Recombinant dna technology Essay

Recombinant DNA technology refers to the ability to isolate specific DNA sequences and alter or manipulate them to produce desired effects. More often, recombinant DNA technology is referred to as biotechnology. Recombinant DNA technology is fascinating in that it has developed into a multi-billion dollar industry, and completely revolutionized agriculture and pharmaceutical industries, all within the past 50 years. According to one account, biotechnology was born during a meeting in Hawaii in 1972 between Stanford medical professor Stanley Cohen, and biochemist Herbert Boyer from the University of California (Russo, 2003). The men were attending a conference on plasmids, and discussed the ability to introduce plasmid DNA into the bacterium E Coli that would allow researchers to actually clone the plasmids in the bacteria. Boyer and Cohen eventually chose different paths, both affected by the growing concerns about the safety of recombinant DNA technology, but this meeting is marked as the beginning of the biotechnology revolution. Cohen stayed in academia and defended recombinant DNA technology in US congressional hearings. During the same time, in 1976 Herbert Boyer partnered with venture capitalist and MIT graduate Robert Swanson to set up and develop the worlds first biotechnology company, Genentech (Russo, 2003). Since its introduction in the 1970’s the biotechnology industry has exploded, revolutionizing science and agricultural as well as pharmaceutical production. In 2011, Ernst &Young stated in the US alone there were 1,870 public and private biotechnology companies, their revenues worth over 60 billion US dollars (www.ey.com, 2012). To better understand how biotechnology has impacted the world we live in, it is good to have a broad understanding of the underlying principles of recombinant DNA technology. Firstly, two types of DNA are isolated. The first is bacterial plasmids that will act as the â€Å"gene carriers† and the second is DNA from another organism with a gene of interest (Campbell essential biology, 1967). The plasmid is cut in one place, and the DNA is cut in the area of interest for a specific gene. Restriction enzymes cut double-stranded DNA molecules at highly specific locations, called restriction sites, into fragments that can be manipulated (Harrison, Sampson, 1992). The specificity of the different enzymes depends on the base sequence of the DNA. Some enzymes cut both strands at the same point to produce â€Å"blunt ends†, others cut strands at different points producing staggered ends â€Å"sticky ends† (Harrison, Sampson, 1992). The DNA fragments are then mixed with the cut plasmids, joining together at their base pairs, or â€Å"sticky ends† (G with C and T with A in a sequence). The union is made permanent by a â€Å"pasting enzyme† called DNA ligase, thus creating recombinant DNA. (Campbell essential biology, 1967). The bacterium containing the recombinant plasmid is then mass-produced creating clones of the recombinant DNA to be grown in large quantities. The success of biotechnology companies reflects the high demand and numerous applications of recombinant DNA technology. Animal farming and breeding has been altered, giving animals more meat, as well as giving cows growth hormones to produce more milk (Donnelley & McCarthy, 1994). Biotechnology is responsible for the synthesis of useful proteins to create vaccines and drugs that fight acute or chronic diseases and illnesses. Due to recombinant DNA technology, insulin is readily available to diabetics. Alternatively, genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) have been responsible for advancements in agri-business. In agriculture, biotechnology has allowed for genetically modified crops to produce more yield, and thus more revenue for farmers, by creating pest-resistant, weather- resistant crops (Federici, 2010). Genetically modified food products can be given a longer shelf life through altering the genetics of an organism. To farmers, and a world with a growing population, genetically modified crops are looking more and more attractive. Weather resistant GMO’s that can grow in otherwise detrimental climates have even been suggested as a solution to world hunger. There is concern about the safety and ethics of genetically modified and engineered organisms. In many European countries, GM foods are clearly labeled, in the US and Canada, there is no mandatory labeling laws for genetically engineered foods or products (Federici, 2010). Scientific data has indicated in some circumstances that animals fed by GM crops have been harmed or died. In some instances animals exposed to GM crops developed abnormally and displayed detrimental reproductive issues (Maghari & Ardekani, 2011). Increasing prevalence of food allergies has also lead to blaming untested genetically modified crops as the source of the allergies (Maghari & Ardekani, 2011). Environmentalists are also enraged at the introduction of genetic ally modified organisms. GM seeds, once planted, and harvested, yield seeds of their own and often mix with wild, organic seeds, thus producing offspring that are hybrids of the genetically modified organism. Loss of biodiversity due to the GM resistant strains overtaking natural plant breeds in nature is a serious concern for environmentalists and biologists (Burke, 2012). They claim that the effects of GMO’s have not been researched or experimented long enough to determine if there are any long-term side effects to humans (Maghari & Ardekani, 2011). Although the biological advancements in medicine and science have greatly improved the quality of life of humans, the effects of genetically modified foods and GM animals is concerning. By providing vaccines otherwise unavailable to humans through biotechnology, many people experience longer then expected life spans. Usefulness of recombinant DNA technology in the worlds healthcare system can not be denied. However, the dependence on GM food in sustaining the world’s population should be examined more in depth. Has enough research been conducted on the effects of GMO’s on humans, animals, biodiversity, and the environment? I would disagree that sufficient data exists to be exploiting the science of biotechnology as vastly as humans have. Bibliography Burke, D. C. (2012). There’s a long, long trail a-winding: The complexities of GM foods regulation, a cautionary tale from the UK. GM Crops & Food, 3(1), 30-39. doi:10.4161/gmcr.18041 Donnelley, S., & McCarthy, C. R. (1994). The brave new world of animal biotechnology. Hastings Center Report, 24(1), S1. Ernst &Young. (2012). Global Biotechnology Report. Ernst & Young website. Federici, V. (2010). GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD AND INFORMED CONSUMER CHOICE: COMPARING U.S. AND E.U. LABELING LAWS. Brooklyn Journal Of International Law, 35(2), 515-561. Harrison, J., & Sampson, J. (1992). Enhancing understanding of recombinant DNA technology. Journal Of Biological Education (Society Of Biology), 26(4), 300. Maghari, B., & Ardekani, A. M. (2011). Genetically Modified Foods and Social Concerns. Avicenna Journal Of Medical Biotechnology, 3(3), 109-117. Russo, E. (2003). Special Report: The birth of biotechnology. Nature, 421(6921), 456. Simon, J., Dickey, J., Reece, J. (1967). Campbell essential biology with physiology. (4th ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. Quaye, W. W., Yawson, R. M., Ayeh, E. S., & Yawson, I. I. (2012). CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY: THE ROLE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY. African Journal Of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition & Development, 12(5), 6354-6364

Disparity and Discrimination Essay

Discrimination and disparity both play a role in the American criminal justice system. Many people confuse the two words whereas they have different meanings. We will therefore study the definitions of discrimination and disparity in the justice system and explain the difference between the two terms. We will conclude by giving one example from some other area of life. According to the dictionary, disparity is defined as â€Å"the condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree  ». In the criminal justice system, disparity consists of legal and extralegal factors. On the one hand, the legal factor provides legitimate base explanations for the decisions on the individual’s criminal behavior and criminal record. It includes seriousness of the offense and prior criminal record. On the other hand, the extralegal factor includes lifestyle, gender, race, class, which are not legitimate reasons to base decisions on. The Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, August 20 2010 reported that, in the United States, African Americans are incarcerated at more than six times the rate of Whites and Hispanics more than double the rate of Whites: this is an example of disparity. Disparity can be explained by economic inequality or residential segregation. In all cases, disparity refers to a difference but one does not always involve discrimination. Discrimination, on the contrary, is a â€Å"difference based on differential treatment of groups without reference to an individual’s behavior or qualifications† according to the Commission. Discrimination consists of four types such as institutionalized, systematic, contextual and individual act of discrimination. Institutionalized discrimination involves â€Å"racial disparities in outcomes that result from established policies†, systematic discrimination refers to the â€Å"type of discrimination that occurs at all levels of a social system including the criminal justice system†, contextual discrimination involves â€Å"discrimination in certain situations or contexts† and finally individual discrimination results from â€Å"discriminate treatment of disadvantaged or minority group members by an individual most frequently acting alone† according to Investigating Difference. In comparison, disparity and discrimination are similar because they both influence the decision-making of a sentence or the assumption that someone is guilty. However, they are different: disparity can lead to discrimination and discrimination can lead to disparity. We encounter discrimination and disparity outside of the criminal justice system, in the workplace for instance. Indeed, a white people is less likely to face unemployment than other minorities. The reason may be, partially, employment discrimination, that is to say that some people would prefer hire a less qualified White man than a more qualified Black or Hispanic man.

Health, Safety or Security Concerns Arising from a Specific Incident or Emergency Essay

The main concern that may arise when dealing with abuse is communication. This becomes a major concern as if a student’s has a hearing or speech impairment, it can mean that they may not be able to communicate how they feel about the subject, or express it correctly. In my poster I minimised this barrier by suggesting suitable responses to the situation. Ensure that staff talk to the student in a place where they feel comfortable. Staff should use good listening skills and write down appropriate notes to hand on to relevant people. After ensure that staff members go to their child protection officers to deal with the situation properly. This is important so that they can take appropriate steps to ensure the child is safe and the situation is dealt with correctly. The second concern that may arise when dealing with abuse is that the student may not tell staff members how they feel as they might feel scared if something happens if they tell- losing the dependency on an abusing carer especially if this is a key person the student communicate with. This could become a risk when working with any of my students that have a disability. I minimised this by on my poster giving staff advice on how to approach this. When talking to students its important that you make them feel comfortable and build a trusting relationship, there’s a better chance of them opening up their true feelings. However this may not be the case as the student may have learnt from their care or wider experience to just be compliant and live with it. The final concern that may arise when dealing with suspected abuse is the way the staff deals with it. They may have a lack of awareness of working with disabled students. A child with Down’s syndrome may act out in a specific way and staff may assume that this is because of their disability. Assumptions are sometimes be made about disabled children e. g. their mood, injury or behaviour. This can result in indicators of possible abuse being mistakenly attributed to the child’s impairment. However; their behaviour may be the only way for them to express how they actually feel. In my poster I minimized this by highlighting types of abuse and indicators that staff an look out for if they suspect abuse. For example an indicator for physical abuse is unbelievable excuses i. e. I walked into a lamp post. However, not all the signs mentioned mean that the student is being abused, but it’s about using your sense to know if it feels right or not. Intruders in the college The main concern that may arise when dealing with intruders in the college is getting hold of personal information. This is a major concern for any school or college and is important that they are stopped. If intruders do enter the premises they could get hold of personal information about students and staff. In my poster I have highlighted this and given advice on how to stop this from occurring if someone unauthorized enters the building. Computes should be password locked when they are not being used and any confidential paper work should be put into cabinets which are locked. Staff should ensure that all members staff are aware of this rule and if any computers are not locked to do so. By having this simple security measure in place, if an intruder does enter it will make it more difficult for him/her to access this information. However if these steps are ot taken it can means that confidential information could be used in a negative way towards students such as blackmail. The second concern that may arise when dealing with intruders in the college is how staff and students will respond if they think or see someone suspicious is in the building. When working with disabled students, some of them may not know if someone suspicious or how to react do them. The poster can help staff to tell students how to respond to people coming in to their college that they do not know. By giving simple steps, with heading makes it easier to read. Also I have given- ‘do not’ of how not to respond in a situation such as don’t not confront the intruder, as it can cause further danger to the student or staff members. The final concern that may arise when dealing with intruders in the college is if you get an intruders that is armed with a weapon- this could either be a gun or a knife. There are many situations that you could be in, that you could unsure how to respond. In my poster I state 3 different situations that you could be when a hostile intruder enters. By giving them each scenario and steps to take breaks it down and makes it easier to understand. When mentioning these steps I give prioties to make the students safe. This is important when working with students with disability ad they might know how to react to this situation, so ensuring that staff know the correct procedures can help keep the students stay calm. D2: justify responses to a particular incident or emergency in a health and social care setting In the second part of this report I am going to justify my responses to the incident I have discussed in P4 and M3. Intruders The safety of children and young people is important when working in any health and social care setting. I am working with students from the entry & foundation with special education needs. My first priority would be to make sure they are safe. the reason why this was my first priority is because that students are most important . – according to the information in the health and social care textbook , level 3. (Authors: Beryl Stretch & Mary Whitehouse) – if an intruder does gain entry, your priority is to keep yourself and the people you care for safe. Property can be replaced- people cannot. It was particularly important to priotise this response for my students with special needs as they might not know how to respond if an intruders does enter their space or maybe cannot escape by themselves- if they had a physicals or visual impairment. This is why it is important for me to ensure tat all my students are safe. This action reduces future harm occurring again in Entry and foundation because the students may learnt from my response the situation. Health and safety act at work Once I have ensured that all my students are safe, I would make sure I informed security or the site manager. The laws place certain responsibilities on both employers and employees. For Example- According to health and safety act; it is up to the employer to provide a safe place in which to work, but the employee also has to show reasonable care for his or her own safety. As the employee the next step I would take would be to ensure that the students are safe, and I would make my site manager or security aware of the incident or intruder into the college. This would mean that they could implement actions to help reduce further risk for any further things happening within the environment.

Anthropolgy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anthropolgy - Essay Example The social Darwinists have the notion that the strong are supposed to see their wealth and power increasing while on the other hand, the weak are supposed to experience the decline of their wealth and power. Consequently, different social Darwinists support varying views about the groups of people that are supposed to be considered strong and those to be considered as weak. They also have varying opinions as far as the precise instruments that are supposed to be used in promoting strength and availing punitive measures are concerned. Majority of these types of views put emphasis on the competition that exists among individuals when capitalism is considered while the contrary concept that is characterized by intervention by the government in social development enhances the ideas of racism, Nazism as well as imperialism and the struggle that exists between racial and national groups. Colonialisms effects on modern culture and the resulting groups problems for these people Colonialism generally makes reference to a social system whereby political subjugation that instigated by one society leads to a cultural dominance that is characterized by social change that is enforced (Jain 48). There are cultures that do not find it hard to adopt the pragmatic trade patterns that are associated with the colonialists, but many indigenous people violently rebel and make attempts to take back their cultural sovereignty as well as economic imperialism. The indigenous people were not in a position to fight against the Europeans who had guns, were deceptive and the diseases that affected the indigenous people. A perfect example of this occurrence is the manner that the Americans killed the people that were indigenous to the land that they occupy and made them move into reserves and regardless of their attempts to control their generational land, they

External Analysis of My Company & PEST Analysis Research Paper

External Analysis of My Company & PEST Analysis - Research Paper Example Economic Factors People’s level of income to choose from cheaper substitutes, prices of raw material Social Factors Taste and demand for chocolates in a particular region Technological factors Introduction of new processes and methods of production The company’s environmental analysis can be undertaken by the help of PEST analysis. Since Hershey operates globally, it is important to emphasize that the local factors affecting the company differ in various regions. However, there are general environmental factors which include political factors. These factors can affect the operations of the company as, for instance, the government of the region where Hershey operates amends its policy relating to export and import strategy or may introduce any other changes ultimately affecting the operations of the company. On the other hand, laws, such as labor or consumer goods laws, in any region can also affect the company. To better illustrate the aforesaid with example, it has to be noted that today Hershey has developed its presence in Canada and Mexico due to NAFTA (Smith 132). Economic factors like any changes in the economy, such as prices of sugar, harvest of cocoa etc., can affect the company as well (Smith 132). The standard of living and the income of the people in the region will also affect the company’s sales; it means that people in less developed countries may consume less chocolate than they used to do before economic changes. Social factors, such as people’s taste (for instance, higher demand for dark chocolate over white chocolate), will affect company’s target in some particular market. Finally, technological factors, such as advancements in technological process and new ways of chocolate manufacturing, can also affect the company (â€Å"Annual Report† 4, 7). Industry Analysis FORCES INTENSITY Threats of new entrants Low Bargaining power of suppliers High Bargaining power of customers Low Pressure from substitute products High Rivalry High Nowadays the chocolate industry seems to be stagnant with insufficient number of powerful players entering the market because of the large capital requirements and strict regulations; however, the existing major players have captured their markets well. There is severe competition among existing giants. High dependency on the suppliers for cocoa beans, which are mostly found in Africa (70%), makes the position of a supplier within the industry stronger. On the other hand, the customers are usually dealt with via retail chains, which doesn’t give them an opportunity to take a strong enough position to control prices (â€Å"Annual Report† 5). Competitor Analysis The competition within the industry is highly intense. In order to win a market share the competitors try to independently expand their markets. In addition to the direct competition from within, the industry has to face indirect competition from outside. Snack foods, cereal, ice cream manufacturers are quite successful in grabbing the same market as well. Some of the competitors of Hershey are Mars, Nestle, General Mills, Hain Celestial Group, and Kraft etc. (Michman and Mazze 205). Market Analysis GLOBAL MARKER SHARE OF DIFFERENT COMPANIES Company Market share Cadbury and Kraft 14.8% Mars 14.6% Nestle 7.8% Hershey 4.6% Ferrero 4.5% Others 4.9% (â€Å"

LA Cuisine Marketing Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LA Cuisine Marketing Report - Coursework Example It has a wide range of meals to suite all individuals and workouts. The main offering that the restaurant make includes protein booster for body builders, slim fat meals for people who intend to lose weight, high crab meal for those taking endurance training, and low meals for the one who want to acquire a lean body and muscle. The restaurants will offer the customers with advice on the best meals that fit their workout. The restaurants will offer three meals breakfast, lunch, and dinner (Loudon, Stevens, and Bruce, 2004). a. Marketing plan overview Marketing refers to a method of determining the value for ones products or services and taking the appropriate procedure to communicate the information to customers. Before deciding on the price that one will offer in the market, a reasonable analysis should be conducted on the target group or customers. LA Cuisine has clearly identified the target group and analyzed their needs. The restaurants will, therefore, make substantial returns d ue to proper selection of a unique opportunity (Loudon, Stevens, and Bruce, 2004). The researcher who will have the responsibility of marketing the restaurants should put into consideration The Four Ps. These include product, price, place, and promotion. For the researcher to emerge with the best marketing method that LA Cuisine should adopt, they should concentrate emerging with an appropriate marketing plan. Products refer to the commodities that the entity will offer. Price is the charges that the management will be implementing for every commodity or service. Place is the location of the entity where the business will take place. Promotion refers to the various strategies that the business will offer to help people find about the product. Where the researcher concentrates on the above, LA Cuisine will be successful to dominate the market of serving their customers with the best services (Website marketing plan, 2012). Marketing objectives The objectives set out the goals that th e business wants to achieve in the course of the marketing process. LA Cuisine should aim at attaining various objectives that will lead to success and comprise of both corporate and functional objectives. Corporate objectives are the one that concern the business as a whole, while functional objectives are the objectives for various marketing activities. For a business to be successful, the objectives should conform to the SMART criteria below (McDonald, and Wilson, 2011). 1. Specific- the objectives should state exactly what should be achieved. 2. Measurable- the objectives should be flexible in a manner that the management can measure them. It should be possible for the management to determine if they achieve their objective. 3. Achievable- the various laid out objectives should be realistic. They should conform to the resources of the entity. 4. Relevant- the objectives should have material relevance to the staff who have the responsibility of achieving them. 5. Time Bound- the management should set the objectives with a time-frame in mind. This will ensure that the management sets realistic and attainable deadlines for various objectives. LA Cuisine should follow the above criteria to achieve the set objectives. With a strict adherence to the above criteria, the company will derive fruitful results in achieving the stipulated results. Marketing ethics This is a field that deals with the various moral principles that govern regulation and

Articles summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Articles summary - Assignment Example achers at Meadow Park Middle School practice involvement into a closer cooperation of such kind by means of complete embracing the Common Core Standards in mathematics and English. They have tried to pick up the standards, reduce them to the basic concepts, simplify the language and support their learners both in English and content classes. The reason for necessity of such cooperation is that the new standards of education presuppose harmonic development of an educated person, and this diversity is impossible without inter-subject relationships. In this regard, both a native speaker and a learner of English as a second language have the same objectives – reading and understanding complex texts, finding written and oral arguments, engagement in conversations. It is obvious that the students with low skills in English take much time from their tutors in content subjects, and this is the fact which also proves necessity of cooperation between the two mentioned types of teachers. Practice shows that teachers of English as a second language support the idea of their assistance to the content teachers who may need it when working with the learners of English. This is because English teachers are familiar with the learners’ language capabilities, knowledge level and cultural background, and this information plays a very important role when choosing an appropriate approach to better ways of explanation of the content subjects. The author also concerns herself with the matter of the English teachers’ status in their educational institutions. They are considered the main responsible for formulating language competence of the learners, they must work extra time to equalize the students’ language knowledge level, that is, they have many responsibilities and their scope of work is very large. The dilemma here is that they are rarely awarder for this, for example, the number of principles who are English teachers is very low, and almost all of the leading roles in the

Coping, Stressor Anticipation and Endurance Assignment

Coping, Stressor Anticipation and Endurance - Assignment Example ctions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, or despair; physical reactions like sleeping problems, change in appetite, health issues can occur. Disturbances in social aspects may be in the form of taking over other family responsibilities, interacting with family and friends, ability to return to work etc. In such situations, grief counselling and grief therapy can be very effective. It helps the person to accept the loss, to live without the loved one and to make decisions, emotional separation from the person, and makes the mourner stronger mentally, emotionally and physically. Allowing the mourners to experience the entire grief process helps in relieving them from grief and depression, and in bringing their lives back to normality (Cancer, 2003). Kissane et al.’s (2006) research identified that a family-focussed grief therapy is most effective in coping the grief from loss of loved one. This specifically brings about reduction in complications of bereavement, helps the family members function normally, and helps in cohesion and communication among family members. In conclusion, coping with loss and grief due to illness is specific to every individual and should be approached considering all the impacting factors and their

It has been suggested that the 1960s was a response to the 1950s Essay

It has been suggested that the 1960s was a response to the 1950s Wonderbread Years. cite your position on this argument. (use - Essay Example Though on the surface the United States in the 1950s was a place of growth and opportunity, just below that surface simmered a riptide of dissent. Segregation was still alive, and Jim Crow laws throughout the South kept the African-American population oppressed (Lindop and DeCapua 58). In 1954, the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of Education ruled segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and in 1957 that decision was enforced in Little Rock, Arkansas (Lindop and DeCapua 60). Due to this and other court rulings regarding segregation, the 1960s saw a strong Civil Rights Movement sweep across the United States. African-Americans sent word to the entire nation that in the eyes of the law they were now thought of as equal; thus, they would solider on until society accepted them as such. In Greensboro, North Carolina, four African-American students waged a sit-in at a previously segregated, all-white lunch counter on February 1, 1960, igniting non-violent protests at lunch counters all across the still-segregated South (Farber and Baily 16). The next year saw whites and African-Americans riding buses side-by-side protesting segregation throughout the South while 1963 brought a massive march on Washington, D.C for equal rights (Morgan 23). All of these actions culminated in the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which did away with discrimination based on race, color, creed, or sex, and the Voting Rights Act, which finally allowed African-Americans to vote without being afraid of violence or harm (Morgan 21). While the 1960s saw the main action of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1950s were its predecessor, its catalyst, and its instigator as the African-American population of the nation sought to prove what had been laid out by law. African-Americans were not alone in their quest for equal treatment. Women who had previously enjoyed independence while the men were abroad in World War II were once again relegated to home and kitchen in the 1950s (Lindop and De Capua 130). It was taught that a woman should have little ambition in life aside from finding a good husband and settling down to bear children (Lindop and DeCapua 130). This attitude ceased in the 1960s when alongside the Civil Rights Movement, the feminist movement was also alive and well (Morgan 220). Covered in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbade discrimination based on color, creed, or sex, women still fought for equal treatment and pay in the workplace (Morgan 221). Groups, such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Women’s Equity Action League, found no shortage of supporters (Morgan 221). Again, though the actions took place in the 1960s, they were a direct response to the 1950s, when the strong image of a woman supporting the home front was replaced with a woman relegated to shopping, cleaning, and cooking. Had the 1950s not worked so hard on repressing the women that only years before had attained independence supporting their families, then t he 1960s may not have produced such a startling and strong feminist movement. If the 1950s were known to advocate anything, it was conformity. Suburban tracts of homes were

Prostitution as a Social Problem Research Paper

Prostitution as a Social Problem - Research Paper Example This discussion stresses that  there are three classes of prostitutes.   Those who belong to the top layer are the discreet call-girls for the affluent.   Those in the middle class are the prostitutes who work in strip clubs and massage parlors and who offer backroom services.   Those in the lowest layer are the street walkers which include the harlots, hookers and nightwalkers.   The prostitutes in the lowest layer are the ones beset by most problems.   Because they are not under any supervision, they are prone to violence and at a high healthcare risk due to unsafe sexual contact with unscreened clients.   These are the prostitutes who are in need of much help.This paper discusses that prostitution involves a lot of personalities.   Foremost among the group are the prostitutes.   In the U.S., the average age of entry into prostitution is 14 . This group which takes on the roles of prostitutes includes children or teens, or adults who entered into systems of prosti tution as children or teens.   A vast majority also includes the Third World women and children.   They are the ones who are often targets of traffickers.   These women and children are enslaved and coerced and brought to western nations for use in brothels and massage parlors, or as mail order brides.   In some Third World countries, â€Å"sex tourism† is very rampant because it offers cheap prostitution. The second group involved in prostitution are the pimps.   About 80-90% of prostitution involves a pimp.... Foremost among the group are the prostitutes. In the U.S., the average age of entry into prostitution is 14 (SAGE, n.d.). This group which takes on the roles of prostitutes includes children or teens, or adults who entered into systems of prostitution as children or teens. A vast majority also includes the Third World women and children. They are the ones who are often targets of traffickers. These women and children are enslaved and coerced and brought to western nations for use in brothels and massage parlors, or as mail order brides. In some Third World countries, â€Å"sex tourism† is very rampant because it offers cheap prostitution. The second group involved in prostitution are the pimps. About 80-90% of prostitution involves a pimp. They are either male or female with different ethnic backgrounds and social status. Pimps â€Å"control the people in prostitution through coercion, force, drug addiction, or the exploitation of economic, physical or emotional vulnerability † (SAGE, n.d.). A major group that is involved in the system of prostitution is the â€Å"demand† side, meaning the â€Å"johns†, â€Å"tricks†, customers and child sexual abusers. These are the people who are into pornography and who go to strip clubs. The other groups who are victims of the system of prostitution are the transgender, lesbian, bisexual and gay youth. Because of the discrimination that they experience from their families and communities, they are often the targets of pimps. Since some societies still find this group unacceptable, prostitution becomes their option for economic survival. Law enforcement agencies and legislators have a role to play too in prostitution. They are the group who can control, eradicate or contribute to the problem of prostitution in the

A Tragedy that Resulted from the African Diaspora Research Paper

A Tragedy that Resulted from the African Diaspora - Research Paper Example However, the concept of African Diaspora resulted when the West Africans regained their traditional customs, and reformed their religion, language, and culture. However, they have not been able to regain that identity that they lost in the slave trade. This loss of identity has made them suffer from racial discrimination since the time they were transported into the Western hemisphere (Berkin et al. 2011). It was not planned, but was a natural course of action. The Diaspora has given rise to anti-black sentiments all around the globe. These sentiments are not only for African-Americans, but for all blacks anywhere in the world, including African, Caribbean, and otherwise dark people. There is an interesting history of a mish-mash of African identity in America. This paper tends to discuss the theory of cultural materialism in relation to loss of identity in African Diaspora, and strives to answer the complex question regarding how the African Diaspora has created an impact upon the A frican identity throughout history. The anthropological theory of cultural materialism has been presented by the iconoclastic anthropologist, Marvin Harris (1927-2001). Erickson and Murphy (2008, p.148) state in their book that, â€Å"Cultural materialism addresses a central problem for scientific anthropology: people can be both subjects and objects of scientific investigation.† This means that people have the right to think as they like, and say about them as they wish. Where the true knowledge resides, is answered by Harris in two domains. One is mental domain, and the other is behavioral domain. Mental domain is based on what people think, and the behavioral domain is based on what people actually do. The Diasporic sense of blackness relates to cultural materialism in that, the mental domain makes the Africans fight back for their lost identity, while the behavioral domain is based on how they behave in the society, and how the society understands their behavior. This beh avioral domain is what has been the reason for labor market discrimination or racial discrimination that the African-Americans have been seeing through ages (Mason, as cited in Conrad, 2005, p.141). The question that arises now is- How the African Diaspora has affected the African identity throughout history? Thesis: Africans lost their identities in the African Diaspora. Anti-thesis: Africans regained their identities in the African Diaspora. Synthesis: Although Africans have made struggles to regain their traditional customs, religion, and cultural practices in the new world, yet they have been unable to find their lost identities, due to which they have been subject to racial discrimination since the slavery trade till date. To start with, let’s define who a slave is. A slave is a person who is owned by another person for labor, and who does not have an identity of his own. Does this definition mean that Africans should always be understood as objects of ridicule, not havi ng identities of their own, and meant for slavery of white people? This question has yet not been answered even after the end of the period of slavery. Black people in America are yet supposed to suffer from discrimination and a loss of identity, in all physical, mental and social terms. Nothing has been done ever, or can be done, to make them reform their true identities with which they lived in their own homeland. Affirmative action policies and anti-racism actions cannot bring

Globalization of Impact in Society Essay Example for Free

Globalization of Impact in Society Essay The technique and fundamentals used within different parts of the world vary significantly, for modern values prevail. The vastness of globalization has impacted a majority of nations across the world. One way of looking at Globalization through the advantages and disadvantages of its nature is to overlook society’s changes from generation to generation. The complexities of convergence through trade and social processes establish a variety of commodities between cultures. In part of sharing heritages of different cultures the experience of new found goods in intellect and materialistic sources take our interest in influencing positive or negative reactions. W. J. Perry a cultural anthropologist leader wrote a Journal over culture. In the journal he talks about the diversity among cultures and the meaning behind civilizations. He states, â€Å"that various peoples, in different parts of the earth, had, independently of one another, elaborated the fundamentals of arts and crafts† (Perry 105). He describes an interesting point specifying of how the process of these experiences occur, â€Å"independently†. The exposure to foreign cultural goods frequently brings about changes in local cultures, values, and traditions. For instance, local farmers who have traditionally earned a living by working their small plots of family-owned land and selling their goods locally may find reason to be concerned by globalization because new availability of foreign foods in a market- often at cheaper prices- can displace local farmers. Such causes make local residents to hate some variations of globalization. Lieber and Weisberg in â€Å"Globalization, Culture, and Identities in Crisis† give an example of why some hate globalization. â€Å"Others, however, have treated globalization of culture as an evil because of their fears of the pervasive power and duplicity of multinational corporations or international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Globalization Crisis, Lieber, Weisberg). On the other hand, there are others whom appreciate the resources that globalization brings from foreign places because there is a sympathetic relation to the arts and crafts available and produced by someone who is thousands of miles away for their unique work in particular subjects, like sculptures, food, clothing, books, jewelry, music, and so much more. Lieber and Weisberg also provide an example of the good side of globalization. â€Å"One observer has asserted that, ‘†¦globalization promotes integration and the removal not only of cultural barriers but many of the negative dimensions of culture. Globalization is a vital step toward both a more stable world and better lives for the people within it’† (Globalization Crisis, Lieber, Weisberg). This is a good point because for some regions in part of the world there are some cultures where such kind of integration can improve or further an interest towards one’s well being; for all human beings share a common notion of intellect. A great revolution occurred through technology, The Information Revolution. Many fundamentalist challenge their skills in competing with this new stream of information such as the computer systems, Ethernet, music, movies, and advertising media. This has created a new movement for individuals not only to work within the field and have a source of income and opportunity to grow in the ambition one seeks but it opens a far more modern aspect of enabling a growing culture all over the world. Since technology and computer systems are relevant in many places around the world today this challenges a new generation with new resources to obtain and fit-in as a means of their culture something that did not exist generations before. It allows for prosperity, however, in some areas there still exists a culture that decide to not be influenced by other cultures instead they are enduring a traditional way of living a society that has carried on from generation to generation without technological growth, they are contemporary hunter-gatherer peoples who, after contact with other societies, continue their ways of life with very little external influence. The nature of the hunter-gatherer persisted in technological techniques to specialize in the domain of survival, using techniques that enable men to use resources in creative measures. As Perry states as well in his journal Tradition, talking about hunter gatherer societies; â€Å"Who still persist in outlying parts of the world† (Perry 106). The level of advancement of a civilization is often measured by its progress in agriculture, trade, performance and abilities of oneself/occupation, and ranking within community distinguish the natural rights of oneself. There is a theory called â€Å"Tabula rasa,† that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from ones experience and perception† (Locke, John). Locke’s ability to understand this quality of human intellect is very profound. Tradition is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior with cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions. Characterizing an individual towards a manner, method, or style such as in America the way of living is much different especially during the midcentury where access to safe, inexpensive electricity was available and made at times simple. Having toasters to house lights to refrigeration, the effects were significant for many Americans. However, not all people benefited from the technological advances that America was attaining. In India and Latin America people did not have the ease access to electricity or technological equipment for the resources a typical American home would have such as the toaster or refrigerator (Jetsetcitizen). The differences between the resources available for a particular society measure considerably in the lack of or more of such customs. Michael Kaye in his journal Tradition condenses the means of this difference very well.

Polymer formulation

Polymer formulation CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Pigments are additives in a polymer formulation which provide countless possibilities to designers who want to differentiate their product. Legislation and uprising environmental awareness has led to the gradual phasing out of heavy metal inorganic pigments and increased usage of organic pigments. Despite their good heat stability, light fastness, tinctorial strength and low cost, certain organic pigments are widely known to cause significant warpage in polyethylene mouldings (even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt).[1,2] This phenomenon is especially common in large thin-walled mouldings such as lids, bottle crates and trays.[3] It is generally accepted that the warpage phenomenon is caused by the nucleating effect these organic pigments have on polyethylene. They act as nucleating agents, increasing crystallisation rate and altering the morphology of mouldings. Morphological changes cause higher internal stress which leads to distortion.[2] Adding on to the problem, different organic pigments nucleate polyethylene to different degrees, making it impossible to produce mouldings with identical dimensions using identical processing conditions when a variety of pigments are used.[4] Numerous attempts have already been made, with usually moderate success, to solve organic pigment induced warpage. They range from adjusting process parameters, mould design changes, pre-treatment of pigments, to incorporation of additional additives. A review of literature in this research area showed that although some studies have been conducted to investigate the incorporation of nucleating agents to override nucleating effects of organic pigments on polypropylene, limited information of this sort exists for polyethylene. The specific mechanism behind nucleating agents overriding nucleation by organic pigments is also still unclear. Therefore, it is the aim of this research to study the influence of nucleating agents, based on potassium stearate and carboxylic acid salts, on the crystallisation and warpage behaviour of high density polyethylene containing copper phthalocyanine green pigment. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Optical Microscopy (OM) will be employed to follow the crystallisation behaviour of the formulations and correlations between rate of crystallisation and shrinkage behaviour will also be made. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Nucleation and Crystallisation of Semi-Crystalline Polymers 2.1.1. Crystallisation Mechanisms Crystallisation involves the formation of an ordered structure from a disordered phase, such as melt or dilute solution.[5] The crystallization process of polymers is thermodynamically driven. It is governed by change in Gibbs free energy, ΔG.[6] ΔG = ΔH TΔS (2-1) Where ΔH is change in enthalpy, T is absolute temperature and ΔS is change in entropy. When ΔG is negative, crystallisation is thermodynamically favourable. This occurs when loss of enthalpy upon crystallization exceeds the loss of entropy multiplied by absolute temperature. It can therefore be derived that as the absolute temperature of the system falls, the driving force of crystallisation will increase.[7] For a polymer to crystallise, it must conform to the following requirements:[8] Molecular structure must be regular enough to allow crystalline ordering Crystallisation temperature must be below melting point but not close to glass transition temperature Nucleation must occur before crystallisation Crystallisation rate should be sufficiently high A hundred percent crystallinity is not possible in polymers due to factors such as chain entanglements, viscous drag and branching. Thus they are termed ‘semi-crystalline. All semi-crystalline polymers exhibit a unique equilibrium melting temperature above which crystallites melt and below which a molten polymer starts to crystallise. The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process consisting crystal nucleation and crystal growth.[6] 2.1.2. Primary Nucleation Primary nucleation can be defined as the formation of short-range ordered polymer aggregations in melt which act as a focal centre around which crystallization can occur.[9] There are three mechanisms of primary nucleation, namely, homogeneous nucleation, heterogeneous nucleation and orientation induced nucleation.[10] 2.1.2.1. Homogeneous Nucleation Homogeneous nucleation involves the spontaneous creation of nucleus in a semi-crystalline polymer melt when it is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature.[7] This process is termed as sporadic as nuclei are formed in timely succession.[11] Creation of nuclei occurs when statistical variation within a polymer melt results in the formation of ordered assemblies of chain segments larger than a critical size[7]; usually between 2-10nm.[11] Below this critical size, the nuclei are unstable and may be destroyed.[11] Generally, super-cooling to between 50-100Â °C below equilibrium melting temperature is minimally required to achieve true homogeneous nucleation.[12] The super-cooling is attributed to the energy barrier homogeneous nuclei are required to overcome to reach stability.[7]. When molecular segments pack next to each other to form an embryo, there is a change in free energy, ΔG, caused by two opposing mechanisms. The creation of new crystal surface increases free energy (ΔS is negative) while the reduction in volume of the system decreases free energy (Δ(U+pV) ≈ ΔH is negative). The two opposing mechanisms lead to a size-dependent free energy curve which defines critical nucleus size.[13] A small embryo has high surface to volume ratio and so ΔG is positive; in other words, crystal growth is not thermodynamically favourable.[13,14] However as nuclei grow, the surface to volume ratio decreases up to a point where volume change outweighs the creation of new surface and change in free energy decrease; crystal growth becomes increasingly probable. This point is defined as critical nuclei size and above this point, the energy barrier is overcome.[13,14] Eventually when ΔG becomes negative, nuclei are thermodynamically stable, pavi ng the way for further growth into lamellae or spherulites.[14] The minimum number of unit cells required to form a stable nuclei decrease when temperature decrease, due to a reduction in energy barrier. In other words, the rate of homogeneous nucleation increases when temperature of the polymer decreases.[7] 2.1.2.2. Heterogeneous Nucleation In practice, one usually observes heterogeneous nucleation and not homogeneous nucleation.[15] Heterogeneous nucleation involves the formation of nuclei on the surface of foreign bodies present in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. The foreign bodies can take the form of adventitious impurities such as dust particles or catalyst remnants, nucleating agents added on purpose or crystals of the same material already present in the molten phase (self-seeding).[7,8] The presence of foreign bodies greatly reduces the energy barrier for the formation of stable nuclei. This reason for this is, polymer molecules which solidify against pre-existing surfaces of foreign bodies create less new liquid/solid interface than the same volume of polymer molecules forming a homogeneous nucleus.[6] In turn, critical size of nuclei is smaller in heterogeneous nucleation as compared to homogenous nucleation so that heterogeneous nucleation always occurs at lower supercooling.[16] Foreign bodies with crystallographic spacings matching the semi-crystalline polymer are especially effective heterogeneous nucleating agents. Favorable nucleation sites include crystal grain boundaries, cracks, discontinuities and cavities.[7] 2.1.2.3. Orientation-Induced Nucleation Orientation-induced nucleation is caused by some degree of molecular alignment in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. Molecular alignment reduces the entropy difference between the molten and crystalline state of the polymer. This kind of nucleation is important in various processes such as fibre melt-spinning, film-forming and injection moulding. In these processes, polymer melt is sheared before and during crystallisation.[8,17] 2.1.3. Crystal Growth 2.1.3.1. Primary Crystallisation Primary crystallisation occurs when melt of a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature. It involves molecular segments depositing onto the growing face of crystallites or nuclei. The resultant crystal growth occurs along the a and b axes, relative to the polymers unit cell. These additions of molecular segments can occur through two mechanisms: tight fold adjacent re-entry or independent deposition (illustrated in Figure 2.3).[6] Tight fold adjacent re-entry requires that chain stems be laid down continuously from a single polymer molecule in a series of hairpin bends until its length is exhausted. This single molecule is thought to be ‘reeled in from surrounding molten material.[7] This mechanism requires that molecular motions along the polymer molecules contour length to be several times faster than the rate of crystal growth. On the other hand, the independent deposition mechanism only requires localized motion of molecular segments. Molecular segments only need to re-organise sufficiently to align with molecular segments at the crystallite face.[6] tight fold adjacent re-entry independent deposition[6] 2.1.3.2. Secondary Crystallisation After a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled to room temperature, crystallisation is still thermodynamically favourable but restricted by the low mobility of molecular segments in its amorphous regions. Over an extended period of time, which can span from hours to weeks, re-arrangement of molecular segments within amorphous regions can lead to further crystal growth. This process is defined as secondary crystallisation. Secondary crystallisation can take two forms; either thickening of pre-existing crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments adjacent to crystallite surface or creation of new crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments in interstitial regions between pre-existing crystallites. [6] 2.1.4. Rate of Crystallisation The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process and therefore overall crystallisation rate is governed by both nucleation rate and crystal growth rate. Both factors are highly temperature dependent, as illustrated in Figure 2.4. When temperature is just below equilibrium melting point, there exists a meta-stable region where rate of nucleation is low as nuclei that are formed dissolve easily due to high thermal motions.[8] As super-cooling increases, thermodynamic conditions become more favourable and rate of nucleation increases and reaches a maximum near the glass transition temperature. On the other hand, kinetic conditions are less favourable as super-cooling causes viscosity to increase. This results in a shift in maximum rate of crystal growth to higher temperatures where viscosity decrease is balanced by formation of nuclei.[8,18] Overall crystallisation rate at a given temperature is usually expressed as the inverse of time needed for half of the crystals to grow in the polymer (1/ t1/2).[8] When crystallisation occurs under isothermal conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Avrami equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-K.tn) (2-2) Where Xc(t) is the fraction of material transformed at time t, n is the Avrami exponent and K is the Avrami rate constant. Equation (2-2) may also be written as:[19] ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = n ln (t) + ln K (2-3) So that n and K may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); n is the slope while ln K is the y-intercept.[19] The value of the Avrami exponent, n, is dependent on mechanism of nucleation and geometry of crystal growth. Theoretical values of n corresponding to different nucleation modes and crystal growth shape are tabulated in Table 2.1.[19] Crystal Growth Shape Nucleation Mode Avrami Exponent (n) Rod Heterogeneous 1 Homogeneous 2 Disc Heterogeneous 2 Homogeneous 3 Sphere Heterogeneous 3 Homogeneous 4 Table 2.1: Relation between n and nucleation mode / crystal growth shape[19] When crystallisation occurs under constant-cooling-rate conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Ozawa equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-Ä ¸(t) / Ï•m) (2-4) Where Ä ¸(t) is the Ozawa rate constant, Ï• is the constant cooling rate (- ÃŽ ´T/ÃŽ ´t) and m is the Ozawa exponent. Equation (2-4) may also be written as: ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = m ln (t) + ln Ä ¸(t) (2-5) So that m and Ä ¸(t) may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); m is the slope while ln Ä ¸(t) is the y-intercept. Qiu et al. combined the Avrami and Ozawa equations to make a connection between the Avrami and Ozawa exponents:[20] log Ï• = log F(T) a log t (2-6) Where a = n/m and the kinetic function F(T) = (Ä ¸(t) / K)1/m. At a given degree of crystallinity, a plot of log Ï• against log t will yield a and log F(T) as the slope and y-intercept respectively.[20] 2.2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 2.2.1. Chemical Structure, Crystallisation Rate and Morphology High density polyethylene, HDPE, is a semi-crystalline polymer made up of repeat units (C2H4)n and has a general form as illustrated in Figure 2.5. It consists mainly of unbranched molecules with very few defects to disrupt its linearity or hinder crystalline packing. As such, HDPE has a high rate of crystallisation, degree of crystallinity and density (0.94-0.97 g/cm3).[7] Being a semi-crystalline polymer, HDPE exhibits a three-phase morphology consisting of submicroscopic crystals surrounded by a non-crystalline phase comprising a partially ordered layer adjacent to the crystals and disordered material in the intervening spaces. This is illustrated in Figure 2.6.[7] The unit cell of HDPE, defined as the smallest arrangement of its chain segments that can repeat in three dimensions to form a crystalline matrix, is orthorhombic; a cuboid with each of its axes having different lengths while the angles of adjoining faces are all 90Â °. Each unit cell is made up of two ethylene repeat units; a complete unit from one chain segment and parts of four others from surrounding chain segments.[7] Bank and Krim[21] reported that the a, b and c axes of a polyethylene unit cell are of dimensions 7.417, 4.945 and 2.547Ã… respectively. This is illustrated in Figure 2.7. orthogonal view, view along c-axis[7] HDPE unit cells pack together in a three dimensional array to form small crystals known as crystallites. Most commonly, crystallites of HDPE take the form of ‘lamellae; crystallites with a and b dimensions that are much greater than their c dimensions. Lamellae thicknesses are usually between 50 to 200Ã… while lateral dimensions can range from a few hundred angstroms to several millimetres. Figure 2.8 illustrates a HDPE lamella.[7] Various models have been proposed to explain the arrangement of molecular chains in lamellae. They include adjacent re-entry with tight folds, switchboard, loose loops and a model with combined features (illustrated in Figure 2.9). As molecular length of HDPE is known to be many times greater than lamellae thickness, all models indicate some form of chain folding. However, they differ in their specific nature of folding.[7] d) composite model[7] In HDPE, the most common large scale-structures composed of crystalline and non-crystalline regions are known as ‘spherulites. A spherulite consists of lamellae growing outward radially from a common nucleation site. As this growth advance into amorphous molten polymer, local inhomogeneities in concentrations of crystallisable segments will be encountered. This causes the folded chain fibrils to inevitable twist and branch. As illustrated in Figure 2.10a, a spherulite will resemble a sheaf in its early stage of development. Fanning out of the growing lamellae will subsequently produce a spherical structure but true spherical symmetry is never achieved due to impingement of neighbouring spherulites. This growth of spherulites also involves the segregation of non-crystalline materials into regions between lamellar ribbons. Thus the overall structure of a spherulite consists of twisted and branched lamellae with polymer chains mostly perpendicular to their long axis and amorphous regions (illustrated in Figure 2.10b).[22] 2.3. Organic Pigments 2.3.1. Copper Phthalocyanine Pigments: Copper Phthalocyanine Green Copper phthalocyanines are a class of organic pigments which dominate the sectors of blue and green coloration of polymers. This dominance can be attributed to desirable properties such as high tinctorial strength, bright hues, excellent light and weather fastness excellent heat stability and good chemical resistance.[23] In addition, in spite of its structural complexity, this class of pigments is inexpensive as they are manufactured in high yield from low cost starting materials.[24] The parent compound of copper phthalocyanine pigments is extremely easy to prepare; a phthalic acid derivative is condensed with a source of nitrogen such as urea and a copper salt such as cuprous chloride in the presence of a metal catalyst such as vanadium or molybdenum. This is usually done in organic solvents, at elevated temperatures (approximately 200Â °C) and sometimes under increased pressure. The resultant crude copper phthalocyanine (yields of over 90%) is purified commercially by one of several processes; salt attrition, solvent-free salt attrition, acid pasting and acid swelling.[3,25] Figure 2.11 illustrates the chemical structure of the copper phthalocyanine parent compound. It consists of a tetrabenzoporphyrazine nucleus containing a central copper atom. The planar molecule is in the form of a quadratic shape with length and thickness of 1.3nm and 0.34nm respectively.[27] This parent copper phthalocyanine compound, which is characterised by unsubstituted benzene rings, is used as blue pigment. Copper phthalocyanine blue is polymorphous and exists in five crystal forms. Out of the five, the two of commercial importance are the alpha and beta forms while the other three are distorted ÃŽ ± forms.[27] Different crystal forms bring about a variation in the blue shade. Alpha crystals exhibit a bright-red-shade blue while beta crystals exhibit a green-shade blue.[26] C.I. pigment green 7, b) C.I. pigment green 36 (3y), C.I. pigment green 36 (6y)[28] Copper phthalocyanine green, the pigment of interest in this project, is produced from the copper phthalocyanine blue by replacing the hydrogens on the four benzene rings with halogens. Unlike its blue counterpart, where variation of shade is achieved by modification of crystal form, variation in the green shade is controlled by degree of chlorination or bromination. Copper phthalocyanine green only has one known crystal form.[26] The two types of copper phthalocyanine green pigments are colour index (C.I.) pigment green 7 and colour index (C.I.) pigment green 36. C.I. pigment green 7 is a blue-shade green made by introducing thirteen to fifteen chlorine atoms to replace hydrogens in the benzene ring of the copper phthalocyanine blue molecule (illustrated in Figure 2.12(a)). C.I. pigment green 36 is a yellow-shade green made by gradual replacement of chlorine atoms in C.I. pigment green 7 with bromine atoms. The most brominated C.I. pigment green 36, known as 3y, has an extreme yello w shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(c)) while the least brominated C.I. pigment green 36, 6y, has a much more bluish shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(b)).[28] The outstanding tinctorial and fastness properties of both copper phthalocyanine green pigments allow their application under the harshest conditions. They can be used effectively in masstone tints and shades down to the very palest depth. Both green pigments can be processed at temperatures in excess of 260Â °C with little colour change. They have even better chemical and colour stability than copper phthalocyanine blues. On comparison, C.I. pigment green 7 is preferred over C.I. pigment green 36. The latter is weaker and more opaque and accounts for less than 5% of copper phthalocyanine greens used in the polymer industry.[3] 2.3.2. Effect of Copper Phthalocyanine Green and Other Organic Pigments on Properties and Crystallisation Behaviour of Moulded Polyolefins Although the combination of spectacular performance and low cost make copper phthalocyanine green ideal pigments, its use is not without challenges. It is widely known that copper phthalocyanine green and a few other pigments can cause unacceptable levels of shrinkage and warpage in moulded parts of polyolefins.[2,29] The problem persists even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt.[2] Shrinkage can be described as reduction in moulded part dimensions in reference to mould cavity dimensions.[30] Warpage is a measure of out-of-plane distortion and commonly arises from the relaxation of unbalanced residual stress in a moulded part or unbalanced shrinkage in flow and transverse direction.[30] The early work of Turturro et al.[2] demonstrated that this shrinkage and warpage phenomenon is only limited to organic pigments. It was reported that no distortion occurred in HDPE mouldings containing inorganic pigments such as BBS red (cadmium selenide), 21 M yellow (blend of PbCrO4, PbSO4 and PbMoO4) and 500 L yellow (complex of Ni and Ti). Findings from later studies by Bugnon et al.[31] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] are in good agreement. Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] reported similar observations when they incorporated inorganic pigments, TiO2, Fe2O3 and Cd Y into HDPE and PP. Using scanning electron microscopy, Bugnon et al.[31] were able to show that when inorganic pigments such as CdS or CrTiO4 are incorporated into HDPE, there is no interaction between pigment surface and polymer. The polymer essentially builds a cavity around the pigment. On the other hand, an organic pigment of diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole chemistry was found to blend into the HDPE matrix. This led them to propose that in organic pigments do not induce shrinkage and warpage as their chemical constitutions and polar hydrophilic surfaces have no interactions with polymers and do not influence their crystallisation behaviour. It is generally agreed that the shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is associated with the nucleating effect these compounds have on the polymers.[2,29,31] These compounds provide a foreign surface that reduces the free energy of formation of a new polymer nucleus.[27] Vonk[32] was one of the first few individuals who pointed out that organic pigments can act as nucleating agents for polyethylene. The nucleating effect of organic pigments on polyolefins has since been the focus of intensive studies over the years. The key literature identified from this research area is that produced by Koh[33] for Clariant (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Koh[33] studied the influence of C.I. pigment green 7 and C.I. pigment green 36 on the crystallisation and properties of HDPE. It was reported that the high level of differential shrinkage in HDPE mouldings incorporated with copper phthalocyanine greens was accompanied by increased crystallisat ion rate, increased peak / onset crystallisation temperature and reduced spherulite size. These findings clearly indicate that copper phthalocyanine green can act as a nucleating agent for HDPE. It was also reported that increasing pigment concentration will cause an increase in crystallisation rate and level of differential shrinkage. Kohs[33] findings are in line with those from similar studies carried out by Turturro et al.[2], Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] Turturro et al.[2] observed a similar nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green on HDPE with the aid of depolarisation and dilatometry techniques. In addition, they found that the Avrami exponent value of HDPE decreases with increasing concentration of copper phthalocyanine green; which indicates a shift in morphology, away from the spherulitic one characteristic of pure polyethylene. They proposed that the strong nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green causes only the development of fibrils in HDPE, which subsequently do not organise into spherulites. Interestingly, they also found that pigments do not affect the absolute level of crystallinity in HDPE; implying that these compounds affect only the kinetics and not the thermodynamics of the crystallisation process.[2] Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] showed that , apart from HDPE, copper phthalocyanine green can also act as a nucleating agent for PP. Moreover, Silberman et al.[34] found that the addition of copper phthalocyanine green into PP would increase its lamellar size and decrease the activation energy (Uact) of its crystallisation process. The explanation they put forward for these observations was based on the specific chemical structure of the pigment. The symmetry of nitrogen in the copper phthalocyanine green molecule, with an absence of complex structures was thought to promote the dynamic adsorption of PP molecules on the pigment surface and the subsequent crystallisation process. This will lead to the formation of a perfect crystal structure of large lamellar size. Together, the works from all three authors demonstrated that, besides copper phthalocyanine green, organic pigments of anthraquinone, perylene, quinacridone, copper phthalocyanine blue and condense azo chemistries can also act as nucleating agents for polyolefins.[ 2,29,34] At this point, with the aid of various papers, it is established that shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments are associated with these pigments serving as nucleating agents for the polymer. However the specific mechanism correlating nucleating effect and shrinkage or warpage has yet to be discussed. Both Turturro et al.[2] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] proposed the same explanation for this phenomenon. In a moulding process such as injection moulding, the quench rate is not the same at different parts of the polymer. Polymer melt in contact with mould walls crystallise and ‘freeze very quickly, which results in crystals of low perfection with polymer chains oriented in the direction of flow. This layer of imperfect crystals in turn impedes heat exchange between polymer melt in the core regions and the mould walls. As a result, polymer melt in the core regions cool slowly and give rise to regular crystals. As the surfac e ‘freezes very quickly, contraction in the core regions due to crystallisation will produce stress in the ‘frozen outer layer and cause distortion. In addition, relaxation of oriented regions after removal of polymer from the mould will also cause internal stress and lead to distortion. The presence of a strong nucleating agent such as copper phthalocyanine green will limit the time available for oriented chains to recover during cooling and also increase the thickness of the skin layer. Both factors will lead to more pronounced distortion.[2,29] Apart from altering the shrinkage and warpage behaviour of polyolefins, the nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is thought to also have a marked influence on the mechanical properties of polyolefins. An investigation of how certain organic pigments affect the mechanical properties of HDPE was undertaken by Lodeiro et al.[1] They found that tested pigments, copper phthalocyanine blue and irgalite yellow do affect the principal mechanical properties of HDPE. In particular, it was observed that the presence of small amounts of phthalocyanine blue in HDPE is sufficient to cause an increase in ductility, reduction in Youngs modulus (up to 10%), reduction in yield stress and increase in failure strain. They attributed these consequences to smaller and more numerous spherulites induced by the pigment; smaller spherulites in larger numbers, each surrounded by amorphous material, results in a polymer that will deform more readily and have lower yield st ress and higher failure strain. 2.4. Nucleating Agents 2.4.1. Heterogeneous Nucleation of Polyethylene: Nucleating Agents Based on Potassium Stearate and Carboxylic Acid Salts Nucleating agents have traditionally been added to semi-crystalline polymers to enhance processing and end product characteristics. The incorporation of these compounds results in shorter cycle time as they increase the crystallization rate of semi-crystalline polymers, ensuring faster solidification from the melt upon cooling. Their addition also results in the formation of smaller spherulites in semi-crystalline polymers. This change in spherulite size improves mechanical properties (such as tensile strength, hardness and modulus) and optical properties (such as haze and transparency).[8,35] Polyethylene, and in particular high density polyethylene, has an extremely fast rate of crystallization, which makes it very hard to nucleate.[8,35] This is probably the reason why little has been published on its nucleating agents. That being said, a handful of nucleating agents have been identified to date. Together, the works of Solti et al. and Ge et al. showed that benzoic acid, talc and Na2CO3 can effectively nucleate polyethylene.[8] Besides the use of particulate or low molecular weight nucleating agents, polyethylene can also be nucleated by epitaxial crystallization on another polymer substrate. Loos et al. was able to demonstrate the melt crystallisation of LLDPE on oriented HDPE.[8] Potassium stearate is another nucleating agent tha

Health Impacts of the Modern American Diet

Health Impacts of the Modern American Diet In contrast to the epidemics of infectious diseases in the 18th and 19th centuries, the conventional dietary guidelines Americans have been receiving in the past many years has resulted in an epidemic of another genre, that is Obesity. The magnitude of obesity epidemic surpasses the historical epidemics in terms of causing disease and deaths, and an economic burden on individuals and nations at large. About 25% of American populations use Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) and more and more consume diet low in fat, but inspite of these steps more American are expected to die of heart disease than ever before. American heart Association statistics estimate that presently 75 million Americans have heart disease; about 20 million suffer from diabetes while another 57 million are prediabetics, at risk of developing diabetes disease later. All these diseases are affecting younger population more, contrary to the myth that chronic diseases only affect old people. In contrast to the epidemics of infectious diseases in the 18th and 19th centuries ,the conventional dietary guidelines Americans have been receiving in the past many years has resulted in an epidemic of another genre ,that is Obesity. The magnitude of obesity epidemic surpasses the historical epidemics in terms of causing disease and deaths, and an economic burden on individuals and nations at large. About 25% of American populations use Statins(cholesterol lowering drugs) and more and more consume diet low in fat, but inspite of these steps more American are expected to die of heart disease than ever before. American heart Association statistics estimate that presently 75 million Americans have heart disease; about 20 million suffer from diabetes while another 57 million are prediabetics, at risk of developing diabetes disease later. All these diseases are affecting younger population more, contrary to the myth that chronic diseases only affect old people. Americans have been thriving on a typical diet full of sugars, carbohydrates and processed foods with omega 6 oils, for the last 60 years. While we are enjoying the sweetness of a baked roll in our mouth, our bodies perceive it as a threat to its well-being like an enemy waging war. How can an innocent looking, delicious sweet roll cause a cascade of inflammation to cause serious disease? When you eat simple carbohydrates like sugar, it causes the blood sugar to rise. In response pancreas secrete a hormone Insulin meant to control the blood sugar level. Insulin drives the extra sugar into cells, but if the cells do not require that sugar they throw extra sugar again into blood, as excessive sugar might impair their function. The body secretes more insulin to deal with the rise in blood sugar as a result of extra sugar rejected by cells. The extra glucose gets converted to stored fats. Let’s talk more about that â€Å"not so innocent† sweet roll. Sugar is not the only culprit contained in it .it is baked in omega6 oils like soybean. The same omega 6 oils are used in chips and fries and present in processed foods to give longer shelf life. These omega 6 oils are essential as they are part of cell membranes ,but they need be in correct balance with omega 3 oils .A faulty balance between the two , due to excessive consumption of omega 6 can cause cell membranes to produce Cytokines ,chemical substances which cause inflammation. The ideal ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 should be 1:1, but up to 3; 1 is acceptable considering the trends in food consumption, but today an average American diet is imbalanced to the range of 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6.This results in huge amounts of cytokines causing inflammation. To add to the injury caused by high blood sugar, the excess weight that we accumulate as a result of these foods, cause over-burdened fat cells which release chemical substances contributing in causing inflammation. So the journey that starts with savoring a sweet roll trigger the harmful process of inflammation in our body causing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and Alzheimers disease, There is no choice but to accept that our bodies are not designed by nature to utilize foods rich in sugar and dripping with omega 6 oils. Our continued use of these foods means that inflammatory process in our bodies goes unabated. The solution for curbing this inflammatory process lies in getting closer to nature. Consume foods in their natural form. For carbohydrates choose fruits and vegetables (contain complex carbohydrates), eat proteins to build muscles. Restrict the use of mega 6 oils like corn oil and soybean oil and processed foods containing them. Make healthier choices, one tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg, instead choose to use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef. These animal fats contain less than 20% of omega 6, thus much lesser risk for causing inflammation, as opposed to the so called healthier polyunsaturated oils. The myth that saturated fats alone are responsible for heart disease has been drummed into your ears for so long that you believe it as â€Å"science†. It is time for you to leave behind all overstated science of saturated fats raising cholesterol and only saturated fats causing heart disease. In context of the new discovery, that inflammation not cholesterol causes heart disease, the concern about saturated fats no longer remains relevant. The old cholesterol theory led to low fat and no fat dietary recommendations and consumption of foods taking the injurious effects of inflammation to an epidemic proportion. People were wronged by the advice to increase the consumption of omega 6 oils and decreasing the use of saturated fats, leading to injurious cascade of inflammation inside our bodies; it resulted in all-time highest rates for developing heart and other chronic diseases What you can do to Right this wrong? I will emphasize again, go natural. Try to remember the foods your grandmother served on the table and get closer to them instead of processed foods your mother bought from the grocery store. Good news is that by avoiding the inflammatory food and consuming fresh unprocessed food containing essential nutrients, you cannot only halt the process of inflammation inside the body, but you can also turn the wheels of this process backwards and reverse the injurious effects of eating a typical American diet for many years. Animal Proteins; You Should Eat Them for a Healthy Heart Most people think that only health problem associated with eating a vegetarian, also called as vegan diet, is Vitamin B12 deficiency, as its present only in animal sources in its natural form. This is a serious health hazard as research has shown that vitamin B12 deficiency can cause elevated homocysteine levels, which increase the risk for developing heart disease and stroke. But, B12 deficiency is not the only health risk associated with vegan diet. New research is coming up with evidence that diet devoid of all animal foods leads to a low dietary intake of proteins and sulfur amino acids, thus increasing the risk of heart disease in vegetarians. Vegetables are an excellent source of nutrients and have lots of benefits for the heart and overall health. You can eat as much vegetables as you like without any health fear, rather this is what should be aimed by every one for optimal health. The problem arises when you eliminate animal proteins completely from your diets resulting in deficiency of valuable nutrients that can only be obtained from animal sources. According to WHO (World health Organization), 36 million people die each year because of chronic diseases also known a Non communicable diseases. The four major diseases of this group include heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, Diabetes and cancers. In the US, in the Year 2013, more than 1,660,290 new cancer cases were projected to be diagnosed and about 580,350 Americans died from the disease. Today, heart disease is the leading Couse of death in America, both in men and women. About 600,000 Americans die of heart disease annually. Modern biomedical science has made leaps of advancement in technology in the last 50 years or so, but western medicine has failed to control the occurrence of these top killer diseases, i.e. cancer and heart disease. Practice over the years has shown that western medicine has developed â€Å"conventional strategies† for dealing these diseases from the diagnosis to treatment .These conventional strategies are based on wrong assumptions and approaches that have proven to be more harmful than beneficial. Moreover, these strategies of modern medicine do not address the root cause of the problem, which is a faulty diet high in Sugars and processed foods. For more than 60 years, saturated fats have been held responsible for causing heart disease. The conventional dietary advice and recommendations for prevention of heart diseases have remained focused on low fat diet, but these faulty recommendations have actually contributed in the epidemic of heart disease and other chronic diseases, we are facing today. Stress on low fat diets has resulted in promulgation of a very dangerous low-fat, high-sugar diet. Actually, an optimum diet that promotes health and prevents diseases should be high in good fats and very low in sugars and carbohydrates from the non-vegetable sources. Research conducted by some of the most prestigious institutions in the US confirms that Sugar is the main dietary factor responsible for development of chronic diseases. This information that sugar especially in form of fructose is the main culprit in causing heart disease and cancers enables you to chalk out a prevention plan for yourself. Health practitioners and naturopaths have been warning against the health risks associated with the high consumption of sugars. Many people stop or decrease the use of sugar in tea or coffee and other sweets or confectionaries, but you have to beware of the Hidden sugar in food products. Hidden sugar is present as ‘High fructose corn syrup’ (HFCS) in almost every processed food item ranging from sodas to yogurts, sauces, and breads. Many staple foods which are grain based like wheat, corn or rice are also eventually converted to the sugar in your body. Thus, the bagels, pan cakes and breakfast cereal are actually increasing the sugar burden in your body. The main culprit among sugars is Fructose. Clinical trials showed that people consuming HFCS were more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases risk factor in a short span of almost two weeks. The brighter side is that studies have also shown that if sugar consumption is restricted ,whatever sugar form it may be ,it significantly decreases the risk for developing both breast and colon cancers. The health benefits of fruits are far more greater than any concerns for fructose damage ,but remember two principles Eat in moderation ,as the newer trend to grow fruits that are very sweet has resulted in very high levels of fructose in fruits as compared to earlier times Eat the whole fruit and refrain from juices, as juice contains only the sugar and vitamins and deficient in the fiber and other nutrients contained in the pulp of fruits. The real cause of concern is the High fructose syrup that is added in almost every processed food or drink that we buy. Healthy diet for maintaining blood glucose and Insulin levels, in conjunction with a comprehensive exercise program are two essential components of a cancer recovery program. These are also essential parts of any cancer prevention strategy. Diet and exercise also play an important role in preventing heart disease. Research studies have shown that exercise can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases by a factor of three. In a recent meta-analysis conducted at the Bloomberg institute of Public health, 305 randomized controlled trials were reviewed for comparing the effects of exercise and heart disease medications. The analysis interestingly revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the effects of exercise and heart medicines like statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) and beta blockers. The crux of the matter remains that a â€Å"Healthy life style†, to maintain an adequate weight with healthy eating and regular exercise is the need. A healthy diet and exercise program ensures that insulin and leptin receptor sensitivity is maintained. As mentioned earlier, insulin and leptin resistance, resulting for the excessive consumption of refined sugars and lack of exercise, is the root cause of all chronic diseases Things to be done to reverse insulin and lepton resistance effectively are; Keep away from sugar, processed foods ,processed fructose and grains Consume healthy diet of organic, whole foods Carbohydrates in grains can be replaced with healthier choices like large quantities of vegetables, high quality proteins in low to moderate amounts; ideally form organically raised pastured animals. Forget the faulty recommendation of 10% fats in diet. Consume as much as you like from healthy fats (saturated and monosaturated fats from animal and tropical oil sources).For optimum health people may use up to 50-85% fats in their diet Deep fried food in Traditional Southern Diet makes you prone for developing- STROKE The traditional southern food is famous for the deep fried stuff, but new medical research suggests that consumption of these deep fried food increases the risk for developing Stroke. The results from a research study conducted at University of Alabama at Birmingham were presented at the annual International Stroke Conference in Hawaii. The results showed a massive 41 % percent increase in the risk for developing stroke for people who use the typical southern diet rich in deep fried items regularly, as compared to those who don’t use such food, and the risk was even higher for African-American which was 63 percent How to attain Balance in Omega 6:3 Ratio I would be giving you few tips for avoiding the consumption of foods that would adversely affect the omega 6:3 ratio. 1: Always read the label of the foods and condiments you buy. Almost all processed and prepackaged food contains oils that are rich in omega 6 and thus would adversely affect your Omega 6:3 balance. In the following table you would find oils rich in omega 6, thus need to be avoided and the other alternate choices of fats that are acceptable for maintaining this balance. The paleo diet consumed by our forefathers mainly consisted of lean meats, vegetables, fruits nuts, seeds and very limited amounts of grains, along with a very active lifestyle they maintained their blood sugar levels in the range of 60 to 90 mg /dl. Meanwhile the high carb and sugary diets which are consumed today result in unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels. The excess blood sugar in our blood causes many health hazards including heart disease, damage to the blood vessels and may trigger yeast over growth resulting in fungal infections

Les Demoiselles d?Avignon Essay -- Essays Papers

Les Demoiselles d?Avignon As strolled through New York City?s Museum of Modern Art , one particular painting grabbed me , shook me , then through me to the ground to contemplate its awesome power. Like a whirlwind of art , Les Demoiselles d?Avignon , by Pablo Picasso , sent my emotions spinning. I felt extremely uncomfortable glancing at it , let alone staring at it closely for twenty minutes. The raw sexuality and tension that Les Demoiselles d?Avignon radiated was absolutely overwhelming yet very confusing. Other art lovers in the room also expressed discomfort as they glanced at the enormous 96x92 inch painting. Most people would only allow quick glances in between long stares at the more typical paintings on the other walls. I even heard one girl remark ?it?s so gross!!? in a nervous and uncertain voice. I had to know why Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was doing this to me and the others in the room. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of an irritated and restless Pablo Picasso. In 1906 , Picasso began to tire of painting in the fairly traditional manner that governed his paintings up to Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. His solution was to revolutionize painting.1 Why was Picasso unsatisfied with traditional painting? Essentially Picasso?s overall dissatisfaction for sticking with anything for a long period caused him to take up the difficult quest of revolutionizing painting. He was known to constantly change the styles and mediums through which he created his art. Andre Salmon, a poet and friend Picasso, was once quoted as accusing Picasso of ?trying to force his friends to speculate on the whole problem of art every time they took a brush in their hands.? 2 This quote is very telling of Picasso?s need to change and solve artistic problems. In 1906 he abandoned the painting traditions that stretched all the way back to the Renaissance , and began Les Demoiselles d?A vignon. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of intense study. The comments of Salmon , shed light on the intensity of the project; ?....He became uneasy , He turned his canvases to the wall and threw down his paintbrushes. For many long days and nights , he drew....Never was labor less rewarded with joy , and without his former youthful enthusiasm Picasso undertook a large canvas that was intended to be the fruit of his experiments.? 3 Every aspect o... ...ing is an enemy!.....the fetishes were weapons. To help people avoid coming under the influence of spirits again , to help them become independent.......I understood why I was a painter....Les Demoiselles d?Avignon must have come to me that very day , but not at all because of the forms ; because it was my first exorcism painting-yes absolutely!? 15 Picasso used Les Demoiselles d?Avignon to free himself from what the world had told him was absolute. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon mocks and teases the faith that people put into their ignorance of the unknown. Picasso?s Les Demoiselles d?Avignon continues to challenge a shake people to this day. Bibliography: John Richardson , A Life of Picasso volume 2 1907-1917 (New York : Random House Press 1996) 15. Arriana S. Huffington , Picasso:Creator and Destroyer . (New York : Simon and Schulster , 1988) 89. Marie-Laurie Berndac and Bouchet , Picasso: Master of the New Idea . (New York , Abrams , 19 Kirk Varnedoe , Response to Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. (http://www.moma.org/docs/collection/paintsculpt/c40.htm , 1997) George H. Hamilton , Painting and Sculpture in Europe 1800-1940 . (New Haven : Yale U. Press 1993) 46-47 Les Demoiselles d?Avignon Essay -- Essays Papers Les Demoiselles d?Avignon As strolled through New York City?s Museum of Modern Art , one particular painting grabbed me , shook me , then through me to the ground to contemplate its awesome power. Like a whirlwind of art , Les Demoiselles d?Avignon , by Pablo Picasso , sent my emotions spinning. I felt extremely uncomfortable glancing at it , let alone staring at it closely for twenty minutes. The raw sexuality and tension that Les Demoiselles d?Avignon radiated was absolutely overwhelming yet very confusing. Other art lovers in the room also expressed discomfort as they glanced at the enormous 96x92 inch painting. Most people would only allow quick glances in between long stares at the more typical paintings on the other walls. I even heard one girl remark ?it?s so gross!!? in a nervous and uncertain voice. I had to know why Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was doing this to me and the others in the room. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of an irritated and restless Pablo Picasso. In 1906 , Picasso began to tire of painting in the fairly traditional manner that governed his paintings up to Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. His solution was to revolutionize painting.1 Why was Picasso unsatisfied with traditional painting? Essentially Picasso?s overall dissatisfaction for sticking with anything for a long period caused him to take up the difficult quest of revolutionizing painting. He was known to constantly change the styles and mediums through which he created his art. Andre Salmon, a poet and friend Picasso, was once quoted as accusing Picasso of ?trying to force his friends to speculate on the whole problem of art every time they took a brush in their hands.? 2 This quote is very telling of Picasso?s need to change and solve artistic problems. In 1906 he abandoned the painting traditions that stretched all the way back to the Renaissance , and began Les Demoiselles d?A vignon. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon was the product of intense study. The comments of Salmon , shed light on the intensity of the project; ?....He became uneasy , He turned his canvases to the wall and threw down his paintbrushes. For many long days and nights , he drew....Never was labor less rewarded with joy , and without his former youthful enthusiasm Picasso undertook a large canvas that was intended to be the fruit of his experiments.? 3 Every aspect o... ...ing is an enemy!.....the fetishes were weapons. To help people avoid coming under the influence of spirits again , to help them become independent.......I understood why I was a painter....Les Demoiselles d?Avignon must have come to me that very day , but not at all because of the forms ; because it was my first exorcism painting-yes absolutely!? 15 Picasso used Les Demoiselles d?Avignon to free himself from what the world had told him was absolute. Les Demoiselles d?Avignon mocks and teases the faith that people put into their ignorance of the unknown. Picasso?s Les Demoiselles d?Avignon continues to challenge a shake people to this day. Bibliography: John Richardson , A Life of Picasso volume 2 1907-1917 (New York : Random House Press 1996) 15. Arriana S. Huffington , Picasso:Creator and Destroyer . (New York : Simon and Schulster , 1988) 89. Marie-Laurie Berndac and Bouchet , Picasso: Master of the New Idea . (New York , Abrams , 19 Kirk Varnedoe , Response to Les Demoiselles d?Avignon. (http://www.moma.org/docs/collection/paintsculpt/c40.htm , 1997) George H. Hamilton , Painting and Sculpture in Europe 1800-1940 . (New Haven : Yale U. Press 1993) 46-47

Floating Armless :: Philosophy, God

In A Prayer for Owen Meany John Ivring uses several symbols to explore the themes of fate and divine control. Ivring describes several objects and characters as being armless to represent a sacrifice made by a divine influence. Owen Meany in particular is often described as being above the ground to represent what he sees as his position as God’s instrument. Owen is first described as being held in the air when attending Sunday school(p 2). Later in the book John repeatedly picks up Owen and raises him to a basketball hoop so he can practice a slam dunk that becomes known as â€Å"the shot.† Before Owen’s death he is once again lifted to a high window using the shot in order to protect a group of children below (p 612). Finally Owen floats above the pine trees after his death (p 615). In part, Owen’s repeated flight is practical. Practicing the shot gave Owen and John the ability to place the grenade on the windows. However, Owen’s flight, particularly after his death also alludes that Owen is closer to the heavens and reinforces his role as â€Å"God’s instrument (p 87)†. After Owen’s death, John points out that â€Å"†¦There were forces that contributed to our illusion of Owen’s weightlessness; they were forces that we failed to believe in-and they were also lifting up Owen Meany, taking him out of our hands. (p 617)† This suggests that Owen was being lifted be divine forces from childhood until they lifted him above the palm trees. Owen was confident throughout the novel throughout the novel that nothing happens by accident and that he was fated to die on July 8, 1968(p 607). Owen feels his death is a part of God’s plan and does not attempt to change his fate. This ties into the theme of divine control. He was carried by spiritual beings through his life to fulfill his role in saving the children. In A Prayer for Owen Meany many characters seem to suffer amputations. The Indian chief Watahantowet draws an armless totem when he sells his land(p 8). Owen amputates the stuffed armadillo’s claws to represent his guilt and grief after accidentally killing Tabitha Wheelwright (p 86). The Meanys’ nativity set features a one-handed Joseph and a three-legged cow (p 183). Tabitha’s dressmaker’s dummy is armless until Owen gives it the arms he removed from a statue of Mary Magdalene (p 553), one of which is later separated again from the dummy (p 555).