The Use of Animals in Biomedical Research Essay Example for Free

The Use of Animals in Biomedical Research Essay There is a big issue on the use of animals for biomedical research (i.e., research done for the understanding and promotion mainly of human life. Such would include, but not limited to, medical formulation and testing, formulation and testing of hypotheses about diseases, surgical experimentations, testing of various consumer goods for safety, and psychological experimentations). At least up to the present time, animals are still widely used for research. In an estimate by Barbara Orlans (2001, 400), there are like 50 to100 million animals being used for research annually. Nevertheless, with an increasing awareness on the complexity of animal psyche and the increased voice that animal rights advocates have, the morality of such research (along with the other uses that animals have) has been put into question. In a Dutch animal committee hearing on the use of animals for cancer medical testing, for example, a woman who is terminally ill due to cancer stepped forward and said that she would rather die than have another animal suffer painlessly just for her cure. Human beings are beginning to be acutely aware of such experimentations and different sentiments and ideas have been brought to the core. Now, amidst the almost unending debate on the use of animals for biomedical research, I would want to first, present the philosophical debate on this issue; then second, present my opinion on it. To be able to accomplish this goal, I would first present the debate between Carl Cohen and Bernard Rollin. Afterwards, I will present what I think is a middle position between the two. The Cohen-Rollin Debate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A representative debate on this issue would be the debate between Carl Cohen and Bernard Rollin. Basically, the two are debating on the moral status of animals. Allow me to present a summary of the points of these two philosophers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carl Cohen, a speciesist, says that animals do not have rights and that animal experimentation should go on. A speciesist (2002, 303) is someone who says that our species, i.e., the human species, gives us all the moral rights that we have. That ultimately, what makes us different, and hence rules on human experimentation are different, is the fact that we belong to human kind. As such, humans cannot just be experimented on but would need precautions like informed consent; measurement of risk; the prior and post evaluation of the research using the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice; etcetera. Hence, because we are humans, we have all the rights and privileges that we know we have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now, the next question that we may have, which Cohen answers, is: what makes us humans in the first place? For Cohen, the answer is pretty simple. We are human beings because we have moral capacities which animals do not have. These moral capacities refer to the aptitude of human beings in applying an abstract moral rule on an act; has capabilities to make moral claims; has the capacity to comprehend rules of duty; the capability for self-legislation; and are members of communities governed by moral rules (2002, 300-302). These moral capacities would then make human beings are capable of understanding conceptual principles of morality (like for example, â€Å"do good to others,† or â€Å"do not do actions that would purposely harm other human beings†) and apply such to individual human actions. Now because of this capacity, human beings have the capacity for self-restraint. They do not need others (presuming that they are already within the age of reason, i.e., mature enough to do these tasks) to restrain them from harming their fellows. Nor would they need others to goad them to do acts that are praiseworthy. As such, human beings could legislate themselves, i.e., govern their own actions. Now, because of this, human beings could very well belong to a community of other human beings who are capable of the same moral capacities as he is. And his belonging to this community is of the nature that rules and laws are there to minimally guide human interaction. They are not there to govern each single action of the human being. This would mean that human beings, on the most part, are free on how they interact with each other. She/he is free provided that her/his actions are responsible actions, i.e., actions that the human being may be made accountable for. Now, these moral capacities make human beings capable of rights. Rights basically refer to â€Å"claims, or potential claims, within a community of moral agents† (2002, 300). The human capacity for understanding concepts and applying such concepts in his dealings and acts with each other makes the human being capable of making such claims.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point, Cohen says that these rights cannot extend to animals for the simple reason that animals do not have these moral capacities we have mentioned.   They are incapable of understanding, i.e., of moral reasoning, and such, all the other moral capacities could not be attributed to them. We have to state at this point that for Cohen, even psychologically disabled or comatosed human beings retain these rights plainly because they belong to the same kind. In one way or another, such human beings seem to â€Å"ride on† the capabilities of other human beings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hence, for Cohen, animal experimentation (of course not withstanding useless cruelty to animals) should go on for the good of the human race since we could not talk of violation of any rights in the first place since animals do not have rights. Bernard Rollin (2001, 418) responds to Cohen’s arguments by saying that it might be true that rights started from humans, but, it does not mean that such rights should remain among humans. He made an analogy on the game of chess. It might be true that chess was made initially for Persian royalty, nevertheless, the game started to have a life of its own and as such, it is not anymore restricted by the original makers of it. The same may be said about rights that human beings made and sorted out for themselves. What would stop the â€Å"Bill of Rights† from being applied to animals if sociological evolution would lead to such? Plainly, there is no guarantee that such rights would have to remain and be applicable only to its sources. In one way or another, Rollin seems to allude to the Ricoeurean hermeneutics on the life of the text, on the unstoppable and â€Å"unfigurable† refiguration of the text. Now, this may be true if the Bill of Rights could plainly be called a text, as a product of a social contract, but probably not if these rights are perceived in a naturalistic way. Rollin goes on to elaborate his basic stand: there seems to be no morally relevant difference between humans and vertebrate animals â€Å"to include all humans within the full scope of moral concern and yet deny such moral status to the animals† (2001, 413). Then, he goes on to define morally relevant difference: it is a â€Å"difference that rationally justifies treating them differently in some way that bears moral weight† (2001, 413). Hence, Rollin says that if two students coming from two different races and having two different eye colors would have the same class standing, they would be given the same grade. Their differences cannot be considered as â€Å"relevant† for the teacher’s act of grading. Now, Rollin states that the differences between humans and other vertebrates are not relevant because aside from the fact that both feel pain, both also have interests that must be respected. True, human interests may be different from animal interests, but the fact remains that both are interest-driven. Animal interests are violated when they are made to suffer; when social animals are kept in isolation; when burrowing animals are kept in steel cages; etcetera. Rollin also argues that there seems to be no difference between intellectually disabled humans and many animals, and hence, if consent is called for when experimenting on these human beings, such would also be called for when doing animal experimentation. The Middle Position   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cohen is clear on his position: we are not violating anything when animals are used in experimenting since these experiments are needed for the human good. Rollin, on the other hand, is on the soft position that animals and humans are not relevantly different, and hence, the rights accorded to human beings in research ought to be the same rights given to other vertebrates. For Rollin, simply, animals should be treated as humans especially when it comes to biomedical research. Now, the consequences of their positions seem to be clear: Cohen’s position is a defense of the status quo, while Rollin’s position implies that medical codes on human experimentation like the Nuremberg Code should all be extended to vertebrate animals. I would say that though it is true that certain animals exhibit characteristics that are almost like that of humans (like the great apes, for example), still, Cohen is right in saying that rationality as it is present in humanity makes humans largely different from the other animals (just look at all the human civilizations and histories which even the most â€Å"intelligent† animals are incapable of, and as such, I find it hard to understand why Rollin says that the difference between animals and humans are not relevant differences), and as such, things that apply to human beings cannot all be applied to animals, like the medical code of ethics on human experimentation, for example. Such an application leads to d ifficult consequences. For one, such would necessitate the experimenter to gain the subject’s consent. How do we get an animal’s consent? What standard should we use? Should we ask the owners? How about animals that do not have owners? Next would be the issue of informed consent. Again, who do we inform and whose signature do we get? I would say that the present trend in animal experimentation in at least some parts of the world is a sober middle ground since at least in ten developed countries, legal measures have been passed regarding the control of pain and suffering of laboratory animals. Many other countries also have legislation on the inspection of research and breeding facilities, requirement for daily care, the checking on the competency and the licenses of qualified persons who handle the experiment, the monitoring by an independent committee, the searching for available alternatives for the experiment, and the creation of ethical criteria for decision making (Orlans 2001, 405). These legal concerns are far from the contents of the Code of Nuremberg or the Helsinki Declaration, nevertheless, they express a concern for the animals who also feels pain like human beings, and who also deserve a sort of concern from us. Hence, animal experimentation should not be stopped but legal constraints distinct from that of human beings have to be put on such experiments since animals are also capable of pain and have interests. REFERENCE LIST: Cohen, Carl. â€Å"The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research,† in Ethical Issues in Biotechnology, ed by Richard Sherlock and John Murrey, 299-308.   Rowman and Littlefield, 2002. Orlans, Barbara. â€Å"History and Ethical Regulation of Animal Experimentation: An International Perspective,† in A Companion to Bioethics, ed by Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer, 399-410. Massachusetts, Oxford, and Victoria: Blackwell, 2001. Rollin,   Bernard. â€Å"The Moral Status of Animals and Their Use as Experimental Subjects,† in A Companion to Bioethics, ed by Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer, 411-422. Massachusetts, Oxford, and Victoria: Blackwell, 2001.

Techniques to Develop Creativity

Techniques to Develop Creativity Abstract. Creativity is the ability which has the human being to create something out of other ideas that are new and interesting but unfortunately in the actual education system not are implemented, so the present article explain about some things that have to change in the education system to increase the creativity in the students, the creativity can be learned, practiced, and developed by the use of proven techniques that it will speak more later. The implementation of creativity in the education in very importan because the schools must be a pillar bases to enrich and encourage creativity in each one of the students, in other words the improvement of creativity in education has great importance for the development of the students and a nation, because it can improve the formation of scientists, engineers, and specialists. The human creativity represents an enigma to the research community: It is all but impossible to describe the process in unequivocal terms, yet there is a strong desire to promote in the education the develop of creativity. The quality of education is one of the most commonly used expressions currently in the field of education, as a point of reference that justifies any process of change or improvement of the plan. In this area the development of creativity would be the backbone of a new educational system that is more efficient than other systems, because creative thinking in a disciplined manner can play a real role in innovation. Creativity and innovation are normally complementary activities(European Commission, 1998). The improvement of creativity in education has great importance for the development of the students and the nation, because it can improve the formation of scientists, engineers, and specialists. It can be learned, practiced, and developed by the use of proven tec hniques, so it is necessary to adopt a education system used in other countries that it is more effective. For example, Finland system in the education, implementation of appropriate tools to develop of the creativity and techniques and methods for develop the creativity. All these points are necessary to give solution to reduction of the creativity in the education, so it can be considered as a basis for building a strong education structure and the increase index them creativity in schools, universities and other institutions. There exists a big variability of creative techniques to use as individuals and groups. However the techniques that are more appropriate to generate creativity are used in groups. But, why are group techniques more efficient than the individual techniques? The European Commission gave the answer creativity is an attribute of the individual, though generally it can only be developed efficiently when it is tackled within a group of team.(European Commission, 1998). Some of techniques more used for develop the creativity are: analytic techniques and intuitive techniques (Sefertzi. 2000). Analytical techniques follow a linear pattern of thought or sequence of steps very good organize, in other words this type of organization in the question help that student stimulate different ways of organization known information and help approach problems from new angles (Miller 1987). Intuitive techniques are less structured techniques, so the intuitive techniques have not a organization or steps th at student have that follow because the student or other person that use the intuitive technique, only he has that look the phenomena of his study and the he has formalote intuitively hypothesis, theory and other suppositions to can give a explanation about the phenomena. Now, but to apply these methods and tapeworms requires the use of instruments that would facilitate a better understanding and stimulate the brain. According to Andriele De Prà ¡ Carvalho, Eloiza Avila de Matos, Dà ¡lcio Roberto dos Reis, Luà ­s Felippi Serpe and Sandro Carvalho there are also 67 creative techniques to stimulate the development of creativity in students. Following is the description of some of the tools for creativity. Analogy technique: According to Tsuilien Shena and Jiin Chyuan Laib the analog technique can help people to understand unknown events or houses from known elements (Shen Lai. 2014), in other words acts as a connection between the image that makes your brain to understand the phenomenon you do not know. Bullet Proof Technique: This technique consists of searching or determining in a specific area where the ideas and objectives raised have a high risk of failure, therefore the main idea of the technique is to find solutions to the problem that may appear in those cases. Inconsistency Analysis Technique : The technique consists in find contradictions to a certain situation, then you have to find the possible solutions, but the solutions titnen that being innovator. According to Andriele De Prà ¡ Carvalho, Eloiza Avila de Matos, Dà ¡lcio Roberto dos Reis, Luà ­s Felippi Serpe and Sandro Carvalho for the use of the technique of inconsistencies recommends the ones of: A list of inherent contradictions of these problems that you could solve in a daily basis. Add to the list the new contradictions you may find and try to identify the interaction among them. If you could find a way to remove or reduce multiple contradictions at once, then you will have a higher probability to identify an executable solution (Carvalho., Matos., Reis., Serpe Carvalho. 2012) New View Technique: The technique has the purpose of obtaining a suggestion or reaction from one or more persons about a specific topic, that is to say, the conclusions, recommendations and suggestions that the person or each person receives, the mind opens to new Therefore, this technique gives students new ways of thinking. Mental Mapping Technique: Paul Farrand, Fearzana Hussain and Enid Hennessy in their article say that Mind maps provide an effective study technique when applying written material Farrand.,Hussain., Hennessy. 2002), because when a student makes a mental map, he / she interconnects actions and concepts of a topic in general, therefore these interconeccion of concepts provide the student with a clearer way to understand in content of the subject. Notebook Technique: This type of technique is the most used among the students, because the student has the ability to write his everyday ideas, events, class subjects and other, a very important point is the way he notes his ideas, in other words the ideas annotated in the book, subjects in subjects among others are very easy to understand for the student because they are his own words that are written. Reflection Groups Technique: According to the article, the technique consists of the collaboration of a group of students who collaborate with each other with a common goal, therefore the ideas expressed by each one of the group members will not be the same, so the group have to reach a unanimous decision. The decisions in the main challenge facing the group. All of the above examples are designed to help people develop skills to engage in creative ways of looking at problems and framing solutions using these tools, and to maintain those skills even without using the tools. But there are also other types of tools based technologies. The technology today is also at our service to develop our creative capacity with a large number of mobile applications, also sotfware developed for computers and other electronics devices. According to Joyce J. Elam and Melissa Mead, the support system for creativity emerged around the 1970 (Elam Mead 1990), the initiative was promising to provide computer-based tools that would enable those responsible for decision making have the great possibility of developing improved solutions with more creativity in the face of the problems to be solved. Also in an article by Mingyang Gu and Xin Tong argument that the development of software for creativity has to have two fundamental aspects: discipline and creative, because software construction can be a great problem and in the case but if the Developed does not have the clear ideas of what he wants to build, everything is very similar to a hell. Many scientist research have orientation about the development of creativity as an process apply in the education. Some studies about creative abilities show that can be developed by the implementation of tools that estimate the brain, because in a research say the brain is a muscle that need exercise for attain a better performance (Taylor. 1972). Creativity can specifically be developed supporting tools, for example a computer can be a tool for creativity, because they contain models of software created with the purpose of stimulating the brains students, computer software idea processors, information systems, etc., for example MindMeister is a free software that you can find in internet, according to Rahimi, Van den Berg and Even, they think that MindMeister is very useful tool for students and also for teachers. Compared to paper, in MindMeister you can add much digital stuff to your mind map including im- ages, URLs, and links. (Rahimi., Van den Berg. Veen. 2012), also MindMeis ter is considered the best application in the market to develop mind maps online. With its award winning online version and its free mobile apps, its users can make mind maps at school, at home, at the office and wherever they are. Mind mapping with MindMeister is such an easy and intuitive process that anyone from a first grader to the CEO of a company can use this application to improve their productivity and put their creative ideas into action. MindMeister offers a variety of amazing features that allow users to collaborate and brainstorm online, plan projects, develop business strategies, create fantastic presentations and use the enormous potential that mindmaps offer for education. To this end, MindMeister offers huge discounts to students and teachers, and even offers free accounts with up to 10 mind maps that provide all the necessary features for creating mental maps: simple but with huge reach. The tools are that it develops a purpose which is help students to create, pro mote and generate creativity, creativity tools, stimulate the imagination. Everyone is creative, so each must find his environment to develop that creative side, that we all have but for able a best result of creativity. As the result of a radical change in the education system, methods a techniques and implementation of tools, produce that the creativity in the students can be more effective. In actual moment exist a decadent in the creativity of the student but in the future with the implementation of all that wrote in the essay can be posible the develop of creativity. REFERENCES European Commission (1998), Innovation Management Techniques in Operation, European Commission, Luxembourg. Higgins, J.M. (1996), Innovate or evaporate: creative techniques for strategists, Long Range Planning, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 370-380. Sefertzi, E.. (2000). Creativity . noviembre 17,2016, de EC funded project Sitio web: http://www.urenio.org/tools/en/creativity.pdf Miller, W. (1986), The Creative Edge, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of management journal, 39(5), 1154-1184. Carvalho, A. D. P., de Matos, E. A., dos Reis, D. R., Serpe, L. F., Carvalho, S. (2012). Tools for Creativity. US-China Education Review, 2(11), 936-946. Shen, T., Lai, J. C. (2014). Formation of Creative Thinking by Analogical Performance in Creative Works. Farrand, P., Hussain, F., Hennessy, E. (2002). The efficacy of themind mapstudy technique. Medical education, 36(5), 426-431. Elam, J. J., Mead, M. (1990). Can software influence creativity?. Information Systems Research, 1(1), 1. Gu, M., Tong, X. (2004, April). Towards hypotheses on creativity in software development. In International Conference on Product Focused Software Process Improvement (pp. 47-61). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Rahimi, E., Van den Berg, J., Veen, W. (2012, December). Designing and implementing PLEs in a secondary school using Web2. 0 tool. In The Personal Learning Envrionment (PLE) Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 12-13 July, 2012. Public Knowledge Project.

Stephen Dedalus And Dorian Gray

Stephen Dedalus And Dorian Gray Stephen Dedalus from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man written by James Joyce and Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde, go through many life changes. These two stories are in a ways similar to each other. Where the two main characters go though crucial transformation and how they are influence by religion and peers. As well in the way the authors wrote the novels by using symbolisms to develop the characters throughout the novel also play a role in these two stories. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells a story of Stephen Dedalus how decides to cast off all his social, family, and religious constraints to live a life devoted to the art of writing. As a young boy he attends a strict religious boarding school called Clongowes Wood College. Stephen is lonely and homesick at the school but as time passes he finds his place among the other boys. He likes is visits home, even though family tensions run high after the death of the Irish political leader Parnell. As they had a Christmas diner the death of Parnell becomes the topic. Simon, Stephens father, is inept with money and the family sinks deeper and deeper into debt. Stephen realizes that his family cannot afford to send him back to Clongowes, and that they will instead move to Dublin. He attended a prestigious day school called Belvedere there is where he grows to do extremely well as a writer and as an actor in the student theater. His first sexual experience with a young Dublin prostit ute unleashes a storm of guilt and shame in Stephen. He ignores his religious education, throwing himself with morally wrong abandon into a variety of sins like masturbation and more visits to prostitutes. Then on a three day religious retreat, Stephen hears a tri of fiery sermons about sin, judgment, and hell. Deeply shaken Stephen resolves to rededicate himself to a life of Christian piety. Stephen begins attending Mass every day became Ming a model of Catholic piety abstinence and self denial. His religious devotion is so pronounced that the director of his school asks him to consider entering the priesthood. After a brief considering the offer Stephen realizes that priestly life is utterly incompatible with his love for sensual beauty. Awaiting news about his acceptance to the university Stephen goes for a walk on the beach, were he observes a young girl wading in the tide. He is struck by her beauty and realizes in a moment of epiphany, that the love and desire of beauty should not be a source of shame. Stephen moves on to the university where he develops a strong friendship with Cranly. In a series of conversation with his companions, Stephen works to formulate his theories about art. While he is dependent on his friends as listeners, he is determined to create an independent existence, liberated from the expectations of friends and family. Stephen becomes more and more determined to free himself from all limiting pressures, and eventually decides to leave Ireland to escape them. In the story The Picture of Dorian Gray tells a story of Dorian Gray a wealthy and beautiful young man who curses his fate and pledges his soul if only he could live without bearing the physical burns of aging and sinning. In the London home of his aunt Lady Brandon the well known artist Basil Hallward meets Dorian Gray. Dorian sits for several portraits and Basil often depicts him as an ancient Greek hero or a mythological figure. Basil painted a portrait of Dorian as he truly is but as he admits to his friend Lord Henry the painting disappoints him because it reveals too much of his feeling for his subject. Lord Henry enjoys scandalizing his friends by celebrating youth, beauty and the selfish pursuit of pleasure; he disagrees claiming that the portrait is Basils masterpiece. Dorian enters the studio and Basil introduces him to Lord Henry and he fears that he will have a damaging influence on the young Dorian. Lord Henry upsets Dorian with a speech about the transient nature of bea uty and youth. Dorian worries that his most impressive characteristics are fading day by day and curses his portrait which he believes will one day remind him of the beauty he will have lost. In distress he pledges his soul if only the painting could bear the burden of ageing allowing him to stay forever young. Lord Henrys influence over Dorian grows stronger. The youth becomes a disciple of the new Hedonism and proposes to live a life dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure. Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane a young actress who performs in a theater on Londons slums. Overcome by her emotions for Dorian, Sibyl decides that she can no longer act. She wonders how she can pretend to love on the stage now that she has experienced the real thing. Dorian who loves Sibyl because of her ability to act he cruelly breaks his engagement with her. After he leaves the theater he returns home to notice that his face in Basils portrait of him has changed. It is then when he fears that that his wis h for his likeness in the painting to bear the ill effects of his behavior has come true and that his sins will be recorded on the canvas. The following afternoon Lord Henry brings news that Sibyl has killed herself. At Lord Henrys urging Dorian decides to consider her death a sort of artistic triumph and to put the matter behind him. Meanwhile Dorian hides his portrait in a remote upper room of his house where no one other than he can watch its transformation. Lord Henry gives Dorian a book that describes the wicked exploits of the nineteenth century Frenchman it becomes Dorians bible as he sinks ever deeper into a life of sin and corruption. Dorian lives a life devoted to garnering new experiences and sensations with no regard for conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions. His peers nevertheless continue to accept him because he remains young and beautiful. The painting, however, grows increasingly hideous. One night Basil Hallward arrives at Dorians ho me to confront him about the rumors that plague his reputation. They argue and Dorian eventually offers Basil a look at his soul. He shows Basil the now hideous portrait and Basil horrified begs him to repent. Dorian claims it is too late for penance and kills Basil in a fit of rage. To dispose of the body Dorian employs one of his doctor friend how refuses to help Dorian but at the end he helps his because Dorian blackmails him. The night after the murder Dorian makes his way to an opium den where he encounters James Vane the bother of Sibyl and attempts to avenge his sister death. Dorian then escapes to his country state while entertaining guest he notice James Vane peering in through a window and he becomes wracked by fear and guilt. A hunting party accidentally shoots and kills Vane, Dorian feels safe again. He resolves to amend his life but cannot muster the courage to confess his crimes, and the painting now reveals his supposed desire to repent for what it is hypocrisy. He pi cks up the knife he used to stab Basil and attempts to destroy the painting. There is a crash, and Dorians servants enter to find the portrait unharmed showing Dorian as a beautiful young man. On the floor lies the body of their master an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged into his heart. First over the course of the novels this two characters went through several transformation. Stephen Dedalus first transformation was during his first years as Clongowes, he goes from a sheltered little boy to a bright student who understands social interactions and can begin to make sense of the world around him. The second occurs when Stephen sleeps with the Dublin prostitute he went from innocence to a sinner. The third transformation occurs when Stephen hears Father Arnalls speech on death and hell he went from an unrepentant sinner to a devout Catholic. Finally, Stephens greatest transformation is from near fanatical religiousness to a new devotion to art and beauty. That transformation took place in chapter 4 when he is offered entry to the Jesuit order but refuses it in order to attend university. Stephens refusal and his subsequent epiphany on the beach mark his transition from belief in God to belief in aesthetic beauty. This transformation continues through his college year s. By the end of his time in college, Stephen has become a fully formed artist, and his diary entries reflect the independent individual he has became. In contrast with Dorian Gray, he went through several transformations as well. Dorians first transformation to me was when he was introduce to Lord Henry he went from being this young beautiful boy, close minded person to a selfish person with an obsession towards his beauty. His second transformation was when he breaks Sibyls heart. She being torn it drives her to suicide herself. This is the point where Dorian first notice the portrait that Basil had painted of himself starts to change. Here is where Dorian reveals that his pledge of staying young forever and his portrait taking the side effects of ageing are becoming true. As Dorians sins grow worse over the years, his likeness in Basils portrait grows more hideous. He seems to lack a conscience but the desire to repent that he eventually feels illustrated that he is indeed human. Dorian third transformation would be when he murders his friend Basil. He is unable to distract himself from the dissipation of his soul. Although in th e past he has been able to be sweep infamies from his mind, he cannot shake the thought that he has killed his friend Basil. Dorians guilt tortures him relentlessly until he is forced to go away with his portrait. Throughout this transformation not both of the characters went through a good change. Stephen Dedalus transformation went for a good one, well at least for him. As for Dorians transformation it went all bad from the beginning to the end. Also these two characters have in common that they in their own way were influence and let themselves get influence by others. Stephen Dedalus was influence by his family, his Catholic faith, and Irish nationality. Brought up in a devout Catholic family Stephen initially ascribes to an absolute belief in the morals of the church. As a teenager, this belief leads him to two opposite boundaries. At first, he falls into the extreme of sin, repeatedly sleeping with prostitutes and deliberately turning his back on religion. Though Stephen sins willfully, he is always aware that he acts in violation of the churchs rules. Second, when Father Arnalls speech prompts him to return to Catholicism, he bounces to the other extreme, becoming a perfect, near fanatical model of religious devotion and obedience. Eventually Stephen realizes that both of these lifestyles the completely sinful and the completely devout are extremes that have been false and harmful. Dorian Gray influence are heavily mostly by Lord Henry believes and his yellow book given to Dorian by Lord Henry. The yellow book has a profound effect on Dorian, influencing him to predominantly immoral behavior. Reflecting on Dorians power over Basil and deciding that he would like to seduce Dorian in much the same way Lord Henry points out that there is something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. Falling under the wave of such influence is perhaps unavoidable but the novel ultimately censures the sacrifice of ones self to another. Basils worship of Dorian leads to his murder and Dorians devotion to Lord Henrys hedonism and the yellow book precipitate his own downfall. As this two characters go through influences they at a point break apart. Stephen Dedalus does not want to lead a completely debauched life, but also rejects austere Catholicism because he feels that it does not permit him the full experience of being human. He reaches a decision to embrace life and celebrate humanity after seeing a young girl wading at a beach. To Stephen the girl is a symbol of pure goodness and of life lived to the fullest. In comparison to Dorians influences it is little wonder in a novel that prizes individualism the uncompromised expression of self that the sacrifice of ones self, whether it is to another person or to a work of art, leads to ones destruction. The authors way on writing their novels with symbolism enables them to develop their characters. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, Joyce uses several symbolisms to develop his character Stephen Dedalus. Stephen associates the colors green and maroon with his governess, Dante and with two leaders of Irish resistance, Parnell and Davitt. In a dream after Parnells death, Stephen sees Dante dressed in green and maroon as the Irish people mourn their fallen leader. This vision indicates that Stephen associates the two colors with the way Irish politics are played out among the members of his own family. Another symbolism that Joyce uses is Emma. Emma appears only in glimpses throughout Stephens young life, and he never gets to know her as a person. Instead, she becomes a symbol of pure love, untainted by sexuality or reality. Stephen worships Emma as the ideal of feminine purity. When he goes through his devoutly religious phase he imagines his rewards for his pie ty as a union with Emma is heaven. When he is at the university he finally has a conversation with Emma. Stephens diary entry regarding this conversation portrays Emma as a real, friendly and somewhat ordinary girl, but not as a goddess Stephen earlier makes her out to be. His view if Emma mirrors Stephens abandonment of the extremes of complete sin and complete devotion in favor of a middle path, the devotion to the appreciation of beauty. Joyce also establishes water as a twin symbol of birth and death. Water imagery in the Portrait my point toward pleasure or pain, life or death, or it may be used to suggest both at once. Stephen fears the sea since he views it as an emblem of his own futility but it is the seaside epiphany which awakens him to the demands of life. In chapter five it is where Joyce exploitss the antithetical value of water. Joyce wrote He drained his third cup of watery tea to the dregs and set to chewing the crusts of fried bread that were scattered near him, st aring into the dark pool of the jar. The yellow dripping had backed to his memory the dark turfcoloured water of the bath in Clongowes. Here the tone of the language has been radically changed, the symbolism reversed, and this abrupt reversal emphasizes the change in Stephens state of mine. As for The Picture of Dorian Gray the author Oscar Wilde also uses symbolism in his novel. Wildes uses the color white as Dorians path from figure of innocence to a figure of degradation. White connotes innocence and blankness, as it does when Dorian is first introduced. It was the white purity of Dorians boyhood that Lord Henry finds so captivating. Basil invokes whiteness when he learns that Dorian has sacrificed his innocence and as the artist stares in horror at the ruined portrait he quotes a biblical verse from the book of Isaiah Though your sins be as scarlet, yet I will make them as white as snow those day were over for Dorian innocence. When the color appears again in the form of James Vanes face like a white handkerchief peering in through a window, it has been transformed from the color of innocence to the color of death. It is this threatening pall that makes Dorian long at the end of the novel, for his rose-white boyhood, but the hope is in vain, and he proves unable to wash away the stains of his sins. Wilde also uses the opium dens as a symbol. The opium dens represent the sordid state of Dorians mind. He flees to them at a crucial moment. After killing Basil, Dorian seeks to forget the awfulness of his crime by losing consciousness in a drug-induced stupor. Although he has a canister of opium in his home, he leaves the safety of his neat and proper parlor to travel to the dark dens that reflect the degradation of his soul. Finally, Wilde uses James Vane as a symbol as well. James is less a believable character that an embodiment of Dorians tortured conscience. As Sibyls brother he is rather flat caricature if the avenging relative. Appearing at the dock and later at Dorians country estate, James has an almost ghost spectral quality. James appears with his face like a white handkerchief to goad Dorian into accepting responsibility for the crime he has committed. Overall these two novels A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and The Picture of Dorian Gray the main characters Stephen Dedalus and Dorian Gray undergo through life changes. Stephen Dedalus development throughout the novel went evolving to living a good life as he grow up he shut all his influences and develop his own taking him where he wants to be in life. As for Dorian Gray his development as he grows did not succeed. He was always influence throughout the novel he did not do anything to revel to the people he was being influence by and at the end it end it up in tragedy. Work Cited Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Viking, 1916 Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Oxford, 2006 Litz, A. Walton. James Joyce. Boston: Twayne, 1966

Fire Ecology of Australian Eucalypts :: Geology Nature Essays

Fire Ecology of Australian Eucalypts Eucalypts belong to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), which are evergreen ‘tropical’ rainforest trees (Bowman 2000). Three genera are considered eucalypts: Eucalyptus, Angophora, and Corymbia. Roughly 600+ species of eucalypts exist today, and nearly all are endemic to Australia (farrer.riv.csu.edu.au). Although eucalypts began as members of the rainforest, the pressures of poor soil, increasing aridity and most importantly recurrent fires pushed them out of the rainforests and on to become the dominant species in a harsh land. Today, fire promoting traits such as volatile leaf oils, copious litter production, and highly flammable bark allow eucalypts to out-compete rainforest species for prime sites. Geologic and Vegetative History of Australia Before 250 mya, all continents were connected into a super-continent now called Pangaea. About 250 mya, Pangaea split into two continents—Laurasia (North America, Asia, and Europe) became the northern continent and Gondwana (South America, Africa, India, Antarctica, and Australia) the southern continent. At around 145 mya, the angiosperms arose in the center of Gondwana and spread outward. The continent of Gondwana began fragmenting around 120 mya, with the break-off of India; Australia began its northward trek about 45 mya. At the time of its departure, a Gondwanic rainforest dominated by araucarias (early gymnosperms) and Nothofagus (southern beeches) covered Australia; the forests also contained members of the Myrtaceae family, from which the eucalypts arose about 34 mya. Soil cores from this period show very high counts in Nothofagus pollen, and very low levels of charcoal (Kershaw et al. 2002). While the presence of fire was felt in the ancient rainforest, its affects were relatively minor and infrequently felt. This forest covered most of Australia until the mid-Oligocene, roughly 28 mya. The rainforest may have endured if the climate of Australia had not undergone dramatic climate changes during this time. As the continent moved towards the northeast at a rate of 6-7 cm yr-1, it grew increasingly more arid. A quiet geologic history resulted in a lack of tall mountain ranges, and the continent could not capture the moisture of incoming oceanic winds. Dry climate began to take its toll upon the Gondwana rainforest; soil cores from the mid-Oligocene to the mid-Miocene show a gradual decrease in Nothofagus pollen, and a gradual increase in Myrtaceae pollen counts. This is most likely explained as a move towards a warmer or more seasonal rainforest, due to the lack of grass species in Australia and low charcoal levels (Kershaw et al.

The Old Man and the Sea - A Fish Story :: Old Man and the Sea Essays

The Old Man and the Sea - A Fish Story    The book, The Old Man and the Sea, is about an old man named Santiago who struggles with a gigantic marlin fish. This is a story of his courage, heroism, and strength. In the book, Ernest Hemingway uses Santiago to explore the theme of man and his relations to animals. In this case it is Santiago's relationship to the different fish he catches, especially the giant Marlin fish. Santiago respected, cared, and thought of the fish as equals. The relationship with the fish is shown through many examples and explanations in the following paragraphs.   Ã‚     Santiago truly cared about the huge Marlin fish he caught and this was a part of his relationship with fish. He would talk to his fish and treat them with his utmost care. This is shown as the Santiago states, â€Å"I wish it was a dream and that I had never hooked him. I'm sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong †¦ I shouldn't have gone out so far fish†(Hemingway 110). Santiago is truly sorry that he had to go out so far into the water and catch the giant fish. Because he went out so far, the sharks ate the fish on the way back to the port. He did not want his fish to be ripped and eaten by Santiago's worst enemy,  the sharks. He wished it were only a dream so that the fish would not have to go through the pain. This example shows how mush he cared for the fish and how his relationship with the fish was affected by his feeling of caring.       Santiago also deeply respects fish in general and this aspect of his relationship to the fish is clearly shown throughout the book. There are many instances where Santiago displays his respect for fish and one of them is stated, â€Å"the Old Man hit [the albacore fish] on the head for kindness and kicked him, his body shuddering, under the shade of the stern† (Hemingway 39). This shows Santiago's respect and feelings for the albacore fish. Hitting the fish on the head and kicking the fish is a sign of respect. Another example of Santiago's respect for a fish is when he describes the fish, â€Å"never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother† (Hemingway  92).

The Last Dalai Lama? Essay -- Tibet History Dalai Lama Essays

The Last Dalai Lama? The twentieth century is rife with examples of countries being torn apart or experiencing great upheaval. Multi-ethnic Yugoslavia broke apart into several nation states with loose foundations. The Soviet Union collapsed, transforming the area into the Commonwealth of Independent States. Germany split in half as a result of World War II and then reunited over forty years later. One country that has experienced tremendous crisis and upheaval on a scale even greater than these European nations, yet often goes unnoticed, is Tibet. Tibet enjoyed peace and autonomy until 1949 when Chinese Communists invaded the country under the guise of the "Peaceful Liberation." Coveting Tibet’s vast natural resources and strategic location in Central Asia, they sent off innocent civilians and peaceful protesters into prisons and concentration camps, subverted their economic and agricultural system, and ravaged Tibetan culture. As a result of the Chinese invasion, Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet has undertaken roles and responsibilities that no other previous Dalai Lama has attempted. Determined to salvage Tibetan life and culture he fled his palace in Lhasa and instituted the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala, India. Since his flee into exile Tenzin Gyatso has diligently worked to negotiate peacefully with China and other nations to reclaim his country, institute a working democratic government in India, and promote the survival of Tibetan culture through the establishment of schools, monasteries, and cultural centers. Therefore as a result of the Communist invasion of Tibet and Tenzin Gyatso’s subsequent response to it, the role of the Dalai Lama has irrevocably changed. He has gone from an iso... ...e past half-century. His actions and success as a ruler provide a true example of the application of religion towards politics, and that faith can and does overcome. Works Cited Avedon, John. In Exile in the Land from Snows. New York: Harper Perennial, 1997. Goldstein, Melvyn. "The Dalai Lama’s Dilemma." Foreign Affairs, 77 no. 1, 1998, p. 83 – 98. Mullin, Glenn H. The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers, 2001. Pedersen, Kusumita P. "Tibet: Liberation as Oppression." Cross Currents 38, no.1, 1988, p. 100-102. Pilburn, Sidney, ed. The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness. New York: Snow Lion Publications, 1993. Verhaegen, Ardy. The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and Its History. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld, 2002. Wen, Wang. "Tibet: Change and Development." Beijing Review 44, no. 19, p. 12 – 15.

Microsoft Office suite

Over the past decade, Microsoft has produced its best selling software devices for computer products such as Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite. In 2007, the Microsoft Corporation generated $51.12 billion and its product market share estimated as 90% in 2003 for Microsoft Office and 2006 for Microsoft Windows. In the mid-1980’s, Microsoft dominated the home computer operating system and has been accused of being monopolistic, although considered a developer centric-business culture.   The company’s website is one of the most visited on the World Wide Web having received more than 2.4 million page views. In the founding years between 1975-1985, Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems were founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico then later moved to Bellevue, Washington of January 1, 1979, and then Bill Gates succeeded as CEO in 1980. DOS (Disk Operating System) had brought the company real success. In 1981, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft for providing a version of the CPM operating system that would become IBM Personal Computer. In the 1990’s, Microsoft rose and launched Windows 3.0. the new operating system introducing new features. Windows generated more revenue popularity, and became the favored PC. Then Microsoft went onto release Windows NT. 3.1 and Windows 95. Furthermore, it expanded its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web. Then afterwards, MSN network became a major online service competing against AOL and went along with NBC to create a new 24/7 cable news station MSNBC. In 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP that changed the face of the old fashioned Windows. Then the Windows XP Home Edition and Windows Vista. â€Å"Since the 1980’s, Microsoft has been the focus of much controversy in the computer industry. Most criticism has been for its business tactics, often described with the motto â€Å"embrace, extend and extinguish† Microsoft initially embraces a competition standard or product, then extends it to produce their own incompatible version of the software or standard, which in time extinguishes competition that does not or cannot use Microsoft’s new version† (Rodger, 1998).