Change And Change Management At Sony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Change And Change Management At Sony - Essay Example Sony, an electronics company as indicated in the case underwent very many changes due to the retrogression in economic strength it was experiencing. Two categories of change occur in the company; people related changes and organization related changes. The first change that occurred at the company was the drop in the value of the company share from a high of $150 to a very low value of $25. The drop in the value of the shares of any company is a clear indication that the real value of the company had gone down. In this case, the drop was a very high of 83%. An urgent action was desperately needed here to rescind the situation given that the drop took just three years. The second change was that one of breaking from the norm (cultural change). In 2005, a non-Japanese took over the leadership of the company. This was a change from the normal norm in which only Japanese top management had been in control. Having been in charge of the American unit, he had the record of integration of al l units and creative coherence for a better progression in the country. This was important in that the record was the change that was required in the country and the world as a whole. More change came in after the executive; Howard Stringer took over the top management of the company (leadership change). With the company facing stiff competition from the other companies in the industry; Samsung and Apple, the first change that inevitably followed was streamlining of the company into five production groups. There was need to specialize in electronics, television, DVD recorders, digital imaging and the portable audio. This was stimulated by the fact that some of the companies competing Sony were moving away from the CRO televisions and adapting flat screen television sets. Apple was embracing the killer iPhone which had so many properties that it was almost full taking over the market. Every change was coming with the resultant consequences which were dubbed change in themselves. Elev en plants were closed and 10,000 employees were laid off. According to Cordrey (2010), such a step is taken to remain with the most effective personnel in operation. When he joined the company, Stringer found out that the decision making process was autonomous across all the units. The autonomy, he found out was creating internal strife and imbalance. This autonomy was inclusive of the key decisions of the company. On this, the change he made was that of centralizing all decision making processes in the company. Over the product lines, the decision was to make it possible for easier decision making processes to take place. His goal was to make SONY products to operate seamlessly with one another in the communication. To save on the cost spend on research and development, the new executive had to eliminate product redundancies which had been adopted by the seamless networking of the company products. The change realized here is in the mode of spending in which there was need to reduc e the expenditure on such unnecessary items like the extended research that was being done (structural change). Sony products had worked miracles over the years and they were still doing fine until the simplicity of the other company products came to the market. This change was brought about as a result of the realization that the customers were not just interested in the complex Sony products but were also interested in the ability to operate the products. The overall outlook of the items at Sony needed to change and this is seen in the simplicity of the Apple products that force the general thought at Sony to change (technological change). The last plan that happened at the company was that leading to the

Comparasion Wks Essay Example for Free

Comparasion Wks Essay Indiana Common Core Standards: †¢Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. †¢Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums, determining which details are emphasized in each account. †¢Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. †¢Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. Part One Directions: Use the following criteria to compare the film Simon Birch to the short story The Scarlet Ibis. Simon BirchScarlet IbisSimilarities/Differences Characters †¢Main characters †¢Protagonist/Antagonist †¢Round/Flat †¢Static/Dynamic †¢Evidence—use a quote from the text AND a line from the story to back up your answerSimon and joe Doodle and his big brotherThey erre both narrated by the second character Plot †¢Setting impact on plot (if any) †¢Events †¢Evidence Motivations †¢Characters †¢Same/different? †¢Evidence Tries to say that he is gods instrument Point of view †¢First or third person? †¢Limited or omniscient? †¢Evidence First person First personThey were both in first person and the narrator wasn’t the main character it was the second character Symbols †¢Symbols in story †¢Symbols in movie †¢Symbols that are similar in both †¢Anything left out? †¢EvidenceHis baseball cards and the armadillo The scarlet ibisThey both mean something to the main characters Theme †¢Theme of the movie †¢Theme of the story †¢Similarities in theme? †¢Differences in theme? †¢Evidence Setting †¢Setting of the story †¢Setting of the movie †¢Similarities in setting? †¢Differences in setting? †¢EvidenceI think that is takes place in the 1950’s? Because of the cars that was in the movie I dont know They both take place in the past Irony †¢Irony and type present in story †¢Irony and type present in movie †¢Similarities †¢Differences †¢EvidenceHe loved to play baseball and he loved joes mom but he killed her with a baseball that he hit into foul territory Situational irony Dramatic irony because when the scarlet ibis died we new that doodle was soon going to die Both of the main characters die

A Comparison of The Chrysalids and 1984 :: comparison compare contrast essays

   A comparison of life in London, Air Strip One (or Great Britain) in the George Orwell novel '1984' and Waknuk, Canada in the John Wyndham novel 'The Chrysalids.' Waknuk is a society living after a nuclear attack. The people of Air Strip One (or Britain) in 1984 live in a dictatorship controlled by "The Party".      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Waknuck is an enclosed society similar to Victorian Britain. As people spend all their lives in the town or city they are born they can't experience different cultures and therefore have a lack of tolerance and understanding for differences in the lifestyles of these cultures. The lack of experience of different cultures is not the reason for a lack of a true understanding of these cultures in 1984. The people of London are effectively poisoned against such cultures by the Party and so have no reason to want to experience them.  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Waknuck is also based largely on Religion - it is a Christian society. Most of the prejudices are formed from the Bible. Any creature that is against "the true image of God" (or a mutant) is called a Blasphemy. The Christian religion (and indeed other religions) have been the source of numerous prejudices in modern society in Britain (for example sexism and homophobia) and indeed conflicts (for example the conflicts between the Republic and Northern Ireland). In the novel '1984' no-one follows a religion as such, as far as the people of Britain in 1984 are concerned there is no God, the complete opposite of the radical religious views of the people of Waknuk. Most people in Waknuk have been 'brainwashed' by Christianity in the same way many people in Great Britain in 1984 have been 'brainwashed' by the party and Big Brother. Each use repetitive slogans, in 1984 such slogans as: "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." are used and more subtly in Christianity in the form of prays and commandments. The Party and Christians each worship a figure, Big Brother and God respectively, neither people can be completely sure of   there presence but convince themselves that they exist nevertheless. The power lies with the Party in 1984 but lies with the church in Waknuk.         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The people of Waknuk are unable to comprehend theories such as the Evolution Theory dispute finding fossils and other evidence that would conflict with Genesis.

The Human Genome Project Debate :: Science Technology Genetics Papers

The Human Genome Project Debate The Human Genome Project is a 15 year, 3 billion dollar venture whose goals involve identifying the 80,000 genes in human DNA and determining the sequences of the 3 billion chemical bases that make up human DNA. Genes are made up of a threadlike material called DNA. DNA contains four main ingredients, which are called bases. A single gene may contain thousands of bases, so the Human Genome Project (HGP) is not any easy task. First, scientists have to go into the cells nucleus, where the DNA is located. Here the DNA is tightly coiled, so researchers have to uncoil it and then examine the DNA and write down the order of the bases. The order is extremely important because it underlies life's diversity. The ultimate objective of the HGP is to create a directory of the genes that can be used to answer questions such as what specific genes do and how they work. Once all the genes are examined, and their bases described, researchers have to translate what their order means. A genome is the entire DNA in an organism, including its expressed genes. These genes carry the codes for making all the proteins the organism requires. These proteins determine everything from how the organism looks to how it behaves. The HGP has been progressing very rapidly. Because of its rapid success, a new set of goals were arranged for the 1998-2003 year period. The first goal is to complete the sequencing of the human genome and to make it publicly available to researchers so they can all work together to better the human condition. Included in this goal is to improve technology so that there is a more efficient way of sequencing DNA. Advancing technology includes decreasing the cost of current technology, funding for new technology, and effective review methods for implementing advanced technology development. Variations in human genomes include the most common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP's), deletions, insertions, and duplications. One goal of the HGP is to gain a better understanding of the types and frequencies of these variations and their possible functional purpose. Mapping SNP's will aid in researching conditions such as cancer and mental retardation. These maps may also be applicable in identifying genes that contribute to increasing disease risk. Another major goal of the HGP is determining the functions of genes. Once the complete genome sequence is discovered, the interpretation of the sequence still needs to be done.

Economic Analysis of Oligopoly Essay

This has been extended and they are now looking to expand their hold on the Australian market by moving into the liquor industry. Julian Lee (2008) highlights Coles and Woolworths move into the industry, by trying to build on their previous acquisitions of liquor outlets to challenge the major brands for a share of the $6 billion per year Australian beer market. The article reveals that Coles and Woolworths plan to ‘give more space to their own beers and promote the beers in their hotels’. The beer market has so far been resistant and has retained a strong brand loyalty. Coles and Woolworths are competing against each other and relying heavily on price discounting and forming supplier contracts to attain exclusive supply. The article questions whether or not these oligopolies will be as successful as previously in attaining their complete dominance because ‘home or exclusive brands’ are currently only a small component of the market. b Justification of the topic ‘Supermarkets brew up a crate full of profits’ is an article that clearly describes the workings on an oligopolistic market. The fact that the market is governed by two powerful firms that have the ability to influence price shows that the market more closely resembles a duopolistic structure. The beer and liquor industry comprises a differentiated oligopoly of which Woolworths and Coles are the main controllers. Woolworths and Coles control between 78 and 80. per cent of the national grocery market according to two 2008 retail surveys (Lenaghan, 2008), indicating a very high seller concentration ratio, and this figure points out the two giants’ share of the supermarket industry, including their diversification into liquor. It is clear that the competitors hope to extend this duopoly in the beer market where they have been less successful. Coles and Woolworths can be justified as a competitive duopoly as they are interdependent. They rely on each other o judge pricing of products and it has been suggested (Moynihan, 2007) that the two powers collude to maximize their profits. Significant barriers to entry for independent competitors have been created including large start up costs. The sheer size of their companies allows them to influence legislation, the fact that they encompass large economies of scale, and their control of raw materials helps these two firms to retain the staggering market share ‘to an extent unparalleled in other countries. ’(Jones, 2005) 2. Economic Analysis It is quite evident that Coles and Woolworths began their crusade of the Australian liquor industry early. Estimates of the ‘take out sales figure would be somewhat over $9 billion of a total liquor market of about $17 billon’ (Jones, 2005). Over the years the rises in productivity and efficiency have enabled the companies to sell at a discounted price. ‘Woolworths has long been engaged in a project to reduce costs through improvements in supply chain logistics’ (Jones 2005). Coles and Woolworths are well aware that this efficiency leads to increasing returns to scale. They hold economies of scale and scope that their nearest rivals cannot compete with and therefore their long run average costs continue to decline whist their output quantities are more than doubling. The long run average cost curve (1) is produced when economies of scale are many and diseconomies of scale are few. 1. 2. It is very clear that Coles and Woolworths association of groceries and liquor retailing is a classic example of oligopolistic firms attempting to further enhance their market. ‘In the mid 80’s Coles bought the Liquorland group signalling its entry into liquor retailing. Coles bought Vintage Cellars in 1992, the Australian Liquor Group in 2001, and the sizeable Theo’s business in 2003. Woolworths bought Victoria’s Dan Murphy in 1999, Tooheys Bros in Sydney in 2000, the Liberty Liquor group (including Harry’s Liquor) in 2001, the Booze Brothers Chain in South Australia in 2000, the Super Cellar group in South Australia in 2003, Bailey & Bailey in South Australia in 2003, and ALH in late 2004. Woolworths also acquired 18 licenses from the purchase of Franklins’ grocery chain in 2001’. (Jones 2005) This shows the industry power that the duopoly own, although as Lee rites they have found that ‘beer has remained resistant’ to the takeover of private home brand labels. Home brand labels have relied on a discounted price to capture the market’s attention, a strategy that will have little success with beer. The beer industry is already dominated by premium, boutique, imported and Aussie favourite beers t hat the chance of finding a large market share is unlikely. At the moment the in-house brands make up ‘just 2%’ of the beer market, most of which is taken up by Sol, a Woolworths brand. The beer industry is unlike the grocery industry where a discounted price is favourable. The Australian brewing duopoly of Fosters and Lion Nathan both believe that ‘branded beer will win out’ and are not worried that the products being forced into the market by Coles and Woolworths ‘will eat into (their) market share’. Coles and Woolworths envisions that the low priced private label brands will increase their demanded quantity from Q1 to Q2 (2) and this in turn will increase their market share and their profits. In the long run they will also be able to force more small independent brewers and sellers out of business because these retailers do not encompass the specialisation skills or labour to be able to price lower than the oligopolists or even match their prices. Although matching any price reduction for the oligopolist who retains significant economies of scale can be treated with simplicity. This can be shown by a downward movement in the marginal cost curve. (3) The prices for the consumer would decrease and the average total cost for the producer also decreases. The local liquor retailer could more often than not, have no success in moving their marginal cost curve to match that of the oligopolists. These independents’ market share and profitability will in effect reduce dramatically. This can then cause possible reductions in the industry shifting the supply curve to the left. For the consumer this is ultimately a negative scenario as the oligopolists who charge a cheaper price at present, will be able to increase their prices once the other competition has been eliminated (4). (3)(4) The article gives light onto the fact that the two giants’ are ‘creating exclusive contracts for (their) retail outlets’ and this restricts competitors selling their brands. ‘Woolworths already distributes Bitburger, Lowenbrau and Amsterdam Mariner, while Coles sells Hollandia, Cantina Cerveza, Bavaria, Estrella Damm, Harviestoun, La Trappe and Konig Pilsner. It also contracts Boag’s – now owned by Lion Nathan – to make Tasman Bitter, Tasman Gold and Hammer ‘n’ Tongs for the chain’. It is clear that already Coles and Woolworths dominates much of the beer market by owning the outlets and the contracts to sell the beer itself. They anticipate that loyal customers will have to come to their outlet when shopping for their regular branded beer. It is also highlighted that ‘imported premium beer sales have grown by 20%’ from January 2007, a figure which is likely to increase. Coles and Woolworths are furthermore using their oligopolist power to create barriers and retaliate at competitors. In 2002 Fosters had no choice but to decide against branching into the retailer market as Coles had began to reduce the stocking of Fosters’ lines in its outlets (Jones, 2005). It had become clear that Coles and Woolworths were not going to let their market be penetrated by other competitors and that notion of collusion seems to be a regular and probable occurrence. Although oligopolists frequently collude, within the beer industry collusion is not yet possible as they are still trying to dominate the existing market. If the two firms were to succeed in their strategy to dominate the market and collude to set higher prices for the consumer their profit margins would be very high and the industry would resemble that of a pure monopoly (5). . Conclusion The $6 billion Australian beer market has proved to be resilient to attempts by the two giants to capture the industry. Ultimately the oligopolists plan to attempt to take hold of the beer market as they have done with groceries and petrol. In the short run, the economies of scale and the continuous logistics improvements provides the consumer with cheaper prices that the independents may not be able to provid e and consequently when the independents are run out of the market the competition and prices of the industry may increase dramatically. Coles and Woolworths are aiming to ‘target the value shopper, and that’s where private label and control labels are playing. ’ The potential success of this is questioned in the article, as within the beer industry the value shopper makes up a ‘small component of the market’. Only time will tell if Coles and Woolworths can continue to extend their previous successes.

My Favorite Qubcois Canadian French Expressions

My Favorite Qubcois Canadian French Expressions As Quebec French language is very rich and full of nuances, it is difficult to choose a few representative phrases. Nevertheless, after much debate, this is my top list. These expressions are difficult to translate, so make sure you read the example to really get the meaning. I also added the French from France equivalent whenever I could. Enjoy! Michel is French and Canadian. He lives in the gorgeous island of Belle-Isle in Brittany where he offers  French immersion. He also taught at McGill in Montreal where he also spends a few months each year. 1 -  Avoir de la misà ¨reJ’ai ben d’la misà ¨re jouer au tennisLiteral translation: I have a lot of misery playing tennisIt means: I’ve got difficulty playing tennis.â€Å"Ben† comes from bien and means â€Å"beaucoup†, a lot of.In â€Å"franà §ais de France†, one would say : j’ai du mal jouer au tennis. 2 -  Avoir son voyageJ’ai mon voyage! Literal translation: I’ve got my trip, I have traveled.It indicates that you are surprised, or that you are fed up.In franà §ais de France, one would say : à §a alors! (to indicate surprise) Or j’en ai marre ! (to say youre fed up). 3 -  Le boss des bà ©cossesIl se prend pour le boss des bà ©cosses. Literal translation: he thinks he is the toilets boss.One would say that about someone who wants to lead a group of people who do not want any leader. Les bà ©cosses, a familiar feminine plural word, comes from the English word back-house and means toilets. 4 - C’est l’fonne!C’est ben l’fonne It’s really fun. See the Quà ©bà ©cois transformation of the English word fun into fonne, the word that doesnt exist at all in French from France. Note however that Canadian use both spellings, fun (more common) or fonne.The opposite phrase would be: c’est platte. It literally means it is flat (from the literal translation plat, but put in a Quà ©bà ©cois way...) but really means it is dull. Continues on page 2 Continued from Page 1 5 - En titiIl est riche en titi.It means he is very rich, so en titi means very.The origin of this adverbial phrase is unknown. 6 - Être aux oiseauxQuand il à ©coute de la musique, il est aux oiseauxWhen he listens to music, he belongs to birdsIt means to be very happy, ecstatic.In French from France,  one would say aux anges (with the angels). 7 - Ya du monde la messeQuand ya des soldes, ya du monde la messe.When there are sales, there are people for Mass.It means its crowded. Note the common street French way to say (sometimes even write ya instead of il-y-a. This is true for both Canadian and French from France French)In French from France, one would say il y a foule. I will be adding more expressions soon, so be informed of new articles, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter (its easy, you just enter your email address - look for it its somewhere on the French language homepage) or follow me on my social network pages below. I post exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more daily on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages - so press the links below - talk to you there! https://www.facebook.com/frenchtoday https://twitter.com/frenchToday https://www.pinterest.com/frenchtoday/ More articles I wrote about Canadian French: - Dialogue in French Canadian ≠  Franà §ais de France English translation- My favorite French Canadian Expressions- 7 Best French Canadian Idioms- Love in Quà ©bà ©cois French

Biography of Mao Zedong, Father of Modern China

Biography of Mao Zedong, Father of Modern China Mao Zedong (Dec. 26, 1893–Sept. 9, 1976), the father of modern China, is not only remembered for his impact on Chinese society and culture but for his global influence, including on political revolutionaries in the United States and the Western world in the 1960s and 1970s.  He is widely considered one of the most prominent communist theoreticians. He was also known as a great poet. Fast Facts: Mao Zedong Known For: Founding father  of the  Peoples Republic of China, ruling the country as Chairman of the Communist Party of China  from 1949 until 1976Also Known As: Mao Tse Tung, Mao Zedong, Chairman MaoBorn: Dec. 26, 1893 in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, ChinaParents: Mao Yichang, Wen QimeiDied: Sept. 9, 1976  in Beijing,  Peoples Republic of ChinaPublished Works: The Warlords Clash (poem, 1929), The Tasks of the Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan (1937), Maos Little Red Book (1964–1976)Spouse(s): Luo Yixiu, Yang Kaihui, He Zizhen, Jiang QingChildren: Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, Mao Anlong, Yang Yuehua, Li Min, Li NaNotable Quote: Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed. Early Life On Dec. 26, 1893, a son was born to the Mao family, wealthy farmers in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China. They named the boy Mao Zedong. The child studied Confucian classics at the village school for five years  but left at the age of 13 to help out full-time on the farm. Rebellious and probably spoiled, young Mao had been expelled from several schools and even ran away from home for several days. In 1907, Maos father arranged a marriage for his 14-year-old son. Mao refused to acknowledge his 20-year-old bride, even after she moved into the family home. Education and Introduction to Marxism Mao moved to Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, to continue his education. He spent six months in 1911 and 1912 as a soldier in the barracks at Changsha, during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Mao called for Sun Yatsen to be president and cut off his long braid of hair (queue), a sign of anti-Manchu revolt. Between 1913 and 1918, Mao studied at the Teachers Training School, where he began to embrace ever more revolutionary ideas. He was fascinated by the 1917 Russian Revolution, and by the 4th century BCE Chinese philosophy called Legalism. After graduation, Mao followed his professor Yang Changji to Beijing, where he took a job at the Beijing University library. His supervisor, Li Dazhao, was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party and greatly influenced Maos developing revolutionary ideas. Gathering Power In 1920 Mao married Yang Kaihui, the daughter of his professor, despite his earlier marriage. He read a translation of The Communist Manifesto that year  and became a committed Marxist. Six years later, the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek massacred at least 5,000 communists in Shanghai. This was the start of Chinas Civil War. That fall, Mao led the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Changsha against the Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT crushed Maos peasant army, killing 90% of them and forcing the survivors out into the countryside, where they rallied more peasants to their cause. In June  1928, the KMT took Beijing and was recognized as the official government of China by foreign powers. Mao and the Communists continued to set up peasant Soviets in the southern Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces, however. He was laying the foundations of Maoism. The Chinese Civil War A local warlord in Changsha captured Maos wife, Yang Kaihui, and one of their sons in October 1930. She refused to denounce communism, so the warlord had her beheaded in front of her 8-year-old son. Mao had married a third wife, He Zizhen, in May of that year. In 1931, Mao was elected chairman of the Soviet Republic of China, in Jiangxi Province. Mao ordered a reign of terror against landlords; perhaps more than 200,000 were tortured and killed. His Red Army, made up mostly of poorly armed but fanatical peasants, numbered 45,000. Under increasing KMT pressure, Mao was demoted from his leadership role. Chiang Kai-sheks troops surrounded the Red Army in the mountains of Jiangxi, forcing them to make a desperate escape in 1934. The Long March and Japanese Occupation About 85,000 Red Army troops and followers retreated from Jiangxi  and started walking the 6,000-kilometer arc to the northern province of Shaanxi. Beset by freezing weather, dangerous mountain paths, unbridged rivers, and attacks by warlords and the KMT, only 7,000 of the communists made it to Shaanxi in 1936. This Long March cemented Mao Zedongs position as leader of the Chinese communists. He was able to rally the troops despite their dire situation. In 1937, Japan invaded China. The Chinese Communists and the KMT halted their civil war to meet this new threat, which lasted through Japans 1945 defeat in World War II. Japan captured Beijing and the Chinese coast, but never occupied the interior. Both of Chinas armies fought on; the communists guerrilla tactics were particularly effective. Meanwhile, in 1938, Mao divorced He Zizhen and married the actress Jiang Qing, later known as Madame Mao. Civil War Resumes and the Founding of the PRC Even as he led the fight against the Japanese, Mao was planning to seize power from his erstwhile allies, the KMT. Mao codified his ideas in a number of pamphlets, including On Guerrilla Warfare and On Protracted War. In 1944, the United States sent the Dixie Mission to meet Mao and the communists; the Americans found the communists better organized and less corrupt than the KMT, which had been receiving western support. After World War II ended, the Chinese armies started to fight again in earnest. The turning point was the 1948 Siege of Changchun, in which the Red Army, now called the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), defeated the Kuomintangs army in Changchun, Jilin Province. By October 1, 1949, Mao felt confident enough to declare the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. On December 10, the PLA besieged the final KMT stronghold at Chengdu, Sichuan. On that day, Chiang Kai-shek and other KMT officials fled the mainland for Taiwan. Five Year Plan and the Great Leap Forward From his new home next to the Forbidden City, Mao directed radical reforms in China. Landlords were executed, perhaps as many as 2-5 million across the country, and their land was redistributed to poor peasants. Maos Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries claimed at least 800,000 additional lives, mostly former KMT members, intellectuals, and businessmen. In the Three-Anti/Five-Anti Campaigns of 1951-52, Mao directed the targeting of wealthy people and suspected capitalists, who were subjected to public struggle sessions. Many who survived the initial beatings and humiliation later committed suicide. Between 1953 and 1958, Mao launched the First Five-Year Plan, intending to make China an industrial power. Buoyed by his initial success, Chairman Mao launched the Second Five-Year Plan, called the Great Leap Forward, in January 1958. He urged farmers to smelt iron in their yards, rather than tending the crops. The results were disastrous; an estimated 30-40 million Chinese starved in the Great Famine of 1958-60. Foreign Policies Shortly after Mao took power in China, he sent the Peoples Volunteer Army into the Korean War to fight alongside the North Koreans against the South Koreans and United Nations forces. The PVA saved Kim Il-Sungs army from being overrun, resulting in a stalemate that continues to this day. In 1951, Mao also sent the PLA into Tibet to liberate it from the Dalai Lamas rule. By 1959, Chinas relationship with the Soviet Union had deteriorated markedly. The two communist powers disagreed on the wisdom of the Great Leap Forward, Chinas nuclear ambitions, and the brewing Sino-Indian War (1962). By 1962, China and the USSR had cut off relations with one another in the Sino-Soviet Split. Fall From Grace In January 1962, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a Conference of the Seven Thousand in Beijing. Conference chair Liu Shaoqi harshly criticized the Great Leap Forward, and by implication, Mao Zedong. Mao was pushed aside within the internal power structure of the CCP; moderate pragmatists Liu and Deng Xiaoping freed the peasants from communes and imported wheat from Australia and Canada to feed the famine survivors. For several years, Mao served only as a figurehead in the Chinese government. He spent that time plotting a return to power and revenge on Liu and Deng. Mao would use the specter of capitalist tendencies among the powerful, as well as the might and credulity of young people, to take power once again. The Cultural Revolution In August 1966, the 73-year-old Mao made a speech at the Plenum of the Communist Central Committee. He called for the youth of the country to take back the revolution from the rightists. These young Red Guards would do the dirty work in Maos Cultural Revolution, destroying the Four Olds- old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. Even a tea-room owner like President Hu Jintaos father could be targeted as a capitalist. While the nations students were busily destroying ancient artwork and texts, burning temples and beating intellectuals to death, Mao managed to purge both Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping from the partys leadership. Liu died under horrific circumstances in prison; Deng was exiled to work in a rural tractor factory, and his son was thrown from a fourth-story window and paralyzed by Red Guards. In 1969, Mao declared the Cultural Revolution complete, although it continued through his death in 1976. Later phases were directed by Jiang Qing (Madame Mao) and her cronies, known as the Gang of Four. Failing Health and Death Throughout the 1970s, Maos health steadily deteriorated. He may have been suffering from Parkinsons disease or ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease), in addition to heart and lung trouble brought on by a lifetime of smoking. By July 1976 when the country was in crisis due to the Great Tangshan Earthquake, the 82-year-old Mao was confined to a hospital bed in Beijing. He suffered two major heart attacks early in September, and died September 9, 1976, after being removed from life support. Legacy After Maos death, the moderate pragmatist branch of the Chinese Communist Party took power and ousted the leftist revolutionaries. Deng Xiaoping, now thoroughly rehabilitated, led the country toward an economic policy of capitalist-style growth and export wealth. Madame Mao and the other Gang of Four members were arrested and tried, essentially for all of the crimes associated with the Cultural Revolution. Maos legacy today is a complicated one. He is known as the Founding Father of Modern China, and serves to inspire 21st-century rebellions like the Nepali and Indian Maoist movements. On the other hand, his leadership caused more deaths among his own people than that of Joseph Stalin or Adolph Hitler. Within the Chinese Communist Party under Deng, Mao was declared to be 70% correct in his policies. However, Deng also said that the Great Famine was 30% natural disaster, 70% human error. Nonetheless, Mao Thought continues to guide policies to this day. Sources Clements, Jonathan. Mao Zedong: Life and Times, London: Haus Publishing, 2006.Short, Philip. Mao: A Life, New York: Macmillan, 2001.Terrill, Ross. Mao: A Biography, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.

Shakespeares New Year and Christmas Quotes

Shakespeare's New Year and Christmas Quotes New Year Celebrations hardly feature in Shakespeare’s works and he only mentions Christmas three times. Explaining the lack of New Year quotes is easy enough, but why did Shakespeare dodge Christmas in his writing? Shakespeare New Year Quotes New Year barely features in Shakespeare’s plays simply because it wasn’t until 1752 that the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain. In Elizabethan England, the year changed after Lady Day on 25 March. For Shakespeare, the New Year celebrations of the modern world would have seemed bizarre because in his own time New Year’s Day was nothing more than the eighth day of Christmas. However, it was still customary in the court of Elizabeth I to exchange gifts at New Year, as this quote from Merry Wives of Windsor demonstrates (but note the distinct lack of celebratory tone): Have I lived to be carried in a basket, like abarrow of butcher’s offal, and to be thrown in theThames? Well, if I be served such another trick,I’ll have my brains ta’en out and buttered, and givethem to a dog for a new-year’s gift†¦Merry Wives of Windsor (Act 3, Scene 5) Shakespeare Christmas Quotes So that explains the lack of New Year celebration; but why are there so few Shakespeare Christmas quotes? Perhaps he was â€Å"a bit of a Scrooge!† Joking aside, the â€Å"Scrooge† factor is actually very important. In Shakespeare’s time, Christmas simply wasn’t celebrated in the same way as it is today. It was 200 years after the death of Shakespeare that Christmas was popularized in England, thanks to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert importing many of the German Christmas traditions. Our modern conception of Christmas is immortalized in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, from the same period. So, in many ways,  Shakespeare was â€Å"a bit of a Scrooge!† Here are the three times Shakespeare did mention Christmas in his plays: At Christmas I no more desire a roseThan wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth;Love’s Labours Lost (Act 1, Scene 1) I see the trick on’t: here was a consent,Knowing aforehand of our merriment,To dash it like a Christmas comedy:Some carry-tale, some please-man, some slight zany,Love’s Labours Lost (Act Five, Scene 2) SLY. Marry, I will; let them play it. Is not a comonty a Christmas gambold or a tumbling-trick?PAGE. No, my good lord, it is more pleasing stuff.The Taming of the Shrew (Intro, scene 2) Did you notice how downbeat these Shakespeare Christmas quotes are? That’s because, in Elizabethan England, Easter was the main Christian festival. Christmas was a less-important 12-day festival known for pageants put on at the Royal Court and by churches for townspeople. In the quotes above, Shakespeare does not hide his dislike of pageant acting: In Love’s Labours Lost, Berowne guesses that a wooing strategy has failed and that the ladies are now ridiculing the men. The ridicule is compared to a Christmas play: â€Å"dash it like a Christmas comedy.†In The Taming of the Shrew, Sly disregards the action as a Christmas â€Å"gambold†, a word meaning a frolic or light entertainment. Page suggests that it will be better than that awful acting you see at Christmas. Overlooking New Year and Christmas The lack of New Year and Christmas celebration may seem strange to the modern reader, and one must look at the calendar and religious conventions of Elizabethan England to contextualize this absence. None of Shakespeare’s plays are set at Christmas, not even Twelfth Night, which is commonly considered to be a Christmas play. It is widely believed that the play’s title was written for a performance on the twelfth day of Christmas at the royal court. But a reference in the title to the timing of the performance is where the Christmas references of this play end. It actually has nothing to do with Christmas.

INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION - Essay Example Nonetheless, due to the clash of trading principles, it is often difficult to come up with an equitable decision which is favoured by the parties. In view of that, business-minded individuals (merchants) have led the call for an international tribunal who will decide on conflicting claims pertaining to international commercial dealings. Thus, the phrase â€Å"international commercial arbitration† has been formulated and put into issue. International commercial tribunals have been created—settling disputes by integrating the different principles in trade and commerce—mostly applying the â€Å"lex mercatoria† (law of merchants). In this sense, it can be stated that â€Å"the lex mercatoria is indeed a live subject: more so today than at almost any time over the last generation† (Fortier, 2001). â€Å"Disputes are inevitable occurrences† in international relations especially in commercial transactions—failure or refusal to pay in accordance with the stipulations provided in a contract is one of the main causes of conflict (Lew, et al., 2003). To settle the differences of the contracting parties, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are made available. Arbitration is actually one of the non-judicial methods of settling commercial disputes which has been exhaustively applied by some states and entities. In fact, some of the countries in the world have included arbitration as part of their law on civil procedure like Germany and France. Arbitration is a procedure by which conflicting claims of two or more individuals or entities with regard to their shared rights and obligations is heard and resolved by an arbitrator—the agreement reached by the parties has a binding effect (Halsburys Laws of England, as cited in Lew, et al., 2003, p. 3). As such , it has four fundamental features which include the following: an alternative to judicial proceeding, a private way of resolving disputes, parties can select and control the process, and final resolution of

Education and technology Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education and technology - Research Proposal Example Educational technologies are being utilized in every aspect of learning and more increasingly, students are being asked to access information from technological sources. Methods of instruction must change in order to keep up with the ever-changing world and educational institutions must cease the technological movement. Over the last few years, technology has advanced rapidly and there have been literally hundreds of published studies investigating its educational effect. Although there might not yet be a definitive conclusion since it is becoming apparent that the type of learning that technology best enhances is difficult to quantify (Johnson, 1996), there are many research reports that indicate students can now maximize the benefits of education by use of a variety of technology-rich educational environments. Walsh and Reese, (1995) argues that education has received a much needed boost in the form of distance learning and that a key catalyst for the growth of distance learning is video communications. The Walsh and Reese report, which focuses on distance education networks that had been established in a variety of states including Georgias GSAMS, Missouri, and California, describes how distance education can extend and improve the quality of an institutions educational offerings, provide substantial economic benefits, and offer a strategic advantage in penetrating potential new market segments, including corporate education, continuing adult education, and job training. The authors suggest that the key to the success of these and hundreds of other networks is video. They argue that when combined with other media, video has proven to be a highly effective way of getting and holding students attention, so real learning can take place. As DIgnazio (1993) holds that as businesses had been building electronic highways, education had been creating an electronic dirt road. He argues

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 8

Assignment - Essay Example In the real sense, corruption affects the general physical infrastructure of a country/ region, including construction of roads, schools, health facilities, and conservation of the environment (Radin, 2013; Ionescu, Lazaroiu and Iosif, 2012). Certain variables either mediate or moderate the relationship between these two perceptions. For instance, more mature people (those in relatively more advanced ages) tend to have better understanding of corruption and its effects, and may consequently tend to rate corruption significantly higher than younger persons. Explaining this observation, Porumbescu and Im (2013) further noted that ‘more educated’ individuals are more conscious of corruption in society, and can relate its effects to service delivery more easily than the less educated. Based on these established discussions, the present analysis attempted to conceptualize how perceptions on corruption could be related to the perceived impediments to quality service delivery, including provision of high standard infrastructure. Respondents’ satisfaction with eight items that constitute infrastructural wellbeing was assessed. These include public transport systems, roads and highways, schools, quality of air, quality of water, quality of health care, quality of housing, and the beauty or physical setting of the localities within which the respondents live. Again, based on the findings in the mentioned research articles, the researcher hypothesized that higher perceived levels of corruption in government are significantly related to lower levels of satisfaction with service delivery. Similarly, age and educational level are estimated to relate with the perceived level of satisfaction such that as either increases, the level of satisfaction decreases. Age and educational attainment are also theorised to have a linear relationship with the perceived level of corruption, implying that as either of the

Needs for a Domestic Vacuum Cleaner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Needs for a Domestic Vacuum Cleaner - Essay Example The Dyson DC08T is a hypoallergenic cylinder vacuum cleaner, and comes with a "lose no suction power" claims from the manufacturer. It Employs a Bagless Dust Collector, and is free-standing. In appearance, it’s cute, compact and small. The bright colorful exteriors are attractive, and the cleaner has easily maneuverable buttons. The hose pipe can be wrapped around the cleaner and hence facilitates easy storage. With a maximum volume of the dust collector of 2 Litres, it is capable of working for an extended period of time without the need to clean and restart. The cleaner however is not capable of working on a remote control mode, and also does not have the capacity to multi-function. It comes with a Telescopic wand and a turbo head for deep cleaning or using on pet hair. Before proceeding to report the actual exercise, it is appropriate to elaborate upon the layout of the cleaning area. The cleaning will be undertaken in my two-bedrooms, that have hard floors and furniture like, bed, dresser and an armchair. It will also include the living room, that too has hard floor, a Belgium carpet, and an assortment of rugs. The furniture in this room includes a fabric-furnished sofa set, a glass-topped center table, two wooden side tables, and an array of artifacts that include small sized statutes, terracotta vases, and several other similar displays. The hall houses dining table and chairs, and a couple of lounge chairs.

Literature review of five journal articles about The Shortage of Research Paper

Literature review of five journal articles about The Shortage of Qualified Workers - Research Paper Example Increased Demand for Labor: According to Barnow, Trutko and Schede (2010), if demand for labor increases continuously and faster than the supply of labor, there occurs a is equilibrium where some work will not be done. They argue that a special phenomena may occur which would require special skills which making the specialist take time and hence during that period there will be a labor shortage. For instance, after the 2nd World War, a situation occurred where engineers were needed to deal with effect of great shock of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During that period, the demand for engineers was high than the supply. Rasool and Botha (2010) argued that it is only in time of abruptly that demand of labor supply and demand can cause a labor shortage else people will be there since supply of quality laborers is increasing with population growth. Decreased supply of labor: Hajela (2012) indicates that when bodies entitled to train professionals cannot do so due to lack of the minimum qualification to join the course, there will be a low rate of producing graduates and this will lead to lack of personnel to work on specific positions. If I quote â€Å"Shortage of skills revealed may suggest that the educators do not impart them during training. An implication that would mean that the employees’ lack competences, since they do not have the requisite skills†. This leads to graduates who cannot perform and hence labor shortage. Research by Rasool & Botha, (2011) showed that the literacy rate was 36% and numeracy rate was 35% amongst Grade 3 children. Only 10% of the children scored above 70%. This is a clear show that competent people who get out of school with needed skills are very few. Emigration: According to Rasool & Botha, (2011), emigration is another worrying factor in South Africa for the role it is playing in skills crisis. South Africa is

Needs for a Domestic Vacuum Cleaner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Needs for a Domestic Vacuum Cleaner - Essay Example The Dyson DC08T is a hypoallergenic cylinder vacuum cleaner, and comes with a "lose no suction power" claims from the manufacturer. It Employs a Bagless Dust Collector, and is free-standing. In appearance, it’s cute, compact and small. The bright colorful exteriors are attractive, and the cleaner has easily maneuverable buttons. The hose pipe can be wrapped around the cleaner and hence facilitates easy storage. With a maximum volume of the dust collector of 2 Litres, it is capable of working for an extended period of time without the need to clean and restart. The cleaner however is not capable of working on a remote control mode, and also does not have the capacity to multi-function. It comes with a Telescopic wand and a turbo head for deep cleaning or using on pet hair. Before proceeding to report the actual exercise, it is appropriate to elaborate upon the layout of the cleaning area. The cleaning will be undertaken in my two-bedrooms, that have hard floors and furniture like, bed, dresser and an armchair. It will also include the living room, that too has hard floor, a Belgium carpet, and an assortment of rugs. The furniture in this room includes a fabric-furnished sofa set, a glass-topped center table, two wooden side tables, and an array of artifacts that include small sized statutes, terracotta vases, and several other similar displays. The hall houses dining table and chairs, and a couple of lounge chairs.

Forest Conservation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Forest Conservation - Essay Example Forest plays multidimensional nurturing role in nature. Forest plays roles of carbon trapping (formally known as carbon sequestration), supply of wood, and from natural kidney to sedimentation reduction. (Markels and Barber, 2002) Forest plays a vital role beyond its aesthetic appeal and bio diversity. (Forests Canada 2008) Canadian forests are under threat due to commercial exploration of oils and minerals. Most of the probable exploitable areas lie within the forests and the choice between them has become binary. (Forests Canada 2008) The choice between forest and other natural resources has become mutually exclusive. Moreover, most of the Canadian forests are not under the legal arm of ‘reserve’ forest. This makes Canadian forest more vulnerable .The importance of forest at the time of global warming, water quality and resource management problem does not need any introduction. Reduction in Forest will aggravate global warming and its associated problems. Problems associated with drinking water shortage, increase in frequency of floods will become more prevalent. Canadian forests does not play only regional role in the aforesaid areas but also in a global domain. The contribution in carbon sequestering by the Canadian forest to the world climate is highly considerable and any depletion i s bound to affect global climate as a whole. GEMCO is found to manage and monitor the forest and environmental quality.It is very important to note that forest is also associated with the wellbeing of other species.

Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Essay Example for Free

Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Essay The Arab-Israeli War was an armed conflict initiated by the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria against Israel on October 6, 1973 in an effort to reclaim territories that Israel had controlled since the Six Day War of 1967. The date holds special significance to the Jewish calendar, being Yom Kippur, hence this war is also known as the Yom Kippur War. Though Israel was caught by surprise and experienced severe losses during the war, assistance from the United States military led to a cease-fire less than three weeks later. In the aftermath, Israel retained its territories and its aftermath had far ranging effects on the geopolitics of the Middle East. First, the victory of Israel had an uplifting effect on its population. Its military had been seen to have grown largely complacent following the Six Day War. However, despite initial defeats, they managed a successful turnaround of the Yom Kippur War’s outcome. As such, despite the surprise advantage of Egypt and Syria they had regained the upper hand in less than two weeks, though at a high cost in casualties. In effect, Israel woke up to the reality that their military supremacy in the region was not absolute. (Rabinovich 498) Second, by granting support to Israel, the United States invited the ire of oil-producing Arab states. This manifested itself in the actions of Saudi Arabia, which not only reduced its oil production but declared an embargo against the United States. Saudi Arabia was later joined by other oil-producing Arab states and together they extended their embargo against other import dependent nations in Western Europe as well as Japan. The result was the 1973 energy crisis that sent oil prices spiraling past $60 per barrel and close to $100 per barrel in 1979. (Smith 329) Third, on the geopolitical front, enemy states of Israel concluded in the aftermath that they could not defeat it by force, and thus turned towards diplomatic tactics in antagonizing it. The effect was that many African and Third World nations, under pressure from the Arab states, broke their diplomatic ties to Israel. Works Cited No author. â€Å"The 1973 Yom Kippur War. † Anti-Defamation League, 1999. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from: http://www. adl. org/ISRAEL/record/yomkippur. asp Smith, Charles. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York, NY: Bedford, 2006. Rabinovich, Abraham. The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle eAst. New York, NY: Shocken Books, 2005. Rabinovich, Abraham [2005]. The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East. New York, NY: Schocken Books. ISBN 0 8052 4176 0. Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, New York: Bedford, 2006, p. 329.

Distinct Serum Protein Pattern in Paranoid Schizophrena

Distinct Serum Protein Pattern in Paranoid Schizophrena A DISTINCT SERUM PROTEIN PATTERN IN PATIENTS WITH PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA[A1] N. A. Timofeyeva1,3, I. V. Alekseeva1,3, S. A. Ivanova2,4, G. G. Simutkin2, A. V. Semke2, I. S. Losenkov2, N. A. Bokhan2, O. S. Fedorova1,3, A. A. Chernonosov1,3* 1 Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia 2 Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia 3 Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia       4 National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia ABSTRACT The proteomic approach, namely, a combination of 2D gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, is a powerful tool that allows researchers to identify proteins that are differentially expressed in disease states. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness, whose aetiology is still unclear; therefore, information about differences in serum protein patterns may improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to use the proteomic approach to identify altered protein levels in the serum samples from patients with schizophrenia. For this study, blood was collected from 10 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 10 healthy volunteers. We uncovered major changes in the expression of such proteins as apolipoproteins of classes A4 and C3, transthyretin (TTR), and serum amyloid A1. Furthermore, an increase in expression was found only for apolipoprotein A4, whereas the expression of apolipoprotein C3, TTR, and serum amyloid A1 was decreased. The observed differences in the expression of serum proteins (TTR and serum amyloid) are in good agreement with the results obtained by other research groups during analyses of cerebrospinal fluid or post-mortem brain tissues by other methods. Keywords: psychiatric disorder, schizophrenia, [A2]  proteomics, 2D electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, biomarker, serum. Introduction Although in recent years, great progress has been made in reducing mortality and in the treatment of common illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the mortality caused by mental disorders remains unchanged [1]. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness, whose aetiology is still unclear. Schizophrenia is characterised by hallucinations, delusions (positive psychotic symptoms), affective problems [A3](negative psychotic symptoms), and cognitive dysfunction [2]. A number of hypotheses have been proposed about the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, for example, aberrations [A4]  in the pathways of transmission of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin [3, 4] or pathological changes in embryonic neurogenesis owing to variations in gene neuregulin-1 [5], as well as oxidative-stress-mediated cell damage due to lowered levels of antioxidant defence enzymes in patients with schizophrenia[A5] [6]. Such pathogenesis may be caused by a dysfunction of some enzymes (proteins) as well as changes of their quantity in the blood of these patients. At the same time, there is no information about differences in serum protein patterns that can be used for typing of psychopathologies among individuals at risk of developing psychiatric disorders [7]. Diagnosis and nosology rely on symptoms and accumulated clinical observations, and thus far, have been based mostly on interviews with patients and on patients subjective complaints [8]. Moreover, current medications still have substantial adverse effects and/or require weeks for therapeutic effects to manifest themselves; not all patients respond to current pharmacotherapy [9]. In sum, an insufficient understanding of psychiatric disorders at the molecular level and the lack of disease-specific changes in serum protein patterns prevent optimisation of diagnosis and treatment of such complex psychiatric disorders as schizophrenia  [A6]. The proteomic approach, namely, the combination of 2D gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), allows researchers to reliably identify proteins isolated from human bodily fluids [10, 11]. Our exploratory study [12] showed that 2D gel electrophoresis is suitable for isolation of proteins from blood of patients with mental disorders. Therefore  [A7], in the present work, clinical blood samples from patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were tested to identify quantitative differences in the proteomic profile of serum. Results and Discussion In this study, we examined blood serum of healthy people and patients with paranoid schizophrenia to search for quantitative and/or qualitative differences in proteins associated with this mental disorder. The use of 2D gel electrophoresis enables researchers to simultaneously isolate more than 300 protein spots on one gel containing 150  µg of protein for subsequent MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis [10, 11]. We analysed differences in serum protein patterns by comparing the gels between the patients and healthy controls. The analysis [A8]  of protein patterns in serum was focused on those protein spots that differed in 2D gels between the patients and healthy controls. Such protein spots were analysed by means of the Gel-Pro Analyzer software and normalised to the sum of three proteins (a, b, Ñ ; for details, see Materials and Methods). These three proteins are isoforms of apolipoprotein L (ApoL) [18]. As a result, 15 protein spots were isolated and identified by peptide mass fin gerprinting and MS/MS analysis. The list of proteins identified in the NCBI database is shown in table [A9]1. Some proteins haptoglobin, transthyretin (TTR), and apolipoprotein C3 shown in table 1 are present in more than one spot on a gel and have different pI values. Perhaps this phenomenon is due to various post-translational modifications or partial processing. It was found that only the serum level of ApoA4 was increased (1.8-fold) as compared to the control group (figure 1a). Our findings support other [A10]  reports on altered protein levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenia [19, 20].   Ã‚   The decrease in the serum concentration relative to the control group was observed for ApoC3 and for ApoC2 in patients with schizophrenia (figure 1b). This downregulation was on average from 1.8- to 3-fold for ApoC3, and smaller for ApoC2: only 1.25-fold. These proteins are synthesised in the liver and are components of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). Apolipoprotein C2 activates extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase, whereas apolipoprotein C3 can inhibit lipoprotein lipase Fig. 1 Examples of proteins with differential expression in human serum are presented in the enlarged sections of the 2DE profile. a) Apo A4; b) Apo C3 and C2; c) serum amyloid A1; d) transthyretin (the protein is present in two spots because of post-translational modifications). Sch: schizophrenia. and activate LCAT [21, 22]. Previously, it was found that the expression of apolipoproteins is altered in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric disorders [23]. The authors found that low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and VLDLs are the most prominent factors differentiating depressed patients from healthy controls, and that plasma unsaturated lipid concentrations are elevated in the depressed group. Thus, there is growing evidence that deregulated lipid homeostasis may play a common role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Other proteins with a decreased concentration are serum amyloid A1 and TTR (figure 1c and 1d). Inflammatory amyloid A1 is among the so-called acute phase proteins, which have both direct and indirect bactericidal and/or bacteriostatic properties. According to the classical theory of inflammation, in the acute phase of inflammation, the serum concentration of amyloid A1 increases 100- to 1000-fold [24], whereas in our study, we observed a 2.3-fold decrease in the serum concentration of this protein in patients with schizophrenia. Perhaps this result  [A11] is due to decreased immunity in Table 1. The list of proteins from human serum analysed by 2DE and identified by MALDI-MS/MS after in-gel digestion with trypsin. Protein NCBI database no. Protein ID pI MW (kDa) Score (individuals/ significant) Fold Change (+/-)* Sch vs control 1 gi157831596 ÃŽÂ ±2-antitrypsin 5.37 44.3 48/45 -1.32  ± 0.2 2 gi338305 SP 40 5.74 36.7 17/10 -1.31  ± 0.09 3 gi3337390 Haptoglobin 6.14 38.2 35/29 +1.22  ± 0.13 4 gi114318993 Transthyretin (dimer) 5.16 20.2 120/84 -1.68  ± 0.25 5 gi11957960 Apolipoprotein A4 5.28 28.9 43/32 +1.84  ± 0.16 6 gi223976 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽÂ ± 6.23 41.7 39/20 -1.38  ± 0.17 7 gi296653 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽÂ ± 6.23 41.5 18/10 -1.42  ± 0.11 8 gi296653 Haptoglobin hp2ÃŽÂ ± 6.25 41.5 39/15 -1.56  ± 0.24 9 gi4507725 Transthyretin 5.52 15.9 75/52 -1.06  ± 0.13 10 gi4507725 Transthyretin 5.52 15.9 65/60 -1.45  ± 0.23 11 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C3 5.23 10.8 112/70 -1.85  ± 0.21 12 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C3 5.23 10.8 115/68 -3.28  ± 0.16 13 gi4557323 Apolipoprotein C2 5.42 11.2 104/78 -1.25  ± 0.08 14 gi40316910 Serum amyloid A1 6.28 13.5 134/90 -2.34  ± 0.09 15 gi19626079 Albumin fragment 6.20 22.4 56/40 -2.06  ± 0.32 The fold change is equal to SPi/SPcontrol, where i is the identification number of a spot. Symbols - and + mean a decrease and increase, respectively. Sch: schizophrenia. patients with psychiatric disorders or to the presence of comorbidities. In addition, [A12]  it is possible that a decrease in serum amyloid A1 concentration is related to downregulation of antioxidant-defence enzymes in patients with schizophrenia [6] because high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) inhibit oxidative modification of LDLs via the activity of their associated enzymes and apolipoproteins [25]. If HDLs become so-called dysfunctional HDLs because of accumulation of oxidants derived from an inflammatory reaction, such HDLs inhibit the HDL-associated antioxidant enzymes and reduce the ability of apolipoproteins A1 to promote ABCA-1-mediated cholesterol efflux [25]. In the literature, there are data on a strong positive relation between cholesterol levels and pathophysiological features of mood disorders. The link between mental health (brain) and cholesterol is believed to be based on hypothetical neuron-associated mechanisms. Cholesterol is an integral component of the plasma m embrane of neurons and is present in myelin. Furthermore, cholesterol performs crucial functions in the development, stability, and workings of the synapse [26]. Overall, aberrations in cholesterol in a psychiatric illness may substantially affect the mood via synaptic stability and lowered serotonergic activity. In the case of TTR, we observed a decrease in the serum concentration of its dimer and one of monomeric forms (protein 10 in Table 1) among the patients with schizophrenia (~1.7-fold and ~1.5-fold, respectively), whereas the serum level of another TTR monomeric form was found to be unchanged relative to the control group (protein 9 in Table 1). TTR is a liver-derived secretory protein and is the major serum carrier of thyroid hormones: thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine. TTR is also involved in the transport of retinol via an interaction with retinol-binding proteins. Several studies were conducted in an attempt to identify disease biomarkers that could advance the understanding of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In some of these studies, a link between TTR and schizophrenia was found [27, 28]. In ref. [28], it was estimated that 3% of TTR in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid [A13]  and 10% of TTR in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid are derived from blood. To assess the involvement of blood TTR in the changes observed in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with schizophrenia, those authors also studied serum TTR levels in the same people (simultaneously with cerebrospinal fluid collection) by an ELISA. They observed a significant moderate decrease in TTR concentration in serum samples of patients with schizophrenia compared to co ntrols. Nevertheless, there was no association between cerebrospinal-fluid and serum TTR levels in the same individuals, indicating that the protein levels of TTR are regulated by different systems in serum and in cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusion In the present study, we identified differentially expressed proteins in the serum from patients with schizophrenia by proteomic analysis. We showed differential expression of such proteins as TTR, serum amyloid A1, and apolipoproteins of classes A4 and C3. Furthermore the increase in the expression was found only for apolipoprotein A4, whereas the expression of apolipoprotein C3, TTR, and serum amyloid A1 was decreased. Such alterations of the expression of these proteins may indicate problems with regulation, for example, in the synthesis. On the other hand, the altered protein expression may simply reflect the pathophysiological status of patients with schizophrenia, where these proteins could be candidates for biomarkers.   Nevertheless, to confirm the significance of the altered levels of these proteins in the pathogenesis [A14]  of schizophrenia, and to determine their suitability as biomarkers of schizophrenia, further research is needed. Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the contents of this article. Funding. This research was made possible in part by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (14-15-00480, with the exception of the work corresponding to MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis) and Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (the part of work corresponding to MALDI-TOF MS/MS analysis). References Kessler RC, Demler O, Frank RG, Olfson M. 2005 Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders 1990 to 2003. N. Engl. J. Med. 352, 2515-2523. J. van Os, S. Kapur Schizophrenia. Lancet (Lond. Engl.), 374 (2009), pp. 635-645 H. Moore, A.R. West, A.A. Grace. The regulation of forebrain dopamine transmission: relevance to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of schizophrenia. Biol. Psychiatry, 46 (1999), pp. 40-55. M.A. Geyer, F.X. Vollenweider. Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses. Trends Pharmacol. Sci., 29 (2008), pp. 445-453. E. Bramon, E. Dempster, S. Frangou, M. Shaikh, M. Walshe, F.M. Filbey, C. McDonald, P. Sham, D.A. Collier, R. Murray. Neuregulin-1 and the P300 waveform-a preliminary association study using a psychosis endophenotype. Schizophr. Res., 103 (2008), pp. 178-185 P.K. Ranjekar, A. Hinge, M.V. Hegde, M. Ghate, A. Kale, S. Sitasawad, U.V. Wagh, V.B. Debsikdar, S.P. Mahadik. Decreased antioxidant enzymes and membrane essential polyunsaturated fatty acids in schizophrenic and bipolar mood disorder patients. Psychiatry Res., 121 (2003), pp. 109-122. Ivanova SA, Fedorenko OYu, Smirnova LP, Semke AV. 2013 Biomarker discovery and development of pharmacogenetic approaches to personalized therapy of patients with schizophrenia. Siberian vestnik of psychiatry and narcology. 12-16. Turck CW, Maccarrone G, Sayan-Ayata E, Jacob AM. 2005 The quest for brain disorder biomarkers. J. Med. Invest. 52, 231-235. Bystritsky A. 2006 Treatment-resistant anxiety disorders. Mol. Psychiatry. 11, 805-814. Davalieva K, Kostovska IM, Dwork AJ. 2016 Proteomic research in schizophrenia. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 16, (doi: 10.3389). Guest PC, Guest FL, Martins-de Souza D. 2016 Making sence of blood-based proteomics and metabolomics in psychiatric research. Int.J. of Neuropsychopharmacology. 719-728. Alekseeva IV, Timofeeva NA, Chernonosov AA, Ivanova SA, Bokhan NA, Fedorova OS. 2013 Use of two-dimensional electrophoresis for proteomic studies of serum from patients with mental disorders. Vestnik of Novosibirsk State University. Series: Biology, Clinical Medicine. 11, 56-60. PeÃ…Â ¡iĆ¡ I, Dihazi GH, Mà ¼ller GA, Jahn O, Hoffmann M, Eltoweissy M, Koziolek M, Dihazi H. 2011 Short-term increase of glucose concentration in PDS results in extensive removal and high glycation level of vital proteins during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. 26, 2674-83. Giuliano S, Agresta AM, De Palma A, Viglio S, Mauri P, Fumagalli M, et al. 2014 Proteomic Analysis of Lymphoblastoid Cells from Nasu-Hakola Patients: A Step Forward in Our Understanding of This Neurodegenerative Disorder. PLoS ONE. 9(12): e110073. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110073). Candiano G, Bruschi M, Musante L, Santucci L, Ghiggeri GM. 2004 Blue silver: a very sensitive colloidal Coomassie G-250 staining for proteome analysis. Electrophoresis. 25, 1327-1333. Brauner JM, Groemer TW, Stroebel A, Grosse-Holz S, Oberstein T, Wiltfang J, Kornhuber J, Maler JM. 2014 Spot quantification in two dimensional gel electrophoresis image analysis: comparison of different approaches and presentation of a novel compound fitting algorithm. BMC Bioinformatics. 15, 181-193. Perkins DN, Pappin DJ, Creasy DM, Cottrell JS. 1999 Probability-based protein identification by searching sequence databases using mass spectrometry data. Electrophoresis. 20, 3551-3567. Lepedda AJ, Nieddu G, Zinellu E, De Muro P, Piredda F, Guarino A, Spirito R, Carta F, Turrini F, Formato M. 2013 Proteomic analysis of plasma-purified VLDL, LDL, and HDL fractions from atherosclerotic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy: identification of serum amyloid A as a potential marker. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2013, 1-11. Aphkhazava D, Nieves E, Callaway M, Olszewski W, Rotzschke O, Santambrogio L. 2013 Protein expression profiles of human lymph and plasma mapped by 2D-DIGE and 1D SDS-PAGE coupled with nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS bottom-up proteomics. J Proteomics. 78, 172-187. Wan CLa Y, Zhu H, Jiang L, Chen Y, Feng G, Li H, Sang H, Hao X, Zhang G, He L. 2007 Abnormal changes of plasma acute phase proteins in schizophrenia and the relation between schizophrenia and haptoglobin (Hp) gene.Amino Acids Amino Acids 1, 101-108. Eckel RH. 1989 Lipoprotein lipase: a multifunctional enzyme relevant to common metabolic diseases. N.Eng.J.Med. 320, 1060-1068. Wang HEckel RH. 2009 Lipoprotein lipase: from gene to obesity. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 297, 271-288. Zheng P, Gao HC, Li Q, Shao WH, Zhang ML, Cheng K, Yang de Y, Fan SH, Chen L, Fang L, Xie P. 2012 Plasma metabonomics as a novel diagnostic approach for major depressive disorder. J. Proteome Res. 11, 1741-8. doi: 10.1021/pr2010082. Baumann  H. 1994 The acute phase response. J. Gauldie: Immunologie Today. 2, 74-80. Vohnout, B., de Gaetano, G., Donati, M. B. and Iacoviello, L. (2011) The Relationship between Dyslipidemia and Inflammation, in Nutritional and Metabolic Bases of Cardiovascular Disease (eds M. Mancini, J. M. Ordovas, G. Riccardi, P. Rubba and P. Strazzullo), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444318456.ch26 Chattopadhyay A, Paila YD. 2007 Lipid-protein interactions, regulation and dysfunction of brain cholesterol. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 16, 627-33. Wan C, Yang Y, Li H, La Y, Zhu H, Jiang L, Chen Y, Feng G, He L. 2006 Dysregulation of retinoid transporters expression in body fluids of schizophrenia patients. J. Proteome Res. 5, 3213-3216. Huang JT, Leweke FM, Oxley D, Wang L, Harris N, Koethe D, Gerth CW, Nolden BM, Gross S, Schreiber D, Reed B, Bahn S. 2006 Disease biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with first-onset psychosis. PLoS Med. 3, (e428). [A1]Dear Author, Please dont forget to update the title in all supporting documents and correspondence. It often happens that after the language editing, coauthors make additions to the manuscript; also, some of the corrections are rejected. As a result, the manuscript that is submitted to the journal may contain 5-10 new errors. My advice is to send me the manuscript for a quick check on the day of the submission to the journal. I can use the automatic compare documents function of Word to find all new changes and to correct them quickly. I will also issue a certificate after this final check, and you can insert the sentence (optional) The English language was corrected and certified by shevchuk-editing.com. into Acknowledgments. [A2]Please do not include keywords that other researchers are unlikely to use when searching for articles. [A3]Affective disorders are depression and bipolar disorder. [A4]Please be careful with the words abnormal and abnormality when referring to a persons health status because they may be insulting to patients. [A5]Please note that this is a more polite form. [A6]Please avoid creating unusual abbreviations and single-word abbreviations because they make a text harder to read (well-known abbreviations such as DNA and official gene symbols are OK). The only valid reason for creating an abbreviation is the following: a long multiword expression (4 or more long words) that occurs more than 4 times in the text. Even in this case, it is better to avoid abbreviating. It is easy to write in abbreviations but it is difficult to decipher such a text. [A7]Please avoid creating long sentences because they are hard to read. [A8]Please note that the word study usually means the whole manuscript. [A9]The typical format is Table [A10]Please keep in mind that the word previous is redundant in this context because all published studies are previous. It is OK to say previous when you discuss your own earlier studies. [A11]Please dont use the words which or this as a substitute for the whole sentence or a statement. This usage is vague and confusing because some people will think that this or which refers to the last word, not the whole statement. Therefore, it is better to use a descriptive phrase instead. [A12]Its not a good idea to start a sentence with such words as and, but, also, or, so in a formal text. [A13]Please dont create abbreviations at the end of the article, after the full form was already used many times. [A14]= mechanism

Thos Pynchons The Crying of Lot 49 - Embattled Underground Essay

The Crying of Lot 49: Embattled Underground In May of 1966, Richard Poirier wrote an article on Thomas Pynchon's latest novel at the time, The Crying of Lot 49. Clearly a fan of Pynchon's earlier novel V, Poirier praises what he calls another sample of Pynchon's "technical virtuosity" at "apocalyptic sat[ire]," of "saturnalian inventiveness" comparable to John Barth and Joseph Heller (Poirier 1). He admires Pynchon's adept confidence with philosophical and psychological concepts &endash; "his anthropological intimacy with the off-beat" (1). Before addressing what he believes to be flaws in the author's narration (the heaviest focus of the scope of his opinions), Poirier starts with a broad survey of Pynchon's intentions with form. Poirier suggests that the various interwoven quests of the protagonist Oedipa Maas is willfully elaborate to reflect the intricacies of the mind, a wasteland of suspicion and imagination. The imagination of the novels characters "first create and is then enslaved by its own plottings, its machines" (1). Late in the novel, as connections to the Tristero cult stack up, Oedipa wanders into the dense environs of nighttime San Francisco, dizzy with her imagination (or was it?) of the underground symbol: "This night's profusion of post horns, malignant, deliberate replication . . . one by one, pinch by precision pinch, they were immobilizing her" (Pynchon 124). Like the characters in V, Oedipa Maas runs from the responsibilities of love and finds herself in a maze. Pynchon mocks these situations "de void of love" with "Byzantine complications of plot" (Poirier 1). Concerning Pynchon's characters, Poirier also notes their desperate efforts of co... ...ility to describe objects within the American scenery with a tenderness for the "very physical waste of our yearnings, . . . the anonymous scrap heap of Things wherein our lives are finally joined" (5). Pynchon has extraordinary metaphoric skill illustrating his reverence for the human endeavor to code, decode and leave messages, to communicate; his own cry at the pathetic and the haunting failure to communicate. Finally, Poirier states that the largest character throughout the Crying of Lot 49 is Pynchon himself, whose voice moves passionately "with its capacity to move from the elegy to the epic catalogue . . . like a survivor looking through the massed wreckage of this civilization" (5). Works Cited Poirier, Richard. "Embattled Underground." New York Times on the Web 1 May 1966. 22 September 2000. Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. New York: Har

Macbeth-Response to Aristotles Tragic Hero Essays -- essays research p

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shakespeare uses Aristotle’s ancient description of a tragic hero - a character between good and bad - to portray the protagonist in the tragedy Macbeth. Aristotle’s theory that tragedy must evoke pity or fear from the audience can be done effectively through an everyman character. In order to appeal to the audience and bring forth some empathy, Macbeth must show his righteous morals through his own soliloquies or through other characters’ lines. Macbeth’s changing attitude is influenced not only by Lady Macbeth’s convincing words, but also too by his mind, which is only human and therefore subject to temptation. Macbeth does however reach a turning point where he becomes so radical and paranoid that he can no longer find his moral conscience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth’s righteous mind is most clearly visible in his first soliloquy in which he debates whether or not to kill the old king Duncan. Macbeth distinctly reveals his tragic flaw as â€Å"Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself/And falls on the other.†(I, vii, 27-28). Macbeth’s decisions are continuously influenced by Lady Macbeth and her overdriving ambition to become Queen of Scotland. Macbeth knows that in the past he has had spurts of motivation that were fueled by his wife’s encouragement, but when left alone he could piece together his thoughts and discover what was right. Macbeth evokes empathy from the audience during his moral debate becaus...

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Copyright is identified as a branch of law that gives rights to authors to exclusively reproduce, perform, distribute, and display their works. The main goal of the said law is to promote the investment of creating new work of arts and literature. The copyright law is an integral part of a legal field which is known as intellectual property. Basically, the copyright law is a legal foundation that was created in order to protect the work of major industries such as book publishing, production of motion-pictures, music labels, and the development of computer software.Since the said industries are in account for the upscale development in the economic activity of United States, the creation of the copyright law became as important as the emergence of these industries (Schechter). Most of the time when people hear the term copyright, the idea of protection is limited to certain works such as those of literature. However, due to the advancement in the technology of today majority of the i ndustries are now at high risk of infringement.Infringement is identified as the reproduction, performance, distribution and display of any copyrighted material without the permission of the owner of the copyright and without the presence of any required license (Schechter). By the time that personal computers have been widely utilized, the issue of infringement catapulted as well. End users are now capable of reproducing copyrighted materials digitally and the distribution has been made easier in every part of the globe through the use of internet.In order to combat such unlawful activities, the initial actions of copyright owners were to apply protective measures in their works like the use of encryption and passwords. Yet, many of the end users are able to penetrate these measures; in the end, the copyrighted material is still reproduced, distributed, displayed and performed (Schecter). In response to the augmenting issue of infringement, a diplomatic conference was held in Genev a, Switzerland in December of 1996.The said conference was spearheaded by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and was centered on the issue of â€Å"certain copyright and neighboring right questions† (Castro). As such, the meeting was held in order to address the challenges being faced by different industries regarding the protection of intellectual property that is at risk in the technological advancement of the digital age.The session was a month-long negotiation which concluded in the adoption of two treaties: (1) the copyright treaty which is centered towards the certain question which concerns the protection of artistic and literary works; and (2) The performances and the phonographs treaty which is focused in the protection of the performer’s rights and the rights of the phonograph producers. The treaties include obligations about technological measures, management information rights as well as the provisions in the enforcement of rights (Castro). On October 12, 1998, less than two years after the diplomatic conference, the US congress put forward the Digital Copyright Act (DMCA). By October 28, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the DMCA. The said legislation was intended to execute the functions of the two treaties signed during the Geneva conference. In addition, related provisions were also added in order to address the copyright issues that impact the entertainment industry.The final form of the DMCA covered five titles: (1) â€Å"WIPO copyright and performances and phonograph treaties implementation act of 1998;† (2) â€Å"Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act;† (3) â€Å"Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act;† (4) The fourth title is comprised of six miscellaneous amendments that adhere to the Copyright act of 1976 which also include provisions regarding the facilitation of broadcasting over the internet; and (5) the implementation of the â€Å"Vessel Hull Design Pro tection Act† (Castro).Title I: WIPO Treaty Implementation The main purpose of Title I redresses the US copyright law in complying with the treaties adopted by the WIPO in 1996 which are the â€Å"copyright treaty and the performances and phonographs treaty. † Two new prohibitions were also created under the Title 17 of the US code. First is in relation to the circumvention of the technological measures applied by owners of the copyright in order to protect their works, and second is the copyright management information tampering.Civil remedies and criminal penalties were also added in account of violating the said prohibitions. Furthermore, title I also requires the copyright office of the USA to work with the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administrations (NTIA) in a two joint studies (U. S. Copyright Office 2). The following are the highlights of the most important prohibitions, limitations, defenses, exemptions and rights stated in Title I of DMCA: A. Technologies to circumvent access controlsBasically the prohibition in circumvention states that no individual shall bypass any technological measure that has the capability to control the access in a copyrighted material and the prevention of copyright management information from tampering (Castro). B. Use and distribution of technologies that bypass access controls Manufacturing, trafficking or importing technological devices as well as services in order to gain control over a copyrighted material is strictly prohibited (Castro).C. Utilization and distribution of technologies that bypass the protection of any copyrighted material. This is an additional prohibition in the use and distributions of technological products, services and devices that tend to bypass the measures used for the protection of the rights of the owners of the copyrighted material. This prohibition is focused on the copyrighted materials rather than the access controls that protect them (Castro). D. Rights, limitations, defensesThe rights, limitations, remedies and defenses for copyright infringement is not covered under these provisions. Both copyright violations and circumvention violations are different from each other thus the defenses for copyright violations are not the same as the provisions in section 1201 which is intended for the circumvention violation (Castro). E. Exemptions The Congress fully recognize that there are legitimate reasons why technological are circumvented in order to gain access over a copyrighted material. As such, the congress provided exemptions in provision 1201.The exemptions include: Non-profit libraries, archives and educational institutions, reverse engineering, encryption research, use for the protection of minors, personal privacy and security testing. Each of the said exemptions has its own set of conditions upon its application (Castro). Title II: Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Title II of the DMCA a dded a new section 512 in the â€Å"Fairness in Musical Licensing Act† stating that four new liability limitations are applied for the Online Service Providers (OPS) in terms of copyright infringement.The said limitations are derived from the four categories: Transitory communications, system caching, information storage in systems or networks directed for users, and information location tools. Section 512 also includes special rules that apply to non-profit educational institutions in account to the said limitations (U. S. Copyright Office 8). Generally, Title II puts a limitation in the financial liability of the providers in account to copyright infringement.The limitation is applicable in events such as when another party placed infringing materials on the website owned by the online service provider or if the OSP provided links or made connections to a particular website that contains infringing works. The new provisions provide a legal protection for the providers as lo ng as they follow the guidelines set by the law. The guidelines identified exemptions or â€Å"safe harbors† in accordance to the activities carried out by the provider.Exemptions given out by the DMCA would only be functional if the defense presented by the OSP is under a copyright law or any law that is said to be applicable (Castro). Moreover, Title II created a procedure wherein an owner of a copyright could secure a subpoena from the federal court which orders an OSP to reveal the identity of a particular subscriber who is engaging with infringing activities (U. S. Copyright Office 9). Title III: Computer Maintenance or RepairTitle III is an extension of the exemptions written in Copyright Act section 117 which is related with computer programs allowing the owner of a program copy to reproduce or adapt the programs while working on the computer. Owners or lessees of the computer are authorized by the amendment to reproduce the copy of a certain program during the time of the computer repair or maintenance. However, the reproduced copy should not be used in any manner and should be destroyed right after the computer maintenance or repair is done (US copyright office 13-14). Title IV: Miscellaneous ProvisionsDMCA Title IV applied the following provisions: (1) Refine and added the duties and authority of the copyright office; (2) Added ephemeral recordings for broadcasters. Ephemeral recordings are the copies of a particular recording in order to manage the process of transmission. For instance a radio station could record songs and instead of broadcasting songs from the original CD, they would use the recorded songs during the broadcast. (3) A provision that gives consideration on the promotion of distance education; (4) Provision that gives exemption for non-profit libraries and archives.As such, the provision assists libraries in working on a new format of a copyrighted material once the original format of the material is already out-dated; and (5) A provision that considers webcasting of sound recordings as well as the transfer of motion pictures (US copyright office 14-17). Title V: Protection of Certain Original Designs The Title V of DMCA encompasses the â€Å"Vessel Hull design protection act (VHDPA)† by adding a new chapter 13 in the US Code Title 17.The amendment created a system that protects the original design of a boat hull’s â€Å"useful articles† which makes the object appear distinct and attractive. According to the VHDPA, the â€Å"useful articles† of the boat are only limited to the hulls of the boat and should not be longer than 200 feet. The said design would only be protected by the VHDPA if the â€Å"useful article† which embodies the design is made public or the design registration is published. If the application for the registration is not done within two years after the design was created, the VHDPA protection is lost.A design could not be registered if has been alrea dy known by the public for more than a year prior to the date of the application for registration. By the time that the design is registered, the protection is continued for ten years (US Copyright Office 17). The enactment of Digital Millennium Copyright Act received criticisms from various sectors. However, it is important to note that not all countries have the capability to enforce laws which governs the protection of copyrighted materials.Putting such law in effect is a step towards combating infringement of copyrighted materials and without the presence of strict laws that protect the rights of copyright owners, copyright piracy and copyright violations would continuously augment. Although limited countries have laws that actually heighten the security of copyrighted materials, in one way or another these countries would be able to persuade other nations to partake in the fight against infringement that would eventually end copyright violations.

St. Matthew and St. Luke

The books of the New Testament tell the story of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity from a number of different points of view.   Each book basically tells the same story.   The reader is taken through Christ’s birth, teachings and death, but each is told in a different manner.   Each book not only emphasizes different parts of the story, and to a different degrees, but they also place different levels of value on the people Jesus interacted with and what each individual took from his teachings. The books of St. Matthew and St. Luke, for instance, vary from one another greatly.   Matthew, overall, appears to take a stronger, harsher tone from the very beginning of the story.   More emphasis is placed on Jesus’ lectures, and on punishment and the importance of prophecy.   Luke, on the other hand, places more importance on the relationships between Christ and those around him as well as a changing social structure and ethics. This difference is obvious immediately when reading the two books side-by-side.   The book of Matthew begins the New Testament by discussing the lineage of Jesus through his earthly father Joseph.   Not only does this establish Christ as being from a pre-chosen line, but allows for the suggestion of prophecy coming true, mainly that the Savior will come from the line of David.   It shows the value in tradition; when the very bloodlines you come from make a difference. At the conception of Jesus, Matthew mentions at length the concerns of Joseph as to Jesus’ parentage, further increasing the importance of the bloodline and tradition.   Also, there is much justifying of Jesus’ divinity by the use of prophecy.   For example, Matthew 1:22 states â€Å"Now this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚   This line and others like it are used many times throughout Matthew to justify various events and actions, showing the importance of not just lineage, but also past religious leaders and beliefs. The book of St. Luke, however, has Mary and her cousin spending three months together, both delighted over their upcoming motherhood.   There is more emotion and bonding shown between family members, rather than suspicion and mistrust.   The book even begins with the story of John the Baptist’s birth and the relationship between their mothers, rather than with mention of Jesus himself.   His paternal parentage is not taken note of until Luke 3:23-38. It is interesting to note when comparing the first two pages of each book, that while Matthew is concerned first and foremost with the paternal lineage, only Mary’s family is noted in the early pages of Luke. It is also important to observe that in Matthew, John the Baptist is rarely mentioned at all, other than his baptizing of Jesus and his death.   Luke, however, places him as a character of much greater importance.   This again shows the greater significance placed on the surrounding relationships and family.   John is the cousin of Jesus and also a miracle of God.   He is conceived (also with divine intervention) by a very old, religious couple in order to be a prophet and pave the way for the birth of His Son. In Matthew, however, there is little implication that the two even know each other well, if at all, before the baptism.   Jesus is the only miracle birth and the central figure of the story.   John is not even mentioned as a person of very great importance except for his interactions with Jesus.   Even after his death, his main talking point seems to be that Jesus is mistaken several times for John the Baptist having returned from the dead. In the description of the Christ’s birth, the differences continue.   While very little is said in Matthew about Jesus’ birth in the barn or the shepherds, the three wise men and their riches, along with the jealousy of Herod, are told in detail.   Once again, the importance of prophecy is brought into play.   â€Å"And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet.†Ã‚   Herod’s slaughter of the children of Bethlehem and the flight of the newborn child and his family make for a colorful and somewhat scary tale. In Luke, rather than wise-men bearing riches and the flight of the new family, there is a much calmer story.   In this version, the tidings are brought by humble shepherds, not rich wise men.   The travels of the new family are done by tradition, not by fear of a murdering tyrant. The difference is emphasized, specifically stating â€Å"And when they had preformed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.†Ã‚   This is a much different story from Matthew, which reads â€Å"†¦he (Joseph) was afraid to go thither notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:   And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth (Matthew 2:22-23).† Very little is mentioned of the Christ’s childhood in either story.   Matthew mentions only the baptism by John in which Jesus’ age is not given.   Otherwise, childhood is skipped over completely.   Luke, however, gives brief mention of Jesus at age 12, touching on his seemingly inborn understanding of scripture and man’s relationship to God.   â€Å"And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers (Luke 3:47).† Again, while Matthew appears to have a harsher tone, going straight into the stories of temptation and evil, Luke allows a momentary bit of bliss in the story of a child, separated from his parents and found again in a house of the Lord. One of the most important scenes in Jesus’ life is the story of his temptation by the devil.   This is possibly one of the most important scenes showing the differences between Matthew and Luke.   The first verses can be compared to summarize this easily.   Looking at these two lines: â€Å"Then was Jesus led up of the Sprit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Mark 4:1).† â€Å"And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 4:1).† In the first telling of this story, Matthew suggests Jesus being hauled out into the woods in order to confront and be tested by Satan.   In the later version, there is a much gentler tone, with the Holy Ghost leading Jesus into the woods after his baptism.   The rest of the tale is much the same, yet just as headlines often set the reader’s mind a certain way for a news article, so this first line can set the reader’s mind to see the same story in a very different light. Many of the same stories do appear in both books, sometimes almost word-for-word.   For instance, many of Jesus’ parables are similar or identical, such as the tale of the husbandmen in the vineyard.   Both tales tell of a man who buys a vineyard, sets it up and then places it in the hands of others to work. In return for work and a place to live, they will provide him with the fruit at harvest.   In both version of the story, these men betray the landowner, injure his servants and kill his son.   They themselves are destroyed in turn, and the land is put in the care of more trustworthy men. Even in these very similar tellings however, there are differences.   In Matthew, the servants, as well as the son are killed, while in Luke they are only injured.   However, the main point of the story remains true in both cases.   The evil men in the story are the men who seek to destroy Jesus’ reputation for their own gain, and in each case, Jesus warns them that they will be destroyed by it. Why are these books so different while telling the same story?   The answer to this is there for the reading in each book.   Different books were written by different men.   One might imagine that Matthew was a traditionalist, studying the Jewish tradition for years and therefore seeing the story of Jesus through his chosen tint. Luke, on the other hand, could easily be imagined as a younger man, less studied in tradition and more moved by the plight of those around him.   It is interesting to note that in many of the stories where there are similarities, the major differences lay in the fact that Luke gives his characters names, while Matthew refers to them only by occupation (â€Å"the fisherman†) or gender (â€Å"a man†). Anyone studying these writings could easily be given a very different vision of what Christ was like, and therefore how Christianity should be followed.   A reader of Matthew might believe that the way to heaven is through absolute adherence to traditional laws and beliefs.   It is likely that it is from Matthew that Christians have developed the belief in absolution as long as they worship God.   It is in this book, after all, that one reads â€Å"All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (12:31).† Those who prefer Luke’s version might take a less strict outlook and believe that being kind to one’s neighbors and turning the other cheek were the most importance lessons that Jesus had to teach.   Even those who make mistakes can be forgiven, as in the parable of the Prodigal son.   In this story, a son requests and is given his inheritance early by his father.   He then squanders it all, and when a famine comes is broke and starving.   In response â€Å"†¦his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him (15:20).† It is important not to overlook, however, that the book of Saint Luke is not without its more vicious moments as well.   â€Å"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?   I tell you, nay; but rather division (Luke 12:51).†Ã‚   Yet, even in these moments, Matthew 10:34 makes Luke look peaceful.   â€Å"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth.   I have come to bring not peace, but the sword.† It is due to these different takes on a very complex individual that Christianity has so many branches.   Some may be more forgiving, allowing for the imperfections in human nature and placing more importance on trying to do good for your neighbors.   Others may be more inclined to stress tradition and the letter of the law, so to speak, rather than the spirit.   While these differences may seem small to the outside observer, it is these differences which can often cause conflict.   Even the difference of one sentence can cause for great rifts in any religion.   There is, after all, a major difference between being divided from ones family, and putting them to the sword.