Is Life worth living? Essay

A question that raises so much controversy that we have to venture deep into the depths of our own hearts to salvage the opinion of oneself. Despite every one of us knows that someday we will receive our final ultimatum, man as a race has always been in search of a resolution; a meaning to life. Because, when we look back, it disturbs one to think that in the end, nothing will matter. That all achievements, given time, will be forgotten, and buildings, given time, will be forgotten, and buildings, given time, will crumble to nothing but piles of dust and rubble. And even that eventually, your very own descendants, your family, will for get the forebearer of their name. After considering this, it once again brings back to my opening question; is life worth living? What is the significance of life, it’s purpose? Because after all, if all of us are to have no effect on the life of our descendants, to be forgotten, why should man even live? To the majority though, such a question has never really occurred to them, and if it has, the chances are that they forgot it through fear, disbelief, or just plain forgetfulness. However, to a small minority, the question demanded an answer. These people searched for the answer and were not confronted with fear like so many before them, but sorrow and sadness. This was due to the fact that had had a realisation. Man had become the head of the food chain and the talons of birds, using his great intelligence and strength. After having won all battles, he claimed the earth as his own and from here on in, was to determine what had been, and what was to become. Then, the realisation struck him: that he would die one day just like his father, and his father before him. He knew that the day would come when, his arms would become weak, his eyes dim and before long, sleep and never wake up.

Childhood Obesity Essay Example

Childhood Obesity Essay Example Childhood Obesity Essay Childhood Obesity Essay This research study is an excellent example of collaborative scholarly investigations which bring out amazing facts and reveal the significant reason, effects and probable solutions for a problem. After realising the magnitude of the prevalence of the childhood obesity, experts from across the nations decided to hold a meet in order to arrive at consensus towards the prevalence of the childhood obesity and chalk out future course of actions. This meet was held in the year 2004 in Israel where a group of 65 physicians and other health professionals representing nine countries from four continents convened to discuss and to discover the exactitude of the pervasive health crisis in childhood obesity. It is a well-known fact that the necessity of addressing this problem demands urgency and efficacy like never before. The prevalence of childhood obesity has reached alarming levels and if drastic measure are not taken, then there would be no wonder if obesity threatens the mankind like pandemics would threaten. Consider the following stats: Even though the definition of obesity varies, it is based on body mass index (BMI) cut-offs described hereafter. As many as 250 million people, or about 7% of the 2004 world population, were obese. Two to three times more people were overweight. In one of the most extreme examples, the prevalence of overweight doubled among children 6 –11 yr of age and tripled among those 12–17 yr of age in the United States between the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1976 and 1980, and the most recent such survey, conducted in 1999 and 2000. Approximately 14–15% of all 15 yr olds in the United States can be classified as obese (Phyllis W Speiser, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism 90(3): P1871). 4. 6. 1: Causes The convention listed a number of reasons or causes for the childhood obesity. These causes include genetic reasons as well. The convention identified the genes which are important determinants of obesity. Here Monogenic Obesity is considered to due to the Leptin gene. This was the first specific gene recognized as important in human body weight control. This adipocyte hormone is involved in a complex circuit of hormones and neurotransmitters to control appetite. To date, several monogenic obesity syndromes have been identified, and most involve the leptin-melanocortin regulation pathway (Farooqi IS, Matarese G et al; 2002: J Clin Invest 110:1093–1103, Krude H et al, Acad Sci 994:233–239). Apart from these other causes as identified by the convention are: environmental reasons, endocrinological reasons and socio-psychological reasons. 4. 6. 2: Solutions Prevention: The scholars in the convention suggested preventive strategies in infancy and even prenatally. Since certain genes also influence the obesity in kids, the experts found it important to apply preventive strategies in the prenatal stage. Also, low birth weight (due to maternal under nutrition), smoking of parents, or placental insufficiency, or alternatively large size at birth attributable most often to GDM, may both be associated with obesity. (Bhargava SK et al; N Engl J Med 350:865–875; Hediger ML et al; Pediatrics 104:e33). The study also suggested already established general preventive measures such as keeping the children active, reducing the time spent in front of the television and avoiding the intake of junk food. This convention suggested encouragement for such conferences to chalk out long term goals to prevent childhood obesity.

The House of the Spirits Essay Example

The House of the Spirits Essay Example The House of the Spirits Essay The House of the Spirits Essay Illegitimacy has always been stigmatized in society, particularly throughout the nineteenth century. This is reflected in literature by characters who are portrayed using stereotypical features of illegitimacy like avidity, intensity or vehemence. The prejudice was that children who are conceived in lust and irresponsibility will result in more sensual and fiery personalities. I will base my study of illegitimate children in literature on the characters of Therese Raquin in Therese Raquin and Esteban Garcia in The House of the Spirits.To study the way in which the two authors portray illegitimacy, Esteban Garcia who is Esteban Truebas illegitimate grandson and Therese Raquin, who is also an illegitimate child, will be compared. Even though it can be argued that these two characters lived in completely different times and have personalities that differ greatly, their illegitimacy and the prejudice that surrounds it brings them together. Because of the stereotype that comes with children who are born outside of marriage, authors sometimes write characters who are particularly passionate, unstable emotionally or impulsive as illegitimate.Both Esteban and Therese have very intense personalities and they are particularly impulsive. In Estebans case, this is shown through violence and physical as well as psychological torture. For Therese, her true nature is shown through her strong sexual desires and extremely passionate lovemaking. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia is shown to have a sickening morbidity to him from a very early age. He leads Esteban Trueba to Pedro Tercero and after his grandfather has injured Pedros hand, Esteban Garcia: had picked up the sliced-off fingers and was holding them like a bouquet of bloody asparagusI vomited all over my boots while the boy smiled impassively.(p.240)The novelist shows us here how perverted the child is as a scene which makes the stoic Esteban Trueba sick, only gets a smile out of Esteban Garcia. In Therese Raquin however, even though Therese had always been an inflamed child and adolescent, she hid it from the people around her and acted as a rather apathetic person. It is once she meets Laurent and they become lovers that her true personality that had been dormant inside her is revealed: It was as though her face had been lit up from within and fire leaped from her flesh. Her boiling blood and taut nerves radiated warmth, something keen and penetrating. (p.63)This shows that even though Therese attempts to conceal her true self, it still comes out eventually. This is an example of determinism, no matter how much effort she puts into hiding her lustful personality, it will still be revealed as it is a part of her. Following the prejudice, children born outside of marriage werent considered to have full membership of society, also their social status cannot have been as important as legitimate children.As it was considered that illegitimate children were closer to animals than proper human beings, they were expected to be more prone to mental ilnesses or being emotionally unstable. Perhaps this was because being seen as an outsider brought on frustration and resent towards society. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia clearly demonstrates resent as he speaks of Alba as She embodied everything he would never have(p.328) :He, barefoot in the mud, swore that one day he would make her pay for her arrogance and avenge himself for his cursed bastard fate. (p.469) Esteban Garcia kept to his promise and later on tortured and sexually abused Alba for weeks. In Therese Raquin, this kind of lower status is also seen. The novelist sometimes describes Therese as he would a domestic animal. She sounds like a type of apathetic pet who lacks a soul and personality: She had always shown such passive obedience that her aunt and husband no longer bothered to ask her opinion. She went where they went, did what they did, without a word of complaint or reproach, without even appearing to notice that she was moving at all. (p.43)It is as though the Raquin family had adopted a wild beast and tamed it into a pet. Zola does however, reveal Thereses true impulsive nature by sudden outbursts. He emphasises these using a lot of animal imagery. This is again an example of determinism. At unexpected times, Therese uncontrollably lets her instinctual side show: One day he (Camille) gave her a push and knocked her over : she leaped to her feet like a wild beast and with face aflame and bloodshot eyes flew at him with both arms raised. (p.41)Events like these reinforce the portrayal of Therese as a wild spirit trapped inside a passive womans body. Comparably, in The House of the Spirits, Esteban Garcia is sometimes described using animal imagery and seen by other characters to have beast like features. Particularly Alba, who was inflicted by most of his violence and torture. After Esteban forcefully kissed her on her fourteenth birthday Alba is traumatized and even has nightmares: She told no one of that repulsive kiss or of the dreams that she had afterward, in which Garcia appeared as a green beast that tried to strangle her with his paws and asphyxiate her by shoving a slimy tentacle down her throat. (p.374)The way Alba sees Esteban Garcia only emphasises Allendes character as being particularly violent, repulsive and brutal. Therese and Estebans sexual attitude also reveals their instinctive, almost subhuman selves. They both have an enormous apetite for sex and prove to be near savage in practice. In The House of the Spirits, Esteban comes across as sadistic when he fantasises about Alba as she is sitting on his lap:

Geography and History of the Great Wall of China

Geography and History of the Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is not a continuous wall but is a collection of short walls that often follow the crest of hills on the southern edge of the Mongolian plain. The Great Wall of China, known as long Wall of 10,000 Li in China, extends about 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles). Building the Great Wall of China A first set of walls, designed to keep Mongol nomads out of China, were built of earth and stones in wood frames during the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BCE). Some additions and modifications were made to these simple walls over the next millennium but the major construction of the modern walls began in the Ming Dynasty (1388 to 1644 CE). The Ming fortifications were established in new areas from the Qin walls. They were up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) high, 15 to 30 feet (4.6 to 9.1 meters) wide at the base, and from 9 to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 meters) wide at the top (wide enough for marching troops or wagons). At regular intervals, guard stations and watch towers were established. Since the Great Wall was discontinuous, Mongol invaders had no trouble breaching the wall by going around it, so the wall proved unsuccessful and was eventually abandoned. Additionally, a policy of mollification during the subsequent Ching Dynasty that sought to pacify the Mongol leaders through religious conversion also helped to limit the need for the Great Wall. Through Western contact with China from the 17th through 20th centuries, the legend of the Great Wall of China grew along with tourism to the wall. Restoration and rebuilding took place in the 20th century and in 1987 the Great Wall of China was made a World Heritage Site. Today, a portion of the Great Wall of China, about 50 miles (80 km) from Beijing, receives thousands of tourists each day. Can You See It From Outer Space or the Moon? For some reason, some urban legends tend to get started and never disappear. Many are familiar with the claim that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space or from the moon with the naked eye. This is simply not true. The myth of being able to see the Great Wall from space originated in Richard Halliburtons 1938 (long before humans saw the Earth from space) book Second Book of Marvels said that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon. From a low orbit of the Earth, many artificial objects are visible, such as highways, ships in the sea, railroads, cities, fields of crops, and even some individual buildings. While at a low orbit, the Great Wall of China can certainly be seen from space, it is not unique in that regard. However, when leaving the Earths orbit and acquiring an altitude of more than a few thousand miles, no man-made objects are visible at all. NASA says, The Great Wall can barely be seen from the Shuttle, so it would not be possible to see it from the Moon with the naked eye. Thus, it would be tough to spot the Great Wall of China or any other object from the moon. Furthermore, from the moon, even the continents are barely visible. Regarding the origination of the story, Straight Dopes pundit Cecil Adams says, Nobody knows exactly where the story got started, although some think it was speculation by some bigshot during an after-dinner speech in the early days of the space program. NASA astronaut Alan Bean is quoted in Tom Burnams book More Misinformation... The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible on this scale. In fact, when first leaving earths orbit and only a few thousand miles away, no man-made object is visible at that point either.

Marketing Product Assessment--Maybelline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Product Assessment--Maybelline - Essay Example Soon the mascara was named Maybelline after the name â€Å"Maybel† given by her daughter to the lash mascara (L'Oreal). Two years later, the company produced the first of its kind mascara for everyday use which became an instant hit with the mass market. In 1996, the company’s headquarters moved to New York when it was acquired by L’Oreal (L'Oreal). Over the passage of time, the company hired celebrities as brand ambassadors, which again was an instant hit. In 1991, the company adopted the popular slogan â€Å"Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline† which continues to be its slogan to date (L'Oreal). Maybelline enjoys a strong presence in over 129 countries today and covers four broad location segments: North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania (L'Oreal). Maybelline stands at no.1 in the makeup brands category in its home country, the US. In the UK, it has acquired the second position, along with strong growth in Russia (L'Oreal). The company is expanding fast in all BRIC economies, and has managed to bag the top position in make-up brands in China in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company is struggling to penetrate through the Japanese market which has intense competition as far as the make-up category is concerned. Overall, the company registered a 13.3% growth in 2010 (L'Oreal). The company offers a variety of product lines related to cosmetics including face, eyes, lips, nails, brushes and accessories (Maybelline LLC.). Under the â€Å"face† product line, the company offers concealer, foundation, powder, blush and bronzer (Maybelline LLC.). Under the â€Å"eyes† category, it offers eye shadow, eye liner, brow liner and mascara (Maybelline LLC.). Under â€Å"lips† category, Maybelline offers lip color, lip gloss and lip liner (Maybelline LLC.). Under â€Å"nails† it offers nail color, whereas, under â€Å"brushes and accessories† it offers brushes, tweezers, curlers, combs, removers and false lashes (Maybelline LLC.). The product brand that is part of this paper is the Maybelline â€Å"Dream Matte Mousse Foundation† that falls under the â€Å"face† product line. The highest sales of Maybelline are generated by its â€Å"face† product line, followed by lips and then eye (L'Oreal). The Dream Matte Mousse Foundation fits well into the company’s product range since it offers customers the advantage of matte effect for perfect blending of foundation into their skin. It offers full coverage and it offers the added advantage of shine control. This product is the only one that offers two of the three finishes: matte and natural (Maybelline LLC.). Furthermore, this product provides a powder effect and combines the benefits of liquid and cake foundations. Other foundations by Maybelline offer a combination of matte, natural, luminous and shimmer finishes (Maybelline LLC.). Maybelline sells to the mass market and has major competitors such as Revl on, Covergirl and Avon pitted against it in this segment. As far as Avon is concerned, it has global representation in approximately more than 100 countries and is also headquartered in New York (Avon Products Inc.). Avon’s internal strengths are that it has a strong business model that allows it to differentiate itself against competitors. It also had been doing fairly well and has had a steady increase in revenue throughout history. However, the primary weakness is that the company has been facing declining operations in the North American region, primarily as it has not been able to pace up with fast changing customer trends in this region.

Clostridium Difficile Infection Prevention Essay

Clostridium Difficile Infection Prevention - Essay Example Health and social care facilities generate a challenging environment due to the operations undertaken on a daily basis. This environment poses as a perfect medium for transfer of the microorganisms from patient, equipment and staff. It is important to be vigilant at all times in these environments due to the vulnerability; pressure associated with opportunist pathogens and the intensity and complexity of health care environments (Angenent & Kelly, 2009). Patients with mild symptoms of c. diff may improve if they stop taking antibiotics. Those with severe symptoms need different antibiotic medication. When the severity suffered is intense, medics administer further therapy. Clostridium difficile is an infection of the colon by the bacterium. It causes colitis by producing toxins that damage the lining of the colon. The symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. It can develop into severe complications, which include dehydration, rupture of the colon, and spread of infection s to the abdominal cavity or body. The most common cause of c. difficile colitis occurs in patients, in the hospitals, though a number of cases out of the hospital have increased. The choice of this topic in this research is influenced by the responsibility burden for social care facilities and health organizations as important pillars in curbing down c. difficile infections. As seen above, these environments are exposed to breeding grounds for the pathogens causing c. diff to grow and infect people easily.... Statistics show that hospitalized patients are more prone to the infection; however, it also affects healthy individuals. Every employee working under health departments has a key responsibility to ensure prevention and management of the infections. This responsibility covers entirely all health and social care organizations, regardless of the patient setting or care provider. Introduction of good health practices is geared towards prevention and management of infections related to pathogens that cause c. diff. There are many attributions to infection or diseases, for example, different microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and prions. These microorganisms result in a wide variety of infections (Beltrami, 2010). Such infections include urinary tract, wounds, respiratory, blood, bone and skin infections. To say that not all infections are transmissible will be in order; nonetheless, a majority of them such as influenza, clostridium difficile and norovirus can spread from on e person to another hence end up causing transmissible infections (Artel, 2011). Health and social care facilities should be made responsible for enhancing good health practices. Health and social care facilities generate a challenging environment due to the operations undertaken on a daily basis. This environment poses as a perfect medium for transfer of the microorganisms from patient, equipment and staff. It is important to be vigilant at all times in these environments due to the vulnerability; pressure associated with opportunist pathogens and the intensity and complexity of health care environments (Angenent & Kelly, 2009). Patients with mild symptoms of c. diff may improve if they stop taking antibiotics. Those with severe symptoms need different antibiotic medication. When

Judicial Decision Making Analysis Research Paper

Judicial Decision Making Analysis - Research Paper Example The West Virginia State School Board v Barnette is a case in point. The Supreme Court had ruled that states cannot compel students to salute the American flag. No punitive action whatsoever could be taken either against the students concerned or their parents/guardians. In fact, it was an overruling of an earlier decision in Minersville School District v Gobitis. â€Å"The very purpose of the Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials† (as cited in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 1943). The court decreed that it was essential to keep such subjects outside the influence of majorities so that numerical strength by way of legislation would not trample the rights of minorities. Similarly, administrative orders and decisions were open to arbitrary interpretations on the part of officials. These were not all-encompassing and were rigidly e nforced. Such decisions always left people with grievances. Legal Subculture Every profession breeds its own culture within the over-arching culture of a place. While culture by itself is a relative term, a similar work atmosphere creates common conditions which lead to common aspirations and also a common world view. Hence, a legal subculture develops which comprises all those involved in the judicial process. These include legal practitioners, students of law and the administrative support personnel involved. A prolonged interaction with law makes even the seekers of justice imbibe the nuances of law. Such seekers are known to become comfortable with legal jargon, which is derisively known as ‘legalese’ in common parlance. Hence, the influence of legal subculture on those who practise it is even greater. There is a constant exchange of ideas between people of the same profession which is also the case here. What prompted the ruling in this case (or the overruling of t he Minersville case) is also the effect of the legal subculture to an extent. No decision can be taken in isolation. Human factors when coupled with people in a similar environment lead to such rulings. That the earlier decision had been overturned shows the influence of the public on the legal sub-culture in this case. The figure six-to-three for the ruling was not arrived at the spur of the moment. It was only due to deliberations among the various judges that resulted in this ruling. The sub-culture is primarily responsible for the exchange of ideas among the Justices in this context. It must also be remembered that the three dissensions are also due to the same sub-culture which allows divergent views to manifest and coexist with the majority views. Judicial Background The Gobitis case had had a profound influence over the Barnette case. It can be said that it was a curtain raiser to what unfolded three years later. There had been a review by the judges examining the Barnette ca se in the light of the previous ruling. The court ruled that compelling school children to salute the flag was unconstitutional.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Court found that such a salute was a form of utterance and was a means of communicating ideas  Ã¢â‚¬Å" (The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago, Kent College of Law). The compulsory flag salute was in violation of the First Amendment which