Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Nano Technology in Oil Industry Essay

Introduction Nanotech applications & Nanoparticles have been successfully used in drilling mud for the Last 40-50 years. Recently the other disciplines of the oil industry, such as exploration, primary and assisted production, monitoring, refining and distribution, are approaching nanotechnologies due to its immense Potential for Confronting challenges, performance improvement & cost. Especially in ultra-deep water and artic environments, Severe reservoir conditions (high-temperature and high-pressure formations), nonconventional resources of energy,Heavy oils, tight gas, tar sandsreservoirs) Present nanotech applications in oil industry: Most of the major oil and service companies, such as BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Total and Schlumberger.done research in exploiting nanotechnologies to improve oil and gas production. Developing subsurface micro- and nanosensors that could be injected in oil and gas wellbores & identification of nanotech potentialities applied to EOR issues. Recent published results speak about Single-Walled-Carbon-Nano Tube (SWNT) / Silica nanohybrids, active at the fluid interface, if delivered at the O/W interface, would react and modify the oil properties to increase oil mobilization, hence oil recovery. Researchers ars analysing the potential benefits derived by the application of nanomaterials, nanofluids and nanomembranes in oil industry. Sensors: Nanomaterials are unparallelled tools for the development of sensors and imaging-contrast agents due to the significant alterations in their optical, magnetic and electrical properties, along with their ability to form (electrically and/or geometrical ly) percolated structures at low volume fractions. Such nanomaterials, when combined with smart fluids, can be used as extremely sensitive down hole sensors for temperature, pressure and stress even under extreme conditions. The ultimate evolution of instruments for oil prospects is perceived to be nanorobots, which should really provide an effective mapping of the reservoir. Nanorobots still remain a dream,shared by the medical and oil sectors. But advances in nanosensors miniaturization are becoming a reality. Coatings: A corrosion-resistant material solution represented by nanometric thin films  and composites with nanostructured fillers are in the advanced stage. corrosion-resistant materials are the â€Å"just ready to happen † nanotechnology-based applications,due to its relatively low risk, high effectiveness and low complexity. Nanocoated, wear-resistant probes, made of tungsten carbide or boron nitride, enhance the life span and efficiency of the drilling systems. The same applies to the nano-layered corrosion inhibitors in pipes or tanks, which creates a permanent molecular coating on the surface of metals, eliminating corrosion. Nanofluids and nanomaterials for drilling and completion : Nanotechnology has opened the development of smart fluids† for drilling, production and stimulation applications. Nanofluids and nano-based additives exhibit major advancement by enhanced drilling by adding benefits like wettability alteration, improved drag reduction and sand consolidation. A specialized petroleum laboratory has developed an advanced fluid mixed with nanosized particles and superfine powder that significantly improves the drilling speed and can eliminate formation damage in near wellbore zone. With the synthesis of a new breed of elastomeric composites filled with carbon nanotubes or other strongly anisotropic nano-objects, a stronger, tougher and more rugged drilling tools and apparatus will be manufactured in future. These tools will ensure a significant weight reduction and facilitate self-sensing elements to be interrogated for the real-time monitoring of the most critical parts. Another important technique in the development of super-hard materials is the use of nanostructured dispersed-hardened materials .First generation of nanotech applications for improving hydraulic fracturing are represented by BakerHughes’s nanostructured metal composites, combined by magnesium, aluminium and other alloys, which offer both strength at lower weight and the ability to â€Å"dissolve† away under certain conditions. Another example is the proppant produced by Oxane Materials, constituted by nano-structured ceramic material which is as strong as but lighter as ceramic proppant. A possible solution for mitigating fines, by nanocrystals for treating hydraulic fracture proppant packs to fix formation fines. Nanotechnology application for reservoir monitoring & for enhanced oil recovery Nanomembranes: A new generation of lightweight and strong nanomembranes is being developed and employed, Which will remarkably enhance  the exploitation of tight gas by providing efficient methods for removing impurities, separating gas streams and enabling GTL production. Nanoporous and nanoparticulate materials are also quite encouraging to manage the Health, Safety, Environmental, risks arise due to presence of CO2 and H2S in hydrocarbon mixtures. Nanotechnology application for reservoir monitoring The petroleum sector and the medical visualize the dream of a nanosensor able to provide in-situ information about the systems under analysis. The most complicated and Complex challenge faced by oil industry is that it requires strong technical improvements in injected nano sensors into the reservoir, to face placement and recovery, protection in harsh environments , 3-D location, sensors powering and data storage & retrieving. For example, the quantity of oil present in a reservoir could be assessed based on the amount of material lost or retained during the travel time, or the extreme conditions (temperature, pressure, salinity gradient) at which the nanoparticles were exposed and for how long, could be determined. The idea can be to pump nano-sensors in the reservoir periodically so as to regularly monitor changes in the well/field conditions.In turn, this could result in enhanced production efficiency. Several possible applications and exploitation schemes are currently under study with nano-devices injected into a reservoir. A novel paramagnetic nanoparticles into proppant structures together with these smart proppant could help in mapping the fracture efficiency using detectable contrast agents. Further nanoparticles could preferably segregate into different fluid portions, hence providing enhanced characterization of the reservoir and, fianlly , improved oil recovery,due to their miniscule dimensions, increased surface area and high mobility. Nanotechnology application for enhanced oil recovery: The greatest challenge at present is the possibility of increasing the efficiency of hydrocarbon production, both by improving the current EOR methodologies and by developing alternative technologies. The current researches indicate the new generation nano-agents should modify the properties of the injected fluid, in terms of viscosity, density, thermal conductivity and specific heat and modify the fluid-rock interaction properties, .The use of two different types of polysilicon nanoparticles (one nanometer-scale) in oil fields  improves wettability, to enhance water injection and improve oil recovery. The application of paramagnetic nanoparticles for EOR , possess a unique combination of fluidity and capability to interact with a magnetic field. The addition of a surfactant would greatly reduce the interfacial tension in waterwet reservoirs due to the presence of a dipole moment.The reservoir fluid molecules align, thus reducing the resistance to flow. ConocoPhillips, aims at creating a new class of polymer-type nanoparticles that can be incorporated with EOR injection fluids to improve hydrocarbon recovery by penetrating small pore throats without being trapped and hence the a mount of expensive injection can be decreased. The University of Alaska Fairbanks investigated The possibility of improving gas injection for the Alaska North Slope heavy oil recovery. Metal nanoparticles. reduce the viscosity of the heavy oil. Using super critical CO2 and Viscosity ReducingInjectant (VRI) saturated by nanoparticles, exploit the thermal properties of nanoparticles for improved heat transfer to heavy oil; explore the effects of Poly Di Methyl Siloxane and metal nanoparticles on density and viscosity for reducing mobility and viscous fingering Phenomena . When dealing with extremely low permeability reservoirs, conventional approaches to water flooding cannot provide recovery factors greater than 0.2. This is mainly due to capillary forces which are very strong in narrow pore channels. With low-permeability reservoir rocks, the level of purity and filtration of injected water is one of the most important issues for a significant oil recovery. With rocks characterized by a permeability of 0.1 ÃŽ ¼m2 the recovery factor deviates from an average of 0.4 by less than 10% if particulates in injected water are smaller than 200 nm. Nevertheless, with a rock permeability of 0.05 ÃŽ ¼m2 the recovery factor is dramatically approaching zero with the same particle ssize. A traditional water flooding technique is obviously unproductive in this latter case, unless water is filtered and purified of particulates down to at least 100 nm. Innovative water nano-filters are to be specially designed both to ensure uniform pore throats and the ability to recovery tens of billions of tons of oil. Some feel that oil is essentially a nanoliquid, with asphaltenes being the dominant part, flowing in a micro and often nanoscopic environment (i.e., the porous media). According to that,it seems justifiable to consider most of the oil and gas production technologies, reservoir treatments and  stimulation as nanotechnologies. Under this point of view, current petroleum science is relying on the study and control of physical chemical phenomena occurring at the nanometer scale and the ability to correctly model the reservoir flow plays an important role. However, a suitable tool to reliably describe coupled phenomena is still missing. The present approach being discussed is, for creating nanorobots to monitor individual pores and channels and hydrocarbon flow, exchange information and identify zones which intensify the extraction or the injection of water. CONCLUSION: Nanotechnology Application to the oil industry has an immense potential & benefits. Some applications are already available,while others could come from Complementing the solutions developed for the biomedical, automotive, aerospace, chemical and, textile Industries. Well drilling, fracturing and cementing as well as new generation membranes for gas separation already rely on nanotech solutions. At present efforts are being made to design nano-sensors for reservoir characterization and monitoring and to produce nano-fluids for improving EOR processes. Promising results have been obtained from laboratory experiment, but field tests are still in progress..The future of nanotechnology applications is remarkable.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Cultural Assimilation and American Music Artists

good afternoon everyone, today i am going talk about the impact of americanization, First of all i will talk abiut some background of americanization and then i will talk about the positive and negative impact of it. what does americanisation mean? The word, of couse has many meanings,definitions and descriptions. the impact and influence of the US on the culture, politics,business practices and technology of other countries. Nowadays, people view America in the form of a role model and a leader in influencing other countries and have their culture blended in. deals, traditions, and ways of life. Do you notice that American culture has gradually assimilated into our society? Have you ever thought of how Americanization affects our daily life? However, it can be argued that the American culture domination poses a threat to culture diversity. Ranging from Hollywood, popular music, fast food to Disney cartoons, the world in which we live in would be imbued with less local colour. Unique festivals and rites celebrated by people of different culture round the world which filled the world with vibrancy are on the verge of extinction.In addition, americanisation can also have other downsides,American culture has affected the mentality of Asians; such as increase in the number of abortion rates, illegitimate children and the surge in the number of single parents in there. Traditionally, were very conservative and the abovementioned problems were uncommon and condemned. This shows that the American culture has indirectly affected the mentality of Asians; although people generally disapprove of single parenting and abortion, the statistics prove otherwise.The spread of American media including TV, film and American music artists, has been the main component of Americanization of other countries. American TV shows are broadcast around the world. Many of the shows are broadcast through American broadcasters and their subsidiaries such as HBO Asia, CNBC Europe, Fox Channel and CNN International. All of what is known as the â€Å"big four† American broadcasters have international distributors, for example HBO broadcasts to over 20 countries. Many of these distributors broadcast mainly American programming on their TV channels.

Bill Proposal

This bill will require all police stations to make sure all of thee r officers take a est. every year over information learned at police academy, including civil right TTS, state and local laws, incident reporting, crime investigation, constitutional law, and criminal p psychology. This bill will also require that if an officer makes below a 75% on the test, they will have to take classes in order to pass the test before they can resume work. This bill will be implemented by the chief police officers of each station in the state.Also, there will be test ad ministration who create the test with the appropriate information listed above from the police academy. Police chiefs will require and make sure that all of their officers take the test and pas s, if they do not test the officers, the station will be fined $5,000 dollars. This bill will need funding for the test administrators. The funds will come from the money made from certain traffic c violations. It will be enforced by the hea d of each police station, they will require for their office errs to take the test and be rectified.The agencies involved in this bill include all of the police SST actions, police academies of the state, and the test administrators. The police stations will be responsible for giving the tests for recertification, and the test administrators will have to word k with the police academies in order to create the yearly tests. The reasoning behind this bill is to reinforce the important information police officers learn during training, so that they are ABA el to perform their job in an accurate manner. This bill will make the actions of police officers MO re trustworthy and reliable due to the fact that their knowledge is up to date and enforced.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Politeness Theory by Brown & Levinson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Politeness Theory by Brown & Levinson - Essay Example Everyone has a genuine face and a face with the mask. While speaking to someone you go by pretentions, depending upon your estimate of the nature of the individual. Smart sales personnel in a departmental store frame their own definitions and strategies while dealing with the customers. But impolite disposition should not be a rule but an exception. Howsoever powerful may the waves of the ocean, their real nature is mere water! Similarly man’s real nature is politeness. Impoliteness is the hallmark. Polite and impolite also need to be understood in the linguistic, cultural and ethnic contexts. Culture impacts our way of expression. Word meanings and their implications in a particular context are different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My real life examples as to how politeness saved the situation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Politeness is peace-giving. Politeness needs to be tempered with humor in critical situations. It is not the trait of the weakling. It is an asset of the strong! â€Å"Silence is the sweetest sound on Earth,† said Mr. Boris Pasternak, the famous Russian author. I politely disagree and desire to give some examples from my own life, why and how I was obliged to break the barrier of silence to defend myself without offending the individual in front of me. In one of the arguments in the shopping mall when I was making desperate attempts to restrict the possible cut on my credit card, and requesting my wife to put a break to the shopping spree, she challenged me to ask, â€Å"Do you always think that whatever you say is correct?†

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Family Tree Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family Tree - Assignment Example He wakes up really early in the morning. He drinks his coffee and reads the paper. My dad is full spirited. When he comes home from work he never fails to share his stories and anecdotes from his work. Nevertheless, he still manages to lay down his rules. If one of us fails to follow it, we sure will have a serious spanking. This is probably because he was a teacher, and now, is currently working as a superintendent of schools. His job requires him to teach the rules and at the same time follow them. On the other hand, there's my mom. My mom is of medium height, not that tall nor is she short. She has brown hair and blue eyes. My mom is a hard working and talkative woman. She prefers to stay at home to decorate the house and tend to the cooking, which my dad loves. His favorite food is muchos burritos. He would eat that every lunch that my mother brings to him in school. She loves to cook and start small projects that could potentially earn her extra income. She especially loves dancing and sewing. Her favorite pieces to work on are throw pillow cases and curtains. These are easy to make and sell at the same time. Samba is her favorite stress reliever. During her younger years, she would join contests will surely grab the award. She's really the best. Pap adores my mother; he always says "When I met your mother, I thought she was a caliente exquisite woman of an exotic beauty".

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Business Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Decision Making - Essay Example It has done extensive market analysis and has been able to put measures of probability on the happening of each of the outcomes. However, these are subjective estimates as there is no past data to rely on. What decision the management of MPL finally takes depends a lot on whether they are risk-averse, risk-neutral or risk-loving. That would decide whether they opt for Maximax, Maximin or Minimax course of action (Jones 2004). Effectiveness of Decision Making Structure Decision making by a business organization is largely dependent on the structure of the decision making body. In a sole proprietorship organization, all decisions are taken by a single person. Hence, the entire decision making process is fast without any time consuming meetings and exchange of opinions. But, such decisions could also be incorrect at times as there are usually no inputs from other people. However, in organizations that have more than one owner, decision making is done through interactions between managin g partners and quite obviously decision making takes a far longer time than it takes in single owner scenarios. But, one must realize that though it is more time consuming, any decision making process that involves more than one person is better than a single person taking decisions. This is simply because while such decisions are taken, several, often differing, perspectives are considered and this aids in arriving at a more balanced decision (Cyert and March 1992). In case of MPL the decision making process is fairly inclusive and democratic in nature. Other than Lee Corbusier and Frank Lloyd, managers of three separate divisions meet once every month to discuss company strategy, market trends and receive departmental reports. This allows managers to micromanage their individual... The author begins with the description of the decision-making model of the company. The author thinks that decision-making by a business organization is largely dependent on the structure of the decision-making body. In a sole proprietorship organization, all decisions are taken by a single person. Hence, the entire decision-making process is fast without any time-consuming meetings and exchange of opinions. But, such decisions could also be incorrect at times as there are usually no inputs from other people. However, in organizations that have more than one owner, decision making is done through interactions between managing partners and quite obviously decision making takes a far longer time than it takes in single owner scenarios. But, one must realize that though it is more time consuming, any decision-making process that involves more than one person is better than a single person taking decisions. This is simply because while such decisions are taken, several, often differing, perspectives are considered and this aids in arriving at a more balanced decision (Cyert and March 1992). In the case of MPL, the decision-making process is fairly inclusive and democratic in nature. Other than Lee Corbusier and Frank Lloyd, managers of three separate divisions meet once every month to discuss company strategy, market trends and receive departmental reports. This allows managers to micromanage their individual departments while corporate decisions are taken by the management team.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Photo Description of the waiting room in Chicago, Illinois by Jack Essay

Photo Description of the waiting room in Chicago, Illinois by Jack Delano - Essay Example However, from a closer look at the photo, it can be seen that the focus of the photo man was at the two gentle men standing at the foreground. The probable interest might be a case that appears to be of concern to the gentlemen as can be seen from their looks. The picture communicates a lot of information about the nature of activities and the people in the caption, however, among the messages in the picture, one is dominant. A case that is troubling the two gentle men and the others in the picture even though among the concerned parties, the two gentle men seem to be at the centre of it. This argument is supported by how the Cameraman focused majorly at these two gentlemen who by the nature of their dressing looks like police officers. They appear to be having a serious conversation that can be attributed to this suspected case. The specifics of the conversation is not so apparent, but it is likely not a social conversation as can be seen by their faces (Fleischhauer, et al. 361). A closer look at the photographer’s depiction at their faces reveals that both are not talking at the same time. The gentle man on the right hand side must be the one doing the talking. His posture is straight, and he is looking straight at the other officer at the left hand side. From this looks alone, one can guess their ranks.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Social Media Use and Application of the Company Assignment

Social Media Use and Application of the Company - Assignment Example As the report declares Huawei Company has a Face book page under its name. The advancement of technology has made more people to like Facebook.This site contains most of the target audience group for the company products. Most of the youths are vibrant with new products often want to be updated with the latest phones in the market so that they can purchase. The site has enabled the awareness of the products to be high. This is measured by the likes of the products in the face book page. Recently Huawei Face book page recorded about one and half million likes on the facebook.It has more followers who may want to know the presence of new products. According to the report findings the company also uses YouTube to advertise its products. The platform is used to advertise the three dimension of the product. It is also used to show the customers how to use the product and how their latest features function. This has raised the customers loyalty at a greater extends. This content marketing ensures that the customers are able to get to see the actual products and features like colors and functionality. This influences their desire to buy the products significantly when they see the product. The company has recorded a significant rise of the download of the short clips of the latest phones. This is because the platform enables the customer to share the videos of the products to other customers and therefore more products awareness and thus increased sales.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Walt Disney Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Walt Disney Company - Research Paper Example From Mickey Mouse series to Silly Symphony, Walt Disney, the founder, continued to foster a culture of creativity and innovation and his precision which lead the company to become one of the most successful and diversified corporations (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). From the success of animated cartoons, which won various Academy awards, the company soon developed related merchandise and initiated another stream of revenue that was followed by a new venture in action films including Treasure Islands and the television show during Christmas time. After the death of Walt, his vision was articulately carried on by his brother Roy, who carried out construction of the Disney land theme park as envisioned by his brother, on the 28,000 acres of land he had purchased in Florida and was later opened in Tokyo and Paris. After Roy’s death the company was then taken over by Card Walker, Donn Tatum and Ron Miller, all of which were initially trained by the Disney Brothers (DATAMONITOR, 2 011). The Disney Company then initiated its Disney channel in 1983 featured by Touchstone Pictures, its film label. The company remained under hostile pressures for takeover in early 1980s as its stocks remained undervalued and was eventually taken over by a new management. Soon after the Disney movies took a toll and collaborations with the filmmakers including George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola resulted in the opening of Splash Mountain. The company then expanded further to include luxury resorts in its portfolio. Establishment of Hollywood Records, stage production with Beauty and Beast, cruise line business were some of the more developments that took place (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). One of the most prominent events was Disney’s $19 billion acquisition of Capital Cities (ABC Network). This acquisition, the second largest in the United States, not only resulted in 10 TV station, 7 daily newspapers and 21 radio stations but also enabled Disney to own positions in t he cable networks including Lifetime, History Chanel, A&E and ESPN, which alone is worth $19billion today. Another important acquisition came in 2006 when Robert Iger, the then CEO of the company, decided to acquire Pixar Animation, a creative powerhouse which became one of the most successful partnerships in Disney’s history. The intensive growth strategy of Disney continued in 2009 when it acquired Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4.24 billion (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). Company Portfolio; Operations and Major Holdings The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate of the world, with extensive operations in more than 40 countries around the world with its headquarters in Burbank, California United States. In terms of its size, Walt Disney has been recognized as one of the largest companies of the world by Fortune 500 with a total number of employees amounting to 144,000 as per the year 2011. The stockholder’s equity amounted to a whopping $33,734 millio n (DATAMONITOR, 2011). Disney has a diversified portfolio and its major holdings have continued to increase over time. Walt Disney Motions Picture Group is one of flagship holdings that are also one of the best studios of Hollywood. It acquired ABC network along with its broadcasting television and radio stations. Walt

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 14

Sociology - Essay Example The link between social class and educational attainment can be proved to exist if evidence is found for the existence of a relationship between ability and social class since good abilities are very essential for sound education, since good abilities are essential for sound education and learning. A person is gifted with good abilities by nature. Though practice makes a lot of difference but a practicing person can never be as sharp as the one who is mentally smart. Therefore, good abilities are in born and can not be developed. Secondly, it needs to be evaluated whether a social class is inherited or a higher social class is attainable through hard work or not. Thirdly, it needs to be clarified whether social class is needed to ensure sound educational attainment, or vice versa. It can be observed in the society that money can not buy everything. Many rich parents fail to educate their children despite getting them admitted in expensive schools. Many schools guarantee that they can educate students the best but the fact is that it is not true unless the students themselves take interest in their studies. On the other hand, we come across many cases where poor parents have succeeded in educating their children good enough to get them high posts and good salaries, and accordingly they social class of the children gets upgraded as compared to their parents. Thus, it is proved that money can not buy learning and a higher social status is quite attainable through hard work and luck. Expensive schools are not necessary for the attainment of good education. A mentally sharp and hard working person can get the highest level of education. All he / she needs is to be at the right place and the right time and a good luck. Education is not the property of the rich. Thu s, there is no significant relationship between social class and educational

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

The Role of Privat Sector in Education Case Study

The Role of Privat Sector in Education - Case Study Example In many countries, the role of providing education has been left as a responsibility of the government. The government has therefore played an important role in ensuring all children have had access to quality education that helps them achieve their best in life. In the United States, the role of probed education has been left as a duty of the federal government. The united state has followed important decision that has been made by international bodies like the United Nations which has declared it the right of each and every child to access education. (Glanda 2003, p. 8) But the burden of providing education to the citizens has been weighing heavy on the government and there has been a call for the involvement of the private sector in providing education to the public. As a result the private sector has responded well and there have been many efforts by the private sector to address the needs of education of the state. This has been as a result of call by the government and from other stakeholders in the education sector on the need to have an education that is quality and relevant to the needs of the public (Bates 2002, p. 69) This paper will look at how the private sector can be involved in the provision of education to the citizens. It will look at how the private sector can be major players in the education sector. ... It is a sector that is independent from the control of the state. The private sector is an important sector in the economy as it supplements the government efforts in poisoning goods and services to the public. Therefore we can say that the private sector is a part of a nation but which is owned by individuals. The private sector is aimed at making profit unlike the government which is aimed at providing social welfare services to the citizens. The private sector provides a various of goods and service. But most of the services it provides are not that basic in nature. The government ensures that it take to the provision of basic services to the citizens. Therefore the private sector is involved in the provision of goods and services that supplements those that are provided by the government. For example, the private sector is involved in production of goods and services. However in the recent past there has been increased involvement of the private sector in the works of the government. In this regard, the private sector has made contributions in the health sector where the government has now come up with a comprehensive policy that addressed the needs of every citizen. (Coombe 2001, p. 20) In supplementing the efforts of the government, the private sector is involved in a number of ways. The recent trend in many countries has been that of delegating some of the government service to the private sector. Unlike the government, the private sector is known for efficiency in its work. This is because it is more oriented at providing the best goods and service since it operates in a competitive environment. Therefore the government has been delegating some

Monday, July 22, 2019

Greek Mythology Essay Essay Example for Free

Greek Mythology Essay Essay There are many similarities and differences between Greek myths and what Genesis says. One example is the creation of man and the universe. Another example is how the first woman was created and what she was meant for. The last example is the Greek’s account of the flood compared to the Genesis account. The universe was created by thunder according to Greek myth. But in reality it was created by the voice of God saying in Genesis, Let there be, and it was. The word of God was distorted in the Greek myth by saying everything was created with thunder when really Gods voice was like thunder as it says in Job 40:9 Do you have an arm like Gods, and can your voice thunder like his?. Over time, the bible saying Gods voice sounds like thunder may have been perceived as just thunder in the Greek account. This is what may have caused the Greek myths of creation to become so distorted. There are also some similarities and differences between the Genesis and Greek account of the creation of woman. The first woman, Eve, was created out of Adams rib as Genesis says in chapter 20 verse 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. Genises also states that Eve was a gift from God to Adam, however, the Greek account states that the first woman, Pandora, was a punishment by God. These are just some of the distortions between the Genises account and the Greek myth. There are many similarities and differences between what the Genises account states and what the Greek account states about the flood. In the Greek account, Zues got angry at the world because of humanitys sins and wanted to destroy it. He was going to destroy the world with a thunder bolt when he dicided to flood it instead because otherwise heaven would light on fire. Really God never debated how to destroy the world, he just instantly choose to do it with a flood as it says in Genises 6:17, I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. God told Noah to build an ark and to put all living creatures, male and female, onto the ark for he was going to flood the earth. However, in the  Greek account Zues never warned humanity of the flood, he just had Posiden flood it and Hades create earthquakes. Two humans found refuge on a mountain that the waters didnt reach. These are just some examples of the distortions between Greek myth and the Genises account. In conclusion, the Greek account of the creation of man, how the first woman was created and what she was meant for, and their account of the flood compared to the Genises account all have many similarities and differences. One thing that may have caused these distortions of the Genises account is the bibles use of figurative language and people perceiving it the wrong way.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Music Intervention as Anxiety and Stress Relief

Music Intervention as Anxiety and Stress Relief Evelyn Neville Music Intervention as Anxiety and Stress Relief during Minor Medical Procedures Introduction This concept analysis will address the anxiety and stress relief effect of music on patients during routine medical procedures. Music can have a calming effect on patients which can greatly reduce the anxiety and stress the patients may be feeling while enduring procedures such as blood draws or IV insertions (Mok Wong, 2003). The anxiety felt by many patients can provide many obstacles throughout the appointment such as the inability to listen effectively due to the inability to focus (Baldwin, 2016), a negative impact on seeking out further medical treatments in the future (Detz, Lopez Sarkar, 2013), and a general increase in muscle tightness, heart rate, blood pressure and respirations (Bandelow, Boerner ,Kasper, Linden, Wittchen Mà ¶ller, 2013). The alleviation of some of this anxiety and stress may have a powerful impact that could contribute to a patients overall health and continue to build a strong foundation for the relationship between the patient and their health care provider. It is significant that the concept of using music for anxiety relief is studied further as this could provide a new involvement for patients in their own healthcare. It could also provide cost effective ways for the healthcare providers to ensure patients are comfortable, are relaxed and walk away feeling better about their relationship with their health care provider. Music is a universal language that we can all relate to and we should use it to our advantage in the medical field. Music has been successfully used to reduce anxiety in dental procedures (Lahmann et al., 2008), the use of music may be a simple and inexpensive way for hospitals, clinics or doctors offices to make the patients experience better and less stressful. It has been found that music may even be have sufficient anxiety and pain relief in postoperative settings that it may be used as a substitute for adverse effect causing opioid medications (Allred, Byers Sole, 2008). Therefore it is significant that health care professionals should attempt to use the benefits of this non-pharmacologic intervention while treating their patients. The specific use of personally chosen music will ensure that the patient feels they have control over the situation and are involved in their own care (Erlang, Nielsen, Hansen Finderup, 2015). Assumptions The underlying assumptions of this concept analysis include that inherently people like music and it can aid in anxiety reduction as shown by lowered blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rates (Bandelow, Boerner, Kasper, Linden, Wittchen Mà ¶ller 2013). It has also been used in therapy and other medical practices such as dentistry to assist patients in coping with stress, pain and anxiety (Lahmann et al., 2008). Even though everyone copes differently with stress, it can be assumed that many people use music to reduce stress for physiological, cognitive and emotional processes (Thoma, La Marca, Bà ¶nnimann, Finkel, Ehlert Nater, 2013) Preview In the following section of this concept analysis the reader will be presented with a review of literature reviews that describe the concept in different disciplines. Using the Walker and Avant (2005) method, the concept analysis will include a discussion of the concept and its attributes, antecedents and consequences. Lastly, Empirical referents will also be discussed. Literature Review The literature review for this concept analysis was done with materials found on the following databases: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), DePaul Library Book Circulation, UptoDate and Google Scholar. The databases were searched between 1990 and 2017, focusing on articles published after 2000. The CINAHL database produced 1 result for nursing theory music, 11,857 results for music, 333 for music anxiety, 1,531 results for generalized anxiety disorder, 61 results for previous pain experience, and 52 results for music procedure. UptoDate was searched for generalized anxiety disorder with an undisclosed amount of total results. Google Scholar produced 908,000 results for music therapy, 46,200 results for music calming, 597,000 results for music preference, 102,000 results for music therapy anxiety reduction, 1,100,000 results for trust anxiety, 268,000 results for nursing theory music, 1,890,000 results for nurse patient relationship, 976,000 results for patient n urse communication long term, 1,990,000 results for music psychology, 749,000 results for music anxiety and 70,400 results by searching music social bonding. Two additional sources were used, 2 books about music found in the DePaul University Library Book Circulation database when searching for music medicine and music philosophy. Music Therapy According to Oxford dictionary music can be defined as vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). As music is an abstract form of art, it is able to relate the composers and musicians feelings and intention through direct imitation, approximate imitation and symbolization (Cooke, 2001). With this ability to convey emotion and feelings, music is able to stimulate a heightened emotional response from its creators and listeners (Sloboda, 1991), creating a framework for therapists to create an enriched environment through the use of music. Within music therapy the terms music and music therapy have been used interchangeably, this was especially common practice at that time when the profession was not yet established (Horden, 2000). Music in and of itself is defined as the use of music and/or musical elements (sound, rhythm, melody, and harmony) within the music therapy discipline. To describe music therapy the World Federation of Music Therapy goes one step further and defines it as a process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationships, learning, mobilization, expression, organization and other relevant therapeutic objectives, in order to meet physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive needs. (Horden, 2000). Music therapy has been used for anxiety reduction in the past including in a study about the effects of music therapy on patients anxiety while undergoing a flexible sigmoidoscopy. The results of this study confirmed that patients who listened to self-selected music tapes during the procedure had significantly decreased scores for State-trait anxiety inventory, heart rates and mean arterial pressures compared to the control group. Within this study it was concluded that music is an effective anxiolitic adjunct for the flexible sigmoidoscopy procedure (Palakanis, DeNobile, Sweeney, Blankenship, 1994). Psychology Music psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the production, creation and perception of music. Within music psychology, music is defined as patterned action in time which appears communicative, complex, generative and representational (Hallam, Cross Thaut, 2009). Music psychology can be applied to individual preferences, arguably due to personality, and the way music is perceived. Studies exploring influence of personality on musical preferences such as the study performed by Stephen J. Dollinger in 1993 have shown that overall personality does have an influence on the types of music individuals prefer. Dollinger, for example, showed that the personality trait openness had a positive correlation to enjoyment of a variety of different kinds of music (Dollinger, 1993). Anxiety has been linked to experiencing additional stressors in childhood, an environmental factor, according to Wiedemann (2013). He points out that personality traits are another factor that can predispose people to experiencing anxiety and how strongly they experience it. Age can also be a factor in the expression of anxiety, with adolescents having a higher incidence rate of anxiety overall (Wiedemann, 2013). Lastly, Wiedeman discusses that anxiety when due to a life event is adaptive, however once the perceived danger passes and the anxious state lasts, this may be due to a pathologic type of anxiety. These anxiety causing events may also cause the patient to experience lasting bouts of anxiety in the future during similar traumatic events (Wiedemann, 2013). Biology Within biology, music can have a neurobiological role. There music is regarded in biological terms as originating in the brain, so that most explanations concentrate on the ways in which brains process information (Freeman, 1998).   As explained by Freeman in his study, music is defined by deeply personal experiences of individuals which are made unique by the separation of information within the brain as it learns more and goes through epistemological solipsism or isolation of uniqueness of knowledge (Freeman, 1998). As sounds pass through the inner ear, along excited sensory neurons into the primary auditory cortex, musical experience is still a neurobiological experience deprived of emotion. However, as explained by Freeman: as the information is processed through neighboring cortical areas concerned with speech and song the information is passed between the newer brain and older part of the forebrain and can generate memories evoked by listening to music, and arouse the em otional states that have become associated with now familiar songs through previous experiences (Freeman 1998). As this information is continuing to pass through the brain, a sense of social bonding is felt by the subject through the perception, creation and sharing of music and dance (Freeman 1998). This social bonding leads to trust, and is related to a social aspect as well as a release of neurochemicals. It is therefore a plausible assumption that music can create neurobiological stimuli that create an environment of bonding and trust building. This can be an important aspect of a patient-nurse/healthcare professional relationship. Lastly, genetics is another factor when discussing anxiety in patients. In recent studies it has been shown that genetics explained about half of the variance when it comes to the predisposition of anxiety in familial cases (Wiedemann, 2013). Concept Maturity This concept has gained some traction within the last few years, especially in other disciplines besides nursing. Dentistry has used music to assist patients during dental exams and procedures for several years and more studies have been done recently in using music to assist in stress and anxiety relief. Generally the concept has been researched in specific instances such as children in the ED receiving IVs or patients receiving a flexible sigmoidoscopy. A longer term study within the nursing discipline needs to be performed to ensure a complete concept analysis can be done. Analysis Defining attributes The defining characteristics that are repeated in the literature include anxiety, music and a positive effect on decreased heart rate. Anxiety encompasses a general feeling of worry and concern about future events which may have an uncertain ending. This can be very well translated to patients worry and fears about medical procedures that may cause them pain and discomfort as well as feeling a lack of knowledge and control over the situation. It has been confirmed that anxiety can manifest itself in things such as increased heart rate, feeling of tightness, and muscle tension (Bandelow, Boerner ,Kasper, Linden, Wittchen Mà ¶ller 2013). The effect of music on heart rate as a relaxation technique has been studied in a clinical setting. It has been proven that a patients preferred music can have a positive effect on lowering the heart rate post procedure (Vaajoki, Kankkunen, Pietilà ¤ Vehvilà ¤inen-Julkunen, 2011). The heart rate is defined as a clinical value measured as a full heart contraction for the duration of a full minute. The ability to lower heart rate allows us to empirically measure the effects of music on the patients during and after their procedures. The patient will have sole control over their choice of music in this concept. Giving the patient the ability to control the type of music has also shown to provide patients with a sense of choice and involvement in the procedure (Erlang, Nielsen, Hansen Finderup, 2015). The musical choices of the patients will be songs played by instruments that are kept in a key with harmonies and rhythm. The patient has full control over the genre of music which may include rock, classical, pop and acoustic. Antecedents Most adult patients will have previously experienced a blood draw and therefore will know what to expect. This knowledge may range from a feeling of impending doom and anxiety over the pain and discomfort they may experience. Though blood draws may not always be painful, previous experiences influence a patients expectations and can translate into higher anxiety and stress when the previous experience was negative (Reicherts, Gerdes, Pauli Wieser, 2016). The travel to the medical facility and the identification of music to be played are also antecedents to the impending procedure. Consequences Consequences of the attempt to relieve anxiety during a blood draw can include a positive experience due to relieved anxiety as well as improved rapport with the nurse or other health care professional which will result in return of the patient for future screenings and preventative care (Detz, Lopez, Sarkar, 2013) . This in turn will result in the patient seeking out healthier long term behavior as well as a decrease in emergency service use (Weiss Blustein, 1996). Additionally, the patient may feel more relaxed and not tense up as much making the nurses job to perform the blood draw much easier. As illustrated in a study by Hartling, Newton, Liang, Jou, Hewson, Klassen and Curtis (2013) a significant amount of health care providers reported that it was easier to perform IV placement on children admitted into the Emergency Department who listened to music than those who were not listening to music. It was also noted that the health care providers were happier with the placement whe n patients were listening to music than if they were not (Hartling et al., 2013) The opposite experience may also occur, creating a negative consequence. The patient may not have found the music they wanted to listen to and may have not experienced anxiety relief during the blood draw. If the nurse was unsuccessful in performing the blood draw by having to start over, puncturing or fishing for the vein resulting in pain, the patient may reflect on this being a bad experience and will not want to return and may even feel the relationship with the nurse has been damaged which may result in the patient not seeking out medical care in the future. Empirical Referents The attribute of anxiety can be measured through a number of Anxiety scales such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item scale (GAD-7) or The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Baldwin, 2016). These measurements can be done before and after the procedure, as well as across a population of patients who did listen to music as well as those that did not. A similar comparison between heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate should be done for everyone involved in the study. A general Patient Satisfaction Survey may also be done for all patients to get an overall sense of the experience and to ask specifics on the patient-nurse relationship after the procedure. A study that may be emulated can include the study performed by Hartling et al. (2013) which looked at pediatric patients response to having music played while having an IV placed in an Emergency Department setting. Within the study an Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress-Revised was used to measure behavioral distress, as well as child-reported pain, heart rate and parent and health care provider satisfaction, ease of performing procedure and parental anxiety were measured. This takes into account a variety of different types of data (qualitative vs. quantitative) while measuring success from more than 1 angle. Nursing Application The following two cases will outline how anxiety can lead to a positive and negative experience while experiencing a blood draw. The model case will show a positive experience of how music is able to reduce anxiety while the contrary case will portray a case in which anxiety is high for the patient. Model Case Jane Doe is coming in for a routine physical with the instruction of fasting as she will have blood drawn for a routine blood panel. Jane has an established rapport with the doctors office she is attending including the nurse who will be performing the blood draw today. Since Jane has had good experiences with this nurse before she is feeling calm prior to her appointment; she knows what to expect. When the nurse arrives she explains that they have added a new feature of having music played while the blood is being drawn. She is given a tablet with a music app where Jane is able to choose what music she would like to listen to. This gives Jane a sense of control and involvement in the situation and feels she can relax while the nurse is drawing her blood. As Jane relaxes the nurse is able to easily insert the needle and draw the blood quickly on her first attempt. Janes ability to relax her muscles and lowered anxiety ensured that she would not flinch and potentially disrupt the bloo d drawing process. After the appointment Jane leaves happy with the interaction with the nurse and feels the music helped in keeping her anxiety at bay in a natural way reinforcing her positive view of this doctors office. Contrary Case Jane Doe is coming in for a routine physical with the instruction of fasting as she will have blood drawn for a routine blood panel. Jane has never been to this doctors office before and is feeling some anxiety about this new environment. As the nurse gets ready to perform the blood draw, Janes anxiety intensifies as she recalls previous needle sticks. She feels as though she has no control over the situation and is starting to tense up as the nurse begins prepping her arm. The nurse is unable to accurately place the needle into the vein and has to start over. Jane is now feeling more anxious than ever as the first attempt was very painful and now the nurse will attempt to reinsert the needle again. After the appointment, Jane leaves the office not being confident in the ability of the nurse nor her desire to want to continue making appointments with this doctors office. Discussion and Conclusion The purpose of this concept analysis was to analyze the effects of music on patient anxiety during blood draws.   Through the lens of music therapy, psychology and biology it is concluded that music may act as a cost effective and non pharmacological solution to anxiety reduction while also improving patient-nurse relationships and encouraging patients to further seek medical intervention and preventative care in the future. Musical intervention may even encourage patients to seek a more long-term relationship with their nurse or other Healthcare provider which will ensure better health outcomes in their lifetimes. A practical application of this concept would be a very real possibility at the Japanese American Service Committee. Here, older adults are provided with a place to go while their families are at work to provide a stimulating environment as well as ensuring they are safe. Most of the clients suffer from some type of age related difficulties in performing activities of daily living effectively and on their own. Some may have dementia while others are no longer able to ambulate safely on their own without an assistive ambulation device. Though JASC does have a nurse on staff, they do not have a need to perform blood draws, though the use of music may come in handy while giving vaccines or administering other types of injection medications. Often clients become anxious towards the end of the day as they worry they will not make it home or that their families have forgotten them. The use of music may be a simple and cost effective way for JASC to engage the clients while reducing their worry. The care takers may also teach the clients about the use of music during stressful medical procedures as many of the clients do see their doctors quite often. The education may also be given to the clients families who may be able to put the concept into use and therefore assist in making these doctors visits less stressful for everyone. Implications for further research include a more comprehensive study across all ages, genders, settings, socioeconomic and insurance status, various procedures and patients who are predisposed to anxiety disorders. There are many factors that can influence a patients anxiety level and it is important to distinguish between musics effectives versus a persons inability to effectively deal with anxiety. References   Ã‚   Allred, K. D., Byers, J. F., Sole, M. L. (2010). The Effect of Music on Postoperative Pain and Anxiety. Pain Management Nursing, 11(1), 15-25. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2008.12.002 Baldwin, D. (2016). Generalized anxiety disorder in adults: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, course, assessment, and diagnosis. In M.B. Stein R. Hermann (Eds.). UptoDate. Available from https://www-uptodate-com.ezproxy.depaul.edu/contents/generalized-anxiety-disorder-in-adults-epidemiology-pathogenesis-clinical-manifestations-course-assessment-and-diagnosis?source=search_resultsearch=generalized%20anxiety%20disorder%20diagnosisselectedTitle=1~128 Bandelow, B., Boerner, J. R., Kasper, S., Linden, M., Wittchen, H. U., Moeller, H. J. (2013). The diagnosis and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Deutsches Aerzteblatt International, 110(17), 300-309. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2013.0300 Cooke, D. (2001). The language of music. London: Oxford University Press. Detz, A., Là ³pez, A., Sarkar, U. (2013). Long-Term Doctor-Patient Relationships: Patient Perspective From Online Reviews. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(7). doi:10.2196/jmir.2552 Dollinger, S. J. (1993). Research Note: Personality and Music Preference: Extraversion and Excitement Seeking or Openness to Experience? Psychology of Music, 21(1), 73-77. doi:10.1177/030573569302100105 Erlang, A. S., Nielsen, I. H., Hansen, H. O., Finderup, J. (2015). Patients Experiences Of Involvement In Choice Of Dialysis Mode. Journal of Renal Care, 41(4), 260-267. doi:10.1111/jorc.12141 Freeman, W. J. (1998). A neurobiological role of music on social bonding. In N. Wallin, B. Merkur, S. Brown   (Eds.), The Origins of Music. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Hallam, S., Cross, I., Thaut, M. (2016). The Oxford handbook of music psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hartling, L., Newton, A. S., Liang, Y., Jou, H., Hewson, K., Klassen, T. P., Curtis, S. (2013). Music to Reduce Pain and Distress in the Pediatric Emergency Department. JAMA Pediatrics, 167(9), 826. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.200 Horden, P. (2014). Music as medicine: the history of music therapy since antiquity. Aldershot: Ashgate. Lahmann, C., Schoen, R., Henningsen, P., Ronel, J., Muehlbacher, M., Loew, T., . . . Doering, S. (2008). Brief Relaxation Versus Music Distraction in the Treatment of Dental Anxiety. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 139(3), 317-324. doi:10.14219/jada.archive.2008.0161 Mok, E., Wong, K. (n.d.). Effects of Music on Patient Anxiety. Aorn Journal, 77(2), 396-410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0001-2092(06)61207-6 Palakanis, K. C., Denobile, J. W., Sweeney, B. W., Blankenship, C. L. (1994). Effect of music therapy on state anxiety in patients undergoing flexible sigmoidoscopy. Diseases of the Colon Rectum, 37(5), 478-481. doi:10.1007/bf02076195 Reicherts, P., Gerdes, A. B., Pauli, P., Wieser, M. J. (2016). Psychological Placebo and Nocebo Effects on Pain Rely on Expectation and Previous Experience. The Journal of Pain, 17(2), 203-214. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2015.10.010 Sloboda, J. A. (1991). Music Structure and Emotional Response: Some Empirical Findings. Psychology of Music, 19(2), 110-120. doi:10.1177/0305735691192002 Thoma, M. V., Marca, R. L., Brà ¶nnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., Nater, U. M. (2013). The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response. PLoS ONE, 8(8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156 Vaajoki, A., Kankkunen, P., Pietilà ¤, A., Vehvilà ¤inen-Julkunen, K. (2011). Music as a nursing intervention: Effects of music listening on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate in abdominal surgery patients. Nursing Health Sciences, 13(4), 412-418. doi:10.1111/j.1442-2018.2011.00633.x Weiss, L. J., Blustein, J. (1996). Faithful patients: the effect of long-term physician-patient relationships on the costs and use of health care by older Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 86(12), 1742-1747. doi:10.2105/ajph.86.12.1742 Wiedemann, K. (2015). Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders. In International Encyclopedia of the Social Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 804-810). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Analysis of Hipster Subcultures

Analysis of Hipster Subcultures Nowadays we often come across the terms hipster or hipsterism in different newspapers and magazines as well as watching TV programs. Some people in our society even cannot imagine the meaning of this word. However, the term hipster is a well-known term for any sociologist, especially if he or she is interested in different contemporary subcultures of our society. A great deal of articles concerning the hipsters lifestyle and culture have already been written. Among them are the articles which were written by the specialists in the field of sociology. For example, Mark Griefs article The Hipster in the Mirror which was published in New York Times on December, 11 in 2010 touches upon some important issues concerning this interesting theme from the experienced sociologists point of view. My goal in this paper is not only to develop the theme of this contemporary subculture but also to make head or tale of how it is that the term hipster can simultaneously be so ambiguous and yet so meaningful to certain people in our society. Ill try to analyze Griefs discussion in his article The Hipsters in the Mirror, and Ill give my own thoughts regarding this theme. To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into three main sections, one of which has some sub-sections. In the first section, Ill give the main characteristics of hipsters. Moreover, Ill match each of three hipster sub groups which were identified by Mark Grief in his article. In the second section of my essay, Ill touch upon the Marxist idea concerning the culture as a form of power, and Durkheims ideas concerning the reflection of our mental representations in particular social groups, and find out Bourdieus conception on these issues. In the third section of my paper, Ill discuss Griefs argument that terms like hipster do not make very good sociological concepts and Ill give my own point of view concerning this issue. In conclusion, Ill summarize the main points of my essay and express my opinion. Now I am going to turn to the first section of my paper. HIPSTERS IN OUR SOCIETY. THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS SOCIAL GROUP The term hipster is a slang term which stands for a young man or a girl who adhere to non-mainstream fashion and created their own culture. It is not difficult to recognize a hipster in the crowd of people because the representatives of this group are usually dressed according to their certain rules and aesthetic norms. Hipsters usually wear skinny jeans and big eyeglasses. (Greif) It is known that this term hipster appeared in 1940th and initially stood for a representative of a special subculture and the admires of jazz music. Nowadays this word has a little bit another meaning. It describes the young well-to-do people who usually live in big cities and who are interested in fashion, culture, modern music, indie rock, popular magazines such as Vice and Clash, arthouse films and modern literature and so on. (Haddow) Mark Griefs Ideas Concerning Hipsters and the Role of Taste. Mark Grief, a writer, professor at New School University in New York and editor/co-creator of literary magazine n+1, a person of wide interests, a Harvard graduate, who got PhD from Yale, studied literature at Oxford gives some interesting ideas about hipster. (Rawlings Sundin) Mark Grief insists on the fact that nobody thinks of himself as a hipster in our society, nevertheless, most of the present day young people belong to this social group. Not only the clothes they wear give them out to be hipsters. Although this fact is also very important in this issue. Their way of life, their world concept, their special interests unite them together. In his article The Hipster in the Mirror, Mark Grief turns to the work of a famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdie Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste which is considered to be one of the most important sociological books of the 20th century. The author of this book makes investigations and gives the ideas how different social groups define aesthetic concepts such as taste. (Bourdie) His investigation gives such results that the tastes which are considered to be personal, unique, justified only by sensibility depend on the social class including your profession, your highest degree and your fath ers profession. (Grief) Moreover, he identifies three main groups hipster sub-groups which have absolutely different tastes, interests and philosophy. Mark Griefs Division of Hipsters into three Main Groups and Difference between them. In order to explain the above mentioned statement, I should use Mark Griefs words: Taste is not stable and peaceful but a means of strategy and competition. What does it mean? It means that all the representatives of hipterism can be divided into several classes according to their financial standing. Those superior in wealth young people who are at the top of this diagram use taste to show that they are superior in spirit. The other sub-group of hipsters includes the young people of upper-middle class who move to cities after college in order to find work in the creative professions. (Grief) Of course, they are ignored by the urban hierarchy but have some skills to make a superior body of cultural cool. The third sub-group of hipsters is represented by couch-surfing, old-clothes-wearing young people who belong to the lower-middle class fraction. Mark Grief calls them the most authentic and the most s ocially precarious. However, they have no any financial support from their parents. They work as servitorial staff in bars, shops and so on. Their cool clothes can easily make them superiors among all the hipsters in spite of the fact that they practically have no extra money. The struggle among these three groups is based on superiority. To be the best, to know more about lifestyle and culture, to wear the most cool clothes are the main aspects of this struggle. The representatives of each group of hipsters consider themselves to be the best possessors of taste. The main purpose of representing hipsterism is to prove that the tastes of this or that social group depend on the economic, social and cultural aspects. BOURDIEUS IDEAS REGARDING TWO PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE BY MARX AND DURKHEIM, THE EARLY THEORISTS OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE It is known that such researchers as Marx and Durkheim made a great contribution to the development of cultural sociology. According to Marxs ideas concerning culture, the most powerful members of our society are those who belong to the upper class. They set up culture of the society in their own way, according to their rules and concepts. Moreover, he states that the economic status plays an important role in the formation of values and ideologies of society. The other perspective on culture which was used by Bourdieu in his work relates to another famous sociologist Emile Durkheim who has his own opinion on culture. According to his opinion, culture has many relationships to society including logical, functional and historical ones. The first ones state that power depends on some cultural categories and beliefs, e.g. God. The second ones state that certain ceremonies and myths build social order. The historical relationships to society state that the origins of culture lie in socie ty. Lets relate the ideas of Bourdieu described by Mark Grief in his article The Hipsters in the Mirror to these perspectives on culture. Speaking about Bourdieus ideas regarding the freedom of our mental representations, Id say that he appropriates some claims of the famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim who is known also for the establishment of the academic discipline and social science. As a matter of fact, Emile Durkheim asserts that our mental representations are not freely and randomly chosen but really represent our membership in particular social group. It means that the representatives of this or that sub-group of hipsters cannot change themselves due to their mental representations. For example, Bourdieu and his researchers held an opinion poll of 1200 people among which were the representatives of all the social classes. The questions which were included into his public opinion poll touched upon the aspects of French domestic life. Among them was such a question: Which of the given subjects could be the most appropriate to make a good photo? There were three variants given by the researchers to choose: a beautiful sunset, a pretty girl with a cat and a terrible car crash. It is interesting to know that the representatives of such professions as college teachers and artists began to look conditioned to the variant of a car crash. Of course, much depends on the social status of a person.(Grief) If we are going to speak about the representatives of the upper class who are well-to-do people and who feel a great power over the other social groups, their culture will really represent a form of power. Everything they do will be considered the best, everything they say will be highly appreciated. They are those who always take center stage. Of course, as a result of it, they ignore other young people and even make fun of them. Mark Grief touches upon the Bourdieus discussions based on the Marxist idea that culture can operate as a form of power. He says that the philistine wealthy, who have money but have no idea of what culture is, convert real capital into cultural capital. They create their own subculture as if it were ready to wear. (Grief) At the same time Bourdieus approach criticizes the Marxist perspective in a way and Mark Grief states this fact in his article. He says that the habits of hatred and accusation are rather typical for hipsters of all the sub-groups. The main reason of this fact is that they feel the weakness of everyones position including their own. (Grief) They feel their own weakness. So, as a result of this emotional state, young people who not long ago had a great power over the other representatives of hipsters and considered themselves to be the best in lifestyle, culture and fashion, feel low and insignificant in the presents of the other hipsters. In this situation we canno t say that culture can operate as a form of power. SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF THE TERM HIPSTER IN OUR SOCIETY It is very important to notice the fact that Griefs argument that terms like hipster do not make very good sociological concepts cannot be used for describing the social world in scientific terms. If we try to analyze the meaning of this word having read a great deal of articles regarding the lifestyle, behavior, fashion and culture of hipsters, well be able to give a certain characteristics to the term hipster. May be, it will be something with negative meaning but, nevertheless, it will represent the main true features of this word. So, hipsters are young people, the representatives of a certain social group or class and subculture which do not aim for anything, which do not dream of anything, which do not exclaim against anything or rebel, which do not invent or change anything. The response to the term hipster is striking. People do not hate hipsters. It is an obvious exaggeration. Anyway, people refer to this phenomenon as if it is the main source of culture fall because hipster s can easily change one thing into another. Id like to represent the results of a survey which will help us to see if this term can be used to describe the social world in scientific terms. People of different professions and social status took part in this survey on the question of hipsters. Among them were students, designers, journalists, workers, businessmen. Here are some examples of their answers. Question: Does the word hipster have a positive or a negative meaning? Student: Hipsters represent our modern youth and its quite normal. Journalist: If a hipster is a one person in the crowd, its positive, but if there are hundreds of them gathered in one place, it irritates a lot. Designer: I think if a person wants to distinguish himself from the crowd, its a good idea! I cannot say anything negative about hipsters. Worker: I dont know what are you talking about. Businessman: Its not interesting for me. Photographer: I am sure that hipsters make our life bright and merry. Their clothes, their glasses, everything is Okay. These are only several answers. However, we can easily prove the fact that the public opinion concerning hipsters is positive in most answers. So, I think that the term hipster can be used to describe the social group in scientific terms. Although there are many articles which prove the contrary. For example, Douglas Haddows article Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization considers hipsters to be the representatives of narcissism and spiritual shallowness which may lead to the end of civilization. He says that we came to the point in our civilization where counterculture has mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum. (Haddow) At the same time another article Are Hipsters Really the End of Western Civilization written by Joseph Mohan calls down this opinion. The author of this article is sure that hipsters are simply kids in a phase theyll eventually grow out of it, just like the Gen-Hers, punks, hippies, beatniks, and flappers before them. (Mohan) CONCLUSION In conclusion, I should say that the issue discussed in my paper is a topical one. It is clear that different people have different opinions concerning hipsters in our society. The proverb says: So many heads, so many opinions. That is true. Mark Grief used the work of Pierre Bourdieu to discuss this issue. Having analyzed some aspects in his article and some other articles which also touch upon the question of hipsters, I can agree that the term hipster can at the same time be so ambiguous and so meaningful to certain people of our society. Of course, this phenomenon is not dangerous for our civilization. Not all the people of our society can be hipsters. Nevertheless, we can easily use this term to denote a certain social group in our society. I think that its a very interesting question for any sociologist to carry out researches and have public surveys, to learn new things and study social science. Such people as hipsters help us to explore our society and draw corresponding conc lusions.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Cosmetic Surgery: The Cure for Low Self- Esteem? Or are the Risks too r

Cosmetic surgery has been around for decades. As the years went by, new procedures came to surface as well as new surgical tools. The procedures that surfaced became attention grabbing from many people. New and improved procedures and equipment came as more years went by and it grabbed more attention to more people. But is cosmetic surgery the answer to a person with low self esteem? The first American Plastic Surgeon was John Peter Mettauer. He performed the first cleft palate in 1827 with surgical instruments that he designed himself. However, since 2000 BC reconstructive surgery techniques was being carried out in India. A man by the name of Joseph Constantine Carpue performed the first major surgery in the Western World by 1815. The internet carries a lot of information on cosmetic surgery along with many doctors, specialists, etc, that writes their opinions and/or professional insights on cosmetic surgery. Some people wrote that in most cases it will and in some it won’t. I think it just completely depends on how bad ones self esteem is, meaning how low it is. I do agree that the performing Doctor should do a low self esteem test on all their patients before going into such body alterations. If they should come across a person that is with low to very low self esteem they really should explain to the person exactly what to expect with the procedure that is chosen. Being very sensitive and not leaving out any surprises. The Doctor should also consider asking the patient if they would want a second opinion they should very much get one, in fact I think that the Doctor should insist that the person obtains a second opinion. This is because it may just ease everyone’s minds. If for some reason that the procedure turne... ...g the perfect body is what many people think will get them far, so what is their answer? Cosmetic surgery, but do they even care about the risks that are involved, maybe and maybe not. Here in the present technology is booming with equipment that is unbelievable and may make any person think they would be safer during surgery now compared to back in the days, this may be true, however what they really need to think of is, will having a cosmetic surgery procedure be what really will make me happy and go as far as I want to? Works Cited Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.  (n.d.).  Plastic Surgery.  Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery Morello, D.C., Colon, G.A., Fredericks, S., Iverson, R., Singer, R. Patient safety in accredited office surgical facilities. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 99: 1496, 1997. Source:  http://www.surgery.org

Friday, July 19, 2019

Social Captial: Richardo D. Stanton-Salazar and Douglas Foley :: essays research papers

For this critical analysis, the first article I have chosen to evaluate â€Å"A Social Capital Framework for Understanding the Socialization of Racial Minority Children and Youths† by Richardo D. Stanton-Salazar. This article surprised me in various ways and gave me mixed emotions. The author details a network-analytic framework to understand the socialization and schooling experiences of working-class racial minority youth. Stanton-Salazar examined the relationships between youth and institutional agents which plays in the greater multicultural context in which working-class minority youth must negotiate. Stanton-Salazar also provides how students developed cultural strategies to overcome the various obstacles and how they manage to develop sustaining and supportive relationships with institutional agents. Right in the beginning of the article, Stanton-Salazar used a terminology that surprised me. He referred to African American and Latino children as living in â€Å"economically disenfranchised urban communities†. I immediately thought, â€Å"What is that!? It’s just a prettier way of sugar coating the terminology of the truth of where children live†¦in the ghetto!† For some reason, the terminology he used upset me. Why didn’t Stanton-Salazar use vocabulary that the rest of the world is banked to using instead of hiding behind his fancy college degrees? That just bothered me because in reality, there is no nice way of stating the fact and it surely doesn’t help the problem in any way. Moving on, Stanton-Salazar states â€Å"contemporary scholars who study minority children and youth have tried to address the lack of attention to racial variations in socialization, bringing light the developmental challenges this group faces†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If I’m reading the statement correctly, I believe that it’s quite the opposite. I think that society addresses ethnicity first and foremost. The ethnicity of any minority group is the first to obtain any attention and it descends in a downward spiral from there. Continuing with the reading, Stanton-Salazar quotes another individual, Sennett and Cobb, â€Å"the power of institutional agents lies in their ability to give or withhold knowledge† which results in the institutional playing a game of who’s going to be successful in society or fail. People who might withhold information may have something against a student or may think that he/she would benefit from the resource than another student. In reading this statement, it got me thinking about when I was a student in high school. Long story short, I had teachers and counselors hold back information from me that would have been useful to me now.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

What is religion

What is religion? There are many definitions for the term â€Å"religion† in common usage. On this web site, we define it very broadly, in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. † Thus we include here all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions; Neopagan religions; a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems; and beliefs about the existence of God(s) and Goddess(es). We recognize that most people define â€Å"religion† in a much more exclusive manner. Christianity: There are many definitions for this term as well. Again, we use an inclusive definition: â€Å"An individual or group is Christian if they sincerely, thoughtfully and devoutly believe that they are Christian. † This generates a lot of angry Emails from some visitors to this site who are insistent on excluding the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and some other denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian non-Christian, or anti-Christian. We treat Christianity in greater detail than other religions, simply because about 75% of North Americans identify themselves with that religion. Christians outnumber the next largest organized religions, Judaism and Islam, by about 40 to 1 in the U. S. and Canada. We are not in any way implying that Christianity is superior or inferior to other religions. It is simply much more popular. Destructive, doomsday cults: These are fortunately few in number, and are listed elsewhere. Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a group (typically 3 or more) of persons who follow the belief before the material is placed online. â€Å"World† Religions: There are many, long established, major world religions, each with over three million followers. We have shown the five largest North American religions in bold: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Christianity; Christian groups, denominations and families (Amish to The Way) Confucianism Hinduism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Sikhism Taoism Vodun (Voodoo) 1 Neopagan Religious Faiths Neopagan faiths are modern-day reconstructions of ancient Pagan religions from various countries and eras. They experience a high but diminishing level of discrimination and persecution in North America. They were once rarely practiced in public for reasons of safety. This is rapidly changing for the better. Asatru (Norse Paganism) * Druidism Goddess Worship Wicca Witchcraft Notes: Many followers of Asatru regard themselves as â€Å"Heathens† rather than â€Å"Neopagans. † Many followers of these religions refer to themselves as â€Å"Pagans. † We use the term â€Å"Neopagan† because it is less ambiguous. Pagan† has a variety of unrelated meanings. Other organized Religions These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has be en spread about them in North America: Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna – ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a. k. a. Gypsies) Santeria Elian Gonzalez religious movement Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazd? ism Zoroastrianism what is RELIGION? The English word â€Å"religion† is derived from the Middle English â€Å"religioun† which came from the Old French â€Å"religion. † It may have been originally derived from the Latin word â€Å"religo† which means â€Å"good faith,† â€Å"ritual,† and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin â€Å"relig? e† which means â€Å"to tie fast. † Defining the word â€Å"religion† is fraught with difficulty. Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. † All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief. Some definitions equate â€Å"religion† with â€Å"Christianity,† and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Some define â€Å"religion† in terms of â€Å"the sacred† and/or â€Å"the spiritual,† and thus require the creation of two more definitions. Sometimes, definitions of â€Å"religion† contain more than one deficiency. However, this definition contains an element of controversy, because it implies that religions, and thus perhaps deity/deities, are created by humanity and not the reverse. A less contentious meaning might be the sum total of answers to the problem of our relationship with the universe, we call religion. â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. † A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Na tive American Spirituality, Wicca, and other Neopagan traditions to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a â€Å"belief about deity. Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist. Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion. Many conservative Christians refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many Native Americans believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form a integral and seamless part of their very being, totally integrated into their life experience. Agnostics and Atheists often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most, Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters. The New Age is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him. The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion. â€Å"True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers. † â€Å"†¦ just because you don't bow on your knees and worship an idol or an invisible being, does not mean you are not a Satan worshiper. The worship of any other god (s) is the same thing. There are no other gods. They are demons and Satan is in control of them. â€Å"Yes, Christianity is the one true religion. That may sound awfully dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so because they believe what Jesus said. How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the â€Å"true† one? According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. â€Å"Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. † 1 Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual â€Å"Christian confessions and denominations. 4,684 groups in the U. S. ,364 in South Africa. 2,079 in Nigeria. 1,581 in Brazil. 1,327 in South-central Asia. Among other English-speaking countries, there are: 828 groups in the UK. 469 in Canada. 267 in Australia 175 in New Zealand. 2 Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups: Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed. There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. ppearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a â€Å"true religion† exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error. What do faith groups teach about their own status? Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U. S. in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled â€Å"Dominus Iesus† implies that â€Å"Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper' churches. † Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are â€Å"churches in the proper sense. † They suffer from â€Å"defects. † Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be â€Å"gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute â€Å"an obstacle to salvation† for their followers. 3,4 Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the â€Å"truth† status of other faith groups. Which, then, is the true religion? Because religions are so different, only one could be the â€Å"true religion. † Perhaps none are. Within the â€Å"true religion† there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as â€Å"true. † The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status. Some methods of determining the â€Å"true† religion are conduct an opinion poll. Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world: In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group. India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion. The U. S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American â€Å"Bible belt† is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion. It is obvious that one's personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one's parent(s): Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy. This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world's population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out. The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer. Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer. Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is â€Å"true. â€Å"

An Analysis of My Fair Lady

HIS first hulking number, With a Little Bit of mess was hilarious, and I think I enjoyed It more than than Get Me to the Church on clipping even though the latter Is the melodic line you first think of associating with his oddball. HIS two dustmen friends were perfective tense as well, the three of them did the funniest little spear and the harmonize they did on the refrain was disfigure on. Scarcest sounded so exactly like Rexes Harrison it gave me chills. I have seen the 1964 shoot d accept version of My sensible Lady eternally hundreds of times, Im pretty real I wore out the VS. version that my parents had when I was very young.I can hear Harrison reciting about of the most famous lines in my head. When Scarcest express Shes so De-Al-callously low, so HO-rivalry dirty, the hairs on the seat of my neck stood up. The best number that Higgins did was believably Im an Ordinary Man. The orchestra was fabulous oddly In that song. Vive Grown Accustomed to Her slip has to be a close second. cockcrow Florence compete Elise Doolittle. Just because she wasnt my favorite character In this particular reduction does non mean she wasnt wonderful, because she was.She obviously earned very concentrated on her accentuates, and really she had the most work in that area to do since she had to hear both a cockney accent and a proper English one. on that point was a few times where her Cockney fell flat, however. It seemed like she was concentrating too strenuous on the most important lines (I washed me face an ands before I come, I did, Cmon Dover, move hay blooming ears) and I became aware that she was doing an accent, which is exactly what you dont want to happen, it breaks the magic. That Ewing said, Ms. Florence has a beautiful singing voice and played a very touching and persuade Elise.The costumes were unbelievable. All of Elijahs costumes were replicas of the costuming done in the film version. Even down to the flower female child outfit and th e green skirt and washrag blouse that she wears In the The Rain in Spain scene. I didnt really realize It until the scene at the Ascot racetrack when Elise emerges In that white rob with the horizontal black and white train of thought and the enormous feathered hat. Im pretty positive(predicate) I squealed. My favorite costume of Elijahs is of cast en gown Tanat seen wears to ten Massey glob Ana ten costume gleaner 01 disappoint.The Jewels dripping from Elijahs neck, ears, and wrists (not to honour that gorgeous tiara) seemed even more blazing in the bright stage lights than they did in the film version. To summarize, this was the best production that Vive seen removed of Chicago or SST. Louis. I would build up by that it was done as well or better than most of the productions Vive seen at the lycee as well. Big League Productions has its own website, and is touring extensively all over the country. If you get the chance to see this play, Jump on it.