Potassium Essays - Potassium Compounds, Dietary Minerals

Potassium potassium puh-tas'-ee-uhm The chemical element potassium is a soft, light, silver white metal. It is a member of the alkali metals, a group (IA of the periodic table) with similar physical and chemical properties. Its chemical symbol is K (from kalium, the Latinized version of the Arabic word for alkali). Its atomic number is 19, and its atomic weight is 39.098. Potassium was first made from potash, or potassium carbonate (K(2)CO(3)), which had important industrial uses in glass manufacture well before 1700. (It was often mistaken for sodium carbonate, or soda. Only their different sources prevented total confusion, potash being originally derived from the ashes of vegetable materials, whereas sodium carbonate is most often found as a mineral.) On Oct. 6, 1807, Sir Humphry Davy connected a piece of solid potash to the poles of a battery and caused the release of a metal at the negative pole. He named the metal potassium and determined many of its physical and chemical properties. Chemical Properties Alkali metals are the most reactive metals. In general, their reactivity increases with increase in atomic size. Because of their electron arrangement and relatively large size and small charge, potassium atoms are conducive to ion formation only by ionic bonds. Biological Role Potassium is essential to life. Involved in active transport, the process of moving substances in and out of cells, it constitutes about 0.06% of the atoms in the human body. Whereas sodium ions are found primarily in intercellular fluids, about 99% of the body's potassium lies within the cells. Together, these ions help to regulate cellular osmotic pressure and acidity, or pH, levels. Potassium plays a key role in muscle activity and the transmission of nerve impulses. It is also involved in cellular enzyme functions. An abnormally low level of potassium in blood serum causes cardiac abnormalities, and an abnormally high level leads to a heart attack. Such changes in level, controlled by the kidneys, can result from various diseases. Potassium is present in most food substances, so a potassium-deficient diet is unlikely. Production Potassium is produced in laboratory amounts by electrolytic reduction of fused potassium hydroxide (KOH) or fused potassium chloride (KCl). Other methods include electrolysis of fused potassium cyanide (KCN), heating potassium chloride (KCl) with metallic calcium in a vacuum and distilling the potassium as it is formed, and heating potassium hydroxide (KOH) with iron, aluminum, or magnesium. Because commercial potassium uses are most often also satisfied by more easily recovered sodium, only modest amounts of potassium are produced. One industrial method uses sodium vapor to reduce molten potassium chloride at 880 degrees C. The potassium vapor formed is drawn off and condensed. Potassa potash, from English potash] First appeared circa 1807 : a silver-white soft light low-melting univalent metallic element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature esp. combined in minerals potassium Dutch potassa 'potash' Soft, waxlike, silver-white, metallic element, symbol K (Latin kalium), atomic number 19, relative atomic mass 39.0983. It is one of the alkali metals and has a very low density ? it floats on water, and is the second lightest metal (after lithium). It oxidizes rapidly when exposed to air and reacts violently with water. Of great abundance in the Earth's crust, it is widely distributed with other elements and found in salt and mineral deposits in the form of potassium aluminium silicates. Potassium is the main base ion of the fluid in the body's cells. Along with sodium, it is important to the electrical potential of the nervous system and, therefore, for the efficient functioning of nerve and muscle. Shortage, which may occur with excessive fluid loss (prolonged diarrhoea, vomiting), may lead to muscular paralysis; potassium overload may result in cardiac arrest. It is also required by plants for growth. The element was discovered and named in 1807 by English chemist Humphry Davy, who isolated it from potash in the first instance of a metal being isolated by electric current. Science

Activity and Disengagement theory Essays

Activity and Disengagement theory Essays Activity and Disengagement theory Paper Activity and Disengagement theory Paper Looking at the activity theory, each practice persuades elderly to stay active by proving them with activities such as bingo, quizzes, physical activities, music and sensory activates. I believe from this the practice will be able to ensure that elderly people stay active. This theory relates to the practice because people in this practice have retired, however they still have other things to keep them entertained. Living in this practice will make them become part of the community there. This will make them stay involved with others. The practice will promote and prolong their activities. They will make sure that their clients maintain their relationship with the family and friends. However there are some with physical disabilities, mental health disabilities or learning disabilities who may not be able to participate in those activities. This theory convinces others to participate and to keep fit; however there can be times were keeping all clients fit becomes difficult. There are residents who may disengage themselves in the health and social care setting. This could be because they may have physical or learning disability which may make them unable to take part. There are some resident who choose not to get involved, not to take part in the services or activities available with the rest and to stay alone wanting to disengage themselves. People should respect their views as this is part of the Human Rights. The disengagement theory can also relate to health and social care settings if the setting doesnt have enough money to provide with such services and activities. This will not provide with appropriate facilities and resident may disengage themselves because of that. I have found that people who are lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimers disease, a large US study has suggested. This means that more people die from loneliness than diseases as I found from my research. So if the care setting doesnt provide with activities and make sure that each client is well aware of those services they can take part in, then it will make them feel lonely and they may be at a high risk of developing Alzheimer. This theory can influence some of the client to forget about their family and friends and just to wait for the rest of their lives. However other clients may find it wrong and always keep in mind not to let the disengagement influence them in the setting. Evaluate he nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of the individual. Nature is what we are born with and inherited. This is things like the way we are and our DNA. However nurture is what influences us from outside such as society determine who you are. It is more about what a person is like due to the environment they are in. I have looked at a debate on nature vs. nurture on gay people. It showed the following questions. Are people made or born gay? Are we all straight until our environment or some traumatic event makes us gay or have we indeed had gay feelings for as long as we can remember? Some of the article is shown below. I was born gay! You cant make someone gay no more than you can make someone straight. Of course environmental factors affect our sexuality. You just cant generalize these types of things. Ultimately what you end up doing is trying to figure out how to stop it like its a disease or somethinginstead of trying to help people ACCEPT themselves for who they are and help nurture them into healthy relationships. I was made gay! Might any of these factors (in the life of someone male) contribute towards giving him a gay disposition, or at least make him more inclined to seek the love of men? An alcoholic parent, mother or father; A cold parent, mother or father; Having been in a boys boarding school since about 11. Looking at this article, I have showed both nature and nurture side of the debate. I agree with the nurture side of this debate. I believe that gay people are gay because of their environment and surroundings. Like the boy that said he was made gay because he was surrounded by boys since he was 11 made him have interest in them. However I dont believe this is the right reason for this. I used to go to a girls school and was surrounded by girls from the age of 12 until I left secondary school and I am not a lesbian. But different people feel different about different situations. He mentioned that he didnt get support from parents as they were alcoholics. This can also be the reason as its the environment he is surrounded by. This debate will help gay people in their development as they will get information they need from researchers such as, scientist, psychologist and qualified people. This debate is useful as it creates ownership. If people are the way they are because of the environment, then what makes the environment this? This is because of who we vote for to lead in our communities. Arguments are given to qualify peoples position, so its useful for those people to take part. This will also mean taking responsibilities. Producing arguments helps with the development of the individual. This is because these arguments come from those who are qualified. They will also get money from this and will continue with researching. On the other hand people may feel that they have to take sides, but it all depends on the individual. For example if you have sickle cell anaemia, then there is no nurture part that is affecting your life as you will have to regularly visit the hospital. However the nurture part can affect the development of an individual if they live in a poor country were the transport to getting hospital is hard and treatments are not available. Personality is also something that people debate is either nature or nurture. Here are both of the sides. Personality is Natural This group believes that your personality is result of evolutionary process. You inherit behaviours due to complex interaction of genes. They control your behaviours. So you dont have a free will to act otherwise. Personality is Nurtured This group argues that you dont get your personality inherited. Your mind is a blank slate at your birth. It is your environment, education and culture that make up your behaviours. There are differences on the issue of free will to change your behaviours. Personally I believe that both nature and nurture influenced me on my outcome. Looking at Darwins theory of evolution, he proposed that like physical organs, your personality is result of natural selection for survival of the fittest. You do as your genes dictate. They suggest that fear of death, fear of injury, fear of snakes, shyness, addiction, criminality and sexual orientation are main examples of inheritable behaviours. This debate can take away responsibilities on the individual and make the individual blame it on education, friends and culture. Also gang culture; if people grow up carrying knifes and guns, they are more likely to make their own children do the same thing or even steal. This will make the individual place the blame on the environment, gene or biology.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 60

Essay Example Under the function of talent acquisition, engagement, and retention it was noted that Candlelight handles this function well expect that its incentive plan is not very realistic, which could hamper future retention levels. The evaluation also assessed talent leadership management in Candlelight Company and it was noted that in this regard the company does not give a lot of emphasis to this function since the aggregate score was an average rating. Secondly, the task of decreasing turnover also received an aggregate rating of average, and this perhaps explains why employee morale, training, and development also received less focus, since they also had an aggregate rating of an average. This is to say that by handling issues of employee morale, training, and development in an ‘average’ manner then it means that retention or decreasing of employee turnover is not greatly emphasized on by Candlelight Company (Berger and Berger, 58). This confirms that Candlelight’s strategic talent management needs a re-evaluation. Leadership is an integral function within any organisation and it determines the level of success of any business organisation. Equally, talent management is also under the leadership of certain managers within an organisation and in most cases this leadership is usually a specialty of the human resource manager, however, in other organisations the leadership of talent management is a shared task among various managers (Berger and Berger, 112). From the evaluation carried out on Candlelight it was evident that the leadership of talent management within the organisation received an aggregate score of ‘average’ and this explains why the other functions also received an aggregate score of average. Therefore, it is recommended that Candlelight should train its leaders on talent management practices to ensure that they fully optimize on talent management functions and thereby ensure that the organisation gets

Business Communication - Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Communication - Research Report - Essay Example Skilled migrants are those with work experience and/or formal education. Unskilled workers, in contrast, are those workers with little or no work experience and/or formal education. This report will discuss, firstly, the demographic transition that is taking place in the world today. Secondly, the issue of the future patterns of population growth will be examined. Then, immigration pressures in developed countries will be covered. The changing attitudes towards growth and technological change will also be discussed. Finally, how all of this tied together impacts business communication practices in the world will be discussed. According to RAND (2000, pg. 1), "The dynamics of global population growth differ dramatically across the major regions of the world. In the developed countries, the current annual rate of growth is less than 0.3 percent, while in the rest of the world the population is increasing almost six times as fast. These demographic differences, combined with widening economic disparities, are increasing the pressures of migration from the less-developed to the developed world. How the developed countries respond to the growth of immigration pressures will have a major impact on their demographic and economic futures." One way in which to see this is to analyse the demographic transition model that is presented by RAND. ... Another is to take a look at how attitudes in the world are changing with regard to technology and economic growth (RAND, 2000). The demographic transition model appears as follows: Figure 1: Demographic Transition Stage 1, the situation that has characterized the world throughout most of history, is marked by high death and birth rates. In Stage 2, which began in the West around 1800, birth rates remain steady but mortality rates begin to decline because of improvements that reduce the toll of infectious diseases--the big killer in countries with high death rates. In Stage 3, a continuing decrease in death rates is accompanied by a decline in birth rates. In Stage 4, the situation in the developed world today, there is a rough parity between births and deaths. (RAND, 2000, pg. 1) When Stage 4 occurs, one can see behavioural changes in the population as well. Whereas previous stages mark death more as fate, Stage 4 sees it more as an outcome of one's personal choices. As such, attitudes revolving around childbearing begin to take place. Families cease basing their family size around survival (bearing a large number of children so that the family may survive on) and instead choose to bear a small number of well-education children. This, in turn, marks the family in question's lifestyle and choices regarding where to live (Briggs, 2001; Bogen, 1987; Buenker and Burckel, 1977; and Booth, Crouter, and Landale, 1997). The aforementioned model is based on the Western European experience. However, it holds implications for the rest of the world. Both developed and developing countries can use it as a benchmark from which to base what types of implications can occur

Apple corporate responsibility to the customers Essay

Apple corporate responsibility to the customers - Essay Example According to its vision, the organization has been quite responsive in inculcating the value of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when dealing with the customers. Fundamentally, due to its aspiration to create customer value and employee satisfaction, the organization has developed a ‘Corporate Charity Matching Program’ to keep its employees motivated and driven towards efficiency in rendering quality services to its customers (Apple Inc., 2013; Somo, n.d.). One of the major ethical issues witnessed by Apple when performing its operational activities is often argued to be its rapid innovation concerns. It is in this context that Apple has been focused on inculcating rapid innovations of its products which has not only reduce the span of product life cycle, but has also increased its challenges in terms of customer loyalty and brand awareness. For instance, due to the rapid innovations of its product line, the customers are likely to become unresponsive to the new brands launched along with possess a feel of dissatisfaction due to the decreasing span of product life cycle. Emphasizing on this particular issue, the aim of this study is to identify the initiatives taken by Apple in performing its CSR with efficiency from a customer point of view. The discussion will thus initially focus on studying the CSR initiatives majorly followed by Apple and further emphasize on learning the implications of its CSR initiatives on the customers. Based on the understanding obtained, few recommendations will also be provided for Apple to perform more efficiently when dealing with the customers. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Performed by Apple to Customers Apple acts quite responsibly in incorporating highly efficient codes of conduct with its intention to comply with various ethical responsibilities including all the suppliers and distributors in the organization and therefore ensuring quality throughout its supply chain. Apple also emphasizes on im plementing effective CSR strategies that would integrate greater awareness and responsible conscience among the management in offering highly innovative products to its customers through effective productivity, ensuring profitability for the organization to a large extent (Apple Inc., 2013; Chun, 2011). However, in its marketing practices, the company has been focused on rapid innovations, which has given rise to certain ethical issues in relation to quality standards, privacy assurance, intellectual property rights, customer loyalty and patent law infringement risks among others. For instance, because Apple extensively focused on product innovation at frequent instance, comparatively more than its rivals, it also has to witness substantial pressure in terms of preserving product quality which needs improvement on a consistent basis. Such rigorous emphasis on product quality along with innovation not only requires huge expenditure in the research and development process, but also in creases the risk of quality errors resulting in ethical hazards and customer dissatisfaction. To be illustrated, after the introduction of iPhone 4 by Apple, it was noted that customers had to face various difficulties due to the reception error in the gadget caused because of faulty antenna interference. Apple, in order to resolve the reception problems, provided free bumpers as well as cases for a limited period of time but had to suffer from rising expenditure as well as reducing customer loyalty

British Social Realism

British Social Realism In order to fully understand the origins and ideals behind the British Social Realism movement it is important to not only explore this period of cinema history but to also study the interrelationship between film and other Art forms. Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, articulated in the cinematic and other realist arts, which portray working class activities. The ancestry of realism can be traced back to the 19th century art. With the decline of the Romantic Movement, artists looked to show the world in a more literal way and attempt to move closer to observation and away from the non-representational by creating objective representations of the world based on the observation of contemporary life, such as nature, society, the characteristics of the individual and the nation at large. Realism was independent, including in its subject-matter activities and social classes until that time considered unworthy of representation in fine art. The most articulate development of Realism was in French art, where it concentrated on the work of Gustave Courbet, who used the word realism as the title for a manifesto that accompanied an exhibition of his works in 1855. Ilya Repin, a famous Social Realist said that his art work was aimed â€Å"To criticize all the monstrosities of our vile society† although its influence extended into the 20th cen tury its later manifestations are usually labelled as Social Realism. The latter half of the 19th century has been called the positivist age. It was an age of belief in all knowledge which was driven from science and scientific objective methods. Positivist thinking is obvious in the full range of artistic developments after 1850 from the emphasis on the phenomenon of light, to the development of photography and the application of new technologies in architecture and constructions. The artificiality of both the Romanticism and Classicism in the academic art was unanimously rejected, and necessity to introduce contemporary to art found strong support. New idea was that ordinary people and everyday activities are worthy subjects for art. Whilst Realism in France appears after the 1848 Revolution and expressed a taste for democracy, at the same time in England artists, Realists came before the public with the reaction against the Victorian materialism and the conventions of the Royal Academy in London. Literary Gazette, described Social Realism as â€Å"the representation of the proletarian revolution†. By the 1840s both artists and scientists had come to value Realisms empirical study of nature. It was partly this interest in accurate visual records that first led to the use of the camera obscura as an aid to drawing and the development of photography as a way of fixing its image. The idea of the camera as an instrument of knowledge is a powerful assumption underlying many photographic practices, from 19th-century studies of criminality and mental illness to 20th-century documentarism. With a common ideal uniting many Artists and Scientists you would imagine that you could draw a straight line between Realism, the invention of the photographic camera and Social Realism British Cinema but photography, which was developed to bypass the inaccuracies of the human hand, quickly became ‘corrupted. â€Å"Jonathan Crary has argued that by the 19th century the camera was no longer understood as a model of objective knowledge, but had become part of a whole series of optical toys devised to stimulate subjective and embodied vision, now understood as an active and creative element of visual experience. Following Crary, Geoffrey Batchen argues that early photographers were motivated by romantic desires for traces of nature, as much as the need to know, classify, and possess it. Dr Johnson would doubtless have dismissed such approaches as philosophical hair-splitting. Photographs, after all, seem to mirror the world, or at least a fragment of it in space and time. But the photographers choices—lens, viewpoint, framing, timing—intervene between the object and its image, even when these seem natural or unwittingly made, as in snapshot photographs. Realist images are as much constructed as the most complex studio set; their illusion of transparency enhances their ability to construct and confirm conceptions of reality itself.† Patrizia di Bello As we have seen Realism is a movement that crosses art forms, forming in painting, through the development of photography and emerging again in the developing visual art of cinema. In Italy neorealism was a style of film that refelected the early French Realist ideals and told stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, often using nonprofessional actors. The films mostly contend with the difficult economical and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, reflecting the changes in the Italian psyche and the conditions they faced in everyday life: defeat, poverty, and desperation. The neorealist style was developed by a circle of film critics that revolved around the magazine Cinema. The group included including Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Gianni Puccini, Cesare Zavattini, Giuseppe De Santis, and Pietro Ingrao. The critics attacked the poor quality telefono bianco films of the time and felt that Italian cinema should turn to the realist writers from the turn of the century. The most common attribute of neorealism was location shooting and the dubbing of dialogue. The dubbing allowed for filmmakers to move in a more open mise-en-scà ¨ne. Principal characters would be portrayed mostly by trained actors while supporting members (and sometimes principals) would be non-actors. The idea was to create a greater sense of realism through the use of real people rather than all seasoned actors. The rigidity of non-actors gave the scenes more authentic power. This sense of realism made Italian neorealism more than an artistic stance, it came to embody an attitude toward life. The next development in the Realist movement was the French New Wave. This was a blanket term coined by yet another group of critics of the late 1950s and 1960s. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm. Many also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical experiments with editing, visual style, and narrative part of a general break with the conservative paradigm. Again, the socio-economic forces at play shortly after World War II strongly influenced the movement. A politically and financially drained France tended to fall back to the old popular traditions before the war. One such tradition was straight narrative cinema, specifically classical French film. The movement has its roots in rebellion against the reliance on past forms criticizing in particular the way these forms could force the audience to submit to a dictatorial plot-line. Thanks to the ongoing development of film equipment the face of cinema was constantly evolving and in the same way that Cinema Verite became possible lightweight cameras, lights, and sound equipment allowed the New Wave directors to shoot in the streets, rather than in studios. This fluid camera motion became a trademark of the movement, with shots often following characters down Paris streets. The movies featured unprecedented methods of expression, such as seven-minute tracking shots (like the famous traffic jam sequence in Godards 1967 film Week End). Many of the French New Wave films were produced on small budgets, often shot in a friends apartment, using the directors friends as the cast and crew. Directors were also forced to improvise with equipment (for example, using a shopping cart for tracking shots). As with most art-film movements, the innovations of the New Wavers trickled down to the other cinema cultures. Social Realism in British films peaked during the 1960s when what is commonly referred to as the British New Wave emerged. The new wave directors such as Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson and Tony Richardson had made a number of documentaries before moving on to feature films, and many of these had been screened at the National Film Theatre event christened Free Cinema in the 1950s. Like the auteurs of the Italian Neo realism and French New Wave, many of the British directors were knowledgeable critics as well, affiliated with Sequence magazine. This gave them ample opportunity to promote their agenda. Free Cinema was described by Tony Richardson as â€Å"independent of commercial cinema, free to make intensely personal statements and free to champion the directors right to control the picture†. Documentaries such as O Dreamland (Anderson, 1956) about an English coastal resort and Momma Dont Allow (Reisz and Richardson, 1956) about a suburban jazz club put into practice these directors belief in â€Å"the freedom and importance of the everyday†. The themes and people discovered in these documentaries were something that the directors went on to introduce to mainstream cinema. The Free Cinema films were made without inhibitions, and led to the social realist aesthetic of putting ordinary people with problems onto the big screen. It is for this reason that the term kitchen sink drama was coined, to describe the hum drum lives of the masses, and angry young man to describe the rebellious protagonists. Amongst the many films that emerged during the new wave of social realism, there are dozens of stunning examples that continue being championed to this day. Look Back in Anger, A Taste Of Honey, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, This Sporting Life, Billy Liar, Cathy Come Home, Up The Junction and Room At The Top, to name a few. Many of these films were based on books and plays, as the social realist aesthetic was alive in literature and theatre at the time. The movement also ushered in a new wave of actors who embodied social realism in their use of colloquialisms and accents. Actors such as Tom Courtenay, Rita Tushingham and Albert Finney held up a mirror to ordinary working class Brits. In the UK, the term kitchen sink derived from an expressionist painting by John Bratby, which contained an image of a kitchen sink. The critic David Sylvester wrote an article in 1954 about trends in recent English art, calling his article The Kitchen Sink in reference to Bratbys picture. Sylvester argued that there was a new interest among young painters in domestic scenes, with stress on the banality of life. â€Å"Kitchen sink realism† was linked to the rise of the Angry Young Men, a category applied to a number of British playwrights and novelists from the mid-1950s. Their political views were seen as radical, sometimes even anarchic, and they described social alienation of different kinds. The authors included both left-wing and right-wing writers. They included John Osborne, Harold Pinter, John Braine, and Alan Sillitoe. The new wave of British film-makers captured the zeitgeist of the period, and paved the way for directors such as Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Ken Loach who continue to make films that shape a very regional British film industry. Films such as Riff Raff, Naked, and My Beautiful Laundrette, although made 20 30 years later, embody the same values as were inherent in the films of the New Wave The British New Wave Cinema only lasted a few years, from 1959 to 1963. Only about half a dozen films were made. Even though they were so few made, the film were very influential and Incredibly evocative, and enough to prompt critics of the time to talk of ‘a renaissance in British cinema. Coming at the end of a decade that was extensively perceived as ‘a doldrums era, based on a diet of lightweight comedies, gothic horror films and endless war vehicles the New Wave films were greeted by audiences as a breath of fresh air and paved the way for the transatlantic success that awaited British cinema in the Sixties. The main directors of New Wave cinema were Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson, Tony Richardson, and John Schlesinger . the majority came from the theatre, predominantly from the Royal Court Theatre, Richardson had made a name for himself by directing the plays of John Osborne, such as The Entertainer and Look Back in Anger to great critical approval. The foremost production company behind British New Wave cinema, Woodfall films, was in fact set up by Richardson and Osborne predominantly to put these stage plays on to the big screen, which they did with the likes of Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier in the leading roles. Woodfalls fortunes fared even better when Reisz and Richardson collaborated with northern realist authors and theatre writers such as Alan Sillitoe and Shelagh Delaney and took the unusual step for the film industry of those times of appointing them to write the screenplays for the films. Like with the French New Wave, taking the cameras out of the studio confines and engaging in much larger amounts of location shooting was another revolutionary idea for the industry, and was not welcomed by mainstream critics. But social realism was the vastly insperitional for new film-makers, scriptwriters, and a younger generation of actors, including Albert Finney, Rita Tushingham, Shirley Anne Field, Tom Courtenay, Alan Bates, Rachel Roberts, Richard Harris and the like. Karel Reisz had the first big commercial success with Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), while Tony Richardson made A Taste of Honey (1961) and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and Lindsay Anderson engaged David Storey to script his own book of This Sporting Life (1963), which effectively brought New Wave Cinema to an end. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a challenging and inventive film from 1962, produced and directed by Tony Richardson, and starring Tom Courtenay with Sir Michael Redgrave and James Bolam in support. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was the first British film to depict the brutality within the Borstal system later revisting in the film Scum (1979). The film caused outrage at the time and its anti-authoritarian agenda ran into problems with the British Board of Film Censors, which described its story as ‘blatant and very trying Communist propaganda, and particularly worrying for us because the hero is a thief and yet is held up to the admiration of silly young thugs. Critics also commented on how the film explored the novel features of the camerawork and editing for its time, the originality of the musical score, and debated the borrowings from the French New Wave, as well as, finally, the way in which the film continued to break new ground in British cinema of the day. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was adapted from Alan Sillitoes first popular novel, and was about the new young working class. Directed by Karel Reisz and produced by Tony Richardson, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning stars Albert Finney, Rachel Roberts and Shirley Anne Field. The film was a revelation when it was initially released, not just for its realistic style, but also for its graphic portrayal of sex, extra-marital affairs, strong language, and, most contentious of all, abortion. Once again The British Board of Film Censors urged a general toning down of all the language and sex scenes. In particular, it required that the successful abortion scene promised in the screenplay and evident in Sillitoes original novel, be rendered ultimately ineffective and that the film-makers follow a policy of ‘social responsibility as far as possible. In conclusion the social realism fostered by New Wave Cinema made an indelible and lasting impression on British film-makers for many years, and can even be seen in such recent films as Pater Cattaneos, The Full Monty (1997), as well as Lynne Ramsays art-house success, Ratcatcher (1999). The spirit of the British Social Realist movement extended way beyond its own period and, indeed, still flourishes in British cinema today in filmmakers such as Shane Meadows. Bibliography http://www.answers.com/topic/realism?nr=1lsc=true http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism http://www.open2.net/historyandthearts/arts/newwave_p.html http://filmstudies.suite101.com/article.cfm/social_realism_in_british_film http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_New_Wave

Sir Karl Popper :: Philosophy of Science Klemke Essays

Sir Karl Popper Sir Karl Popper's intent in "Science: Conjectures and Refutations" from Klemke's Philosophy of Science is to fortify distinctions between the classes (and, we suppose, the quality) of intellectual discourse in his era, distinctions which were far less precise then than they are today. Popper's argument, in essence, maintains that a number of scientific theories are pseudoscientific at best, owing to the "anything goes" nature of their power to explain. The broad acceptance of such theories owes much to the satisfaction derived from their proponents in using them to justify a preferred response, whatever the data or observations truly imply. The argument presented by Popper seems, ironically, to be driven more by sociological factors (and even emotional ones) than any other. The irony here is that these same factors are what drive the disciplines he is striving to refute: Marxist Theory of History, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Adlerian individual psychology. Living in the times when these theories emerged, Popper is well-positioned to guage their impact first-hand, and understand the social dynamics underlying their acceptance and proliferation. It is arguable that the pseudoscience of which Popper writes (based on readings of Kuhn in "The Copernican Revolution") owes something to the philosophically-flavored efforts of the Greeks. Kuhn points out that the ancients tended to de-emphasize mathematical precision in favor of philosophical comfort; that is, the "satisfaction" offered by a theory (or perhaps its elegance) took precedence over more empirical factors. This is certainly true of the cases Popper cites. Marxist theory and psychoanalysis have both offered their advocates a high degree of emotional and aesthetic satisfaction (and one is led to wonder how Freud would have fared among the Greeks). Moreover, there are far greater satisfactions in store for the Marxists and Freudians: there are very positive political and professional consequences to their discourse, leading to a natural preference for the aesthetics of their theories over the empirical. It is easy to wonder if Popper has a similar motivation. Faced with a style of discourse he finds uncomfortable, he undertakes to set those theorists whom he respects (and himself) apart from the pseudoscientific style. Pure empiricism cannot be his motivation, for that is what he is seeking to define, in an age when the definitions were not altogether clear. There is an unquestionable tone of dissatifaction to his essay - his distaste for the pseudoscientists is politely expressed but unmistakeable - and it can be argued that he, too, is seeking to route out the inelegant in a quest for the elegant. Sir Karl Popper :: Philosophy of Science Klemke Essays Sir Karl Popper Sir Karl Popper's intent in "Science: Conjectures and Refutations" from Klemke's Philosophy of Science is to fortify distinctions between the classes (and, we suppose, the quality) of intellectual discourse in his era, distinctions which were far less precise then than they are today. Popper's argument, in essence, maintains that a number of scientific theories are pseudoscientific at best, owing to the "anything goes" nature of their power to explain. The broad acceptance of such theories owes much to the satisfaction derived from their proponents in using them to justify a preferred response, whatever the data or observations truly imply. The argument presented by Popper seems, ironically, to be driven more by sociological factors (and even emotional ones) than any other. The irony here is that these same factors are what drive the disciplines he is striving to refute: Marxist Theory of History, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Adlerian individual psychology. Living in the times when these theories emerged, Popper is well-positioned to guage their impact first-hand, and understand the social dynamics underlying their acceptance and proliferation. It is arguable that the pseudoscience of which Popper writes (based on readings of Kuhn in "The Copernican Revolution") owes something to the philosophically-flavored efforts of the Greeks. Kuhn points out that the ancients tended to de-emphasize mathematical precision in favor of philosophical comfort; that is, the "satisfaction" offered by a theory (or perhaps its elegance) took precedence over more empirical factors. This is certainly true of the cases Popper cites. Marxist theory and psychoanalysis have both offered their advocates a high degree of emotional and aesthetic satisfaction (and one is led to wonder how Freud would have fared among the Greeks). Moreover, there are far greater satisfactions in store for the Marxists and Freudians: there are very positive political and professional consequences to their discourse, leading to a natural preference for the aesthetics of their theories over the empirical. It is easy to wonder if Popper has a similar motivation. Faced with a style of discourse he finds uncomfortable, he undertakes to set those theorists whom he respects (and himself) apart from the pseudoscientific style. Pure empiricism cannot be his motivation, for that is what he is seeking to define, in an age when the definitions were not altogether clear. There is an unquestionable tone of dissatifaction to his essay - his distaste for the pseudoscientists is politely expressed but unmistakeable - and it can be argued that he, too, is seeking to route out the inelegant in a quest for the elegant.

Lord Capulet Character Analysis Essay

In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a play about two lovers who are from opposing families, Lord Capulet wishes to appear as a man of peace and much virtue, but when he is away from the prying eyes of the public, he is a man many times worse than Lord Montague. Lord Capulet is a complex character who many times contradicts his earlier actions in this play. By the end of this, you will truly understand Lord Capulet’s motives towards life. He is not the caring man one might think he is when they first meet him or read about him, but a man with no heart or compassion, just the ability to show some. Many times throughout Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet appears to be a very nice, agreeable, loving kind of guy. But if you check closely enough, every time he appears to be loving, agreeable, or nice, he is somewhere in public. Lord Capulet wishes to be thought of well by the public, much like we all do, but it isn’t the same for him. For him, it’s more of a matter between life and death. First of all, Lord Capulet is having a party, in which he invites almost the whole town. In his instance holding a party in which you invite pretty much everybody in town, is supposed to make you popular. Most people don’t hold a party for everyone because they have nothing better to do, and when you invite the whole town, your just trying to look â€Å"cool†. â€Å"Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone†¦I would not for the wealth of all this town, here in my house do him disparagement†(1.5.73-77). Right here, Lord Capulet tells Tybalt to let Romeo alone, because in his house, in front of a whole crowd of people, Lord Capulet does not wish to disparage himself or disparage anyone that in turn would disparage him. It would certainly not make him popular with the prince, and therefore not popular with anyone in the city. But this is not all, oh no, this is not all (Dr. Suess book). â€Å"But woo her gentle Paris, get her hear; My will to her consent is but a part. An she agree, within her scope of choice lies my consent and fair according voice†(1.2.16-19). Here again we have Lord Capulet in public, this time in a public street. He is trying to appear to be a man who cares so much about his daughter that he gives her almost all of the say in her marriage. Obviously, as I will show you later on, this is not true, but he makes it appear that way in this scene. Of course we won’t be tricked by him, that blundering fool. Finally, in our last scene(5.3), Lord Capulet gives Lord  Montague money, saying that this is his daughter’s jointure. He does this because he is out in front of everyone including the prince and he still wants to appear popular, because right now, he’s not looking too good. Lord Montague though, wants to outdo Capulet, so he says he’ll erect a gold statue of Juliet in the middle of town. Capulet can’t think of anything to say so he says he’ll do the same thing for Romeo. What a party! Lord Capulet does everything here for show, because he wants to appear â€Å"cool†. In the next paragraph this will be contradicted when he appears very â€Å"uncool†, because if it doesn’t affect his public goodwill, he doesn’t care. You know he should probably do drugs, maybe he’ll become â€Å"cool† then and make some friends too. Outside of the â€Å"prying eyes of the public†, our character, Lord Capulet does not seem to be very nice. Many of the things he said in public are contradicted when he gets with his family, or by himself. â€Å"Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender of my child’s love. I think she will be ruled in all respects by me, nay more, I doubt it not†(3.4.14-16). Here Capulet completely changes around what he said earlier in Act 1 Scene 2 about his daughter making the decision about love. He now says that he will make the decision about whom she loves. He makes this decision in the privacy of his own home with only one person that is not a family member present, and that person will be a family member within two days. Uh huh. But no, that is not all. â€Å"Does she not count her blest, unworthy as she is, that we have wrought so worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom?†(3.5.161-163). Here Capulet starts to lose it. He is yet again in his own home, now, only with his family, and very displeased at his daughter, not even something he would do to the Montagues. â€Å"How, how, how, how, choplogic? What is this? ‘Proud’-and ‘I thank you’-and ‘I thank you not’- And yet ‘not proud’? Mistress minion you, thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds, but fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next to go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green-sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow-face!†(3.5.167-176). (No I didn’t just add that so I could have more words.) Capulet not only starts to lose it with his 161-163 lines, but seriously goes crazy in this last quote. Because nobody is around, he has nothing to lose, he could go on for ages calling her names,  names that back in Act 1 Scene 2, were out of our minds. In Act 1 Scene 2, it was more like, â€Å"I love my daughter so much, she is intelligent enough to make her own decisions, I just make sure they’re good†. Not really the case here, the case here is more like, â€Å"You #@$#%$# mongrel, what is your problem, I make decisions for you, because I’m your father.† So there you have it public v. private, which one do you want? Lord Capulet is like the president, we think we know so much, but when we look on the inside, and really find out, we felt as if we had been misled the whole time. To Romeo, Lord Capulet looks like a man that cares most for the welfare of his daughter, but to someone on the inside of the family, the picture wouldn’t be the same. Just as if we found out our president was gay, the picture of our country and his voters would very well change. Though, Lord Capulet, when out in public tries to look good, his inner self is not completely hidden. Many times throughout the story Lord Capulet becomes insincere, sarcastic, or plays around with words. For example, â€Å"He shall be endured†(1.5.84). Here Capulet is telling Tyblat that he has to put up with Romeo. When Capulet says the word endured, that hints to us that Capulet doesn’t really want to put up with Romeo, but does it so he will be though of as a greater man. Therefore showing to us that him keeping Romeo at his party is an insincere gesture. â€Å"O Brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand†(5.5.320-322). The very wording the Capulet uses to say this, implies sarcasm, he is doing it again for popularity’s sake. He goes on and does the same thing that Montague does, erecting a gold statue, again wording it very sarcastically, and creating a new insincere relationship between himself and Lord Montague. This just proves that his inner self, will never be able to hide. In conclusion, Lord Capulet is a very insincere, cruel-hearted, and tricky man. He attempts to appear as a man that is not only a loving, caring, responsible father, but a responsible man in the community as well. He feels that if when in the public he is inviting towards foes, that he will be thought of as a great peace bringing man, but that unfortunately is not how life works. Lord Capulet’s decisions are not based on what he wants to do, but what others want him to do. Much like when teenagers in high school get  hooked on illegal drugs, the reason is because of other people. When they are not doing the drugs, and they are out in public they try to appear smart, happy, â€Å"cool†, and living a better life than anyone else there. But just like rapists with mental problems that will never go away, our â€Å"druggies† will go and hide in their corner of the world for one hour and â€Å"do their thing†. Lord Capulet, when he isn’t out attempting to look â€Å"cool†, is inside doing the drugs, raping the kids, and becoming more mental by the second. Lord Capulet is insincere about all of his promises just like any addict, rapist, or alcoholic would be. Lord Capulet is not the responsible, caring, loving, nice, â€Å"cool† man he appears to be when you meet him, but really the drug paraphernalia, that bottle of 180 proof rum in your closet that you almost finished in one hour, and the man sitting in the car, wanting to take your kids to the movies. Lord Capulet is no worse than that, a man with trickery, hate, and unkept promises. Lord Capulet is not who you think he is, for he is the one hiding behind the mask.

Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Essay Example

Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Essay Example Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Paper Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Paper Shutter Island is about a World War II veteran, Andrew Laeddis who believes he is a United States marshal. He believe he has been sent to Ashecliffe mental hospital in Shutter Island, Boston to investigate a missing patient. Along the way Andrew faces several hardships but those that are most pressing lie in the areas of deviance, illness, and intelligence. Andrew Laeddis is actually at Ashecliffe because he killed his wife after she drowned their three children in the lake behind their house. He knew he was mentally ill but did not find her appropriate help, therefore making him feel responsible for the death of his children. He created the alter ego of U. S. Marshal Teddy Daniels because he could not stand to be Andrew Laeddis knowing what he had done to contribute to his childrens death. Although it was not his own deviance that left him in Ashecliffe, it was his wives that did. No matter the circumstances, murder goes against social norms and most often entails some form of punishment. All of the people around him while at Ashecliffe were deviants, mostly murders and became a part of who he was as Teddy Daniels. Perhaps, Andrew Laeddis did not seek help for his wife Dolores because of the negative stigma that goes along with mental illness. She believed there was a bug in her brain, Andrew was aware of this and his ignorance may have ultimately lead to the death of his three children. Andrew created an alternate universe for himself where he did not have to feel guilt. He said he would rather die a good man, than live as a monster. Although it was ultimately mental illness, his knowledge helped him cope with the trauma he had faced. His doctors were able to create a role play that helped him realize the truth. Shortly after, he relapsed, likely because reality was too difficult for him to deal with. Many social issues are addressed in Shutter Island. Humans often face the issues of deviance, illness, and knowledge. Andrew Laeddis story was able to bring all of these issues to a whole new level.

Tropic of Cancer - Overview and Geography

Tropic of Cancer - Overview and Geography The Tropic of Cancer is a line of latitude circling the Earth at approximately 23.5Â ° north of the equator. It is the northernmost point on Earth where the suns rays can appear directly overhead at local noon. It is also one of the five major degree measures or circles of latitude dividing the Earth (the others are the Tropic of Capricorn, the equator, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle). The Tropic of Cancer is significant to Earths geography because, in addition to being the northernmost point where the suns rays are directly overhead, it also marks the northern boundary of tropics, which is the region that extends from the equator north to the Tropic of Cancer and south to the Tropic of Capricorn. Some of the Earths largest countries and/or cities are at or near the Tropic of Cancer. For example, the line passes through United States state of Hawaii, portions of Central America, northern Africa, and the Sahara Desert and is near Kolkata, India. It should also be noted that because of the greater amount of land in the Northern Hemisphere, the Tropic of Cancer passes through more cities than the equivalent Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. Naming of the Tropic of Cancer At the June or summer solstice (around June 21) when the Tropic of Cancer was named, the sun was pointed in the direction of the constellation Cancer, thus giving the new line of latitude the name the Tropic of Cancer. However, because this name was assigned over 2,000 years ago, the sun is no longer in the constellation Cancer. It is instead located in the constellation Taurus today. For most references though, it is easiest to understand the Tropic of Cancer with its latitudinal location of 23.5Â °N. Significance of the Tropic of Cancer In addition to being used to divide the Earth into different parts for navigation and marking the northern boundary of the tropics, the Tropic of Cancer is also significant to the Earths amount of solar insolation and the creation of seasons. Solar insolation is the amount of incoming solar radiation on the Earth. It varies over the Earths surface based on the amount of direct sunlight hitting the equator and tropics and spreads north or south from there. Solar insolation is most at the subsolar point (the point on Earth that is directly beneath the Sun and where the rays hit at 90 degrees to the surface) which migrates annually between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn because of the Earths axial tilt. When the subsolar point is at the Tropic of Cancer, it is during the June solstice and this is when the northern hemisphere receives the most solar insolation. During the June solstice, because the amount of solar insolation is greatest at the Tropic of Cancer, the areas north of the tropic in the northern hemisphere also receive the most solar energy which keeps it warmest and creates summer. In addition, this is also when the areas at latitudes higher than the Arctic Circle receive 24 hours of daylight and no darkness. By contrast, the Antarctic Circle receives 24 hours of darkness and lower latitudes have their winter season because of low solar insolation, less solar energy and lower temperatures. Click here to see a simple map showing the location of the Tropic of Cancer. Reference Wikipedia. (13 June 2010). Tropic of Cancer - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer

SHORT STORY QUESTIONS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

SHORT STORY QUESTIONS - Assignment Example In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† there are lines that show how the narrator (Jane) inconsistently describes her perception of the wallpaper in the room. This makes obvious her slow and continuous descent into madness. Jane, through the wallpaper, realizes that it is impossible for her to accept living life locked up in some room. In â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers,† the men take in the detail of the messy housekeeping abilities of Mrs. Wright, seeing it as laziness, while the women see it as Mrs. Wright being unhappy in the marriage. There was also a parallelism between the murders of Mr. Wright to the murder of their pet bird, as both were strangled to death. This is somewhat a common concept in marriage during that era, as men usually view women as clueless creatures who are merely capable of doing housework. In all three stories, the endings were usually death or horrible separation from the spouse. This is symbolical of the way marriages were viewed during that era. It was like there is always one partner who is unhappy, while the other is

Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Nuns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Nuns - Essay Example Buddhism took root in China in the 1st century A.D. It came from India through central Asia, and scriptures were later translated into Chinese. They also became monks, following the example of those who came from central Asia. More men and women became monks and nuns as the years passed and the Chien Kang Era (313-316 A.D.) records in the Biographies of Buddhist Nuns how twenty four women led by Ching Chen converted to nuns as they received the tonsure and took the ten precepts from the master Chih Shan who came from central Asia. These nuns then built the Bamboo Forest Temple where they practiced the Dharma. It was in the fifth century that the first woman, Hui-kuo, became the first bhiksuni by taking upasampada or the taking of full ordination. Buddhism in Korea first travelled from China to the Kingdom of Koryo, and later made its way to the kingdoms of Paekshe and Silla. Evidence show that the first full ordination of Korean nuns happened soon after the full after the ordination of Hui-kuo and her nuns. Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the 6th century A.D. King Sheng Ming of the kingdom of Paekshe presented Emperor Kin-myo with several Buddhist religious figures in 538 A.D. However, Korean migrants to Japan have already introduced the religion on an earlier date and it had been practiced privately. The Chinese also contributed to the growth of Japanese Buddhism on a later date when the main doctrines were directly handed over during the Nara Dynasty (710-781 A.D.). Women in early Buddhist myth and reality As orders of bhikunis were founded, large numbers of prominent women came to join them. These women were attracted by the teachings of the Buddha and the empowerment it gives them. Among the celebrated women who became nuns are: Prajapati Gotami who became the first bhikuni; Uppalayanna and Khema who were considered as the "foremost of the bhikunis"; and Kisagotami and Patacara who were prominent in many stories about early Buddhism. Prajapati Gotami who is considered as the first bhikuni, was the second queen of Prince Siddharta's father. When Queen Maha Maya who was the prince's mother died seven days after giving birth to Siddhartha, Prajapati Gotami gave up her son who was born the same day the queen died, and took Prince Siddhartha as her own. She loved him so much that the prince could not remember his own mother. The bhikunis or Buddhist nuns began with Prajapati who was given special permission by the Buddha himself, ending and exclusively male monastic assembly. The daughter of a rich man, Kisagotami was married and had a son. The boy died and Kisagotami carried the dead body around asking everyone for medicine that would restore the child's life. People thought that her grief had made her mad. However, a wise man thought otherwise and decided to help her. He told her to approach the Buddha and ask for the medicine that would bring her son back to life. The Buddha instructed her to get some mustard seeds from a house where there had been no death. Still carrying her dead child, Kisagotami went from house to house asking for mustard seeds. People wanted to help her but she could not find a house where there had been no death. She realized that hers was not the only family who had deaths, and that there were more dead