China Reflection Paper

We traveled by plane, boat, subway, car, bus, and even a let train. The first day was a long day of travel and we landed In Belong around pm. This was my first time ever being do far from and It was an exciting feeling. Our group was all pretty new with each other, but right away we clicked and started making friendships. After we checked into our hotel we went on our first walk. It was a lot different then and any city I have been and I was excited right away. We had a beer while walking down the street (who knew you could do that) and smoked a cigarette with the group.At this point In time I knew nothing about the people and how they loud treat us, but after buying a beer and one walking up to me right away with a bottle opener after seeing me struggling I knew it was going to be a great trip. Not because of the beer although everyone loves beer, but because of how nice everyone was to us that first three hours we were in Beijing. The first couple days were definitely a culture sho ck. Everything was new! Our tour guide was a little hard to understand and it was a lot hotter than expected. On the first full day I was glad I brought a camera with. We went to the heart of Beijing.The Forbidden City. Attainment square, A bike ride through the oldest part of Belling, a Tea ceremony and to top it off we all got foot massages. This one day set the pace for the whole trip and I think got us all over our culture. I wish however that this day would been a little later in the trip so I could of really understood what was going on the whole time. Lisa was easy to understand after the first day and even started cracking a few jokes. Belong was amazing and my most memorable part was the Great Wall of China. The wall was huge to say the least. It took over 1 million people to build.It hard to explain its size without posting pictures. As soon we approached it and got in it I immediately respected the people who built it. Yeah it's a huge wall. A lot of people don't understa nd that the wall is built on top of basically a mountain ridge. It is only oft high, but If a person falls of they are rolling down the mountain side. Also a lot of people Including myself thought It was flat on top almost like a road. I never knew It was more Like a broken escalator. Once we walked and crawled to the end we were daring enough to explore past the part of the wall that still being kept up and tapped foot on the original wall.In my opinion this was the best part it showed the age and strength of it and how it lasted so many years. I never knew the wall was actually a bad thing for the Chinese. It separated China from the rest of the world and they used all of their recourses building It. I think they could of thought of a better way to keep to Mongolia's out with 1,000,000 people. All the wonders of tea and the health benefits certain teas give you. The ceremony is hard to explain, I could repeat it for you some time with my authentic teapot. I liked owe she explained each kind of tea individually and what temperatures they should be served at.I guess I'm not supposed to put green tea in boiling water†¦ Oops. Another one of the cool things we did in Beijing that I don't think I will ever see again is go to the Pearl Market. This wasn't Just any market the market was strictly for knock-off or look alike items. This market really put my bargaining skills to the test. The market was 4 floors of vendors each floor was as big as the Kirby Lounge. They had everything from pearls to statues. Every vendor started at a price and through his market Ryan and I really honed our bargaining skills.Some of the things we did we questionable, but effective. First things first you have to walk away at least twice. And keep walking the first time. They are really persuasive. They all think that we are â€Å"dumb† Americans and don't really know what the price should be. So Just keep saying a lower price and stand firm on the price. They always can go l ower. Sometimes it takes a good 15 minute argument, but it's satisfying knowing you paid the lowest price possible. Another trick we did which kind of upset a few people was elk to multiple venders. Play the â€Å"Over there well she said this price† game.Those weren't the only awesome things we did in Beijing, but if I talked about them it all it would literally take me three days. After Beijing we went to Tannin. Tannin was amazing. We spent 2 weeks there studying business and visiting businesses. I learned a lot about the Chinese culture in those two weeks from the tours, classes and the people we met. Instead of talking about the businesses and classes I would rather talk about the friends I made there. I learned a lot from them and they are the most memorable part. ICC, Iris, Tony, Niles, Jon, Jason, Lisa, and even Terry the club owner were all great people.Miss ICC was great she was out going and bubbly and really help us break the ice with the other Chinese students wh en we were together. She taught us all about the dating life. She was interested in older men because they were more mature and set in life. I feel like this is a common thing over there. She also talked about how marriage is not considered complete until the guy has a house and a car. Iris was very interesting. Her friends called her Superwoman on the account f that she was great at sports. She even took the time to teach Ryan and I few things about tennis.I don't think there is any hope for me in that sport. Tony was an interesting little guy. He taught us about how is China it is really is frowned upon to fail. That is why there aren't a lot of entrepreneurs there. He also helped me order a few times. He was interested in our gun laws compared to his. I never noticed that it was illegal over there to own a firearm. I Just thought of it as a nonchalant thing. He was very intrigued when I was telling him about hunting and the rights we have as Americans. Niles was awesome we got al ong very well. I don't think you ever met him Dry.L', but he was a world traveler from Germany. He wrestled in Minnesota during high school, went to college in France, studied abroad to China where I met him, on his way to south Asia for a month and then to South Africa for his last semester. He taught me a lot about how to communicate effectively with the Chinese. He had decent mandarin, effectively and how to be really respectful to the Chinese. He kind of inspired me to travel a lot more. Life's too short not to travel the world. Little Jon and Lisa were awesome too. They showed us everything and brought us everywhere.They were basically our guides around Tannin. They taught me about how the schooling and grades were actually set up. They explained that it is really hard to get into college, but once you're there it is basically a pass/fail. They took the time to show us around during their finals week which they would have otherwise spent studying. They broke the stereotype that all Chinese students do is spend their time in the library studying and never have any fun.. They even came out with us a few times and let loose, which was awesome to see. Jason did a good Job showing us around the city and explaining things.He let us have enough room to branch out on our own and explore stuff on our own which I think was the best part. It was cool meeting him and his family. I still remember his contagious laugh after he would crack a Joke. Terry the manager of the club still Heehaws me very once in a while Just to see how America is and how life is. He actually seems like a pretty nice person. After we left Tannin it was a sad goodbye, but it was exciting to start traveling again 2 weeks was plenty enough time to spend in the city of Tannin. The next city we went to was Wax. We met our new tour guide there named Joe.He went to school for Tourism and English and was originally from Wax. In Wax we visited the Tiger Hill pagoda which was one of the most beautiful p laces we had visited in my opinion and a Tea pot museum. The pagoda stood 7 stories tall and was built to honor and emperor. The emperor was said to have been buried with 7,000 swords. Wax stands for no more Iron. Wax used to be full of iron and was fought over because of it. It used to be a battle ground because of this precious metal, but once it was gone the city was named Wax Just to make sure no one would come back. It's hard to explain the beauty of all these laces.I guess that's why I took almost 1,000 pictures. The Tea Pot Museum was amazing. I love interesting facts and learning about random things like the teapot. The tea pots in it represented Chinese culture and history. People dedicated their lives to the art of Tea Pot making and we learned about the process of how the pots were made, History of the material, what makes a good quality Pot, and how they should be properly used. I had to buy one. I bought the 2nd lowest grade of pot, but it is the most traditional. It do esn't drip and can be perfectly balanced in water. After Wax we went to Ouzos then Hangout.One was known for its green tea and the other for silk. I had to buy some of both. They made great gifts for my girlfriend.. I could go on and on about the shows, tours and places we went, but I would be writing for over a month. I will have to end my reflection by talking about the food. The food was amazing I had the expectation that I would like it, I never thought I would miss it. In fact I'm pretty sure I gained a few pounds over there from it. Lets start with the breakfast. The breakfasts we had we usually at the hotel, which in America means a few bagels and cold cereal.In China is was pretty awesome most places we went had everything a person could think of and more. One place even had sushi. The breakfasts were pretty Americanizes in my opinion. They had the standard Chinese food a person could get here. The best lunch I had was at the dumpling place you brought us to. That place was amazing I wish Duluth had a place cooked. The dinners were interesting as well. They were all family style around a round table Which I am not used to. Also a big difference is the size of plate a person gets. The Pates in China Are comparable too Tea cup plate.

Monopoly power is not automatically bad as long as it is regulated Essay

Monopoly power occurs when a business is a dominant seller of a good or service with a market share that exceeds 25%. There are many disadvantages for societies where monopolies exist. A higher price than those in competitive markets is one of the main disadvantages for society. As monopolies are the main seller of goods and services in the market they can use their market power in order to raise the prices well above the marginal cost and thus make supernormal profits. As their prices are set so high and people have little other choice than to pay for them this reduces the amount of consumer surplus income. Green area = supernormal profit (AR-AC) Pink area = Deadweight welfare loss (the combined loss of producer and consumer surplus) compared to a competitive market. This would be bad for the economy as people would have less disposable income than they would otherwise have had if the good/service was at a cheap price, so cannot spend as much in other aspects of the economy. Another disadvantage of monopoly is that there are fewer incentives to be efficient. If it is protected by high barriers to entry (meaning there are a few or no competitors in their market), the business may become complacent and thus operate less efficiently that it could. In this instance it is also possible for diseconomies of scale to occur. For example if the business did become complacent and chose not to bother to invest in technology to improve its efficiency it could suffer from technical diseconomies of scale as with new equipment/machinery, goods can be produced at cheaper and more effective levels. The monopoly may also choose to deliberately erect barriers of entry into the market to ensure that they do not lose market share. This is bad for small businesses in the economy as it gives them little opportunity to grow and compete with such large companies as they may purposefully decide to lower their prices so that consumers choose to go the monopoly instead of the small business. As small businesses are unable to compete with the  monopoly this would mean that there is a rise in unemployment. Increased levels of unemployment bring many negatives to the economy as the government will have to pay out more benefits meaning they have less money to spend on public and merit goods. As there would be more people out of work, they also do not have as much disposable income to spend on goods and services. As consumer spending is a key component of aggregate demand, this could reduce its levels and as a result bring down the GDP for the economy. However, monopolies aren’t necessarily bad; they can be advantageous in some aspects of the UK economy. Although they can achieve supernormal profits through having higher prices, this can then be used to invest in research and development to further their business, or protect it if it does badly. This will also lead to the creation of employment. More people employed will mean fewer benefits have to be paid out and the government can spend this money saved on improving the country. Another advantage of a monopoly is that they can achieve economies of scale (purchasing large quantities of materials for a cheaper price) as they are such a large business. Increased output (Q to Q2) will lead to a decrease in average costs of production(C to C1) and these savings can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. UK firms may have to be of a larger size if they want to compete on an international basis. To become large enough to compete in the international market a business is likely to need to become a monopoly if they are to stand a chance with competing with many other firms in different countries. Providing that monopoly power is regulated so that it is not abused to exploit consumers and purposefully make it difficult for new firms to enter the market, they are not necessarily bad. After all, firms grow by satisfying customers and companies that are monopolies wouldn’t be the size they are if they didn’t have satisfied customers. They provide many jobs within the economy and lots of revenue that can be invested elsewhere in the economy as well as being able to increase the GDP of a country.

Pepsi Company 2014 Diversification Strategy Essay

Pepsi Company 2014 Diversification Strategy - Essay Example This essay talks about the Pepsi Co Inc. which was founded 50 years ago as a merger between a snack company (Frito-Lay) and a soft drink global giant (Pepsi Cola). The paper explores Pepsi Co, Inc diversification strategies responsible for its continued growth.PepsiCo is divided into six business segments. The Frito-lay North America, the Latin American Foods, the Quaker food North America, PepsiCo Europe, PepsiCo Americas Beverages and the PepsiCo Asia and Africa. Each of the company business segments employs three key strategies to enhance its competitiveness in the beverage and snack industry. These strategies included global expansion, product innovation, and strategic alliance.PepsiCo has expanded most of its operation internationally through acquisition and mergers. This strategy has offered the company great business advantage due to the access to already established infrastructure and competencies in the foreign market. More importantly, through this strategy, the company doe s not need to start from scratch and thus it reduced the overheads and direct cost.By employing a broad range of innovative product development initiatives, PepsiCo has been in a position to launch new products on a yearly basis. Moreover, each year the company opened up a new plant in various locations both locally and internationally. PepsiCo enrolled popular celebrities to endorse its brands internationally. PepsiCo formed strategic alliances with huge corporations on a global scale.

Second Language Acquisition 'Interlanguage and explicit knowledge' Literature review

Second Language Acquisition 'Interlanguage and explicit knowledge' ( part) of the project - Literature review Example First of all, the project looked at the Second Language Acquisition (SLA), the notion of competence as well as a detailed description of interlanguage and explicit knowledge. Furthermore, the collected data was analyzed and the results of the research were provided, in particular TLU results of the occurred errors were explored to identify the gaps and variability in the speaker’s implicit knowledge. Last but not least, the study looked at the identified errors made by the L2 speaker and explored to what extent those errors were consistent or whether, they showed any patterns to the variability. Lastly, the implicit and explicit knowledge were compared and the implications for SLA were researched. Literature review on SLA, Interlanguage, Explicit/Implicit Knowledge (this part needs to be corrected, all that is highlighted, especially in red). 16Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Second language acquisition (SLA)process refers to the way that6someone acquires one or  a few for eign  or  second  languages. Scholars who study second language acquisition look at the  process of  acquisition in a  classroom setting and in the context of natural environment where learners use the language in a casual conversational interaction (Carter and Nunan, 2001: 87). The notion of communicative competence in the second language acquisition, tends to include sociolinguistic and grammatical competences, insofar as the abilities in a second language (L2) to evoke using language in socially and linguistically appropriate ways (Brown, 2006: 195). Figure 1: Components of Language Competence Source: Brown (2006: 195). Figure 1 shows the sub ­categories of language competence which are the common paths to be followed when analyzing the learner’s ability to use the language. Interlanguage The orientation of the interlanguage was derived from the Corder’s (1967) Error Analysis Approach and was proposed by Selinker (1972).  It represents â€Å"a separ ate linguistic system based on the observable output which results from a learner’s attempted production of a Target Language  (TL)  norm’†(Palotti, 2010: 160). According to Corder’s Error Analysis Approach, the influence of the first language (L1) on the L2 could not be denied and the L1 can be taken as the starting point to predict the language errors made by the L2 learner (DeBot et al. 2005: 34). Selinker identified four major sources for transfer that might shape the interlanguage’s structure. These include transfer of strategy, transfer of communication, transfer of training as well as transfer of other languages that the learner has already acquired or one’s native language (Brown 2006: 225). These ‘transfers’ are the major sources for analyzing L2 learners’ interlanguage characteristics. Implicit and Explicit Knowledge There are two types of knowledge that have been identified in the second language acquisition (SLA) which lend itself to this research. The ‘implicit knowledge’ refers to a knowledge that the learner is generally not consciously aware of whereas, ‘explicit knowledge’ refers to a declarative knowledge of the language that the learner can describe if necessary and is usually aware of (Littlemore 2009: 63). The major differences between explicit and implicit knowledge are identified by Ellis consist of: (2009: 16) ? Implicit and explicit knowledge involve different access mechanisms and implicit know

Conflicts in family course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Conflicts in family course - Essay Example Addiction is a state comprising abnormally extended use of something and/or belief in something or in a particular idea (Duncan & Duncan, 1995; Califano, 2000, 15 Jan). Examples are addictions to drugs, particular behavior such as male chauvinism, and excessive passion for work and so on. While every person may have all the rights for the use, belief and passion for a particular phenomenon, in a family, addiction can go an extra mile of affecting relationships and perceptions negatively. It is important to note that all human beings have different tastes and preferences (Werner & Johnson, 2000). Family members are no exceptions here. For example, what a father is addicted to may become a nuisance to the rest of his family. Addiction for a particular phenomenon is a condition one is determined or must live with at all times whether it affects close family members or not. It therefore goes without saying that some of the family members may really feel offended. Rational family members who are thus offended react and respond by way of showing discontent and hatred to the behavior of the addicted member of the family (Califano, 2000, 15 Jan). But this presents a rather confusing scenario: some family members hate behaviors that are dear to other family members (Duncan & Duncan, 1995). At such a juncture, everything goes amiss – there inherently occurs conflicts of interests. The end product is total family conflicts and disconnections. The central issue as regards the presence of addiction cases in families is the basic aspect of a normal family (Werner & Johnson, 2000) – a family should remain a unitary entity with strong bonds and there should be no very wide boundaries between interests of individuals forming a family. Generally, I should think that each member in a particular family has his or her role to play in order to maintain family coherence. In other words, all family members complement each other when it

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

Assignment - Essay Example We need to take action to stop them and come up with a much more reasonable and considered response to the problem. This is what informed and responsible citizens do: they work together, discuss ideas and come up with solutions that make sense to everyone. The Occupy movement has been a parade of fools so far. This is very unfortunate because there are social problems out there which require solving. Sadly, the Occupy movement has manipulated the homeless and used them as a rallying point. We need to take back our own public spaces from these people and we need to treat the homeless who truly need our help with real dignity and respect, and not use them as some sort of political pawn, as the Occupy organizers have been doing. Homeless people deserve to have a home and receive treatment. We need to ensure that this happens and they are not abused by those who would use them solely for political purposes. It is important for citizens like us to take a stand for those who are most vulnerable and whom no one else can help. Denver is a beautiful city with great potential. It is sad to see so much political energy being expended about homelessness which is only one of several issues facing the city. The people of Denver need to speak to their local representatives about these issues. We need to be very concerned about what happens in our public spaces. Downtown is a place for everyone. It is a place for families to enjoy themselves and for tourists to bustle about. It is not a place for constant political noisemaking and abuse. The citizens of Denver need to speak with one voice on this matter. Occupy and its shenanigans are not acceptable and we will stand up these criminals and clear the streets of their garbage if necessary. We all share this wonderful city. No one group or idea owns the city and can take control of our public spaces. Sadly, according to one

You should be familiar by now with the implications of class, age and Essay

You should be familiar by now with the implications of class, age and gender for the kind of lives that people lead in society. But do you think that where you - Essay Example Durkheim strongly believes that the cohesion or the lack of cohesion of religious groups is more important than what the believers think or feel about their religion. Since the behavior of the group can strongly affect the social phenomenon of society, it is but fitting that one should always play closer attention to the characteristics manifested by the group. However, he stressed that social facts, such as moral rules are effective guides and controls of the conduct of the group if and only if these social facts are internalized by the individual members of the group. By instilling the moral standards in the members of a group, the members will now be constrained to obey rules as a moral obligation. The existing structures of society and the constraints that social factors tend to create on the individual members of the group affects the kind of lives that people may lead in a certain place. Note that any social formation be it superior or inferior to the quality of individuals that compose it, is considered a separate entity from the individuals that comprise it and therefore demands a certain that culture and social circumstances can be considered as unique to a place and to a group of people thus it very much likely that the quality of life of people will be greatly affected by where they live. A clear example of the social effects of where one lives can be seen in the case of Northern Ireland where a group of people come in constant conflict with each other. Technically, the conflict in Northern Ireland can be more easily understood if taken in the light of the opposing forces composed of the people who want Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom on the other side and the people who want to â€Å"liberate† Ireland from external controls. An overwhelming majority of the members of the group that wants the union between Ireland and the United Kingdom are Protestants. On the other hand, the people who want

IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM LAW - Essay Example The ECHR decided in the case of Soering v. United Kingdom, 161 Eur. Ct. H.R. (1989) that this provision meant that individuals cannot be extradited if they are threatened with torture or inhuman or degrading treatment in the requesting country. In this case, Jens Soring fought extradition from Europe to the United States because he would face capital charges in the United States, and Article 3 of the ECHR forbids extradition for this reason. While the European Court of Human Rights decided that transferring a person who would face the death penalty would not violate the Article 3 of the ECHR, if a prisoner or a person would be transferred to a country where he or she faced torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, then this would violate Article 3 of the ECHR (Collyer, 2005). Lilich (1991) states that this judgment was significant because extraditing states must consider the ill-treatment of other states when considering whether to send an individual to that third stat e. The ill-treatment may be beyond the control of the state, and the state may give no assurances that the person would not be subjected to ill-treatment. This decision, according to Lilich (1991) also obligates signatory states to not extradite to other states that would subject the person to ill treatment, and even non-signatory states would not be able to do so. Directly after this case was decided, the ECHR decided several other cases. One such case was Cruz Varas et al. v. Sweden, 46/1990/237/307. In this case, Hector Cruz fled from Chile to Sweden to seek asylum, which was rejected. The court there stated that Mr. Cruz’ extradition did not violate Article 3, in part because the situation in Chile was improving. Another case was Vilvarajah et al. v. United Kingdom, 46/1990/237/307 ,  Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights,  20 March 1991. In this case the petitioner was attempting to ensure that he did not have to return to Sri Lanka. The court in that cas e found that there was only a possibility of ill treatment, therefore there was not a breach of Article 3. In Vivayanathan & Pusparajah v. France, 75/1991/327/399-400 ,  Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights,  26 June 1992, the court decided that there was not yet an expulsion order for the petitioners, who were trying to fight being expelled from France into Sri Lanka. Therefore, they could not decide upon the erits of the case. Tomasi v. France (Series A, No. 241-A, Application No. 12580/87), European Court of Human Rights (1993), found for the applicant, who was abused in custody. Allweldt (1993), states that the prohibition on expulsion of individuals to countries hinges on whether or not there is a real risk that the person would be subject to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. Allweldt (1993) states that the risk that the person faces does not have to be a high probability, just that it exists. There also must be a substantial grounds for the belief tha t the person would be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment in the receiving country. Addo & Grief (1998), states that Article 3 is brief because it sets out normative standards, and that each country is free to adopt these normative standard

Course review of the semester Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Course review of the semester - Coursework Example The most common of all civilizations recorded in the Indian history is the Indus Civilization. When analyzing the history of the ancient civilization, (Srinivas, 2004, p.58) argues that the Indus Civilization began in the Bronze Age stage of human evolution. Among the three prehistoric culture, the Indus Civilization was the most widespread covering an approximate area of over a million square kilometers. The other civilizations were Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Another surprising fact about the Indus Civilization is that its inhabitants developed techniques such as metallurgy (melting metals such as copper and tin) and handcraft (carving and basketry). Furthermore, the civilization had cities with excellent urban plans such as drainage system, water supply system and huge residential buildings. The Vedic era was characterized by the Aryan culture that was associated with Vedas. In his work, (Srinivas, 2004) describes the Vedas as texts that are sacred to Hindu. In addition, the Vedic civilization, which lasted up to 500BC, forms the foundation of Hinduism religion and many other Indian cultural aspects. The era of the Vedic civilization marked the genesis of the present day India. Most of the current day states of the art technology can trace their roots on the Indus and Vedic civilizations. In India, religion forms a foundation in major areas of life. According to (Srinivas, 2004, p.60), about 85 percent of Indians adhere to Hindu religion while the rest are mainly Muslims. Just like Indian gods and goddesses. Hinduism has many dimensions depending on location and caste. Indians follow dharma as their moral codes while Vedas are considered as being the sacred texts. Spiritually, (Srinivas, 2004, p.63), declares that Indians believe in reincarnation. In the belief, life is a continuous process of death and rebirth. According to the belief, when someone dies, a rebirth takes place

The Junk Box by Edgar Guest Essay Example for Free

The Junk Box by Edgar Guest Essay The message that I understood after reading the poem â€Å"The Junk Box† by Edgar Guest was that all men are good for something.   I felt that the poet was trying to relay the caring message that just because we might not need someone at a certain time, we shouldn’t just dispose of them.   There are instances when we need a shoulder to cry on and there may be that one person that you feel will be there for you and you could call on them to say I need you.    If we had previously tossed that special person out of our lives, it would be next to impossible to have them come that close in order for you to cry on their shoulder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Edgar Guest communicated his poem through rhyme.   Every last word of his sentences sounded like the other in rhyme form, earth, birth and worth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"A human junk box is this earth,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and into it we’re tossed at birth,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   to wait the day we’ll be of worth.†Ã‚   (The Junk Box; Edgar Guest)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I felt that the poet was extremely effective in delivering his message.   He was very clear in his writing and I got the message, immediately.   It seemed like a simple poem, but one that had so much information and meaning that even a child could understand the message he conveyed.   I will probably never forget this sweet poem because of its simplicity and because I sincerely did agree with the poet, Edgar Guest that people are always worth keeping and not tossing away, even if we don’t realize that we need them   at a certain the time! Reference (The Junk Box by Edgar Guest)

Diagnosis of Middle Ear Disorders Using Wideband Energy

Diagnosis of Middle Ear Disorders Using Wideband Energy CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF MIDDLE EAR DISORDERSÂ  USING WIDEBAND ENERGY REFLECTANCE A Doctoral Thesis Presented to The Graduate College of Missouri State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Copyright 2008 by [Alaaeldin Elsayed] CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF MIDDLE EAR DISORDERS USING WIDEBAND ENERGY REFLECTANCE Communication Sciences and Disorders ABSTRACT Accurate diagnosis of middle ear disorders in adults and children is a challenging task because of the complexity of disorders. Wideband energy reflectance (WBER) technique provides simplicity and accuracy in diagnosing middle ear disorders across wide frequency range. This research is expanding the studies of WBER to investigate the middle ear function in normal and pathological conditions of the middle ear in adults and children. Findings showed that WBER not only can distinguish abnormal from normal middle ear function but also can characterize different middle ear disorders in adults and children. Several specific WBER patterns were established in a variety of middle ear disorders among adults and children that will help in early diagnosis of such pathologies. The ER pattern was including significant higher ER in the children control group than the adult control group at 0.5 kHz and 1 kHz, abnormally high or shallower in otosclerotic ears, abnormally low in ears with TM perforati on and abnormally low ER with deep notch in ears with hypermobile TM. In presence of negative middle-ear pressure, elevated ER at ambient pressure is also expected. Results also showed that standard tympanometry was less sensitive in diagnosing middle ear disorders when compared to WBER especially in otosclerotic cases. Further studies are still required to validate the clinical use of ER in larger number of individuals with confirmed middle ear disorders. KEYWORDS: wideband energy reflectance, otosclerosis, otitis media with effusion, eustachian tube dysfunction, tympanometry. This abstract is approved as to form and content Wafaa Kaf, MD, MS, PhD Chairperson, Advisory Committee Missouri State Universit CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF MIDDLE EAR DISORDERS USING WIDEBAND ENERGY REFLECTANCETITLE OF THESIS By Alaaeldin Elsayed A Doctoral Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College Of Missouri State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctorate, Audiology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank so many who encouraged me along this dissertation. First and foremost, I am thankful to God for all his blessings. I am very grateful to Dr. Neil DiSarno for all his support and kind caring throughout my graduate school education. Further, I am indeed grateful to Dr. Wafaa Kaf, my doctoral advisor, for her guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this work. In addition, I would like to show appreciation to my committee members for their helpful comments and direction for this dissertation. Special thanks also to the faculty and secretarial staff of the Department of Communication Science and Disorders. Thanks to Dr. Walid Albohy, and Dr. Ahmad Alhag for their help in collecting data for this study. Special thanks and appreciation for my wife Enass and my children Mohamed and Nada, your love and delightful spirits has kept me going forward. DEDICATION This work is dedicated To My dear parents, My beloved Enass, Mohamed, and Nada, Who made all of this possible, for their endless encouragement and patience. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Hearing mechanism and the middle ear Sound transmission. The hearing process includes the transmission of sound energy through the auditory canal to the tympanic membrane (TM). This sound energy results in vibration of the TM with an equal atmospheric pressure on both sides of the TM. The mechanical vibrations are, then, transmitted from the TM to the air-filled middle ear space and ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes), which further amplify the sound energy and transmit it, via oval window, to the fluid-filled inner ear. At the inner ear, the mechanical vibration is converted into electric waves and transmitted as nerve signals that are interpreted by the brain as sounds. Mechanical properties of middle ear. The middle ear is an air-filled cavity that connects the outer ear canal to the labyrinth of the inner ear. This connection is established through the middle ear ossicels-malleus, incus and stapes. The malleus is attached to the TM by its handle; the incus bone lies in the middle between the malleus and the stapes while the footplate of the stapes is attached to the oval window of the inner ear. The middle ear cavity is also connected to the nasopharyngeal cavity through the Eustachian tube (Musiek and Baran, 2007). The Eustachian tube is important in maintaining an equal pressure on both sides of the TM and ventilation of the middle ear cavity. The tube also drain the middle ear into the nasopharynx (Channell, 2008). Figure 1 demonstrates schematic representation of the anatomy of the ear. When the sound pressure moves the TM the mallus and incus consequently move together as one unit around a pivotal point. In doing so, both bones act as a lever; the lever arm formed by the manubrium of the malleus is slightly longer than that of the incus (about 1:1.3 ratio). In turn, the rotation of the long process of the incus around its pivotal point leads to the back and forth (piston-like) movement of the stapes footplate in the oval window of the inner ear. The movement of the stapes footplate is directly proportional to the frequency and amplitude of the sound waves. This route of sound transmission is called the ossicular route. Acoustic route is another way of transmitting sound waves directly from the TM and the oval window to the cochlea. The direct acoustic stimulation of the oval and round windows, by passing the ossicles (acoustic route), plays a part in sound transmission In normal ears both routs are functioning but the upper hand is for the ossicular route (Voss, Ro sowski, Merchant, and Peake, 2007). From the above information, it appears that the middle ear plays important role in the hearing process. The middle ear mainly helps to correct the impedance mismatching between the air-filled middle ear and the fluid-filled cochlea and to transform the acoustic energy at the TM into mechanical energy that will eventually be transferred to the inner ear. The Impedance matching function of the middle ear is carried out by three mechanisms: the lever action of the ossicles of the middle ear, the area difference between the TM and the area of the stapes footplate, and the buckling of the curved TM. An outcome of these mechanisms is that the vibration obtained from the large area of the TM is focused to the much smaller oval window of the inner ear (21:1 area ratio), resulting in a differential pressure between the oval window connected to scala vestibuli and the round window connected to the scala tympani. This pressure differential is critical in maximizing the flow of sound energy and activation of the cochlear structures (Cummings, 2004). Accordingly, middle ear disorders are expected to affect the normal transmission of sound, resulting in conductive hearing loss (discussed below). An illustration of the anatomical structure of External, Middle and Inner ear. Modified from Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: Ear anatomy. In addition to correcting the impedance mismatch between the air-filled middle ear and the fluid-filled cochlea, the middle ear also protects the inner ear from loud sound via the acoustic reflex. This mainly occurs as a result of reflex contraction of the two middle ear muscles, the tensor tympani and the stapedius, in response to loud sound leading to increased stiffness of the oscicular chain, and hence diminished sound transmission (Allen, Jeng, and Levitt, 2005). Given that the acoustic reflex mainly decreases the transmission of low frequency sounds thus, it improves speech discrimination in loud, low-frequency noisy environments. Unfortunately, the reflex does not protect the ear against impulsive sounds as gun shots due to prolonged latency in muscle contraction (Lynch, Peake, and Rosowski, 1994). Pathophysiology of middle ear disorders To further understand the pathology of middle ear disorders, it is important to consider the middle ear system as a vibrating mechanical system. Such a system is composed of three elements: mass, stiffness, and friction. When the mass and stiffness components are equal, so-called resonant frequency of the middle ear, it is expected that the amplitude of vibration of the middle ear is at maximum. On the other hand, when there is an increase in the mass without change in stiffness or friction the resonant frequency is lowered and the amplitude of vibration is lowered at frequencies above the resonant frequency. In contrast, when there is an increase in the stiffness component of the middle ear the resonant frequency increases and the magnitude of vibration reduces for frequencies below the resonant frequency (Roeser, Valente, and Hosford-Dunn, 2000). Middle Ear Disorders are a variable group of pathological conditions that includes, for example, middle ear infection (Otitis Media with Effusion: OME), chronic otitis media with perforation of the TM, Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (ETD), ossicular disruption or dislocation and or/ otosclerosis. Such middle ear disorders may lead to conductive hearing loss due to their effects on mass, stiffness, and/or friction elements of the normal middle ear. Perforated TM is induced by chronic otitis media or trauma to the ear. As a result, the normal structure and the function of the TM are altered. The degree of hearing loss is directly related to the size of the perforation (Voss et al., 2000) The perforation leads to equalization of pressure on both sides of the membrane which consequently leads to disturbance of the ossicular route and hearing loss (Voss et al., 2000). Normally the inward movement of the stapes is followed by an outward movement at the round window (push and pull mechanism). In the presence of TM perforation, this push and pull mechanism of the ossicles is disturbed and the sound waves energy reaching the oval window is reduced. Ossicular dislocation usually follows a violent trauma to head or as a consequence of chronic otitis media and/or cholesteatoma. Disarticulation of the incudostapedial joint due to traffic accident was the most common pathlogy of ossicular disruption(Yetiser s, 2008). With the exception disruption due to chronic otitis media, the dislocation of the ossicles may or may not be accompanied by TM rupture. The injury results in loss of the impedance matching mechanism of the middle ear and a conductive hearing loss of about 40-60 dB (Merchant, Ravicz, and Rosowski, 1997). Otosclerosis is a progressive disease of bone resorption and reformation that affects bones derived from the otic capsule. The etiology of the disease is not fully understood. The disease leads to osteodystrophy and fixation of the stapes in the oval window. Among the most accepted eatiological factors is genetic factors and viral infection. Otosclerosis is characterized clinically by progressive hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo (Menger and Tange, 2003). Both conductive and sensory neural hearing loss has been reported in otosclerotic patients (Ramsay and Linthicum, 1994). Otosclerosis may affect the cochlea and other parts of the labyrinth as well (Menger and Tange, 2003). The resulting fixation of the footplate of the stapes leads to increased stiffness of the ossicular chain early in the disease. Increased stiffness of the middle ear affects the transmission of low frequency sounds. At later stages of the disease, the bone starts to grow adding a mass effect. This increase in ma ss of the middle ear affects the transmission of high frequency sounds as well (Shahnaz and Polka, 1997). More disorders include inflammatory conditions of the middle ear such as otitis media (OM) and media with effusion (OME), chronic otitis media, and cholesteatoma. OM usually results from upper respiratory infections or allergies that lead to obstruction of the Eustachian tube (Channell, 2008). As a consequence, negative pressure develops in the middle ear resulting in otalgia due to stretching of the TM and mild hearing loss due to the increased stiffness of middle ear transmitting mechanism. If the negative pressure inside the middle ear is not relieved, a transudate accumulates inside the middle ear. The condition is then called OME. The hearing is further affected by the mass- friction effect. The degree of hearing loss depends on the type and the amount of the transudate. The combination of fluid and pressure in the middle ear was found to reduce TM movement at the umbo by 17 dB over the auditory frequency range (Dai, Wood, and Gan, 2008). Middle ear function measures Tuning fork testing. The tuning fork testing is one of the traditionally used qualitative hearing tests. They are used to examine the conductive component of hearing loss (external or middle ear pathology). Several tests have been descried including: Rinne, Schwabach, Bing, and Weber tests. For Rinne test, the vibrating tuning fork is held against the skull, usually on the mastoid process bone behind the ear to cause vibrations through the bones of the skull and inner ear. To cause vibrations in the air next to the ear, the vibrating fork is then held next to, but not touching, the ear. In the test the patient is asked to determine if the sound heard through the bone is louder or that heard through the air. The results of the test are categorized as positive, negative, or equivocal. A negative Rinne test is indicated when the sound is heard louder by bone conduction than by air conduction which suggests a conductive component of the hearing loss. Although Rinne test was found to be highly specific in one study; the same author has suggested that it should be carried out only as a pack up test for pure tone audiometry in audiological evaluation of hearing loss (Browning and Swan, 1988; Thijs and Leffers, 1989). The Schwabach tuning fork test compares patients bone conduc tion to the normal examiner. Bing tuning fork tests determines the presence or absence of the occlusion effect. Weber tunning fork test determines the type of a unilateral hearing loss. While Rinne test compares air conduction to bone conduction in the same patient. Although the tuning fork testing is easy and reliable; it is still a subjective test that depends on the response of the patient and the degree of hearing loss. Additional drawbacks are that tuning fork testing is a qualitative and not a quantitative test, and does not diagnose the etiology of the conductive hearing loss. Pure-tone Audiometry. Pure-tone Audiometry is a behavioral test that measures hearing threshold. The test has been used to diagnose type and degree of hearing loss for more than one hundred years. During test setting, the patient is subjected to different tones to test the hearing mechanisms via air-conduction and bone conduction. Typically, the normal level of pure tone audiogram air and bone conduction will lie between 0-15 dB HL for children and 0-25 dB HL for adults. According to Northern and Downs (1991), the degree of hearing loss can be classified in adults as (0-25 dB HL) within normal limits, Mild (26-40 dB HL), Moderate (41- 55 dB HL), Moderate-Severe (56-70), Severe (71-90 dB HL) or Profound (91 + dB HL) hearing loss. In children it is classified as normal (0-15 dB HL), Slight (15-25 dB HL), Mild (25-30 dB HL), Moderate (30-50 dB HL), Severe (50-70 dB HL), Profound (70 + dB HL) hearing loss. This classification is applied to PTA of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz (Roeser et al, 2000). Different types of hearing loss are interpreted by comparing air conduction thresholds to bone conduction thresholds. When the air conduction threshold elevated to a maximum around 60-70 dB HL in the presence of normal bone conduction threshold, this type of hearing loss is called conductive hearing loss. In sensorineural hearing loss the pure tone audiogram shows both air and bone conduction thresholds are elevated and with a 10 dB HL or less in between. Mixed hearing loss displays elevation in both air and bone conduction thresholds, but with the bone conduction threshold at better intensities than the air conduction by 10 dB HL or more. In both conductive and mixed hearing loss, the difference in air and bone conduction thresholds is called air-bone gap; and it represents the amount of conductive hearing loss present (Roeser et al, 2000). The use of pure-tone audiometry provides quantitative information regarding the degree and type of hearing loss. However, it does not diagnose the cause of hearing loss and cannot be used in infants, young children, and difficult-to-test subject. Mannina (1997) reported that the diagnosis of middle ear disorders in school-aged children is less efficient when using pure-tone audiometry alone. To improve the diagnosis of middle ear disorder, Yockel (2001) demonstrated that the addition of tympanometry to audiometry does improve the diagnosis of OME than using audiometry alone. Assessing Middle ear function is a very important step in early diagnosis and treatment of conductive hearing loss. Since the usually used subjective tests, the tuning-fork and pure tone audiometry, cannot identify the etiology of underlying middle ear disease, other objective measures such as acoustic immittance are needed for differential diagnosis and accurate diagnosis of specific middle ear disorders. Acoustic Immittance. Several objective measurements of middle ear function have been developed over the last four decades. Various anatomical structures of the middle ear represent complex network system that affects the sound presented to the ear. Not all the sound represented to the middle ear is delivered to the cochlea, but some of the power is absorbed by the bony structure of the middle ear (Zwislocki, 1982). Acoustic Immittance using tympanometry assess the middle ear status by measuring the transmitted sound energy to the middle ear. Acoustic Immittance provides objective information about the mechanical transfer function in the outer and middle ear. Acoustic Immittance is defined, as the velocity with which an objects moves in proportional to an applied force, while Acoustic Impedance (Za) is the opposition offered by middle ear and the TM to the flow of energy. Mathematically acoustic admittance (Ya) of a system is the reciprocal of impedance. Acoustic Immittance refers collectively to acoustic admittance, acoustic impedance or both (Tympanometry. ASHA Working Group on Aural Acoustic-Immittance Measurements Committee on Audiologic Evaluation, 1988). Investigators have found that abnormalities in the middle ear transmission might be reflected in the acoustic condition of the TM (Allen et al, 2005). Acoustic Immittance can be measured to single probe-tone frequency (single frequency tympanometry) or to series of multiple probe frequencies (multifrequency tympanometry). Single frequency tympanometry. Tympanometry is one of the earliest objective methods used to evaluate middle ear function. Tympanometry measures the acoustic immittance of the middle ear as a function of changing the air pressure in the ear canal. A single probe tone tympanometry is the conventional measure of middle ear function in response to low frequency probe tone, 226 Hz, under varying static air pressure. Evaluation of the acoustic immittance of normal and different middle ear disorders was done by Otto Metz, 1946, and confirmed later by Feldman, 1963 (Katz, 2009) In 1970, James Jerger began to incorporate immittance measurement into the routine audiological evaluation. Jerger classified tympanograms as type A, B, or C depending on the shape of the tympanogram (with or without peak) and location of the peak when present. Type A is the normal tympanogram with the peak at or near the atmospheric pressure (+25 to -100 daPa). Type A is further divided into subtypes Ad and As for high and low peaked type A tympanograms respectively (Feldman, 1976). Type B tympanogram has no peak and relates to middle ear effusion, infection with normal ear canal volume, or due to large TM perforation with large ear canal volume. Type C is a negatively shifted tympanogram that reflects Eustachian tube dysfunction, a precursor of serous OM, mostly evolved from type B (Katz, 2009). Since 1970, single frequency Tympanometry is the conventional clinical middle ear measure because it is a non-invasive, objective, and cheap indicator of many middle ear pathologies in children and adults. Unfortunately, low frequency probe tone tympanometry has high false negatives in infants younger than seven months (Holte, Margolis, and Cavanaugh, 1991). This is explained by the movement of the infants ear canal wall with pressure changes in the external ear canal due to immaturity of the bony part of the external auditory canal. In addition, tympanometry was found to be relatively insensitive to many lesions that affect the ossicular chain of the middle ear (Lilly, 1984). Furthermore, Keefe and Levi (1996) reported false positive tympanometry results compared to energy reflectance, a recent middle ear function measure. They found normal middle ear energy reflectance at higher frequencies in infants with flat low probe tone tympanometry. Multifrequency tympanometry. Multifrequency Tympanometry (MFT), which was first introduced by Colletti in 1976, measures middle ear impedance using multiple frequency probe tones ranging from 226-Hz to 500 Hz and up to 2000 Hz (Colletti,1976) . Similar to previous discussion about the three elements of the mechanical system of the middle ear, admittance of the middle ear has three components: stiffness (compliant susceptance), mass susceptance and conductance (resistance). A tympanometric pattern was developed by Vanhuyse and colleagues in 1975 that helped in interpreting the underlying middle ear pathology using MFT. The Vanhuyse tympanometric pattern is based on the assumption of the shapes and locations of reactance (X) and resistance (R) tympanograms. Using a conversion equation the model can predict the shapes of susceptance (B) and conductance (G) tympanograms. Vanhuyse et al proposed four normal patterns: 1B1G, 3B1G, 3B3G, and 5B3G as shown in Figure 2. 1B1G pattern is the normal tympanogram with a one susceptance (B) and one conductance (G) peak. It occurs when reactance (X) is negative and its absolute value is greater than resistance (R) at all pressure used (the ear stiffness is controlled). As the probe frequency increases the curve becomes more complex and notched. 3BIG model has three peaks of susceptance (B) and one conductance (G) peak. It represent negative reactance (X) with an absolute value greater than resistance (R) at low pressur e and smaller than resistance (R) at high pressure. The third model (3B3G) appears when the ear is mass-controlled. In 3B3G model the reactance is positive and less than resistance (X R) at low pressure and becoming negative at high pressure (Margolis, Saly, and Keefe, 1999). Figure 2. A graphic presentation of the model presented by Vanhuyse, Creten and Van Camp (1975). The resistance (R) , negative resistance (-R) and the reactance (X) tympanograms is shown in the upper left corner of each panel. Negative R is shown to compare the magnitude of the reactance X. The corresponding admittance (Y), (lower left corner), susceptance (B), (upper right corner) and conductance (G), (lower right corner) are also shown in each panel. Four patterns are presented and classified according to the number of extrema in the susceptance B and conductance G tympanograms. The pattern (1B1G) in panel one shows both susceptance and conductance have single extrema and reactance is negative. The pattern (3B1G) in panel two shows conductance G is single peaked with three extrema in susceptance B, reactance X is still negative but its absolute value is greater than resistance at high pressure. The pattern (3B3G) in panel three shows three extrema in susceptance B, conductance G, and admitta nce Y tympanograms, reactance Y is positive but less than resistance R . The pattern (5B3G) in panel four shows five extrema in susceptance B tympanogram and three extrema in conductance G, and admittance Y tympanograms, reactance Y is positive and greater than resistance R at low pressure. Because of the use of measuring middle ear function to several probe tone frequency, MFT is considered superior to single frequency tympanometry in detecting high impedance pathological conditions of the middle ear such as middle ear effusion, otosclerosis, and cholesteatoma. Such pathological conditions were not detected by conventional tympanometry (Colletti, 1976, Keefe and Levi, 1996, Shahnaz et al 2009). Several studies have shown that MFT has higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting middle ear pathologies such as TM mass or adhesions (Margolis, Schachern, and Fulton, 1998). Also, MFT is more sensitive than single frequency tympanometry in identifying normal and abnormal middle ear condition in neonates (Shahnaz, Miranda, and Polka, 2008). However, MFT is of limited clinical use for several reasons: long testing time, limited frequency range, and unreliable data above 1000 Hz (Allen et al, 2005). The use of wideband energy reflectance is shown to address the above limitat ions of MFT. Wideband energy reflectance. The wideband energy reflectance (WBER) is a new technique that has been introduced recently to evaluate middle ear dysfunction (Keefe, Ling, and Bulen, 1992). Simply the idea of WBER is that incident sound to the ear is transmitted through the ear canal and TM, some of this sound energy is absorbed through the middle ear and cochlea and part of it is reflected back (Figure 3). The energy reflectance (ER) is defined as the square magnitude of pressure reflectance ÂÂ ¦R(f) ÂÂ ¦2, which represents the ratio of the sound energy reflected from the TM to the incident sound energy at frequency (f). ER ratio ranges from one to zero (1.0 = all incident sound energy is reflected, and 0.0 = all sound energy is absorbed) (Allen et al, 2005). ER is an indicator of the middle ear power to transfer sound (Feeney, Grant, and Marryott, 2003). Energy reflectance (ER) measurers middle ear function over a wide band of frequencies (0.2- 8 kHz). ER is the ratio of the reflected energy (red arrow) to the incident energy (yellow arrow). When all incident sound energy is reflected back ER ratio equals one. When all incident sound energy is absorbed ER equals zero. Red arrow represents reflected sound energy; yellow arrow represents incident sound energy; green arrow represent absorbed sound energy. Modified from Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: Ear anatomy. WBER measures middle ear function using a chirp stimulus at 65 dB SPL over a wide frequency range, typically 0.2 to 8 kHz and at fixed ambient pressure (Feeney et al, 2003) . Normative data has shown that most incident acoustic power is reflected back to the ear canal (ER ratio closes to 1) at frequency range below 1 kHz or above 10 kHz that also show poor hearing threshold or at frequencies below 1 kHz and above 4 kHz (less efficient middle ear function) (Keefe, Bulen, Arehart, and Burns, 1993). More specifically, 50% of the acoustic power is transmitted to the middle ear between 1-5 kHz frequency range, indicating that the most effective middle ear transfer function (ER is at its lowest values, closer to one) occurs around 1-5 kHz (Allen et al, 2005; Keefe et al, 1993; Schairer, Ellison, Fitzpatrick, and Keefe, 2007). WBER has been used in measuring normal middle ear function and middle ear disorders using ambient pressure (Allen et al, 2005; Feeney et al, 2003; Shahnaz et al., 2009). In other studies the researchers used pressure to measure the acoustic stapedial reflex (Feeney and Sanford, 2005; Schairer et al, 2007). Development of the middle ear in infants was also investigated using WBER (Keefe and Abdala, 2007; Keefe e al, 1993; Keefe and Levi, 1996). Wideband energy reflectance in neonatal screening Keefe et al. (1993) and Keefe and Levi (1996) reported that the acoustic response properties of the external and middle ear varies significantly over the first 2 years of life. These changes, mostly physical changes, are responsible for the mass-dominant infants middle ear system with lower resonant frequency. The main components of this mass-dominant effect is the pars flaccida of the TM, ossicles, and perilymph in the cochlea (Van Camp, Margolis, Wilson, Creten, and Shanks, 1986). The mesenchyme in infants middle ear may add to the mass effect (Meyer, Jardine, and Deverson, 1997). This is completely in contrast to adults middle ear, which is a stiffness-dominant system at low frequency (Holte et al, 1991; Keefe and Levi, 1996). The TM, tendons and ligaments, the space between the mastoid and the middle ear cavity, and the viscosity of the perilymph and the mucous lining of the middle ear cavity constitute the stiffness component of the middle ear (Van Camp, Margolis, Wilson, Creten , and Shanks, 1986). Recently, Shahnaz (2008) have compared MFT and WBER findings between normal adults and normal-hearing neonates in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU), who passed the neonatal hearing screening test. The researcher found maximum absorption of the incident energy at narrower range of frequencies (1.2 2.7 kHz) in normal babies compared to adults (2.8 4.8 kHz) (Shahnaz, 2008; Shahnaz et al, 2008). This preliminary normative data from 49 neonatal ears reflects the potential diagnostic benefits of the WBER test in detecting middle ear effusion in neonates. Wideband energy reflectance in otosclerosis Although the main definitive diagnosis of Otosclerosis is during surgery, an accurate preoperative audiological diagnosis is very important indication for surgery. Still, pure-tone audiometry has its own limitations that prevent accurate diagnosis of otosclerosis. Also, standard 226 Hz tympanometry is usually within normal type A tympanogram in most otosclerotic patients (Jerger, Anthony, Jerger, and Mauldin, 1974). While multiple frequency tempanometry may be helpful in diagnosing otosclerosis, it adds little information to the diagnosis (Probst, 2007). On the other hand, the WBER responses in three ears of otosclerosis fell outside the 5th to 95th percentile of the normative data and presented a distinctive pattern for the disease (Feeney et al, 2003); which suggests that WEBR is a sensitive middle ear measure. In a recent study WBER was found to be helpful in distinguishing 28 otosclerotic ears from normal and/or other causes of conductive hearing loss. A significantly higher ER w as found in otosclerotic ears at frequency range of 0.4- 1 kHz as compared to normal ears. In the same study WBER was found to be more sensitive in diagnosing otosclerosis than the conventional 226 Hz tympanometry and the MFT (Shahnaz et al., 2009). Wideband energy reflectance in other middle ear pathology Hunter and colleagues (2008) found higher sensitivity of WBER in detecting otitis media in infants and children with cleft palate (Hunter, Bagger-Sjoback, and Lundberg, 2008). Feeney and colleagues in 2003 studied WBER at ambient pressure in 13 ears with different middle ear disorders and comparative normal. Different middle ear disorders were involved in this study included: four ears with OME, one ear with ossicular discontinuity, two ears with otosclerosis, two ears with hypermobile TM, two ears with perforated TM, and one participant with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The results suggested a distinctive WBE

Combining of Old World Animals and the New World Environment Essay exam

Combining of Old World Animals and the New World Environment On the morning of October 12, 1492, as Columbus and his fleet of three ships approached the majestic shores of the new world, it marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. Until this historic moment, the two continents had lived separately from each other, unaware of the other's existence. However, as Columbus and his crew set foot upon the New World, the flood gates were suddenly opened as the country now known as America, fell into the hands of its European discoverers. With their arrival to the virgin lands, the Europeans encountered a world different from their own and quickly sought to "Europeanize" it as soon as possible. In essence, this meant transforming it into something which more closely resembled their home lands (Crosby 64). By manipulating the new environment to better reflect the surrounding of their home country, the explorers and later the settlers, began to break down the fragile ecosystem of the New World. With little regard for their impact on the en vironment, the progressive destruction of the natural habitat continued at an unprecedented rate. The mass devastation of the virgin forests and woodlands shattered the natural balance which had been in place for centuries. Little was spared from the invasive methods of Columbus and his fellow Europeans, including animals. As if the destruction of the native land was not drastic enough, the introduction of Old World species into the New World environment added another factor into the story of the conquest of the New World and its inhabitants. In the years following 1492, an onslaught of European species were introduced into the New World in an attempt to Europeanize the newly discovered ... ... played a part in building what is the environment of present day America. Though these changes took place over four centuries ago, the results can see be seen for the outcome is in front of us every day - a unique and diverse biota composed of species from two worlds meshed together into one living environment. Bibliography Bedini, Silvio A. Editor in Chief. The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992. Crosby, Jr., Alfred. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. West Port, Connecticut, 1972. Gause, as quoted in Krebs, Charles J. Ecology 4th ed. California: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1994. Jones, Jr., Malcom. "When Worlds Collide", Newsweek. Fall/Winter 1991. Sale, Kirkpatrick. The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy. New York, Penguin Books, 1990.

Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels Essay -- essays research papers

Although Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift has long been thought of as a children's story, it is actually a dark satire on the fallacies of human nature. The four parts of the book are arranged in a planned sequence, to show Gulliver's optimism and lack of shame with the Lilliputians, decaying into his shame and disgust with humans when he is in the land of the Houyhnhmns. The Brobdingnagians are more hospitable than the Lilliputians, but Gulliver's attitude towards them is more disgusted and bitter. Gulliver's tone becomes even more critical of the introspective people of Laputa and Lagado, and in Glubbdubdrib he learns the truth about modern man. Gulliver finds the Luggnuggians to be a "polite and generous people" (III, 177), until he learns that the Struldbruggs' immortality is a curse rather than a blessing. Throughout the course of Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver’s encounters with each culture signify a progression from benevolence towards man to misanthr opy, resulting in Gulliver's final insanity. In the first part of the book, Gulliver arrives on a strange island and wakes up tied to the ground by a culture of six-inch tall Lilliputians. Gulliver is amazed by the skill of the Lilliputians in handling him, but he is offended by their disrespect: â€Å"†¦in my Thoughts I could not sufficiently wonder at the Intrepidity of these diminutive Mortals, who durst venture to mount and walk on my Body, while one of my Hands was at Liberty, without trembling at the very Sight of so prodigious a Creature as I must appear to them† (I, 8). However, Gulliver complies with every inconvenience that the Lilliputians bestow on him, because he allows them to take him prisoner even though he could destroy them with one stomp. It is rather amusing that Gulliver surrenders to these tiny people so quickly: â€Å"†¦when I felt the Smart of their Arrows upon my Face and Hands†¦I gave Tokens to let them know that they might do with me what they pleased† (I, 9). They also tie Gulliver up as if he were a dog, and search his pockets in order to confiscate any weapons, among numerous other actions in which Gulliver placidly succumbs. No matter how respectful Gulliver is, however, it is negated by his lack of shame. By urinating on the queen’s palace to put out a fire, he does not realize that he offended the queen immensely, and this is the cause for his impeachment. By making th... ...is own race begins to turn on him ironically when he describes the culture of his native country to the Houyhnhnms. The rational beings conclude that Gulliver really is a Yahoo because the civilized people of Gulliver’s culture are just as corrupt as the less civilized Yahoos. Upon realizing the morose fact that he is indeed a Yahoo dressed up like a civilized man, Gulliver’s psyche collapses and he is transformed into a misanthrope, forever alienated from the rest of society. All four books of Gulliver’s Travels form a rapid descent into the dark nature of man. Swift is satirizing the elements that make men human, from small pettiness to corruptness and greed. When a sane man such as Gulliver is exposed to the different aspects of human immorality, Swift shows how these influence his life and the effect, ultimately, is the deterioration of his mind. At the end of the book, Gulliver cannot even look at his family without feeling disgust. Above all, he is disgusted with himself for being a part of such a corrupt race as man. But Gulliver is â€Å"an honest Man, and a good Sailor, but a little too positive in his own Opinions, which was the Cause of his Destruction† (IV, 191).

Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus

Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone A runner must use a strategy that is specific to that style of racing. If a distance runner attempts to apply pacing to a short sprint he has lost the race before approaching the start. Although racing strategies differ between every individual race it is possible to associate some basic strategies used in particular types of races. These techniques are common amongst the runners of a particular event but vary compared to runners of different types of races. Oedipus and Creon are two new rulers that seek to establish their legitimacy to the authority of the Thebes’ throne. Oedipus sought to find approval and identification with the people of Thebes by ending a plague. Creon emphasized national unity and obedience to laws that benefit the state. Similar to the runners of separate types of races Oedipus and Creon approach the problem of establishing authority in different ways. Oedipus has the mindset of a sprinter and approached each arising problem with the same tactics. Creon is likened to a distance runner that is trying to have his team win a track meet. Viewing the characters as different types of runners allows for insight as to justification why each character fails to gain the legitimate authority they desire. The 110m hurdles is a race that requires exactness. The runner must have solid technique in each aspect of the race including the start, stride length and rhythm developed in the race. The start of the race is explosive because every moment in a short race is tremendously important. The hurdler’s steps throughout the race are calculated; an exact number of stri... ...during a race. Team strategy limits potential star performances of individuals. Antigone did have a star performance and attracts the other members of society away from the idea of acting as a team. The tragic results of Oedipus and Creon are attributed to the weaknesses present in the style of racing the adapted to attain authority of Thebes. Works Cited Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. â€Å"Run With the Pack.† Runner’s World. October 30, 2003 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,4-95-103-284,00.html. Works Consulted Sparrey, Kathleen Raske. â€Å"Development of Elite Hurdlers: Assesment of the Individual Athlete From: Identifying and Training Elite Hurdlers in the United States.† October 29, 2003 http://www.coachr.org/shrthrd.htm. Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone A runner must use a strategy that is specific to that style of racing. If a distance runner attempts to apply pacing to a short sprint he has lost the race before approaching the start. Although racing strategies differ between every individual race it is possible to associate some basic strategies used in particular types of races. These techniques are common amongst the runners of a particular event but vary compared to runners of different types of races. Oedipus and Creon are two new rulers that seek to establish their legitimacy to the authority of the Thebes’ throne. Oedipus sought to find approval and identification with the people of Thebes by ending a plague. Creon emphasized national unity and obedience to laws that benefit the state. Similar to the runners of separate types of races Oedipus and Creon approach the problem of establishing authority in different ways. Oedipus has the mindset of a sprinter and approached each arising problem with the same tactics. Creon is likened to a distance runner that is trying to have his team win a track meet. Viewing the characters as different types of runners allows for insight as to justification why each character fails to gain the legitimate authority they desire. The 110m hurdles is a race that requires exactness. The runner must have solid technique in each aspect of the race including the start, stride length and rhythm developed in the race. The start of the race is explosive because every moment in a short race is tremendously important. The hurdler’s steps throughout the race are calculated; an exact number of stri... ...during a race. Team strategy limits potential star performances of individuals. Antigone did have a star performance and attracts the other members of society away from the idea of acting as a team. The tragic results of Oedipus and Creon are attributed to the weaknesses present in the style of racing the adapted to attain authority of Thebes. Works Cited Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. â€Å"Run With the Pack.† Runner’s World. October 30, 2003 http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,4-95-103-284,00.html. Works Consulted Sparrey, Kathleen Raske. â€Å"Development of Elite Hurdlers: Assesment of the Individual Athlete From: Identifying and Training Elite Hurdlers in the United States.† October 29, 2003 http://www.coachr.org/shrthrd.htm.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a strange and powerful book of family loss, love, vengeance, and good versus evil. According to Janet James, Wuthering Heights, in essence, is a battle of nature versus nurture (James 2). As this classic begins, the evil villain in the book—Heathcliff—appear to be following the path of the good-hearted hero. His true characteristics, however, slowly unravel—showing his tenacity for evil against many of the characters in this multi-generational novel. The affects that Heathcliff has on Catherine and many other family members in Wuthering Heights create our flawed character. Yet, Heathcliff is the fuel that drives every other character as they act and react to Heathcliff and his evil ways. In Wuthering Heights Mr. Earnshaw brings home an orphan named Heathcliff that he quickly adopts into the family. This apparent noble gesture of family love for an individual without a real family or home opens the floodgates of drama. The Earnshaw family winds up initiating a war that spreads over several generations. According to Hubbard, Nelly Dean is a servant who was raised in Wuthering Heights. Nelly tells the history of Heathcliff and, thus, narrates much of the story. Hubbard 1) Heathcliff is raised in the family. He eventually falls in love with Catherine, one of the Earnshaw children, a pseudo-step-sister to Heathcliff. Mr. Earnshaw eventually dies and the family members attempt to ruin Heathcliff’s life due to years of bitter resentment. Yet, the courtship between Heathcliff and Catherine continues to unfold as the warring within this intense saga deve lops. A key turning point occurs when Catherine dies during childbirth. Heathcliff reacts to years of vengeance, vows his own revenge on the very family that he has grown up in. Heathcliff, then, attempts to gain control of the family legacy. As we look at our central character, Heathcliff, his initiation into the family has him cast as a protagonist. However, as the fate of good versus evil begins to gather thematic weight, we find a shift in Heathcliff. In fact, the shift is so dramatic that Heathcliff becomes the story’s antagonist. The entire structure of Wuthering Heights revolves around Heathcliff. As in many classics, love is an overriding subplot that weaves together the multi-generational conflict that evolves. Love, in the end, seems to be the demise of the evil characters. Heathcliff and many of his surrogate family members are unable to share their love for one another. It’s a case of honor for the bloodline of the Earnshaws that creates the war. Graphic bloodletting results as many characters—Heathcliff, our supposed protagonist included—sink to killing as the only means to alleviate the family drama. Characters choose to use lies and deceit to meet their unbridled need for passion, lust, and selfish gain. Wuthering Heights, although its main protagonist is an orphaned child, cradles its main character into a large family with a special purpose. This adoption creates animosity between step-siblings and spouses. Estrangement and bitter revenge is a subplot linking this graphic and upsetting intense novel. As the battles between individuals progress in the novel, the undercurrents of physical and mental pain—sometimes horrific pain—create intense situations as characters constantly juggle with a decision: Is the fight for a worthy cause? Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights, winds up becoming loved and hated. He is, in effect, the hero and villain of this grand classic novel. His character creates dramatic intensity. Here, is an example of one of the Earnshaw’s discussions with Heathcliff. Hindley said, â€Å"and I pray that he may break your neck: take him, and be damned, you beggarly interloper. † (p. 61) His drama slowly evolves into an evil being. He pushes his hatred at everyone except Catherine. Heathcliff gets to a point of dependency on Catherine. As long as he has Catherine, he can deal with anything. Heathcliff is, in effect, the story of Wuthering Heights. Thus, when Catherine dies, Heathcliff loses his co-dependent love and releases years of build-up rage and aggression. The emotions and actions of other characters in this epic novel all seem to stem from Heathcliff. His magnetic personality is the catalyst toward other character interaction and plot development. Catherine, for example, is torn emotionally and spiritually over Heathcliff because of the feelings other family members have regarding Heathcliff. In the end, it has been viewed as a death she desired. It was the only way to find relief to a life of bitter entanglements. The following quote comes from Catherine describing her feelings about Heathcliff to Edgar: â€Å"Oh Edgar, Edgar! † she panted, flinging her arms around his neck. â€Å"Oh, Edgar darling! Heathcliff’s come back. † (p. 114) As Heathcliff and Catherine develop their relationship fairly early. In chapter 10, we see that Catherine has grown bored of Edgar. Her interest in Heathcliff abhors Edgar and thus a bitter jealously between Heathcliff and Edgar ensues. Since Edgar is Catherine’s wife, the intensity of this jealousy from Edgar brings secret joy to Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine wind up sharing deep passionate love. But the secrecy of her unfaithfulness becomes well-known in the family. Plus, the wealth of the Earnshaw creates greed within Heathcliff. This foreshadows the fact that Heathcliff will go to almost no-end to get what he wants: the Earnshaw legacy. On an estranged level, we see that Heathcliff’s mental stability becomes a question mark. The entire Earnshaw family, except for Catherine and Hareton, view Heathcliff as some sort of ruthless, cold-blooded creature. Some even consider him incarnate evil. From the author’s perspective, however, he is a man of turbulent emotions who feels that everyone else is evil due to that fact that society has excluded him. His short-temper and violent tendencies helps to create the character backdrop of a villain that can cause two generations of a wealthy family to be turned upside-down. Healthcliff creates his own laws which are the main reason why he is hated by almost every other character in the novel. However, his commitment to Catherine leads readers to offer him some credibility, or at least pitied on some levels. This credibility is forever in question due to Heathcliff’s inability to be forgiving of anyone. Through dialogue from Heathcliff, Emily Bronte creates the image of a character sinking out of control. Isabella writes of her anguish over the Earnshaw dilemma. She wrote, I do hate him–I am wretched–I have been a fool. † (p 163) Catherine, in Wuthering Heights, whose eventual demise comes by the hands of losing her own life, is set up by her personal struggles in her love-hate relationship with the arch nemesis, Heathcliff. She builds walls that suffocate herself from her family, all at the extent of Heathcliff. When other family members suspect his less-than-moral activities, Heathcliff simply stacks on the lies by jabbering on to cover up his deception. He continues to manipulate situations based on fast-talking. Again, his unfortunate orphanage and adoption into this glamorous family is his means of escaping victimization. Yet, ironically, he is, both, a victim and villain in the grand scheme of Emily Bronte’s masterpiece. In the following, we listen to Hindley express his mental state of mind regarding Heathcliff. Hindley said,†Unless you overreach him; and he’ll be my ruin. Damn the hellish villian! † (p. 193) The tide turns as the lies intensify and the great network of these families begin to see the truth. Other characters begin to boast their concerns over troubling issues surrounding Heathcliff. This unraveling of the family adds intensity to each new scene. In other words, the world is wrong and only Catherine and Heathcliff are correct—at least that is how Heathcliff sees things in his mental instability. Comedy is another component that is woven into the threads of the evil characters in Wuthering Heights. Most often, Bronte pokes fun at Heathcliff as the other family members and servants treat him unfairly and oftentimes with mockery. The grand theme of death and horror is apparent in Wuthering Heights. The characters evolve and revolve almost entirely around the characterization and altering behaviors of Heathcliff. The other character’s true motives come to light: They yearn for the demise and death of Heathcliff. As timing is such a critical component of Heathcliff’s development as a character, the timing of the lies within the family reach a climax. Before they can amend their ill-mannered plans to end Heathcliff, the damage is done and the family suffers. Bronte uses more empowering language to make her point with such artistry: The guest was now the master of Wuthering Heights. † (p. 204) In closing, this classic novel gained universal fame for its ability to weave the consequences of war and family and love and loss. And, it is done in climatic fashion. Betrayal and love and comedy are the components that keep the characters moving—especially our villain Heathcliff. There is one single link that connects Heathcliff with humanity. That is his respect for Harton Earnshaw, the man who adopted Heathcliff into the family, initiating this lifelong journey. According to Vogler, respect for family also manifests in the story as the battle between siblings and loved ones becomes the necessary device to overcome loss and deception and overzealous pride (Vogler 16). There is no way to correct the death and horrific pain that was unleashed as the story of Heathcliff and the Earnshaws occurred. In fact, Heathcliff wound up spending almost his entire life acting out on revenge against this family. As his life came to an end, Heathcliff was seeking spiritual aid. In fact, his dream was to be with Catherine again where he could spend eternity with the love of his life. Thus, as he brought about a slow death upon himself, he became happier the nearer and nearer he got to death. Yet, ironic as it may sound, Wuthering Heights is based on the love found by being forced into the trenches of war, a war that goes beyond the physical pain of the battlefield and into the ache of the soul. In the end, deceit loses but not before causing rampant death and destruction among the link known as family. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a strange and powerful book of family loss, love, vengeance, and good versus evil. Wuthering Heights, in essence, is a battle of nature versus nurture. Tartuffe is also a story of estranged family love, loss, and deceit. As each story begins, the evil villains in both books appear to be following the path of the good-hearted hero. Their true characteristics, however, slowly unravel—showing their tenacity for evil. Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights—and Tartuffe, in the play Tartuffe—have many comparable attributes. In Wuthering Heights Mr. Earnshaw brings home an orphan named Heathcliff that he quickly adopts into the family. This apparent noble gesture of family love for an individual without a home winds up initiating the warring and drama between several generations. In Tartuffe, the eventual evil character known as Tartuffe is regarded as a most pious and holy man, a hero on God’s path—or so we are led to believe. This can be paralleled to Heathcliff’s entry into the story as a loved orphan child. Tartuffe is regarded by the community members with the utmost respect. The intertwining of love, lust, and deceit is rampant in both stories. Love, in the end, seems to be the demise of the evil characters. They are unable to share their love and thus choose to use lies and deceit to meet their unbridled need for passion, lust, and selfish gain. Wuthering Heights, although its main protagonist is an orphaned child, cradles its main character into a large family. This adoption creates animosity between step-siblings and spouses. Estrangement and bitter revenge is a subplot linking both of these graphic novels of intensity. As the battles between individuals progress in each novel, the undercurrents of physical and mental pain—sometimes horrific pain—create intense situations as characters constantly juggle with a decision: Is the fight for a worthy cause? Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights, winds up becoming loved and hated. He is, in effect, the hero and villain of this grand classic novel. His character creates dramatic intensity. His drama slowly evolves into an evil being. He pushes his hatred at everyone except Catherine. Heathcliff gets to a point of dependency on Catherine. As long as he has Catherine, he can deal with anything. Heathcliff is, in effect, the story of Wuthering Heights. The emotions and actions of other characters in this epic novel all seem to stem from Heathcliff. His magnetic personality is the catalyst toward other character interaction and plot development. Catherine, for example, is torn emotionally and spiritually over Heathcliff because of the feelings other family members have regarding Heathcliff. In the end, she seeks relief in death. Some of the characters in the play begin to see that Tartuffe is not the pious individual they were led to believe he was. Cleante and Dorine, for instance, discuss Tartuffe’s questionable characteristics. They both agree he is filled with deceit and has tricked Orgon. The web of love and desire runs amok as communication between family members and loved ones is blurred. Deception creates the sub plotting elements between Damis, Orgon, Mariane, Valere, Cleante, and Dorine that create animosity. This French play is in direct correlation to Emily Bronte’s classic novel that also weaves family deception, love, desire, and war to create an empowering story. Catherine, in Wuthering Heights, whose eventual demise comes by the hands of taking her own life, is set up by her personal struggles in her love-hate relationship with the arch nemesis, Heathcliff. She builds walls that suffocate herself from her family, all at the extent of Heathcliff. Tartuffe also builds walls. For Tartuffe, however, his walled persona is central to his initial means of deceiving others. He seeks to capture the love of Elmire. When others suspect his less-than-moral activities, Tartuffe simply stacks on the lies by jabbering on and using religious cliches to cover up his deception. He continues to manipulate situations based on fast-talking. Again, his religious background leads others to believe him. The tide turns in both stories as the lies intensify and the great network of these families begin to see the truth. Other characters begin to boast their concerns over troubling issues surrounding Tartuffe. Madame Pernelle’s advice is seen as truly absurd. She feels betrayal and takes out her angst by reprimanding other family members. For example, she hounds Cleante for his desire to counsel society; she doesn’t like how Elmire dresses; even the maid is reckless. This unraveling of the family adds intensity to each new scene. In other words, the world is wrong and only Madame Pernelle and Tartuffe are right. This talkative old woman reveals to the audience, for the very first time, that Tartuffe’s true character is not pious. Comedy is another component that is woven into the threads of the evil characters in Tartuffe and Wuthering Heights. In scene four, Orgon is completely fooled and also blinded by his committed affection to Tartuffe. The servant-master relationship gives way to humor. Here, we witness a bitter, yet sharp-witted, servant who makes fun of the unintelligent master. This dim-witted masters isn’t even aware of the ridicule. Comedy is found throughout Wuthering Heights as well. Most often, Bronte pokes fun at Heathcliff as the other family members and servants treat him unfairly and oftentimes with mockery. The grand theme of death and horror is also apparent in both stories. The characters evolve and their true motives come to light. However, by the time the lies are brought to light, the damage is done and the families suffer—in both stories. In closing, these two novels gain universal fame for their ability to weave the consequences of war and family and love and loss. And, it is done in climatic fashion. Betrayal and love and comedy are the components that keep the characters moving—especially our villains Heathcliff and Tartuffe. There is one single link that connects Heathcliff with humanity. That is his respect for Harton Earnshaw, the man who adopted Heathcliff into the family, initiating this lifelong journey. Respect for family also manifests in Tartuffe as the battle between siblings and loved ones becomes the necessary device to overcome loss and deception and overzealous pride. Wuthering Heights is based on the love found by being forced into the trenches of war, a war that goes beyond the physical pain of the battlefield and into the ache of the soul. It’s ironic, in Tartuffe, that our antagonistic villain was once considered holy and pious. In the end, deceit loses but not before causing rampant death and destruction among the link known as family.

An Analytical Comparison of “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too”

An Analytical Comparison of â€Å"I Hear America Singing† and â€Å"I, Too† Born ten years after the death of Walt Whitman, there was no possible way for Langston Hughes to ever meet or communication with Whitman, but that did not mean Hughes could not establish a connection to him, or at least his work. In 1925, Hughes wrote a poem titled â€Å"I, Too† was inspired by and directed in response to the poem â€Å"I Hear America Singing†, which was composed by Whitman much earlier. Whitman’s poem consisted of a variety of different American laborers who â€Å"sing† as they do their jobs.This well-known poem never specifically addresses the ethnicity of these singing laborers of the American population, but Hughes sets about to rectify that omission. Walt Whitman is sometimes considered a pioneer of free verse and non-esoteric subject matter with focus on the working-class using realistic imagery. Whitman’s poem â€Å"I Hear America Singi ng† demonstrates no end rhyme, but we hear a sense of melody in his repetitions and rhythm in the length of his lines that substitutes for the pattern we would expect to perceive in conventional poetry.Though beyond that we can tell that the tone of the poem is muscular, its beat vibrant, and its mood proud. Each tradesman in the poem performs his labor with the same pride and triumph that one might hear from a singer. There is no promotion of importance attached to the jobs performed or the performers who carry out those jobs. In the end of the poem he mentions the inclusion of female voice with â€Å"delicious singing† (10) along with â€Å"the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing† (10-11).With attention to include both sexes, Whitman seems to be taking in all aspects of America’s working class, but it has been drawn out many times that this poem does not specifically detail African-Americans as part of the cluster. It is this detail that Hughes believed should have been incorporated and led to his follow-up poem, â€Å"I, Too†. As Langston Hughes was going up, African-Americans were not accepted and were discriminated against; separated from using the same facilities and being in the same place as Caucasians, just to name a few.The division between whites and blacks was clearly prevalent and the United States of America was a racially discriminatory society reinforced by its racist laws. Hughes took the initiative to speak his mind via poetry, resulting in his piece â€Å"I, Too†. In this poem, Hughes clearly signifies one thing: Just because his skin color is different from whites, does not mean that they get to sing the National Anthem louder. Arguing that all American citizens are the same, disregarding their skin color, Hughes applies in this poem a master-slave relationship.The assumed white master shows disrespect to his servant by sending him away whenever visitors come over, because he is orde red to eat secluded from the company. However he seems to not be faze by this and actually finds it funny, supported by â€Å"But I laugh† (5). Furthermore, not only does he find amusement in this unpleasant situation, but the isolation has a positive effect on him â€Å"And grow strong† (7), implying that even though he submits to his master, his spirit will not be diminished.In every line of â€Å"I Hear America Singing†, the word â€Å"singing† appears to help emphasize and describe the melody of the working American citizens, yet there is no song in particular. Perhaps they are singing the National Anthem? America’s people doing American jobs all united by an unidentified melody that shrouds them all. It would seem a bit peculiar for Whitman to exclude African-Americans.The people in Whitman’s poem are common folk without individual names or true identities, but they are all idealized as each one finds joy in the dignity of his or her la boring task. The heart of Hughes’s poem demonstrates the strength of a black slave who stands up for what is right and says enough is enough. Though it is meant to be a response to â€Å"I Hear America Singing†, it feels as though â€Å"I, Too† misses the message of Whitman’s work and perhaps Hughes was only too troubled by segregation to understand.

Principles Of Business Essay

Planning In my planning, I will be very much interested in establishing several activities which involves defining the purpose of the store. I will define this as a store for the storage of sports goods for profit purpose. It will be focused on storing goods for profit making. I will therefore need to plan where I will be purchasing the goods so that, they can cheaply be bought, they will have continuous flow so that I do not run short of stock. I must plan for the site for the business. This is to ensure the business is located in a place where the customers can access the commodities without obstruction by any thing. The place should be safe and secure for the customers. I will focus on the labour. I must plan the sources of labour source and the numbers of workers who will be required. I should also plan for the finances that will be required for the commencement of the business as initial capital. I must plan on how the business will run i.e., Is going to be in large scale business or small scale in which goods will be sold in retail or whole sale methods. Simply, I will plan for my resources, state my mission, define my vision and have a summary of the overall operations of the business. (Ehlers, 2000) Organizing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I will review my plan of the business. Reviewing the plans will enable me to understand the key points which I need to include in my organization. This will require me to put in place the list of tasks and the groups of individuals who will be assigned in the various tasks short listed. Such groups will be such people like sale groups, store group, purchasing groups administration group and others which may deemed appropriate.   I will then group the tasks into jobs. (Ehlers, 2000) Directing I will ensure that there are directors who will act as supervisors of the other subordinate staff. The directors will be the overall responsible delegate in the different departmental sectors. They will be requiring to under taking senior responsibilities like overseen the general run of the particular departmental activities. Controlling Controlling being the final process of the four functional chains of management activities, which bring the function of management to full circle; it will be necessary for me to establish control methods of the store. This will involve the setting up effective control systems for the monitoring of the activities and the corrective actions to be taken. I will include supervisors in the store to see that worker working under the different departments do not become reluctant in their specified jobs and tasks. I must install systems to make sure that there is overall evaluation of the goods purchase, goods in stock and those which haves been sold. Supervisors will have to observe what is happening and compare that with what was supposed to be done. They will be supposed to correct any ineffective activity and conditions in order to bring the result to my expectations. This will facilitate the delegation of activities to employees. Because supervisors are held accountable for their junior employees’ performance, there will be timely feedback on employees’ activities. . (Deresky, 2002) Levels of management/organization chart There several management levels which I will require to have the sports store to run smoothly. These include: Top level: – this will have the general director which I should be holding such a post. This will enable me to oversee the other people who will be working under the other levels of the management. The middle level will contain directors of sale, purchase and store. They will be support to directly report all implementations and mitigation of activities of their departments. Director for sale will makes sure the targets of sales are achieved through the implementation of set objectives and targets. Director of store will ensure goods in the store are safe and properly issued. Director of purchases will make sure there is proper in flow of goods from our suppliers in to our premises at the right price. First level will have those people working under the various directors who will be supervising the lowest ranked employees in the different departments. (Deresky, 2002) General Director Top level  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My management style I will have a passive management style in which the major decision making will be based on the people opinion. I will hold meeting with the supervisors who will working under the departments to discuss some of the issues arising in our organizations. (Griffin, 2002)   Reference: Deresky, H. (2002): global management strategic and inters personal: prentice hall Ehlers, M. (2000): Residential based business as an alternative location: university of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pretoria Griffin, R. (2002): international business: a managerial perspective: prentice hall