Friday, November 29, 2019

Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Example Essay Example

Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Example Paper Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Introduction Voluntary Active Euthanasia Carlene Lawrence Hodges University PHI 3601 OL3 November 19, 2012 Abstract This paper will discuss the benefits of the legalization of Voluntary Active Euthanasia (VAE). It will define the differences between Active Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide, as well as the difference between active and passive. We will look at VAE from a legal perspective, with discussion about specific court cases that have set precedence in this matter. We will also look at it from a moral point of view; from a perspective of Utilitarian and Subjectivist principles, to show that VAE should be considered morally correct. Voluntary Active Euthanasia This paper will discuss the benefits of Active Voluntary Euthanasia (VAE). Although it is sometimes referred to as mercy killings, it is one of the most controversial topics in our world today. Many believe the right to live is one of the most important human rights. The right to die should be equally as important. First, we mu st discuss the difference between active and passive euthanasia. Active is the process by which a person is given something, such as a prescribed medication, to end their life, while passive is allowing a person to die naturally, not being given anything to help sustain their life. Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Body Paragraphs Second, we must not confuse VAE with Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), as the two are quite different. With VAE, it is the doctor who administers life ending medications, with the patient’s permission, while with PAS, the patient is the one who ultimately ends their own life. It can be argued that there is no moral difference between active and passive, since the consequences, intentions, and actions are primarily the same. If medical treatment is withheld, allowing them to die naturally, this will prolong their pain and suffering, as well as that of their loved ones left to bear witness. It will also lead to large medical bills, which the families will be left to deal with. In an era where the culture is to provide rescue medicine, it is hard to decide what to do when facing end of life decisions for your loved ones. According to the Hippocratic Oath, physicians must â€Å"use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but will not use it to injure or w rong them† (Friend, 2011). While the actual Oath has been rewritten many times over the years, to reflect cultural changes, it has the same essence. But, who decides what is considered as injuring or wronging them? One person may consider aiding in the death of another to be wrong, but the person dying may not. U. S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein (1194) wrote, â€Å"There is no more profoundly personal decision, no one which is closer to the heart of personal liberty, than the choice which a terminally ill person makes to end his or her suffering†. Assisted suicide and euthanasia have been worldly controversial for centuries. However, the first organizations created to support the legalization of such were in 1935 and 1938, in Great Britain and the United States, respectively. Great strides have been made in the right direction though. Consider the case of Karen Ann Quinlan. In 1975, after mixing alcohol and drugs at a party, Karen become unconscious and slipped into a coma (Quinlan Radimer, 2005). After months of watching their daughter suffer, being kept alive by machines, the family decided they knew their daughter would not want to live this way and requested she be taken off of the respirator. However, they quickly found out that their wish could not be carried out without a court order. They lost their first court battle in New Jersey Superior Court. They appealed this decision and ended up in New Jersey State Supreme Court, where by a unanimous decision, they won. Karen’s father, Joseph Quinlan, was names as Karen’s guardian, and was permitted to make all healthcare choices for her. Julia Quinlan, Karen’s mother, writes: The ruling gave patients and families the right to live each stage of life, including the last stage, with dignity and respect, and for medical institutions such as hospitals, hospices and nursing homes that would now be required to establish and maintain ethics committees. In addition, the Quinlan case led to the creation of the â€Å"living will,† sometimes called an â€Å"advanced directive,† which outlines the personal wishes of the individual in regard to â€Å"extraordinary means† to maintain life. (Quinlan 2005) In 1990, 40 states collectively passed laws allowing competent citizens the right to make living wills. These documents put the power back into the hands of the ill, by allowing their wishes and voices to be heard when they themselves are unable to speak. They instruct doctors to withhold life-supporting treatment and systems in the event a person becomes terminally ill. They can also instruct emergency doctors not to perform life resuscitating devices when a person has become injured or ill. It is the opinion of this writer and other proponents, like Compassion Choices (http://www. compassionandchoices. org) that it become legal to include right to die choices like voluntary euthanasia. In ancient Rome and Greece, putting someone to death, or assisting in dying was acceptable in certain situations. For example, it was acceptable to put to death newborns with severe birth defects. It wasn’t until Christianity started developing in the West, that euthanasia was determined to be morally and ethically wrong. It was, and still is, seen as a â€Å"violation of God’s gift of life†. (Abdulkadir, Ansari, Sambo, 2012, p 673). This is where the ethical debate inevitably ensues. Opponents mostly come from the medical profession as well as religious groups. They believe that medical providers should be more concerned with caring and healing then curing and the ultimate outcome. Legalizing active euthanasia could put too much power in the hands of the medical professionals, allowing the ill to be easily swayed and opening up the option for many lawsuits from surviving family members who do not agree with the practice. Proponents reason that keeping someone alive with medications and medical instruments, when they would otherwise die is not sustaining a true life. Also, they believe that this is not a question of if someone is to die, but how much they suffer in the interim. The main concern of health providers should be to ease or eliminate pain and suffering. If we can accept that passive euthanasia (rejecting the use of life sustaining treatment) is ethically and morally correct, than we should also accept active euthanasia as well. Utilitarianism says that actions should be judges as morally acceptable or unacceptable based on increases and decreases in total happiness and/or misery (total meaning everyone involved, not just one individual (Barcalow, 2007). Using this as a guide, it can be determined that VAE would essentially be reducing misery by allowing terminally ill, and sick to die nstead of suffering. Therefore, it would be morally acceptable. Let us look at VAE from a Subjectivism standpoint. Subjectivism claims that â€Å"whatever an individual believes to be right or wron g is right or wrong for that individual† (Barclow, 2007). Therefore, what may be morally correct for one person may not be for another. Under this principle, we should consider that if you believe VAE to be morally incorrect, that does not stand to reason all of society believes this as well. Let’s look at euthanasia another way. Merriam-Webster (2012) defines euthanasia as: â€Å"the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy†. In most states, where VAE is not legal, doctors are permitted to withhold medical treatment from a dying person, if that is their wish. While this is not considered actively administering life ending medication, it can still be considered actively allowing the person to die, if the treatment they are withholding would keep the person alive, even if only temporarily. When defending the case for active euthana sia, often the subject of our pets inevitably comes up. It is common practice when our pets become ill or injured, to put them out of their misery, we have them, as we say, ‘put to sleep’, or ‘put down’. You never hear of someone keeping their pet alive on life sustaining machines and medications. When asked why they chose to put down their pet, almost everyone answers with they couldn’t bear to see the animal suffer. So then why do feel the need to keep our humans alive? Currently there are four states in the U. S. hat have legalized active euthanasia; Oregon in 1994 by the Oregon Death and Dignity Act, , Texas in 1999 by the Texas Futile Care Law, Washington in 2008 by the Washington Death and Dignity Act and Montana in 2008 through a trial court ruling, Baxter vs. Montana. It is also legal in several European and eastern countries, such as Belgium, Columbia, and the Netherlands. It is legal in certain situations in Switzerland. In conclusion, usin g the Utilitarian and Subjectivism Moral Principles, should consider voluntary active euthanasia morally acceptable. References Abdulkadir, A. B. , Ansari, A. H. , Sambo, A. O. (2012). The right to die via euthanasia: an expository study of the shari’ah and laws in selected jurisdictions. Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 673+ Barcalow, E. (2007). Moral philosophy: Theories and issues. (4th Ed. ed. ). Belmont: The Thomson Corporation. Daniel, P. S. (2011). Speaking of the value of life. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal,21(2), 181-199,6. Euthanasia (a) in Merriam-webster online dictionary. (2012, March 09). Retrieved from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/euthanasia Friend, Mary Louanne,M. N. , R. N. (2011). Physician-assisted suicide: Death with dignity? Journal of Nursing Law,14(3), 110-116. Doi Rothstein, B. R. (1994). Assisted suicide: Helping terminally ill. Knight-Ridder Newspapers, 12(10), 615. Mary, L. F. (2011). Physician-assisted suicide: Death with dignity? Journal of Nursing Law,14(3), 110-116. doi/913146489 Quinlan, J. , ; Radimer, F. (2005). My joy, my sorrow. Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press. Rachels, J. (1975) Active and passive euthanasia . The New England Journal of Medicine 292 78-80 Rachels, J. (2001) Killing and letting die. Encyclopedia of Ethics 2nd ed. 2 947-50 Steinbock, B. , ; Norcross, A. (1994). Killing and letting die. Fordham Univ Pr. We will write a custom essay sample on Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Voluntary Active Euthanasia Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Monday, November 25, 2019

Joan Didion, Essayist and Author Defined New Journalism

Joan Didion, Essayist and Author Defined New Journalism Joan Didion is a noted American writer whose essays helped define the New Journalism movement in the 1960s. Her sharply etched observations of American life in times of crisis and dislocation also played a role in her novels. When President Barack Obama presented Didion with the National Humanities Medal in 2012, the White House announcement cited her works of startling honesty and fierce intellect and noted she had illuminated the seemingly peripheral details that are central to our lives. Fast Facts: Joan Didion Born: December 5, 1934, Sacramento, California.Known For: Helped transform journalism in the 1960s with her sharply crafted essays that evoked America in crisis.Recommended Reading: Essay collections Slouching Toward Bethlehem and The White Album.Honors: Multiple honorary degrees and writing awards, including the National Humanities Medal awarded by President Barack Obama in 2012. In addition to her novels and literary journalism, she wrote a number of screenplays in collaboration with her husband, the journalist John Gregory Dunne. A documentary on her life by her nephew, actor Griffin Dunne, introduced her lifes work and its influence to the Netflix viewing audience in 2017. A critic interviewed in the documentary, Hilton Als of The New Yorker, said, â€Å"The weirdness of America somehow got into this person’s bones and came out on the other side of a typewriter.† Early Life Joan Didion was born December 5, 1934, in Sacramento, California. World War II broke out days after Didions seventh birthday, and when her father joined the military the family began moving about the country. Life on various military bases as a child first gave her the sense of being an outsider. After the war the family settled back in Sacramento, where Didion finished high school. She hoped to attend Stanford University but was rejected. After a period of disappointment and depression, she attended the University of California at Berkeley. During her college years she exhibited a strong interest in writing and entered a contest for student journalists sponsored by Vogue magazine. Didion won the contest, which secured her a temporary position at Vogue. She traveled to New York City to work at the magazine. Magazine Career Didions position at Vogue turned into a full-time job which lasted for eight years. She became an editor and a highly professional writer in the world of glossy magazines. She edited copy, wrote articles and movie reviews, and developed a set of skills which would serve her for the rest of her career. In the late 1950s she met John Gregory Dunne, a young journalist who had grown up in Hartford, Connecticut. The two became friends and eventually romantic as well as editorial partners. When Didion was writing her first novel, River Run, in the early 1960s, Dunne helped her edit it. The two married in 1964. The couple adopted a daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne, in 1966. Didion and Dunne moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1965, intent on making major career changes. According to some accounts, they intended to write for television, but at first they continued writing for magazines. Slouching Towards Bethlehem The Saturday Evening Post, a mainstream magazine remembered for its frequent cover paintings by Norman Rockwell, assigned Didion to report and write on cultural and social topics. She wrote a profile of John Wayne (whom she admired) and other pieces of fairly conventional journalism. As society seemed to change in startling ways, Didion, the daughter of conservative Republicans and herself a Goldwater voter in 1964, found herself observing the influx of hippies, Black Panthers, and the rise of the counterculture. By early 1967, she later recalled, she was finding it difficult to work. It felt to her like America was somehow coming apart and, as she put it, writing had become an irrelevant act. The solution, it seemed, was to go to San Francisco and spend time with the young people who were flooding into the city just before what would become legendary as The Summer of Love. The result of weeks of hanging about in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was perhaps her most famous magazine essay, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The title was borrowed from The Second Coming, an ominous poem by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The article appears, on the surface, to have little or no structure. It opens with passages in which Didion evokes, with carefully chosen details, how in the cold late spring of 1967 America was in a time of bleak despair and adolescents drifted from city to torn city. Didion then described, with novelistic detail, the characters she spent time with, many of whom were taking drugs or seeking to acquire drugs or talking about their recent drug trips. The article departed from standard journalistic practice. At one point she did attempt to interview a policeman who had patrolled the neighborhood of the hippies, but he seemed to panic and stopped talking to her. She was accused of being a media poisoner by members of The Diggers, an anarchic group of hippies. So she hung out and listened, not interviewing anyone so much as just observing in the moment. Her observations were presented starkly as what was said and seen in her presence. It was up to the reader to draw deeper meaning. After the article was published in the Saturday Evening Post, Didion said many readers didnt grasp that she was writing about something more general than a handful of children wearing mandalas on their forehead. In the preface to a 1968 collection of her articles, itself titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem, she said she had never gotten feedback so universally beside the point. Didions technique, coupled with her distinct personality and mentions of her own anxiety, had created something of a template for later work. She continued writing journalistic essays for magazines. Over time she would become known for her observations of distinctly American events, ranging from the Manson murders to the increasingly bitter national politics of the late 1980s to the scandals of Bill Clinton. Joan Didion and husband John Gregory Dunne. Getty Images Novelist and Screenwiter In 1970 Didion published her second novel, Play It As It Lays, which was set in the world of Hollywood in which Didion and her husband had settled. (They collaborated on a screenplay for a 1972 film adaptation of the novel.) Didion continued to alternate writing fiction with her journalism, publishing three other novels: A Book of Common Prayer, Democracy, and The Last Thing He Wanted. Didion and Dunne collaborated on screenplays, including The Panic In Needle Park (produced in 1971) and the 1976 production of A Star Is Born, which starred Barbra Streisand. The work adapting a book about ill-fated anchorwoman Jessica Savitch turned into a Hollywood saga in which they wrote (and got paid for) numerous drafts before the film finally emerged as Up Close and Personal. John Gregorys Dunnes 1997 book Monster: Living Off the Big Screen detailed the peculiar story of endlessly rewriting the screenplay and dealing with Hollywood producers. Tragedies Didion and Dunne moved back to New York City in the 1990s. Their daughter Quintana became seriously ill in 2003, and after visiting her at the hospital, the couple returned to their apartment where Dunne suffered a fatal heart attack. Didion wrote a book about dealing with her grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, published in 2005. Tragedy struck again when Quintana, having recovered from a serious illness, fell at Los Angeles airport and suffered a serious brain injury. She seemed to be recovering her health but again became very ill and died in August 2005. Though her daughter died before the publication of The Year of Magical Thinking, she told The New York Times she hadnt considered changing the manuscript. She later wrote a second book about dealing with grief, Blue Nights, published in 2011. In 2017, Didion published a book of nonfiction, South and West: From a Notebook, an account of travels in the American South constructed from notes she had written decades earlier. Writing in The New York Times, critic Michiko Kakutani said what Didion wrote about travels in Alabama and Mississippi in 1970 was prescient, and seemed to point to much more modern divisions in American society. Sources: Joan Didion. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 20, Gale, 2004, pp. 113-116. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Doreski, C. K. Didion, Joan 1934- . American Writers, Supplement 4, edited by A Walton Litz and Molly Weigel, vol. 1, Charles Scribners Sons, 1996, pp. 195-216. Gale Virtual Reference Library.McKinley, Jesse. Joan Didions New Book Faces Tragedy. New York Times, 29 August 2005.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

World Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

World Mythology - Essay Example The evolution of human kind and advancement in the civilization globally has contributed deeply into the mythological stories of all lifestyles. This creation of vast mythology among different people across the world has shaped the lives of people. However, the traditional concept of mythological thought has been considered as less important in comparison to logical thinking but the notion has been highly revalorized. Myth is a crucial concept to explore the construction of meaning to different phenomena. From some critical perspective, a very critical theoretical and analytical approach to myth becomes greatly fundamental t the understanding of the basis on which mythology is pegged. The strive to conceptualize the complex notion of different myths to open up one’s mind in undertaking a deductive and logical argument in sieving what could be of speculations from facts. The expression through myths and their interpretations tends to be a versatile and multifunctional existence in the lives of different groups and individuals. This is due to the fact that the logo- mythical expressions are complementary and are helpful for humans in achieving a more complete vision, but never final, of reality. The mythology concept allows the union of the spheres of thought and experience. Moreover, the symbolic function of mythology is a combination of the two dimensional constituents of thought: reason and representation, logos and mythos, number and figure, concept and image, speech and narration, and analysis and

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Review of the journal article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review of the journal article - Essay Example The main key points are highlighted in the summary segment. Then the essay is evaluated in details in the critique segment. Finally in conclusion segment; important points of entire report have been summarized. Many MNCs of the developed companies have many advantages like brand-value, sophisticated technologies, innovation of products and services and efficient management systems. They also have vast pool of talent and finance. Emerging companies also have many advantages over well-known MNCs. If these advantages are applied efficiently then it can prove fruitful for emerging companies. Example is India’s Tata Group have created a plan and implemented it to develop talent and raise capital. Emerging companies have the advantage to exploit on the knowledge of local product markets. They can capitalize on the advantage at home by adapting on the knowledge of the customers. To grow across the borders, emerging giants exploited the similarities on the countries that are geographically nearer. Local companies have the advantage to realize the customers’ needs and taste. Emerging markets have the advantage to capitalize on local capital markets and local talents. Therefore this can help in a cost effective manner to serve customers in local and abroad. Major example is Indian IT companies such as Wipro, Tata consultancy services, Infosys and Satyam. Institutional void should be treated as a business opportunity as it helps to enhance the credibility of the claims that are made by the sellers and facilitate the flow of information. It also enables to facilitate transaction by creating forum or by distributing goods and services. But MNCs has an edge on intermediaries business. Despite facing bureaucratic and financial issue in the local markets companies used strategies to be successful in global market. Some of the companies exploited their advantage of knowing local talents and capital markets. Some of the companies capitalized on the advantage of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Can Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Can - Essay Example This means that each culture needs other cultures to help it have a better understanding of itself and expand its intellectual horizon hence saving it from narcissism. Thirdly, each culture is plural internally and in a great way reflects a continuing conversation between its strands of thought and different traditions. Canada is among the increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse nation. The major response to the diversity is the official multiculturalism which was introduced in the early 1970s. Despite the fact that multiculturalism is almost 40 years old, it nevertheless remains one of the highly controversial and debated issue in the country (Tierney). This paper analyses the various symbiotic derivatives with regard to the Canadian multiculturalism include issues of racism, ethnic and cultural diversity, belonging, immigration, colonization, and hegemonic power. Canada is a country of immigrants who have in a great way altered the ethnic makeup. This makes it a constitution of wide array of various group with own social and political practices. The pattern of immigration has led to diversity in ethnicity and culture. It has also resulted in cultural and ethnic discrimination which has been a major drawback. This space helps us to understand the national and regional identity through the stone carvings on the parliament hill. The country has the only Parliament buildings in the world where the stone carving is still in application continuously. This is a unique feature that helps us identify the parliament of Canada. The peace tower has more than 350 carvings. The parliament has been undergoing various renovations even though the process is difficult and expensive when the building is still in use. Through this, the government has played a great part in giving the Canada’s parliament a facelift to ensure that it is well maintained through

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Photo Aging of Skin

Photo Aging of Skin Photo aging is the effect of chronic ultraviolet exposure on the skin, and the term was first used by Kligman, back in 1986(1). Incidence of Photo aging is increasing in year by year. Photo aging is premature aging of skin, which is a very complex process which causes progressive functional and aesthetic changes in the skin. Photo aging is mainly due to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation that is UVa and UVb radiation and can also be due to genetic factors. Apart from UVa and UVb other rays like infrared and visible rays are also responsible for Photo aging (2). Photo aging is entirely different from chronological aging. Chronological aging, which is a natural phenomenon and cannot t be reversed or prevented like Photo aging and they differ clinically and histologically from Photo aging. Photo aging is characterized by wrinkling of skin, loss of skin tone, loss of resilience due to loss of skin strength and skin elasticity. Photo aging appears mostly in areas which are exposed to sunlight like face, neck and back of the hands and is clinical presentation is with deep coarse wrinkles mostly around the eyes, then the mouth and on the forehead, next feature is uneven skin color and dryness, various spots which are pigmented like age spot, liver spots that are mottled pigmentations and freckles can also be seen, skin tone will be lost and will be leathery, spider vein can be seen on the nose, cheek and neck (4). The mechanism behind Photo aging relating to UV rays is by producing an in balance between TGF ÃŽ ²2 and AP1 damage, TGF ÃŽ ²2 is an activator protein, which promotes collagen production and AP1 is a transcription factor which inhibits collagen production by increasing production of Metalloproteinase which break down collagen and there is another enzyme TIMP which inhibit MMP. In normal skin TIMP and MMP are in balance (5) (6). Whenever we are over exposed to UV rays there is an increased activity of AP1, which in turn increases MMP causes an imbalance between MMP and TIMP. Apart from increase increased activity of AP1 there is also decreased expression of TGF ÃŽ ²2. This imbalance leads increased proteolytic activity leading to damage to collagen which will be corrected if not further exposed to UV rays, but if the skin is further exposed to UV rays damage to collagen will remain as such and skin will be formed abnormal in the form of wrinkles (6).decreased expression of TGF ÃŽ ²2 c auses decreases production of collagen . This damaged collagen and lack of new normal collagen formation altogether will lead to decrease in quantity of collagen forming leathery skin (fig.) MMPs is induced by UV rays that induces by both UVa and UVb. UVa and UVb act by different mechanisms. UVa act by indirectly activating ROS, which intern produces other effects like lipid peroxidation, transcription factor activation, formation of DNA strand breaks, unlike UVa, UVb induce MMP by directly producing DNA damage and by ROS(7). Whether it’s UVa or UVb, ROS generation is the important factor in Photo aging. SUN AP1 ROS Generation TGF ÃŽ ²2 MMP procollagen production Collagen break down Imperfect repair Invisible solar scar Repeated UV injury Visible solar scar (Wrinkling of photo aging Mitochondrial cells main function is to produce energy for the cell ,which is generated by a process called oxidative phosphorylation ,which is commonly known as electron transport chain .this oxidative phosphorylation usually have some error ,resulting in production of ROS which produces oxidative reaction. When human skin is exposed to uv rays ,it produces ROS .this ROS will cause damage to mitochondrial DNA which in turn leads to reduce of capacity for oxidative phosphorylation which accelerates production of ROS which again will cause mitochondrial DNA damage and the cycle is repeated resulting in conditions like photo aging (oxidative damage to mite dna) UVa ROS Mutations of mitochondrial DNA Acceleration Reduced OXPHOS capacity With the understanding of mechanism of photo aging, many strategies has been put forward for the prevention and treatment of photo aging .photo aging can either be prevented by using substances which the action of uv rays on skin or by giving treatment to reverse photoaging.it is well known that dark people develop less photo aging compared to white skin people which is thought to be due presence of increases melanin. So artificial tanning of skin by using thymine dinucleotide is a way to protect from photo aging (telomere mediated effects).another highly used way of protecting skin against uv rays is by using organic and inorganic uv filters as sunscreen creams however there is a controversy regarding effectiveness of this sunscreen formulations.( Coenzyme Q10, a cutaneous antioxidant and energizer. As per above explained mechanism of photo aging it’s clear that giving an antioxidant will have high amount of benefit and many studies are done with antioxidants. All these strategies are for prevention of photo aging. There are also studies with vitamin a, all Trans’ retinoic acid for repair of already existing damages to the skin. (. (New and emerging treatment for photo aging) It’s a known fact that Skin photo aging is caused by the solar rays induced oxidative stress. Apart from the mechanism of imbalanced mmp and action on mitochondrial DNA there are other mechanisms involved in skin photo aging .In a in vivo study it was shown that when skin get exposed to ultraviolet rays cholesterol undergo O2 oxygenation reaction with the help of free radicals and or O2 to form a peroxidation product cholesterol 5 ÃŽ ±hydro peroxide which form cholesterol aldehyde .cholesterol aldehyde modify proteins to form various pathological conditions including photo aging(formation of cholesterol).in another study it was reported that apart from cholesterol another target of 02 oxygenation reaction is unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid and linoleic acid (age related ).this animal studies proved that 02 produced from type ii photosensitized reaction is involved in the injury of skin exposed to chronic UVa by oxidative stress. From above its clear that free radical and or O2 is involved in the process of photo aging, so using an O2 quenching substance like carotenoids will help in prevention of photo aging (singlet oxygen quenching). The normal skin itself has antioxidant protective effects .this antioxidant protective effect are produced by endogenous enzymatic antioxidants like GSH peroxidase ,SOD and catalase as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants like vitamin E ,vitamin C ,GSH, Uric acid and ubiquinol.when most there is an attack of ROS ,the skin will itself form an antioxidant defense complex the most important one among them is manganese superoxide dismutase (mnSOD) which a mitochondrial enzyme (antioxidant defense mechanism.)whereas when the skin is exposed to uvrays repeatedly this endogenous enzymes has less as evidenced by the less concentration of antioxidant enzyme in photo aged skin ,especially in the epidermis and stratum cornuem. Which makes it mandatory to use an external source of antioxidant when skin is exposed repeatedly to UV rays. (pandet et al) On over all its known that main pathology involved in process of photo aging is oxidative reactions .with the understanding of that many studies have been done with different exogenous antioxidants since 30 years .different has been tried by different researchers .elmore et al studied with topical vitamin C cream .which has shown improvement.boelsma et al in 2001 reported vitamin E compliment the photo protective effect. Ribaya-Mercadoet al.in a study established that lycopene protect against UV induced photo aging in humans. Stahl and Krutmann, 2006 reported in a study that carotenoids gives basal protection against UV induced photo aging. Effect of carotenoids particularly beta carotene was studied by cho et al in 2010 and proved that dietary beta carotene has effect on photo aging. There are several studies done on photo aging with topical tretinoin and most of them has shown positive results one among them is study done by voorches in 1990 where he proved that topical tretinoin r educe the effects of photo aging. Hoppe et al studied with topical coenzyme q10 ,it has shown positive effect in preventing photoaging.richard et al done in vivo study with zinc treated fibroblast ,which showed a positive result in uvr resistance .in 2002 a study was done with resveratrol by afaq and mukhtar ,which showed effective prevention of induced increase in skin thickness .another antioxidant used in study was green tea ,green tea proved to reduce uv induced oxidative stress in a study done by katiyal et al.lu et al done a study with caffeine ,caffeine showed increase in p53 ,slowed cell cycling . Singh and Agarwal, 2002 reported that silymarin prevent photo carcinogenesis. Cocoa was proved to have photo protective effect against uv induced erythema in a study done by Heinrich et al., Ultraviolet rays UV rays are electromagnetic rays which are naturally emitted from the sun along with other electromagnetic lights like visible and infrared rays. Electromagnetic spectrum of UV rays extends between x-rays and visible lights that is 40 to 400 nm. UV rays are classified into three types depending on its wavelength as UVc (220-290 nm), UVb (290-320) and UVa (320-400 nm). UVa having longer wavelength and the least energy and UVc have short wavelength and high energy, having high energy means its most hazardous but fortunately it doesn’t cross ozone layer where as UVa and UVb cross ozone layer in small quantity. UVa is the one responsible for production of tanning with the help melanin pigments when exposed to the sun, which is actually a defense mechanism to protect human skin from further exposure to UV rays (2), it’s also used in vitamin D synthesis, having said so over exposure of UV rays may cause erythema , toughening of skin and inflammatory reaction to eyes and over exposure for a long term leads to cataract formation ,immunosuppression , Photo aging of skin and skin cancers(3). Artificial UVA lights are widely used in health science for phototherapy in case of certain skin conditions like psoriasis for sterilization and disinfection and tanning booths (4)(2) (5). Among skin cancers, non-melanoma skin cancers like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are more common, but rarely fatal. Melanoma and non-melanoma combined leads to 66,000 deaths per year. Another hazard of long term of UV ray exposure on the skin is premature skin aging, photo dermatomes and Actinic keratosis which are due to degenerative changes in cells of the skin, fibrous tissue and blood vessels (6). Mixed carotenoids Mixed carotenoids are a combination of different types of carotenoids, in a particular combination. Carotenoids are plant pigment which are having 40 carbon atoms in a molecule (1). Carotenoids are mainly of two type’s one containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen containing and other with carbon and hydrogen, which are named xanthophylls and carotenes respectively (2). Carotenoids are plant pigments which are synthesized by plants in higher amount and partly by algae and bacteria(2). Carotenoid is abundant in animals also, which they acquire by eating plants. Carotenoids are of different types around 700 carotenoids have been identified, most commonly available (3). Carotenoids like lycopene, beta-Cryptoxanthin, beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin. Alpha carotene, echinenone. Capsanthin, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and all are commonly available fruits and vegetables like tomato, mango, carrot, citrus lime, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms and all, some of the carotenoids are well absorbed and are present in plasma (4) (5) . Carotenoids were considered to be just as provitamin A, and importance of carotenoids in that case is itself considered to be the nontoxic reserve of vitamin- A (6)(4) .Recently its discovered that carotenoids are not just provitamin A it has other actions as well, from that point on immense research has been going on with carotenoids in almost all the system and all over the world (7). Carotenoid is normally present in tissue and blood of humans. Adipose tissue is the most abundant one in carotenoids followed by liver and muscle, apart from this tissue carotenoids are also present in other tissues like corpus lithium, adrenal gland, macula lutea (8). Among carotenoids lutein, Cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alpha carotene, beta carotene are the ones which are commonly available in serum and other tissues like adrenal gland (4)(3). Human skin contains carotenoids like ÃŽ ±-, ÃŽ ³-, ÃŽ ²-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin (9) Carotenoids are proved to be useful in many diseases and its many research is in process also, one of the most important research work related to carotenoids is its useful in cancer, especially in skin cancer, it’s been found that carotenoids acts in case of cancer by several mechanisms, one is that it protect against nuclear damage and sister chromatid exchange and another is that it when fibroblast are exposed to x rays, UV rays or to any chemicals like Cholanthrene it undergo transformation leading to cancer, carotenoids inhibit this transformation (4). In UV induced skin tumor it proved that carotenoid helped in delaying skin tumors induced by UV rays, over all carotenoids seems to inhibit development of cancer in the initial stage itself (10) (4). Another field or research with carotenoids is in ageing related, immune system, fertility, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus. Carotenoids act by several mechanisms, but the entire mechanism of action is not yet proved in different part of the system, it has different action which is still on research, some of the mechanisms related to cancer has been discussed already. However, one of the well-known action of carotenoids is by an antioxidant mechanism, that is it act against oxidative stress(11). Oxidative stress is a result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) reaction or a free radical reaction (12). Reactive oxygen species are produced as an unfortunate byproduct of redox reaction which are a part of oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP in mitochondria rays are produced by other redox reaction also, some of the examples of ROS are superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide or hydroxyl radicals. This reactive oxygen species accumulation will lead to serious problems, which are inhibited by killing this race either by enzymatic mechanism or non-enzymatic mechanism. Enzymatic mechanism is by the help of enzymes a nd non-enzymatic approach is by the use of antioxidants like ascorbate and glutathione, tocopherol, flavonoids, alkaloids and carotenoids. So normally in human body oxidants are antioxidants are maintained in a balanced state, any break in that balance leads to trouble. But unfortunately the balance is disturbed in day to day life and so there is always a oxidative damage in the process (13) (14) (15). Oxidative stress leads to many problems. Harman in 1956 itself has proposed that ageing is related to oxidative stress. According to him, rose will produce some irreversible deleterious changes to molecules, which was later on approved by many other researchers of past and present, a more elaborate finding was done by Halliwell B. He observed that the rays produced in mitochondria primary target is mitochondrial DNA itself, which leads to further production of Ross and this cycle is repeated leading to ageing. This case is similar when it comes to ageing of skin too, when skin is exposed to UV irradiation and oxidative stress is produced leading to ageing and as explained by Biesalski et al that oxidative stress can be prevented by antioxidants like carotenoids (17) (18). Another of the mechanism involved in photo aging o2 oxygenation of unsaturated lipids in the skin and cholesterol in the skin. This peroxidized cholesterol accumulation partly leads to activation of MMP9 (formation of cholesterol. (Age related when we use carotenoids it inhibit o2 oxygenation of unsaturated lipids and it also inhibit o2 oxygenation of cholesterol which in turn partly suppresses MMP 9 action. (Peroxide cholesterol induced)+participation of singlet oxygen. . Advantage of taking carotenoids is that it accumulates in human skin which is commonly known as carotenoderma.carotenoids deposit more in palm of the hand and forehead. And the level of carotenoids present skin is proportional to the amount of carotenoids present in serum and its fortunate human absorb wide variety of carotenoids. (Carotenoderma a review).one of the reason for abundance of carotenoids in skin is that stratum cornea has a lipid layer which has more affinity to carotenoids. leading more amount of carotenoids in the stratum corneum . Carotenoids protect sperm from the rose by its antioxidant property there by maintaining fertility. Carotenoids also has action female fertility by helping the formation of corpus luteum and many other aspects of reproduction as well, though a specific action of it is not known. Carotenoids have other actions like reducing risk of age related macular degeneration(20), they also reduce risk of age related cataracts (21), carotenoids reduce risk of hypertension and ischemic heart disease by lowering Tri acyl glycerol and increasing HDL (22). Apart from this proved effects and mechanisms there are suggestions of many more of effects and mechanisms for carotenoids where immense researches are going on. An intervention study demonstrated that dietary carotene Protects the human skin from the UV light-induced erythema. (38) Stahl et al.(39) found that combination of a relatively low dose of total carotenoids (25 mg/day) and vitamin E (RRR-ÃŽ ±-tocopherol; 335 mg/day) significantly diminished the erythema on dorsal skin induced by illumination with UV light after 8 weeks. They also revealed that the intensity of erythema 24 h after the irradiation of UV light was diminished in a group receiving mixed carotenoids containing ÃŽ ²-carotene, lutein and lycopene (8 mg each/day) for 12 weeks.(40) In a separate study, intake of tomato paste rich in lycopene (40 g/day) was also shown to be effective in the prevention of erythema formation induced by UV light after 10 weeks.(41) These studies strongly suggest that dietary carotenoids accumulate preferentially in the skin and prevent it from UV-induced photooxidative damage by acting as antioxidants

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Sun Tzus The Art of War Essay -- Sun Tzu Art War Essays

Sun Tzu's The Art of War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The translation of the â€Å"Sun Tzu: The Art of War† ancient Chinese text has been given by many different writers. Samuel B. Griffith, Brigadier General, retired, U.S. Marine Corps; is a proven strategist that studied the English commandoes war fighting skills as a Captain. As a Major, Griffith was hand picked to serve as Executive Officer under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Edson of the 1st Raider Battalion, one of the battalions that perfected the amphibious landings during World War II. Samuel B. Griffith gives his in-depth study on â€Å"Sun Tzu: The Art of War† and how Mao Tse-tung used the strategies and teachings of Sun Tzu while commanding the Red Army of China. Griffith’s translation of Sun Tzu’s work is written in three parts: Introduction, Translation, and Appendix. PART 1: INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his first chapter of his study titled The Author, Griffith gives many different possibilities as to who the actual author of the writings is. Griffith sites many theories from other sources trying to validate the origin of the author, but settles on one basic theory for the text. The Art of War was written by a single author probably around the time of the Warring States and during the periods from 400-320 B.C. (p. 11) Furthermore, Griffith states that there is not enough evidence to positively say if a person named Sun Tzu actually wrote the book or if it was written as a tribute to him, and the case of the authorship remains unsettled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second chapter, The Text, of Griffith’s study focuses on the text itself. There has been debate about how many chapters were originally in â€Å"The Art of War†: Eighty-Two or Thirteen. (p. 13) Griffith gives a sound theory that the current thirteen chapters were the only writings. Based on copywriting errors, the eighty-two chapters were probably written into thirteen categories (or chapters) while trying to transcribe written work onto paper from silk or wood. Griffith also asserts that the text was used for entry-level war fighting studies in early Chinese military academies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Warring States is the subject and title of Griffith’s third chapter, which gives an enlightening look at the life and times in China after the defeat of the rule of Chin at Ching Yang in 453. (p. 20) The country was divided into eight individual warring sects (with the exception of Yen... ...g for you. An expendable agent is given false information on purpose. And a living agent is one that returns to the commander with information. PART III: Appendix   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Griffith’s study also includes four different appendixes. The first is A Note from Wu Ch’I, the second is titled Sun Tzu’s Influence on Japanese Military Thought, the third is Sun Tzu in Western Languages, and the fourth appendix is Brief Biographies of the Commentators.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Samuel B. Griffith’s translation of â€Å"Sun Tzu: The Art of War† is an inside look at military practices of today. I did not find one technique that is not or would not be utilized in modern military maneuver, leadership, or training. The most astounding fact is that the Art of War was written well over two thousand years ago, even at the most conservative date. Although most of the techniques in this text are already in practice today, the value of â€Å"The Art of War† is a never-ending treasure chest of knowledge, and it deserves a place as a required reading for anyone seeking knowledge about war fighting or the history of war. Works Cited Sun Tzu: The Art of War, Ed. By Samuel B. Griffith (New York:Oxford University Press, 1963)

Monday, November 11, 2019

Beowulf Embodies the Values of Anglo Saxon Society

The Anglo-Saxon people, who ruled England up until the Norman conquest, were composed of warlike Nordic and Germanic peoples. They descended from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They valued courage, strength and desire for fame and glory and commitment to obtaining it (similar to the ideals regarding fame and honor espoused by Homers Achilles). They also valued generosity and the protection of others. The first value, courage, is constantly put to the test in the dark and dangerous world of Beowulf. This world was filled with monsters and obstacles to slay or overcome. Beowulf himself is said to be the strongest man on earth at that time, and the way he wrestled Grendel almost effortlessly, while so many others had failed, proved that he had a kind of superhuman physical strength. His desire for fame and his commitment to obtaining it was also very strong, he had an enormous amount of willpower and was determined to win himself a name. Even after he was famous throughout the known world for his deeds, he still was not yet satisfied. After he had fought in many battles and saved the Danes from Grendel and Grendel's mother he was still not content. He battled the dragon, which was his greatest accomplishment, and proof of his courage and sheer heroism. Although it can be interpreted as a proof of courage, one could also look at it as foolishness, a man's selfish desire to gain glory, even after he has been saturated with it. However, the Anglo-Saxon concept of selfishness was far less abstruse than our own. Their idea of generosity was helping friends and allies, especially in form of gifts for chivalric acts. He did slay the dragon and Grendel partially because he wanted to protect the Danes and his own people from these two atrocities, but he was also motivated by a desire for glory. Beowulf himself was apathetic to the notion of death, he stated it many times throughout the poem, a fine example is his speech prior to fighting Grendel. However, he is obsessed with his legacy and his name, which is more important than life itself to him and the other Anglo-Saxons. For example, the slave in Beowulf's expedition to slay the dragon is not even in the headcount due to his lineage and rank. Fame is part of building the noble family name and rank. Social mobility was fairly high among the warrior class in Beowulfs times, much like it was in the Roman legions. A good name and the amount of gold determines a warrior's rank, the world of Beowulf, for the warriors at least, is a meritocracy.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Free Essays on Pascals Triangle

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal was a great mathematician from the 17th Century. He was born on June 19, 1623 in Clermont, France. His father’s name was Etienne. Etienne was a local judge at Clermont and like Pascal had an interest in science. His mother was Antoinette Begon who died when Pascal was only three. He had two sisters named Gilberte and Jacqueline. At the age of eight, Pascal’s father moved his family to Paris to keep up his scientific studies and to carry on the education of Pascal who showed exceptional ability. He did not allow Pascal to work so he could concentrate on his studies. But Pascal at first was not allowed to study mathematics. He was confined to the study of languages. When Pascal was twelve years old he got very curious about geometry so he asked his tutor in what geometry consisted. He was so interested about it that he used to give up his play time to this new study and in a few weeks had discovered for himself many properties of figures, and in particular the proposition that the sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to two right angles. His father, surprised by this display of ability, gave him a copy of Euclid’s â€Å"Elements†. Pascal read the book and mastered it. This won him respect for his great talent in mathematics. So Pascal’s attention began to focus on analytical geometry and physics. Pascal did not attend school and because of his interests in geometry at the age of fourteen Pascal was admitted to meetings of French geometricians. At the age of sixteen he wrote an essay on conic sections and at age eighteen, he constructed the first arithmetical machine. When he was nineteen years old, Pascal began to create a machine that would be similar to an everyday calculator to help his father with his accounting job. After that Pascal worked on many mathematical problems, including how gases and fluids behave. In 1654, when Pascal was 31 he created â€Å"Pascal’s Triang... Free Essays on Pascal's Triangle Free Essays on Pascal's Triangle Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal was a great mathematician from the 17th Century. He was born on June 19, 1623 in Clermont, France. His father’s name was Etienne. Etienne was a local judge at Clermont and like Pascal had an interest in science. His mother was Antoinette Begon who died when Pascal was only three. He had two sisters named Gilberte and Jacqueline. At the age of eight, Pascal’s father moved his family to Paris to keep up his scientific studies and to carry on the education of Pascal who showed exceptional ability. He did not allow Pascal to work so he could concentrate on his studies. But Pascal at first was not allowed to study mathematics. He was confined to the study of languages. When Pascal was twelve years old he got very curious about geometry so he asked his tutor in what geometry consisted. He was so interested about it that he used to give up his play time to this new study and in a few weeks had discovered for himself many properties of figures, and in particular the proposition that the sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to two right angles. His father, surprised by this display of ability, gave him a copy of Euclid’s â€Å"Elements†. Pascal read the book and mastered it. This won him respect for his great talent in mathematics. So Pascal’s attention began to focus on analytical geometry and physics. Pascal did not attend school and because of his interests in geometry at the age of fourteen Pascal was admitted to meetings of French geometricians. At the age of sixteen he wrote an essay on conic sections and at age eighteen, he constructed the first arithmetical machine. When he was nineteen years old, Pascal began to create a machine that would be similar to an everyday calculator to help his father with his accounting job. After that Pascal worked on many mathematical problems, including how gases and fluids behave. In 1654, when Pascal was 31 he created â€Å"Pascal’s Triang...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Importance of Wait Time in Education

Importance of Wait Time in Education Wait time, in educational terms, is the time that a teacher  waits before calling on a student in class  or for an individual student to respond. For example,  teacher presenting a lesson on presidential terms of office, may ask the question, How many years can a president serve as president? The amount of time that a teacher gives students to think of the answer and raise their hands is called wait-time, and research published over forty years ago is still used to show that wait-time is a critical instructional tool. The term was first coined by Mary Budd Rowe in her research paper, Wait-time and Rewards as Instructional Variables, Their Influence in Language, Logic, and Fate Control (1972). She noted that on average, teachers paused only 1.5 seconds after asking a question; some wait only a tenth of a second. When that time was extended to three seconds, there were positive changes to students and teachers behaviors and attitudes. She explained that wait-time gave students a chance to take risks. Exploration and inquiry require students to put together ideas in new ways, to try out new thoughts, to take risks. For that they not only need time but they need a sense of being safe (4). Her report detailed several of the changes that came about when students were provided wait-time: The length and correctness of student responses increased.The number of no answers or I dont know responses by students decreased.The number  of students who volunteered answers increased greatly increased.Academic achievement test scores tended to increase. Wait Time is Think Time Rowes study had focused on elementary science teacher using data recorded over five years. She had noted a change in teacher characteristics, flexibility  in their own responses, when they purposefully allowed wait-time of three to five seconds, or even longer. In addition, the variety of questions asked in class became varied. Rowe concluded that wait-time influenced teacher expectations, and their rating of students they may have considered slow changed. She suggested that more work should be done concerning direct training of students to take time both to frame replies and to hear other students. In the 1990s, Robert Stahl from Arizona State University took up Rowes suggestion and followed up on her research. His study Using Think-time Behaviors to Promote Students Information Processing, Learning, and On-task Participation: An Instructional Model explained that wait-time was more than a simple pause in instruction. He determined that the three seconds of wait time of uninterrupted silence offered in questioning and answering was an opportunity for intellectual exercise. He found that during this uninterrupted silence, both the teacher and all students can both complete appropriate information processing tasks, feelings, oral responses, and actions. He explained that wait-time should be renamed as think-time because, Think-time names the primary academic purpose and activity of this period of silenceto allow students and the teacher to complete on-task thinking (8). Stahl also determined that there were eight categories of uninterrupted periods of silence that comprised wait-time. These categories described the wait-time immediately following a teachers question to a dramatic pause a teacher may use to emphasize an important idea or concept. Practicing Wait-time in the Classroom Despite the undisputed research, wait-time is a teaching tool that is often not practiced in the classroom. One reason may be that teachers are uncomfortable with silence after asking a question. This pause may not feel natural to wait to call on students. Taking three to five seconds, however, before calling on a student is not a lot of time. For teachers who may feel pressured to cover content or want to get through a unit, that uninterrupted silence can feel unnaturally long, especially if that pause is not a classroom norm. Another reason that teachers may feel uncomfortable with uninterrupted silence could be a lack of practice. More veteran teachers may already set their own pace for instruction which would need to be adjusted, while teachers entering the profession may not have had the opportunity to try wait-time in a classroom environment. Implementing an effective wait-time of three to five seconds is purposeful and takes practice. To better practice wait-time, some teachers implement a policy of only selecting students who raise a hand. This can be hard to enforce, especially if other teachers in the school are not requiring students to raise their hands. If a teacher is consistent and reinforces the importance of hand-raising in response to a question, students will eventually learn. Of course, teachers should realize that it is much harder to make students raise their hands if they have not required to do so from the first day of school. Other teachers may use a student lists or popsicle sticks or cards with student names to ensure that every student is called upon or that one student does not dominate the responses. Teachers also need to be aware of student expectations when implementing wait time. Students who are in competitive, upper-level courses and who may be used to quick-fire questions and answers might not initially find a benefit from wait time. In these cases, teachers would have to use their expertise and varying the amounts of time before calling on students to see if it does make a difference to either the number of students involved or the quality of the answers. Like any other instructional strategy, a teacher may need to play with wait-time to see what works best for students. While wait-time may be an uncomfortable strategy for teachers and students at first, it does get easier with practice. Teachers will notice a better quality and/or an increase in the length of responses as students to have the time to think of their answer before raising their hands. Finally, student-to-student interactions may increase as students become better able to formulate their answers. That pause of a few seconds called wait-time or think-time can make a dramatic improvement in learning.

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Dramatic Form and Riders to the Sea Assignment

The Dramatic Form and Riders to the Sea - Assignment Example Alternatively, the drowning of Bartley is an indication of the troubling conditions that humanity has set upon himself of cruelty and suffering. Another interesting feature of drama in the play Riders to the Sea involves the controversies that create disharmony and doubts between characters. In play, a young priest attempts to contradict the views held by Maurya concerning the fate of her lost son. The priest, therefore, is a dramatic symbolism of the hypocrisy of religion during periods of doubts and hopelessness. Consequently, his decisions heighten the drama by setting off an anticlimax of searching for Michael’s body in the shores of Donegal. On the other hand, characterization in the play is an element of dramatic forms critical in highlighting the major themes of play. The protagonist, for instance, is cast as bereaved mother who has lost four sons because of the sea. Overall, a conflict is necessary to create for drama to

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Which Of The Chinese Minorities Influenced The Han Chinese The Most Essay

Which Of The Chinese Minorities Influenced The Han Chinese The Most - Essay Example Table 1 listed the top 40 chinese minorities. According to Table 1, the most notable ones are the Mongolians and Manchus who conquered China and set up the Yuan dynasty and Qing dynasty respectively. Even though they became the rulers of China, the influence of them on the Han Chinese was not as strong as the reverse. This is because the foreign ethnic rulers adopted the appeasement policy in an attempt to please the Han Chinese people, the majority which formed 98% of the population in China. They in turn, adopted quite a few customs of the Han Chinese. As such, in this paper, we analysed the type of influences the Manchus had on the Han Chinese people. The Manchus first conquered China in 1644 by over throwing the Ming dynasty, marking their first political dominance and forming the Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty, which was the last dynasty ruled by a non-Han Chinese emperor, lasted for less than 300 years and ended in 1911. The influences of the Manchus on the Han Chinese were then inevitable, as they became the rulers of the country.1 Since the Qing dynasty was longer than the Yuan dynasty (set up by the Mongolians), the direct impact by the Manchus on the life of the Han Chinese and the development of China was naturally larger than the Mongolians. In this paper, we also analysed mainly on the major events during the Qing Dynasty whereby the Manchus had influenced the Han Chinese both directly and indirectly.... 2.1 Origin of Manchus The Manchu are the tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (today's Northeastern China). It is believed that they are descended from the Jurchens who in turn, are decended from one of the tribes of the Mohe, the Heishui tribe. 2.1.1 Economic The economic influence of the Manchus on the Han Chinese is in the late era of the Qing dynasty. During the later part of the Qing dynasty, the Manchu emperor adopted a closed-door policy which indirectly led to the lack of the technological advances in China and in turn caused the fall of the Qing dynasty and invasions by the western powers2. The Mongolians was the exact opposite. When Kublai Khan became the first ruler of the Yuan dynasty in China, he encouraged the Silk Road trade network, allowing the transfer of Chinese technologies to East Europe. The chinese technologicies included gunpowder and paper, etc. This was the first centralised economic system. If he had not implemented the policy and spread the technology, the honour of discovering gunpower and paper might not have been given to the Han Chinese. He also allowed foreign merchants to travel in China without any restrictions. One good example of foreigners is Marco Polo, a native Italian from Venice. The expansionist policy during the Yuan dynasty also saw more cultural exchanges due to its large continuous territory under their control. Its territory included Eastern Europe, China, India and Tibet. Amounts of spices and medical materials were imported from Arabia, Persia and India. Silk and porcelain were exported to Eastern Europe. If the Manchus had adopted the same economic policy as the Mongolians, the history of China would be changed and the Han Chinese might not