Culture Clash Essays - Buddhist Holidays, Firecracker, Fireworks

Culture Clash THE CULTURE CLASH Western civilization has generally progressed along the path of reasoning and a quest for external truths and facts. Contrary to this, the cultures of eastern civilizations have embarked along a more spiritual and mystical course. Eastern civilization has developed into an almost completely different culture that relies heavily on internal explorations, communion with nature, and mystical superstitions. I was able to observe these differences firsthand when I visited a Buddhist temple downtown on Chinese New Year. Buddhism is the belief in Buddha and his teachings and doctrines. The word Buddha itself means enlightened and that is the word I would choose to describe my experience upon entering the realm of this cradle of eastern beliefs. The temple was a pristine, brilliant red roofed building encompassed by a high brick wall. Two heavy metal doors, supported by gigantic wooden pillars on each side, supplied the only entrance to the temple. Two great golden lions stood on the side of the door, glaring menacingly, as if to frighten off unwanted intruders to the temple. Upon entering the gates, I was informed that I was not to step onto the raised wooden footstep that ran across the entrance through the gate. It would have been rude and disrespectful to do so because it meant you put yourself at a level above that of the monks in the temple. As I passed the gates onto the grounds of the temple, I was greeted by the deafening sounds of hundreds of firecrackers being set off in unison. As the smok e from the firecrackers cleared and I waited for my ears to stop ringing, a beautiful sight greeted me. The scene inside the temple was a mixture of serenity and peacefulness entwined with a feeling of jubilation and celebration. As my eyes spanned across the grand pavilion leading to the temple itself, I was awed at the sights around me. There were beautifully arranged trees and shrubs growing harmoniously with the surroundings. The trees and shrubs, of bonsai fashion, looked like an intricate piece of a marvelous sculpture arranged by some magnificent hand. Though engulfed by hundreds of people, the temple seemingly blended into the surrounding as if to form some ideal picture of harmony. The people were a great marvel to see. Informed by my friends that it was a tradition to get new clothes, new shoes, a new hair-cut, and so on, for the Chinese New Year, I had expected people to be dressed up, but I was caught unexpected by some of the people around me. Some girls wore delicately woven Chinese dresses, imprinted with beautiful designs of flowers, dragons, phoenixes, birds, and other detailed figures. The men were divided into two main categories; the younger boys wearing brand new suits and adorning newly cut hair, while the older men wore the traditional Chinese coats and pants. The whole scene was one of great jubilation and joy. People were cheering and dancing, with an occasional prankster shooting off another firecracker. My friends told me to get use to the sound of the firecrackers all night, for though the firecracker had been originally used to scare off unwanted spirits, it had now come to symbolize a time of great joy and prosperity for the Chinese people. My experience was not fully complete till I walked into the main worship hall of the temple. The room was filled all around me with brilliant gold sculptures of Buddha and other Chinese deities. Each was set on a lavishly decorated table, garnished with an assortment of appealing foods. The aroma of the food was offset by what seemed liked millions of incense in a rice filled pot located at each table. The incense let off an aura of calmness and tranquillity that I had never felt before. I was told that the food and incense were an offering to the gods as well as a tribute to dead ancestors. Also found in head of the room was a large, bronze sculpture of Buddha lying down under a bodhi tree. Directly in front of the sculpture was an old, bald monk that was chanting some strange words to the beat of a drum-like instrument (I later found

Discussion #5 Example

Discussion #5 Example Discussion #5 – Essay Example Topic: Home Schooling Pros and Cons Homeschooling has the benefit of promoting home development due to the support that a child will receive from all family members. Slide ten proposes that the family members will utilize the routines, time and space in the home for promoting child development at home. However, it would be hectic in cases where both the parents are working and in other scenarios such as single parenting. This brings about a massive workload to the parents who will be forced to spare time for homeschooling (Windley, 2006). For the child to receive a quality education, parents will have to make homeschooling a full-time commitment to substantial investment in terms of effort and time. In terms of costs, it will also be expensive for the parents to purchase an up to date curriculum besides to the cost of materials, books, and other stationery. Unschooling is a new phenomenon that requires self-drive and a lot of discipline in making and adhering to a strict study plan. This philosophy is currently gaining popularity due to less pressure associated with the learning mechanism where a child will choose appropriate learning schedule and lessons to complete at any moment. Many schools should start thinking about incorporating unschooling with their regular program to encourage children explore their talents while at the same time indulge in various learning exercises. This setup wold make learning more attractive in terms of stimulating the mind and breaking the monotony of always indulging in books as the only learning routine. This learning mode would not be conducive for the children who need constant motivation to excel in their studies as well as those who need constant competition to excel in class work. The freedom associated with unschooling should be regularly assessed to ascertain its effectiveness in the learning process and impact on child development. ReferencesWindley, C. (2006). Home schooling. New York: Atlantic Monthly Books.

Business Plan for Innovative Clothing Case Study

Business Plan for Innovative Clothing - Case Study Example ...................................................13 5.0 Important Milestones and activities...................................................................14 6.0 Financial statements............................................................................................15 6.1 Assumptions.........................................................................................................15 6.2 Profit and Loss statement...................................................................................16 6.3 Balance Sheet.......................................................................................................17 6.4 Cash Flow statement...........................................................................................18 References..................................................................................................................19 INNOVATIVE CLOTHING 1.1Business goals: Innovative Clothing (IC) will manufacture and market a complete range of branded casual clothing to cover the entire segment of this market. The company will position itself as store chain offering casual clothing of quality which is above expectations of the market, at competitive price and with designs which are simple but at the same time makes the wearer look smart. The company will aim to achieve a turnover of 3 million (Aus $) in the first year and 10$ by the end of third year. It will break even in the first year of operation itself and start generating substantial profits from second year onwards. 1.2 The Company Innovative Clothing is a general partnership firm. The fund for the establishment of the business is equally shared by 5 partners. As a general partnership firm the responsibility is also equally shared among the partners. The entire...The fund for the establishment of the business is equally shared by 5 partners. As a general partnership firm the responsibility is also equally shared among the partners. The entire activities of the business are under the control of a Board of directors in which the 5 partners are included. The company is manufacturing and marketing garments locally. With the experience gained, it wants to enter into retail sales of casual garments in a big way by setting up a chain of retail stores in Sydney. It will open 10 stores in the first year followed by ten more in the second year. The partners collectively have experience in production, marketing and design. They propose to recruit a Chief Executive Officer who will be in charge of operations. The CEO will report to the board represented by the five partners. Innovative Clothing proposes to transfer its manufacturing activity to China because of availability of work force at lower wages and various supports given by the government for investing there. The marketing and design activities will be located at Sydney. The company would try to cater to the needs of entire market for casuals instead of focussing on one particular segment only. For this it will evolve appropriate promotion and branding strategy. 1988-89 to $AUD 11.82 billion in 2006-07.

The Living Theatre- Julian Beck and Judith Malina Term Paper

The Living Theatre- Julian Beck and Judith Malina - Term Paper Example Malina, unlike Piscator, was committed to nonviolence and anarchism. Malina met her husband, Beck, in 1943 when he was a student at Yale University. Beck, a painter, came to share her interest in political theatre and in 1947 the couple founded The Living Theatre. Malina appeared occasionally in films, beginning in 1975. In 2008 she was honored with an annual Artistic Achievement Award from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards (Ruth et al, 15-17). In 2009, she was honored with the Edwin Booth Award from the Doctoral Theatre Students Association of the City University of New York. Other awards include an honorary doctorate from Lehman College among others. Julian Beck, an American actor, director, poet and painter, was born in New York City in 1925 and died in 1985. He briefly attended Yale University, but dropped out to pursue writing and art (Ruth et al, 41-42). He was an Abstract Expressionist painter in the 1940s, but his career turned upon meeting his future wife. He met her in 1943 and quickly came to share her passion for theatre; they founded The Living Theatre in 1947. Beck’s philosophy of theatre carried over into his life. He once said, â€Å"We insisted on experimentation that was an image for a changing society. If one can experiment in theatre, one can experiment in life.† He was indicted a dozen times on three continents for charges such as disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, possession of narcotics, and failing to participate in a civil defense drill (Takis 44). Besides his theatre work, Beck published several volumes of poetry reflecting his anarchist beliefs, two nonfiction books and had several film appearances. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1983 and died two years later. The Living Theatre has staged nearly a hundred productions performed in eight languages in 28 countries on five continents. This is a unique body of work that has influenced theatre all over the

Research Project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project - Research Paper Example Ukrainian language is related to Russian (Kubicek 2008). However, grammatically, it more closely resembles Polish and Czech. Due to the fact that Ukraine has not been integrated with Europe for over 70 years (as a result of the Soviet Union), there are few English speakers available to an â€Å"English only† tourist (Risch 2011). As such, it would be a strong recommendation to obtain a tour guide and/or hire a native speaker who could act to guide the tourist as well as negotiate prices. The culture displays many nuances that a Westerner would not fully understand unless it was explained to him/her. For instance, like many Asian cultures, Ukrainians are very prone to remove their shoes prior to entering into a house or place of employment. Slippers are often provided for guests so that they can conveniently remove their shoes while still having something to cover their feet while moving around inside. Furthermore, whereas one might be tempted to put one’s feet up on the couch or rest them on a chair, such a practice is frowned upon in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. Similar to many Mediterranean cultures, Ukrainians often express themselves using high levels of body language. Whereas those from a more Anglo-European background would find this waving of hands and other gestures to be out of the ordinary, even rude, they are used to great effect to convey meaning, levels of irritation, expressions of finality, and frustration with a given topic or person. Due to the effects of communism, many people are non-religious and/or atheist. However, the historical strength of the Orthodox Church is gaining in influence and it is difficult to go very far without seeing the onion domes of the Orthodox churches that dot the countryside. Although the exterior of these churches do not closely mirror those that a Western European or American might be familiar with, the theology of belief is very much similar to that of the Catholic Church from which the Orthodox Church originally derived. The Orthodox Church, or more specifically the Eastern Orthodox Church (to distinguish it from its Greek counterpart) was born from the schism that resulted from the sacking of Constantinople by the Romans during the 1st Crusade (Korostelina 2011). Resultantly, the church leaders in Constantinople (currently Istanbul) decided that they no longer wanted to be considered under the same religious umbrella that Rome placed over them. Consequently, the Orthodox Church was born into existence. It is hard to over-emphasize the importance of the Orthodox Church as it relates to Eastern Europe and specifically Ukraine. This can be understood for a number of reasons but mostly due to the fact that during the days of the Russian Empire (of which Ukraine was a part), the Orthodox Church was considered on equal place with the Tsar (Velychenko 2007). One may remember seeing the double headed eagle that represented Imperial Russia. The eagles’ heads r epresent the head of the state and the head of the church (metropolitan). These metropolitans were and are similar in nature to the position that is occupied by the Pope in Rome. As such, these religious leaders held a great deal of power over the nation and the laws that affected it up until the Bolshevik Revolution. An example of

Epidemiology Of Cholera John Snow Health Essay

Epidemiology Of Cholera John Snow Health Essay It has been over a century and a half when John Snow undertook the study of the Cholera epidemic of 1854 in London. His work, which was published in the 1855 book On the Mode of Communication of Cholera, is considered a milestone in epidemiology. The observations by Snow of the water-born transmission of cholera and the handle of the Broad Street pump was a work of genius that continues to inspire epidemiologists. Appearing before the local body of government on September 7, 1854, John Snow argued that the source of the outbreak of a cholera epidemic was water from a communal water pump. His investigation identified the pump at Broad Street near its intersection with Cambridge Street as the source of contaminated water. Cholera which is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causes significant morbidity and mortality in many developing countries. This paper examines the cholera epidemics (and pandemics) in recent history i ncluding the outbreak of 1854 in London and the role played by John Snow which had laid the foundations for the modern principles of epidemiology. Introduction It has been over a century and a half when John Snow undertook the study of the Cholera epidemic of 1854 in London. His work, which was published in the 1855 book, On the Mode of Communication of Cholera is considered a milestone in epidemiology. The observation by Snow of the water-born transmission of cholera, and the handle of the Broad Street pump was a work of genius that continues to inspire epidemiologists. Appearing before the local body of government on September 7, 1854, John Snow, an anesthetist in London, argued that the source of the outbreak of a cholera epidemic was water from a communal water pump. Working with the data reproduced in table 1 (Bingham et al., 2004), Snow identified the pump at Broad Street near its intersection with Cambridge Street as the source of contaminated water. What followed is best told in his own words: I had an interview with the Board of Guardians of St. Jamess parish on the evening of Thursday, 7th September, and represented the above circ umstances to them. In consequence of what I said, the handle of the pump was removed on the following day (Snow, 1855). Each year, outbreaks of cholera to cause death estimated at 120,000 worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in children (WHO, 1995). Epidemiology of cholera is characterized by several key principles including (i) Cases tend to be concentrated in specific location and occur during a specific season (ii) the highest infection rates in children of 1-5 years in areas where infection is endemic (iii) antibiotic resistance patterns often change from year to year, (iv) pathogen strain often exhibit clonal diversity, and (v) prevention measures against the disease include sanitation, hygiene and immunity improvement. Cholera has been ranked as one of the emerging and reemerging infections (Satcher, 1995) facing many developing countries. Several recent events highlight the importance of epidemiological disease include the 1991recurrence of cholera in Latin America (Levine, 1991) ( Ries et al., 1992); the 1994 outbreak of cholera which took place in a Rwandan refugee camp in Goma, Zaire, which resulted in approximately 70,000 cases and 12,000 deaths in (Siddique, 1995), and the outbreak of V. cholerae O139 in the India subcontinent from 1992 to 1993, possibly marked the start of the eighth cholera pandemic (Ramamurthy et al., 1993)(Swerdlow et al., 1993). Pathogenesis and transmission of Cholera Vibrio Cholerae are comma-shaped, gram-negative bacteria that have been the cause of several great long-lasting epidemics and pandemics of diarrheal disease. Many of these pandemics began in the Ganges Valley of India and Bangladesh, which is never free from cholera. Although there are 140 serotypes of V. cholera, until recently only 1 stereotype was associated with several diarrhea. Beginning in 1992, a new V.cholerae stereotype (0139, also known as Bengal) has been associated with sever, watery diarrhea (Faruque et al., 1998) The vibrios never invade the epithelium but instead remain within the lumen and secrete an enterotoxin, which is encoded by a virulence phage. Flagellar proteins involved in motility and attachment are necessary for efficient bacterial colonization, as has been described for Campylobacter. The vibrio hemagglutinin, which is a metalloprotease, is important for detachment of Vibrio from epithelial cells. The secretory diarrhea characteristic of the disease is caused by release of cholera toxin. Cholera toxin is composed of five binding peptides B and a catalytic peptide A (McKenzie et al., 1984). The B peptide, serving as a landing pad, bind to carbohydrates on GM1 ganglioside on the surface of epithelial cells of the small intestine, enabling calveolar-mediated endosomal entry of toxin subunit A into the cell (Laloi et al. 1996). Reverse transport of the subunit A from endosome into the cell cytoplasm is followed by cleavage of the disulfide bond linking the two fragments of peptide A (A1 and A2). Catalytic peptide A1 is generated, leading to the following sequence (Dertzbaugh et al., 1993): A1 interacts with 20-kD cytosolic proteins called ADP-ribosylation factors (ARF). The ARF-A1 complex catalyzes ADP-ribosylation of a 49-kD G-protein (called GsÃŽÂ ±) (Randazzo et al., 2000). Binding of NAD and GTP generates an activated GsÃŽÂ ±, which in turn binds to and stimulates adenylate cyclase. ADP-ribosylated GsÃŽÂ ± is permanently in an active GTP-bound state, resulting in persistent activation of adenylate cyclase. The activated adenylate cyclase generates high levels of intracellular cAMP from ATP. Cyclic AMP stimulates secretion of chlorides and bicarbonate, with associated sodium and water secretion. Chloride and sodium reabsorption is also inhibited. The reabsorptive function of the colon is overwhelmed, and liters of dilute rice water diarrhea containing flecks of mucus-up to 14 L/day, equivalent to the circulating blood volume, causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Because overall absorption in the gut remains intact, oral formula can replace the massive sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, and fluid losses and reduce the mortality rare from 50% to less than 1% (Sharma et al., 1997) Epidemiology of Cholera Early Pandemics Since the beginning of the first pandemic in 1817, seven cholera pandemics have occurred (Pollitzer,1959), excluding the seventh pandemic, which took place on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in (65), pandemics occurred in the Indian subcontinent in the Ganges delta and spread to other countries over many years (Snow, 1855). In 1830, the epidemiological and public health approaches to cholera developed in the context of some understanding of the nature of certain infectious diseases, including smallpox and syphilis, with little agreed differentiation of the fevers. In his late 18th century doctrine, Benjamin Rush describes there was but one fever in the world (Shryock, 1936) had received broad support. Exciting factor in the cholera epidemic was sometimes considered as shaping existing fevers into its own image, and the arrival of cholera coincided with an increase in mortality and/or transferred deaths between categories was questioned. The second cholera pandemic of the early 1830s invaded the British Isles, and was marked by epidemiological observations made by John Snow on the waterborne cholera transmission in London between 1847 and 1854(Snow, 1855). Ships carrying Irish immigrants caused the second pandemic in Canada (Marian, 1957). During the third pandemic (1852-1859), cholera was raging in the United States, and during the 1870s at the end of the fourth pandemic, towns and villages along the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi, rivers experienced cholera (Billings et al., 1975). The fifth pandemic mainly affected South America; causing large epidemics in several countries with Argentina, Chile, and Peru suffering high casualties. (Gil et al. 2004). Robert Koch isolated the cholera bacterium, known as comma bacilli during the fifth pandemic in feces of patients in Egypt in 1883 and India in 1884(Koch, 1884). Between 1899 and 1923, the sixth pandemic involved populations expanded in the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East (Pollitzer, 1959). Apart from a large epidemic in Egypt in 1947 (Shousha, 1947), cholera was confined to southern and Southeast Asia since the mid-1920s until the 1961 outbreak of the seventh pandemic in. Both the sixth pandemic and possibly the fifth pandemic were caused by V. cholerae of classical biotype. The Seventh Pandemic The seventh pandemic is considered the largest of the pandemic in the geographical distribution, and was caused by V. cholerae O1- biotype El Tor (Table 2). The 1961 pandemic first invaded the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia and spread to other islands, including Borneo, Sarawak Java, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Sabah. It affected the entire archipelago of South Asia at the end of 1962 (Kamal, 1974). , In Asian mainland, from 1963-1969, the pandemic affected Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Burma, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Cholera reached Pakistan shortly after El Tor, and outbreaks were reported in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and in the neighboring republics of the Soviet Union (Kamal 1974). By 1970, El Tor cholera had reached the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Jordan, and to a lesser degree, in Israel (Cohen et al., 1971). The seventh pandemic was in sub-Saharan West Africa in early 1970, causing explosive epidemics as a result of more than 400 000 cases of high mortality, attributed mainly a lack of background immunity of the population, and lack of healthcare infrastructures (Goodgame et al., 1975). During this epidemic, cholera invaded the coast and the interior through waterways and continued to spread to the interior of the Sahel countries by land to travel to nomadic tribes. During the 1970 cholera epidemic, 28 were newly affected were reported and 16 are in Africa (Kaper et al., 1995). In South America, the seventh pandemic which began in Peru in January 1991 caused a return of cholera to the continent after more than a century in an explosive epidemic (Levine, 1991) (Ries et al., 1992). Subsequently, neighboring Ecuador and Colombia also reported cholera epidemic. In each of these countries were people of low socio-economic status, lack of clean water and sanitation, the most affected (Pan American Health Organization, 1991). In April 1991 a small outbreak was reported in Santiago, the capital of Chile (Levine, 1991). Cholera then invaded more countries in South and Central America along the Pacific coast. The Pan American Health Organization estimated that during 1991 and 1992 there were 750,000 cases of cholera and 6,500 deaths in the Americas (Pan American Health Organization, 1991). Recently, the July 1994 outbreak in Goma, Zaire, (Siddique, 1995), is considered one of the worst outbreaks in recent history. Nearly a million people were displaced to Zaire and sheltered in refugee camps as a result of Conflicts between tribes in neighboring Rwanda. Outbreak of cholera in refugee camps affected by poverty caused an estimated 12,000 deaths among Rwandan refugees during a period of three weeks (Siddique, 1995). The seventh pandemic was active causing seasonal outbreaks in several developing countries. However, in 1992, V. cholerae belonging to serogroup non-O1 (now known as O139) caused massive epidemics of cholera in Bangladesh and India and spread to other countries, which could represent the beginning of the eighth pandemic Conclusion John Snow achievement was based on the logical organization of his remarks. He recognized a natural experiment, and its quantitative approach to the analysis of the occurrence of disease in human populations, which is actually a summary of the views of modern epidemiology. It has been over a century and a half since Dr. Snow had published his findings. And in spite the medical and epidemiological advancement in combating the disease, yet, the threat of cholera remains very real and cholera continues to be a global threat to public health and an important indicator of the lack of social development, especially in developing countries which suffer from lack of access to drinking water and lack of sanitation. The disease continues to challenge the increasing proportion of vulnerable populations living in unsanitary conditions, such as slums and refugee camps. The treatment centers and water purification units in poor nations are only interim measures, and steady decline in the spread of the illness should not be seen as a complete victory.

Great Expectations: A thematic analysis :: Great Expectations Essays

Great Expectations: A thematic analysis As the reader begins the book, Dickens instills in the reader a bond with Pip as it is through his eyes in a first person narrative. Dickens’ use of Pip as the narrator is very significant to the telling of the story. We are able to see the progression of Pip as he grows up and his views on the characters in the book. We form an idea about someone from their outward appearance, so having Pip as a narrator it creates a one-sided view about a character because we only see the world from Pip’s eyes and we feel most strongly what Pip is feeling and we feel, about other character what Pip feels about them. Dickens creates sympathy by telling the reader that Pip has never seen his mother & father, instead he sits on their graves trying to find clues that reflect their appearance and personality. Pip at this point is trying to emphasize that his father is superior to his mother, as the antithesis is shown with Joe and his sister. Dickens also tries to make the reader feel sympathy by referring to Pip’s name. On one level his name shows how isolated Pip is, this empathize that Pip created his own nickname. However on a symbolic level his name ‘Pip’ represents the start of life, a seed, as it grows toward its fate. Dickens is trying to emphasize to the reader the solitude of Pip, by using extended sentence structure to increase the tension and prolong the suffering. He also restates that Pip is all alone by using repetition on the word ‘dead’, implicating the loss of 5 of Pip’s siblings, as they died before they were born. The prolonged sentence structure also leads to an ominous word ‘savage lair’. This pathetic fallacy foreshadows the encounter which will make Pip’s life a lot worse. When Magwitch is first introduced, a sad and lonely atmosphere is already established. The fearful connotations in the atmosphere ‘place overgrown with nettles’, the isolated graveyard ‘dark flat wilderness’ and the symbolic place of death ‘the marsh country’ makes Magwitch appearance even more memorable. Magwitch’s social status becomes apparent when Dickens describes his handling of Pip. He addresses Pip in a very rough manner, shaking him and using harsh words. â€Å"Keep still you little devil or I’ll cut your throat!† .This portrayal of Magwitch emphasizes the fact that he is of a lower social class and this ties in with a stereotypical view that someone in the lower half of the social divide will be more likely to commit a crime. This reflects the