Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

Book Review - Essay Example The author has described how the hormonal changes in different stages of woman’s life create different physical and behavioral changes in her and how these changes help her to cope with different roles that she plays at in her life. The book â€Å"The Female Brain† is a good book for understanding the difference in brain structure and hormones of women and men. However, the dramatic and the magazine like style of writing make the book lose the ‘depth’ of the subject matter. Hence, even though the book gives some meaningful and important facts about the female brain, the repetitive nature of the information makes the book lose its grip on the reader. After reading the whole book, the reader feels that the author had only few things to discuss about the female behavior and everything else was added just to increase the pages of the book. The essence of the book is the effort by the author to reveal that woman’s emotions, values, desires, decisions and the perception of reality are hugely influenced by the neurological effects caused by the hormones. The hormones that influence women’s brain and men’s brain are different and hence, their behavioral pattern, emotional pattern and thinking pattern are different. The author has discussed how the three major hormones of estrogen, dopamine and oxytocin influence woman’s mind and body to develop the ‘feminine’ qualities in her. The book reveals how estrogen is responsible for unique qualities like empathy and intuition in women. Women have a natural tendency to read emotions in body language, seek social interaction, trust others and remain loyal. According to the author, these qualities are unique to women because estrogen makes them seek social interaction and emotional bonding. The presence of the hormone oxytocin makes women tru st others easily. Hormone dopamine is responsible for craving of sex and love in women. On the other hand, as the

Dissertation observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dissertation observation - Essay Example Committee members asked the most questions and few other questions came from the rest of the audience. The dissertator responded to the questions and in the end, she was sent outside for fifteen minutes to allow time for the committee members to discuss her performance. She was later called in and the chairperson announced that she had performed well, thanked the audience, and adjourned the session (Piantanida & Garman, 2009). The defense session took two hours. I found the dissertation defense process well set and suitable for its purpose. The arrangement to allow non-campus and non-faculty members to attend the session was impressive. The formality of this process including the starting time, time allocated questions and answers, and the closing time enhanced its effectiveness rather than stifling it (Roberts, 2004). Whereas at first the questions that were asked in the course of the presentation annoyed me because they interrupted my flow, I eventually liked them because they clarified some of the things that were unclear. The dissertator’s initiative to start with a brief background into her topic was beneficial to members of the audience like me who had not seen the verbatim dissertation. Initially, it was baffling to see the committee members taking on one another and I almost trivialized it. However, I realized their contention was academic and full of insight, which the dissertator was wise to note and I guessed she was going to consider them in her final revision (Murray, 2009). My first learning is that it is imperative for the dissertation defense candidate to prepare adequately. This draws from what I saw in the insightful, though challenging, exchange between the dissertator and her audience. The confidence with which the candidate tackled the questions demonstrated her meticulous preparation for the defense. My second

Psychosocial Characteristics of Breast Malignancy

Psychosocial Characteristics of Breast Malignancy Substantial resources have been shared out to research into the psychosocial characteristics of breast malignancy in the last twenty years. Initial studies in this field mainly focused on describing the emotional experience of women with breast malignancy and also attempted to develop interventions which can reduce psychosocial distress and prepare them to cop-up with the situation. Ferlic M, Goldman A, Kennedy BJ (1979) conducted a study titled â€Å"Group counseling in adult patients with advanced cancer† and reported a noteworthy enhancement in participants â€Å"perception and self-concept† and a similar benefit reported by Heinrich and Schag (1985). These two studies were referred as the early intervention studies among women with breast cancer. David Spiegel et al. (1989) found that women with metastatic breast malignancy can extend their survival by a psychological intervention (â€Å"supportive–expressive group therapy†). David Spiegel’s this report had various impacts on psychosocial intervention studies in1999s. After Spiegel’s surprising findings in 1989, the researchers shifted their focus from describing emotional experience of women with breast malignancy to survival outcomes of psychosocial interventions. Cunningham et al., (1998); Edelman et al., (1999a); Goodwin et al., (2001); and Classen et al., (2001) conducted different studies to find out the favorable outcome of psychological interventions on survival of women with metastatic breast malignancy. None of the succeeding studies in metastatic breast malignancy have recognized a survival effect of a series of psychological interventions. Several similar findings were reported among different cancer studies with the intention of surviv al outcome from their metastatic malignancy (Linn et al., 1982; Fawzy et al., 1993; Ilnyckyj et al., 1994; Kuchler et al., 1999). All these observations, from studies held in 1990s, forced the members of psycho-oncology research group to change their focus of assessment to the mental status and personal satisfaction of women with breast cancer, and to the recognition of interventions that positively influence their mental and social functioning, instead of metastatic breast cancer survival and their in-between biomedical outcomes. From 2000, a good number of psychosocial oncology researchers concentrated on focusing their research in the area of metal statues, wellbeing and quality of life of women during and after their active treatment for breast cancer. Antoni et al. (2001) explained â€Å"Cognitive-behavioral stress Management intervention decreases the prevalence of depression and enhances benefit finding among women under treatment for early-stage breast malignancy†. The writers observed the effects of ten-week group â€Å"cognitive- behavioral stress management intervention† in the midst of 100 women recently undergone treatment for stage 0-II breast malignancy and reported positive benefits after the intervention. Cruess et al. (2001) studied the impacts of a â€Å"cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM)† group intervention on â€Å"serum cortisol† stages in women being undergone treatment for breast cancer with stage I or II. Women who were in the Intervention group demonstrated improved benefit finding and decreased â€Å"serum cortisol† levels, whereas women who were in the control group not experienced any change. The statement by Kissane and colleagues (2003) of a randomized, controlled trial of cognitive–existential group therapy for women with early breast cancer is an example. In that research they found that women in the intervention group reported considerably lowered ‘anxiety†, and enhanced â€Å"family function†. The authors further reported self-growth and increased knowledge of cancer and its treatment. During this period numerous excellent reviews of psychosocial interventions in breast cancer have been published (Rimer et al., 1985; Fawzy et al., 1995; Meyer and Mark, 1995; Wallace, 1997; Burke and Kissane, 1998; Newell et al., 2002) and most of these reviews suggested that there are significant advantages associated with the use of psychological interventions during and after their active treatment. Further, these reviews suggested various intervention approaches such as: education, cognitive and behavioral training, individual psychotherapy, group interventions, and made more specific suggestions concerning incorporation of psychosocial interventions into the treatment setting. They emphasized that there was proof of benefit for all of these approaches, reporting that cancer patients may benefit from a variety of psychological intervention programmes, and recommending accurate interventions at different points along the cancer trajectory. Newell et al. (2002) conducted one review and achieved fairly different conclusions. The authors of this review attempted a broad survey of psychological treatments in various sorts of cancer. Further that they applied a sequence of thorough methodological standards and retained only those researches that achieved their standards of inclusions. This brought about the rejection of the greater part of published research. This review was comprehensive, but it did not focus on a specific type of cancer or a specific type of treatment, and the effects of interventions among different types of cancers did not differentiate by the reviewing team and that was considered as one of the major drawback of their review. Because of its strict inclusion criteria many important effects of psychosocial interventions being missed or undervalued. For the assessment of benefits they took an exceptionally progressive methodology in which at least half of the effective measures for the particular characte ristic need to account significant outcomes for the impact to be categorized as a significant one. The reviewing group observed the acute, intermediate, and durable effect of interventions on a huge number of results together with â€Å"anxiety, depression, hostility, stress or distress, general or overall affect, general or overall functional ability or quality of life, vocational or domestic adjustment, coping or coping skills, interpersonal or social relationships, sexual or marital relationships, pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, overall physical symptoms, conditioned nausea and vomiting, survival, and immune† effects. Newell et al., (2002) concluded that the support of the effectiveness of psychological management on distress and quality of life among people with cancer is uncertain. They also noticed a total lack of support for the effectiveness of the interventions for enhancing social functioning, even though this is a key feature of how patients outlook their revival and life after treatment (Schag et al., 1993; Carver et al., 2003). Antoni et al. (2004) reported that their outcomes are very much at odds with those conclusions. Then the question arises what is the cause of the disagreement? One major distinction between this study and those in Newell et al.’s (2002) review is the samples. Studies in that review scrutinized patients dealing with different cancers at different stages of illness and treatment, whereas Antoni groups sample was all women with breast cancer who were at the beginning of treatment. Other research on breast cancer has also revealed encouraging influences from such interventions (Andersen et al., 2004). For example, one trial of women with Stage II–III breast cancer explained that a group-based intervention that was paying attention on stress management, reduced anxiety, improved social support, enhanced diet, and reduced smoking (Andersen et al., 2004). That study, although valuable, exemplifies a major limitation in this field: a lack of evidence for the durability of the e ffects (Newell et al., 2002). Only one follow-up evaluation was accounted, which was right at the conclusion of the intervention. Here the new question arises whether the intervention effects last beyond the time of involvement, as patients go back to their home, their daily life, and their responsibility as partners, parents, and employees? Studies using more follow-ups are exceptional, even though outcomes of these interventions sometimes come out well after adjuvant treatments end (Andersen, 1992). The work of Antoni et al. (2006a) helps advance the field by reporting that a â€Å"CBSM intervention† can construct significant and long-lasting effects on measures representing an improvement of social functioning, decrease of negative effect, and enhances positive experiences. Certainly, it is remarkable that a number of the effects actually solidified from 6 months to 12 months. A comparable pattern also has been found in the trial utilized a different intervention that was put into practice at a different point in the active medical treatment (Scheier et al., 2006). It is significant to observe whether such consolidation is a consistent occurrence and how sturdy it is across time. Antoni et al., (2006a) strongly advocated that more studies track participants for longer times subsequent to the psychosocial intervention move towards to its conclusion.

Immigration :: essays research papers

PERMANENT RESIDENCE / IMMIGRANT VISAS  · Returning Residents  · Family based immigration (if close relatives citizens/residents in USA)  · DV-2003 Green Card Lottery  · Religious workers  · International adoption  · Green Card through investment  · Vaccinations  · Procedures for marriage of a U.S. citizen to a foreign spouse Family Based Immigrations Purpose: The information included in the package will provide you with all the tools necessary for assessing the eligibility requirements understanding the procedure, completing the necessary applications, attaching and gathering the required supporting documents and filing the documents for the petition. Our simple easy-to-follow guide will also prepare you for what to expect when dealing with the Immigration and what you should expect after filing the documentation. Requirements: A citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S. can file a petition for his or her immediate relatives to immigrate to the USA. Immediate relatives of a US citizen would be husband, wife or unmarried child under 21. Unmarried child over 21, or married child of any age. Brother or sister if citizen is at least 21 years old. Parents of citizen if citizen is at least 21 years old. A lawful permanent resident may establish a petition for the following relatives: husband, wife or unmarried child. (Remember this information may vary depending on individual circumstances.) Content: 50-page book, information folder, Immigration Principals Guide, and a package of original INS forms. Instruction guide with how-to explanations and easy to follow step-by-step procedures. Information on the eligibility requirements, supporting documentation, submission addresses. Updated filing fees, listings of US Embassies and Consulates, Immigration & Naturalization contact information, updated Visa Bulletin with processing cut-off dates, glossary of Immigration terms and abbreviations, instructions on filing, document translation information, medical examination information, checklist, photo specification guide and helpful hints. Sample Forms: I-130, I-485, I-765, 2 x G-325A, INS Forms: I-130, I-864, I-485, I-765, I-693, WR-702, 2x G-325A. Information about the AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under

My Hero

– state who your idol is ?- describe the physical features of this person? – describe the person’s character which is peculiar to him/her – give reasons why you idolise this person ? – give amusing anecdotes to make this essay interesting My mom is my role model because no matter what happens she's always forgiving. She's not just forgiving towards me because I am her daughter, but she is forgiving towards everyone as well. On almost a daily bases, there is always something that I do that makes my mom angry or annoyed.Although by the end of the day, whether or not she actually has forgiven me, she has a positive attitude towards me assuring me that she has forgiven me. For example, my mom almost always tells me to: clean my room, do something to help her, or something else more complicated then that, but most the time I will just ignore her request. This makes my mom angry that I am not following directions, but she will always just forgive me and f orget about the matter. The way that my mom is so forgiving contributes to her being my role model. y mom is an outstanding athlete, which makes her my role model but she is also very hard working. She never stops her work until it's finished right. Everyday she will come home and do school work, make dinner, and many other things. My mom always works hard on all the necessary things, and she never stops until they are completely done. For example when I do my homework, and I rush through it just to get it over with my mom always complains to me how I didn't work hard enough on it. The way my mom is so hard working and encourages me to do everything the right way makes her my role model. he's forgiving, hard working, and a great athlete, but my mom is also very encouraging and that helps me through a lot. Whenever I want to give up on something, or not do something at my full ability my mom is always encouraging me to do the absolute best that I can. An example that has recently aff ected my life is when I am running track. At the meets and practices when I am running and I just want to give up because it's painful and tiring, my mom is always there cheering me on to just keep running.My mom always encourages me for everything I do, and helps keep me going. I wish I was as encouraging as she was, cause being encouraging helps you look at the positive side of things. Everyone in the world have an idol in their life. Idol is someone that you admire so much, maybe a singer, an actor, a football player, or a model. For me, my mother has been my idol since the day I was born. She is fifty years old. She has become a good mother for her children. She really loves her children.

Lord of the Flies Quotes

â€Å"We did everything adults would do. What went wrong? † â€Å"Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. † â€Å"We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. † â€Å"The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away. † â€Å"What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? † â€Å"The rules! † shouted Ralph, â€Å"you're breaking the rules! † â€Å"Who cares? † â€Å"the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. â€Å"Which is better–to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill? † â€Å"Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in! † â€Å"If I blow the conch and they don't come back; then we've had it. We shan't keep the fire going. We'll be like animals. We'll never be rescued. † â€Å"If you don't blow, we'll soon be animals anyway. † â€Å"This is our island. It's a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we'll have fun. † â€Å"Are we savages or what? † â€Å"This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch. Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.None of the boys could have found good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart. † â€Å"He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, ur ging them, ordering them.Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery. † â€Å"We musn't let anything happen to Piggy, must we? † â€Å"The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. † â€Å"I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature. I produce my own view in the belief that it may be something like the truth. † â€Å"And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. Ralph and jack are a good form of Duality, when good and evil come together in conflict. savages barbarians brutes thugs beasts this unlawfully behavior. Dark; violent; pessimistic; tragic; unsparing 1 †rising action  The boys assemble on the beach. In the election f or leader, Ralph defeats Jack, who is furious when he loses. As the boys explore the island, tension grows between Jack, who is interested only in hunting, and Ralph, who believes most of the boys’ efforts should go toward building shelters and maintaining a signal fire.When rumors surface that there is some sort of beast living on the island, the boys grow fearful, and the group begins to divide into two camps supporting Ralph and Jack, respectively. Ultimately, Jack forms a new tribe altogether, fully immersing himself in the savagery of the hunt. † 2 †climax   Simon encounters the Lord of the Flies in the forest glade and realizes that the beast is not a physical entity but rather something that exists within each boy on the island.When Simon tries to approach the other boys and convey this message to them, they fall on him and kill him savagely. † 3 â€Å"falling action  Virtually all the boys on the island abandon Ralph and Piggy and descend furthe r into savagery and chaos. When the other boys kill Piggy and destroy the conch shell, Ralph flees from Jack’s tribe and encounters the naval officer on the beach. † themes Civilization vs. avagery; the loss of innocence; innate human evil motifs Biblical parallels; natural beauty; the bullying of the weak by the strong; the outward trappings of savagery (face paint, spears, totems, chants) major conflict  Free from the rules that adult society formerly imposed on them, the boys marooned on the island struggle with the conflicting human instincts that exist within each of them—the instinct to work toward civilization and order and the instinct to descend into savagery, violence, and chaos.

A Selection of Quotes by Jomo Kenyatta

A Selection of Quotes by Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta was an activist and politician in Kenya who led the country as Prime Minister in 1963 and then as President in 1964. He is credited for his part in turning Kenya into an independent republic. He died in office at the age of 81. Quotes If Africans were left in peace on their own lands, Europeans would have to offer them the benefits of white civilization in real earnest before they could obtain the African labor which they want so much. They would have to offer the African a way of life which was really superior to the one his fathers lived before, and a share in the prosperity given them by their command of science. They would have to let the African choose what parts of European culture could be beneficially transplanted, and how they could be adapted ... The African is conditioned, by cultural and social institutions of centuries, to freedom of which Europe has a little conception, and it is not in his nature to accept serfdom forever. Europeans assume that, given the right knowledge and ideas, personal relations can be left largely to take care of themselves, and this is perhaps the most fundamental difference in outlook between Africans and Europeans. You and I must work together to develop our country, to get education for our children, to have doctors, to build roads, to improve or provide all day-to-day essentials. To .. all the dispossessed youth of Africa: for the perpetuation of communion with ancestral spirits through the fight for African freedom, and in the firm faith that the dead, the living, and the unborn will unite to rebuild the destroyed shrines. Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future. Where there has been racial hatred, it must be ended. Where there has been tribal animosity, it will be finished. Let us not dwell upon the bitterness of the past. I would rather look to the future, to the good new Kenya, not to the bad old days. If we can create this sense of national direction and identity, we shall have gone a long way to solving our economic problems. Many people may think that now there is Uhuru, now I can see the sun of Freedom shining, richness will pour down like manna from Heaven. I tell you there will be nothing from Heaven. We must all work hard, with our hands, to save ourselves from poverty, ignorance, and disease. If we respect ourselves and our Uhuru, foreign investment will pour in and we will prosper. We do not want to oust the Europeans from this country. But what we demand is to be treated like the white races. If we are to live here in peace and happiness, racial discrimination must be abolished. God said this is our land, land in which we flourish as people... we want our cattle to get fat on our land so that our children grow up in prosperity; and we do not want the fat removed to feed others.

Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry

Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry Introduction Over the years, building designs have been changing in an effort to address diverse social, economic, and environmental needs. For instance, the 20th century was characterized by the advent of the skyscraper, in which the steel framing technology was exploited in a bid to surmount the shortage of real estate in different cities in the United States (U.S. Department of energy 2008).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All of a sudden, the booming real estate market gave rise to other problems such as congestion and pollution that we now have to contend with. As a result, the modern day building industry seems to have ushered in a new era of change whereby the main goal is to ensure that we reduce as much as possible the various forms of footprint including carbon, energy, as well as environmental foo tprint of both residential and commercial buildings (U.S Department of energy 2008). At the same time, there is a dire need to conserve and optimize scarce resources such as energy, water, land, and clean air. In an attempt to surmount these challenges, players in the building industry are now banking on transformative technologies. For this reason, developers, designers and owners are on the lookout for new ways to reduce the environmental consequences and operating costs of buildings and at the same time, ensure that such buildings appeal to the occupants. This is what has given rise to the concept of sustainable buildings. A sustainable building refers to a structure that has been constructed in a resource-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Such practices should be implemented in the entire lifecycle of the building beginning with siting, designing, and the actual construction. The same practices should also be utilized when maintaining, renovating, or demolishing such a building (EPA, n.d.). For proper coordination of all these activities, there is need for the various professionals involved to cooperate at the various stages of the project. These professionals include the design team, engineers, architects, and the client (EPA, n. d.).Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The practice of sustainable/green building is an expansion of and a complement to the conventional design of buildings that appears to emphasize more on utility, economy, comfort, and durability (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Even with the constant development in new technologies aimed at complementing the existing practices, sustainable buildings are designed in such a manner as to reduce the possible overall impact that such buildings could have on the built environment, the natural environment, as well as on human health. This can be achieved by e nsuring that such resources as water and energy have been utilized efficiently. Another way of achieving sustainability is by improving employee productivity and ensuring that the health of the occupant of such buildings is protected. Also, there is need to reduce pollution, waste, and environmental degradation (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Sustainability involves the ability to fulfill the needs of the current generation while still ensuring that the needs of future generations have not been compromised (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). A report released by the U.S. General Services Administration in 2009 reveals that it would cost less to design, construct, operate, and maintain a sustainable building compared to a conventional building. Moreover, such buildings are also characterized by excellent energy performance. Moreover, occupants of such buildings expressed a lot of satisfaction in terms of the overall construction of the building, in comparison with their count erparts who occupied the conventional commercial buildings. Why we need to promote the concept of sustainable buildings Statistics show that today, the amount of energy consumed by the over 4.7 million commercial buildings and more than 114 million households in the United States is more than that which is consumed by the industry sectors.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Concept of Sustainable Buildings in the Modern Day Building Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this case, the combined energy consumption by commercial and residential buildings in the United States is estimated at approximately 40 percent of the entire energy consumption in the country (U.S. Department of energy 2008). As such, the social, environmental, and financial benefits associated with the integration of renewable energy technologies, energy-efficient products and designs into both residential and commercial buildings are very evident. Nevertheless, up till now, in spite of increased consumer awareness on the benefits and significance of minimizing overall energy emission and consumption, Ellington 2004), there appears to be a very low uptake of the sustainable building concept. In the past few centuries, people who were interested in utilizing the earth’s resources to the fullest to support its progress and development were rarely questioned but in the 21st century, we continue to witness a significant and remarkable shift towards a more accountable approach. For instance, it is slowly dawning on developers, land owners, governments, the private sector, engineers and the general public that the earth’s resources are dwindling fast and for this reason, it is becoming increasingly important that all the parties involved make a concerted effort to ensuring that they preserve the environment so that future generations may also get a share of what mother nature has to offer. In addition, th ese parties are now fully aware of the importance of striking a balance between the environment, and their social and economic wellbeing for increased sustainability (Barr, 2004). That is why we are slowly witnessing a mushrooming of sustainable residential and commercial buildings that have been constructed in an eco-friendly manner. Even so, there is still need to create more awareness on the potential benefits of sustainable buildings if at all we are to witness profound improvements in the management of scarce natural resources and the associated negative effects once these resources are depleted.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such, by embracing social, economically and environmentallys of renewable sources of energy that can be adopted in a sustainable building include solar power and wind power. The use of renewable sources of energy would therefore result in a major reduction in potential environmental impact on such buildings. In a bid to conserve energy, sustainable buildings should be constructed such that it is easily to identify and implement the various energy saving measures. Energy retrofits are by far more expensive compared to conservation and as such, a lot of effort should be dedicated to ensuring that we conserve energy. One of the strategies of ensuring that we have reduced our energy usage is by targeting those items that consume a lot of energy in the building (Allen Iano, 2008). For example, in a hotel, space conditioning (that is, cooling and heating) has been noted to utilize the most amount of energy. Therefore, in trying to conserve the energy consumption pattern of a hotel, a lot of efforts should be made to ensure that there is no heat transfer that takes place within the building. Other effective strategies that can also be adopted include decreasing infiltration, improving windows, insulating ductwork and exterior partitions, as well as retrofitting lighting fixtures. Another strategy that if implemented can lower costs is to ensure that during off peak times, electricity usage has been shifted (Allen Iano, 2008). The users of a sustainable building should form the habit of always saving energy. There is not much investment that goes into conservation measures and as such, they should be utilized more often. In terms of reducing operating costs, conservation measures have also proved to be the most cost-effective. Materials efficiency Certain building materials are considered as being sustainable. They include such renewable materials as straw, and bamboo, recycled metal, dimension stone, lumber obtained from certified forests, and recycled metals. O ther non-toxic, renewable, recyclable, and/or reusable materials that can also qualify as sustainable building materials include sheep wool, linoleum, truss, compressed earth block, baked earth, sand stone, flax linen, cork, wood fiber plates, and expanded clay grains, among others (EPA, n. d.). Other materials on the suggestion list of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inclusion as sustainable building materials include foundry sand, coal combustion products, and demolition debris (EPA, n. d.). It is also recommended that building materials be extracted and produced closer to the site of the building as a way of reducing energy that would be expended upon their transit. Whenever possible, it is also recommended that the manufacturing of building material should take place off-site, after which they should then be delivered on-site. This is aimed at increasing benefits of off-site production, including reduction of recycling, reduced waste, less dust and noise, and high quality elements. Waste reduction Sustainable building is committed to ensuring that there is a drastic reduction in the wastage of building materials, energy, and water, among other vital resources. In addition, it is also important to ensure that water is not wasted when undertaking construction. Engineers involved in the construction stage of a sustainable building should ensure that they minimize the volume of materials that end up in landfills (Allen Iano, 2008). This way, it becomes easier to reduce the amount of materials in the landfill. Once the useful life of a building is over, most of them are demolished and the ensuing waste finds its way into landfills. Though deconstruction, such waste could be harvested and reclaimed to form useful building material (EPA, n. d.). We can also reduce wastes by extending the useful life of a building. Water Efficiency The concept of sustainable building is also concerned with activities aimed at ensuring that the protection of the qual ity of water is assured, and that the consumption of water has been minimized. One of the fundamental aspects of water consumption is that in certain areas, the supplying aquifer may not be able to sustain demand for water because its ability to self-replenish is slower (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). For this reason, the personnel involved in the maintenance of such buildings should ensure that the water collected on-site has been put to good use by re-using it whenever possible. Protecting and conserving water in a building can be ensured by installing a dual plumbing design. This way, the occupants of a sustainable building can be assured throughout its entire lifetime. As a result, it becomes easier to recycle the water used to flush toilets, thereby ensuring water conservation. The use of water conserving fixtures like low-flow shower heads and ultra-low flush toilets can also help to reduce waste-water (Mumovic Santamouris, 2009). Also, the non-sewage water could also be put to better use, like for irrigation purposes instead of just letting it go to waste. This way, we can be able to reduce the demand for water from the local aquifer. Water conservation In order to minimize the overall water usage, efforts should be made to prevent pipes from leaking as this amount to wastage. How water pipes can also be insulated, and water meters installed. Water meters enable the collection of data on the consumption patterns of water. This way, one can easily establish specific water reductions goals with the intention of estimating the success of water conservation. Collecting rain water can also help to supplement piped water. In case the plumbing system within the building is leaking, it may result in over 10 dumping of water. In order to reduce such leaks, a concerted effort should be made to ensure that there is proper and regular maintenance of the plumbing system (Yan Stellios, 2006). Use should b made of low flow fixtures for they have that they are easy to install, not to mention that they are also cost comparable. The production of hot water should take place closer to the points of usage. This avoids wasting a lot of water and energy used to heat this water. One can save a lot of energy and water by increasing installing recirculating and pipe insulation units. Conclusion Sustainable buildings have gained a lot of popularity in recent years as it is starting to slowly dawn on us that our natural resources are dwindling very fast. For this reason, we need to ensure that we conserve energy, materials, and other resources such as water by adopting efficient and effective building principles. The main motivating factor for sustainable buildings is to ensure that the economic, social, and environmental concerns of a building are addressed. As such, sustainability buildings aim to ensure that the environmental impact of buildings is reduced as much as possible. Sustainable buildings often refer to those structures that have been designed in a resource-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Such practices should be implemented in the entire lifecycle of the building starting with the basic step of site selection whereby the site selected for constructing the building should be environmentally friendly. Some of the common techniques applied in the design of sustainable buildings include proper site selection, optimizing the use of energy, use of environmentally friendly materials, improved indoor environmental quality, optimizing maintenance and operational activities, and improving the quality of the indoor environment. The entire building design should also emphasize on achieving an economic, social, and environmental balance. The same goes for the actual operation and construction. In addition, the maintenance, renovation or demolition of such a building should also follow these practices. The various professionals involved in the construction of a building need to cooperate so that all these activities can be properly coordinated. Reference List Allen, E, Iano, J. (2008). Fundamentals of building construction: materials and  methods. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons Inc. Barr, S. (2004). Are we all environmentalists now? Rhetoric and reality in environmental  Action. Geoforum, 35, 231-249. California Sustainability Alliance (2011). Green Buildings. Retrieved from http://sustainca.org/programs/green_buildings_challenges Chang, K. (2000). Scientists Watch Cities Make Their Own Weather. Retrieved from http://nytimes.com/. EPA. (n.d.). What is a green building: Fundamental Principles of Green Building and Sustainable Site Design. Retrieved from http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/12_8_what_is_green_GGGC.pdf Ellington, M. (2004). Energy hogs a new advertising campaign raises consumer awareness on saving energy. Retrieved from eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/update/printer_friendly.cfm?volume=51 Mumovic, D., Santamouris, M. (2009). An Integrated Approach to En ergy, Health and  Operational Performance. London: Earthscan U.S Department of energy. (2008). Energy Efficiency Trends in Residential and Commercial Buildings. Retrieved from http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/corporate/bt_stateindustry.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2009). Green Building Basic Information. Retrieved from epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.(2010). Why build green? Retrieved from epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm Yan, J., Stellios, P. (2006). Design for Sustainability. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press.

Education In Canada New Opportunities For Students

Education In Canada New Opportunities For Students Education opportunities in Canada Not every country can be proud of its education system. Obviously, there are countries-leaders that can provide the excellent educational opportunities for students from around the world. Also, there are countries schooling system of which leaves much to be desired. Such countries as the United States of America, Great Britain, South Korea, Finland, Norway and Japan are in the top of the world’s educational systems ranking. However, there is one more country that can be definitely added to the list of the countries where you could go to in order to get a great education. It is Canada. Let’s have a look at what this country can offer in terms of education nowadays. Canadian education in PISA ranking In 1997 the Program for International Student Assessment was formed. Its abbreviation is PISA and it is a worldwide study aimed to compare education attainment around the world. The tests are held once in 3 years and are run by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to one of the recent international PISA tests and evaluations, Canada appeared in the top 10 in such subjects as mathematics, reading and science. Canada’s teenagers appeared to be among the best-educated students in the world, and, in particular, they ended up far ahead of their geographical neighbors (the USA) as well as some leading European countries. Also, according to the results of PISA tests, Canada has the world’s highest number of adults who work and who have a higher education (compared to other countries which took part in OECD testing). Equal rights policy Many students in Canada are originally born in families where both parents are from other countries. Nevertheless, due to the number of factors, children of newly-arrived families have no difficulty with integrating into the society. As a result, their academic achievements are impressive. Mainly, this happens because equity is what Canadians make an emphasis on. There is a strong dedication to fairness and equal treatment of any student, regardless of the child’s capabilities, color of skin or origin. In addition to this, one of the key factors is that teachers are well paid (as per international standards) and to become a teacher one needs to be a great professional. High academic performance of students is a natural result of this. Canada is welcoming international students The Canadian education policy was always aimed at providing equal chances to everyone. A great effort to offer a quality education by a well-trained staff was always a priority. Compared to many other countries, Canada was always very welcoming towards international students. Now, due to the recent events in the United States (policy of President Trump caused a decrease in the number of international students), the number of applications from overseas students reached record levels and, more than ever, Canada becomes a popular choice as a place to study. Canada has been always famous for its good quality of living and comparatively affordable education fees, so if you consider studying abroad, such country as Canada becomes a really viable choice.

Marketing of financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing of financial services - Essay Example Reduction in the incidence of interest rate clustering, however, is not very costly. Hence, Ashton and Hudson implied that the more na've customers should take a more active stance in their finances - be more involved as "[t]he degree of price or interest rate clustering appears to be exaggerate when low levels of financial involvement are concerned" (Ashton & Hudson 2008, p. 1402). Citibank offers several savings and investment products, whether local currency denominated or foreign currency denominated, to its clientele. These savings and investments products are offered with range of interest rates. A look at the bank's Web page on its savings and investments products shows that its US Dollar Reward Saver is marketed as giving 2.50 per cent gross per annum rate which is much higher than the account's actual annual equivalent rate or AER of 2.02 per cent. Although both rates were published in the Web page, a na've customer - whose interest or whose lack of "ability to process information" (Ashton & Hudson 2008, p. 1393) is the one being exploited - would immediately zero in on the "earn up to 2.50% gross p.a. fixed for 6 months" (Citibank 2008) and ignore the subsequent "2.02% AER on your US Dollars in the UK2.50 per cent gross" (Citibank 2008). Clearly, in this example, the bank is playing in a very broad context of marketing ethics. Another example is the bank's Reward Saver Issue 2 product which is being offered at a gross per annum interest rate of 6.35 per cent while in reality, the customer will actually be getting an interest rate closer to 5.08 per cent which is the AER. Even the AER is structured in a way to maximise or to exploit the na've's customer's tendency to round up - in here, the na've customer would think that 5.08 per cent is substantially higher than 5 per cent. An example which provides proof to Ashton and Hudson's conclusion on the rounding - "If the number is not already a round number an individual would round a number to the closest reference number" (Ashton & Hudson 2008, p. 1394) - is the bank's net interest rate per annum for its 60 day direct savings account. The bank gives 2.48 per cent for accounts with more than '75,000. A customer with the characteristics described by Ashton and Hudson will immediately round this rate off to 2.5 per cent. The 0.02 per cent difference from the rounding off can be translated to '15 every year for a '75,000 account! Ashton and Hudson observed that for mortgage rates, the interest rate clustering "occurs very frequently just below round numbers giving strong evidence for the common use of na've number processing strategies" (Ashton & Hudson 2008, p. 1401). Unfortunately, for Citibank United Kingdom (and even for HSBC UK) I could not obtain interest rates for their mortgage products, hence I applied the findings of the research to the bank's credit card rates. For its Citi Platinum MasterCard, Citibank charges 5.8 per cent for balance transfers and an APR of 16.9 per cent which are examples of the observation made by Ashton and Hudson - clustering just below round numbers. This can also be observed in the bank's Citi AAdavatage

A Very Different Age - Americans of the Progressive Era Essay

A Very Different Age - Americans of the Progressive Era - Essay Example During this era, the American society experienced various changes socially, economically and politically. The bulk of the book deals with how American people felt during the revolution and to what extent their lives changed. The book focuses on society as a whole, and does not emphasize on a particular person or event alone, there was a lot of struggle and opposition between people, as Diner writes "living increasingly in an interdependent society comprised of large institutions, individual Americans made numerous choices and competed with each other as never before to control their lives"( 3). A very different age narrates the efforts of and lives of different groups of people during the progressive era, including, businessmen and industrial workers, small businessmen and big businessmen, industrial workers and farmers, European immigrants and African migrants, middle class women and men, industrial workers and middle class workers, businessmen and professionals. The reform included the growth of "labour unions joined mostly by businessmen"(47), but these unions removed the "African Americans", women joined the workforce, immigrants accepted low paid jobs for the sake of improving their overall status, they were mostly employed in factories and mills. Inhabitants of America felt superior to the immigrants; farmers mostly had to depend on the vague capitalist system to earn a respectable income, "African American" had to fight for their rights to freedom, most of them flee the country, but it was the middle class that appeared to be the most powerful during the progressive era. According to Diner, despite the progress, there were many setbacks that occurred during the revolutionary era. Thousands of Americans still lived in poverty; African Americans struggled for their identity and "racism" (125) existed. The writer skillfully includes the work of many historians in his book; he praises some of the reformers of the time but criticizes many renowned progressives like "Teddy Roosevelt" (229) and "Woodrow Wilson (219)" who worked for their selfish motives instead of bringing change, Diner disparagingly asserts that "progressives, like other Americans, joined a contest for control under rules set by industrial capitalism" The author explains in his book that the "historians"(199) believe that the political behaviour of many Americans during the progressive era changed widely as fewer votes were cast and citizens no longer remained linked to their political parties as strict laws prevented them to cast votes. Furthermore, many social historians believed that common people were victims of intolerance and inequality, and there were many people who faced the harsh circumstances bravely and travelled from place to place in search of better jobs. People who left were mostly farmers and industrial workers, whereas, most of the urban came to America and urban population in South increased by 900,000(131), "Midwestern farmer's children went further west to buy more lands" and "African Americans" moved to rural areas. A diner is of the view that the progressive period though brought many gains but it at the same time ruined the lives of many. The "Industrial Revolution" had a different impact on different people; with its many accomplishments, it also created problems for many people. The revolution affected women’s lives most negatively and their lifestyle changed significantly.     Ã‚  

Continuum of project Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Continuum of project - Article Example In addition to helping stroke survivors improve or regain skills and functions, these healthcare professionals can assist with adaptation and assistive devices. Modified constraint-induced therapy (mCIT) is an intensive motor practice. The therapy involves restricting the use of a less affected part of the body, which forces the patient to use the weakened part of the body. Regular practice can improve nerve function in the central nervous system. The therapy is applied with varying intensity and duration over time depending on the individual’s motor functioning. Electrical stimulation is used in treating hemiparesis to enhance sensory awareness, strengthen a weakened body part (such as the arm, leg, hand or foot) and improve range of motion. This procedure consists of placing small electrical pads on the weakened muscles of the affected body part. An electrical charge helps the muscles contract as the patient works to make it move. Cortical stimulation is a type of electrical stimulation, but instead of directly on the arm or hand, the electrodes stimulate the part of the brain called the cortex. The tiny electrode is placed on the dura, the tough membrane that covers the brain. The electrode sends an electrical current to the brain while the stroke survivor undergoes rehabilitation exercises. This treatment is a safe way to regain mobility. Motor imagery involves imagining the movement of the affected part of the body. This mental practice activates areas of the brain and muscles as if the patient is actually doing an activity. The network of nerves in the brain involved in visualization and physical movement overlap, making this an effective activity when paired with other therapies. Koziol, J.A., Feng, A.C. (2006). "On the analysis and interpretation of outcome measures in stroke clinical trials: lessons from the SAINT I study of NXY-059 for acute

MEANING OF A WORD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MEANING OF A WORD - Essay Example properly considered the fundamental ideology, perhaps as deep a separation from the natural world as self-existent time.   And if timelessness resolves the split between spontaneity and consciousness, languagelessness may be equally necessary.† (John Zerzan: Language: Origin and Meanings, quoted in Primitivism). Although language is the most popular way of exchanging views among the individuals, yet such words and slang terms are used in different societies, against some typical community or group, which are not only condemnable, sorrowful and insulting, but also humiliating and pinching for the community that is the special target of such specific word full of hatred. These hateful and annoying remarks are abhorred and avoided by all the cultured people and civilized nations all over the globe. And also they try to remove and eliminate them from the daily usage. Same is the case with the word â€Å"nigger†. Nigger is the most offensive word in respect of racial discrimination and is often referred by the white community in a sense of hatred against the African ancestry. Nigger is derived from the word â€Å"Negro†, used by the white European conqueror states to define and describe the black African people. The Africans regard it the word of great shame and are irritated by it. Malcolm-X, the renowned leader for the cause of the African ancestry, and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity had also pointed out and alluded to the same word, in his book, as one of the most offensive comment faced by the community in its every day life. The famous American novelist and scholar Gloria Naylor has also viewed in her famous essay, â€Å"The Meanings of A Word† that how she was puzzled by hearing the word â€Å"nigger† from the mouth of her class fellow when she was a small child and the student of Grade III. In her words: â€Å"I remember the first time I heard the word nigger. In my third grade class, our math tests were being passed down the rows, and as I

Facts, Law. and Merits of the Two Law Suits (Mcdonalds and Pearson) Research Paper

Facts, Law. and Merits of the Two Law Suits (Mcdonalds and Pearson) - Research Paper Example Overall, however, a frivolous lawsuit, in the eyes of the legal system, delineates something more specific. Although, some lawsuits may appear silly, this does not necessarily translate to the notion that the lawsuits lack legal merit. The paper explores the merit of two cases: Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants; Roy L. Pearson, Jr. (plaintiff) v. Soo Chung, et al. Facts, Law, and Merits of the Two Law Suits Introduction In the case, Ms. Liebeck (the plaintiff) filed a complaint against McDonald’s (the defendant) alleging negligence. Stella Liebeck was sitting in the passenger seat of her nephew’s car, which was pulled over so that she could have a chance to add sugar to her coffee. First, the spilled coffee gave her third degree burns in more than six percent of her body (Cain, 2007). Secondly, she claimed that the coffee was served at an uncomfortable temperature (180-190 degree Fahrenheit) that can give individual third - degree burns (in 2-7 seconds). The seco nd case, Roy L. Pearson, Jr. v. Soo Chung, et al., has its grounding in a dispute between the plaintiff, Roy Pearson and the defendants, Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Chung, over a pair of supposedly missing pants. The plaintiff alleged that he took his pants to Custom Cleaners for alterations in May 2005; however, the defendants lost his pants and they attempted to replace it with another pair of pants for his (Surhone, Tennoe & Henssonow, 2011). Mr. Pearson also alleged that a â€Å"Satisfaction Guaranteed† sign displayed in Custom Cleaners was in effect an unconditional warranty that demonstrated the defendant’s willingness to honor any claim advanced by any customer. #1 What are the Facts? Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck in the company of her son Jim and her grandson Chris Tiano drove to Albuquerque airport to drop off Jim who needed to catch an early flight. After leaving the airport, the pair grabbed some breakfast at MacDonald’s. Stella Liebeck was not driving the car when she lifted the lid of the cup. At the time, her grandson reportedly pulled over to stop so that Stella could put sugar and cream to the coffee that she had purchased. The plaintiff placed the coffee between her knees so as to keep it secured as she proceeded to remove the lid. Unfortunately, the hot coffee spilled in her lap and the liquid absorbed into her cotton sweat pants, which in turn held the scalding liquid against the body burning her badly (more than six percent of her skin) (Cain, 2007). The burns sustained required an eight day hospital stay and skin grafting. As a result, the plaintiff required close to two years of therapy and rehabilitation to treat the third degree burns. The 79 year-old Liebeck sustained burns in her buttocks, inner thighs, and genital areas inclusive of her left groin. McDonald’s declined a proposal for an out of court settlement for $20,000 in medical costs. The medical cost s amounted to $11,000, but McDonald’s offered the plaintiff only $800 (Miller & Cross, 2010). Amid the trial, McDonald’s quality control manager’s ascertained that their coffee should be served at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, liquids at that temperature can inflict third-degree burns in a period of 2-7seconds. Statistics indicated that for a period of one decade (from 1982 to 1992),

Texas basic trial courts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Texas basic trial courts - Assignment Example The Supreme Court of Texas, is the final appellate jurisdiction in civil and small cases that issues writs. It has overall duties in Texas court system. Supreme Court has powers to implement essential regulations of civil trial practice, procedure, verification, appellate proceedings and publish rules of administration in the State. The Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who serve for six years (Brandon, Quarles and Mathew 2003). Court of Criminals Appeals is Texas’ criminal counterpart of Supreme Court. It constitutes of nine judges who are elected and appointed as justices of the Supreme Court. During the hearing of cases, the Court of Criminal Appeals sit in panels of three judges, of which two must agree on a conclusion. The Court of Appeals in Texas have intermediate jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases in each geographic Courts of Appeal District in the state. They have limited writ authority. The court of Appeals is divided into fourteen districts with one chief and two to twelve justices. Three justices may sit in a panel during case hearing and majority must agree on the decision (Berry, Goldman and Janda 2008). In District Courts, civil and criminal cases in Texas originated in this level. Both are considered Courts trial of General Jurisdiction. They handle small cases, felony criminal maters, and civil actions over 200 dollars, divorces and title actions. County –level Courts in Texas, is a trial Court with limited jurisdiction. Constitutional County Courts have jurisdiction of fines greater than 500 dollars or jail sentence. Civil matters between 200 dollars and 5000 dollars, and appeals from Municipal are also handled. County Courts have control over civil cases under 10,000 dollars and partial control over criminal matters and Municipal Courts (May, 1996). Municipal Courts

Facts, Law. and Merits of the Two Law Suits (Mcdonalds and Pearson) Research Paper

Facts, Law. and Merits of the Two Law Suits (Mcdonalds and Pearson) - Research Paper Example Overall, however, a frivolous lawsuit, in the eyes of the legal system, delineates something more specific. Although, some lawsuits may appear silly, this does not necessarily translate to the notion that the lawsuits lack legal merit. The paper explores the merit of two cases: Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants; Roy L. Pearson, Jr. (plaintiff) v. Soo Chung, et al. Facts, Law, and Merits of the Two Law Suits Introduction In the case, Ms. Liebeck (the plaintiff) filed a complaint against McDonald’s (the defendant) alleging negligence. Stella Liebeck was sitting in the passenger seat of her nephew’s car, which was pulled over so that she could have a chance to add sugar to her coffee. First, the spilled coffee gave her third degree burns in more than six percent of her body (Cain, 2007). Secondly, she claimed that the coffee was served at an uncomfortable temperature (180-190 degree Fahrenheit) that can give individual third - degree burns (in 2-7 seconds). The seco nd case, Roy L. Pearson, Jr. v. Soo Chung, et al., has its grounding in a dispute between the plaintiff, Roy Pearson and the defendants, Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Chung, over a pair of supposedly missing pants. The plaintiff alleged that he took his pants to Custom Cleaners for alterations in May 2005; however, the defendants lost his pants and they attempted to replace it with another pair of pants for his (Surhone, Tennoe & Henssonow, 2011). Mr. Pearson also alleged that a â€Å"Satisfaction Guaranteed† sign displayed in Custom Cleaners was in effect an unconditional warranty that demonstrated the defendant’s willingness to honor any claim advanced by any customer. #1 What are the Facts? Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck in the company of her son Jim and her grandson Chris Tiano drove to Albuquerque airport to drop off Jim who needed to catch an early flight. After leaving the airport, the pair grabbed some breakfast at MacDonald’s. Stella Liebeck was not driving the car when she lifted the lid of the cup. At the time, her grandson reportedly pulled over to stop so that Stella could put sugar and cream to the coffee that she had purchased. The plaintiff placed the coffee between her knees so as to keep it secured as she proceeded to remove the lid. Unfortunately, the hot coffee spilled in her lap and the liquid absorbed into her cotton sweat pants, which in turn held the scalding liquid against the body burning her badly (more than six percent of her skin) (Cain, 2007). The burns sustained required an eight day hospital stay and skin grafting. As a result, the plaintiff required close to two years of therapy and rehabilitation to treat the third degree burns. The 79 year-old Liebeck sustained burns in her buttocks, inner thighs, and genital areas inclusive of her left groin. McDonald’s declined a proposal for an out of court settlement for $20,000 in medical costs. The medical cost s amounted to $11,000, but McDonald’s offered the plaintiff only $800 (Miller & Cross, 2010). Amid the trial, McDonald’s quality control manager’s ascertained that their coffee should be served at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, liquids at that temperature can inflict third-degree burns in a period of 2-7seconds. Statistics indicated that for a period of one decade (from 1982 to 1992),

The rule system Essay Example for Free

The rule system Essay Looking beyond the biological argument the debate carries on through two propositions of how children acquire and produce grammar: single and dual route theory (Mareschall et al. 2006).  Childrens inflectional morphology follows a curved pattern which begins with correct application of outer layers; for example adding ed at the end of a word indicates the past tense. Inflections then become disrupted as grammatical rules are over generalised producing common errors such as goed. With experience children then seem able to apply regular and irregular forms of various tenses with ease. This pattern of development is called the U-shape (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). A conventional account for this process is that infants simply memorise the correct formation and as they discover grammatical rules they over apply them creating mistakes, then as the rules become more robust they eliminate the over-regularisations and adopt the correct format for nouns and verbs (Plunkett and Wood, 2006) The competing theories differ in their account of how the memorisation and inflection process leads to the U-shape pattern of development (Plunkett and Wood, 2006).  Dual route theory has traditionally been associated with nativists such as Pinker (1988). The theory suggests that there is a memory system working in conjunction with a rule system. These two cognitive systems are activated when an individual attempt to inflect a word (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). The memory system, which they suggest keeps a record of all the irregular and most common inflections (Plunkett and Wood, 2006 p.182) is firstly consulted in an attempt to retrieve the appropriate formation. The rule system, which uses common rules of language to add endings to word stems, is simultaneously consulted to retrieve the appropriate ending. Should the memory system be successful in its search the rule system is prevented from proceeding (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). The dual route theory explains the U-shape as a result of the memory system failing to retrieve the correct inflection and thus liberating the rule system producing an over-regularisation. With experience rare inflections are then solidified producing fewer errors. The empiricist version lies with the single route theory which is supported by connectionist models who developed the same U-shape pattern of development and also learned plural inflections before past tense inflections (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.184) as infants do.  The theory holds that regular and irregular inflections are produced by a single system that stores all of the inflections in the language (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.183). Whilst connectionist networks can only serve as an indication of how credible  a theory is and not how such a process might occur, it is nevertheless a good reinforcement.  Single route theory proposes that the higher the numbers of inflections are stored in the memory the more intense the competition gets for memory space  resulting in what is known as the interference effect. This effect results in words with similar phonological sounds being confused. Another connectionist model produced by Rumelhart and McClelland (1987) lent support to this theory. The first few verbs fed into the network were successfully conjugated but as more were introduced so the competition for network resources intensified and resulted in over-regularisation. Then through further training irregular verbs became engraved and mistakes diminished (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Other empiricists such as Marchman (1997) have produced evidence that favours single route theory by carrying out research that supports the prediction of which type of errors children are likely to produce. Marchman found that irregular verbs with many enemies were more likely to have {add/ed/} wrongly used as their past tense form than verbs that had few regular verb enemies also irregular verbs that had highly frequent past tense forms were less likely to be given the regular past tense endings than those verbs whose past tense form was rare (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.187), this adheres to the single route theory. Further support has been produced by cross-linguistic researches. Dual route theory serves as an efficient means for highly regular languages such as English. However for other languages such as German this is not the case nor is it valid for any language that has multiple ways of forming a tense. Chomskys Universal Grammar theory was challenged by Tomasello (2000) who suggested a distributional explanation for childrens understanding of syntax. His approach places verbs in a prominent position as they place important constraints on utterances (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Rather than memorising all utterances Tomasello suggests analogy; a partial remembrance of some utterances that are later adapted as prototypes for new utterances (Plunkett and Wood, 2006). Early diary studies support this view. Brain (1963) made observations on his son through this early technique and observed that some words, which he called Pivot words only occurred in one position whilst Open words moved around freely. During the process of learning syntax, pockets of knowledge are formed; these then broaden allowing one another to influence each other creating grammatical regularities. According to the distributional approach the explanation for recovering from over-generalisation is that as the pockets of knowledge become more robust they develop an ability to isolate which in turn reduces errors that may of occurred through either the inappropriate extension of a pocket of grammatical knowledge or an attempt to resolve conflict between pockets of grammatical knowledge (Plunkett and Wood, 2006, p.196). Researchers such as Fodor and Karmiloff-Smith were a good representation of opposing views on brain modules. On balance the empirical evidence supports the epigenetic view of modularisation a process by which genes and the environment work together to create self organisation (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992). Neuroscience further supports a view in between nativists and empiricist, whilst they are able to produce evidence that the brain is capable of supporting language in other areas it is  unmistakable that damage to left hemisphere (the seat of language) can severely effect language development. How children acquire and produce grammar is debated  through single and dual route theory. Empirical evidence has given greater support to the single route theory which does not deny elements of nature but also incorporates  nurture. Connectionist networks are becoming a common method to test theories and have been used to lend support to many language theories such as the distributional approach. Children through out the world inevitably learn their mother tongue whether it be by speech or sign (Karmiloff-Smith, 2002). What is substantive is whether this is due solely to operant conditioning of caregivers or to an innate principle of universal grammar. In view of the evidence presented in this paper it seems implausible that language can develop without the presence of both nature and nurture as Bruner (1983) conveys; we shall make little progress if we adhere either to the impossible account of extreme empiricism or to the miraculous one of pure nativism. (Bruner 1983, P. 10).

The rapid evolution of rock music

The rapid evolution of rock music Rock Music its Rapid Evolution Introduction Music has been with man since the dawn of time. Every beat or sound can some way be considered as a form of music. Dating back to early man music could have been something as simple as the soothing sound of a waterfall or a tree swaying with the wind or a wild animal running through a forest. Today music is so diversified and so engrained in our lives that practically every child or teenager even an adult has a vast list of songs that they might listen to on their mp3 players. There are many varied branches of music existing today. These branches have now expanded to encompass everything from the tribal beats to anything that comes out of a synthesizer. And although we find music in many forms today, Im sure the purists would disagree with what the youth of today call great music. Now-a-days it seems the search is on for the â€Å"in music†. Music thats making everybody feel good now and which is discarded in a heartbeat once something better comes along. So what is it that has made rock music go so steady all these years? The reason why I have chosen Rock music for my seminar paper topic is that, I truly am very passionate about this genre of music. Rock Music or Rock as it is so called is vastly misunderstood by people, most of whom simply associate it with negative stereotypes like drug addiction, alcoholism, violence, sexual abuse, demonic control and other vices. One cannot blame people for having such misconceptions about Rock since over the years many of the famous Rock artists have come to be known mainly for their drug addiction and other outrageous behaviour under the influence of alcohol and chemical substances. However it is important to understand that one must separate the artist from his music and not pass unnecessary judgment on the music just based on the vices of the artist. Another misconception is that rock is only drums and guitar, when that is only the public face of Rock. There is a host of other instruments that are key elements to rock music as a whole, other than just guitar and percussion. Rock Music History Origins I would now like to begin with the History of Rock music. Where did it originate? What are its roots? How has it evolved along the years? What is the scenario at present? There are several views as to where exactly the Rock genre got up and going. And many believe that Rock originated in the west with the dawn of Rock Roll by Elvis Presley. However that is far from the case. It all started off during the post-war urbanization of America. The popular music of the late 1940s included country music, folk music, the blues, rhythm and blues (known as RB), jazz and classical music. Basically rock music hails from a blend of various popular music genres at that time in the United States of America. Rock music started off in the late 1940s when people wanted to move out from the slow beat jazz music and the slow electrified blues music to a much faster beat rhythm filled tune at that time. The rock sound is believed to have primarily originated with the guitar. It is believed that the existing guitar tunes used in blues music was soon blending in with other forms of music like jazz, classical music, folk music and other popular forms of music existing back then. All this led to the birth of Rock music as a separate genre of music which back then came to be known as Rock n Roll towards the early 1950s. Around that time i.e. the late 1940s to the early 1950s Rhythm and Blues (RB) musicians mainly concentrated on the black audience. However later onwards musicians started playing for a multi-racial audience. These musicians also targeted the newer forms or blends of music towards this audience. Later on these same fast beat blends of RB and the blues etc came to be coined as ‘Rock n Roll. â€Å"It is believed that in 1951 in a town in Cleveland, Ohio in USA a musician by the name of Alan Freed is said to have began playing a new form of RB music for a multi-racial audience is believed to have first used the phrase ‘Rock ‘N Roll to describe his music.† Source: Icons of Rock Scott Schinder with Andy Schwartz Encyclopaedia Britannica Rock Music. Rock Music Evolution Rock music is believed to be one of those genres of music that has evolved very rapidly over the past 50 to 60 years. Its rapid evolution has been witnessed mainly over the last 50 years. It all started with good old Rock n Roll in the 1950s. This later evolved in the 1960s which was considered as a Golden Era for Rock music. Rock took a totally different turn with the British invasion of rock by the Beatles. This was later followed by what came to be known as Surf music in America which was a mix of the catchy rock n roll n the hip and happening Beatles music. The Beatles music also led to a new form of music that was called as the hippy and psychedelic rock music. In the 1970s which came to be known as the memorable years evolved different forms of rock music such as Hard Rock, Punk Rock also Pop Rock. The 1980s witnessed a change in the band members hair styles. This era also was famous for what was called as hair bands. It included styles of rock such as punk rock funk rock. It led to the evolution of Heavy Metal. Bands used to wear tight leather pants and sported insane long hairdos. The 1990s showed a completely new and insane evolution of rock. It gave newer forms of rock such as Grunge Rock Alternative Rock. It gave the revolutionary guitar distortion feedback. Many of the genres from the 1950s onwards till the 1999s are still well known today. Most of the bands in those eras are still popular today. Many of todays bands still play the different styles of rock music. Some of them even make remakes of those songs using modern day styles and instruments. The later half of 2000 also witness something that very well came to be known as fusion music. It involved bringing together classical music (Western or Indian) and blending it in with modern day rock music. This style today is very popular especially in our country among our Indian youth that have blended the Indian classical instruments very smoothly with instruments like the guitar, keyboard, percussion, etc. The 1950s The 1950s gave rise to the Youth culture. It faced problems such as racial tensions the advent of the Cold War. This first saw the advent of Rock n Roll with great artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Shadows, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley the Comets, Gene Vincent, the Everly Brothers, and Carl Perkins, among many others. These were considered to be the first wave of Rock n Rollers. Rock and roll in its earliest stage could have been described as just blues with a few electric guitar tunes attached to it. In its purest form, Rock Roll was as simple as three chords, a strong yet insistent guitar back beat, and a catchy melody. Early rock roll was drawn from sources primarily including blues, RB, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk. These genres were combined together in a simple, blues-based song structure that was fast, danceable, and catchy. Rockabilly emerged in the mid1950s. It is simply a mix of rock and roll, country music, blues, and a little jazz too. It was a fundamental music genre of the 50s. The fathers or founders of Rock n Roll came t be known as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard Chuck Berry. Their music revolutionized the music industry and later gave way to new forms of rock music in the decades to follow. Even in todays times their music is still very popular. Rockabilly was popularized by white singers like Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins Jerry Lee Lewis who mainly concentrated on the country roots of the music. The Popular hits recorded around that time were Thats All Right (Mama) Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley, Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley the Comets, Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash, Blue Suede Shoes Carl Perkins. Another popular form of Rock n Roll in the 1950s was called the ‘Doo Wop. It emphasized on multi-part vocal harmonies and meaningless backing lyrics supported with light instrumentation. Its origins were African American vocal groups like the Inkspots the Mill Brothers. Famous bands of this form of music were The Orioles, The Ravens and The Clovers, that used a strong element of traditional gospel music in their songs. The great hits included â€Å"The Great Pretender† The Platters, â€Å"Yakety Yak† The Coasters â€Å"Yes Sir, Thats my Baby† The Clovers along with many others. Later on during the 1950s Elvis Presley came to be known as the King of Rock n Roll. Even today he is still remembered as ‘The King. The decline of Rock n Roll was witnessed during the early 1960s with the death of famous musicians like Buddy Holy and Richie Valens in a plane crash; the departure of Elvis Presley for the army, the retirement of Little Richard to become a preacher, prosecutions of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry and the breaking of the payola scandal. All of the above incidents gave a sensation that the rock and roll era has come to an end. However during its decline rock n roll witnessed a feminine side with an introduction of love ballads targeted to a female audience the rise of girl groups like The Crystals and The Shirelles. All the events that occurred in the 1950s eventually led to what came to be known as Surf Music, Garage Rock the Twist dance craze. However the major event that was a hit in the 1960s was that of the rise of British Rock n Roll with the emergence of The Beatles which was greatly influenced by the Americas 1950s Rock n Roll. The 1960s The 1960s witnessed many events like that of the Vietnam War, Civil Rights War, Surf Music, Hippie culture, The San Francisco Scene, The Music of Protests the birth of Heavy Metal. Similarly Rock n Roll in the 1960s went through 4 phases or parts. These parts are as follows: Part I The Beatles The British Invasion Part II Motown Music Part III Classic Rock: The Sounds of the 1960s Part IV Message Music Before 1963 i.e. 1961 onwards America witnessed the rise of Surf Music a form of Rock n Roll. This music was pioneered by Duane Eddy, Link Wray, and The Ventures that added distinctive wet reverb style rapid alternate picking to the music. One of the famous hits was Lets Go Trippin in 1961 and this launched the surf music craze. The all time favourite band of this era is The Beach Boys. Part I The Beatles The British Invasion During this decade i.e. post 1963 America along with the rest of the world witnessed what came to be known only as ‘The British Invasion. During the 1960s the most well know and world renowned band of the British invasion was the one and only Beatles. The Beatles till today are considered to be the all time success stories of the 1960s. The main reason why the Beatles are considered one of the best and most influential rock bands of all time is the because they took what Elvis and other Rock n Roll artists created in the 1950s and transformed it into a whole new different thing. Hence this era is known as one that gave birth to a new age of Rock. The Beatlemania had begun with its first single hit song in 1962 â€Å"Love Me Do† in Great Britain. Along with the Rock n Roll of the 1950s the Beatles popularized new genres of rock music ranging from ranging from folk rock to psychedelic pop. The Beatles were so influential during the 1960s that their progressive ideals were considered to be social cultural revolutions. Other great hits of the Beatles include â€Å"I Wanna Hold Your Hand† which sold 2.6 million copies in the United States in just two weeks. The Beatles came out with many hits during this era such as â€Å"She Loves You†, â€Å"Please Please Me†, etc. Other emerging bands in this era included The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones greatest hit during this period was â€Å"Honky Tonk Woman† Part II Motown Music Motown was a Detroit based record company that was founded by Berry Gordy who was a one-time assembly line worker at Ford Motors. It became the most successful black owned record company by 1963. Motown had a number of vocal groups, songwriters musicians. The music recorded was known for its tight orchestrations and catchy lyrics. The music was based on the injustice to the black community during the Civil War. The Motown greats were The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves the Vandellas and Diana Ross The Supremes. Part III Classic Rock: The Sounds of the 1960s This era witnessed what was known as the Hippe culture. Their main chant was ‘Make Love Not War. Peace was their underlying theme. The Beatles is one of the famous bands that transitioned during this phase in terms of their look and music. Other artist that came to existence were Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Steppenwolf, Simon Garfunkel, Mamas and the Pappas and Lovin Spoonful. The famous concert of this era was The Woodstock. This was a concert for promoting peace, love brotherhood. Artists like Jimi Hendrix rocked the concert. Part IV Message Music Most themes found in rock and roll during this era dealt with love and relationships gone wrong. It followed the war on Vietnam the various protests being undertaken. The music was an attempt to reflect upon the events occurring at that time like the civil rights movement, the growing unrest over the war in Vietnam, and the rise of feminism. The message within the song focused on peace. Many songs received substantial airplay and became anthems at concerts, rallies, and demonstrations. The Message through Folk Music The Message through Rock Music The most well known artists to emerge from the folk tradition include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and the trio known as Peter, Paul, and Mary. In 1965, an artist, Barry McGuire hit the charts with a song that reflected the growing turmoil in the world. Other popular hippy and psychedelic bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and others began to rule the world. These bands gave rise to the counterculture movement, trendsetters, with their drug induced lyrics and hypnotic melodies. Other genres of rock began to emerge such as progressive rock which is experimenting with other instruments other than guitar, bass and drums. This was popularized by Pink Floyd. Folk rock was popularized by Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. The 1960s ultimately gave birth to heavy metal which is a thick, heavy, and highly amplified genre of rock mainly popularized by Black Sabbath. The world was just now beginning to witness the tremendous power impact rock really had on society. The 1970s In the 1970s the Vietnam War had ended, the protests stopped people began to settle down. Along with that, the music too did settle down. The world witnessed the split of the Beatles also the death of John Lennon. The 70s rock music brought different cultures and audiences closer together than ever before. Rock music began to branch out into new genres like Hard Rock, Heavy Metal Punk Rock. Led Zeppelin became extremely popular with its perfect blend of Hard Rock Blues music that they could call its own. In this era bands and artists such as David Bowie, Yes, The Eagles, and Queen became very influential. Towards the late 70s the world also witnessed the rise of Punk Rock. The founding fathers of punk were The Ramones. They combined anarchism and teenage rage with rock and roll and this came to be known as Punk Rock. Other bands such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash helped popularize and redefine punk rock. This new, powerful and intense genre of music influenced many bands of the future. The 1980s And then came the 1980s. Rock Music revolutionized itself in a way that everyone wanted to be part of the upcoming scene. The music took a different turn, more in terms of punk rock, new wave, heartland rock and alternative rock. Most people would think of the 80s as all about big hairdos and androgyny. The gay activists took to in a big way in this decade. People started embracing the opposite sex and everyone had colour in everything they did or wore. This inspired the rock music scene greatly. The eighties saw everything from enthusiasm to neon pink socks, worn by men. Creativity was expressed so greatly in the 1980s and artists wore their individuality with pride. The 1980s music scene is possibly considered as one of the strangest times in the evolution of rock music. Music artists were doing everything, a mix of bubblegum pop, sentimental forever ballads to thumping electric beats and even the hardest rock metal. This decade practically saw it all. Artist such as Bruce Springsteen, Guns and Roses, Van Halen, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and Motley Crue can best be remembered for their power ballads and great guitar solos. A new genre of music called as ‘New wave also emerged from punk, funk, and disco. It was made popular by artists such as Divo, The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Blondie. Indie rock or Alternative rock as it is well known began to emerge in the late 1980s with artists such as U2, R.E.M., The Cure, The Smiths, and Sonic Youth were very popular with college students. Punk also became more popular with bands such as Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys. This was also the time of producers. Theyre importance grew and artists took notice that a good producer could take their records to the market. Then came the advent of having soundtracks in movies. Record companies realized the economics in placing a song in a movie, the response was tremendous. Regardless of the variety, the music is the eighties was a big hit, it still is. And thats because the music spoke the minds of the people, it made no apologies, one could identify with a slow ballad by Phil Collins in the afternoon and put up their black leather jacket, rocking to Iron Maiden by night time, you dint have to apologize to anyone. Freedom of expression, experimenting and lyrics became an integral part of the eighties. And that is precisely the reason why the eighties they say will never die. The 1990s The early 90s was known as the era of grunge and alternative rock. Nirvana came to be known as the most popular grunge band of the 90s. Grunge music can be described as dirty guitar, strong guitar riffs with distortion and feedback. It consisted of dark lyrics and expressed teenage angst. Popular grunge and alternative bands were Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Janes Addiction and Alice in Chains. A more iconic scene was that of the emergence of female artists. Women were becoming much less dependent on men, and less oriented towards having a family-based future. They were daughters of women who fought for equal rights and they expressed it- in the form of words and notes. The magazine, Billboard brought about the commercial success of the music industry. It changed the way it ranked singles and albums of artists by tallying actual sales at retail stores instead of using the industry-manipulated word of mouth. Rock suddenly beat pop in terms of sales, and minority genres such as country and hip-hop began to enter the charts. This led the industry to invest more in these minority genres. The 1990s proved that music was for the listener and that the idea behind music was to view the artist as a whole, his production, his team, his lyrics, his image, his music video and his personality. Everyone had a favorite type of music and a favorite genre, a favorite artist and a favorite album. You couldnt help it- there were so many choices by this time. 2000 Present Alternative rock even today is one of the popular and broadest genre of rock music. Emo, is a new sub genre of rock that consists of intense emotional lyrics with hardcore punk roots. It was popularized by bands like From First to Last, The Used, Brand New and softer bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Bright Eyes which can also be described as indie. The word indie actually stands for independent and refers to bands that are part of an independent record label. However, today indie has a whole new meaning. Indie can be described as mainly underground and softer version of alternative rock. Popular indie bands include Death Cab for Cutie, The Strokes, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, The Arcade Fire, The Postal Service a few others. Heavy metal has now reached an extremely new level. Sub-genres of heavy metal like black metal, death metal and thrash metal which is very loud, aggressive and fast entered the industry. Popular hardcore metal bands include Slipknot, As I Lay Dying, Korn, Norma Jean and Cannibal Corpse. Alternative rock has now become an all time hit with bands such as Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chevelle, Coldplay, and the Foo Fighters. Pop rock is another popular genre. It is rock mixed with a more mainstream approach and popular lyrics. Pop rock bands include Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, and others. Another form of music that came about was the rap rock. They symbolized the fusion of the raw, street music and hard rock pelting beats. It was an instant hit with the fans of both the genres. Examples of such were Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Faith no More, Rage Against the Machine, etc Rock Music in the Indian Scenario Rock music caught on in India during the mid 70s. I remember hearing stories of my father and his brothers in small time bands playing the good oldies like Elvis Presley, The Carpenters, The Beatles, The Shadows, Bob Dylan and other artists on their guitars. These were many such small groups which were mainly Catholics that played all the dance numbers mainly for weddings the Christmas dance. These were the jive the twist numbers that people used to love to dance to back in the day. Towards the 80s artists like Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits Jethro Tull became quiet popular. People used to purchase these music cassettes and listen to this kind of music on their audio cassette players Sony Walkman. That however was a very long time ago. Things soon changed with the Gulf War of 1991 opening the gates to media in India. MTV was one of the channels that were beamed, along with CNN. Apart from Pop music what caught on quickly was rock. However, as an audience, the numbers in India were still minimal. It was only bands like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and U2 that caught the fancy of many people. To a large extent, rock began and ended with Deep Purples Highway Star. The love for rock only meant name-dropping and wanting to sound fashionably rebellious. All that changed quickly changed to from the year 2000 onwards. Hard rock quickly caught on along with its counterpart Heavy Metal and is literally worshipped in many engineering colleges all over India. Many groups have been formed in various areas where the rock scene is still alive. These include Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune Delhi. Many popular India bands hail from these areas and have composed pretty famous hits that are well known to the Indian Rockers. Many engineering colleges still pay tribute to Rock by hosting Rock shows where fans from various parts of the country rush to gather head bang in harmony. The first rock band in India to become famous was Indus Creed. Famous Indian rock bands of today include bands like Zero, Pentagram, Parikrama, Them Clones and various others. One happening rock shows of Mumbai used to be the Independence Rock gig at Rang Bhavan popularly known as I-Rock which used to be packed and crowded as it was very popular and had bands playing from all over the country. Off late the popularity of i-rock has died down due to the change in date and venue due to certain restrictions. Another new genre of rock music that has probably evolved in India is Fusion rock which involves blending Indian classical instruments with that of the electric guitar, keyboard drums. This is something that is definitely coming up in the country with rock songs in Hindi rather than English and even in Hinglish. I still feel that there is very poor liberalization for Rock music in our country but as time passes by things will definitely seem to be getting better. One evident fact is Channel Vs ‘Launch Pad that takes place every year that hunts to find the Countries most popular and best Rock band. Along with Channel V, MTV has also started something called as Rock on Desi Beats that hunts for fusion rock bands of the country and popularizes the best. Another evident fact that rock music is catching up quickly was the launch of the movie ‘Rock On directed by starring Farhan Akhtar. Conclusion Hence I strongly believe that Rock music with its legendary History can never die out. It will always be a part of culture and will always be know as that which shapes culture strongly affects society. It is finally meant for people to understand that Rock is just about the music and the passion it drives in the youth. It should not be stereotyped with drug abuse alcoholism other vices. For this to happen it is the people that must change their ways and also it is essential for the famous artists to set a better example as they owe it to their fans as much as they owe it to the music. Another important factor is that although opportunities in the country for Rock music are very low it is extremely tough to become big, society must encourage the youngsters that have a passion for this music. Bibliography Internet References * http://www.warr.org/roots.html (Wilson and Alroys Record Reviews) * http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html (American Culture History) * http://www.spinner.com/2009/09/30/70s-music/ * http://www.cracked.com/article_15636_the-10-most-terrifyingly-inspirational-80s-songs.html * http://www.scaruffi.com/ (Rock Music Resources) * http://www.allmusic.com/ (Articles on various Artists) * http://www.britannica.com/ (Encyclopedia Britannica) * http://www.encyclopedia.com/ * http://www.mid-day.com/ (Articles on Indian Rock bands) Book Journal References * Icons of Rock (An Encyclopedia of the Legends who changed Music Forever) Scott Schinder with Andy Schwartz * Why 1955? Explaining the Advent of Rock Music Richard A. Peterson * Inside Rock Music Vance Ferrell