in early stages may vastly improve future health as illness limits mobility, and dementia/retinopathy hamper potential to access self-care resources (Sinclair 2000). Notably due to widespread sensitivity over weight, healthcare professionals should be non-judgmental towards patients with chronic conditions, especially considering psychological and psychosocial implications connected to adjustment to an illness, including guilt, fear, stigma, confidence loss, and isolation (Presho 2008). It was observed during a TIDE (Type 1 Diabetes Education) diabetes specialist nurse led session that those with busy manual working lives find it difficult to take time to self-manage by adjusting insulin to activity levels or establishing a routine of carbohydrate counting and insulin adjustment. Others find calculations following the DAFNE (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating) structure, hard to understand. Several patients who had suffered previous traumatic hypoglycemic episodes felt anxious about reducing insulin intake, and reported differences in advice from GPs, and nurses as well as confusion over new insulin analogues and devices. This indicates understanding patients as unique individuals, timing and convenience of interventions are important. Furthermore providing clear, consistent advice appeared allied to development of positive attitudes towards nurses education interventions. Studies suggest structured education in type 1 diabetes has improved patients maintenance of glucose targets and a reduction in occurrences of hypoglycemia changed peoples attitudes to education (Heller 2009). Also those with greater understanding of and confidence in adjusting insulin appropriate to activity, with less anxiety over following a fixed regime to avoid hypoglycemia achieve top self-management in type 1 diabetes (Whitehead 2008). On a stroke rehabilitation unit, patients with multiple conditions, particularly diabetes, asthma, and Parkinsons had restricted motor function. Yet nurses could provide encouragement for patients to express concerns, to relieve some psychological distress or help empower patients with the required self-confidence to make decisions (Costello 2009). Patients expressed difficulty with waiting for physios to engage in movement improving circulation, but self-administered some medication and carers views and choices underpinned care planning as recommended in Essence of Care benchmarks, via regular carers group meetings (DOH 2010). Chronic disease is the leading cause of death worldwide (Larsen 2005) and literature establishes dependent peoples needs are equality, rehabilitation, and independence. Furthermore security and dignity are important to older peoples mental health (Presho 2008). On a local scale Manchesters operational plan illustrates emergency admissions for asthma is greatest in the North East and prevention is being addressed with annual health checks provision improving recently. Whilst the national continuing care framework commenced in 2007 promises to ensure national equity of access to NHS funding for continuing care (NHS 2010). Significantly Our Health and Wellbeing Today (DOH 2010) suggests national morbidity is greatest from circulatory disease, which is particularly high in lower socioeconomic groups. These groups also have the greatest prevalence of anxiety and depression and have increased likelihood of having chronic conditions such as diabetes, which has led enquiring researchers to suggest depression as a factor that precipitates and perpetuates chronic conditions (Chapman 2005). Socioeconomics is also reported to determine medication adherence in asthmatics (Kaptain 2009). Victim blame might occur if expectations patients follow structured management programs ignore social contexts of illnesses, (Lindsay 2009) so emphasis should be on developing realistic goals. The kings fund review of self-management highlights that patients perceptions of self management differ according to how they receive a diagnosis, and these attitudes can change over time. Differentiation was noted between diagnosis of asthma or diabetes, where it was felt greater clarity existed, than of Parkinsons disease for which diagnosis takes longer (Coben 2005). Disclosing a medical condition could also have implications for patients quality of life, and a study of anecdotes from Parkinsons patients demonstrated those with confidence to disclose their illness subsequently achieved greater measured anxiety reduction (Presho 2008). Notably research shows patients fret significantly about psychological consequences of physical disability (Miller 2006). Concealment could be due to perceived stigma and misconceptions about the disease or depression about associated decline, physical disability and being a burden (Moore Knowles 2006). Alternatively challenges of symptom management such as sleeping problems and fatigue, sexual dysfunction and cognitive impairment might lead to depression (Schrag, Jahanshahi, Quinn, 2001; Schreurs, De Ridder, Bensing, 2000). Similarly emotional responses to asthma can impact upon attitudes towards taking prevention medication which enables control, and alongside non-adherence patient stress increases leading to depression, anxiety or inability to cope (Kaptain 2009). Interventions aimed at managing pre-diabetes and mild asthma, that miss-managed, could contribute to the development of diabetes mellitus and chronic airway disease (Murphy 2007), are well developed and promoted by the charities Diabetes and Asthma UK (Appendix 3). It is especially important to promote good control since poor control negatively impacts on the affected persons quality of life and also their families (NICE 2008). Also individuals reportedly favor self-management because controlling their health affords greater sense of autonomy (Corben 2005). The EPP has incentives of providing greater knowledge about treatment decisions with the underlying expectancy patients have authentic understanding of their own conditions, and greater recognition of patients roles should give them self-confidence to protect future health (DOH 2001). Illness progression might be reduced by lifestyle changes, therefore nurses have a role in promoting patients independence, well-being, and in encouraging active ageing (NMC 2009). In 2005 the Kings fund report highlighted that major challenges to promoting self management were; developing professionals supportive skills, improving services and information available to facilitate patients self-management, and becoming more flexible to fit compatibly around patients other commitments (Rosen 2005). Dorothea Orem created a comprehensive model of nursing which can be applied to individuals to assess level of self-care ability (Appendix 2). Orem conceptualizes nursing as doing for a disabled person with a self-care deficit, or assisting them/family to do for their selves (Orem 2003). Further to this Orem formulated three systems of nursing to apply, of which partially compensatory nursing seems appropriate for stroke patients, whilst a supportive-educative role suits structured education sessions (i.e. TIDE). The effects of an education intervention delivering the DESMOND program (Appendix 5) for patients with type 2 diabetes to newly diagnosed patients over a period of 6 hours measuring cost effectiveness and quality adjusted years are reported by a randomized trial to have positive effects particularly on reducing patients weight and the amount they smoke (Gillett 2010). Issues of self-efficacy and self-management prominent features of the DESMOND that have been found to build patients confidence (Davies 2008, Skinner 2006) are key to developing a sense of well being in rehabilitation (Presho 2008). Nevertheless, concerns nurses might have include doubts about the patients being experts after what is actually a relatively short training period (Lindsay 2009). Moreover, there could be internal conflicts for nurses between applying structural protocols (i.e.) or professional ethics, and accepting a patients wish to continue a harmful behavior or health neglect. Farrell argued in 2004, active teaching on conditions and problem-solving to address medical issues better promotes self-efficacy than passivity (Farrell 2004). Yet it is important patients are equipped with enough knowledge to act as concordant partners and are supported with taking medications (Murphy 2007) (Appendix 7). Involving relatives in demonstrations of using metered dose inhalers is helpful with dependent asthmatic elders because direct patient observation by nurses supervising medication is often impossible once they have returned from hospital, (Schlenk 2004). Ability to encourage self-management requires nurses to listen, and respond to the concerns and preferences of people in their care (NMC Code), as well as sharing in a way people can understand, the information they want or need to know about their health (NMC code). This may include providing written supplementation to verbal information such as education leaflets or management diaries, and allowing adequate time for adjustment and decision making. Patients whose physical function has deteriorated significantly and continues to decline may be in a too highly dependent illness phase to benefit from strategies to return to normal function (Larsen 2009). Cochrane authors conclude evidence showing contracts improve patient adherence to health-promotion in adult asthma studies is limited (Bosch-Capblanch et al 2007), which suggests patients intentions when agreeing to follow advice is unreliable for predicting management outcomes. Patient self-reports are a simpler method of gleaning non-adherence information, are inexpensive, and possible in most settings (Schlenk 2004 cited by Ruppar 2008). Research observes patients with Parkinsons disease using Alexander Technique had a reduction in depression and improved capacity to manage their disability (Clark 2003). The essence of care is about getting to know and value people as individuals, (NMC Guidance for the care of Older People 2009) and nurses can recognize and respect peoples role in their own care. Evidence also suggests motivational interviewing can reduce depressive attitudes towards illness situations and to encourage positive action to improve health outcomes, therefore perhaps GPs and practice nurses should increase these services (Home and Carr 2009). Nurses can arrange social workers to speak to the patient, to engage with their family, find out their needs, compile appropriate packages of care and request doctors provide explanations of the mechanisms causing a stroke in dedicated wards which usually provide speech and language therapy, occupational, and physiotherapy. Dedicated stroke wards are shown by studies to improve outcomes after two years of patients who were independent prior to their stroke vis-à  -vis ADLs without lengthening stay (Glader 2001 and Cochrane Stroke Unit Trialists Collaboration 2007). It can be a stressful time for patients and family having to make continuing care decisions; therefore patients might seek support from others who have been in their situation (Help the Aged 2009). Gathering information allows patients to manage their illness alongside doctors, and sharing plans with friends and family, explaining their importance, can help them to follow them, there are purportedly around 6 million carers in the UK combining caring with paid employment, saving  £57 billion a year in care costs (Campling 2006, Costello 2009). Not every patient has supportive family members so professionals and expert patients, and charities can be significant. Especially interventions tailored to marginalized patients needs such as X-PERT education for type 2 diabetics undertaken in Urdu (Diabetes UK 2009). In critical phases of illness, which may be the point where a patients continuing care needs begin, patients relatives main needs are for information, support and proximity (Henneman 2002). In the case of Parkinsons disease conveying to patients families the hope that there are strategies for managing the condition, particularly in early stages, might reduce fear, negative impact and sense of stigma (Moore Knowles 2006). Managing pain and discomfort is often considered a challenging aspect of caring, and psychological aspects also cause pain. Total illness effects make it important for patients to have supportive family members to listen to them to find out potential causes/remedies (Costello 2009). Practitioners should be sensitive to needs of carers as well as patients, and evidence suggests nurse-led stroke carer sessions, responding to individuals concerns would be helpful (Smith 2004). A study using the stress and coping model (Lazarus and Folkman) to identify a relationship between sleep deprivation and depression in family care-givers found that individuals self-reports underestimated their problems (Carter 2003). People may feel that because they know their relative they are capable of best comprehending and providing for them, and this could lead to guilt about accepting assistance with care (Nolan 2000). Research into respite care suggests family carers expressed needs for information, skills training or education and emotional support (Hanson 2001). To decrease feelings of powerlessness and support independence for those with chronic conditions Larsen proposes five interventions to recommend to carers (Appendix 6) (Larsen 2009). Peak-flow monitoring, allergen avoidance, and the Buteyko method of symptoms control for mild asthma, based on correctly dosing steroids to maintain safe asthma control are found to be effective (McKeown 2003), as are diet, exercise, supplements and anti-diabetic medication as preventative strategies for type 2 diabetes, reducing heart attacks, microvascular disease, and death (Patel 2003). Though some studies suggest effectiveness reduces 1-3 months post intervention (Siminerio 2007). Subsequently insight into self-management adherence remains complex and under-researched, but supports identifying barriers to adherence and taking action to remove these (Touchette 2008). In liberating the NHS the symbiosis of adult social care, carers, and the NHS is recognized and promises are made to improve the convenience of services to patients (DOH 2010). To reiterate, according to the UK governments policy overall evidence suggests self-care results in beneficial outcomes and better service utilization, but this is largely based on primary studies as systematic reviews are reportedly too time consuming (DOH 2005-7). Systematic reviews also indicate clinical benefits for diabetic and hypertensive patients (Jordon and Osborne 2007). Although psychological benefits to patients appear widely well recognized (Lindsay 2009), patient self-determination requires more than medical management, (Greenhalgh 2009). Contrary to commissioners intentions studies show attendance at health services does not necessarily decrease following education sessions, although this may not indicate poor management as it could reflect success of techniques teaching patients confidence to converse with clinicians (Griffiths 2007). Since GPs are also accused of stalling EPP progress, dubious about its efficacy and under referring patients (Jordon Osborne 2007) it follows that nurses might take a key role in involving patients. The basis behind the EPP being best practice are aims to increase patient beliefs in health services efficacy, personal confidence, and ability to self manage (DOH 2010), therefore nurses are following policy implementing programs RCTs suggest achieve these outcomes (DOH 2005-7). Finally research highlights the importance of having clearer, comprehensive, shared definitions of self-management between health disciplines to reduce patient confusion and so professionals collaborate better (Godfrey 2011). References Armstrong, D. (2005) Chronic Illness: Epidemiological or social explosion, Chronic Illness, 1: 26-7 Barlow, J. H., Sturt, J., and Henshaw, H. (2002) Self-management interventions for people with chronic conditions in primary care: arthritis, asthma diabetes: Health Education Journal; Vol 61, issue 4, p 365-78 Barlow, J., Wright, C., Sheasby, J., Turner, A. and Hainsworth, J. (2002) Self-management approaches for people with chronic conditions: a review, Patient Education and Counseling, Vol 48, p 177-87 Berg, G.D., Wadhwa, S. (2007) Health Services outcomes for diabetes disease management program for the elderly: Disease Management; Volume 10, p 226-234 Bickerstaff, K. A., Grasser, C. M., McCabe, B. (2003) How elderly nursing home residents transcend losses of later life: Holistic Nursing Practice; Vol 17; Issue 3, p 159-165 Bodenheimer, T., Lorig, K., Holman, H., Grumbach, K. (2002) Patient Self-management of Chronic Disease in Primary Care: The Journal of the American Medical Association; Vol 288, Issue 19, p 2469-2475 Bosch Capblanch X, Abba K, Prictor M, Garner P (2007) Contracts between patients and healthcare practitioners for improving patients adherence to treatment, prevention and health promotion activities. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2): Art. No.: CD004808 BTS/SIGN (2008) British Guideline on the Management of Asthma: British Thoracic Society (21.02.11) http://www.britthoracic.org.uk/Portals/0/Clinical%20Information/Asthma/Guidelines/sign101%20revised%20June%2009.pdf Carter, P. (2003) Family Caregivers Sleep Loss and Depression Over Time: Cancer Nursing; Volume 26 Issue 4 p 253-259 Campling, F., and Sharpe, M. (2006) Living with a long-term illness: Oxford University Press Chapman, D. P., Perry, G. S, Strine, T. A., (2005) The Vital Link Between Chronic Disease Depressive Disorders: Preventing Chronic Disease, Public Health research, practice and policy; Volume 2, No 1 Clark, Chambers, C. (2003) Parkinsons disease: Self-Care Measures You Can Take: American Holistic Nurses Guide to Common Chronic Conditions: John Wiley Sons; New Jersey Cochrane (2011) Organised inpatient (stroke unit) care for stroke: Stroke Unit Trialists Collaboration; The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 3 http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000197.html Corben, S., and Rosen, R. (2005) Self-management for Long-term Conditions, Patients perspectives of the way ahead; The Kings Fund: UK Cortes, T., Lee, A., Boal, J., Mion, L., Butler, A. (2004) Using focus groups to identify asthma self care and education issues for elderly urban-dwelling minority individuals: Journal of Applied Nursing Research; Volume 17, Issue 3, p 207-212 Costello, J. (2009) Caring for someone with a Long-term Illness: Manchester University Press; UK Davies. M. J., Heller, S., Skinner, T. C., Campbell, M. J., Carey, M. E., Cradock, S., Dallosso, H. M., Daly, H. Doherty, Y. Eaton, S. Fox, C., Oliver, L., Rantell, K., Rayman, G., Khunti, K. (2008) Effectiveness of the diabetes education and self management for ongoing and newly diagnosed (DESMOND) programme for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: cluster randomised controlled trial: British Medical Journal, Volume 336, No 7642 DOH (2010) BENCHMARKS FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF CARE: Benchmarks for Self Care; Essence of Care 2010 (Access 02.03.11) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_119968.pdf DOH (2010) Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS; Her Majestys Stationary Office, UK DOH. (2010) Generic Long Term Conditions Model; (Accessed online 14/02/2011) http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Longtermconditions/DH_120915 DOH (2005-7) RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SELF CARE SUPPORT http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_081251.pdf DOH. (2010) Self Care Local Business Case Tool User Guide http://selfmanagement.co.uk/self-care-resources (Accessed Online 14/02/2011) DOH. (2010) Making the case for self care education: http://selfmanagement.co.uk/self-care-resources DOH (2001) The expert patient: a new approach to chronic disease management 21st century Gately, A., Rodgers, C., Sanders, A. (2007) Re-thinking the relationship between long term condition self-management education and the utilization of health services: Social science and Medicine; Volume 65, p 934-945 Farrell, K., Wicks, M, Martin, J. C. (2004) Chronic Disease Self-Management Improved with Enhanced Self-Efficacy: Journal of Clinical Nursing Research; Volume 13, No 4, p 289-308 http://cnr.sagepub.com/content/13/4/289.full.pdf+html (04.04.11) Gibson PG, Powell. H., Coughlan J., Wilson A. J., Abramson M., Haywood, P., Bauman, A, Hensley MJ, Walters, E. H. (2004) Self-management education and regular practitioner review for adults with asthma: The Cochrane Library Issue 2. Chichester: John Wiley Sons. Gillet M, Dallosso HM et al (2010) Delivering the diabetes education and self management for ongoing and newly diagnosed (DESMOND) programme for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: cost effectiveness analysis; British Medical Journal, Issue 341, p 4093 Glader, E. L., Stegmayr, E., Johansson, L., Wester, P. O. (2001) Differences in Long-Term Outcome Between Patients Treated in Stroke Units and in General Wards: Journal of Stroke; Volume 32, p 2124-2130 Godfrey, C. M., Harrison, C. M., Lysaght , R., lamb, M. (2011) Care of self care by other care of other: the meaning of self-care from research, practice, policy and industry perspectives: International Journal of Evidence Based Healthcare; Volume 9, Issue 1, p 3-2 Greenhalgh, T. (2007) Chronic Illness, beyond the expert patient: British Medical Journal; Vol 338, p629-31 Griffiths, C., Foster, G., Ramsay, J., Eldridge, S., Taylor, S. (2007) How effective are expert patient (lay led) education programs for chronic disease? British Medical Journal: Volume 334, p 1254-1256 Hanson, E. J., Tetley, J., Clarke, A. (2001) Respite care for frail older people and their family carers: concept analysis and user focus group findings of a pan-European nursing research project: Journal of Advanced Nursing; Volume 30, Issue 6, p1396-1407 Heller, S., Shearer, A. Bagust, D., Sanderson, A, and Roberts, S. 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(2010) Six years on: delivering the Diabetes National Service Framework; Parliamentary Under State Secretary for health National Clinical Director for Diabetes; DOH (19.02.11) http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_112511.pdf Kaptein, A. A., Klok, T., Moss-Morris, R., Brand, L. P. B. (2010) Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology: No 10, p 194-199 Kennedy, A., Reeves, D., et al (2007) The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a national lay led self care support programme for patients with long-term conditions: a pragmatic randomised control trial J. Epidemiol. Community Health Issue 61; pages 254-261 Larsen, P., Lubkin, I. M. (2009) Chronic Illness: Impact and Intervention; 7th ed, Jones Bartlett, Canada Lindsay, S., Virjhoef, H. J. M. 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