Government cut-backs

High youth unemployment and cutbacks in government funding for post-secondary education are the new realities confronting students. The implications for most working and middle class students are either to abandon education altogether and to accept a future of McJobs and unemployment, or to be saddled with a lifetime of debt. Since the end of WW II, science and technology have been playing a dramatically increased role in the process of capitalist production in Canada. As a result, there has been an increase in the demand for a more highly educated labour force. For example, between 1971 and 1986, jobs primarily concerned with the creation and utilization of data and technical knowledge have represented two-thirds of net job growth. This has led to a rapid expansion in school enrolment. Between 1951 and 1993, the number of full-time post-secondary students has increased over tenfold, growing from 91,000 to almost 1 million. However, accompanying the scientific and technological revolution, is a tremendous growth in productivity that has led to higher levels of unemployment. Between 1980 and 1993, youth unemployment increased from 12% to 17.5, leaving many with no other alternative but to remain in or return to school. Since 1984-85, tuition fees have more than doubled across Canada, pushing more students into the labour market in search of income. While in 1980, 31% of full-time students, aged 15-24, held jobs during the school year; by 1989, this number had reached 41%. This worsening economic situation has also seriously interfered with the studies of college and university full-time students, as almost a third of them were forced to work 20 or more hours per week during the school year. Another reflection of the economic hardship of students is their growing debt burden. In 1984, 114,000 Ontario students received around $4000 million in student aid, by 1993-94, as tuition continued to increase, about 180,000 students (representing almost half of full-time students) took out over $1 billion in loans. The average value of loans in 1994-95 was around $6800. By 1998, the federal government is scheduled to eliminate a total of $7 billion in transfer payments to the provinces for medicare, social assistance, and post-secondary education. The expected effect on Ontario university students is a doubling of their tuition. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Ontario's education minister, John Snobelen, has already made clear his government's intention to move toward a â€Å"market-based tuition fee†. If both levels of government abandon their financial support for Ontario universities, tuition will reach minimum levels of $7500-$8000. To counter the danger of a dramatic growth in defaults as it increases tuition fees, the federal government has transferred liability for student loans to the private banks. While increasing the role of the private banks in the short term, these changes set the pace for the full privatization of the student loan system. Another plan, currently under discussion, proposes collecting the loan repayments through the taxation system, i.e., Revenue Canada, through an Income Contingent Loan Repayment Plan (ICLRP). If the direction of government â€Å"reforms† is not reversed, it is only a matter of time before students who are at a high risk of unemployment (disproportionately women) or who are expected to have a low income after graduation (again disproportionately women) are refused access to loans, while most of the rest are burdened with a lifetime of debt. But the class nature of the privatization process has already become apparent. For 1995-96, the demand for first-year places is down by 5% in Ontario–20% in some faculties–leading many schools to turn toward recruiting drives and to lowering their admission requirements. Evidently, higher tuition is an obstacle for better qualified, poorer students, while offering an opening to less qualified, richer students. Cut the deficit by taxing the big corporations By focusing attention on expenditure reduction, the big corporations and the right-wing aim to deflect attention from the cause of the national debt: the decreasing tax revenues from corporations, which have declined from 20% of total federal revenues to only 7% in the last 20 years. Canada continues to have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world. Even the same level of corporate taxation as in the U.S. would provide an additional $9 billion a year–more than enough to cover all the cuts in social spending scheduled by the federal government. The ongoing cutbacks to education follow more than a decade of political and financial pressures promoted by federal and provincial governments in relation to social spending in general. Indeed, the education crisis cannot be separated from the overall crisis of the capitalist economy in Canada. The critical challenge before us today is to bring together all the social elements that are hurt by the implementation of the big corporate agenda: to build wide coalitions of youth and students, workers, women, seniors, environmentalists, peace groups, farmers, aboriginal people, immigrants, and many others–in support of a genuine â€Å"People's Alternative† program. This program would provide for decent wages, stronger public health and child cares systems, job creation programs, while restoring and increasing public funding for education. Reversing the current cut-backs and building the people's alternative depend on escalating the student protests. As a first step, we must build strong grassroots organizations on campuses which can ensure wide student involvement in the mobilizations. Students and working people have fought a long battle to win the right to higher education, health care, UI, and other social programs. Today, we have to build the fightback against those who are bent on destroying our social programs and our right to a quality, accessible education.

Cadbury Company Essay

Introduction Dairy Milk is a brand of milk chocolate currently manufactured by Cadbury. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1905 and now consists of a number of different products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made exclusively with milk chocolate. Cadbury’s Daily Milk has a range of different flavours, all equally famous around the world. This case study relates to the topic of advertising which we studied in class. Cadbury is not only famous for the quality of their product, but also for their advertising. Since 2007, the date of birth of ‘a glass and a half full production’, which is Cadbury’s own internal production company, we talk a lot about the chocolate brand because of their advertising campaign. The aim of this new approach to advertising from Cadbury’s is not to focus on the chocolate but on the joy and enjoyment, you associate with eating a chocolate bar. The three most famous campaigns to date are ‘Gorilla’s’ in 2007, ‘Airport trucks’ in 2008, and ‘Eyebrows’ in 2009. All of these advertising campaigns are set in a fun environment with enjoyable music to try to capture people’s attention, excite them and make them feel happy. In this report, we will at first, evaluate the objectives and advertising platform of these three ads. We will then explain the advantages and disadvantages of TV advertising. We will explore the role of viral advertising in these sort of advertising campaigns, before concluding by highlighting just what made these Cadbury’s ad’s so memorable. Q1. View all three Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisements on YouTube. Describe and evaluate the advertising platform and the advertising objectives of these three ads. How are all three related? In 2007, Cadburys launched its first advertising campaign from the newly established ‘A Glass and a Half Full Productions’. The 90 second advertisement entitled â€Å"Gorilla† was premiered during the season finale of Big Brother 2007, with the Phil Collins song â€Å"In the Air Tonight† playing in the background with a Gorilla playing the drums to the beat of the song. Big Brother would have generated a massive audience and Cadbury planned it perfectly to first launch the ‘Gorilla’ ad doing the breaks in the Big Brother finale. The campaign itself  has made appearances on bi llboards, print newspapers and magazines, television and cinema spots, event sponsorships and an internet presence which just shows how successful it was. Keen to build on the success of the â€Å"Gorilla† advertisement, ‘A Glass and a Half Full Productions’ released their second production on 29th March 2008. This advertisement tells the story of the first ever airport truck race in history, seeing vehicles of all shapes and sizes take to an empty runway for the race of their lives. Each one of the trucks was ‘pimped’ to show its unique character. With everything from go faster stripes to customised wheel trims, the trucks lined up on the starting line under a purple sky at dusk and raced to the music of Queen’s â€Å"Don’t Stop Me Now†. This ad wasn’t as successful as the ‘Gorilla’ or ‘Eyebrows’ ad. In January 2009, Cadbury introduced a new ‘A Glass and a Half Full Productions’ TV advertisement, entitled â€Å"Eyebrows†, which became the 3rd video produced by the production company. The 60 second advertisement brought to life the story of a brother’s and sister’s moment of madness when backs are turned and they are left to their own devices. The advert opens with two siblings sitting in a traditional photographer’s studio, waiting to have their portrait taken. When the photographer was called away by a ringing phone the children launched into a choreographed eyebrow dance. The children produced a range of eyebrow dance moves to the sound of â€Å"Don’t Stop the Rock† by electro-funk superstar, Freestyle. Cadburys main objectives with these three ads were to deliver greater brand love and involvement while keeping the core consumers engaged and to also attract the younger audience to help build the brands profile. They achieved these objectives by creating enjoyable and memorable ads which for example lead to people trying to copy the ‘Eyebrows’ ad and posting their videos on YouTube. Since 2007 Cadbury have adopted a new advertising approach which many view as critical to both the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand and the company. Cadbury decided not to focus on the chocolate in their advertisements, but instead to focus on entertaining the public. This led to the creation of the three memorable advertisements outlined above, â€Å"Gorilla†, â€Å"Airport Trucks† and â€Å"Eyebrows†. All these advertisements incorporated the Cadbury trademark colour purple into the ads and displayed the Cadbury Dairy Milk logo and slogan ‘A Glass and a Half Full of Joyà ¢â‚¬â„¢. All the ads embraced the popularity of viral advertising and used this very much to their advantage and were a  huge hit on YouTube and on social networking sites. They became a firm favourite among the online community. They told the public nothing about Dairy Milk. Rather than using the chocolate as the main focal point, Cadbury decided to use emotional appeals to attract the public’s attention. Many in the industry viewed this as a huge risk, but it is one that seems to have worked for Cadbury. These three ads are very similar as they don’t focus on the Cadbury bar they focus on entertaining the viewer by their use of a gorilla, airport trucks and the two children moving their eyebrows. It’s not until the end of the ad that the Dairy Milk bar appears in each ad. They are all very catchy ads by the use of music in them which have become popular songs again since the ads were first screened. The use of the colour purple is common in each of the three ads which is Cadburys main colour and is used on the bar wrapper. Q2. Cadbury has relied very heavily on TV advertising for its ‘A Glass and a half full Productions’ advertisements. Comment on the advantages and disadvantages of TV advertising. Without doubt Cadbury has relied heavily on TV advertising for its advertisements, and it is easy to see why. Television is by far the most popular entertainment medium around the world, with the latest report from the Television Audience Measurement Ireland (TAM) showing that Irish TV viewers alone watch on average of 3 and a half hours of TV per day. The huge advantage of TV advertising is the wide audience it reaches. Television viewers come from all walks of life, from children watching cartoons, to elderly retiree’s, everyone tunes into television at some part of the day. It is clear that TV advertising reaches a lot more people than other media outlet’s such as radio station’s or newspapers. Another big advantage of TV advertising is how it offers the greatest possibility for creative advertising. It can convey your message with print, video, audio, still photos, motion, light and graphics, to capture the attention of potential customers. TV ads can also sh ow and tell people about your product or service and actually show the benefits of ownership. One final advantage of TV advertising is its ability to advertise to targeted audiences. For example children can be reached during cartoon programming, housewives  during the afternoon soap operas, and people working in the Primary sector such as farmers and fishermen, around the time of the weather forecast! However, everything, TV advertising also has it’s disadvantages, with high costs being the primary one. TV ads are very expensive. To make show your ad is memorable, you need a decent amount of air time, but the longer the air time, the more expensive it is. Also, for a customer to remember the ad, the ad must be aired repeatedly. The down-side to this as a company is, every time the ad is aired, you must pay. On top of the expensive air rates, to make a good ad, you will need to hire a team of experts to create the advertisement. To highlight the cost of TV advertising, a May 2011 report by Allbusiness.com found that, to produce a quality 30-second national spot in America can cost up to $300,000. A further disadvantage to TV advertising is the difficulty to change your advertisement efficiently and quickly. For example if a company wanted to advertise a new special offer or promotion, a new time slot must be bought. Basically you are paying for a new ad, unlike other media o utlets such as newspapers or radio’s where the ad can be edited quickly without fuss. Finally, like we studied in the chapter on advertising, TV ads are becoming increasingly ignored. During ad breaks during their favourite TV shows, people will now often change channels, go out of the room, or simply play on their smartphone, laptop or any other items of technology. Q3. What role did viral advertising play in these advertising campaigns? Viral advertising is marketing through pre-existing social networking services or other online technologies with the aim of increasing brand awareness and product sales with the use of viral processes such as video campaigns. Viral advertising played a vital role in each of the three campaigns created by â€Å"a Glass and a Half Full Productions†. This can be easily seen in their first advertising campaign back in 2007 the famous â€Å"Gorilla† which created a platform for Cadbury Dairy Milk. On the launch night of this campaign the advert of the Gorilla was also uploaded to the social networking site YouTube. In just one night the video was viewed 500,000 times and overall was viewed 10 million times, thus the advertising campaign went viral and so creating a huge success story for Cadbury Dairy Milk. Through viral advertising this advert was able to gain a larger  viewing audience and so increasing the market awareness of Dairy Milk. Through viral advertising Cadbur y Dairy Milk’s chocolate sales in 2007 increased to 7% this is an increase of 30% compared to other competitors. The following adverts â€Å"Airport Trucks† and â€Å"Eyebrows† followed in the methods of the â€Å"Gorilla† in becoming viral sensations. They became instant favourites on YouTube. Cadbury Dairy Milk grasped the advantages of viral advertising with both hands and through this brought their business to the next level. They hosted online events which the public could get involved and fall in love with their product through viral entertainment. I believe viral advertising was the key aspect to the success of the advertising campaigns created by â€Å"a Glass and a Half Full Productions† as they were able massively increase their customer base and get the people involved in their product. Q4. All three Cadbury advertisements have nothing to do with chocolate, yet people remember what the advertisements are for. Why is there no actual reference to chocolate in the advertisements? What makes the advertisements so memorable as Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisements? Cadburys is a name that’s been around for the last one hundred and ninety years, dating back to John Cadbury who first opened his shop on Bull Street in Birmingham. We all know the Cadbury brand so well it’s been around a lot longer than all of us. It is because of this we are so familiar with their trademarks. The ‘A glass and a half’ symbol was introduced in 1928. The company used this familiar symbol to create their new slogan ‘A Glass and a Half Full Productions’ which they decided to use for their marketing campaign. Chocolate has always been associated with joy, chemically speaking chocolate releases serotonin and another feel-good hormone called dopamine. Cadburys know this and therefore decided to tap into this and bring their customers joy in another form, entertainment. Prior to the introduction of ‘A Glass and a Half’ Cadburys decided upon using purple in 1920. This purple is a recognisable aspect of all three advertisem ents. The vibrant purple is noticeably the background to their first creative ad, ‘The Gorilla’. Cadburys have put great emphasis on the purple here by using plain colours such as the black of the gorilla, two white planes also featured on the wall  and the silver of the drums. Similarly in the ‘Eyebrows’ advert, only plain colours are used as not to distract the viewer from the girls dress. However, in the Airport advertisement great colours are used on all of the trucks in the race. This is an effort to show fun in the ad, the enhanced airport vehicles are an example of Cadburys creativity using unlikely vehicles for the first ever airport race. That’s fun. The purple in the ‘airport’ advertisement is subtle but still clearly visible in the sky, this is no accident. As we as consumers are so familiar with the product it is not a necessity to display the functions of the product and what joy it will bring but by using abstract methods of grabbing our attention Cadburys has found entertaining their customers by using familiar songs like Queens – Don’t stop me now and Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight, to such great success with customers that not only did their advertisements go viral on YouTube but they even put Phil Collins song back into the charts. We as consumers could recognise and appreciate their efforts to bring joy to al l viewers.

BLR Savings Project P

Data Code of Conduct We, in our dealings, are self-regulated by a Code of Conduct as enshrined In the Data Code of Conduct. We request your support In helping us adhere to the Code In letter and split. We request that any violation or potential violation of the Code by any person be promptly brought to the notice of the Local Ethics Counselor or the Principal Ethics Counselor or the CEO of TTS. All communication received in this regard will be treated and kept as confidential. 2 Table of Content 4 2. Project 3. Scope of 4. Suggested Solution by TTS 6 5. Technology and Tools ? 7 6.Facts and 9 7. Highlights . 8. Benefits to the Customer ? 3 The customer is one of the leading financial services companies in the United Kingdom (I-J). They have over 7. 5 million people investing in various life assurance, pension, investment and general insurance plans. This is one of Auk's top 50 companies in the Financial Times and Stock Exchange (FETES) Index and its operations are spread across the wo rld, mainly in the United States (US), France, Netherlands, Germany and I-J. This leading financial services company makes financial security easier to achieve for millions of people.Through the range of general insurance and protection products that the company offers, it helps protect lives, health, homes and belongings of millions of people. 2. Project Background The customer, based in the I-J, has entrusted Data Consultancy Services (TTS) with the task of managing the today-day IT operations of various business units. This engagement aims to deliver administration services of high quality to the customer's Wealth Business Unit at reduced costs, increased efficiency and reduced time to deliver projects. The following systems form a part of the Wealth Delivery Unit: Future ProductFramework The Future Product Framework (OFF) system plays a central role in the customer's Pension and Investment business and in the customer's strategic Pensions and Bonds administration system. OFF was implemented in 1999. It was designed to provide flexibility in products to meet customer requirements. OFF is a rules and derivative system and has the capability to launch products to the market quickly. UNIt Linked PENsion UNIt Linked PENsion (UNEVEN) is the customer's legacy system that was developed in- house and was originally implemented in 1980.Since 2001, many of its functions eve been replicated within the newer OFF system, and as a consequence almost all new pension contracts are set up on OFF rather than on UNEVEN. Some parts of UNEVEN have been replaced by separate applications such as Individual Pension Claims (PC) and Pensions Increments (PINCH). PC The PC is an online system that enables the creation, maintenance, and printing of Personal and Corporate pension quotations based on the customer pension plans. This system handles retirement, death and transfer out. It is predominately an online system. Quotation documents are composed using SF. PC was implemented in 199 2.PINCH The PINCH system was built to replace the existing UNEVEN renewal routines and to provide dados Benefit Statements and online illustrations. It is primarily used to produce Benefits Statements and Incremental Illustrations for Individual and Occupational Pensions. It was implemented in 1994. Group Pensions The Group Pensions system handles the administration of the following pension products: POP, POP and the Group Pension schemes with respect to maintaining member records and renewal processing. It also administers the settlement of claims for deaths and retirements, including producing claim quotations. ValuationsThe Valuations system performs the valuation of policies across various applications within this account to finally arrive at a valuation of customer's business. Agency, Customer, Finance and Healthcare These systems coordinate with the business to align with the business with respect to Agency and customer details. 5 3. Scope of Work The scope of this engagement is to provide application development and maintenance services across both the legacy and strategic systems of the customer's Wealth Business Unit. TTS provides the following services to the Wealth Business Unit: Management of all the phases of the project lifestyle

Capital Structure of Public Limited Companies Dissertation

Capital Structure of Public Limited Companies - Dissertation Example Table of Content Chapter 1: Introduction 5 Motivation 5 Aims and Objectives 5 Significance of the study 6 Research Questions 7 Research method and data 8 Research Structure 8 Chapter 2: Literature review 9 Global Financial Market 9 History 9 Evaluation of UK capital market 12 Causes of current financial crisis 13 Capital market 15 Source of finance 15 Current capital structure of FTSE 100 companies 16 Advantages and disadvantages of high leverage 19 Theories of capital market structure 20 Chapter 3: Methodology and data analysis 26 36 Chapter 4: Research Findings 36 Impact of Capital Structure on Agency Costs 36 Impact of recent global financial crisis on the capital structure of UK companies 37 Chapter 5: Conclusion 39 Reference 42 Bibliography 47 Financial times. European debt crisis shakes markets again. May 23, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/european-debt-crisis-shakes-markets-again-105100.html 48 Chapter 1: Introduction Motivation Capital structur e of firms is developed based on many internal and external factors which have substantial influence on it. Financial Crisis or Liquidity Crisis in 2007 in global financial market has had a major impact on the firms’ financial status across the world. ... Financial crisis leads to dr4amatiacally decrease in stock price of the firms. So, equity structure of the firms also changed during this recession period. Capital structure is the major part of overall financial structure and policies of firms. Companies develop financial structure and policies based on major external financial condition of the market where they operate business. Though there is many empirical studies and research on capital structures but it hard to assess the impact of financial crisis on it. Therefore, it this study, capital structure theories and empirical studies are analysed to assess the extent of impact of financial crisis on capital structure and reason for the impact. Aims and Objectives The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the capital structure of firms in the UK before the global economic crisis in the years around 2007 and after the financial crisis in the years 2011 or 2012. In order to achieve the above mentioned aim of the study, the following objectives have been considered: Review theories on capital structure in order to determine how it might change during a period of prolonged recession and liquidity crisis. Compare and contrast the capital structure of public UK companies in 2007 and in 2011/2012.Evaluate the extent to which any changes in capital structure are due to the ongoing global crisis. Aim of this paper is a detailed evaluation of the capital structure of firms in United Kingdom. Capital structure of the firms in before financial crisis will be compared with current revised capital structures of the firms. For this purpose, reasons for financial crisis need to be analysed along with history of it to assess its impact in earlier. Theoretically aim of the paper is to

Impact of One Child Policy for Chinese Society Research Paper

Impact of One Child Policy for Chinese Society - Research Paper Example This is due to the forced abortions and sterilizations in China. Moreover, the neglect and abandonment of a girl child in China has caused sharp criticisms against this policy. More significant is the fact that China’s one-child-per-couple policy has been included in the country’s legislation on demographic strategy (Chen 74). This research paper gives a critical analysis and discussion of China’s one-child-per-couple policy with a view of demonstrating its impact on the Chinese society. The background to this policy, conflicts arising out of it and the awareness of the generation on this policy and its impacts are also presented within the paper. Background of the Policy The idea of birth control was introduced in China in the 1950s by a group of various non party intellectuals. This idea is argued to be the origin of China’s one child policy. In the book, The New Population Theory, Professor Yinchu Ma in 1957 argued that the control of the population wou ld be the solution to the problems in child and maternal health. Professor Yinchu Ma also pointed out that the regulation of population growth will reduce the mortality rates within the society. The initial years of the Chinese New Republic was characterized by leaders who revealed support for the control of population growth. This is because leaders in the government attributed the country’s rapid growth of its population as a threat to its food surplus and economic growth (Waldmeir 1). Birth control began to be popularized, especially in the densely populated parts of China. Moreover, propaganda was included in the desire for birth control and reduction of population growth rate. This is demonstrated by the campaigns in the 1960s which popularized and promoted two child family and late marriage (Li, Junjian and Junsen 1535). The birth control policy in China grew from the voluntary birth control programs which were promoted by various social campaigns. Later, the control of population became a state based affair (McLoughlin 305). This was motivated by the rapid rise in the Chinese population, especially in the 1970s, when the additional 250 million people were registered within China. The state governed birth control began as an extension of abortion and contraceptive services to China’s rural areas. This extended into glorification long intervals between child birth, smaller families and later marriages (Chow, Esther and Zhao 37). These campaigns and programs yielded fruits in 1975 when the fertility rate in the rural and urban communities fell below 4% and 1.8% respectively (Yang 320). Nonetheless, the government officials depicted that further growth of the population was inherently inevitable. This is due to the fact that about half of the Chinese society was below the age of 21 years. This was affirmed by the 1982 census which disclosed a 1 billion growth in the Chinese population (Chen 75). Officials predicted that if the trend of populat ion growth persisted, the Chinese population would exceed 1.4 billion people in the turn of the century (McLoughlin 307). The rapid growth of the population was now seen as an apparent thereat to China’s ambitions and strategic plans for economic growth and modernization. As a result of this, in 1979, the one child policy emerged in China. This policy was announced officially in 1980 by the

Review Of A Musical Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review Of A Musical Performance - Essay Example Considering the tight competition, the audience is always sure of getting the best from every performance. From the look of the audience, some come mainly to be entertained while others come to support their preferred artist. Jeers and cheers are depending on how the audience takes it usually accompany the performance. Every year, the concert grows bigger and bigger with new and raw talent. Students are usually packed in the auditorium hours before the main performance. This is done to ensure that none misses on good space view or single performance. Before the concern officially begins, students can be heard talking among themselves while others are busy browsing their phones. On the announcement of the first performances, the mood changes abruptly as every eye is fixed on the podium. The show is usually full of many surprises, fun and a lot of laughter. The various music producers can be seen in their notebooks, recording what they feel is relevant to them as they discuss among the mselves. The thrill of the performers as they jump from one corner of the podium to the other is refreshing. A keen look at the performing artist, we notice that his thrill increases when the crowd cheers and cools a little bit when there is a jeer. The behavior really proves that the success of an artist largely depends on the number of fans that enjoy their music. This kept me thinking about the kind of music that is common in our radio stations and even TV screen.  

Water Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water Pollution - Essay Example Sadly, perhaps with no thought of its great value, some people unknowingly, or even knowingly, contaminate sources of this precious commodity. In some instances, such contaminations have left behind irreversible damage to the already diminishing supply. At this point, it is worth saying that this vital yet often ignored resource is water. Water pollution is a major challenge facing the world today.  All life is dependent on water, implying that there can be no life without water. Although earth is largely covered with water, it is sad that only a small percentage can be consumed. USGS.gov report revealed that only 1% of the earth’s water can be consumed by humans, 99% of which is groundwater and only 1% being lake/river water. The unusable water is either saline, or frozen in ice caps/glaziers, or is ocean water. With only a small portion being consumable, it would be prudent that this meager resource is kept as safe as possible. This is sadly not the case. Every day the mea ger sources of consumable water are depleted, thanks to acts of pollution. Such pollution occurs with or without realization. Water pollution is defined as the addition of harmful foreign elements (pollutants) to consumable water. This presentation seeks to highlight the various causes of water pollution.  Water pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies such as rivers, lakes, aquifers, oceans, and groundwater. It occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.  In numerous parts of the world mainly the developing countries, water pollution is a widespread menace which has profound impacts on the aesthetic characteristics of the environment, the health of the consumers of the polluted water and the economic and social wellbeing the inhabitants of these areas in general.  

Need an Integrated Marketing Communications Approach by UPS & Case Study

Need an Integrated Marketing Communications Approach by UPS & Promotional Objective - Case Study Example The researcher states that UPS was finding it tough to convince customers of its capabilities in this synchronized commerce market space. Hence, it felt the need for taking an integrated marketing communications approach to convey its new positioning. The promotional objective of this new repositioning strategy was to build a sort of bridge between its old perception by the customers and its desired positioning. This led UPS to change its logo, adopt the color brown in its logo and marketing campaigns and hiring a new advertising agency. The idea was to make consumers aware of the new business lines, invite calls from them and then convert those calls into business. UPS wanted different marketing strategies for different sets of audiences or stakeholders. Therefore, it segregated them into 4 different categories from the business point of view and consumers formed the fifth category. These categories exhibited characteristics which were distinct from each other. There were shipping d ecision makers in manufacturing firms while the people were widely distributed in service firms. There were small independent business owners on one side and senior business decision makers on the other. The needs of these 4 categories were unique and hence required to be dealt separately. It was not appropriate to use a single marketing campaign for these 4 different types of audiences. Hence, it made sense for UPS to take four different approaches to marketing. Brand recall rate is the degree to which a brand name is remembered by the consumers as belonging to a brand, product, service or company. Brand recall significantly increases the probability of a brand being preferred or bought by the customer. Before the marketing campaign with the use of Brown color, UPS faced a big issue of brand recall in categories other than package shipping and delivery. Hence, the main purpose of its marketing campaign was to make consumers aware of its product lines so that they can recall the bra nd name of UPS whenever that product line is talked about.

The importance of communication skills to midwifery practice Essay

The importance of communication skills to midwifery practice - Essay Example Research emphasises the need to see interpersonal communication through interrelationships which develop taking into account the issues of power and diversity, and good communication likewise flourish through and revolve around the emotional dimensions of care work. Chant et al. (2001) indicated that in general in the care practices, effective communication skills on the part of the practitioner leads to greater satisfaction out of care. basically, patient satisfaction leads to compliance, which in turn minimises complaint rates, emotional and psychological distress (Chant et al. 2001). An effective communication to any patient on the part of the care giver induces many favourable changes in the client that may be conducive to positive health. Rogers et al. (1999) indicated that communicated patients are "better educated and empowered to participate in their own health decisions and as a result will make shared decisions" (p.175). These principles are also applicable in midwifery practice, where the definition of communication is same as elsewhere in the care professions. Communication means exchange of information, ideas, or feelings, which can be complex in the sense that this is a broad term indicating both verbal and nonverbal communication s. These become more complex in the healthcare settings due to the very nature of the interactions being complex, charged with emotions, and related to very personal feelings and situations. All these may affect the process of communication, and knowledge, training, and practice on communication skills is thus necessary to effect a clinically effective interpersonal communication, specially between the provider and the recipient. It has been estimated that communication skills and relationships are important parameters of healthcare services, and the practice of midwifery is not an exception to that. By the term relationships, it is meant interrelationships between the care

Red Lobster Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Red Lobster - Case Study Example Initially, the proposition was to make an easy to utilize programming bundle that did not require exceedingly a lot of computing force. MapInfo gave the first instruments to Microsoft that permitted them to incorporate mapping usefulness in their items, particularly the mapping extra marked as Microsoft Map for Microsoft Excel as a major aspect of MS Office 95. A Geographic Information System known as GIS view shed is the aftereffect of a capacity that decides, given a territory model, which territories on a guide or rather a map can be seen from a given point or rather focuses, line or range. In the communication industry, this capacity can be utilized to model radio wave scopes and to site handset towers for cell phones. However, there are lapses included with this capacity and, without the essential information; it cant represent building statures that may influence perceivability in urban zones. It is a crucial aspect for one to precisely show observable pathway which is well known as the line of sight, LOS of the radio wave scopes with a specific end goal to secure the feasibility of supplanting existing field routines with a geographical information system view shed analysis (Monedero, et al. 2008, p. 337). An inception point equipped for supporting a line of sight of a radio wave transmitter is to be chosen, for instance, from inside the Virginia Tech grounds study region which is the best zone for source point. A view shed analysis is then performed with ESRIs ArcView geographical information system, utilizing this site as the perception point and a 30 meter determination Digital Elevation Model, DEM from the United States Geological Survey is likewise compelling for that. To check the exactness of the view shed, it is fitting to transmit at 27.5 GHz, a line of sight of recurrence that ought to have properties regularly in the wireless telecommunication industry. Also, the use of Super Pad 3.1a as a geographical information system

A concluding theme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A concluding theme - Essay Example The upper class mainly comprise of the top world economic giants followed by the developing world that comprise most countries in the Far East such as Malaysia and finally the lower class where most states in Africa and Asia belongs. It is on this backdrop that the books Poor Economics: A Radical Rethink of the Way to fight Global Poverty by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo , Whiteman by Tony d’Souza, and Little Princes by Conor Grennan where authored to evaluate these changing cultural dynamics across the globe. Aside from death and taxes, there exists one more aspect that can be added to life certainties list in school thought policy. These are mechanisms on how to extricate the global south from poverty. According to the World Bank’s definition of poverty, poverty is the inability for a person to utilize at least $ 1.25 in a day; 1. 3 billion people across the globe live below these standards. Paul Collier, a development economist refers these as the bottom billions. There is increased desire for the world to help people in the third world countries. It is on this premise that an academic discipline has emerged with several scholars advances theories related to poverty alleviation. These scholars include Jeffrey Sachs with the Pre- Foreign –Aid, Dambisa Moyo and the theory of Trade, not Aid and Paul Romer’s view of creating charter cities. It tempts to make an assumption that all books on issues related to global development seems to advance poverty alleviation theori es to assist in poverty reduction in the Global south (Abhijit and Duflo 297). Abhijit and Duflo have alienated their development concept on possible ways of reducing poverty in the global south through development of a modest premise outside the anti- foreign aid and pre- foreign aid discussions. They argue that poverty alleviation strategies on international development aimed at alleviating poverty in the developing nations have to be formulated on an international platform.

VoIP software Technology For Bank Essay Example for Free

VoIP software Technology For Bank Essay Fifth Main bank could use a VoIP software suite such as Avaya to meet its phone and call center needs. The Avaya VoIP software would allow the bank to use their existing IP network to implement it and would help them get away from the old switch based network. The software would also allow them to see the status of the person they are trying to reach, as well as assist with call logging and warm transfers. A concern with implementing this would be bandwidth. Adding that many IP based devices could bog down the system if it has low bandwidth. Another would be making sure each location is connected to the same network to easily transfer the calls. Another concern would be making sure all employees are trained on how to use the new system to its full potential. These concerns can be overcome by upgrading their current network capacity to increase bandwidth and get everyone on the same network. The new devices can be made effective by supplying training and manuals to employees to ensure it is being used correctly. Adding this technology will mean the bank will need to increase their network security. They should already have pretty good security since they are a bank, but adding VoIP services will open new vulnerabilities that will need to be locked down.

Animal Intelligence and Evolution of the Human Mind

Animal Intelligence and Evolution of the Human Mind The human brain lacks conspicuous characteristics-such as relative or absolute size-that might account for humans superior intellect. Researchers have found some clues to humanitys aptitude on a smaller scale, such as more neurons in our brains outermost layer. Human intelligence may be best likened to an upgrade of the cognitive capacities of nonhuman primates rather than an exceptionally advanced form of cognition. Subtle refinements in brain architecture, rather than large-scale alterations, make us smarter than other animals. As far as we know, no dog can compose music, no dolphin can speak in rhymes, and no parrot can solve equations with two unknowns. Only humans can perform such intellectual feats, presumably because we are smarter than all other animal species-at least by our own definition of intelligence. Of course, intelligence must emerge from the workings of the three-pound mass of wetware packed inside our skulls. Thus, researchers have tried to identify unique features of the human brain that could account for our superior intellectual abilities. But, anatomically, the human brain is very similar to that of other primates because humans and chimpanzees share an ancestor that walked the earth less than seven million years ago. Accordingly, the human brain contains no highly conspicuous characteristics that might account for the species cleverness. For instance, scientists have failed to find a correlation between absolute or relative brain size and acumen among humans and other animal species. Neither have they been able to discern a parallel between wits and the size or existence of specific regions of the brain, excepting perhaps Brocas area, which governs speech in people. The lack of an obvious structural correlate to human intellect jibes with the idea that our intelligence may not be wholly unique: studies are revealing that chimps, among various other species, possess a diversity of humanlike social and cognitive skills. Nevertheless, researchers have found some microscopic clues to humanitys aptitude. We have more neurons in our brains cerebral cortex (its outermost layer) than other mammals do. The insulation around nerves in the human brain is also thicker than that of other species, enabling the nerves to conduct signals more rapidly. Such biological subtleties, along with behavioral ones, suggest that human intelligence is best likened to an upgrade of the cognitive capacities of nonhuman primates rather than an exceptionally advanced form of cognition. Smart Species Because animals cannot read or speak, their aptitude is difficult to discern, much less measure. Thus, comparative psychologists have invented behavior-based tests to assess birds and mammals abilities to learn and remember, to comprehend numbers and to solve practical problems. Animals of various stripes-but especially nonhuman primates-often earn high marks on such action-oriented IQ tests. During World War I, German psychologist Wolfgang Kà ¶hler, for example, showed that chimpanzees, when confronted with fruit hanging from a high ceiling, devised an ingenious way to get it: they stacked boxes to stand on to reach the fruit. They also constructed long sticks to reach food outside their enclosure. Researchers now know that great apes have a sophisticated understanding of tool use and construction. Psychologists have used such behavioral tests to illuminate similar cognitive feats in other mammals as well as in birds. Pigeons can discriminate between male and female faces and among paintings by different artists; they can also group pictures into categories such as trees, selecting those belonging to a category by pecking with their beaks, an action that often brings a food reward. Crows have intellectual capacities that are overturning conventional wisdom about the brain. Behavioral ecologists, on the other hand, prefer to judge animals on their street smarts-that is, their ability to solve problems relevant to survival in their natural habitats-rather than on their test-taking talents. In this view, intelligence is a cluster of capabilities that evolved in response to particular environments. Some scientists have further proposed that mental or behavioral flexibility, the ability to come up with novel solutions to problems, is another good measure of animal intellect. Among birds, green herons occasionally throw an object in the water to lure curious fish-a trick that, ornithologists have observed, has been reinvented by groups of these animals living in distant locales. Even fish display remarkable practical intelligence, such as the use of tools, in the wild. Cichlid fish, for instance, use leaves as baby carriages for their egg masses. Animals also can display humanlike social intelligence. Monkeys engage in deception, for example; dolphins have been known to care for another injured pod member (displaying empathy), and a whale or porpoise may recognize itself in the mirror. Even some fish exhibit subtle kinds of social skills. Behavioral ecologist Redouan Bshary of the University of Neuchà ¢tel in Switzerland and his colleagues described one such case in a 2006 paper. Bony fish such as the so-called cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) cooperate and remove parasites from the skin of other fish or feed on their mucus. Bsharys team found that bystander fish spent more time next to cleaners the bystanders had observed being cooperative than to other fish. Humans, the authors note, tend to notice altruistic behavior and are more willing to help do-gooders whom they have observed doing favors for others. Similarly, cleaner wrasses observe and evaluate the behavior of other finned ocean denizens and are more willing t o help fish that they have seen assisting third parties. From such studies, scientists have constructed evolutionary hierarchies of intelligence. Primates and cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are considered the smartest mammals. Among primates, humans and apes are considered cleverer than monkeys, and monkeys more so than prosimians. Of the apes, chimpanzees and bonobos rank above gibbons, orangutans and gorillas. Dolphins and sperm whales are supposedly smarter than nonpredatory baleen whales such as blue whales. Among birds, scientists consider parrots, owls and corvids (crows and ravens) the brightest. Such a pecking order argues against the idea that intelligence evolved along a single path, culminating in human acumen. Instead intellect seems to have emerged independently in birds and mammals and also in cetaceans and primates. Heavy Thoughts? What about the brain might underlie these parallel paths to astuteness? One candidate is absolute brain size. Although many studies have linked brain mass with variations in human intelligence [see High- ­Aptitude Minds, by Christian Hoppe and Jelena Stojanovic], size does not always correlate with smarts in different species. For example, clever small animals such as parrots, ravens, rats and relatively diminutive apes have brains of modest proportions, whereas some large animals such as horses and cows with large brains are comparatively dim-witted. Brain bulk cannot account for human intelligence either: At eight to nine kilograms, sperm and killer whale brains far outweigh the 1.4 kilograms of neural tissue inside our heads. As heavy as five kilograms, elephant brains are also much chunkier than ours. Relative brain size-the ratio of brain to body mass-does not provide a satisfying explanation for interspecies differences in smarts either. Humans do compare favorably with many medium and large species: our brain makes up approximately 2 percent of our body weight, whereas the blue whales brain, for instance, is less than one 100th of a percent of its weight. But some tiny, not terribly bright animals such as shrews and squirrels win out in this measure. In general, small animals boast relatively large brains, and large animals harbor relatively small ones. Although absolute brain mass increases with body weight, brain mass as a proportion of body mass tends to decrease with rising body weight. Another cerebral yardstick that scientists have tried to tie to intelligence is the degree of encephalization, measured by the encephalization quotient (EQ). The EQ expresses the extent to which a species relative brain weight deviates from the average in its animal class, say, mammal, bird or amphibian. Here the human brain tops the list: it is seven to eight times larger than would be expected for a mammal of its weight. But EQ does not parallel intellect perfectly either: gibbons and some capuchin monkeys have higher EQs than the more intelligent chimpanzees do, and even a few pro ­sim ­ians-the earliest evolved primates alive today-have higher EQs than gorillas do. Or perhaps the size of the brains outermost layer, the cerebral cortex-the seat of many of our cognitive capacities-is the key. But it turns out that the dimensions of the cerebral cortex depend on those of the entire brain and that the size of the cortex constitutes no better arbiter of a superior mind. The same is true for the prefrontal cortex, the hub of reason and action planning. Although some brain researchers have claimed in the past that the human prefrontal cortex is exceptionally large, recent studies have shown that it is not. The size of this structure in hu ­mans is comparable to its size in other  ­primates and may even be relatively small as compared with its counterpart in elephants and cetaceans. The lack of a large-scale measure of the human brain that could explain our performance may reflect the idea that human intellect may not be totally inimitable. Apes, after all, understand cause and effect, make and use tools, produce and comprehend language, and lie to and imitate others. These primates may even possess a theory of mind-the ability to understand another animals mental state and use it to guide their own behavior. Whales, dolphins and even some birds boast some of these mental talents as well. Thus, adult humans may simply be more intuitive and facile with tools and language than other species are, as opposed to possessing unique cognitive skills. Networking Fittingly, researchers have found the best correlates for intelligence by looking at a much smaller scale. Brains consist of nerve cells, or neurons, and supporting cells called glia. The more neurons, the more extensive and more productive the neuronal networks can be-and those networks determine varied brain functions, including perception, memory, planning and thinking. Large brains do not automatically have more neurons; in fact, neuronal density generally decreases with increasing brain size because of the additional glial cells and blood vessels needed to support a big brain. Humans have 11.5 billion cortical neurons-more than any other mammal, because of the human brains high neuronal density. Humans have only about half a billion more cortical neurons than whales and elephants do, however-not enough to account for the significant cognitive differences between humans and these species. In addition, however, a brains information-processing capacity depends on how fast its nerves conduct electrical impulses. The most rapidly conducting nerves are swathed in sheaths of insulation called myelin. The thicker a nerves myelin sheath, the faster the neural impulses travel along that nerve. The myelinated nerves in the brains of whales and elephants are demonstrably thinner than they are in primates, suggesting that information travels faster in the human brain than it does in the brains of nonprimates. What is more, neuronal messages must travel longer distances in the relatively large brains of elephants and whales than they do in the more compact human brain. The resulting boost in information-processing speed may at least partly explain the disparity in aptitude between humans and other big-brained creatures. Among humans cerebral advantages, language may be the most obvious. Various animals can convey complex messages to other members of their species; they can communicate about objects that are not in sight and relay information about individuals and events. Chimpanzees, gorillas, dolphins and parrots can even understand and use human speech, gestures or symbols in constructions of up to about three words. But even after years of training, none of these creatures develops verbal skills more advanced than those of a three-year-old child. In humans, grammar and vocabulary all but explode at age three. This timing corresponds with the development of Brocas speech area in the left frontal lobe, which may be unique to humans. That is, scientists are unsure whether a direct precursor to this speech region exists in the nonhuman primate brain. The absence of an intricately wired language region in the brains of other species may explain why, of all animals, humans alone have a language that contains complex grammar. Researchers date the development of human grammar and syntax to between 80,000 and 100,000 years ago, which makes it a relatively recent evolutionary advance. It was also one that probably greatly enhanced human intellect.

Asthma and the Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT)

Asthma and the Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) Introduction Lung disease is any pathology that occurs in the lung components and causes the lungs not to function properly and this may lead to serious problems that may cause death. They are considered the third killing factor worldwide. Lung diseases include emphysema , bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pulmonary failure, pneumonia, tuberculosis and pulmonary embolism. These diseases have the following signs and symptoms which are coughing , dyspnea, short breaths, noisy breath sound, fever, chest pain , and using accessory muscle of the neck which include scalene, upper trapezium and sternocleidmastoid muscles. The common causes of these lung diseases are smoking, infections, and genetics factors (Simon,2000) .Treatment of lung disease includes medications like corticosteroid, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and physical therapy that will give patients breathing exercises. One of the most common chronic obstructive disease, is bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is the fifth reason for hospitalized worldwide. Physiotherapists used to treat bronchial asthma patients who have hyperventilation symptoms using breathing exercises known as buteyko breathing technique (BBT) in additional to bronchial asthma therapy.(Bishop,2007) Background Professor Konstantin Buteyko was a Russian physiologist (1932-2003) , who gave his name to a treatment for bronchial asthma patients. The whole idea started in 1960s when he came with the idea that shallow breathing is going to help patients who suffer from hyperventilation like bronchial asthma and stenocardia. He suggested that hyperventilation lead to decrease the amount of blood that is going to alveoli and low- level of CO2 lead to bronchoconstriction which increase hyperventilation. (Bishop,2007) Literature Review Robert L. and other on 2007 tried to evaluate the efficiency of a non -pharmacological intervention Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) in patients with asthma with their corticosteroid medication consumption. The design of the study was a randomized control trail of buteyko technique involving 182 subject divided into group of adult with asthma their age ranged from 18-50 years old. While the control group was trained by physiotherapy for relaxation breathing technique. The main results measures by level of asthma control, defined by composite score based on Canadian asthma consensus reported 6 months after completion of intervention. The consequences show that both groups had related enhancement and a high amount with asthma control six months after accomplishment of the intervention. In the Buteyko group the degree with asthma control increased from 40% to 79% percent and in the control group from 44% to 72%. The main conclusion that six month after completion of the intervention, a large majority of subject in each group shown control of their asthma with the additional benefits of lessening in inhaled corticosteroid use in buteyko group.(Robert, 2007) McHugh on 2003 made a study to evaluate the impact of buteyko breathing technique (BBT) on medication consumption in asthma patients. The method used is a blinded randomized control trail comparing BBT with medication control . It was directed over 38 people with asthma aged between 18-70 years. Members were followed for six months. Medication use and tempts of ventilator function were recorded. The results exhibited that BBT group shown a lessening in inhaled steroid use of 50% only and beta-agonist use 85% after six month from intervention. In the control group there was no significant outcomes. The main conclusion that BBT is a safe and effective for asthma controlling for it is sign and symptoms. BBT has clinical and potential pharm-economics benefits that must have advance studies.(McHugh, 2003) Cooper and his colleges in 2003 completed a study to compare the effect of two breathing exercises which they are buteyko and pranayma which is a yoga breathing method for bronchial asthma patients. This study involve 90 grown-ups who complain of asthma and control it by using medications. They were divided into three groups First group follow buteyko breathing technique ,the second group use a pranayma which is a yoga technique and the last group were the placebo group. Result measure used are symptoms score level , bronchial hyper reaction, medication used, forced expiratory volume before and after buteyko technique. The results showed that ( p=0.003) were the mean for buteyko group and bronchodilator uses have been lessened by two puffs/day after 6 month of practicing buteyko technique while there was no change in the mean in the other two groups. There wasnt difference in the forced expiratory volume or even volume to reduce inhaled corticosteroids. The main conclusion that BBT c an recover symptoms and lessen bronchodilator use but doesnt seem to change bronchial responsiveness or lung function in patients with asthma.(Cooper, 2003) Anatomy of Respiratory System When we breathe air it go through nose to the lower respiratory tract. The advantage of nose breathing is that when air passes through the nose it will be moisturizer, heated and cleaned from any dust. After that air moves to larynx to go into trachea. Trachea is a sensitive structure because if any cold or dry air go into it , this will cause coughing and wheezing as normal interaction to these irritation .After that air moves from the trachea to the lung through the bronchi which are entered in each lung (Figure 1). The lungs are the most important part of human respiratory system. The right lung is divided into three lobes m while the left lung is divided into two lobes. Both lungs are protected by the chest wall. In the lung small air sacs known as alveoli . Then the gases exchanged from the alveoli to the blood stream through small blood vessels known as capillaries. On the other hand , the body waste CO2 returns to the capillaries to be exhaled during breathing. Healthy bronchi al tubes make rapid gases exchange to maintain unchanged level of O2 and CO2 in the blood stream. The outer surface of bronchi is surrounded with smooth muscles that contract , relax in smooth rapid way in each breath. This process will maintain the required amount of air that is needed to go into lung tissues for normal gases exchange. This process of contraction and relaxation of muscles in controlled by sympathetic and parasympathetic of nerves system.(Gerard J,2005) What is Bronchial Asthma One of the most common chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) is bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammation of lung airways that leads to swelling and narrowing of them. The results of this narrowing is difficulty in breathing. The narrowing of airways may be total or partial and can be reversed with treatments. Bronchial asthma is one of the most common diseases , it affect one in every 15 adults in United states of America. It is known to cause physiologically reversible or total obstruction or narrowing to air . Pathologically this will increase thickening of airways because of inflammation and bronchoconstriction. Also narrowing of airways maybe due to swelling which is caused by immune response to allergic materials. (Gerard J,2005) Causes of Bronchial Asthma The main cause of bronchial asthma is inflammation of lung airways that is increased by the increase of irritable stimulations such as dust, vapor, humid weather, cold air, smoke , air pollutions, and fumes.(Gerard J, 2005) Sign and Symptoms of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma have major sign and symptoms that are diverse depending on the severity of the disease. These signs and symptoms include wheezing that is defined as a whistling , hissing sound when exhaling air. Prolonged Coughing, that is usually at night not as good as at early morning, and may occur after workout or when unprotected against cold or dry air. Fast breathing is another symptom of bronchial asthma because fewer air reaches the lungs which is the reasons fast breathing to make up the insufficiency. Another symptoms is the usage of accessory muscle of neck and upper shoulder. Palpitation is another symptoms which is caused by as an asthma attack become worse the airways forceful air through the narrow airways become harder. Muscles of your trunk start to help. This is seen in motion (Figure 3) of the esophagus (2), and sucking in of the abdominal just under the breast bone (5) and among the ribs (4) with each breath leading to heart palpitation. As a response to less a ir passing through inflamed airways that will cause body to do more strength to move air and due to that heart starts to contract faster (3).( Gerard , 2005) Prevention of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma can be prevented by following these strategies: Always check with medical physician for treatment plan to mange signs and symptoms for bronchial asthma . Know the trigger of asthma to be avoided such as pollen air and cold air . Always monitor their breathing type so that they can recognize early symptoms of asthma attack that include coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath. Quickly treat of bronchial asthma attack with immediate taking of medications prescribed and stopping the activity that may be the cause to trigger the attack. (Sue ,2002) Treatment of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma can be treated by different types of medications like corticosteroids, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and by physical therapy. One of the important technique that help patients to control signs and symptoms of bronchial asthma is the Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) .( Sue , 2002) What is Buteyko Breathing Technique Buteyko technique is a breathing regulator technique to reduce minute ventilation besides inhibit hyperventilation to treat bronchial asthma as an alternative approach ,besides to the drugs used. Buteyko technique needs that breathing originates from diaphragm not mouth. The main purpose while practicing buteyko breathing style is to breath in a very controlled and shallow manner without holding in the air like your last breath, it should be a gentle rhythm of breathing in and out.(Bruton,2003) Preparation For Buteyko Breathing Technique Before starting the Buteyko Breathing technique session the physiotherapist should first takes patient pulse per minute and ability to exhale through Forced Expiratory Spiro-meter and measure the blood pressure and check if the patient have any health problems that may be contraindicated to buteyko breathing technique. Also it is important to take full medical history of management of patient bronchial asthma that usually includes hospital admission , consultant referrals and type of medication taken and their dosage. Also check if patient take other medication for other medical conditions. Physiotherapist should also check main signs and symptoms that affecting the patients daily work as if climbing stairs that increase shortness of breath to the patient. After that physiotherapist should inform bronchial asthma patient that buteyko session can be practiced three to five times a day . Before starting buteyko breathing technique session the physiotherapist should educate patient that this technique focus on breathing from the nose, so that nose clearness exercises should be given before starting session (Figure 5). The nose clearance exercises include pinching the nose gently and then move head forward and backward. Usually starting position will be sitting on chair without armrest after that progress to lying supine and finally to make patient adapt to this technique to be practiced in all active daily living of patients life, like climbing stairs. (kellet,2005) Steps of Buteyko Breathing Technique The Procedure of Buteyko Breathing Techniques is characterized by the following steps: Step 1: Close your mouth and breathe from the nose to get all the advantages mention before of nose breathing. (Figure 6).This step may be hard to be followed in the beginning but with practice it became easier with training. Step 2 : Use diaphragm to during breathing in and out , when patients practice breathing using diaphragm they should take in consideration to eliminate using of accessory muscle of neck and upper chest . (Figure 7). Step 3: Measure control pause for bronchial asthma patient , which is the time that patient able to grasp the nose and avoid air entry until the first feel of needing to re-breath again in the same way and pattern . ( Figure8) can be measure using stop watch. Step 4: Sit in an upright position and reduce breath for around 2 3 minutes, after that bronchial asthma patient will take short rest for 20-30 second and followed by another reduce breathing period for 3 minute followed by short rest again. Step 5: After the last short rest ,the physiotherapists check the final control pause again to check progress in amount of time patient able to hold breath. Usually in first session patient will able to increase time of control pause 2-3 seconds.(Oliver, 2009) Physiological Effects of Buteyko Breathing Technique During an asthma attack people start to panic and breath faster more than body demands. They actually over breathe because they are breathing so rapidly that causes the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood to fall too low. The body responds to that by causing the airways of the lungs to become tighter which leads to decrease inhaled air in each breathe which is shown when bronchial asthma patients trying to breathe harder. This technique will help to break this negative feedback cycle by educating bronchial asthma patients to breath in a shallow way and this will lead to decrease the amount of air that reach lung during breathing. Another benefit is increasing tolerance of body for higher levels of carbon dioxide in your blood.(Oliver,2009) Who will benefit from Buteyko Breathing Technique Buteyko breathing technique is suitable for bronchial asthma patients and some other conditions that lead to hyperventilation such as hay fever , which is allergic and inflammation due to dust , rhinitis which is also known as stuffy nose that happen due to inflammation of inner nose parts. Buteyko breathing technique can be included also for nose congestion, panic attack, resent heart, persistent cough, bronchitis, snoring and last for COPD patients .(Oliver,2009) Contraindications for Buteyko Breathing Technique Patients with these conditions will not be able to practice BBT even if they have bronchial asthma or any other condition that lead to hyperventilation . These conditions include kidney failure specially if patient on dialysis, current organ transplant, previous brain hemorrhage, recent heart attack or stroke, cardiac peacemaker device, active stomach ulcer, pregnancy, schizophrenia, uncontrolled high blood pressure, any current cancer treatment, sickle- cell anemia and sever emphysema with heart failure. (Oliver,2009) Conclusions Asthma is a common lung disease around the world and usually patients suffer from a lot of sign and symptoms like attacks of shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing that may affect their quality of life so that it need pharmacological agents to control it beside non-pharmacological techniques of pulmonary rehab such as buteyko technique. Buteyko breathing technique is a complementary method that proven it is effectiveness to control breathing in hyperventilation cases such as asthma and improve their quality of life, level of exercises, and forced respiratory volume. There are five core components of the buteyko breathing technique that they are the nose breathin , relax upper muscles, use diaphragm breathing, small gentle breaths and maintain good posture. The buteyko exercises can be done 3-5 times a day and it need committed for these exercises and make lifestyle changes, to be able to use fewer medication.

The Evils of Fraternities and Sororities Essay -- Argumentative Colleg

The Evils of Fraternities and Sororities Joining fraternities and sororities has been a long tradition among many college and university students within the United States. As the number of students entering colleges and universities grow, the influence and pressure to join fraternities and sororities grow as well. According to a research project conducted by Dr. Gary D. Malaney, associate professor of education and director of student affairs at the University of Massachusetts, â€Å"58.6% [of 413 students surveyed] reported having at least a few friends who belong to the Greek Area† (Malaney 2). However, the Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Miami in February 2004 was found at fault for the death of Chad Meredith for â€Å"attempting a drunken early-morning swim across Lake Osceola during a hurricane as part of a fraternity-initiation stunt† (Sileo 1). In August of 2004, the Psi Epsilon Chi chapter from the State University of New York was found guilty for the death of Walter Dean Jennin gs for â€Å"acute water intoxication during a pledge ceremony in which he was forced to drink alcohol and ingest enough water to make his lungs collapse† (Sileo 1). If fraternities and sororities are as positive as its members present them to be, why are fraternities and sororities mandating horrible things to innocent students? The truth is that many students know that fraternities and sororities are the wrong choice for the college and university atmosphere; however, they decline to reveal the truth in order to cover up this escape route from academics to civil disobedience. Among the many non-respectable rituals and ceremonies performed by these organizations, hazing is the number one reason why a number of students ha... ...du>. Roach, Colleen. Rev. of Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking, by Hank Nuwer. Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Higher Education Sept. 2000 v1, i2: p84. Infotrac. Gale Group. UC Riverside Thomas Rivera Library, Riverside CA. 22 Jan. 2005. . Sharma, Angeli. Telephone interview. 22 January 2005. Sileo, Carmel. â€Å"Fraternities Fall to Stem Tide of Binge-Drinking Deaths, Lawsuits Claim.† Trial October 2004 v40 i10: p10. Infotrac. Gale Group. UC Riverside Thomas Rivera Library, Riverside CA. 24 Jan. 2005. . Storch, Eric A. and Jason B. Storch. â€Å"Fraternities, Sororities, and Academic Dishonesty.† College Student Journal June 2002 v36, i2: p247. Infotrac. Gale Group. UC Riverside Thomas Rivera Library, Riverside CA. 22 Jan. 2005. .

Visual Perception Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Visual Perception Any one given experience an organism perceives must incorporate several sensory systems, that involves numerous number of organs , that further more are comprised of millions upon millions of firing cells. Perception is not a direct mirroring of stimulus, but a complex chaotic patterns dependent on the simultaneously activity of neurons. This essay deals primarily with neurons from the optical sensory system. The outer ridge of the brain, known as the cerebral cortex begins the analysis of sensory messages. (1) Nevertheless, visual perception is possibly more widespread than one area of the cerebral cortex and like ly over various subcortical structures and number of different systems as well. (2) One of the many ways for the "perception process" to begin, is vision. Vision is dependent on the interaction between light input and the eye. The visual input is seen through lens that takes different light outside, refract and bend into points of light that focus on specific places on the retina. This light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye consists of interconnected neurons. The three diff erent types are receptor cells, bipolar cells and ganglian cells. When photoreceptors are stimulated, they change in structure of photopigments in the receptors and transduce light input into neural activity. (2) Electrical stimulus trave ls down the axon of bipolar cells to the ganglian cells. The ganglian cells are activated through nerve impulses or action potentials and travel down the optic nerve. This activity conducts along the optic nerve to the geniculate nucleus that then travels to the mid- brain. (2) Finally the firing neurons activity travels to the cortex at the back of the brain, known as the stria... ...ic methods are more reasonable than linear, straightforward procedures. Is it reasonable that all of what one perceives is dependent exclusively on a specific set of procedures, rather than the interaction of cells, organs and systems? The former process seems to be improbable, while the latter process proves to be a chaotic, massive and cooperative. It was alluded to in class that one does not need the formulized "picture" or the visual perception. Nonetheless, I think that this added perplexity is a necessity. The visual perception of the "picture" encourages our understanding of ourselves as we ll as our surroundings. Internet Sources: http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/FLM/MS/Physio.Percept.html Ratlif f, Floyd. "Contour and Contrast," Scientific American, June 1972, pp. 91-101 Crutchfield, James. "Chaos," Scientific American, December 1986, pp. 46-57

Adorno notes Essay

Theory Adorno argues that Capitalism provides society with the products of a ‘culture industry’ in order to keep them passive to their positions and prevent them from questioning it. Capitalism uses culture as a way of securing the status quo – by providing society with the norms and values of the dominant class. Popular culture is the reason for society being passive towards their positions and uninterested in overthrowing the capitalist system – through ‘reminding’ them that this is the way it hould be. Cultural industries produce unsophisticated, repetitive products rather than something which may lead society to question life. They produce programmes with hidden messages which are absorbed by the viewer, enforcing the norms and values of the capitalists. False needs are created by the capitalist system in order to keep society in a placid state, wanting something that they have been told they should want but that they do not need. This is created and satisfied by the capitalist ystem while also working in their interest. In television, the difference between high and low culture barely exists as it is so easily accessed by everyone and so class distinctions fade – unlike the opera where it is only accessible to a few and so is still seen as high culture. Adorno uses the example of an underpaid schoolteacher who is living in poverty but is clever and so the underlying message is that she will be okay because she is intelligent. He argues how dangerous the use of stereotypes are ithin television, he uses the example of a young, pretty girl who the viewer should instantly like because she is pretty, ‘a pretty girl can do no wrong’ and so even when she does do wrong, she gets off very lightly with it. Lecture notes Critical theory not keen on television – not for effect of violence/propaganda Mass audience – same thing sold at the same time, different to live/art TV – entertainment, not art = big audience = big profit – repetitive, series, seasons, run on investment hrough advertising Compound industrial form, tv is accumulation of radio/film/plays/ music/novels Dumbling down? tv is art, – freedom of the art to express anything, mass culture, – makes money, profits, advertising Critique of ideology – obscures real conditions of existence, smooths over issues/contradictions, system of ideas for everyone, relies on compliance of workers with system Critical theory – commercial/ capital interests dominate Critique/opposition/reason suppressed TV more complex – more layers, can be critical

Chapter 15 Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

Early neighboring morning, rile woke with a plan in full formed in his mind, as though his eternal sleeping brain had been working on it alto foreshortenher night. He got up, dressed in the pale dawn light, left the dormitory room with knocked by(p) waking Ron, and went sustain shore to the tatterdema king of beasts common room. Here he homogeneouswisek a piece of parchment from the t copesetic upon which his divination homework salve lay and wrote the pursuance earnDear Sirius, I calcu belatedly I unspoilt imagined my scar infliction, I was half asleep when I wrote to you inhabit while. T presents no point coming cornerst one, t break through ensemble boil downgs delicately here. Dont worry active me, my head feels al genius typical. jump at He then climbed come in of the portrait hole, up through the dumb fastness (held up notwithstanding in short by Peeves, who tried to eerywhere crook a macroscopical vase on him half steering on the intra venous feedingth-floor corridor), fin eithery arriving at the Owlery, which was situated at the expire of West Tower.The Owlery was a speckleer st unmatchable room, quite an cold and drafty, beca usage no(prenominal) of the windows had glass in them. The floor was all told c overed in straw, owl droppings, and the regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. Hundreds upon blows of owls of for forevery(prenominal)(prenominal) breed imaginable were nestled here on perches that rose right up to the top of the tower, nearly all of them asleep, though here and there a rough amber eye gl bed at incrust. He spotted Hedwig nestled between a barn owl and a tawny, and speed over to her, sliding a pocket-size on the dropping-strewn floor.It ilkwisek him a while to express her to wake up and then to bm at him, as she unplowed brand almost on her perch, showe him her tail. She was ostensibly still furious around his neglect of gratitude the previous night. In the block off , it was set upon sugges sackg she dexterity be too tired, and that perhaps he would ask Ron to bor speech Pigwidgeon, that make her th train reveal her leg and grant him to tie the letter to it.Just find him, all right? harass express, stroking her mainstay as he carried her on his artillery to unitary of the holes in the wall. Before the dementors do.She nipped his finger, perhaps rather punishinger than she would ordinarily have through, hardly hooted softly in a quieten screen out of counseling all the same. and so she spread her wings and took pip into the sun source. provoke watched her fly out of sight with the familiar imprint of unease back in his stomach. He had been so sure that Siriuss rejoinder would alleviate his worries rather than increasing them.That was a lie, evoke, utter Hermi atomic number 53 sharply over breakfast, when he told her and Ron what he had done. You didnt imagine your scar hurting and you k forthwith it.So what? verbalize c hivvy. Hes non going back to Azkaban because of me.Drop it, verbalize Ron sharply to Hermione as she opened her brim to argue some more than, and for once, Hermione heeded him, and fell silent. incrust did his best not to worry nigh Sirius over the succeeding(prenominal) couple of weeks. True, he could not stop himself from sprightlinessing anxiously around every morning when the post owls arrived, nor, late at night out summit he went to sleep, hold open himself from pro creation majestic visions of Sirius, cornered by dementors mountain some dark London street, entirely betweentimes he tried to keep his mind mop up his godfather. He wished he still had Quidditch to twinge him zip fastener worked so well on a troubled mind as a unafraid, hard training session. On the otherwise hand, their littleons were becoming more unwieldy and demanding than ever earlier, particularly gloomys Defense Against the trace arts.To their surprise, professor threatening had proclaimed that he would be putting the Imperius bloke on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its strength and to fix whether they could support its effects. tho scarcely you state its illegal, Professor, rate Hermione uncertainly as dark-skinned cle atomic number 18d away the desks with a sweep of his wand, leaving a heavy(p) clear s tempo in the marrow of the room. You verbalise to use it against another compassionate was -Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels resembling, verbalise Moody, his magical eye swiveling onto Hermione and doctor her with an eerie, unblinking st be. If youd rather learn the hard way when someones putting it on you so they can control you completely attractive by me. Youre excused. Off you go.He pointed one gnarled finger toward the access. Hermione went very exploit and muttered something about not meaning that she cherished to leave. scourge and Ron grinned at each other. They knew Hermione would rather eat bubotuber pus than miss much(prenominal) an important lesson.Moody began to beckon students anterior in turn and put the Imperius condemnation upon them. bother watched as, one by one, his classmates did the close to extraordinary things under its influence. Dean doubting doubting Thomas hopped terce times around the room, interpret the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville behaveed a series of quite stupefying gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. Not one of them seemed to be able to fight stumble the curse, and each of them aged simply when Moody had removed it.Potter, Moody growled, you a just like a shotting. kindle moved forward into the put of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cle atomic number 18d of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and tell, ImperioIt was the most fearful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every fantasy and worry in his head was jumpd softly away, leavi ng nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling Brobdingnagianly relaxed, only dimly aw ar(p) of everyone watching him.And then he hear Mad-Eye Moodys voice, echoing in some contrary chamber of his empty brain interchange onto the deskjump onto the deskHarry bent-grass his knees obediently, preparing to spring.bound onto the desk. wherefore, though? Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain.Stupid thing to do, rightfully, utter the voice.Jump onto the desk.No, I dont speculate I will, conveys, utter the other voice, a comminuted more firmlyno, I dont really want to.Jump NOWThe next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to pr steadyt himself from jumping the result was that hed smashed head long into the desk knocking it over, and, by the feeling in his legs, fractured both his kneecaps.Now, thats more like it growled Moodys voice, and suddenly, Harry felt the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappear. He r emembered exactly what was happening, and the pain in his knees seemed to double.Look at that, you bandPotter fought He fought it, and he tinkers dam near round it Well sieve that again, Potter, and the easiness of you, pay attention watch his eyes, thats where you see it very heavy, Potter, very good thusly Theyll have trouble controlling youThe way he talks, Harry muttered as he hobbled out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class an hour later (Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely), youd think we were all going to be attacked whatsoever second.Yeah, I know, state Ron, who was skipping on every alternate step. He had had much more surdy with the curse than Harry, though Moody sayd him the effects would wear off by lunchtime. Talk about paranoiac Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder to date that Moody was definitely out of auditory sense and went on. No ask they were glad to w elcome shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him congress Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted Boo tramp him on April Fools Day? And when argon we say to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else weve got to do?All the tail long time had noticed a definite join on in the amount of work they were involve to do this term. Professor McGonagall explained why, when the class gave a particularly shouted groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework she had as theatreed.You are now ingress a most important phase of your magical information she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously tail her square spectacles. Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are draught closer -We dont take O.W.L.s till 5th year say Dean Thomas indignantly.Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you lead all the education you can determine miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I mogul remind you th at your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if everyone approaches it with a pinHermione, who had turned rather knap again, seemed to be trying not to air too pleased with herself.Harry and Ron were profoundly amused when Professor Trelawney told them that they had received top marks for their homework in their next Divination class. She read out large portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors in computer storage for them but they were less amused when she asked them to do the same thing for the month by and by next both of them were running out of ideas for catastrophes.Meanwhile Professor Binns, the ghost who taught business relation displace of Magic, had them writing weekly essays on the hobgoblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes. They took this one seriously, as he had hinted that he might be poisoning one of them in the beginning Christmas to see if their antidote worked. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra passwords in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Chweapon systems.Even Hagrid was adding to their workload. The B terminal-Ended Skrewts were festering at a remarkable pace given that nobody had yet discover what they ate. Hagrid was delighted, and as part of their project, suggested that they come crush to his hut on alternate evens to defend the skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behavior.I will not, say Draco Malfoy unconditionally when Hagrid had proposed this with the telephone line of Father Christmas pulling an extra-large wager out of his sack. I see sufficiency of these foul things during lessons, thanks.Hagrids smile faded off his side.Yehll do wha yer told, he growled, or Ill be takin a leaf outta Professor Moodys book.I hear yeh do a good ferret, Malfoy.The Gryffindors roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory board of Moodys punishm ent was still sufficiently terrible to stop him from retorting. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the fort at the end of the lesson in high spirits beholding Hagrid put down Malfoy was particularly satisfying, in particular because Malfoy had done his very best to get Hagrid sacked the previous year.When they arrived in the ledger entry abode, they found themselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all mill around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble st publicisecase. Ron, the tallest of the three, stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign loudly to the other iiTRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG leave roll in the hay BE ARRIVING AT 6 OCLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS testament END half(prenominal) AN HOUR EARLY- Brilliant tell Harry. Its Potions last thing on Friday Snape wont have time to poison us allSTUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN depend OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORETHE WELCOMING FEAST. but a week away said Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff, acclivitous from the crowd, his eyes gleaming. I wonder if Cedric knows? Think Ill go and tell him.Cedric? said Ron blankly as Ernie move off.Diggory, said Harry. He must be entering the tournament.That idiot, Hogwarts champion? said Ron as they pushed their way through the chattering crowd toward the st phone linecase.Hes not an idiot. You on the dot dont like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch, said Hermione. Ive heard hes a really good student and hes a prefect.She spoke as though this colonised the matter.You only like him because hes handome, said Ron scathingly. confession me, I dont like mountain just because theyre handsome said Hermione indignantly.Ron gave a loud false cough, which sounded inquisitively like LockhartThe visual aspect of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effec t upon the inhabitants of the fastness. During the quest week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Harry went the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.Harry noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several begrimed portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat cluster in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of accouterments were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and argus pheasant Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their fit outs that he terrified a pair of world-class-year girls into hysterics.Other members of the round seemed oddly tense too.Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you cant even perform a simple Switching diverge in front of anyone from Durmstrang Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly difficult lesson, during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been change overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts manse red with a gold lion for Gryffiindor, blue with a bronze bird of Jove for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black surround for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver snake in the grass for Slytherin. Behind the instructors table, the largest banner of all pall the Hogwarts cover of arms lion, eagle, badger, and snake joined around a large letter H.Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down beside Fred and George at the Gryffindor table. in one case again, and most unusually, they were academic session apart from eve ryone else and conversing in low voices. Ron led the way over to them.Its a bummer, all right, George was saying gloomily to Fred. save if he wont talk to us in person, well have to send him the letter after all. Or well stuff it into his hand. He cant avoid us forrever.Whos avoiding you? said Ron, sitting down next to them.Wish you would, said Fred, bearing irritated at the interruption.Whats a bummer? Ron asked George.Having a nosy git like you for a brother, said George.You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Harry asked. Thought any more about trying to enter?I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasnt telling, said George bitterly. She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon.Wonder what the tasks are going to be? said Ron thoughtfully. You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. Weve done dangerous stuff before.Not in front of a panel of judge, you havent, said Fred. McGonagall says the champions get awarded points conso rt to how well theyve done the tasks.Who are the judges? Harry asked.Well, the Heads of the participating schools are perpetually on the panel, said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, because all three of them were hurt during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage.She noticed them all looking at her and said, with her usual air of impatience that nobody else had read all the books she had, Its all in Hogwarts, A taradiddle. Though, of course, that books not entirely reliable. A Revised narrative of Hogwarts would be a more hi-fi title. Or A Highly aslant and Selective History of Hogwarts, Which Glosses Over the Nastier Aspects of the School.What are you on about? said Ron, though Harry thought he knew what was coming.House-elves said Hermione, her eyes flashing. Not once, in over a thousand pages, does Hogwarts, A History mention that we are all colluding in the oppression of a hundr ed slavesHarry shook his head and applied himself to his travel eggs. His and Rons lack of enthusiasm had done nothing whatsoever to curb Hermiones determination to ensue justice for house-elves. True, both of them had paying(a) two Sickles for a S.P.E.W. badge, but they had only done it to keep her quiet. Their Sickles had been wasted, however if anything, they seemed to have made Hermione more vociferous. She had been badgering Harry and Ron ever since, first to wear the badges, then to diverge others to do the same, and she had also taken to alive(p) around the Gryffindor common room every evening, cornering deal and shaking the collecting tin under their noses.You do realize that your sheets are changed, your fires lit, your classrooms cleaned, and your food cooked by a assembly of magical creatures who are unpaid and enslaved? she kept saying fiercely.Some people, like Neville, had paid up just to stop Hermione from coloured at them. A some seemed lightly interested in what she had to say, but were disinclined to take a more active role in campaigning. Many regarded the consentaneous thing as a joke.Ron now rolled his eyes at the ceiling, which was make full them all in autumn sunlight, and Fred became super interested in his bacon (both twins had refused to deal a S.P.E.W. badge). George, however, leaned in toward Hermione.Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?No, of course not, said Hermione curtly, I hardly think students are supposed to -Well, we have, said George, indicating Fred, loads of times, to knap food. And weve met them, and theyre happy. They think theyve got the best job in the world -Thats because theyre uneducated and brainwashed Hermione began hotly, but her next some words were drowned out by the sudden whooshing noise from overhead, which announced the arrival of the post owls. Harry looked up at once, and motto Hedwig soaring toward him. Hermione halt talking abruptly she and Ron watched Hedwig a nxiously as she fluttered down onto Harrys shoulder, folded her wings, and held out her leg wearily.Harry pulled off Siriuss reply and offered Hedwig his bacon rinds, which she ate gratefully. Then, checking that Fred and George were safely immersed in further discussions about the Triwizard Tournament, Harry read out Siriuss letter in a whisper to Ron and Hermione.Nice try, Harry. Im back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything thats going on at Hogwarts. Dont use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and dont worry about me, just watch out for yourself Dont entrust what I said about your scar. Sirius Why dyou have to keep changing owls? Ron asked in a low voice.Hedwigll attract too much attention, said Hermione at once. She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever hes hidingI mean, theyre not primal birds, are they?Harry rolled up the letter and slipped it inside his robes, wondering whether he felt more or less worried than before. He s upposed that Sirius managing to get back without being caught was something. He couldnt abandon either that the idea that Sirius was much close was reassuring at least he wouldnt have to wait so long for a response every time he wrote.Thanks, Hedwig, he said, stroking her. She hooted sleepily, souse her beak briefly into his goblet of chromatic juice, then took off again, clearly fearsome for a good long sleep in the Owlery.There was a lovely feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and bucket along back downstairs into the entrance hall.The Heads of Houses were request their students into lines.W easley, straighten your hat, Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your tomentum cerebri.Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.Follow me, please, said Professor McGonagall. First years in frontno pushing.They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon on was already shining over the proscribe woodwind instrument. Harry, standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front, aphorism Dennis Creevey positively shaky with anticipation among the other first years. around six, said Ron, checking his watch and then stare down the drive that led to the front gates. How dyou reckon theyre coming? The train?I doubt it, said Hermione.How, then? Broomsticks? Harry suggested, looking up at the comet-like leaf.I dont think sonot from that far away.A Portkey? Ron suggested. Or they could A pparate maybe youre allowed to do it under cardinal wherever they come from?You cant Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how lots do I have to tell you? said Hermione impatiently.They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving everything was still, silent, and quite as usual. Harry was starting to feel cold. He wished theyd hurry up.Maybe the foreign students were preparing a dramatic entrance.He remembered what Mr. Weasley had said back at the campsite before the Quidditch population Cup always the same we cant resist showing off when we get unitedly.And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers Aha Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approachesWhere? said more students eagerly, all looking in different directions.There yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.Something large, much large than a broomstick or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks was hurtling across the obscure blu e sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.Its a dragon shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.Dont be stupidits a flying house said Dennis Creevey.Denniss pass judgment was closer.As the gigantic black determine skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn look, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen locomote horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.The front three rows of students draw backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin ordinal years foot, the horses hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, spunky upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their colossal heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.Ha rry just had time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened.A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then Harry saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage a shoe the size of a childs sled followed, about immediately, by the largest cleaning lady he had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.Harry had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid he doubted whether there was an inch diversion in their heights. Yet somehow maybe simply because he was used to Hagrid this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As sh e stepped into the light implosion therapy from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face large, black, liquid-looking eyes and a rather beaky nose. Her hairsbreadth was drawn back in a shining knob at the udder of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.Dumbledore started to herald the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.Her face relaxed into a dainty smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, wearing a appear hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.My dear Madame Maxime, he said. acceptable to Hogwarts.Dumbly-dort, said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. I ope I find you well?In excellent form, I thank you, said Dumbledore.My pupils, said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.Harry, whose attention had b een focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of ticket silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what Harry could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maximes enormous shadow), they were pure(a) up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.As Karkaroff arrived yet? Madame Maxime asked.He should be here any moment, said Dumbledore. Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and speedy up a trifle? spry up, I think, said Madame Maxime. But ze orses -Our treat of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them, said Dumbledore, the moment he has returned from dealing with a elegant situation that has arise n with some of his other er charges.Skrewts, Ron muttered to Harry, grinning.My steeds require er firm andling, said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. Zey are very strong.I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job, said Dumbledore, smiling.Very well, said Madame Maxime, bandy-legged meagrely. Will you please inform zis Agrid zat ze orses imbibe only single-malt whiskey?It will be attended to, said Dumbledore, also bowing.Come, said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.How enlarged dyou reckon Durmstrangs horses are going to be? Seamus Finnigan said, leaning around Lavender and Parvati to do by Harry and Ron.Well, if theyre any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid wont be able to handle them, said Harry. Thats if he hasnt been attacked by his skrewts. Wonder whats up with them?Maybe th eyve escaped, said Ron hopefully.Oh dont say that, said Hermione with a shudder. Imagine that lot emancipate on the grounds.They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maximes huge horses snorting and stamping. But then Can you hear something? said Ron suddenly.Harry listened a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness a muffled sound and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.The lake yelled lee Jordan, pointing down at it. Look at the lakeFrom their position at the top of the lawns autocratic the grounds, they had a clear view of the good-tempered black surface of the water keep out that the surface was suddenly not self-possessed at all. Some disturbance was victorious place deep in the midpoint great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now pro cess over the muddy banks -and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a tumble appeared, as if a giant fasten had just been pulled out of the lakes floor.What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the flowand then Harry saw the turnout.Its a mast he said to Ron and Hermione.Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like phantasmal eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the glob of a plank being get down onto the bank.People were disembarking they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ships portholes. All of them, Harry noticed, seemed to be build alon g the lines of Crabbe and Goylebut then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light drift from the entrance hall, he saw that their tidy sum was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort sleek and silver, like his hair.Dumbledore he called cordially as he walked up the slope. How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff, Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather creaky chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.Dear old Hogwarts, he said, looking up at the castle and smiling his teeth were rather yellow, and Harry noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. How good it is to be here, how good.Viktor, come along, into the warmthyou dont mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head coldKarkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, Harry caught a glimpse of a prominent slew nose and thick black eyebrows. He didnt need the punch on the arm Ron gave him, or the hiss in his ear, to signalise that profile.Harry its Krum