Monday, September 30, 2019

What Creates One’s Identity

In the book, â€Å"a complicated kindness†, written by Miriam Toews, the main character, Nomi Nickel, fights through many obstacles in her life and learns what reality is. Her characteristics and identities are built in her by the places she lives. The struggling in living without her mother and older sister has made her doing so much than what she would. The small town and her religion have a huge impact in her, where she hates the place but she learns to love it. Her dream of being free has more inspiration in her which makes her wanting to go to the outside world. After learning so much as she has to, she becomes a responsible, kind and strong young adult. When one loss something they would always get something back in reverse, by which cases the one always learns from what she has to go through. In the book, Nomi’s sister and mother’s sudden disappearance has made her handle lot things that she wouldn’t do and handle by herself if she has a full family. â€Å"It’s been three years so far. My period started the day after Trudie left which means I’ve bled thirty-six times since they’ve been gone†(Toews, 5). The quote shows us that Nomi, the main character, has to handle suffers as being a female after her mom has left her. She has to handle it without anyone’s helping. It was the responsible she learns without noticing it herself. â€Å"Doing laundry can be a really interesting thing and intriguing process. Emptying people’s pockets, noticing odours and stains and items, folding the clothes afterwards, opening drawers, putting everything away†(Toews, 35). In the process of learning, Nomi has become responsible and enjoying what she is learning to do. An individual’s past always teaches them how to be a better and kind person. When one thinks about their past over with different point of views, they would realize what they had mistaken. From the book, Nomi often have flashbacks about what she did to others, she then could find the demerit she had done. She is a Mennonite, but she hated her own religion. After she’d look back what she did and how she treated some people, she has learnt how she should treat others nicely. â€Å"My guidance counselor has suggested to me that I change my attitude about this place and learn to love it. But I do, I told her. Oh, that’s rich, she said. That’s rich† (Toews, 8). â€Å"East village has given me the faith to believe in the possibility of happy family reunion someday† (Toews, 324). The quotes tells the change in Nomi, where she becomes someone different. From hating the village to loving it was by changing in herself. One’s dream leads possibilities to the one. The courage of people do something they were afraid has to come from what she believe. Nomi, the girl who lives in a religious town with lots of rules, wants to have freedom. She has a dream of being herself. She wants to get out of the town and a new life. After her father leaves her, which he knows he has to leave first to let go of Nomi, Nomi decide to go to the outside world with no fears. â€Å"I dream of escaping into the real world. I would love t read the diary of a girl my age- a girl from the city. Or a textbook on urban planning. Or a New York City phone book. I would be killed to own a New York City phone book† (Toews, 8). â€Å"I meant to thank you Ray for, in the midst of his own multitude of crap and bewilderment, knowing one true thing. That I would never have left him and that if I were ever to get out of that town, he would have to leave first† (Toews, 322). Nomi wants to go outside so much she would do anything to have freedom, but she promises her father that she’d never leave her father alone. But after her father left, she has noting to worry about. She has the courage of going outside. She is strong. One’s identity is built in them by many factors; life struggling, past and dream. All of the factors are based on realities. Dream is a big part of reality when one believes in themselves. An individual might not realize how dream works out for their identity, but it is the most important part of building their identities.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Better Teaching Through Provocation Essay

The quest for an effective pedagogy differentiates the teacher from the researcher. Within the humanities and social sciences, we are constantly confronted with the challenge of communicating complex material in a novel and effective manner. Active teaming is bolstered by an approach that emphasizes creative problem solving, and critical thinking. And active learning often begins with a question. Despite those techniques, philosophical inquiry can sometimes lead to esoteric, pedantic, or even banal approaches to teaching that leave the neophyte intellectually lost or detached from the learning process. As a discipline, philosophy itself is intrinsically provocative. In the spirit of Nietzsche’s infamously provocative style, the use of stimulating techniques in teaching introductory college courses can be immensely beneficial. Goals of Provocation The goals of provocative teaching are grounded in a conceptual framework of critical thinking as well as in an understanding and appreciation of the many psychological processes that influence mental life. The teacher’s strategy should be designed to provoke or pique students to think; that is, to analyze the grounds of their beliefs, which can be directly applied to their personal lives. Stirring questions and statements should challenge (and respectfully critique) the method and rationale by which students arrive at conclusions and reexamine the grounds for their beliefs and attitudes. Guiding Principles Guiding principles in formulating provocative teaching techniques as follows: 1. Orient the technique toward the entire class, not just one student. 2. Allow an appropriate pause time for class response.  3. Respond to all students’ responses. 4. Validate and confirm student attempts to respond or offer an explanation. 5. Use the discussion to launch into a formal presentation of the material or to augment existing didactic strategies. Classroom Examples Provocative techniques combined with systematic questioning may be applied arbitrarily to any topic. Through provocative systematic questioning, the student realizes that this type of reasoning is an informal fallacy based on an appeal to authority that became conditioned and serves as the grounds for his belief. It is better to focus questions toward the entire class, in a case like this, by focusing on one student, others join in to offer competing arguments or supportive rationale that are further examined by the class as a whole. That generally leads to an inclusive process rather than an exclusive centering on one student. Parenting and Corporal Punishment Students believed that corporal punishment was immoral. Most students believed it was morally acceptable, and some even made a case that it was immoral not to physically discipline children when they commit transgressions, because physical punishment teaches them morals. Provocative exercises may provide a personal utility for self-discovery that departs from the traditional procedures of pedantic pedagogy. Risk of Provocation When we examine controversial issues in class, we should be respectful of individual and cultural differences that may influence certain beliefs and practices, while we still maintain intellectual integrity. It should be a tacit assumption for students that acts of provocation are designed to bring rational and emotional constructs under the rubric of knowledge. No provocation should be executed merely for â€Å"shock value.† Because some students may feel intimidated by philosophical questions, the professor should try to be sensitive to the students’ cognitive acumen as well as their emotional development. Sometimes, students who are overly emotional, rigid, or vulnerable to a particular topic simply need to be reminded that the discussion at hand is only an object of intellectual investigation and certainly not a personal attack. Conclusion  We must find a method that suits our personalities and didactic styles. Instead of traditional lecturing, the combined use of provocative questions and statements that force the class to respond to a particular issue may have more impact and personal meaning than fort-formal approaches. Furthermore, the use of probing and systematic questioning gears students toward an introspective analysis of their personal beliefs, not only grounded in reason, but also linked to emotional and psychological motives that influence their perception of cause and effect. One will notice progress in their critical thinking skills over the length of the course. Rather than professing an impetuous position based upon unreflective conditioning, students offer more solid argumentation with developed rationale for their beliefs and attitudes.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Summary of health article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of health article - Essay Example The database, managed by United Health Group Inc. subsidiary Ingenix Inc., has been alleged to be seriously flawed and manipulated by the insurers, resulting to poor reimbursements and higher medical bills for consumers. Most recent complaints on this accuse Aetna of manipulating the database to get rid of valid high charges. According to a complaint filed recently in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Aetna and Ingenix collaborated to fabricate figures favorable to the company, thus corrupting the database to yield inaccurate results, lowering down the reimbursements for doctors. The complaint further claims that this has greatly damaged physician-patient relationships. Dr. Nancy H. Nielsen, President of A.M.A., stated that the association is putting an end to the health insurers’ unfairly manipulative business practices, disregarding patients and the legally acceptable costs of caring for them, citing a certain case of an anonymous surgeon who was paid way below his billed charges. To these, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener commented that they will by all means defend the company amidst similar claims by consumers in New Jersey and Connecticut. She further expressed disappointment over the medical community’s move to sue them when the company has succeeded to develop better collaboration with doctors. Cigna, on the other hand, believes that physician’s pricing must be more transparent in order to achieve lower costs at higher quality

Friday, September 27, 2019

Project writting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project writting - Essay Example some cases may be investigated after the outbreak which may result in failure to get appropriate information since other people thought to be involved would no longer be available which would result in getting skewed information with regards to the outbreak of the foodborne illness. The transmission patterns of the disease are often complex hence there would be need for getting detailed information that could be helpful in the determination of such outbreaks. As a result of language barriers or poor employee communication, it can also be difficult to get useful information that could be useful when attempting to determine the outbreak of foodborne diseases. It is often difficult to extract relevant information regarding the role of the food worker in the cause or spread of the outbreak. In some cases, other workers are employed on contract basis and are bound to shift from place to place hence it would be difficult to identify these and observe for symptoms in case of outbreak of disease. Workers are sometimes infected with agents such as norovirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV), salmonella and shigella for instance, hence there would be need to gather all the information that may be relevant. (i) The Brazilian case of multiple foods in which staphylococcus aureus is cited as agent where 2000 were hospitalised and 16 died could have easily been avoided if the prepared food was refrigerated to avoid contamination rather than leaving it at room temperature for a long period. (ii) An outbreak caused by fruit salad in California where hepatitis A virus is agent was responsible for 166 hospitalisations. This outbreak could have been avoided if measures were taken to relieve the ill person from duty until fully recovered. (iv) Salmonella Typhimurium caused an outbreak of diseases in Oregon as a result of intentional contamination of salad bars. This outbreak could have been avoided if all the bars were disinfected using detergents such as jik or other effective

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How Music Impacted the Slaves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Music Impacted the Slaves - Essay Example Slave music can be grouped in three major categories: religious, work, and recreational. African traditions and Christianity inspired religious songs; work songs eased the burden of hard labor and helped slaves synchronize group tasks, encouraged slaves during long hours of physical toil; it kept their spirit up and could work harder and longer. Recreational songs mostly were played on string instruments; in their free time slaves listened and danced to the music. The lyrics of the slave music were simple; it expressed their hardship, sadness, and feelings (â€Å"Understand Slave Culture Through Songs†). They lyrics were repetitive which appealed to their educational levels. Slaves used music to protest against slavery by ridiculing their masters in songs. For example, a group of slaves witnessed their master falling from his horse, which was turned into a song with thinly veiled lyrics and sung by all the slaves in the field the next day as he rode by (â€Å"The New Worldâ⠂¬  1). It was mentioned above that salves did not pay much attention to the lyrics; however they were expressive that promised a better world in this and the next life. For example (Faigin 1), There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. One of these mornings bright and fair, I’m gonna lay down my heavy load. Gonna kick my wings and cleave the air, I’m gonna lay down my heavy load. Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, and was hanged on and skinned on November 1832 (â€Å"Net Turner’s Rebellion†). After the Nat Turner revolt, strict curfews required slaves to show passes in their travel from one plantation to another. At that time, slaves expressed their emotions through the following lyrics (Faigin): Run nigger,... This essay approves that American slaves found music as a mode of communication and expression. Slave music can be grouped in three major categories: religious, work, and recreational. African traditions and Christianity inspired religious songs; work songs eased the burden of hard labor and helped slaves synchronize group tasks, encouraged slaves during long hours of physical toil; it kept their spirit up and could work harder and longer. Recreational songs mostly were played on string instruments; in their free time slaves listened and danced to the music. This report makes a conclusion that American slave culture flourished over three centuries. On one hand, their hard work built the economic foundation of the country; on the other hand, they faced whippings, beatings, executions, and rapes. Even in this atmosphere, slaves developed their own culture, which was based on a variety of African tribal customs; story telling and enthusiastic group worship. In the American society, they were prevented from reading and writing. So they did not have a mode of communication. They compensated it by embracing a different form of communication; music, the concept that they brought from their homeland. Thus, music became a vital part of the American slave culture. It bolstered their spirits, gave hope, and strength in their daily lives that mainly consisted of hardship. Eventually, their songs became descriptive that provided them with directions on how to escape to freedom.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The effects of Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 on the accounting profession Research Paper

The effects of Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 on the accounting profession - Research Paper Example Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 was one such measure intended to set standards to guarantee the accuracy of financial reports published by organizations irrespective of big or small. This paper briefly explains the impacts of Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 on accounting profession. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (SOX) mandates creation of an internal control structure, and assessment of its effectiveness. This control structure involves controls on internal financing reporting and auditing (Bergen, 2005). Many companies have reported that the introduction of SOX and the increased internal control structure was more expensive than anticipated. The external costs have been increased a lot for many companies because of SOX and this increase especially at in a period of recession was too difficult for the companies to handle. At the same time, most of the costs needed to strengthen the internal control were one-time expenses only and the corporate and the investor public would be beneficial from that in the long run. Section 409 of SOX mandates that a company must disclose to the public any information that is of material value that affects the organizations financial condition or operations. This section was a real challenge for the accounting professionals since most of the companies used Excel spreadsheets for keeping much of their financial data and linking these data in a timely manner with the financial reporting systems were too much difficult. The non compatibility of ordinary Excel spreadsheets with the other financial reporting systems forced the companies to change their accounting software to the much advanced and expensive software like SAP and Oracle or to incorporate new technologies such as off the shelf applications and spreadsheet templates with macros to convert data into a format that can be readily integrated into the organization’s financial reporting system (Jyoti, 2005). Earlier some of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Freedom Writers - Economics of Race and Gender Movie Review

Freedom Writers - Economics of Race and Gender - Movie Review Example The movie is made in the context of Rodney King sparked LA riots in 1992 and its impact on people with a special reference to the lives of students at Wilson High School after a few years of riots. Director set the stage for a serious subject in the very beginning of the movie while filming street situation and unrest during riots. Long Beach is a gang-infested and poverty-stricken place where violence and killing is the everyday story. This scenario wages a new war in streets and school is no different, a cynical resentment and anger moves in school hallways and triggers violent confrontations between students at any point in time. In the very beginning, Erin’s enthusiasm for teaching was scoffed at and her students were entitled to be â€Å"un-teachable† rather â€Å"at-risk† gangsters who can never be tamed. Despite her unexpected encounter with students and their arrogant behavior, Erin decided to fight for the purpose of her presence in school as a teacher. After the initial hostile reaction to her efforts, Erin creatively tried to be friend with students. It was the only way to unite the teens and teach them to think beyond the racial divided that they couldn’t cross even in the classroom. Their minds were blocked by the perceptions that they were anything except students; they were blacks, whites or Cambodians. Erin wanted to expose them to different perspectives and ideologies beyond their own streets and homes. It was only possible through books but to Erin’s surprise, school authority not only refused to provide books but other resources as well. For authorities, it was the waste of time and resources. Somewhat discouraged and shocked, Erin takes up the part-time job in order to provide students with learning aids. By encouraging students to write what they feel like in their diaries inspired by Anne Frank and Zlata’s Diary: A child’s life in Sarajevo, she not only worked on their language skills but also taught them tolerance and compassion.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Article Rebuttal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Article Rebuttal - Essay Example Correspondingly, the essay intends to provide a rebuttal to the article with valid arguments. In keeping with the article, in order to validate his claims the author has highlighted that in the year 2000, Mark Muraven and Roy Baumeister published a paper in Psychological Bulletin which states that self-control is similar to muscle that gets weakened every day after use. Thus, if a person forces himself for jogging for an hour the capacity of self-regulation is proportionally weakened which increases the possibility for a person to opt for a pizza instead of salad. In his article, the author states that there are 45 million Americans who actually joined the gym in the year 2000 which was merely 23 million in 1993. The Minnesota Heart Survey highlights that in 1980, 47% of people were undertaking regular exercise which grew to 57% in the year 2000, and yet there has been a rise in obesity. Northwestern University, in June 2009, conducted a research in order to investigate the correlation between development of diabetes and aerobic fitness. The research derived a result that be ing aerobically fit is less important than developing a body mass index that is normal in the prevention of disease. In this situation, the author states that exercise does not help hefty people to reduce their weight. Eric Ravussin quotes that â€Å"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless† wherein the author states that exercise is not important in reducing weight and the advertisements done by various gym are untrue (Cloud, 2009). From the analysis of the article, it is worth mentioning that if a person undertakes jogging it would lead to increase in fitness and greater capability to do certain tasks. The author misrepresents the survey conducted to support his idea. The author in this statement stresses on the fact that even though there has been progress of the people undertaking exercise, it has caused growth in obesity as well. However,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Philippines Literature Essay Example for Free

Philippines Literature Essay The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side by side with the countrys history. Long before the Spaniards and other foreigners landed or set foot on Philippine shores, our forefathers already had their own literature stamped in the history of our race. Our ancient literature shows our customs and traditions in everyday life as traced in our folk stories, old plays and short stories. Our ancestors also had their own alphabet which was different from that brought by the Spaniards. LITERATURE: the body of oral and written works, text, books, poetry, etc. these are the several things that concern this subject. we have been exposed to literature ever since we were young. reading, writing, thats what we do. but is this really the essence of literature?  the time i realized that i was going to take up Philippine Literature this semester, i was rather a bit curios about what would be in store for me, for the whole class.  our Literature instructor Ms. Dinah Laguna-Mission is very enthusiastic in teaching us. never came a time that i felt sleepy or bored during our lit. subject. she has a lively voice and pronunciation, lively gestures and the witty use of words were the things i looked forward to every time she came.  at first, i expect that the subject content and the teaching method was just a repetition of what has been taught to us during high school. but i was wrong, the different genre of literature, different devices and ever famous figures of speech were the ones being taught to us. After all the experiences and new knowledge imparted to me, i realized that Literature is not only about just reading the stories, poems, riddles, etc. but either its understanding them deeply. i thank Ms. Mission for imparting this knowledge imparted to me and the whole class for making this journey bearable and truly enjoyable one. it was beyond doubt an accomplishment for us and so, even if i finish the subject Philippines Literature, the things i  learned, the memories and experience will truly mo no matter what. ^_^

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Radio Station Interview Essay Example for Free

Radio Station Interview Essay As an AB Communication student, our professor requires us to have a Radio Station Visiting in one of our major subjects. Our professor gave us a set of questions that we need to ask to the DJ there and we prepared two more questions to be asked. We choose 10.1 YES FM as a Radio Station that we will visit. We had an interview with Mr. Richard Sarmiento also known as â€Å"Rico Paňero† who has a radio program every Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm. We choose Ms.Abegail Lamban, One of our group mates to interview him. Her first question that we asked to him was his perception about radio station organizational structure. His answer was the production staff, traffic that is in charge for the organization of the commercials next is the Production Assistant they are always on the field assist the upcoming events and the last is the Radio Station’s Djs. According to Rico, there are 11 DJs in 101.1 YES FM. Our next question is how we can know the right organizational structure of a radio station when it comes to programming. â€Å"There will be a radio clock headed by a radio clock headed by a radio director who’s responsible for the radio program that they will go to air; they are also in charge on what songs they will play. The program runs by one talk set for each DJ good for five minutes, fifteen minutes are allotted for the radio commercials, ten minutes are for adlibs and forty minutes is for the songs† Rico Paňero answered. The following question that she asked is about the sustainable and functions of Radio Stations. Their transmitters are located near SM Megamall. The person who is in charge in that field is the program director, event manager, technicians and engineers who is in charge for the wirings. He cite some of the situations that they need to function as whole, he shared to us when Nicole Hyala needs a maternity leave they need to buy a lots of gadgets for them to have on air live all the way from Novaliches. In their field of work, there are also misunderstandings between DJs and technicians that can be resolve by a simple talk. The next question is regarding the various radio formats. According to Rico Paňero, only DJ Chico Loco has a radio program title. She also asked him if they are making a way if the listeners are suffering. Their boss arranged the time for them to allow talking. They also read some of the feedbacks especially of it are about their signal as if they don’t have a good signal on that particular location and it sounds like mono that you’re listening to an AM Station. There should be a limit in reading feedbacks and greetings. The fifth question is the Scriptwriting for radio. Rico Paňero said, â€Å"Some of the DJs who made script are the new ones and they need to have a guide on what to say on air†. He also added that you should be prepared of the topic before the microphone went on. According to him, there should be an introduction wherein you need to introduce yourself, you must cite some situation like traffic updates and weather condition. Your topic must be relatable for your listeners and current events or news. Rico Paňero shared to us some of the techniques if you are running out of words you should greet someone or promote some of the endorsements. Our last question that our professor prepared is the techniques in announcing for Radio. Rico Paňero said that you should be prepared of what you are going to say, it should be credible and it is necessary that you have a big voice and projection. My other group mates prepared another three questions for Rico Paňero one of our questions is his opinion about playing OPM songs every hour. â€Å"Majority of our songs that we play in our station is OPM there is no problem about that† Rico Paňero answered. Abegail also asked him why is it that every Sunday, they need to play old songs is it necessary for them to play old songs. â€Å"The elders want the songs that they can easily relate to it and the listeners are also hooked that every Sunday there will be old songs to be played† as Rico Paňero answered. The last question that been asked does the television helped a lot in the music industry of the Philippines. â€Å"The singers or bands get notice not because of the television but because of the radio† Rico Paňero answered confidently. The singers and bands get more famous if they already have an album that can be played in radio. That ended our exciting and very humble interview to him.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Synthesis of Polyelectrolyte Pani Membrane

Synthesis of Polyelectrolyte Pani Membrane SYNTHESIS OF POLYELECTROLYTE PAni MEMBRANE BYÂ  PHASE INVERSION AND ITS CHARACTERIZATIONS NURUL IZZATI IZNI BT MAT YUSOFF INTRODUCTION During the last few decades, the application of membrane based separation is the leading technology as one of the alternatives used in separating and removal of organic solvents. Moreover, it holds a significant commercial impact in several areas including water and wastewater treatment, chemical, food industries, pharmaceuticals, petrochemical related industries and bioseparation areas (Javed Alam et al., 2012). However, membrane-based separation processes are comparatively new in the field of separation which makes current membranes have limitations that hinder their wide used in aggressive solvents. The situation has led many studies in order to develop this membrane-based technology. Amongst the new generation of intrinsically conducting polymer, polyaniline (PAni) membranes have captured the intense attention of scientific community and one of the promising candidates. PAni is a polymer which poorly soluble in almost all solvents and has been widely known due to its conductive properties. Most important, it is easy to synthesize this polymer and it has an interesting doping and dedoping characteristics. However, the high yield of PAni demands several essential conditions. In order to obtain a higher quality polymer product, highly pured monomers, chemicals and solvents are needed. Besides, a strict control on polymerization conditions are needed since the small variation in the polymerization conditions might alter the nature of the product (Sadia Ameen et al., 2011). From the previous study, there are many research have been done in order to produce a stable and useful PAni membrane in nanofiltration. Most of the researches focused on synthesize, membrane fabrication and doping/dedoping of PAni membrane. However, the study on PAni membrane can be expand more instead of those previous research. The stability and performance of PAni membrane on polyelectrolyte coating should be done to further this study. Polyelectrolyte is a macromolecular species that upon being placed in water or any other ionizing solvent dissociates into a highly charged polymeric molecule (Reza Derakhshandeh et al., 2010). One of the methods of polyelectrolyte coating is layer by layer (LBL) coating. LBL is the simplest process being used by most of the researcher. There are numerous advantages of this method compared to other methods for thin film fabrication. The unique advantages of the method are that, both organic and inorganic can be incorporated into LBL thin films bes ides offers easier preparation and durable (unknown, yr). PROBLEM STATEMENTS There are numerous number of membranes have been develop by researchers. However, membranes nowadays have fixed physical-chemical properties which make separation by membranes very limited to the fixed selectivity of their constituent. Therefore, new membrane materials must be explored to cope with these limiting factors. Next generation of filtration membranes must be more selective and robust which requires low chemical and energy input (Sajjad Sedaghat, 2014). These properties must be considered to meet goals in applications since current membranes often problematic in cost. Membranes basically can be prepared from ceramic and polymeric materials. There are many studies shown that ceramic materials have several advantages over polymeric materials. As example, membrane from ceramic materials is highly stable in terms of chemical and thermal stability. Unfortunately, the market share of polymeric membranes is far greater than ceramic membranes as the polymeric materials are easier to process and less expensive (Khulbe et al., 2008). Instead of those materials, there are also membranes from inorganic materials that have been successfully applied in dehydration of tetrahydrofuran (THF). However, to produce an inorganic membrane requires a high cost rather than polymeric membrane beside their system design is more complex (Chapman et al., 2007). Therefore, membrane from polymeric material is a suitable candidate for the research since it meets the desired criteria. PAni as a polymeric material has been widely researched due to its conductive properties. To date, although PAni has been applied to a number of applications but there are still some deficiency. For instance, PAni membranes which applied to chemically crosslinked swell in THF although it retained their structure while too much thermal crosslinking gave membranes with no fluxes in any solvents at all. Furthermore, unsupported PAni membranes shrank during the process of thermal crosslinking which causing some trouble for large scale membrane productions where certain amount of bending or curling is required (Loh et al., 2008). An alternative to thermal or chemical crosslinking would be polyelectrolyte coating to make them more stable. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study are: To produce phase inversion PAni membrane from chemical polymerization of PAni in APS solution. To introduce polyelectrolyte onto the synthesized membrane. To characterize the membrane morphological, physical, chemical, electrical and filtration properties. LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY Chemicals All chemicals and reagents will be used are analytical grade. AnalaR aniline, ammonium persulfate (APS), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), 4-methylpiperidine (4MP), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) poly(allylamine hydrochloric) (PAH), hydrochloride acid (HCL) and lithium chloride (LiCl) PAni synthesis by chemical polymerization To produce an Aniline solution, 37.25 g of 0.4 mol Aniline will be added into a beaker containing 400 mL of 1.0 M HCl. The mixture is well mix. In another beaker, APS solution will be prepared by adding 91.26 g of 0.4 mol APS into 256 mL of 1.0 M HCL. To prevent the mixture from freezing at -15 oC, add 66.8 g and 39.68 g of LiCl into both beakers respectively. After finish the preparation of both solutions, mix them in a conical flask. The conical flask then will be put in an incubator shaker at temperature -15 oC and continuously shake for 48 h. During this period, a reaction occur which polymer filter cake will be produced. After 48 h, filter and wash with 1.5 L DI water to remove any left-over reactants. To deprotonate the emaraldine salt to its base form, the filter cake then is being place in a beaker contain 250 mL ammonia solution (33% w/v) in a beaker and will be mix by using incubator shaker for 12 h at room temperature. Next, the filter cake will be filter and will be wash with 1 L DI water. To remove any low weight PAni oligomers and decrease time drying, the filter cake will be wash again with 500 mL methanol before being dry under vacuum for 24 h. After drying, the dry Emeralidine Base (EB) powder will be pass through a 160 Â µm mesh sieve to remove remaining clusters. Then, the EB powder will be stored under argon at 4 oC until required (Chapman et al., 2007). Membrane production by phase inversion PAni membrane will be produce by wet phase inversion method. First of all, 4MP and NMP will be mix in a beaker to make up the solvent. Then EB powder will be add using a funnel and mix at speed 300 rpm for 12 h. After 12 h mixing, dope the solution by adding maleic acids and mix at speed 150 rpm for 12 h. The solution will turn from dark blue to dark green to indicate that acid doping is taken place. The solution is then left to stand for 4 h to remove air bubble. Next, cast the solution on a nonwoven polyester support fabric and immediately immersed in DI water at room temperature for 24 h. During the 24 h, DI water will be change once after 12 h (Loh et al., 2008). Polyelectrolyte coating Polyelectrolyte coating of PAni membrane will be done by dipping the membrane into an anionic and cationic solution. Anionic solution will be used in this research is PAA while PAH is for cationic solution. To prepare anionic solution, PAA will be dissolve in DI water and 5 M HCl will be used to adjust the pH to 3.5. For cationic solution, PAH also will be dissolve in DI water but to adjust the pH solution to 3.5, 5 M NaOH will be used. Next, PAni membrane will be immerse in PAA solution for 10 min followed by two DI water rinses for 2 and 1 min respectively. The PAni membrane then will be immerse in PAH solution for 10 min followed by two DI water rinses for 2 and 1 min respectively. These complete the first bilayer of polyelectrolyte coating. For the next layer, the steps before will be repeated again which is starting from immersing in anionic solution and then cationic solution. After finish the process, the membrane need to be wash with ammonia and let it to fully dry before bei ng proceed with characterization (Jinhua Dai et al., 2005 unknown, yr). Characterization of PAni membrane Flow chart Stock and reagent solutions preparation PAni synthesis by chemical polymerization Characterization of EB powder by using GPC Membrane production and casting Polyelectrolyte coating Characterization Analysis GANTT CHART MILESTONE Table 7.1 : Milestone EXPECTED OUTCOMES/COMMERCIALIZATIONS REFERENCES Chapman, P., Loh, X.X., Livingston, A.G., Li, K., Oliveira, T.A.C. (2007). Polyaniline Membranes for The Dehydration of Tetrahydrofuran by Pervaporation. Journal of Membrane Science, 309 (2008), pp. 102-111. Loh, X.X., Sairam, M., Bismarck, A., Steinke, J.H.G., Livingston, A.G., Li, K. (2008) Crosslinked Integrally Skinned Asymmetric Polyaniline Membranes for Use in Organic Solvents. Journal of Membrane Science, 326 (2009), pp. 635-642.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton :: Cry, The Beloved Country Essays

The novel â€Å"Cry the Beloved Country† is based on the true-life story of South African apartheid, and the native’s struggle for equality. During the book, Stephen Kumalo goes on a journey to find his sister, and his son, for they have left the tribal land of KwaZulu-Natal a long time ago, and neither Kumalo nor his wife have heard of the whereabouts of either family members. As he goes on his journey, the things that he sees, and experiences tell the much greater story of Apartheid in South Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Kumalo arrives in the city, he is in the midst of the poverty and confusion that is the great city of Johannesburg where people from all the native tribes go to find jobs, money, and housing among other things. He sees everything that is going on around him, all the oppression that his people have to go through, and the way they are treated. When he went and found his sister, she was living in horrible conditions, and this really was the way that most black people lived. They had their own part of the city, with their own schools, and their own busses, because the apartheid issue was so strong. By going along with Kumalo we, the reader, see how harsh everyday life is for the natives of South Africa. While Kumalo was on his journey, he passed through the shantytowns where only black South Africans lived, and the busses that they were striking against. We see how difficult it is to go through everyday life as a black person, and how hard it is to get from place to place if you do not know all the right people. This is the way that true South African life was for most people who lived there. It was not a good situation for anyone to be in. There was much disease being spread throughout, and in the awfully crowded living conditions it was hard to escape it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example of the apartheid that was shown through Kumalo’s journey was the example of the bus strike. None of the natives agreed to take the bus for as long as they would have to pay outrageous rates.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Mathematics of the Eye and Color Essay examples -- Math

Eye And Color The eye form a â€Å"optical image† on the light sensitive cell of the retina. It is very often compared to a camera in it so workings. However it is like a camera in its focusing properties but is very different after the light has hit the retina. The camera just prints a point to point representation of the image on film, where as the is much more complex and interesting. The visible light is only a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and various wavelength in this visible spectrum of light represent different colors. Short wavelength light is reddish, medium wavelength light is greenish and long wavelength light is bluish. This make apparent in the a schematic of electromagnetic radiation below. The various structures of the eye refract the light entering the eye to focus is on the photosensitive retina. This structure are like the lenses we studied in class. Path The light takes * Cornea - The transparent tissue (part of the sclera) towards the front of the eye. Nearly a spherical and accounts for 43 of 59 of the dioptric power of the eye. Light must pass through the cornea to enter the interior of the eye. Imperfection in the spherical shape of the eye, astigmatism, result in vision problems. * Pupil- opening to the interior of the eye is controlled by the iris. Iris is the thing pigmented smooth muscle part of the choroid. Pupil controls the amount of light entering the eye by dilating or constricting. The diameter of the pupil can range from 2mm to 8mm. * Aqueous Humor- The liquid between the cornea and lens that has a refractive index (1.336) very close to water. * Lens-flexible tissue suspended from colliery muscles which can be used for accommodation. ... ... for all the visual phenomenon, remember the trick with the four colorful squares towards the beginning of the section. That phenomenon and many other like can not be explained with tricromatic theory alone, so a combination of tricromatic theory and opposition theory are used to explain vision. But the trichromatic system works at the retinal level where as the opposition is at the cerebral level. References Used * Human Physiology by Laurlee Sherwood * Color Vision and Colorimetry by Daniel Malacara * The Perception of Light and Colour by C.A Padgham and J.E Saunders * http://www.adobe.com/support/techguides/color/colormodels/main.html * Perception: Mechanims and Models by Richar Held and Whitman Richards * http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/visioncon.html#c1 Mathematics of the Eye and Color Essay examples -- Math Eye And Color The eye form a â€Å"optical image† on the light sensitive cell of the retina. It is very often compared to a camera in it so workings. However it is like a camera in its focusing properties but is very different after the light has hit the retina. The camera just prints a point to point representation of the image on film, where as the is much more complex and interesting. The visible light is only a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and various wavelength in this visible spectrum of light represent different colors. Short wavelength light is reddish, medium wavelength light is greenish and long wavelength light is bluish. This make apparent in the a schematic of electromagnetic radiation below. The various structures of the eye refract the light entering the eye to focus is on the photosensitive retina. This structure are like the lenses we studied in class. Path The light takes * Cornea - The transparent tissue (part of the sclera) towards the front of the eye. Nearly a spherical and accounts for 43 of 59 of the dioptric power of the eye. Light must pass through the cornea to enter the interior of the eye. Imperfection in the spherical shape of the eye, astigmatism, result in vision problems. * Pupil- opening to the interior of the eye is controlled by the iris. Iris is the thing pigmented smooth muscle part of the choroid. Pupil controls the amount of light entering the eye by dilating or constricting. The diameter of the pupil can range from 2mm to 8mm. * Aqueous Humor- The liquid between the cornea and lens that has a refractive index (1.336) very close to water. * Lens-flexible tissue suspended from colliery muscles which can be used for accommodation. ... ... for all the visual phenomenon, remember the trick with the four colorful squares towards the beginning of the section. That phenomenon and many other like can not be explained with tricromatic theory alone, so a combination of tricromatic theory and opposition theory are used to explain vision. But the trichromatic system works at the retinal level where as the opposition is at the cerebral level. References Used * Human Physiology by Laurlee Sherwood * Color Vision and Colorimetry by Daniel Malacara * The Perception of Light and Colour by C.A Padgham and J.E Saunders * http://www.adobe.com/support/techguides/color/colormodels/main.html * Perception: Mechanims and Models by Richar Held and Whitman Richards * http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/visioncon.html#c1

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A&P by John Updike Essay

The short story entitled â€Å"A&P† by John Updike was published in 1961 and confirmed the author’s reputation as a master of detail. In reality, the author merely expressed the spirit of the 1960s, which includes decadence, transformations of polity and society, which ascended certain people, but spiritually impoverished others, as well uncertainty in the next day. The short story thus reveals multiple contexts, all of which can be tied to its title. The present paper is intended to discuss the narrative in relation to its short and simple title.   The plot of the short story takes place in a provincial grocery store â€Å"A&P† and is narrated by the protagonist, 19-year-old Sammy, who works there as a checker. â€Å"One Thursday afternoons the store is empty for the most part. The only people that inter the store are old woman and woman with six children whom he refers both to as sheep, when three girls walk in dressed with nothing more that bathing suits. This catches his eye and he watches them closely and studies each one of them with great detail† (Luscher, 1993, p. 168). Furthermore, the youth distinguishes the leader of the group and refers to her as Queenie, as she seems to behave with great self-confidence and social competence, and the two other girls simply follow her. . Sammy is aware of the fact that the girls violate the rules of this store concerning outfit, but doesn’t begin confrontation until his manager Lengel, who informs the girls abut the internal rules of â€Å"A&P†. Queenie states that they are not doing shopping, as they seek to purchase only one product, but Lengel still continues blaming the girls for the abuse of the regulatory policy. Queenie responds that they are decent and do not intend to abuse the other customers’ convictions concerning morality. Sammy finally allows them to make a purchase, but observing the manager’s behavior, he concludes that he is not going to work for this shop any longer and announces that he   is quitting. Thus, the idea of the short story circles around the transition from adolescence to adulthood and the growth of the ability to make one’s own moral judgments, which can be free and independent from any redundant formalities (Luscher, 1993). The period of adolescence is usually associated with the formation of role models, which might dictate behavioral patterns to follow (Luscher, 1993). In this sense, both his professional identity as an employee of the A&P and his self-awareness have been nurtured under the influence of two adults: Stokesie, a major breadwinner in his family, and Lengel, the store manager, whose career began in this place. Sammy, in this sense, seeks to imitate the relaxed behavior, demonstrated by Stokesie, who exclaims â€Å"Oh Daddy, I feel so faint!† (Updike, 2007, at http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/). Similarly, â€Å"Sammy whittles away his days looking at pretty girls and thinking about the ways of people. He hardly realizes that this is how he will spend his entire existence if he doesn’t soon get out of this job. During this day that will prove to change his life, he makes the step towards his realization† (McFarland, 1983, p. 95). In fact, he originates from a working-class family, as his parents served at cocktail parties, and at first he decided to make a career, connected with the service sphere, but on the day of argument with the three girls,   the youth begins to build his own superstructure over the foundation of convictions, imposed by parental desire to penetrate into middle class and by the corresponding values, which view job as the sense of existence, regardless of the agent’s attitude towards this employment (McFarland, 1983; Luscher, 1993). Thus, his competition for store manager’s position finally appears to him pointless, similarly to the movements of the â€Å"sheep†, who make purposeful actions (do shopping) in order to satisfy their basic and not always conscious needs. Sammy, on the contrary, begins hard cognitive work on his own goals and makes his first conscious decision to leave the job. Furthermore, the young man seems to realize the responsibility he should take for his actions. In fact, his second role model, Langel, influences this decision in the most notable way (McFarland, 1983; Porter, 1972). After Langel’s appearance at the scene, Sammy concludes that he doesn’t wish to grow into such snobbish and arrogant manager, who regards himself as the last resort in all moral dilemmas and successfully combines preacher’s duties with his professional responsibilities.   Langel highlights one phrase in his admonition: â€Å"This isn’t the beach† (Updike, 2007). Sammy believes the way the executive firmly repeats this phrase look â€Å"as if it had occurred to him, and he had been thinking all these years the A&P was a big sand and he was the head lifeguard† (Updike, 2007). As Porter notes, â€Å"his â€Å"sand dune† is the world of work, whereas the girls’ is the world of play† (Porter, 1972, p.1156). As one can understand, the first approach to the interpretation of the title derives from the central idea of the short story. In this sense, the A&P appears a place, where the protagonist’s psychological maturation takes place, so   the emphasis upon the name of the shop can be alleged as the author’s natural desire to prioritize the settings, including the social context (the desirable shift from one social class to another), which puts the main character on his path to the insight. Another approach to the title is aesthetic or spatial. The author might have sought to prioritize the place itself rather than the most important idea, primarily – in order to provide the reader with sample environment, in which contemporary teenagers perform their working duties. This means, the concept of the A&P as shop, which stores not merely goods, but also human fates and aspirations, is also valuable and deserves a more detailed examination. Due to the fact that this approach requires focusing upon senses and perception, it is important to include the atmosphere, depicted by the author. As McFarland notes, â€Å"to a large extent, the aesthetic pleasure in â€Å"A&P† depends upon the reader’s sensing this dramatic irony. Sammy’s words resonate and gain meaning through a larger artistic context out of which he comes (Updike’s knowledge and imagination) but of which he, the fictive character, is unaware† (McFarland, 1983, p. 96). Importantly, two scholars, McFarland (1983) and Shaw (1986) compare the method of building the relationship between the imagery and the protagonist’s inner world to the allusion, depicted in â€Å"The Birth of Venus† by   Sanrdo Botticelli. Similarly to all Renaissance paintings, it depicts a nude woman, who comes from sea spirit. The protagonist also focuses on the appearances of three females, who have merely bikinis on and therefore to great extent resemble to Renaissance patterns of depicting female body. Furthermore, Sammy concentrates his attention on the leader of the group, who appears a queen in his eyes, because of her unique step, movements and gestures. The protagonist thoroughly fixes all these details about the girl and she seems a source of aesthetic pleasure for the protagonist, rather than merely a person, who belongs to the opposite gender (Shaw, 1986) Sammy soon begins to describe the nature of femininity and indicates that girls’ inner life is always a puzzle for him. He upgrades his perception of the girl, as the essential aspect of their appearance is the alteration of the atmosphere and the emergence of the spirit of freedom in the air, rather than merely the girls’ clothing and the way they communicate with one another. In Sammy’s opinion, Queenie fills the store with her aura, comprised by charm, self-determination and ingenuousness. In order to improve the reader’s understanding of all these emanations, which saturated the accommodation, Sammy poetically describes the young girl: â€Å"If it hadn’t been there you wouldn’t have known there could have been anything whiter than those shoulders† (Updike, 2007). The protagonist’s description of Queenie to certain degree reminds Venus by Botticelli: white body, high shoulders, bare feet and pride in the eyes.   When the girl brings her purchase to the cashier, Sammy feels as if he has just been chosen by Fortune (Shaw, 1986): â€Å"Queenie puts down the jar and I take it into my fingers icy cold: Kingfish Fancy herring Snacks in Pure Sour Cream: 49>. Now her hands are empty, not a ring or a bracelet, bare as God made them, and I wonder where the money is coming from† (Updike, 2007). The thorough depiction of all details, associated with the girls’ visit to the shop implies that the event was so meaningful to the protagonist that he memorized it completely, primarily, because of the surrealistic alteration of the place into the scene or arena of theatrical performance. After Langel confronts the girl, the sense of theatricality reinforces, as the manager explicitly plays hi professional role, whereas the girl behaves naturally and appears a â€Å"positive character† of the play. The girl, similarly to the Greek goddess in the ancient literature, inspires the protagonist and brings him into a different dimension of cognition, primarily through   participating in the affected episode, initiated by the executive, which in fact occurs at the workplaces like the A&P. Sammy thus understands that the service area turns employees into dull puppets, which perform uncreative job and inhibit inspiration, embodied by Queenie (Shaw, 1986). After the girl leaves, Sammy begins to feel the pressure of his workplace and finally decides to quit the job. The final interpretation of the title derives from the protagonist himself, especially when taking into consideration the fact that he is a teenager, who uses to simplify his life and at first doesn’t disclose any deep reflection. In this context â€Å"A&P† points to the teenage perception of the event, i.e. if a 19-year-old man like Sammy wrote this story he would probably given it this title. The reminder about the protagonist’s teen age can be found in the vocabulary he uses. As Grainer suggests, the narrator is defined primarily by his â€Å"tones and vocabularies† (Grainer, 2007, at http://www.enotes.com/and-pa/11435). Furthermore, â€Å"No one else supplies background information or details to round out character [†¦] when he [Sammy] describes the girls, we wonder if his lyrical flights of language expose the inadequacy of his slang as he stretches to show why these teen-agers deserve his sacrifice† (Grainer, 2007).   Furthermore, beyond the typical colloquial language, the protagonist behaves as impulsively as teenagers often do when they suddenly discover something fundamental and make corresponding decisions. Thus, the title perfectly fits the protagonist’s personality and the psychological features of his age. To sum up, the essay has outlined three major perspectives, from which the title can be interpreted. Firstly, the viewing the title through the prism of the central idea, the A&P appears a place, where the protagonist’s philosophy of life evolves. Secondly, approaching to the title in terms of the atmosphere in the store, one can conclude that the author also attempts to describe an ordinary shop, as a place which determines human fates. Finally, the short title matches the teenage psychology and the author’s simple and understandable reasoning. Works cited Greiner, J. â€Å"Sammy’s Colloquial Voice in â€Å"A&P†Ã¢â‚¬ . Retrieved   April 17, 2007, from: http://www.enotes.com/and-pa/11435 Luscher, R. John Updike: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1993. McFarland, R. â€Å"Updike and the Critics: Reflections on ‘A&P’.† Studies in Short Fiction, 20 (1983): 94-100. Porter, M. â€Å"John Updike’s ‘A&P’: The Establishment and an Emersonian Cashier†. English Journal, 61 (1972): 1155-58. Shaw, P. â€Å"Checking Out Faith and Lust: Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’; and Updike’s ‘A&P’†. Studies in Short Fiction, 23 (1986): 321-23. Updike, J. A&P. Retrieved April 17, 2007, from: http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/   

Monday, September 16, 2019

Holiday Trip

Science Form 2 note CHAPTER 1: THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES 1. 1 Sensory Organs and Their Functions Sensory Organs and Their Stimuli 1. Humans being have five main sensory organ, which are skin, nose, tongue, ears and eyes. 2. Sense detects stimuli, that is changes in surroundings (around us). 3. Five senses: i. sight ii. hearing iii. touch iv. taste v . smell 4. Senses are part of the body called sensory organs. 5. Changes or object that can detect by our senses are called stimuli. 6. The ability of the sensory organs to detect stimuli is called senses. 7.All the sensory organs are complete with sensory receptors, that is the nerve endings that can detect stimuli. Stimuli Sense Sensory organ Light(Brightness, colour) Sight Eye Sound Hearing Ear Touch, heat, cold, pain, pressure Touch Skin Sweet, sour, bitter, salty Taste Tongue Smell or odors Smell Nose The World through our senses senses Light and sight Sound and hearing Stimuli and responses in plants Touch (skin) Smell (nose) Tas te (tongue) Hearing (ear) Sight (eye) Properties of light Vision defects Optical illusions Stereoscopic and monocular Properties of sound Reflection and absorption limitations stereophonicPhototropism (light) Geotropism (gravity) Hydrotropism (water) Thigmotropism (move toward) Nastic movement (move run away) Science Form 2 note 2012 Laman web. http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/see. htm http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/touch. htm http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/hear. htm http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/taste. htm http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/smell. htm 1. 2 The Pathway from Stimulus to Response PMR 05 Figure 1. 2 The summary of the pathway from stimulus to response 1. Our sensory organs are used to detect stimuli (Singular: stimulus).A stimulus is anything that causes a reaction in a living organism, e. g. Pain, heat, sound, chemicals. 2. When a stimulus is detected, receptor cells in the sensory organ will be triggered and generate impulses. 3. These impulses will be transmitted through the nerve and than to the brain. 4. The brain will further process and interpret the impulse signals as specific information than the organism has to respond to. 5. This information is than sent back to the sensory organ through the nerve to provide responses. Stimulus > Sensory organ > Nerves > Brain > Nerves >Response Stimulus Sensory organs NervesBrain Nerve Response Science Form 2 note 2012 EXERCISE Sense of Touch PMR 07 http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/touch. htm Go to www. brainpop. com/health/integumentary/skin/index. weml Watch a movie on the skin. For easy access, go to www. icd. com. my 1. The sense of touch is the sense that is sensitive towards the touch stimulus provided by specific objects. 2. Organ involve in the detection of touch stimulus is the skin. 3. Structure of human skin: a) The skin divided into three layer epidermis, dermis, fat layer (subcutaneous layer @ adipose layer @ fat layer) ) Receptors are cell in our body that detected stimu li. c) Our body have different types of receptors. These are: i. pain receptor ii. touch receptor iii. heat receptor iv. cold receptor v. pressure receptor Sensory organ 1 Eye 2 Tongue 3 Ear 4 Nose 5 Skin Stimulus (a) Light (a) Chemical substance (a) Sound (a) Chemical substance (a) Cold Pressure Pain Heat Detected by sense of (b) Sight (b) Taste (b) hearing (b) smell (b) touch Science Form 2 note 2012 d) The pain receptor is in the epidermis. e) The touch, heat and cold receptors are in the dermis.The pressure receptors are in the fat layer. f) Each type of receptor can detect only one particular stimulus. g) The part or our body contain receptor are called sensory organs h) These receptor have nerves attached to them Draw figure 1. 3, page 6 4. The degree of sensitivity of the skin depends on the: a) Thickness of the epidermis †¢ The thinner the epidermis, the more sensitive the skin is to the stimulus b) Number of receptors present PMR 05 †¢ The more receptors found on the skin the more sensitive is that part of the skin. 5. The part of the body that have thin epidermis and many receptors sensitive to touch are ) lips b) fingertips c) behind the ears d) armpit e) the back of the neck 6. The part of the body that are not so sensitive to touch are the: a) elbow b) knee c) palm of the hand and sole of the foot d) buttocks/hip 7. The parts of the body usually chosen by the doctor for injection are along the upper arm and the buttocks. This is because these parts have thick epidermis and fewer receptors. 8. Braille is a code made up of small raised dots on paper. Blind people use their sense of touch to read Braille. 9. Other functions of the human skin. i. Water proof – prevent water loss from skin. ii.Prevents entry of microorganisms that cause illnesses. iii. Remove waste products – excess water, urea and mineral salts. iv. Produces Vitamin D in the presence of the sunlight. v. Stabilise body temperature Science Form 2 note 2012 â€⠀œ sweat glands produce more sweat to cool the body if body temperature rises. Quick check Fill in the blank with the suitable terms given in the box. Receptors thickness thinner sense of touch touch more number 1. The skin is an organ of __________________ 2. There are five types of __ ___ in the skin sensitive to various stimuli. . The sensitivity of the skin depends on the ___________ of the epidermis and the ____________ receptors on the skin. 4. The ____________ the epidermis, the more sensitive it is to stimulus. 5. The ________ receptors there are on the skin, the more sensitive it is to stimulus. 6. Blind people use their ____ to help them read Braille THE SENSE OF SMELL http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/smell. htm Go to www. innerbody. com/htm/body/html. choose `nervous system’ and click on the `nose’ for detailed information. For easy access, go to www. icd. com. my mucus Sensory Cells (smell receptors) Nerve to brainNose Nasal cavity Air in > tongue Roof o f the mouth nostril Science Form 2 note 2012 1. The nose is sensory organ for smell. 2. Cells sensitive to smell (smell receptors) are found on the top of the nasal cavity. Draw figure 1. 8, page 9 3. Structure of the human nose. a. The human nose has a cavity lined with epithelium tissue. b. On the surface of the epithelium tissue are the sensory cells known as olfactory cells. c.The surface of the nasal cavity is moist because of the mucus secreted by the cells of a gland. d. The nasal cavity has a pair of external opening (nostrils) which have hair to filter dust from the air inhaled through the nose. 4. The nose detects smell in the following way. The inside of the nasal cavity produce mucus v The chemical vapor entering nose during breathing dissolves in mucus. The dissolve chemicals stimulates the smell receptor at the top of the nasal cavity. The smell receptor then produce impulse which are sent through the nerves to the brain v The brain interprets / evaluates the smell . W hen we have a cold or flu, a lot of mucus is produce. The smell receptors are surrounded by this thick layer of mucus and vary little of chemical vapor gets to the smell receptors. Therefore, the smell receptors do not get stimulated enough to effectively function as a sensory organ of smell. 6. The sensitivity of the nose towards stimuli is influenced by the following factors: PMR 05 i. The strength of the smell. A stronger smell will be detected by the nose easily compared with a weaker smell. ii. The presence of mucus in the nose. A lot of mucus will reduce the sensitivity of the nose.Science Form 2 note 2012 Quick check 1. 3 1. Where are the smells receptors found? he top of t he nasal cavity 2. Explain why when we have cold or flu , the nose cannot function effectively as a sensory organ of smell The sensitive receptor cells covered with mucus block the chemical substances from stimulating the smell receptors. THE SENSE OF TASTE http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/taste. htm dra w figure 1. 10, page 11 1. The tongue is the sensory organ for taste. 2. The surface of the tongue has groups of cells known as taste buds which are sensitive to taste. . There are four types of taste buds on the tongue sensitive to sweet , bitter, sour and salty. PMR 03 4. The tongue detects taste in the following way: Dissolved substance > taste receptors > message >brain > type of taste 5. The sense of smell helps the sense of taste . This explains why food dose not taste appetizing when we have a cold or flu because we cannot smell effectively Figure 1. 8 Structure of the human tongue and the areas of taste on the tongue Science Form 2 note 2012 The Sense of Taste and the Sense of Smell Go to www. brainpop. om/health/senses/taste/ Watch a short movie on taste and try a quiz about taste.. For easy access, go to www. icd. com. my 1. All our sense work together:- sense of smell and taste are special partner 2. When we eat, our tongue gives us the taste and our nose smell of the foo d. THE SENSES OF HEARING http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/hear. htm 1. The ear is the sense organ that is sensitive to sound stimuli produced by vibrating object. 2. A human ear has three main part. i. the outer ear, filled with air. ii. The middle ear, filled with air. iii. The inner ear, filled with liquid Draw figure 1. 15, page 14 3.Function of the different parts of the human ear. Salin table 1. 4, page 15 Science Form 2 note 2012 The Hearing Mechanism Lukis/Photostat figure 1. 16 m/s 15 FUNCTIONS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE HUMAN EAR Part function OUTER EAR Pinna collects and directs sound waves into the ear canal. ear canal / auditory canal transmits sound waves to the eardrum. Eardrum vibrates and transmits sound waves to the ossicles. MIDDLE EAR Ossicles intensify the vibrations of the sound waves by 22 times before transmitting to the oval window. Eustachian tube balances the air pressure at both side of the eardrum. val window transmits sound vibrations from the middle ea r to the inner ear. INNER EAR Cochlea transforms sound vibrations into impulses. semicircular canals balance the body position. auditory nerves send messages to the brain which interprets the messages as sound. Limitations of hearing. 1. We cannot hear all the sounds around us. 2. The range of frequencies of hearing in man is 20 Hz until 20 000 Hz. The following table shows the range of frequencies of hearing of several animals: ANIMAL RANGE of FREQUENCIES snake 100-800Hz frog 50-10 000Hz dog 10-50 000Hz cat 60-60 000Hz bat 1000-120 000Hz grasshopper 100-15 000Hz hale 10-50Hz Science Form 2 note 2012 3. Different people have different limitations of hearing. 4. For example, old people generally cannot hear as well as young people. 5. Our ear drum become less sensitive to sound as we grow older. 6. To overcome the limitations of hearing, we use i. the stethoscope – enables doctor to detect the soft heartbeats of patients. ii. hearing aids – collects sound signals before being sent to the middle ear. iii. amplifier – boosts weak sound signals. Stereophonic hearing Go to : http://www. wardless. co. uk/hearing aids/twoEarsBetter. html Find out more about stereophonic hearing from this website or other websites. . For easy access, go to www. icd. com. my 1. Stereophonic hearing is hearing using both ears. 2. The advantages of stereophonic hearing: i. enables the direction of the source of hearing to be detected more accurately. ii. This is because the ear nearer the source of sound receives sound louder and earlier than the other ear. iii. Animals that have stereophonic sound can detect the presence of preys and predators more quickly. Properties of sound (see page 16 science volume 1) 1. The transfer of sound requires a medium. 2. ound can transferred through; b. solids c. liquids d. gases e. cannot be transferred through in vacuum. 3. Sound can be transferred fastest in solids and slowest in gases. 4. This is because the particles in solids a nd liquids are closer each other compared to the molecules in gases. 5. Vacuum is space that does not have any particles. Science Form 2 note 2012 6. Speed of sound transferred in various media. MEDIUM SPEED of SOUND (m/s) Air 340 Water 1500 Wood 3600 Iron 5000 Steel 6000 Reflection and absorption of sound 1. Sound can be reflected or absorbed by the surface of an object. . The sound reflected repeatedly from one surface is known as echo. 3. Surfaces that are smooth, even and hard are good sound reflectors and produce loud echo. For examples, concrete, plank, metal and mirror 4. Surfaces that are rough, hollow and soft are good sound absorbers and produce weak echo. For examples cloth, sponge, cork, rubber, carpet and cushion. SENSE OF SIGHT http://freda. auyeung. net/5senses/see. htm 1. The sense of sight is the sense that can detect light stimulus. 2. Structure of the human eye: PMR 04 i. the sclera (outermost) ii. the choroids (middle) and iii. the retina (innermost) ukis rajah m /s 22 3. The function of each part of the eye. Pelajar diminta mencari maklumat ini (isi maklumat seperti jadual dibawah) Science Form 2 note 2012 part Structure / characteristic function sclera cornea choroids conjunctiva iris pupil Lens PMR 04 Transparent and elastic convex lens Refracts and focuses light onto the retina. ciliary muscle supportive ligament vitreous humour aqueous humour retina optic nerve Mechanism of Sight PMR 03, 07 1. The lens in the human eye is a transparent convex lens. 2. An inverted image is focused on the retina. 3.Light rays are refracted by the eye lens. The eye lens focuses the image onto the retina by changing the thickness of the eye lens. The thickness of the lens is changed by the ciliary muscles. i. Focusing near objects To focus near objects onto the retina, the ciliary muscles contract. The eye lens become thicker. ii. focusing distant object. To focus distant objects onto the retina, the ciliary muscles relax. The eye lens becomes thinner. draw figure `How do we see’ m/s 23 Light and sight 1. Light is a form of energy. 2.. light travels at a speed of ; i. 300,000,000 meter/second (m/s) in the air. ii. 25,000,000 m/s in water iii. 200,000,000 m/s in glass 3. Light travels in a straight lines. Science Form 2 note 2012 Reflection of light. http://www. phys. ufl. edu/- delamater/optics_pictures. pdf#search=`what%20is%20incident%20and%20ref lected%20ray’ 1. Light can be reflected. (that’s mean change direction) 2. When the reflected light rays enter our eyes, we can see the object. 3. The image in a plane mirror is, i. virtual (cannot be formed on a screen) ii. upright iii. laterally inverted iv. the same size as the object v. the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in mirror.Refraction of light. PMR 03, 05 1. Refraction of light is the bending of light. This happens when light travels from one transparent medium to another which is of a different density. 2. The speed of light decrease when l ight enters a denser medium. 3. Light travels through media like air, water and glass. draw figure 1. 27 page 24 Experiment page 25. LAPORAN PEKA 1 Various defect of vision. PMR 03, 06, 07 http://www. chemsoc. org/exemplarchem/entries/2002/upton/defects_of_the _eye. htm 1. Two common vision defects are long-sightedness (hypermetropia) and short-sightedness (myopia).Science Form 2 note 2012 2. Comparison between long-sightedness and short-sightedness. `Comparison between long-sightedness and short-sightedness’ Short-sightedness Differences Long-sightedness 1. Symptoms of defect. 1. 2. Causes of defect 1. Position of image of object Lihat power point Diagram Science Form 2 note 2012 Correction method 3. Astigmatism is another vision defect. i. Its caused by the cornea and the eye lens that are not evenly curved. ii. As a result, the image formed on the retina is distorted and not clear (hazy/blurred). ii. This defect can be overcome by wearing glasses with cylindrical lenses or contact lens or by surgery. 4. Optical illusion. http://www. michaelbach. de/ot/ http://www. indianchild. com/3d%20mainpage. htm i. Optical illusion occurs when the brain cannot interpret impulses received properly. ii. Examples of optical illusion. draw figure 1. 41 page 30 5. Blind spot i. The blind spot is a spot on the retina of the eye that cannot detect light stimulus. ii. The image of the object formed at the blind spot cannot be seen by the eye because there are no light-sensitive cells (photoreceptors) at the blind spot.Experiment seperti ms 29 Monocular and stereoscopic vision. http://nzphoto. tripod. com/sterea/3dvision. htm Science Form 2 note 2012 1. The stereoscopic vision is vision using both eyes. 2. The overlapping area of the vision of both the left and right eyes is called stereoscopic field 3. Advantages of stereoscopic vision. a. See three-dimensional pictures of objects. b. Enables more accurate estimation of distance and position. c. Animal predators normally have stereoscopis vision so better estimate the distance when getting to pounce on their prey. draw figure 1. 3 page 31 4. Monocular vision is a vision using only one eye. 5. The advantage of monocular vision is having a wide vision field. 6. Its disadvantage is that it cannot estimate distance accurately. 7. Animal preys use monocular vision to detect predators coming from all direction. draw figure 1. 42 page 30 Appropriate devices to overcome the limitations of sight Go to www. google. com. Type LASIK or PRK . you can get more information about the latest technologies to correct the different types of defects of vision. 1. Optical devices are invented to increase the ability to see minute or very distant objects.INSTRUMENT FUNCTION Microscope To see minute objects such as microorganisms and bacteria. Telescope to see far-off objects such as stars and planets. Binocular to see tiny distant objects such as birds in the sky. Magnifying to magnify tiny objects to become glass larger than original. Science Form 2 note 2012 STIMULI AND RESPONSE IN PLANTS. Go to www. emc. maricopa. edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/Biobook TOC. html Click on `24 plant hormones and nutrition’ then `plants respond to external stimuli’.. For easy access, go to www. icd. com. my . Movements of any plant parts towards stimuli are known as tropic movement or tropism. 2. Type of tropism: a. Growth of plant part towards an external stimulus is known as positive tropism. b. Growth away from an external stimulus is known as negative tropism. 3. Tropism responses in plants include: a. Phototropism PMR 03, 08 b. Geotropism PMR 06 c. Hydrotropism PMR 03, 08 d. Thigmotropism – move towards – to obtain support e. Nastic movement – move run away – Salin nota sendiri dari buku teks m/s 33, 34, 35 masukkan gambar rajah sekali †¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. tammat†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Globalisation ; Video games

I am sitting in a small coffee shop on Nanjing Road in the heart of Shanghai's central business district as I write this post. As I look around me the energy of this metropolis is palpable. There is a sense of optimism and a can-do attitude that is remarkably similar to what I experience in every vibrant economy worldwide. There is another common thread. Gaming is pervasive. Wherever I look, whether in the coffee shop or in the subway or bus station, people are enjoying video games and immersed in their phone, tablet, or laptop.Last week, I expounded on the first of three secular orces that I believe are changing the videogame industry and today seems more relevant than ever to discuss the second one: globalization. The global software market for video games was approximately $52 billion in 2012. In Just the last 8 years, the emerging markets have gone from 12% to 47% of the market size and are growing at a compounded annual rate of nearly 30%. While the growth is broad based, countr ies like China, Brazil and Russia are on a tear, growing upwards of 100% in categories like Android and iOS.In most of these markets, consoles are a very small art of gaming today, though that is also starting to change as even countries like China are re-evaluating long held policies on allowing consoles. As I look at technological and game play trends, it is my strong belief that the market for gaming is going to sustain this growth for many years to come and in most cases even accelerate. However, with globalization comes a very different set of technical challenges. Companies can't simply replicate their success in western markets with a â€Å"rinse and repeat† of existing strategies for new geographies.Companies that simply ranslate their products verbatim and release it into new markets will fail. To succeed, you have to think global but act local. What does this mean in the context of videogames? Each country is different in its gaming patterns, consumer behavior, infr astructure, commercial norms and local regulations. Different aspects of the game have to be tailored for local playing conditions as though the game was built from the ground up for that market.A few examples: New game content that has local relevance and appeal Architectural changes that cater to local infrastructure, such as accounting for expected network latencies and packet losses. Introduction of different business models such as free-to-play Respect for local commercial norms, such as Konbini in Japan or Boleto Bancario in Brazil Expansion of the backend platform to support local offers, promotions and pricing changes Even though videogames are prevalent around the world today, there are cultural nuances that are extremely important to react to when it comes to delivering digital entertainment and services.It's not Just about marketing products differently (which is also very important) but the technology backbone that goes into supporting these titles also needs to adjust f or he country or region you're in. Everything from payment systems, gameplay mechanics and monetization strategies could be different. One such example is Plants vs. Zombies, a spectacular tower defense game from PopCap that has a massive consumer base in North America.It has had remarkable success in China with its Great Wall edition which was released on mobile in China with local content, consumer data plans (26 and 36) and local network topology. Another example is FIFA Online 3 which was recently released in Korea and is based on the game mechanics of the popular FIFA 13 console game but tailored for the local market. It has already broken records with 2. 4 million players in Just the first four weeks since launch.It's a format that works better for that market and gives us the opportunity to deliver one of our core franchises to a new audience. Global connectivity has expanded the opportunities for our industry while also completely changing the demands on our technology infra structure. I have to be thinking global with every decision I make. My next post I'll address what I see as the final secular force – social connectivity. In the meantime, I'd love to hear how going global in business impacts your day-to-day.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Film Critique for “the Golden Compass”

Film Critique for â€Å"The Golden Compass† The Motion Picture of â€Å"The Golden Compass† is based on Philip Pullman’s novel â€Å"Northern Lights† (The first part in his novel trilogy â€Å"His Dark Materials†) and was rated pg-13 (indicating that the material within the film could be unsuitable for children under the age of thirteen (Murray, 2012)), the movie was released to theaters in December of 2007. This movie has been categorized as a Family, fantasy adventure (Carraro & Weitz, 2007); however, there have been serious debates about the religious aspects of the story, whether or not it should be geared for younger audiences and how the film eviscerated the novel’s version of the story’s backbone (Rotten Tomatoes, 2012). Also read this  com/voices-freedom-critique/">Critique of Stuff Is Not Salvation I will be reviewing all aspects of the movie including the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, impact of society on the film and vice versa, the genre and the overall textural themes to get a full understanding of the film and to show that in a whole, it was a very good story and was a fun movie to watch. The director’s vision of the story is how a film comes to life. Their purpose is not simply to help the writer tell the story but also to make the audience care about the story by giving the story meaning† (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011, sec. 2. 5 para. 1). This film’s story is about a girl named Lyra Belacqua (played by Dakota Blue Richards) who is about twelve years old. Residing in a universe parallel to our own ruled by the Magisterium, people’s spirits reside on the outside of their bodies and walk beside them as companions in the form of animals (the type of animals depends on the person) known as â€Å"Daemon s†. Lyra was brought up as an orphan living amongst scholars at the Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra’s need for adventure hits a little closer to home than she had hoped when she realizes the hushed whispers of adults and members of the Magisterium speaking of dust and children who are going missing start to become pieces in a puzzle that lyra is determined to solve and with any luck, remedy the troubles that are being caused. Aided by colorful and unusual characters such as the Gyptians (comparable to what we know as gypsies), witches, an armored bear by the name of Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen) and an airman named Lee Scoresby (played by Sam Elliot), Lyra must use the golden compass (also known as an Alethiometer, it was secretly given to her by her uncle, Lord Asriel to reveal the truth of any question she asks the compass) to find the truth and save the children being kidnapped by the gobblers (the kidnappers are a part of the Magisterium). The actors in this film did an amazing job in the roles they played. Marisa Coulter (played by Nicole Kidman) makes for a gorgeous, classy, prestigious, intriguing and scary villain. Kidman’s Kidman not only plays the leader of the gobblers but it is also found out later in the movie that she is also Lyra’s mother. Then there is Lord Asriel, A well-dressed handsome man who plays Lyra’s uncle (however, we find out later that he is in fact Lyra’s father) and a well-known explorer. He studied and did research about the mysterious â€Å"dust† and the Arctic North (Carraro & Weitz, 2007). Lyra’s character plays a pretty and hard-headed stubborn girl who is hell bent on stopping the gobblers and Mrs. Coulter from cutting the children’s deamons away from them and she also has serious ideas about locating and finding the purpose of the dust. There is also Iorek Byrnison and Lee Scoresby who appear to have known eachother from sometime in the past. They are both head strong characters and willing to fight for the greater good and aid Lyra in her travels to stop the gobblers. Iorek is a Big armored polar bear and Lee is and older airman. The cinematography used for this movie was quite extensive. There were 1,100 to 1,200 CG [computer-generated] shots, average for a film like this, but the level of complexity far exceeded most, there's an animated character in just about every one of those shots† (Miller, 2012, para. 4). So this made making the film more extensive as far as the cinematography goes and there were many different shots ranging from close-u p (there were many close-ups of several characters throughout the film), mid-range shots (especially when there was more than one character on the screen at any given time), as well as distant or long range shots (like when Lyra rode the rmored bear through the snow to find out what was in the cabin away from a camp site she was staying at). There were also shots angled upward (such as when Lyra and her friend were sitting on a rooftop together) and downward angled shots (such as when a mechanical spy bug was slapped to the ground and there was a downward angle shot of it lying on the ground) (Carraro ; Weitz, 2007). The cinematography used in this film suited every aspect of the movie. Everything moved through the film very smoothly and the cinematography really made the scenes pop and kept me on the edge of my seat. The film editors for the film â€Å"The Golden Compass† are Anne V. Coates, Peter Honess and Kevin Tent. Anne V. Coates is a very well know veteran film editor â€Å"with an editing career of 63 years––and still counting––Coates arguably has been working in cutting rooms longer than anyone else in film history† (Lewis, 2010, para. 1). However, Coates was removed for the editing of the â€Å"The Golden Compass† early on in the editing process and actually stated that even though she learned a great deal from â€Å"The Golden Compass† and it was an amazing experience working with large quantities of editing with special effects, it was actually a frustrating process for Coates due to the amount of work involving the special effects people as opposed to just editing a standard film with much less special effects being used (Connolly, 2011). Peter Honess, known for editing such movies as â€Å"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets† and â€Å"Troy† as well as Kevin Tent known for editing such movies as â€Å"The Descendants† and â€Å"Sideways† were brought in on â€Å"The Golden Compass† to finish up the post production editing for the film. While the finished product the film had many audiences asking when they would see the sequel to the film, there were many critics talking about how â€Å"the end result is a bumpy road, with many emotional highs but also quite a few lows, and a saga that despite good ingredients lacks narrative smoothness or fluidity, reaffirming that Weitz is not the right director for the job† (Levy, 2012, para. 22) not to mention the several parts of the film cut due to the mass controversies regarding religious groups. The editors of this film did not receive their due credit because of the direction of the film and the cutting that was required to make the film â€Å"suitable† for public audiences. It took an amazing amount of people to create all of the different forms of sound used in â€Å"The Golden Compass. † Ranging from the Foley editor, the sound mixer, to the sound effects editor, there are many more people that were just needed for sound work alone. There are quite literally 56 different jobs for this movie, just in regards to sound for the film. This just goes to show you the amount of work that is put into the making of a film. I am going to discuss the three major elements of sound used in a film which involve the score, sound effects and Dialogue (Goodykoontz, ; Jacobs, 2011). Alexandre Desplat is the brilliant composer of the â€Å"score† (music used in the backgrounds of scenes) that is utilized in this film and is used throughout the films entirety. In fact, â€Å"Desplat follows Shore's lead in the incorporation of a surprisingly detailed and large collection of themes, weaving them into the narrative with such efficiency that a person familiar with the film can easily follow the action through the score† (Clemmensen, 2008, para. ). Experiencing the music used for the score is truly amazing, even by itself. There is also a whole lot of use of sound effects throughout the film and a small handful of people working on them. A big part of the reason so many sound effects were used in this film is because so many of the characters used in the film were CG (Computer generated) so it was impor tant to recreate the sounds that these characters would have made had they been real. Again, Ioreck the polar ice bear is a prime example of this. When Iorek and Ragnar (The polar ice king) get into their battle to the death they are not only both created by computers so there very presence require sound effects but there is a lot of sound effects used with their armor clanking together throughout the battle scene. While the sound effects do play a very substantial role in the making of this film, they appear flawless and really added to the depth of the film. The dialogue is also beautiful in this film. The characters have sort of English accents (which suits the London type setting). The dialogue used suites the characters well down to the way they are dressed. However, on a side note, I find it odd that they are from an alternate universe that has an impeccable resemblance and feel to our very own London, England. Lyra and her friends speak as if children would, grammatically incorrect and the adults speak prestigiously and very dignified (most of which are scholars). In its entirety, the all the use of sound was very well utilized and complimented every aspect of the film. Director Chris Weitz was really excited about making this particular film because he is a really big fan of the books the movie was based off of. With a budget of 180 million dollars for the film, Chris Weitz knew that there was going to be a lot of work needed to be put into the film. â€Å"It's really hard to make a movie,† Weitz says. â€Å"It's hard enough to make a small, bad one — trying to make a big, good one is definitely a challenge to your physical and mental stamina† (Edwards, 2007, para. ). While there are many who wonder as to whether or not Weitz was the man for this particular job, mainly because Weitz is best known for his raunchy comedy movies such as the â€Å"American Pie† series, Weitz was such a huge fan of the trilogy he was confident that he could get the job done right (Edwards, 2007). Unfortunately, due to the mass controversy of this film it is difficult to discern why this movie was so disastrous when looking at how it did in th e box office. Some blame Weitz and his lack of knowledge in the field of special effects, some blame the media and the Catholic church for the role they played in trying to have the movie stopped and some blame New Line Cinema (the production company) for forcing Weitz to water down the script due to trying to appease people who were worried and controversial of the religious (or lack thereof) aspects the film would bring to the big screen. In doing so, Weitz said that he did not have control over the films style or editing. Chris Weitz states that New Line Cinema felt they could not be a part of a film that caused controversy in the religious word but that the film would have been very different if he would have had the final say and cut of the film. Essentially in the long run Weitz was asked if he had regrets about the film, Weitz reply was â€Å"It's the greatest professional regret that I have. â€Å"He compared directing to being Charles I of England, quipping: â€Å"Parliament can always cut your head off† (Nissim, 2011, para. 4). The impact the movie had and still has on society is extraordinarily controversial. Because the movie is a fantasy adventure there were large quantities of people who took the movie at face value for its non-stop adventure and intriguing storyline. However, there were larger quantities of people who felt as if the movie was controversial due to the religious aspects people took from the movie. Bill Donohue (president and CEO of the Catholic League) stated that â€Å"these books denigrate Christianity, thrash the Catholic Church and sell the virtues of atheism† (FoxNews. com, 2007, para. 3). However, due to the controversies that arose from the announcement of the film’s production, the religious aspects of the film were stripped from the script. â€Å"Some atheists and fans of the books aren't happy, either. They say the studio has caved to pressure from the Christian right by sanitizing the tale for the big screen† (FoxNews. com, 2007 para. 8,). Pullman (the author of the book based on the film) was pleased with how the movie was done. He stated in an interview that â€Å"this must be the only film attacked in the same week for being too religious and for being anti-religious — and by people who haven’t seen it† (FoxNews. om, 2007, para. 16). The genre of this film is a mixture between family, fantasy, and adventure. While deemed a family film, it is not geared for younger children in regards to the story because it does involve children being kidnapped and adults removing the essence (spirit or as they are called in the film daemons) of life from the children. As stated previously, the film was rated PG-13. The film also depicts (although in non-detailed manner) the children’s essence (often interpreted as spirit) and referrers to them as daemons (pronounce dee-mons). So the movie may be considered offensive to religious families. However, in a whole, if the age group is right, it is a fun family movie. The fantasy of the film is magnificent excluding the actual town they reside in which seems rather of the norm, of (like I have mentioned before) a London set town and streets. There are a lot of characters and creatures in this film that are solely done by CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) and they are absolutely amazing. The daemons (spirit or essence) that walk around with their humans are of all different forms of animals creatures depending on the character of the individual. Lyra’s daemon however, can change shapes to appear in any form because she is still young (changing from a cat to a moth and even an ermine), adults daemons settle into a single form and no longer changes. There is also Iorek the polar ice bear who wears a magnificent coat of armor made for him alone. Last but not least, the adventure parts of the film. We watch see Lyra in her home town with her friends and the stuffy scholars (adults) she is surrounded by. We soon see Lyra get to experience life outside of the Magisterium (the school) with Mrs. Coulter. When Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is the head of the gobblers (the kidnappers), we see her escape and start her mission to save the other children from the gobblers and from them taking the children’s daemons from them. We see an amazing polar ice bear fight between Iorek and the polar ice bear king in which is a fight to the death and even a small war between witches, and Gyptians and even few flying (what looks to be) pirate ships called air ships. This film truly fits its genre. Taking a look at this film from a formalist approach shows us the in-depth aspects of the film (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2011). The structure of the film is balanced in regards to the aspects of use of fantasy and adventure used in the story. The fact that the storyline is based in parallel universe, the background of the town that the characters reside is lacking. It looks like a small town in England as opposed to what one would expect a town might look in a parallel universe like say, compared to Hogwarts in the â€Å"Harry Potter† movies and the magical world used in those films. However, the use of the daemons and magical creatures like Iorek the polar ice bear bring us to a better understanding of the â€Å"magical† feel of the world. The use of the characters to progress through the story made the film easier to follow in the respect that the actors playing the characters made the film come to life. Essentially, the film was good, but was better not having expectations (having not read the â€Å"His Dark Materials† trilogy) going into the film. I personally felt that the movie was well done, but I too, went nto the movie not knowing of the controversy surrounding the religious aspects of the film and was unaware of the film being based on a series of books. The overall textual theme of the film was fairly well laid out. The story was told in a manner in which you expect to see more of the story later down the road (in a sequel that would not be made). There are several discussions regarding dust throughout the film that obviously plays a majo r role but is not explained in depth in the film. The Mise-en-scene used throughout the film fits together well with the storyline. The characters, backgrounds and props used throughout the film carried the story in and out of the adventures we see Lyra embark on and allow the audience to experience a world not yet explored. The villain (Mrs. Coulter) was portrayed in such a way that the audience loves to hate and the hero’s (Lyra, Iorek and Lee) made the adventures progress and fun to follow. The camera use throughout the film is impeccable. With all different kinds of shots ranging from close-up scenes of the characters to mid and long range shots as well as jump-cuts from scenes of Lyra on her adventures to the villain trying to attempting to locate Lyra. The overall theme, while lacking in some aspects of background (in the town the main characters reside) and explanation of certain aspects such as the dust which seems to be very important and how and why the daemons, were there and there importance because it is shown at one point in the film that the children can survive without their daemons if removed correctly. The movie was entertaining and tells enough storyline to not be confusing. In conclusion, this film had a lot of aspects of society and controversy and in turn the lack of storyline working against its success. The money and hard work that it took to make this film should have been an enough to put this film on top where it should have been. But because the director had set out to make a film based on the story of a book and the studio decided that too much controversy would rise if the story was told like the book, the true religious aspects were stripped from the film and so the true storyline was stripped as well. But like I stated earlier, if the audience goes into the film with no expectations and no previous history of knowing what the film was supposed to be about, the film is well worth the watch. Reviewing all aspects of what the movie has to offer; from the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, impact of society on the film and vice versa, the genre and the overall textural themes, this is truly an adventure that will keep you watching and enjoying the family film with every fun character from the interesting and exciting Lyra to the big polar ice bears that battle and the beautiful villain that we love to hate. This film was extremely fun to watch.