Saturday, August 31, 2019

The Veldt Essay

Literature often deals with the dangers of our reliance on technology and the loss of innocence in children. The Veldt, written in 1950 by Ray Bradbury heavily relates to today’s society through our dependence of modern science and its technology. Through the children’s capacity for violence we are able to get a deeper understanding of the idea in the text of the negative impacts of consumerism and how that relates to our lives today. George and Lydia own an automated â€Å"Happylife Home,† what they thought would be good for their children and their imagination. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. † [†¦] â€Å"I’m beginning to feel unnecessary to. â€Å" The mother Lydia says this and both parents are now realising there is something wrong with their way of life. They discuss how they are now part of a virtual reality rather than being self-sufficient and doing usual chores themselves. George and Lydia discuss whether or not to switch off the house, however therefore ruining their children’s happiness and their beloved nursery. This connects to the idea of the negative impacts of consumerism and the dangers of our reliance on technology. The roles of father and mother have been replaced. The children rely on technology more than their own parents and appreciate the house more than them. They are essentially living in a false world, which relates to our lives today. In the 21st Century the roles of not only mother and father but of workers as well have been replaced with technology. Those who worked in factories have now been replaced with heavy machinery and the consequences are the loss of jobs. Also though, today we rely on technology to perform the simplest tasks consequently making our generation lazier than previous generations. Another idea in the text is that we children’s capacity for violence through the use of technology and therefore their loss of innocence. Both George and Lydia question as to why there was so much death in the African nursery. We can now see however that’s its because Peter and Wendy had been thinking of death all along. â€Å"Why, they’ve locked it from the outside! â€Å"Mr and Mrs Hadley screamed. † After being warned the house was to be switched off, the children then locked their parents inside the nursery. Once inside, the parents realised that the screams they heard, and they prey they saw the lions eat earlier were in fact them. Then in the last line of this short story Wendy offers McClean, the psychologist a cup of tea, proving how effortlessly it was to kill their parents in order to save the house. Through the death of George and Lydia we can see this relates to today’s society. Just like the parents, we as a society today are locked inside of technology and we allow it to eat us alive. It affects our physical state with addiction and constant need for more technology. The Veldt, through the main ideas of the negative impacts of consumerism and children’s capacity for violence we get a deeper understanding of the dangers of technology. This story shows us how we buy devices without worrying about what they might do to our lives. It shows us the severe consequences of technology and illustrates how we as a society need to recognise the dangers before its too late.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Yeats Easter

â€Å"Easter 1916† – manuscripts the events of Easter revolution in Ireland. It was Written in 1916 and Published only in 1921. The Question remains in the readers mind that â€Å"Was the revolution really necessary or was it unnecessary death? † The language in poem is simple and straight which makes use of figure of speech like slimly and metaphor. The poem conveys the moral that individual, war, friendship and relationship are more important in the world.We must have self control and shouldn't complain if the things go wrong. In the poem Yeats is taking the role of flamers and he is giving the description of normal dally lives of people. He also tells that he wants to go and meet his friends at theatre and say â€Å"A terrible beauty Is born†. This shows a dualistic nature of rising. It said a terrible beauty because It caused death and beauty of their step towards Independence. The revolution caused many problems which ruined the normal days of people as shown in the poem.Yeats describe about a revolutionist woman leader to be placed at a cabinet position ho is both a socialist and politician. She was left alone in Ireland by her husband who moved to Ukraine. She belongs to IIRC and designed uniform and national anthem for IIRC. RIB Leaders includes Patrick Pears: Leader of RIB, teacher, poet, nationalist and activist. Pears, he was the head of RIB and he delivered the proclamation speech on 24th of April at General Post Office. The second includes McBride: Member of RIB, husband to Yeats Love; Maude Gonne.Thirdly, James Connelly: Who Founded Irish Republican Society and Irish Citizen Army he was ideation at G. P. O leading 150 rebels as commandment- General. Followed by Marketable a Nationalist, suffragette and socialist, she Is also a first woman to hold cabinet position In world. She Designed uniforms and composed anthem for RIB. She motivated and inspired many other revolutionist. Lastly Macdonald: who contributed to the Proc lamation speech. He was stationed at Jacob Biscuit. They planned a movement during the early spring to actually revolt against British rules.By then England was heavily involved in war with their allies. Irish nationalists ND revolutionist thought it would be great opportunity to fight for the revolution. They made friends with Germany and got helped in terms of weapons and ammos to fight against Britain. Yeats have written this poem as legacy in memory of Macdonald, McBride, Connelly, and Pears who are all untied by their commitment to their dream of freedom, giving Ireland everything they could for the good thing to happen.Yeats continues to say, wherever the split of Ireland Is represented by people wearing the color â€Å"green,† and those people will be forever changed-Yeats also describes how nature is corresponding to the Irish revolution which is very that is to achieve freedom for Ireland as if like a stone which can be resembled as an island of destiny because of th eir excessive love towards Ireland which made them revolt against British rules. Revolution is simply disturbing the social lives of people and their privacy.It means if the revolution continues then there is the chance that people will become emotionalism with heart in nature which can further more lead to much destruction. Yeats says only God can help. Though Ireland is happy for its independence Yeats is not as happy about the revolution as he says that those revolutionaries were very impatient to gain independence as British rules has actually promised the homeland for self governing but revolutionaries were so eager to fight.The revolution left 300 civilians, 200 soldiers & revolutionist dead, 2500 wounded, 15 leaders executed and 1841 sent to prison. The main theme if the poem is Art and politics which reflects Yeast's opinion of the British politics on Ireland. The Impact of fate and Divine on History is also included in the poem. He explains to us about the Fate and historic al determinism time. We can also see Yeast's transformation from being romantic poet to modernist poet. The poet has a perfect command over words.He has also deep insight in to human character. The characters of RIB have been pointed with great skills which seem simply is unforgettable. This shows the basic honesty and simplicity of the poet. The poem ends on a note of hope as the poem makes delightful reading simply because the very sincere about his ideas. He neither neither boasts nor hide anything. The toe is a patron of music and possesses a pictorial quality to build up an atmosphere of rare charm and reality.The quality of the poem is unquestionable. I can't name another poet which contains so much beauty as this person. The poem is very much optimistic and sentimental with the help of deep poetic inside. He creates realistic feeling in the readers mind. â€Å"Wherever green is worn/Are changed, changed utterly' these lines are unforgettable and a delight wonders. The poet o scillates between the present and the past, between Joy and despair and feels miserable.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

MANUAL TO EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERS AND WHERE THEY ARE Essay

MANUAL TO EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERS AND WHERE THEY ARE GOING. FROM ABACUS TO THE NETBOOK - Essay Example At the present, computers are changing the view of the world and offering a lot of facilities and utilities for the businesses as well as individuals. For instance, they have offered extensive business support and facilities for the better business and operational management (California State University, 2010), (Norton, 2001) and (Shelly et al., 2005). This research is aimed at analyzing different aspects of the evolution of computers and their impacts on our lives. This research is presented in the form of a manual, which presents an overview of the development of computer technology and systems. This manual will discuss some of the important areas of this technology and their possible impacts on our lives. This manual will also outline the impacts of the computer technology on business areas. Evolution of Computer Technology The latest computers and associated devices emerged due to the progresses in technologies as well as users’ requirements to enumerate. In the past, Papy rus assisted people to recall language as well as numbers. Afterward the abacus appeared as one of the initial calculating machines. However, these historical automatic computing systems and machines lacked the effective design processes and working that are necessary to make a machine useful. For example, a number of machines included components those are made of iron or wood previous to metal operation and manufacturing (Hitmill, 2010) and (Shelly et al., 2005). Early Calculating Machines The abacus is one of the initial calculating machines that came out about 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor as well as is still utilized by many organizations. The users use this system or device to formulate calculations by means of a system of sliding beads placed on a frame. Additionally, this device was used by historical merchants to record and maintain business dealings. In addition, with the increased usage of paper and pencil, mainly in Europe, the use of abacus decreased. However, it took ap proximately 12 centuries for the new and major developments in technology and computing devices to appear. Moreover, in 1642, a numerical wheel was invented by Blaise Pascal to help his father perform his jobs. This system was made up of a brass rectangular box, as well acknowledged as a Pascaline, included eight changeable dials to calculate the sum up to eight figures long. In the same way, the new device invented by Pascal utilized a base of ten to achieve the similar results (LaMorte & Lilly, 2011) and (ThinkQuest, 2011). Figure 1 Earlier computers, example of Abacus, Image source: http://www.nos.org/htm/funda1.htm Modern Computer Technology Progress Charles Babbage was motivated by punched hole cards and finally in 1830 he built the design of a mechanical computer. Additionally, he spent his 40 years on this plan however; unluckily he could not find the technology to offer the accuracy parts necessary to construct this computer (LaMorte & Lilly, 2011) and (ThinkQuest, 2011). In vention of Modern Computers Scientists discovered superior future in computer electronics. The progress in computing continued with the development of initial special purpose analog technology based computer in 1939, by John Atanasoff. However, this system was enhanced in 1944 by means of switching circuits identified as electromechanical relays. In the same way, in 1946, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employment Law - Essay Example The next issue that arises is whether John Davies employer had done to protect and accommodate John Davies condition. Discrimination as when employer treats a qualified individual within a disability who is an employee or applicant unfavorably because she is a disability. The question that arises is whether Davies was a qualified individual and whose employer treated unfavorably. This is answered in the affirmative The fact that he has been into a company for over two years can not dispute the fact that he is qualified, and he could work well and tight deadlines. The law requires (The Rehabilitation Act 1973) an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee. In this scenario, making the employee perform his duties with minimal pressure and him to continue enjoying the privileges of employment. It can be said that the fact that John Davies was given poor rally in his recent appraisal as a result of him having backlog of work is discriminatory and gross violation of his h uman right to fair wage /promotion. John Davies been denied promotion yet he is qualified and the denial is based on the need of such covered entity to make reasonable accommodation to the physical /mental impairments of the employee. The company failed to make a reasonable accommodation to Davies appraisal and was given poor results despite the fact that he was sickly and unable to attend his job on full time basis. John Davies was denied promotion because of the known disability and yet he was qualified An example of such a case is evident in, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002) was a case in which the Supreme Court interpreted the meaning of the phrase "substantially impairs" as used in the Americans with Disabilities Act. It reversed the decision by the Sixth Court of Appeals to grant a partial summary judgment in favor of the respondent, Ella Williams that qualified her inability to p erform manual job-related tasks as a disability. The Court held that the "major life activity" definition in evaluating the performance of manual tasks focuses the inquiry on whether Williams was unable to perform a range of tasks central to most people in carrying out the activities of daily living. The issue is not whether Williams was unable to perform her specific job tasks. Therefore, the determination of whether impairment rises to the level of a disability is not limited to activities in the workplace solely, but rather to manual tasks in life in general. When the Supreme Court applied this standard, it found that the Court of Appeals had incorrectly determined the presence of a disability because it relied solely on her inability to perform specific manual work tasks which was insufficient in proving the presence of a disability. The Court of Appeals should have taken into account the evidence presented that Williams retained the ability to do personal tasks and household ch ores, such activities being the nature of tasks most people do in their daily lives, and placed too much emphasis on her job disability. Since the evidence

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Has the Era of US Hegemony ended Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Has the Era of US Hegemony ended - Essay Example That is, hegemony will be visible when countries through their strong attributes particularly armed power, economic power, political power and even ‘soft’ powers, elevate themselves into top positions, and then try to assert their dominance over others through force or persuasion. From the mid part of the 20th century, United States America is one such country which ‘tried’ to or even evolved into a hegemonic country, due to the optimum development of its economic, military and even soft power statuses. In the late 19th – early 20th century, U. S. made sizable attempts to expand its political influence over other territories through their imperialistic initiatives and importantly through their involvement in both the World Wars. With the two World Wars elevating U. S. position in the international area, and with its economy, its science and technology capabilities and even mass media optimizing, it kind of gave the platform for U. S. to elevate its po sition further and become a hegemonic power. US’s plans to play a prominent international role got actualized in the second half of the 20th century as well, because of its confrontation with Soviet Union through Cold War, its involvement in the Middle-East and other territories. U. S’s hard-power as well as soft-power capabilities have improved so much now that no other country in the world have the capability as well as the will to dethrone it from its position of solo superpower, as U. S. hegemony is stronger, aggressive and at the same time democratic and benevolent.1 However, the other view is, due to certain misadventures, U. S. days as the solo superpower could be numbered.2 This paper will focus on this hegemonic status of U. S., by analyzing whether U.S. hegemony is going to continue or end, and by concluding how it is going to continue and not going to end soon. U.S. Hegemonic beginnings Although many European countries including Britain, Spain, France, etc., exhibited their imperialistic policies to become a hegemonic power in the early centuries, U. S. played a subdued role then. With U. S. ‘forming’ into country quite lately and due to its domestic issues, it did not initiate any major imperialistic steps. However, in the late part of 19th century due to its indirect confrontations with Spain in foreign territories, it started moving in that direction. That is, the Spanish–American War took place when U. S. involved itself in the Cuban War of Independence, and also due to its attacks on the Spanish territories in the Pacific area, particularly on Philippines.3 U. S. started initiating imperialistic actions, when it found that its interests are being undermined by other powers and also when it found that there are no strong opposition from the indigenous people because of in-fighting between themselves. This perspective was validated by Derbyshire (2003), who stated, â€Å"In places where America's interests are a t stake, however (and in conflict with those of other nations)-and where national feeling is divided, or artificial, or non-existent, so that patriotic native elites cannot easily take control of the situation-we need to act in our own interests†4 The key intention of U. S. to indulge in imperialism and thereby become a hegemonic power in the long run is to develop economically. When countries normally enter territories rich in natural resources, after capturing the power of governance, they will mainly go for these resources, and U.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Applied research methods Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Applied methods - Research Proposal Example Perhaps most importantly in this era of transition, leaders themselves must understand that their real legacy will not be the past performance of their financial services organisation, but its sustainable success. Helping leaders learn how to get results by being boundary-less thinkers, network builders, diplomats, and interpreters is a first step in meeting this challenge. Holding them accountable for getting results today and developing next-generation leaders for tomorrow is the quantum leap. The intention of this research proposal is to analyse and evaluate the managerial effectiveness of 'the management', and the perception of leadership and culture within Pembroke Consulting (PC) and the impact on employees and the organisation. Furthermore, it will be argued that the human relations management concept that entails the participation and involvement of all hierarchical levels has not been operative within PC. By examining the Company Background, it will be seen that both management and rank-and-file staff have difficulty coping with and adjusting to the series of transitions that have taken place in their organisation that contributed to its "stalemate" status. It is also shown how financial growth does not correspondingly translate into real development for an organisation or for the growth of the most important resource of any business group, - people. Various research methods will be used to determine perceptions, effectiveness and culture, and a 'way forward' will be proposed in the subsequent dissertation. Since downsizing and restructuring are often just euphemisms for wholesale layoffs, this is a prospect that most Asian financial services organisations and workers have a culturally determined difficulty taking seriously. Sometimes it seems as if some Japanese and Korean financial services organisations would rather close their doors altogether than carry out significant personnel cuts. That's how strong the sense of group identity is in the East. Company Background Pembroke Consulting is a financial services company providing access to financial markets, principally, futures and options, through electronic and other means. It is financial advisors, accountants and general insurance specialists and based in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. Since its inception, the company has undergone tremendous growth both organically and through acquisition, however, it was not, until recently, that the company became an active market-player. Three major company mergers brought about this evolution over the last eight years. Because of which, various aspects of the company including its work volume, staffing and market position all increased exponentially. The mergers contributed predominantly to a great success in terms of the bottom-line but operationally speaking, the outcome has been a disappointing failure. The organisation failed initially to integrate the significant changes brought about by the first two mergers until the last tree years. This was the latest i n a chain of events in the history of Pembroke Consulting

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What are the fundamentals of the criminal investigation Essay

What are the fundamentals of the criminal investigation - Essay Example However, this paper is going to discuss one of the interviews conducted by the writer from a local police man regarding the fundamentals of criminal investigation and how it is conducted in the real world and what are some of the issues which need to consider in order to make this process more effective. The methods of inquiry are the most critical means of achieving the goals set for the criminal investigation. When we asked the question of how and what methods of inquiry the local police adapt during a criminal investigation process, our interview responded that the methods of inquiry largely depend upon the nature and intensity of the crime. The integrity of the personnel involved in enquiring for the crime scene is one of the most critical aspects of the investigation as in many cases, law enforcement personnel bring in their emotions and sentiments while enquiring for the crime committed. There are different methods of inquiry for a crime including forensic testing, on the spot collection of evidence, polygraphing the suspects etc are just few of the methods which according to our interview are adapted by the local police. Regarding the mindset of the investigator during the criminal investigation, he was of the opinion that to remain impartial is one of the toughest jobs for an investigator. Though an investigator shall be an open minded individual and shall consider all the aspects of investigation however, in reality, investigators often lose their professional impartiality and start thinking in more predictive manner which may not be as good for the victims or even suspects. As the writer discussed regarding how an investigator shall behave during the criminal investigation, one issue that emerged is as to how an investigator shall address the evidence and proof. He was of the opinion that while an investigator’s purpose is to solve the crime and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Assignment on Lung Cancer Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On Lung Cancer - Assignment Example These research findings are very important since they negate the long-held perception that nicotine is fundamentally the cause of lung cancer. The specialty of these research works is that they have separately found the effect of years of smoking and that if genetic variants on an individual’s risk of getting lung cancer. Knowledge of the results obtained from these studies may be utilized in the development of more effective drugs and treatment options for the smokers. â€Å"We are all impatient for drugs that can cure cancer no matter when and where we find it† (Phelps, 2012). Findings of the research done by the team in Iceland also found that have specific gene variants even increases the addiction for nicotine in some smokers, which increases their susceptibility to getting lung cancer. ... â€Å"It is imperative that government agencies, the research and funding community, health systems and insurers, community leaders, schools and families all take steps now to cut tobacco’s rural roots [since more rural than urban population falls prey to it]† (â€Å"Cutting Tobacco’s Roots†). For those who continue taking the risk, drugs blocking nicotine might prove useful as nicotine is what triggers their chances of acquiring lung cancer. Nicotine in cigarettes increases the susceptibility of smokers with predisposition to lungs cancer to risk of this disease. I hate smoking and I have objective reasons for doing so. I totally agree with (Park) when she says, â€Å"we already know the best way to prevent [lung cancer] - by not smoking in the first place† (Park). Nothing comparable to that†¦ We were 8 family members in total including my mother, my father, my sister Lisa, my sister Mary, my eldest brother George, second to him was Martin, th en I, and in the last my brother Red. I have lost my mother and both sisters at the ages that are not very suitable and a bit too early considering the average age of death for women in our country. When my mother died, she was 52 years old. My sister Mary died and 40 whereas Lisa died at the age of 36 years. She was not even married and was heading towards her marriage. On the other hand, my father, George, Martin, I, and Red are aged 70, 56, 52, 49, and 45 respectively, and we are all not only alive but also in perfect health. One thing that was common among my sisters and mother was that they were smokers and surprisingly, one thing that is common among my father, George, Martin, I, and Red is that none of us smokes. My mother, my sisters, my father, my brothers and I all have been living

Decision-Making and Corporate Restructuring Essay

Decision-Making and Corporate Restructuring - Essay Example This relevant process is described based on the perception and management style of its influential leader, Mr William S. Stravopoulos. In the past few years, Dow Chemical has been undergoing massive restructuring as indicated by the changes in its product lines. It is observed to be focusing on chemistry-related businesses for the company to achieve its goals - both in the short-term and long-term. For Mr Stravopoulos, making major decisions should start with the critical analysis of the products offered by the company and the business in which it is in as a whole. This initially entails the identification of the company's strengths or core competencies. This stage also requires distinguishing the areas in which the company can never excel due to the presence of formidable competitors or lack of technical know-how. Decisions are then made based on these areas identified by the company where its core competencies or weaknesses lie. As per the CEO's style, Dow Chemical opted to divest business units with lackluster performance and focus its resources on the core competencies noted. This sets the general direction of restructuring (Hodgetts) Moreover, decision-making should be planned carefully and done systematically. It involves systematic thinking in which a game plan is conceived. The game plan comprises of the step-by-step procedures or strategically phased courses of action. This means that after determining the company's business objectives, formulating of strategies for the achievement of these goals follows. In the case of Dow Chemical, its business objectives emphasize improvement of quality, reduction of operating cost, change of company culture and fostering of growth. To achieve these, the company came up with a corporate plan divided into two phases - the positioning stage and growth stage. The positioning phase focuses on the achievement of the first three objectives. When these are accomplished, the growth phase wherein the company aims for expansion commences. (Hodgetts) Another important factor in decision-making is the sharing of relevant information. Key people should be sufficiently aware of what is happening in the company. When people know what is going on, Mr Stravopoulos believes that they could make better decisions expediently. This is beneficial for the company because people are empowered to make good and timely decisions as well as lessen corporate bureaucracy. (Hodgetts) Furthermore, the CEO believes that well-informed decision-making is an integral part of the business. As such, Dow Chemical invests substantially in research and development (Hodgetts). Not only would extensive research and development contribute valuable information for decision-making, but they also drive continuous product innovation. In running a business, specifically for corporate restructuring, difficult decisions will have to be made. The Dow CEO is confronted with tough decisions like company downsizing, which is often a highly emotional undertaking (Hodgetts). However, such decisions would have to be made if the success of the company is desired. This means that in decision-making both the short term and long term aspects of the business should be taken into consideration. Employees may have a negative

Friday, August 23, 2019

Observation of the day in court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Observation of the day in court - Essay Example She was careful to ensure that the accused understood his rights and consequences of his positions in the case. In addition to considering legal aspects of the case, the judge was considerate to the accused social issues, and appeared lenient in her directions and judgment. The case was criminal, with Robert White, as the accused and the nature case type identifies the state, represented by the prosecutor, as the other party to the case. In such a case, the burden of proof lies with the prosecutor, who is expected to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt. White was a 35-year old African American from Alabama. He had three children: the eldest being 19 years, a nine year old followed this, and the youngest was 6 months old. White was married and his wife sat next to him. We walked in when he was talking to his attorney, a female, after which he said he would plead guilty of the charges pressed against him. It is most probable that his attorney advised him to plead guilty for plea-bargaining (Scheb & Scheb II 161), or evidence against him could have been overwhelming. White was accused of possession and trade in cocaine, with which he was arrested on August 27, 2013. Undercover officers in Boston common arrested him as he was trying to sell cocaine, worth $ 40, to Cathreen Johnson, an undercover. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of $ 330, in cash, three cell phones, and a knife. He, therefore, faced charges of unlawful distribution of underlined class B substance (cocaine) and possessing a dangerous weapon (knife). The overwhelming evidence, which also showed witness competence, explains the guilty plea. The judge also demonstrated competence, by ascertaining that White was sure of the charge to which he pleaded guilty, and White affirmed this, respectfully. In addition, the judge also ensured that White was aware of his rights at trial, and she reminded White of consequences of personal testimony, such as forfeited right

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Cost Accounting Essay Example for Free

Cost Accounting Essay Questions arise as to why ABC implementation is successful in certain companies and fails in others. Based on the contingency theory, researchers have argued that the reasons for different degrees of ABC success could be due to the different contextual factors faced by each firm. These have led researchers to recognize assessing factors that influence ABC success implementation as an important research area. The following are among the research that have been carried out to examine factors that influence ABC success: Anderson [18]; Shield [3]; McGowan and Klammer [19]; Krumwiede [20]; and Anderson and Young [21] This article has two main objectives; the first objective is to identify research gaps based on the revision of previous research and the second objective is to propose theoretical research framework for current research. This article is organized as follows: Section II presents a discussion of selected articles related to factors influencing ABC implementation and gaps or limitations of previous studies and suggestions for current research are stated in the section III and IV. The framework for current research is provided in section V, Section VI defines each research variable and the final section presents the conclusion. II. PREVIOUS RESEARCH In this section, selected ABC implementation empirical 144 Abstract—In today’s advanced manufacturing and competitive environment, accurate costing information is crucial for all the kinds of businesses, such as manufacturing firms, merchandizing firms, and service firms. Argued to be superior to the traditional volume-based costing system, Activity-Based Costing system (ABC) has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers alike as one of the strategic tools to aid managers for better decision making. The benefits of ABC system and its impacts on companies’ performance have motivated numerous empirical studies on ABC system and it is considered as one of the most-researched management accounting areas in developed countries. Previous research on ABC have examined pertinent issues related to ABC implementation such as the levels of ABC adoption in various countries, the reasons for implementing ABC, the problems related to ABC and the critical success factors influencing ABC. This paper reviews the research on ABC carried out within the last decade, from 1995-2008, and from the review research gaps are identified. Specifically, this paper examines the selection of factors influencing successful ABC implementation, variables used by previous research and the definitions and operationalization of the variables. The review reveals that past research concentrated mainly on behavioral, organizational, and technical variables as the main determinants of ABC success but very little research have been done to examine the roles of organizational culture and structure. Based on the research gaps identified, a research framework for future research is provided. Index Terms—Advanced Manufacturing Activity-Based Costing, ABC Success Environment, I. INTRODUCTION In today’s competitive and continually changing business environment, firms need to be vigilant of the impacts of the changes in the business environment and devise appropriate strategies to survive and prosper. Advancements in manufacturing and communication technologies have drastically changed the ways businesses conduct their activities. Adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies such as robotics and computerized manufacturing have resulted in significant changes in the manufacturing cost structure which have led academics and practitioners to argue that the traditional costing methods are no longer sufficient within this new manufacturing environment [1] (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). This had resulted in the change from the traditional volume-based cost model to new costing methods such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) [2]. Due to its ability in providing more accurate costing information and enhancing firms’ performance, ABC is International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X studies, which spanned 1995-2008 periods, were collected from four prominent refereed accounting research journals, in management accounting field: Journal of Management Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Accounting Research and British Accounting Review. Factors used by previous research to investigate the effect on ABC success implementation are summarized, and stage of ABC implementation also is outlined. A. Technical Variables Early studies of ABC adoption and implementation undertaken by previous researchers concentrated on technical factors, such as identification of main activities, selection of cost drivers, problem in accumulating cost data. Example of these research are Cooper [9], Morrow and Connelly [22]. However, technical factors alone may not be adequate to explain the factors influencing ABC success implementation. Cooper et al. [23] argued that the key problem during ABC implementation stage is that companies only focus on technical factors. They suggested that to make ABC implementation more effective, non-technical factors such as involvement of non-accounting in ABC implementation process, top management championship, adequate training program to employees about the objectives and benefits of ABC should be emphasized as well. Similar opinions were expressed by Shield [3] and Shields and McEwen [14]. Shield (1995) found no significant relationship between technical factors and ABC success. Shields and McEwen [14] also highlighted that sole emphasis on the architectural and software design of ABC systems leads to the failure of ABC implementation. Therefore many researchers have suggested that new variables should be considered to investigate factors influencing ABC success. B. Contextual, Behavioral and Organizational Variables Recognizing the research gaps in identifying factors that may affect ABC success, academicians shifted their focuses from technical factors to other variables, such as contextual, behavioral and organizational, culture, as well as organizational structure. Anderson [18] conducted a longitudinal investigation of ABC process in General Motor (GM) from a period of 1986 to 1993. In his research, he examined the effects of organizational variables and contextual variables, and segmented ABC implementation into four major stages, initiation, adoption, adaptation and acceptance. He found that organizational factors, such as top management support and training for the ABC system affected various stages of ABC significantly, while contextual variables, such as competition, relevance to managers’ decisions and compatibility with existing systems produced different degree of impact on different stages of ABC. Shield [3] examined the relationships between diversity of behavioral, organizational and technical factors and the success of ABC implementation. She employed Shield and Young’s [24] framework and summarized behavioral and organizational variables as top management support, adequate resources, training, link ABC system to performance evaluation and compensation, non-accounting ownership, link ABC to competitive strategies as well as clarity of ABC objectives. She found that top management support, linkage to quality initiatives and to personal performance measure (pay/appraisal), implementation of training and resource adequacy were the significant predictors in explaining ABC success. She also found that technical variables were not associated with ABC success. Shield’s findings are supported by other researchers, such as Shield and McEwen [14], who argued that a significant cause for unsuccessful implementations of ABC of several companies could be due to the emphasis of architectural and software design of the ABC system and less attention given to behavioral and organizational issues, which were identified by Shield [3]. Krumwiede and Roth [25] also stated that barriers of ABC implementation can be overcome if firms could give importance to behavioral and rganizational variables identified by Shield [3]. Similarly, Norris [26] agreed with Shield’s [3] findings that the association between ABC success and behavioral and organizational variables is stronger than with technical variables. She further highlighted that the impact of behavioral, organizational and technical should be focused at individual level. McGowan and Klammer [19] conducted a survey of 53 employees from 4 targeted sites in the U. S. o examine whether employees’ satisfaction levels are associated with ABC implementation by They also measured their perceptions of the factors associated with the degree of satisfaction, such as top management support; the degree of involvement in the implementation process; objectives clearly stated; objectives shared; training; linkage to performance evaluation system; adequate resources; information quality and preparer over user. Their results indicated that employees’ satisfaction with ABC implementation was positively related with clarity of objectives and quality of ABC information. Gosselin [15] carried out a survey of 161 Canadian manufacturing companies to examine the effects of strategic posture and organizational structure on adoption and implementation of general forms of Activity-based costing. He segmented the ABC implementation stage into adoption and implementation. The research findings showed that a prospector strategy was associated with manager decision to adopt ABC, while centralization and formalization were significantly associated with ABC success implementation. Krumwiede [20] surveyed U. S manufacturing firms to study how contextual factors, such as the potential for cost distortion or size of firms; organizational factors, such as top management support, training or non-accounting ownership, affect each stage of ABC implementation process. His findings showed that the different factors affected the various stages of implementation of ABC and the degree of importance of each factor varies according to the stage of implementation. Contextual factors, such as usefulness of cost information, IT existence, less task uncertainty and large organizations were related to ABC adoption. Moreover, organizational factors, such as top management support, non-accounting ownership, and implementation training affect ABC success implementation. 145 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X In another study by Anderson and Young [21], the relationship between organizational and contextual variables, such as organizational structures, task characteristics, management support, information technology and ABC success was examined. The result confirmed the importance of organizational factors (top management support and adequacy resources) during the ABC implementation stage. In South Africa, Sartorius et al. [27] carried out a mail survey to investigate the effect of organizational factors such as top management, adequate resources, coherence with organizational goals and strategy on ABC success. They found top management support and resources were the crucial factors in explaining ABC success. In the UK, Innes and Mitchell [4] and [12] surveyed the extent of ABC adoption among largest firms. The study aimed to find out factors influencing ABC success by using behavioral and organizational variables, and it was found that top management influenced ABC success significantly. In another study conducted by Khalid [28] using a questionnaire survey among the largest 100 firms in Saudi Arabia, ABC adoption was found to be positively related to diversity of products. In Malaysia, Ruhanita et al. [29] conducted a mail survey and a case study to examine that factors influencing ABC success, especially at adoption stage. They found the significant factors were cost distortion, decision usefulness, information technology and organizational factors. In addition, the findings showed that decision usefulness, top management support, link ABC to performance measure and compensation influenced the ABC success adoption significantly. A case study of one Chinese manufacturing firm was carried by Lana and Fei [30] in China. Their research aimed to examine some key success factors pertinent to ABC implementation within Chinese organizational and cultural setting. The research findings showed that top management support, hierarchical and communication structure and high proportion of dedicated professionals were the significant factors in determining ABC success implementation. Majid et al. [7] used a case study approach to describe the process of ABC implementation in a Malaysian service company and a Malaysian manufacturing company. In this research, they categorized ABC implementation into initiation and adoption, design, implementation and use of information. The purpose of the research was to find out the problems faced during ABC implementation, He found that the factors determining ABC success were top management support, suitable ABC software, and finally, ensuring that all affected employees understand and participate in the ABC implementation stage. And they also found that at different stages of ABC, the dominant factors influencing ABC success were also different. Colin et al. [31] adopted behavioral and organizational factors summarized by Shield (1995) to examine factors influencing the adoption and degree of success of ABC systems and determinants of that success. In their research, the targeted research population was manufacturing and service firms in the UK. They found that top management support, non-accounting ownership, adequate training provided to ABC determined the ABC success. Besides behavioral, organizational and technical variable, some researchers also indicated that the dimensions of national cultures could affect the level of ABC success [32, 33]. Brewer [32] used Hofstede’s taxonomy of work-related cultural values to examine the relationship between national culture and Activity-Based Costing system. In the study, Hofstede [34]’s work was applied to the case of Harris Semiconductor (HS), which has implemented ABC at plants in Malaysia and the USA. The results showed that the level of ABC success in Malaysia was higher than that of U. S due to high-power-distance and collectivist cultures in Malaysia. In addition, Supitcha and Frederick [33] also included national culture’s dimension into framework in a case study of one Thai state-owned enterprise’s budgeting system. They found that due to cultural differences, modifications were required when the organizations in Thailand tried to implement ABC system in Thai environment. Apart from national culture, corporate culture factors were also tested by prior research. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [17] conducted a study to investigate the relationship between the extent of ABC adoption and the organizational variables of size and decision usefulness of cost information and business unit culture. In their research, data were collected by a mail survey questionnaire and samples were randomly selected from business units in Australia. The research finding showed significant relationships between ABC adoption and decision usefulness, cultural dimensions of outcome orientation and tight verse loose control. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [16] examined the relationship between success of activity management practices and organizational factors (top management support, training, link to performance evaluation and compensation, and link to quality initiatives), and organizational culture (outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail, as well as innovation). They adopted a survey questionnaire method on randomly chosen business units in Australia. The findings showed that two organizational factors (top management support, link to quality initiatives) explained the variations in success of activity management practices, such as ABC, and outcome orientation and attention to detail of organizational culture were associated with ABC success. They also stressed that compared with organizational culture, organizational factors had stronger associations with the ABC.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Electro Physiology of the Human Heart

Electro Physiology of the Human Heart Introduction This chapter is the first chapter in the thesis which gives introduction of the present study. The chapter defines electro physiology of human heart, blood circulation in both pulmonary and systemic in detail, the components in cardiovascular system and heart sounds. It explains in detail the generation of potential due to mechanical activity of human heart and sounds produced due to closure of valves during blood pumping from atrias to ventricles and to respective parts of the body. This chapter presents a detailed survey on literature focusing on different methods to measure and analyse ECG and PCG. Electricity plays an important role in medicine. The control and operation of nerves, muscles and organs are functioning by the electricity generated inside the body. The forces of muscles, the action of brain and all nerve signals to and from the brain are caused by the attraction and repulsion of electrical charges. Many electrical signals are generated to carry out the special functions of the body. These signals are the result of electrochemical action of certain type of cells. The best known signals are electrical potentials of nerve transmission and the electrical signals observed in electromyogram (EMG) of the muscle, the electrocardiogram (ECG) of the heart and the electroencephalogram (EEG) of the brain. One means of obtaining diagnostic information about muscles, heart and brain are to measure their electrical activity. The record of the potential from muscles during movement of is called the electromyogram (EMG). The rhythmical action of the heart is controlled by an electrical signal initiated by spontaneous stimulation of pacemaker cells located at apex of the right atrium i.e. sinoatrial node (SA node). The recording of hearts potentials on skin is called electrocardiogram (ECG). The recording of the electric signals due to electrical activity of neurons in the cortex of the brain is called electroencephalogram (EEG). The present study is to study the electrical activity of heart during its mechanical vibrations. The primary step in investigations of physiological systems requires the appropriate sensors to transducer the phenomenon of interest into a measurable electric signal. The field of biomedical has advanced to the stage of practical application of signal processing and pattern analysis techniques for efficient and improved non- invasive diagnosis. 1.1 Physiology of Heart and Vascular System The analysis of variability in cardiovascular signals is applied widely and many experimental setups were put forward. Spontaneous fluctuations can be observed in cardiovascular function, such as heart rate and blood pressure, even when the environmental parameters are maintained at a constant level as possible and no perturbations influences can be identified. The observations of heart rate fluctuations is related to various cardiovascular disorders, the analysis of heart rate variability has become widely used tool in the assessment of the regulation of heart rate behavior (Timo Makikallo 1998). The study of cyclic variations of heart rate plays an important role in the assessment of both physiological and clinical aspects (Narayana Dutt Krishnan 2000). The heart is actually two separate pumps. A right heart that pumps the blood through the lungs and left heart pumps the blood through the peripheral organs. Each of these composed of atrium and ventricle. Atrium receives the blood and pumps into ventricles. Ventricles supply the main force that circulates the blood either through pulmonary circulation by the right ventricle or through the systemic circulation by the left ventricle(Fig 1.1) The blood, blood vessels and heart make up the cardiovascular system (CVS). The blood and its supply of oxygen are so important to the body that the heart is the first major organ to develop in the embryo. The mechanism in the heart provides cardiac rhythmcity and transmits action potentials through the heart muscle to cause the hearts rhythmical beat. The cardiac event that occurs from the beginning of the next are called the cardiac cycle. Each cycle is initiated by spontaneous generation of an action potential in the Sino atrious node or Sinus node. The cardiac cycle consists of a period of relaxation called diastole, during which the heart fills with blood fallowed by a period of contraction called systole together is known as a beat. The heart is composed of three major types of cardiac muscle; atrial muscle, ventricular muscle and specialized excitatory and conductive muscle fibers. Cardiac muscle is a syncytium of many heart muscle cells which are interconnected with intercalated discs which are of actually cell membranes separates cardiac muscle cells from one another and offers low resistance to ions to diffuse through cells. If one of these cells is excited, the action potential spreads to all of them. The heart is composed of two syncytiums the atrial syncytium that consists of walls of two atria and ventricular syncytium consists of the walls of two ventricles. The atria are separated from the ventricles by tissue that surrounds the atrio-ventricular valvular openings. Potentials are conducted from atrial syncytium into ventricular syncytium through the specialized conductive system called A-V bundle a bundle of conductive fibers. The division of the muscle of the heart into two functional syncytiums allows the atria to contract a short time ahead of ventricular contraction, which is important for effective heart pumping through lungs and peripheral organs. Another importance of the system is that it allows all portions of the ventricles to contract almost simultaneously, which is essential for most effective pressure generation in the ventricular chambers The cardiac cells present in the heart tissue are individually surrounded with an insulating membrane (supporting a potential mV) containing selective permeable ionic channels. The currents through these channels interact with the membrane potential to regulate the activity of the cell. The flow of various ions (Na,K,Ca etc) through out the cardiac tissue is responsible for the propagation of the electrical waves through tissue in turn provides the driving force behind the hearts mechanical contraction and its ability to pump blood through the body. 1.2. Components of Heart The heart is a conical, hollow muscular organ placed obliquely behind the body of the sternum and adjoining parts of the body of the costal cartilages, so that 1/3 rd of it lies right and 2/3 rd to the left of the median plane. The heart measures about 12x9cm and weighs 300 gm in males and 250 gm in females. The human heart has four chambers as shown in fig 1.2. The upper two chambers, the right and left atria are receiving chambers of blood. Atria collects venous blood from the body and about 75% of the blood flows directly into the ventricle even before atrial contraction. The atrial contraction causes an additional 25% filling the ventricles. The hearts lower chambers right and left ventricles are the powerful pumping chambers. The right and left sides of the heart are separated from each other by a wall of tissue .each side pumps blood through a different circuit of blood vessels. 1.2.1. The Right Atrium It is the right upper chamber of the heart receives venous blood from the whole body and pumps it to the right ventricle through right atrioventricular (tricuspid) opening. The chamber is elongated vertically, receiving the superior vena cava at the upper end and the inferior vena cava at the lower end. Deoxygenated blood from the whole body feeds into two large veins, the superior vena cava and inferior venecava, which empty into the right atrium of the heart and the same pumps to the right ventricle. 1.2.2. The Right Ventricle The right ventricle is a triangular chamber which receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs through the pulmonary trunk and pulmonary arteries. Externally, the right ventricle has two surfaces anterior and inferior. The cavity of the right ventricle is crescent in section because of the forward bulge of inter ventricular septum. The wall of the right ventricle is thinner than that of left ventricle in a ratio 1:3. 1.2.3. The left atrium The left atrium forms the left 2/3 of the base of the heart and is a quadrangular chamber. It receives oxygenated blood from the lungs through four pulmonary veins and pumps it to the left ventricle through Mitral valve. 1.2.4. The Left Ventricle The left ventricle receives oxygenated blood from the left atrium and pumps it into the aorta, the bodys largest artery. Smaller arteries that branch off the aorta distribute blood to the various parts of the body. It forms the apex of the heart .The cavity of the left ventricle is circular in cross section and has the thickest walls nearly half an inch in an adult because it must work the hardest to propel blood to the farthest reaches of the body. 1.2.5. Valves of the Heart The valves of the heart maintain unidirectional flow of the blood and prevent blood from flowing backward in the heart i.e. the valves open easily in the direction of blood flow, but when blood pushes against the valves in the opposite direction the valves close. There are two pairs of valves in the heart i) atrio ventricular valves ii)Semilunar valves. Atrio-ventricular valves are located between the atria andventricles as shown figure. The right atrio-ventricular valve is formed from three cusps of tissue and is called Tricuspid valve. While the left atrio- ventricular valve has two cusps and is called Bicuspid or Mitral valve. Both valves are made up of a fibrous ring to which the cusps are connected .The cusps are flat and project into the ventricular cavity. The atrio- ventricular valves kept competent by active contraction of the papillary muscles. Semi lunar valves are located between the ventricles and arteries and each of them consist of three half moon shaped flaps of tissue. They are not attached to fibrous ring but are to the blood vessel .The right semi lunar valve between right ventricle and pulmonary artery is pulmonary valve and the valve between left ventricle and aorta is aortic valve .These valves are closed during ventricular diastole. 1.2.6. Superior Vena Cava It is about 7 cm long venous channel which receives blood from the upper half of the body and empties it to the right atrium like other large veins. It has no valves. 1.2.7. The Aorta The aorta is the great arterial trunk which receives oxygenated blood from the left ventricle and distribute it all parts of the body. 1.2.8. Myocardium It is the muscle tissue wraps around a scaffolding of tough connective tissue to form the walls of the heart chamber. The atria the receiving chambers of the heart have relatively thin walls than the ventricles, the pumping chambers. 1.2.9. Pericardium It is a tough, double layered sac which surrounds the heart. The inner layer of the pericardium is known as epicardium rests on top of the heart muscle. The outer layer is attached to the breast bone and other structures in the chest cavity and helps hold the heart in place. The space between the two layers of the pericardium filled with watery fluid which prevents these layers from rubbing against each other during heart beat. 1.2.10. Endocardium It is the inner surface of the hearts chambers lined with a thin white sheet of shiny tissue. The same type of tissue also lines the blood vessels forming continuous lining throughout the circulatory system. The lining helps blood to flow smoothly and prevents clotting of blood in the circulatory system. The heart is nourished not by blood passing through, but by the blood vessels also known as coronary arteries which encircle the heart like a crown. About 5% of the blood pumped to the body enters the coronary arteries, which branch from the left ventricle .Three main coronary arteries the right , the left circumflex and the left anterior descending nourish different regions of the heart muscle. From these three arteries small branches arise to provide a constant supply of oxygen. 1.3. A Detailed Description of Vascular System The cardio vascular system is concerned with the transport of blood and lymph through the body. It may be divided into four major components, the heart, the macro circular i.e. blood vessels arteries and veins, micro circular i.e. capillary and lymph vascular system i.e. water and other components of blood plasma. The cardio vascular system (CVS) controls the blood pressure by altering the heart rate and compliance i.e. elasticity of blood vessels. (Isla Gilmour 1995). 1.3.1. Arteries Arteries transport blood from high pressure to body tissues as their structure permits them to expand and contract under different pressures due to the presence of elastic fibers. The main artery of the heart is aorta, which starts from the left ventricle transporting oxygen and nutrients to all body tissues. The presence of elastic fiber enables the arteries to expand when each pulse of blood pumped by the heart and regains its original shape when tension is released. Like all blood vessels the inner layer of arteries is known as tunica intima, composed of a single layer of flattened endothelial cells fitted together to form a smooth, continuous tube. In large arteries the same layer is supported by thick band of elastic fibers. The middle layer is known as tunica media consisting of smooth muscle and elastic fibers. In very large arteries the outer layer is known as tunica adventitia also contains elastic fibers and connective tissue. 1.3.2. Veins Veins transport deoxygenated blood at low pressure toward the heart and act as reservoirs of different capacities to maintain a steady return of blood to heart. The veins of systemic circulation terminate at bodys largest veins superior and inferior vena cava which empty into the right atrium of the heart. The walls of the veins are thinner and contain little elastic fiber with greater internal diameter. These structural properties help them to stretch and store the blood. Since the pressure in veins is low some structural changes is needed to prevent blood from downward pull of gravity. The veins in the lower body contain special one-way valves prevent the accumulation of blood in the legs and feet. During exercise the muscles are in extremities, relaxing and contracting alternately squeezing the veins to force the blood upward towards the heart. The tunica media of veins is thinner and contain less elastic fiber and smooth muscle to function at low pressure and serving as reservoirs to maintain a steady return of blood to the heart. 1.3.3. Arterioles The functions of arterioles are to distribute the blood and pressure reducing valves. They play an important role in determining the blood pressure. The arterioles have smooth muscle in their walls and do not stretch rather act as pressure reducing valves between the arteries and capillaries. They prevent delicate capillaries from high pressure of blood in the arterial system. The degree of muscular tension in the walls of arterioles decides their internal diameter in turn changes the resistance of blood flow in arterioles. As they affect the blood pressure because they account for a large component of the peripheral resistance to blood flow. Blood pressure is the product of total peripheral resistance and cardiac output. 1.3.4. Venules The function of venules is to drain blood from the capillary bed into the venous system. 1.3.5. Capillaries Capillaries are very small blood vessels their diameter ranges from 4-15 ÃŽ ¼m. The sum of the diameters of all capillaries is significantly larger than that of the aorta which results in decrease of blood pressure and flow rate. Capillaries are composed of a single layer of flattened endothelial cells fitted together to form a continuous tube. This results in a very large surface to volume ratio. The low rate of blood and large surface area facilitate the functions are * Providing nutrients and oxygen to the surrounding tissue. * The absorption of nutrients, waste products and carbon dioxide and * The execution of waste products from the body. 1.3.6. Lymphatic Vessels Parts of the blood plasma will execute from the blood vessels into the surrounding tissues because of transport across the endothelium. The fluid entering tissues from capillaries adds to the interstitial fluid normally found in the tissue. The surplus of liquid will return to the circulation .Lymph vessels are dedicated to this unidirectional flow of liquid, the lymph. The lymph vessels can be divided into three types depending on their shape and size. Lymph Capillaries These are larger than blood capillaries and very irregular on shape. They begin as blind ending tubes in connective tissues. Lymph Collecting Vessels They appear almost similar to lymph capillaries but a bit large and form valves. The lymph is moved by the compression of the lymph vessels by surrounding tissues. The direction of lymph flow is determined by the valves Lymph Ducts They contain one or two layers of smooth muscle cells in their wall and form valves. The walls of lymph ducts are less elastic and during contractions contribute to the movement of lymph towards the heart in addition to the compression of the ducts by surrounding tissues. 1.3.7. Relations to Other Systems and Organs The heart and vascular system perform almost the same function to provide oxygen, nutrients and harmonic to the cells of the body tissue. They can be considered as one unit rather than two, because each is equipped to carry out half of that function. The vascular system is also closely related to the adrenergic receptors and the autonomic nervous system, which together control important aspects of its function. The alpha adrenergic receptors are the smooth muscle cells in arteries, veins, arterioles and venules. These receptors bind molecules released by cells of the autonomic nervous system and respond by contracting. 1.4. Blood Circulation -Systemic and Pulmonary The heart basically a double pump provides the force to circulate the blood through two major circulatory systems, the pulmonary circulation in the lungs and the systemic circulation is in organ system that transports substances to and fro from cells. The blood in normal individual circulates through one system into before being pumped by the other part of the heart to the second system. The heart is a muscle composed by cells containing small filaments of actin and myosin. These proteins interact in the sense of forming actomyosin during muscle contraction, thus leading to the main purpose of the heart: pumping the blood through the circulatory system (Manuel Duarte Ortigueiva 1959). The synchronous nature of contraction of heart results in the efficient pumping of blood through the pulmonic and systemic circulation (J.Olansen et al 2000). The circulatory system can be thought of as a closed loop circulation system with two pumps. One way valves keep the flow downward through the pumps. 1.4.1. Systemic Circulation The heart ejects oxygen rich blood under a pressure about 125 mm Hg from main pumping chamber left ventricle, through the largest artery the aorta. Subdivided into smaller arteries in turn divided into even smaller arteries called arterioles and finally into a very fine meshwork of vessels called the capillary bed. Capillaries permit to dissolve oxygen and nutrients from the blood to diffuse across the fluid, known as interstitial fluid that fills the gaps between the cells of tissues of organs. The dissolved oxygen and nutrients enter cells through interstitial fluid by diffusion across the cell membranes. Mean while carbon dioxide and other wastes leave the cell diffuse through the interstitial fluid, cross the capillary bed and enter the blood. The blood collects in small veins called venules gradually join together to form progressively larger veins. Finally the veins converge into two large veins, the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava bringing blood from upper half and lower half of the body respectively. Both of these main veins join at the right atrium of the heart. 1.4.2. Pulmonary Circulation The deoxygenated blood returning from the organs and tissues of the body stored momentarily in the reservoir i.e. right atrium, during weak contraction (5 to 6 mm Hg) the blood pushed into the right ventricle. On the next ventricular contraction this blood is pumped at a pressure of about 25 mm Hg through pulmonary arteries to the capillary system in the lungs. At this site microscopic vessels pass adjacent to the alveoli or air sacs of the lung where it exchanges oxygen from the membrane to the blood and leaves carbon dioxide from blood to the same membrane. The freshly oxygenated blood then travels through the main veins from the lungs into the left reservoir i.e. left atrium of the heart. During weak arterial contraction (7 to 8 mm Hg) blood enters the left ventricle. On the next contraction of the left ventricle sends blood to the aorta and then to general circulation. On average a typical adult has about 4.5 lts of blood and each section of the heart pumps about 80 ml in each contraction. About 30 sec to 1 min is needed for the average red blood cell to complete a full circuit through both the pulmonary and systemic circulation. The blood volume is not uniformly divided between the pulmonary and systemic circulation. At any one time 80% of the blood is in the systemic circulation and 20% is in the pulmonary circulation. Of the blood in the systemic circulation about 15% is in the arteries, 10% is in the capillaries and 75% is in the veins. In the pulmonary circulation about 7% of the blood is in the pulmonary capillaries and the remaining is almost equally distributed between the pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins. 1.4.3. Additional Functions In addition to oxygen, the circulatory system also transports nutrients derived from digested food to the body. These nutrients enter the blood from the walls of the intestine carries the nutrients to the liver for farther metabolic processing. The liver stores variety of substances such as sugar, fats and vitamins and releases glucose to the blood as needed. The liver also cleans the blood by removing waste products and toxins. After the blood is cleaned, enter the veins converge to form the large vein that joins the vena cava at right atrium. The circulatory system plays an important role * In regulating body temperature * To collect chemical messengers called hormones from hormone producing glands and transports to specific organs and tissues to regulate bodys rate of metabolism, growth, sexual development and other functions. * With immune system and coagulation system, the immune system is a complex system of many disease fighting white blood cells and anti bodies circulate in the blood and are transported to sites of infection. The coagulation system is composed of special proteins called clotting factors which circulate in the blood. When ever blood vessels are cut to torn, the coagulation system works rapidly to stop the bleeding by forming clots. Other organs support the circulatory system are the brain and the parts of nervous system constantly monitor blood circulation, sending signals to the heart or blood vessels to maintain constant blood pressure. New blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and old blood cells are broken down in the spleen, where iron and other minerals are recycled. Metabolic waste products are removed from the blood by kidneys which also screen the blood for excess salt and maintain blood pressure and to maintain blood pressure and to balance minerals and fluids of the body. 1.5. Heart Diseases Heart disease has become very common nowadays due to changes in life style. Many of these diseases are due to either increase the work load of heart or reduce the ability to work at normal rate. 1.5.1. Tachycardia There are many factors that are responsible for development of heart disease. One such factor is High blood pressure (Hypertension) which causes the muscle tension to increase in proportion to the pressure. A fast heart rate (Tachycardia) increases the work load. 1.5.2. Heart Attack The heart disease that causes most deaths is heart attack. A Heart attack is caused by blockage of one or more arteries to the heart muscle. During and after heart attack the ability of the heart is seriously impaired. Bed rest and giving oxygen reduces the work load on heart which increases the oxygen content in the blood so that blood pumped by the heart will be less. Alternate method to reduce risk of heart attack is the regular exercise program which opens alternate routes in cardiovascular system. 1.5.3. Congestive Heart Failure Another common disease is congestive heart failure which is due to enlarge in size of the heart reduce the ability for adequate blood circulation. Applying law of Laplace, if the radius of the heart is doubled, the tension of the heart muscle should be doubled which in turn reduces the efficiency of the heart muscle to maintain the same blood pressure. Since the heart is stretched it may not be able to produce sufficient force to maintain normal circulation. Stretched heart muscle is less efficient than the normal. It consumes much more O2 for the same amount of work. 1.5.4. Bradycardia Patients with inadequate electrical signal in the heart muscle will affect the work load of heart. The artrioventricular node i.e. between Atria and Ventricles is fatty and does not conduct electric signal and ventricle receive no signal from Atria, but being natural pacing centers which provide a pulse. The resulting heart rate is 30 beat/min i.e. Bradycardia results semi invalidism. 1.5.5. Pace Makers If hearts electrical signals are inadequate to stimulate heart muscles, artificial pace makers are available. To improve the quality of life of faulty atrioventricular nodes, artificial pacemakers are developed. The pacemaker contains a pulse generator that put out 72 beats / min. The pace maker is put just below the right collarbone. It lasts for 2 years and impervious to body fluids and do not cause tissue reaction. 1.5.6. Valve Defects Another heart disease is defective heart valves. These are of two types. 1) The valve either does or opens wide enough (stenosis). In stenosis large amount of work is to be done by heart to obstruct the narrow opening. 2) It does not close well enough (insufficiency).In insufficiency some of the pumped blood flows back and the amount of blood in circulation is reduced .Both types can be replaced by artificial valves. 1.5.7. Cardiovascular Diseases Aneurysm Some cardiovascular diseases involve the blood vessels. An aneurysm is a weakening of the wall of an artery which results increase in its diameter in turn increases the tension in the wall proportionately. If it is ruptured in brain, a type called Cerebrovascular accident (CVA). A more common blood vessel problem is the formation of sclerotic plaques on the walls the artery which causes turbulence in blood flow increases the blood velocity at that point with a decrease in wall pressure due to Bernoullis theorem. A Disease in Varicose Vein Veins with defective valves which allow the blood to flow backward become enlarged or dilated to form the varicose veins. During walking or other exercise, the contraction of the muscle forces the venous blood toward the heart called venous pump. At various points along the veins there are one way flaps or valves that prevent the blood from going back. If these valves become defective blood run backward and pool up in the vein becomes varicose. The standard treatment for varicose veins is surgical removal of the offending vessels. There are sufficient parallel veins to carry the blood back to the heart. Stiffness of RBC Membrane In some cases, mainly in smoking, the membrane of RBC s becomes stiff. There may not be normal flow of blood in the vascular system. Blood may become viscous leading to Thrombosis. 1.6. Electrophysiology of Heart The rhythmical action of the heart is considered by an electrical signal initiated by spontaneous stimulation of special muscle cells located in the upper right hand corner of the right atrium near the superior vena cava. This area is known as sino atrial node (Fig 1.5). Cardiac electro physiology is dedicated to the study of the electro chemical activity of the heart. Studies include electrical activation of individual cells as well as the system- level activation, which results in normal or abnormal heart rhythm. (J.Olansen et al 2000). The complex system found by the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) and the heart is modeled as if it was a modulation system, where the first generates a signal that modulates a sequence of pulses which excite the heart (Manuel Duarte Ortigueira et al 1959 ). The sinus rhythm fluctuates around the mean heart rate, which is due to continuous alteration in the autonomous neural regulation i.e. sympathetic and parasympathetic balance. Periodic fluctuations found in heart rate originate from regulation related to respiration, blood pressure (baroreflex) and thermoregulation (Pauli Tikkanen 1999). Cells in the SA node generate their electrical signal more frequently than cells else where in the heart. These impulses spread rapidly through inter nodal pathways to Atrioventricular node (AV node). At this node the signal is delayed so that all muscle cells of the atria contract virtually in unison. Now the impulse conducts through fibrous connective tissue between atria and ventricles known as Atrio ventricular bundle (AV bundle). AV bundle conducts the signal through left and right bundles of Purkinje fibers which conduct the cardiac signal to all parts of the ventricles. 1.5.Fig. Electrophysiology of the heart. 1.6.1. Sinoatrial Node The sinoatrial node is a small, flattened ellipsoid strip of specialized muscle about 3 mm wide, 15 mm long and 1mm long located at the upper right hand corner of the right atrium immediately below and slightly lateral to the opening of the superior vena cava. The Sinoatrial (SA node), the atrioventricular (AV node) and the Purkinje system can be regarded as potential pacemaker tissues in heart. As the fastest depolarization impulse spreads through the conduction system to other pacemakers before they spontaneously depolarize, the sinoatrial node usually defines heart rate (Pali Tikkanen 1999 12). The sinus nodal fibers connect directly with the atrial muscle fibers, so that any action potential generates at the sinus node spreads immediately to the atrial muscle wall. For this reason Sinoatrial node is also known as pace maker of the heart. It generates the impulse at the rate of about 70/min and initiates the heart beat. However this rate may increase or decrease by the demand of blood supply to the body. Three types of membrane ion channels play an important role in causing the voltage charges the action potential. They are 1) fast sodium channels 2) slow calcium-sodium channels 3) potassium channels. As the ions move in muscle cells in fractions of second creates action potential at the Sinoatrial node. This can be observe

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Theories of Deviance | Essay

Theories of Deviance | Essay Deviance by most popular concept is the violation of the norms, values and ethics. The literal meaning of deviance is The fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behavior. In sociological terms deviance is described as The act of going against social and cultural norms, including rules and laws. The study of deviance tries to prove that the changing of norms help contribute to deviant criminal behavior. The deviant activity is divided into two types, Informal and Formal deviance. The violation of the formally enacted laws is the formal deviance i.e. crime e.g. robbery, theft. The violation of the informal social norms that are not formal laws is informal deviance e.g. picking ones nose. Deviance is described in its statistical and absolute terms. A definition of deviance, which relies on rigid reference to moral or ethical codes that are presumably universal, we call an absolute definition of deviance. A good example of absolute deviance can be found in the moral codes of the Christian faith and especially in the Ten Commandments which stipulate a set of behaviors that are presumably universally frowned upon by God. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Individuals who commit these acts are considered deviant. A statistical definition of deviance would define as deviant any behavior, attitude, or opinion that strays away from normal behavior. Now its very important to understand what we mean by normal here because in this case we are not using a moral compass to determine deviance but a statistical compass. In statistics, normal has a very specific definition. In statistics, normal is basically the most prevalent or common behavior, attitude, or thing. For example, in Canadian society the majority of people get up in the morning to go to work and thus it is normal to wake up in the morning and go to work. It is also normal to water your lawn and keep it green. (Sosteric) There are three levels of explanation in the study of deviant behavior. A first level of explanation is concerned with the existence of the different forms of human behavior that occur in any society. It is always necessary to take account of processes of socialization. A second level of explanation is concerned with the variation in norms between social groups, as manifested particularly in cultural and subcultural differences. Socialization takes place within particular social groups, and it is the norms of these groups that provide the standards for the identification of particular kinds of behavior as deviant. The third, and final, level of explanation is concerned with the ways in which particular individuals are identified as deviants by others and so come to develop a deviant identity. This is the matter of social reaction and control. (scott 238) Deviance is very much related to ethnicity. Ethnicity contributes a lot to the deviant behavior adopted by people in a society. Here it is important to note that there are many factors included in ethnicity to clearly explain the deviant behavior. They include class, education, place, family etc. An ethnic group may be in minority at some place which can contribute to the deviant behavior of its members. They may not be given enough privileges and basic facilities or they may be oppressed which can be a causal of the deviant behavior form its members. An ethnic group can be considered as deviant from the dominating group if there customs and norms are contrary to each other. Being in minority can cause them to lose faith in the local authorities, police, courts which can be leading to a deviant behavior. Within the ethnicity, economic class is a dominating factor for deviance. People from lower classes are seen to be more involved in deviant behavior due to financial constraints. Financial constraints may increase the inclination of people to commit economic crimes such as theft, burglary, armed robbery and street level drug dealing (Merton 1997) Two early explanations emerged to explain the role of different variables in deviant behavior- cultural deviance and strain theories. Both held class as central variable in shaping either values or access to opportunities. According to cultural deviance, structural position and location produced subcultural interactions that gave rise to deviant values (Cohen 1955). Strain theory argued that class lead to blocked opportunities in achieving the shared American Dream which then fosters deviant alternatives for economic success (Cloward and Ohlin 1960) Most Deviant people have peers. They are encouraged and supported by their peers for their deviant behavior. Another factor is that of family. Deviance is more common in people with single parent family. This means that perhaps instead of getting their beliefs, values, and norms from home they get them from their peers who will be deviant also.  This maybe because your peers are a secondary method of socialization, so if there are no parents to be the agents of primary socialization the peers will take their place.  As the peers are deviant, it would mean for them to fit into their culture they must i.e. they must also go against the norms, be deviant. (CourseworkHelp) Social visibility and stereotypical image of a minority ethnicity gives rise to deviance. Education is also one of the determinants. Usually non educated people are more likely to show deviant behavior as they are not fully aware of the norms of the society. Their kids from their primary socialization also learn to be deviant more likely than the kid whose parents are educated. Street crime has become very common in American and European communities by ethnic minorities. Negros, Afro Americans, African Caribbeans are involved in street crime for most of the time. There is growing evidence that members of ethnic minorities in Britain have become more heavily involved with the legal system since the 1960s. They are now especially likely to appear as offenders and, more particularly, as victims of crime and as police suspects. African Caribbeans, however, are almost twice as likely as whites to be the offenders of personal attacks. This is, in part, a consequence of the fact that African Caribbeans live, disproportionately, in inner-city areas where such crimes are particularly likely to take place. However, their experiences also have a racially motivated character. They are also being victimized by White for many serious crimes. This growing victimization of black people reflects a real growth in racial violence and racist attacks by members of the white pop ulation. While criminal acts carried out during the urban riots of the 1980s often had a racial aspect to them, blacks are far more likely to be the targets of racial crimes than they are to commit them. This racial discrimination adds to the fire of ethnic minority. There has, nevertheless, been a growing involvement of young African Caribbeans in many kinds of street crime. The police hold to a widely shared prejudice that African Caribbeans, in particular, are heavily involved in crime and that special efforts need to be taken to control them. Many studies have shown the racism inherent in police actions that stop black people in the street and subject them to closer scrutiny than other members of the population. African Caribbeans are more likely than whites, and members of other ethnic minorities, to be approached by the police on suspicion, to be prosecuted, and to be sentenced. This is reflected in a growing hostility of ethnic minorities towards the police, who are often see n as racists rather than neutral defenders of law and order. African Caribbeans in minority and living in the slums of Britain, belonging to lower classes are more likely to commit street crime. Young blacks are more likely to be involved due to peer pressure and single parent families. They have higher levels of unemployment than whites which produce greater temptation for crime. (scott 238) Afro-Caribbeans have younger age profile than ethnic majority (more young men) which means there are more people at peak offending age (14 21). (Livesey) Due to Self-fulfilling prophecy (police believe young blacks more likely to be involved in crime) results in more targeting and more arrests of ethnic minorities. Deviancy Amplification process occurs whereby police stereotyping and scapegoating of ethnic minorities result in appearance of more crime amongst ethnic minorities. (Livesey) Reported by famous newspaper London evening standard was the news A study shows that Black teenagers commit high levels of street crime and carry guns because they come from broken homes and have little faith in the police, it has been claimed. A report by MPs revealed that although young blacks make up less than 3 per cent of the population of ten to 17-year-olds, they account for 26 per cent of arrests for robbery within that age group. They also represent 6 per cent of those from the age group in the criminal justice system, and 8.5 per cent of those arrested for all crimes, including a disproportionate number of street offences. They are more likely to be responsible for, and victims of, gun murders. Disillusionment with the police was blamed for revenge attacks and youngsters carrying weapons such as guns. Lack of confidence in the criminal justice system may mean some young black people take the law into their own hands or carry weapons in an attempt to distribute justice and e nsure their own personal safety. The study follows a series of killings on and by young blacks. One of the highlighted example is of the stabbing of Damilola Taylor, ten, in 2000 and the gunning down of Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, in a gang feud in Birmingham in 2003.Recent cases include the killing of Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, a white lawyer, at the hands of two black teenagers while trying to snatch his mobile phone. (London Evening Standard) There are several sociological, psychological and biological theories explaining the relation between deviance and ethnicity. Few of the famous sociological theories include Conflict theory, Labeling theory, Symbolic interactionism, Functionalism etc. The conflict perspective  focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society. Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social change, and believe people cooperate to effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak. (Cliff Notes) The blacks in British society have conflicting values and agendas which give rise to the deviant behavior of the blacks. The minority of the blacks and the repression by the white adds to the fire of the blacks and they tend to go against the norms of the society. Whites are considered to be in the upper and higher statues of the society whereas blacks are considered to be the low status people and the status conflict leads the minority blacks to no abide by the social norms and values and revolt against it. Their deviant behavior is also because of the cultural differences between the blacks and the whites, between how they react to different situations. Whites try to dominate and impose themselves on the blacks, they grab highest positions in society, and they are in top institutions, in legislation, in government. They try to impose their normal social order on everyone resulting in conflicts with the blacks differing from them in many ways. One of the main factors of inequality a nd the criminal activities of blacks is that of finance. White are financially well off and this inequality among the society is responsible for the black minorities to be involved in crimes in order to get the basic necessities of life. The political institutions are also dominant by whites so there is no benefit for blacks to have their voices raised and heard by the concerned authorities, who are also whites. Howard S. Becker gave the famous labeling theory which describes how the behaviors of the individuals are related to the terms used to classify them and associated with the concept of Stereotyping. Labeling theory also explains the deviant behavior of blacks in Britain. Police and judiciary have a stereotypical image of the blacks to be mostly involved in crime, thus the attitude of these two institutions creates a sense of inferiority in blacks as they are always the suspects of some criminal activity. This leads them to go against these institutions. Beside these two theories there are several sociological concepts which explain other factors of the street crime. They include control theory, rational choice theory, strain theory etc. But the main explanation is given by the conflict and labeling theory.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Affirmative Action and College Admissions: A Legal and Ethical Analysi

Affirmative Action and College Admissions: A Legal and Ethical Analysis I. Introduction The institution of public education has been one of the most controversial establishments in the United States since its inception. More specifically, equality in the conditions and the opportunities it provides has been sought as one of its major goals. There is little doubt that minority ethnic groups have struggled to achieve educational equality, just as they have struggled for equality in other aspects of life. One way that minorities have tried to achieve equality in education is through lobbying for help in college admissions for their respective groups. This social practice has been debated on many grounds, including necessity and ethical permissibility. The debate over the necessity of equal opportunity in education for minority groups can be traced back to the post Civil War era. The well-known debates between African-American intellectuals W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington focused on this issue. DuBois believed that the newly emancipated blacks should be slowly integrated into the culture of white America. He argued that the best way for African-Americans to further themselves in society was to embrace their differences and not try to be subjected to the same educational system as the majority population. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington believed that blacks needed to be declared completely equal to whites in every way. He wanted immediate integration into all social institutions that were available to whites, including public education. Washington believed that this was the only way that equality could ultimately be achieved was to break down the social barriers between the races immediately and ... ...w.abanet.org/publiced/focus/spr98collad.html" > Alger, Jonathan. "The Educational Value of Diversity." The American Association of University Professors. Academe, January/February 1997. < "http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/1997/aadivart.htm" > Curry, Tom. "Split Decision on Racial Preference." MSNBC News. June 2003. < "http://www.msnbc.com/news/929326.asp?0cv=CA01&cp1=1" > Hurdato, Sylvia et. al. Defending Diversity: Affirmative Action at the University of Michigan. University of Michigan Press. 27 February, 2004. Orfield, Gary. Kurlaender, Michal. Chilling Admissions: The Affirmative Action Crisis and the Search for Alternatives. Harvard Education Publishing Group, 2001. Orfield, Gary. Kurlaender, Michal. Diversity Challenged: Evidence on the Impact of Affirmative Action. Harvard Education Publishing Group, 2001.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Environmental Activism Essay -- essays research papers

1. The large mainstream environmentalism groups started to compromise too much with regulatory agencies and bureaus, starting with the Glen Canyon Dam project. This began an estrangement with the mainstreams that culminated in the rise of more militant groups like Earth First! Glen Canyon represented what was fundamentally wrong with the country's conservation policies: arrogant government officials motivated by a quasireligious zeal to industrialize the natural world, and a diffident bureaucratic leadership in the mainstream environmental organizations that more or less willingly collaborated in this process.The mainstream environmental groups and government held the premise that mankind should control and manage the natural world. The radicals held that our technological culture with its intrusions on natural world had to be curtailed, perhaps even undone, to keep the ecology of this planet and our role in it viable. It marked a shift from a rearguard strategy (mainstream) to protect wilderness to an affirmative attempt to roll back the artifacts of civilization, to restore the world to the point where natural processes such as the flow of rivers could continue.The mainstream environmental movement is now perceived by many as out of touch with people's deep concern about environmental degradation, has become systematized. The activists use approaches such as industrial vandalism or "ecotage" to foster dramatic results. Some other methods employed are tree spiking, tree sitting, road blockading, demonstrations, tree pinning, ship sinking, dam breaking and outright terrorist-type sabotage (bombing power stations, bridges, power line, etc.) There may be some complimentary results of the efforts of both mainstream and radical groups. The large environmental organizations, while denouncing the radical's confrontational activities, have then been able to use their ample finances to take the campaign to Congress or the courts with the impetus of public support the radicals generated. 2. With Soule's quote, including "Vertebrate evolution may be at an end" it means that the civilization complex has lost its reference point by overwhelming the natural processes it has always used to define itself. The otherness of nature is disappearing into the artificial world of technology. As the environmental crisis worsens, we can expect increased att... ...of civilization's citizens.' Industrial man and the industrial society may be the most deleterious and unsustainable economic system the world has ever seen, since it constantly eats into the ecological systems on which it depends.We are beginning to realize just how costly a system it is as the health and cleanup bills from years of environmental abuse come due. Not surprisingly, those who benefited most from the extravagant rise of the industrial economy have done their best to pass the burden on to others: the poor, the unwary, or the next generation. Industrialism is perhaps the greatest pyramid scheme in history.The role that industrial man must take for the ultimate survival of the natural world is that he must take the action to slow and reverse human population growth . There are ecological limits to how many people can live in dignity on this planet; to quibble over whether that line has yet been crossed is to invite a game of ecological brinkmanship that there is no nee d to play. And if human population has not exceeded carrying capacity, the arguments of the humanist critics leave out the whole question of the effect present population levels have on the nonhuman world.

Gandhi’s Key Concepts of Passive Resistance, Non-violence, and Self-rul

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi- 2 October 1869 - 30 January 194 was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He is also known as Mahatma which means â€Å"The Great Soul†. He was committed to pacifism, that there should be no violence.(1) He had three concepts to follow in his life for independence of India: Satyagraha, Ahimsa and Swaraj. Gandhi introduced the concept of â€Å"Satyagraha† that means â€Å"passive resistance†. This passive resistance also means ‘soul force’ or ‘truth force’. The words satya means truth and Agraha means insistence, or holding firmly to (2). For Gandhi, Satyagraha is more likely a method which is the idea of practicing in non-violence. Gandhi says, â€Å"Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or non-violence.† (3) Gandhi devoted himself for Satyagraha in order to decolonize India from British without violence. In his book Home Rule he says,† Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering, it is the reverse of resistance by arms. When I refuse to do a thing that is repugnant to my conscience, I use soul-force† (5). He deployed this concept in Indian Independence Movement. For him, Satyagraha has three essentials meaning: â€Å"Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstance whatsoever; and it ever insists upon truth† (6). Also, he presented some rules for this â€Å"soul-force† to the individuals of India as a campaign to follow and to reach the independency. For instance, these are the rules that he wanted his people to obey without viole... ...ed States and South Africa. Works Cited (1) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_Mahatma_Gandhi#ixzz17wt8byMT (2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha (3) Satyagraha in South Africa, 1926 from Johnson, p. 73. (4) Gandhi, M.K. â€Å"Letter to Mr. ——† 25 January 1920 (The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi vol. 19, p. 350) (5) http://www.mkgandhi.org/swarajya/coverpage.htm (6) Gandhi, M.K. â€Å"Some Rules of Satyagraha† Young India (Navajivan) 23 February 1930 (The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi vol. 48, p. 340) (7) http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/ahimsa.htm (8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaraj (9) http://www.mkgandhi.org/swarajya/coverpage.htm (10) http://www.swaraj.org/whatisswaraj.htm (12) King, Jr., Martin Luther (1998). Carson, Clayborne. ed. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.. pp. 23–24 (13) http://www.sa-venues.com/nelson_mandela.htm