Monday, September 30, 2019

Comparison Essay on “Dead Souls” and “Taras Bulba”

I. The great achievement of prose of the XIX century (from the 1840s to the 1890s) was Russian Realism, which is represented by many great Russian writers and Nikolai Gogol is not the last in this list. It is often mentioned that after 1830 Pushkin turned more and more to prose, although being the greatest poet of the time. However, the writer who established really innovating novelistic and narrative tradition in Russian literary culture was Gogol. Gogol's example, combined with the authoritative literary pronouncements of the greatest literary critic of the period, V. G. Belinsky, proved prose to be the literary medium of the future. Later, the great Russian novelist   (and not the worst philosopher of religious thought) Dostoevsky have said, referring to himself and his fellow Realists, â€Å"We have all come out from under Gogol's â€Å"Overcoat†Ã¢â‚¬  (meaning the famous story by Gogol, â€Å"Shynel† or Overcoat).Vladimir Nabokov highly esteemed Gogol as a grea t Russian (in no case Ukrainian, he is sure, in spite of the fact that Nikolaj Gogol-Ianovski originates from Ukraine, Mirgorod, and his world outlook is obviously marked by Ukrainian national tradition) novelist, dramatist, satirist, and founder of the so-called critical realism in Russian literature, best-known for his novel â€Å"Mertvye Dushy† (1842, Dead Souls). Praising the imaginative power and linguistic playfulness of the writer’s latest works (â€Å"Shynel† or Overcoat, â€Å"Mertvye Dushy† etc), Nabokov states that Gogol is everything but the romantic folklore novelist.Actually, there can be defined two main periods in Gogol’s writing: conservative romantic and vernacular idealism of the Ukrainian past (which we find in Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka and Taras Bulba) and the next evolutionary period of modernistic urban life reflection with all its psychological abnormality and deviations. If to believe Nabokov, in the mature age Gogol was ashamed of the playful artificialness of his early works; and as for the famous Russian critic, it is a dreadful nightmare even to imagine Gogol scribbling Ukrainian folkloristic novels volume by volume†¦ Had he chosen this path, the world would have never heard his name. So, let’s compare these two antagonistic periods of Gogol’s writing corresponding to the most vividly representative works of his: â€Å"Taras Bulba† and â€Å"Dead Souls†.II. Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, the book of Ukrainian folklore stories, which appeared in 1831-32, was Gogol's breakthrough work (Gogol had greatly admired Pushkin, and he used in this work the same narrative device as Pushkin did in his Tales of Belkin). It showed his skill in mixing fantastic and demonic ideas of his people with macabre, and at the same time he said something crucial about the Russian and Ukrainian (ignoring Nabokov’s imperialistic snobbism, it is important to mark Gogol’s Ukrainian roots) character.After failure as an assistant lecturer of world history at the University of St. Petersburg (1834-35), Gogol became a full-time writer. Under the title Mirgorod (1835) Gogol published a new collection of his stories, also inspired by Ukrainian vernacular culture, beginning with â€Å"Old-World Landowners†, which described the decay of the old way of life.The book also included the famous historical tale (poem in prose) â€Å"Taras Bulba†, which according to many literary critics showed the influence of W.Scott and L.Stern. However, it is rather ignorant not to take into account the original Ukrainian novelistic tradition, which is widely based on folklore (Gulak-Artemovski, Kvitka-Osnovjanenko and many other writers of Ukrainian romanticism are evidently folkloristic). The protagonist of â€Å"Taras Bulba† is a strong, heroic character, absolutely non-typical for Gogol’s later cavalcade of bureaucrats, lunatics, swindlers, and losers, numerously represented on the pages of â€Å"Dead Souls†.In 1569, dominion over the right-coast Ukraine passed to Poland.   The Polish lords (lyahy) promptly tried stamping out Ukrainian culture by savagely exploiting the peasantry, outlawing the Ukrainian language and imposing Catholicism (Unia) and Papal supremacy on the Orthodox population.   In response, Ukrainian male peasants flocked to join the military groups known as the Cossacks. They founded the Zaporizhian Sitch on the Hortycya Island.The Cossacks, essentially a wild cross between mercenary crusaders and highwaymen,  became the focus of resistance to the Poles, the Turks and the Crimean Tatars. Gogol’s novel tells the story of the old and wise warrior Taras Bulba who, with his sons Ostap and Andrij, sallies forth to join the Sitch. Gogol's incontestably romantic adventure was as much a propaganda piece for his own time as an elegy for a way of life that had passed.   In â€Å"Taras Bulbaâ⠂¬  we meet conservative Gogol, who has just arrived to Petersburg and is not yet sophisticated in the city life. He is shocked by the corruption and moral decay of the city dwellers. He craves for the Golden Age of his people’s history and this age, he thinks, was the glorious times of the Zaporizhian Sitch.â€Å"Taras Bulba† is a remarkable example of the early romantic Gogol (if to call Gogol the writer’s texts). However, this novel works on both levels (historical and pshycological, more typical for the later Gogol’s works) and is surely one of the most exciting masterpieces in world literature.  Set sometime between the mid-sixteenth and early-seventeenth century, Gogol’s epic tale recounts both a bloody Cossack revolt against the Poles (led by the bold Taras Bulba of Ukrainian folk mythology) and the trials of Taras Bulba’s two sons.As Robert Kaplan (translator) writes, â€Å"[Taras Bulba] has a Kiplingesque gusto . . . that makes it a pleasure to read, but central to its theme is an unredemptive, darkly evil violence that is far beyond anything that Kipling ever touched on. We need more works like Taras Bulba to better understand the emotional wellsprings of the threat we face today in places like the Middle East and Central Asia.† (Jane Grayson and Faith Wigzell; p.18). And the critic John Cournos has noted, â€Å"A clue to all Russian realism may be found in a Russian critic’s observation about Gogol: ‘Seldom has nature created a man so romantic in bent, yet so masterly in portraying all that is unromantic in life.’(The Rise of Prose: Nikolai Gogol).But this statement does not cover the whole ground, for it is easy to see in almost all of Gogol’s work his â€Å"free Cossack soul† trying to break through the wall of gloomy and non-heroic ‘today’ like some ancient demon, essentially Dionysian. So, through the years, this novel sounds at once as a reproach , a protest, and a challenge, ever calling for joy, ancient joy, that is no more with us. This wide interpretation lies far beyond previously often-uttered accusation of vernacular populist romanticism.Nikolai Gogol searched for the joy and sadness in the Ukrainian songs he loved so much. Ukrainian was to Gogol the language of the soul, and it was in Ukrainian songs rather than in old chronicles, of which he was not a little contemptuous, that he read the history of his people. So, here in this novel the writer’s intention is not the historical but rather the psychological picture of his people. Hence no one (even Nabokov) has the right to accuse Gogol of Ukrainian culture profanation as if following the modern literary trend of his time.Indeed, so great was his enthusiasm for his own land that after collecting material for many years, the year 1833 finds him at work on a history of ‘poor Ukraine’, a work planned to take up six volumes; and writing to a friend at this time he promises to say much in it that has not been said before him. However, Gogol never wrote either his history of Little Russia (Malorosiya) or his universal history, he didn’t become Ukrainian Balzac but is often called Ukrainian Goffman or Poe.Apart from several brief studies not always reliable, the result of his many years application to his scholarly projects was this brief epic in prose, Homeric in mood (The Rise of Prose: Nikolai Gogol). The sense of intense living, ‘living dangerously† – to cite Nietzsche – the recognition of courage as the greatest virtue, the God in man, inspired Gogol, living in times which tended toward grey monotony, with admiration for his more fortunate forefathers, who lived in a poetic time, when everything was won with the sword, when every one in his turn strove to be an active being and not a spectator. In â€Å"Taras Bulba† we find the people of action, and â€Å"Dead Souls† gives us the gallery of people of things.Russia! Russia! I see you now, from my wondrous, beautiful past I behold you! How wretched, dispersed and uncomfortable everything is about you†¦(Nikolai Gogol)III. Gogol began working on â€Å"Dead Souls† in 1835. The plot and the main idea of the story was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin who seemed to have understood Gogol as a writer quite well. Pushkin felt that the idea of a man travelling all over the Russian Impire buying up the ownership rights to serfs who had died (‘mertvye dushy’) would allow Gogol to make at once the literary success. In fact, it was an opportunity to introduce a multitude of characters, varied settings, mountains of detail, and the scope within which to be able to elaborate the anecdotal story of the work to his heart's content and to reveal all the sins of his contemporary. Gogol had big ideas of becoming a scriptor of his age a sort of Balzac†¦For the next six years, he devoted almost all of his creative energy to â€Å"Dead Souls†. His compulsive craftsmanship is evident in that the entire work was revised at least five times; the author stated that some passages had been rewritten as many as twenty times. He felt that this novel should be his best one.Unfortunately, only the first part of Dead Souls, twelve chapters in all, was completed by Gogol. The second part, as we know it, (some chapters of which are often published with the first part) is a recreation from various sources of what Gogol might have done with the continuation of his work. Influenced by the fanatical priest Father Konstantinovskii, he burned what he actually had already written for the second part of the novel just nine days before his death.The situation from which the novel develops is based upon a scheme which theoretically was possible in Gogol's day. The government had a policy of loaning money to landowners, feeling that this class was its strongest support. Lands owned, however, were meas ured not in acres, but by the number of â€Å"souls† (serfs, or here, mertvye dushy) residing on them. De facto, landowners were serf owners†¦ The government was ready to accept the land (that is, the serfs) of an individual as collateral for a loan. Thus, a method was required by which the holdings of an individual landowner could be established at any given time.This method stated that an individual possessed the number of ‘souls’ recorded as such that belong to him/her in the most recent population census. The census was taken every ten years, which meant that near the end of the ten-year cycle almost every landowner would have some serfs who were not recorded in the preceding census because they had recently been born, and some serfs still recorded even though they had died long ago since the last census. In â€Å"Dead Souls†, the main character, Chichikov, schemes to buy from the serf holders a number of those â€Å"souls† who had died but were still counted as living until the next census.An absurd situation becomes possible: dead souls are sold as being alive people, which ar estil able to work. â€Å"It's cheap at the price. A rogue would cheat you, sell you some worthless rubbish instead of souls, but mine are as juicy as ripe nuts, all picked – they are all either craftsmen or sturdy peasants†, – Sobakievich boasts to his weird buyer (Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich). Once Chichikov had a number of such souls, he would apply to the government bank for a loan, using the â€Å"souls† as his collateral.With this low-interest loan in hand he would then buy and work an actual country estate, eventually paying back the loan and purchasing living souls to work the land. Well, passing the whole plot, it is imporatnt to state Gogol’s idea of small marginal people actually decaying in their small towns and farms. The Russia of small towns is the country of odd and irreversibly narrow-minded p eople. What Gogol proves is that these small landowners are actually dead†¦ They have burried themselves alive in their dirty stinking flea-bitten houses.Contrudicting the wide-sprea yet contested idea of Gogol’s evolution as a writer, it is possible to say that either completing histoical heroic plot or conveying contemporary decayed society, Gogol’s intention stays the same – to show the depth of a human soul and how this soul can be filled with live brightness of heroism or by dead wickedness and miserable oddity. Bibliography Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich. Taras Bulba and Other Tales. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library// http://web.archive.org/web/20080517101149/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/GogTara.htmlNikolay Gogol: Text and Context, ed. by Jane Grayson and Faith Wigzell (1989).N. V. Nabokov: Nicolai Gogol, 1944.The Rise of Prose: Nikolai Gogol// http://lol-russ.umn.edu/hpgary/Russ3421/lesson6.htm

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Brain Stimulation

The primary aim of this study was to determine the extent to which human MT+/ V5, an extrastriate visual area known to mediate motion processing, is involved in visuomotor coordination. To pursue this, the excitability of MT+/ V5, primary motor, and primary visual cortex was increased or decreased by the application of seven minutes of anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in healthy human subjects while they were performing a visuomotor tracking task involving hand movements.The percentage of correct tracking movements increased specifically during and immediately after cathodal stimulation, which decreases cortical excitability, only when V5 was stimulated. None of the other stimulation conditions affected visuomotor performance. The researchers propose that the improvement in performance caused by cathodal tDCS of V5 is due to a focusing effect on the complex motion perception conditions involved in this task.This hypothesis was proven by additional ex periments: When testing simple and complex motion perception in dot kinetograms, it was found that a diminution in excitability induced by cathodal stimulation improved the subject’s perception of the direction of the coherent motion only if this was presented among random dots (complex motion perception), and worsened it if only one motion direction was presented (simple movement perception). The data suggest that area V5 is critically involved in complex motion perception and identification processes important for visuomotor coordination.The results also raise the possibility of the usefulness of tDCS in rehabilitation strategies for neurological patients with visuomotor disorders. Article 2 Environmental stimulation, parental nurturance and cognitive development in humans Martha J. Farah, Laura Betancourt, David M. Shera, Jessica H. Savage, Joan M. Giannetta, Nancy L. Brodsky, Elsa K. Malmud and Hallam Hurt 1. Department of Psychology and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, USA 2. Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics,Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, USA 3. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA Developmental Science 11:5 (2008), pp 793-801 The effects of environmental stimulation and parental nurturance on brain development have been studied extensively in animals. Much less is known about the relations between childhood experience and cognitive development in humans.Using a longitudinally collected data set with ecologically valid in-home measures of childhood experience and later in-laboratory behavioral measures of cognitive ability, the researchers were able to test hypotheses concerning the effects of environmental stimulation and parental nurturance. A double dissociation was found: On one hand, there was a selective relation between parental nurturance and memory development, consistent with the animal literature on maternal buffering of stress hormone effects on hippocampus development.On the other hand, there was a selective relation between environmental stimulation and language development. The results primarily suggest that the same general dimensions of early life experience identified as important in animal studies of brain development are also important for humans. In particular, the relation between the composites measuring parental nurturance and later memory ability, which have no common-sense connection, is consistent with studies of experience and brain development in animals. The present findings thus provide an important bridge between the study of neurocognitive development in animals and humans.Secondarily, variation in the childhood experience of healthy humans bears a systematic relationship to cognitive development, and this relationship is more selective and specific than simply better environments predicting better development. Memory development is predicted by parental nurturance but not environmental stimulation, whereas language development is predicted by environmental stimulation, but not parental nurturance. Finally, these effects represent a possible mechanism by which socioeconomic status is associated with intellectual attainment. Article 3 MEG Study of Short-Term Plasticity Following MultipleDigit Frequency Discrimination Training in Humans Lichan Liu and Andreas A. Ioannides Laboratory for Human Brain Dynamics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wakoshi, Saitama, Japan. Brain Topography, Volume 16, Number 4, Summer 2004 The researchers trained four right-handed male subjects to detect small changes in the frequency of 21 Hz electrical stimulation applied to digits 2+3+4 of the right hand for four hours. Before and after the training, magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals were recorded whe n the stimulation was applied to digit 2-5 separately using a whole-head MEG system.Tomographic analysis was applied to the MEG data to track the evolution of activity over the entire brain every 1. 6 ms and evaluated the change for each digit before and after the training. In summary: (1) subjects improved in discrimination performance with training; (2) activations were identified in the left primary somatosensory (L-SI) and medial parietal precuneus (PCu) areas, but no systematic changes were observed in location and strength of activation of these two areas; (3) after training in L-SI, the 21Hzspectral power increasedfor digits 3 and 4 over the stimulation period, while the 10 Hz spectral power increased for digit 3 around stimulus onset and offset; (4) only digit 3 showed significant change of correlation between L-SI and PCu areas around the stimulus onset and offset, coincident with the increased 10 Hz spectral power. The results suggest that short-term plasticity is associat ed with changes in timing and interaction between cortical areas. DiscussionThe main finding of the first study is that cathodal tDCS applied to the left V5 improved performance in a visuomotor coordination task that encompassed both dynamic, high-resolution perception and selection of motion predetermined by a moving target. Stimulation of the primary visual cortex and the left motor cortex did not result in significant changes in performance, nor were the reaction times in the random dot kinetogram task significantly affected. These results suggest that tDCS indeed modified visual motion perception and motor performance.Common sense says that childhood experience affects cognitive development. Yet common sense does not say which psychological or brain functions will be affected by experience, or which specific aspects of childhood experience will exert an effect. The second study attempts to address these issues empirically with a unique longitudinally collected data set including ecologically valid in-home measures of early childhood experience and later laboratory measures of cognitive function. The effects found were strikingly selective and, in addition to their statistical significance, were substantial in size.In the third study, functional rather than anatomical short-term plastic changes in the brain induced by the frequency discrimination task were identified. After training, no new activated areas or expansion of activated areas or systematic increases in activation strength in any one specific area were observed. Instead, increased spectral power around 21 Hz in L-SI for both trained digits 3 and 4 for all 4 subjects was observed. Furthermore, for digit 3, increased spectrum power at 10 Hz in L-SI for all 4 subjects between map I and II around thestimulus onset and offset was observed. Conclusion After analyzing the above three methods of brain stimulation, one can come to the conclusion that the first study was found to have the maximum results i n term of invoking activity of the stimulated areas. The study stands out among the other two not just for its methodology, but also for its high reliability and accuracy. Hence, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be considered to be the best method of brain stimulation.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Pride and Prejudice: Literary Criticism

When asking typical child who their hero or heroine is, a common answer would be Superman, Batman, or Cat Woman. To these kids, a hero is defined as someone with extraordinary physical strength and the bravery to fight any villain, such as the Joker, without any personal benefit or reward. Although their view of a hero is very childish and uninformed, they are in a way correct. Although a hero may not always need to physically battle villains, they must have emotional strength, bravery, and perseverance to overcome whatever troubles their respective villain brings forward. In the novel, Pride and Prejudice, author Jane Austen portrays her view of heroes, heroines, and villains in a satirically love story. Andrew H. Wright has written a literary criticism essay, titled â€Å"Heroines, Heroes, and Villains in Pride and Prejudice†, in which he states his opinion of Austen’s purpose. Although critic Andrew H. Wright states that some people are simply destined to be heroes, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen features characters that are capable of overcoming their own weaknesses that rise as heroes due to their own perseverance and those who interfere with a potential-hero’s progress become villains. Although Andrew H. Wright dismisses this key point Austen makes, Pride and Prejudice introduces characters that are able to overcome their own flaws that rise as heroes. First off, Wright states how he believes Elizabeth to be the heroine of the story. In the first paragraph he quickly states: â€Å"Elizabeth is definitely the heroine: not only does she explicitly represent one of the words of the title of the story; she quite thoroughly dominates the action† (Wright 97). Wright misinterprets the reason that Elizabeth is a heroine. It’s true that Elizabeth dominates the action throughout, though that is only a result of being the main character. By no means is her development as a character influenced by the number of mentions she receives in the novel. On another note, Wright is incorrect in saying that Elizabeth only represents one of the words of the title of the story, as Austen intends her to represent both. An example of this occurs when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth: â€Å"Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond impression†¦he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority-of its being a degradation-of the family obstacles† (Austen 185). This quote is a rime example of how many interpret the title of Pride and Prejudice, believing that Darcy is intended to be the â€Å"pride† and Elizabeth is intended to be the â€Å"prejudice†. In actuality, both characters exhibit both of the traits. In observing Darcy’s excessive pride, Elizabeth is very prejudiced. In disgust with Darcy’s proposal, Elizabeth goes onto say that: â€Å"From the very beginning, from the very first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others† (Austen 188). Elizabeth’s nasty comment about Darcy confirms that she, before even getting to know Mr. Darcy, deems him as snobbish, showing her prejudice. Darcy is very prejudiced in making judgments on Elizabeth based on her family and wealth. An example of Darcy’s prejudice occurs when Elizabeth rejects his first proposal: â€Å"I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success† (Austen 187). Darcy believes that by separating Mr. Bingley from Jane, he is doing what is best for his friend. It should not be Darcy’s concern to be involved in his friend’s relationship, and Mr. Bingley should know what is best for himself. Wright is misguided in saying that Elizabeth only represents only one of the words in the title, thus making her the heroine, when Darcy and Elizabeth represent both these characteristics. Elizabeth ultimately overcomes her own flaws and is able to be happily with Darcy, yet she first had to deal with villainous characters. The villains in Pride and Prejudice disrupt a potential-hero’s progress, yet this is misinterpreted by Wright. Once again, Andrew H. Wright understands what the basic theme Jane Austen intends to share, but he misunderstands the reason why it is true. In his critical essay, Wright discusses: â€Å"George Wickham is at once the most plausible and the most villainous of Jane Austen’s anti-heroes: he is handsome, persuasive, personable† (Wright 108). Indeed, this is all true, yet not once does Wright mention why Wickham is a villain, other than the fact that Elizabeth was attracted to him. Wright ignores the fact that Wickham is a sick man because of what happened with Darcy’s sister. In the novel, Darcy reveals to Elizabeth in his letter: â€Å"Mr. Wickham's chief object was unquestionably my sister's fortune, which is thirty thousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement† (Austen 196). Without a doubt, Wickham interferes with Elizabeth’s marriage with Mr. Darcy to entertain himself and bother Darcy. Elizabeth’s chances of realizing her inevitable love for Darcy are this delayed. It is important to note that perhaps Elizabeth expresses feelings at first for Wickham’s character, described a handsome and personable, because of her prejudice. At Meryton, Elizabeth first observes Wickham as beyond all the other officers â€Å"in person, countenance, air, and walk† (Austen 75). Elizabeth notices him to be different from the other officers, and associates him positively because he is an officer. Wickham’s irresistible characteristics attract Elizabeth away from Darcy because her prejudice forces her to dismiss any chance at him being flawed upon first meeting him. The final reason Wickham is a villainous character is because of his elopement with Lydia, leading to a misunderstanding between Elizabeth and Darcy. As Elizabeth tells Darcy of her discovery of Wickham and Lydia’s elopement, Darcy begins â€Å"walking up and down the room in earnest meditation; his brow contracted, his air gloomy. Elizabeth soon observed and instantly understood it. Her power was sinking; every thing must sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace. (Austen 264). Elizabeth greatly misunderstands this situation thinking that Darcy leaves because he no longer wants to be connected with the family’s suddenly poor social status. In actuality, Darcy is going to London to fix the situation for the Bennet family. Due to this misunderstanding, Elizabeth assumes that Darcy is no longer interested in her. Wickham’s villainous act of running off with Lydia causes great trouble for Elizabeth, separating her from Da rcy and causing great worry about her social status. Wright only acknowledges Wickham’s villainy for being attractive and simply another relationship for Elizabeth, and not for one which interrupts her inevitable relationship with Darcy. As shown in Pride and Prejudice villains are a blocking force of a potential-hero’s progress. Even though critic Andrew H. Wright believes that some people are simply destined to be heroes, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen features characters that are capable of overcoming their own weaknesses that rise as heroes due to their own perseverance and those who interfere with a otential-hero’s progress become villains. Elizabeth Bennet outlines Austen’s definition of a hero, as Wickham does as a villain. Through the tough times brought upon her by villains, and her own weaknesses which she must overcome, Elizabeth becomes Austen’s definition of a hero by overcoming her weaknesses. Her prejudice and excessive pride are the qualities which lead her to trouble and confusion in her relationship with Darcy. It is clear why Austen first titled the novel First Impressions, because as this story’s heroine learns, they can be quite deceiving.

Friday, September 27, 2019

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business IP Week 5 Essay - 1

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business IP Week 5 - Essay Example es the environmental regulations as well as wages and working-hour legislation that exist in Malaysia and Singapore, two of the well known East Asian countries. To ensure harmony in the Malaysia industrial sector, the government has allocated the administration of the labor laws to the Department of labor. Based on the high demand for employment in Malaysia, adequate labor laws have been enacted to stimulate the minimum requirements that are needed in all types of employment that exist in the country. One of the notable legislations that have been established by the Malaysia government is the Employment Act of 1955. This law applies not only to manual laborers regardless of their salaries but also to all workers in Peninsular Malaysia whose monthly salaries is not more than RM1, 500 (Malaysia Labor Standards, 2012). Some of the major obligation of an employer under the Employment Act 1955 is that all the employees must be provided with a written contract that depicts the terms and conditions of their employment. Additionally, the law provides normal hours of work as well as the rate of hourly payment for overtimes and extra work. Employees provident Fund Act of 1991 is another key legal aspect that stipulates mandatory contribution for all employees working in Malaysia. According to this law, employees below the ages of 55 years earning more than RM5, 000 should contribute a minimum of 11% of their monthly wages to Employees Provident Fund (EPF). On the other hand, the employer should contribute a minimum of 12% of the employee’s wages to the Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia Labor Standards, 2012). Malaysia environmental regulation is sufficient. Based on the large number of legislations passed by the law making body, the country has addressed large number of issues that does not affect the local companies but also foreign firms. For example, the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1952 imposes obligation on the employers to insure their employees. In the same

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Rembrandts Work in the Light of Contemporary Artists Case Study

Rembrandts Work in the Light of Contemporary Artists - Case Study Example Many contemporary writers have written on Rembrandt; however, Gary Schwartz’s work stands out. The Rembrandt Book, which was published in honour of the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, the book gives the reader an opportunity to comprehend his life as it was. One familiarizes themselves through the book with Rembrandt’s family, friends, patrons, and European civilization and present day culture. Each chapter of the book allows one to have a sneak peek into Rembrandt’s creative thought process. Gary Schwartz has used contemporary sources to assimilate information in the book on Rembrandt. Rembrandt received a thorough grounding in classical and biblical studies. In 1629, Rembrandt painted a self-portrait which is regarded as first of the many that would follow. Rembrandt’s life wasn’t devoid of difficulties and problems. In fact, he led a plain tans life for the longest time. In spite of getting married by 1634, he had an illegitimate d aughter, Cornelia. Eventually, when Rembrandt is reported to be in deep financial trouble and declared him as an insolvent in 1656, the authorities in Amsterdam compiled a minutely detailed inventory of his possessions. Many documents were compiled out of which, one document is said to state the providence of a list with two plaster casts of children, one plaster head, five works by other artists and four of his own paintings and one shoe. Rembrandt led an extremely colourful life rich with drama and suspense and thrilling in its own right.

Freedom of speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Freedom of speech - Essay Example Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is one of the most valued rights of every citizen in the world. The following types of speech are not protected under the First Amendment: those that damage the reputation of another, those that stimulate illegal action, those directed to another person and would inflict injury or a fight and those that are found obscene according to the Miller test. In Miller vs. California, the court gave three points to use on deciding whether something could be described as obscene. These points were applied in the two cases which are the subjects of this paper. Both courts found that the first and second parts of the Miller test were fulfilled. As what had been stated in Skywalker vs. Navarro, Florida laws are very specific on what it considers as obscene. Although this writer agrees with Luke Records that since the judge referred to Florida’s criminal law description as to what is obscene proof beyond reasonable doubt, a requisite in a criminal case, should be presented , the writer also understands the first court’s opinion that the proceeding is not a criminal one and as such aspects of a criminal case is not necessary. The court only needs to review if the material meets Florida laws, as identified in the Miller test. This writer also agrees with the appellate court that the judge’s background in relation to the community referred to in the case is enough to satisfy the first part of the Miller test.... Lastly, as stated earlier, this writer is of the mind that the first court was correct in finding the material, as a whole, lacking of artistic value. True, the music is of hip-hop and rap, two of the most influential and popular kinds of music of the current generation. However, the object of the case in Skywalker vs. Navarro was not the music was a whole but the lyrics or the words in the songs as a whole. As such, â€Å"work, taken as a whole,† as stated in part three of the Miller test should be associated with only the entire lyrics found in As Nasty As They Can Be and not the songs which denotes music combined with lyrics. This writer believes that the appellants knew their album would be tagged as obscene because of the words that can be found there which is why they spent time and money recording and coming out with a â€Å"clean† version and even put a clear warning on the album. The only notable difference between the â€Å"clean† version and the versio n in question were the lyrics, which was really the main focus of the first case. The appellants’ witness who testified about the lyrics claimed that these are examples of musical and literary conventions even. This may be so. Nevertheless, this writer believes that given that because the appellants actually invested on creating a more wholesome version of the album in question, they are only using the First Amendment to protect themselves from further losing on the income they could still get from the album, which had already earned four times more than the album’s cleaner version. Works Cited: Luke Records, Inc. V. Navarro. 960 F. 2d. 134. United States Court of Appeals, 1992. Web. 23 November 2012. Skywalker Records, Inc. v. Navarro. 738

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Discuss the role of testing of employees as it relates to the Essay

Discuss the role of testing of employees as it relates to the selection process. Summarize your findings - Essay Example This paper looks at the various roles played by employee testing which relates to the selection process. The testing and selection processes in an organization are tedious and demanding. Moreover, they are associated with increased levels of managerial involvement and commitment. Despite the challenges involved with the processes, organizations have nothing to lose. Instead, employee testing and selection helps organizations maximize on their output and quality of its operations. This is because organizations place the right people to do the right job. Among the essential characteristics of the right person for a job description, include the best academic qualifications, high integrity, the best skills, knowledge and creativity. According to McTague (2001), the testing process establishes the skills, expertise, knowledge creativity and capabilities of a potential employee of an organization. Testing process comes after the employees have undergone preliminary interviewing process. Af ter the preliminary interviews and actual employee selection take place, qualifying candidates undertake tests that take different forms. Testing takes place before the actual hiring of employees to ensure that the right qualities meet the requirements by the organization. The increased dynamics in the business environment caused by increased levels of globalization has increasingly changed the manner in which businesses carry out their business. Service industry is the most affected as the demand for integrity and high morals among the employees has taken centre stage. Even the manufacturing industry has taken suit in employee testing. Competition for market shares and high sales levels necessitates the need for quality products, which is only achievable with highly qualified employees placed on the right jobs. Various activities take place during the testing process. Integrity tests involve running drug tests on employees to ensure that employees hired are drug free especially for the service delivery organizations such as insurance companies and banks. People working in the manufacturing industry need to be sober, as working with machines require increased levels of concentration. Arthur (2012) advises that a mistake at any stage in the production process affect the product. Employees who are constant drug users or addicts are prone to accidents, which occur as they work with different machines. A person who is under the influence of stimulant drugs is subconscious and thus, the likelihood of injury is higher than that of sober people. While this affects the total output by employees as injured employees go through medication, low quality products are less competitive in the market. Thus, drug testing has numerous benefits to an organization. Testing process also saves organizations the problems associated with absenteeism and high employee turnover. Psychological testing of employees helps determine if the career paths chosen were in line with their intere sts or whether it was an option presented to them (Collings & Wood, 2009). People who follow their desired career paths are more enthusiastic in carrying out their duties despite the levels of challenge that they are likely to face. Insurance and marketing are job descriptions requiring high levels of commitment and

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Finance research project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Finance project - Research Paper Example To do the analysis about the current situation of the company a ratio analysis has been performed over the 3 years financial data of the companies. The various ratios that have been calculated are Profitability Ratios, Asset utilization Ratios, Liquidity (Solvency) Ratios, Debt Utilization Ratios and Market Value Ratios. We shall now discuss the various ratios in detail. These are the ratios which show the ability of a firm to earn profits (Profitability Ratios, 2010). It helps to calculate the profit earning capability of a company with respect to the sales, assets and other such expenses. The various ratios under this are: This calculates the amount of earnings for a company from every dollar of sales (Peaveler, 2010). This is calculated as net profit divided by the revenue or sales (Profitability Ratios, 2010). The higher the profit margin the better the company and its operations (Profitability Ratios, 2010). This ratio basically calculates the efficiency with which a firm uses its fixed assets to generate profits (Peaveler, 2010). This can be calculated by dividing the net profit by the total amount of fixed assets (Peaveler, 2010). The higher the ROA the better the company and its management are (Profitability Ratios, 2010). This ratio calculates the profit that a company is earning over the investment of shareholders (Peaveler, 2010). This can be calculated by dividing the net profit by the total shareholders equity of the firm (Peaveler, 2010). The higher the ROE the better the company is (Profitability Ratios, 2010). These ratios tell the management how well they have been using their assets to generate sales (NIMS, 2010). They give valuable insight about the internal operations of the firm and thus the management could take the required steps to improve the same. The various ratios have been discussed hereunder: This ratio indicates as

Monday, September 23, 2019

Transformer Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Transformer Assignment - Essay Example A simple way to remember it is the Left Hand Thumb rule. If we grasp the conductor in our left hand with our thumb extended in the direction of current (from –ve to +ve), our finger will point in the direction of magnetic lines of forces. When two or more current carrying conductors are placed parallel to each other in a way that the direction of current is the same in all of them, as shown in Figure 2, then the magnetic lines of forces aid each other to combine and strengthen the magnetic field further. If the two conductors so placed have current flowing in opposite direction then the magnetic lines oppose each other to deform and weaken the magnetic field. The magnetic field around the conductor exists at points along the length of the conductor. When the conductor is wound in the shape of a coil, as in Figure 3, then magnetic field around each turn of the coil is aided and strengthened by the fields of adjacent turns in the coil. The resultant is a magnetic field resembling a bar magnet with one end as North and the other as South of the magnet. When the direction of current is reversed it causes the direction of magnetic field to be reversed. If we grasp the coil with our left hand with our fingers pointing in the direction of current, as in Figure 4, the thumb will point in the direction of magnetic field. Conversely, to what we have discussed till now, if a conductor is placed in a magnetic field and there is a relative movement between the field and the conductor, an electromotive force (emf) is induced in the conductor. This effect is called electromagnetic induction. Both of these phenomenons, of creating a magnetic field and then utilizing electromagnetic induction form the basis of transformers. At one end alternating current (AC) is passed through a coil, this gives rise to a magnetic field which spreads out and subsides with the same frequency as of the AC applied. This changing magnetic field in fact is a replacement to moving

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Physical Security Principles Essay Example for Free

Physical Security Principles Essay Safety in numbers has always been a deterrent method when leaving or traveling through places that are not safe. But without proper physical security measures set in place when leaving any facility or building the need for a crowd will be of no use. Proper physical security requires accessing the risk that may cause threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks when certain principles are not implemented. Physical security also refers to tangible impediments to attack or unauthorized entry. Safety involves having the building, grounds, access to and from the parking area, and other hidden locations secure by lighting, monitoring, and physical patrol. Physical security should include the inside of the building as well as the outside and adjoining perimeter. Building Security There can never be too much security for a business, corporation, school, or home owner. The threat of an individual causing bodily harm or taking personal belongings without permission are very high if proper equipment and safety precautions are not taken. Proper lighting and cameras should accommodate buildings for the safety and protection of employees, staff, and students. Securing the facility and the type of risk that is ssociated with each building will need analyzing and assessed for protection. Each facility is different when providing security for their site. Federal buildings will not require the same type of protection as a bakery. Security for Building Occupants and Assets (2009) states â€Å" that it may require addressing certain situations such as unauthorized entry/trespass (forced and covert), insider threats, explosive threats, stationary and moving vehicle-delivered, mail bombs, package bombs ballistic threats, small arms, high-powered rifles, drive-by shootings, etc. weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, and radiological) disruptive threats (hoaxes, false reports, malicious attempts to disrupt operations) cyber and information security threats† (WBDG, 09). Each business building structure will determine the basic requirements for securing the safety and well being of staff and personnel. One size do not fit all but according to Katz and Capsi, 2003, states â€Å" Prior to running out and ordering millions of dollars of protective equipment, professionals should evaluate the overall security of your facility and a detailed report of the results should be prepared†. Ground Security Another key issue that complements the safety of any building is the lighting of that building. Lighting inside and outside of a building can help deter physical mishaps and attacks The lighting should be situated at every entry and exit and also throughout the building and also positioned correctly for better angles and views of open areas and spaces. Perimeter security lighting should also be available for long corridors and parking garages. Correct lighting in these places can give patrons a better visual of their surroundings and also allow them to see what may be obstructing their path. Having proper lighting and cameras may not be enough to keep out unwanted activity. Employing trained security professionals to patrol the facilities can add to deterring criminals. Hired security guards by a reputable company can add to the buildings safety and that of the patrons coming and going. How likely a crime target any specific building is, depends on the perceived gain to the perpetrator, balanced against his perceived risk of apprehension or defeat (Witherspoon, 2002). The presence of a trained guard can limit the amount of loitering or negative behavior outside and offer a feeling of safety to staff and employees who are ntering or leaving the building. Technology Advancement Physical security for any facility is a major factor for keeping safe and having modern technology on site is a greater addition. Protecting the facilities assets requires the company to stay ahead with modern day upgrades and devices for ensuring that whatever or whomever is gaining access to the property is suppose to be there. Monitoring the individuals who enter through facility access control and perimeter fences or installing video and closed circuit television surveillance can eliminate trespassers and those with no prior business on the property. Personal identification systems can also be established that use fingerprints and biometrics to gain access into any facility for staff and personnel. The amount of technology to use for physical security is unlimited depending on the facility and what needs protecting. Conclusion Physical security involves many components such as location, configuration, size, shape, and many other vital attributes that comes with a standing structure. Keeping people safe on the inside as well as those on the outside requires security principles that go beyond what just the normal eye can see. Applying the correct physical equipment to lower the risk of unwanted behaviors and attacks depends on how well the perimeter is guarded. Advanced technology including cameras and monitoring systems add to the insurance of physical security and if used properly can lower the possibility of threats. There is never an answer for what system works best but using a variety of methods is sure to make leaving work a little safer.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Composition and Structure of Long Bone and Skeleton Function

Composition and Structure of Long Bone and Skeleton Function The composition of bone, the structure of the long bone and the function of the skeleton Composition of bone Bone itself consists mainly of collagen fibres and an inorganic bone mineral in the form of small crystals (University of Cambridge 2005). Bones are living tissue which is made up of connective tissue. The bone tissue is made up of several types of bone cells such as osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts are needed to aid the process of healing and osteoclasts are needed to break down old bone to make room for new bone. Bones contain phosphorus and calcium which are inorganic salts; these salts give the bone strength. The bone also has collagenous fibers to give the bone flexibility. Structure of the long bone The long bone consists of hyaline cartilage which covers the ends of the bone and stops them rubbing together as well as absorbing shock. The head of the long bone is called epiphysis. Compact bone is hard, dense bone and is the outer layer of the long bone, this gives the hallow part of the bone strength. Cancellous bone is the spongey bone in the long bone, which stores the red bone marrow and this is where blood cells are made. The yellow bone marrow is stored in the marrow cavity of the long bone and this is where white blood cells are made. Cancellous bone looks like honey comb as it is very porous and is easily recognised. The epiphyseal plate is where the bones grow in length. The shaft in the long bone itself is called the diaphysis. The periosteum is a protective layer on the long bone that has no cartilage; this is where the tendons and ligaments connect to (Curran 2016). Below is a picture of the structure of the long bone (LinkedIn Corporation 2017). Functions of the skeleton The functions of the skeleton include protection, movement, formation of blood cells and storage. Protection: Vital organs such as the heart and lungs are protected by the skeleton, the heart and lungs are protected by the sternum (breast bone) and the enclosure of the rib cage. The brain is also protected by the cranium (skull). Movement: Bones and muscles work together to produce body movement as a lever. Bones and muscles form joints which are needed to move. Formation of blood cells: This process is called haematopoiesis where blood cells are produced in the bone marrow of some bones. Storage: Bones store minerals such as calcium and phosphorus which are inorganic salts needed for the strength of bones. These materials are stored in the bones when there is too much present in the blood (Curran 2016). Types of joints and their functions There are three different types of joints; Fibrous joints, cartilaginous joints and synovial joints. Their main function is movement of the limbs and stability for example the stability found in the bones of the skull (Boundless 2016). Fibrous Joints Fibrous joints are immoveable i.e. they cannot move. These joints are held together with only a ligament. An example of this type of joint would be the cranium.   (Google Images 2017) Cartilaginous Joints Cartilaginous joints are partly moveable and the connection between articulating bones is made up of cartilage. An example of this type of joint is between the vertebrae that form the spine. The arrow in the below picture indicates where the cartilage is in the spine. (Google Images 2017) Synovial Joints Synovial joints are freely moveable and are the most known and common type of joints in the body. These joints have a synovial capsule surrounding the joint and the synovial membrane secretes synovial fluid to provide lubrication to the joint which prevents friction allows for more movement. Cartilage provides padding to each end of the bone. There are six types of synovial joints; hinge, pivot, ball socket, saddle, condyloid and gliding joints. Examples of synovial joints would be elbows, knees and hips (Boundless 2016).   Ã‚   (Google Images 2017)

Friday, September 20, 2019

Is Stereotyping Contagious? Essay -- essays research papers fc

Is Stereotyping Contagious? "Recent research indicates that the gap between male and female students' mathematics achievement is gradually beginning to diminish (Gutbezahl, 1995); however, female students are still underrepresented in advanced mathematics classes as well as in careers involving mathematics (Kerr,1994; Stage & Maple, 1996)" (Drzewiecki and Westberg 1). This should concern society including parents, teachers, and students. Carmen Keller is one that has explored the topic of a male driven mathematical field. The goal in her article, " Effect of Teachers' Stereotyping on Students' Stereotyping of Mathematics as a Male Domain" is to discover and prove one aspect to this male domain. This being, students of teachers who tend to stereotype mathematics also tend to stereotype mathematics. Throughout the entire article, Keller supports her thesis very well. The data she uncovers and develops is reliable, because she considers and eliminates features that could possibly factor into her research. She controls external and internal influences such as: school grade, school track, previous achievement; and interest and self-confidence, respectively. Great research data and analysis helps the reader feel supported and the logical information helps connect society and sciences. The following information is a summary of the data and interpretations provided in Carmen Keller's article found in The Journal of Social Psychology. Keller examines an internal influence that effects education, students' perception of mathematics as a male domain. With support of other research she provides, in short, the students' beliefs and their performance are correlated. Meaning that when comparing graphs of student beliefs on gender success in mathematics and actual success, the graphs follow a similar pattern. Through personal experience, I have found this to be true. Students that have positive views about a particular subject tend to be more interested, thus performing better. This also works on the other end of the spectrum. Negative views deem less effort, which produces results below possible accomplishment. The student is not all at fault for these beliefs; they are influence by an outside source in some way. Whether this outside influence is a fellow student, parents, siblings or teachers I feel I still need some more proof. Keller is tryi... ...nces that she did not control. Carmen Keller's article was very informative. Some of the data may have been slightly complicated for an average consumer, not educated in statistics. I have always questioned why I have found more males in my math classes throughout my education and while researching my possible mathematical careers. Now, after reading Keller's article, I have more of an understanding about one of the contributing factors found in the gender-divided mathematical field. Works Cited Drzewiecki, L. and Westberg, K. "Gender Differences in High School Students' Attitudes Toward Mathematics in Traditional Versus Cooperative Groups." The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. 1997, Spring Newsletter. Gutbezahl, J. "How Negative Expectancies and Attitudes Undermine Females' Math Confidence and Performance: A Review of the Literature." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 380 279. 1995. Kerr, B., "Smart girls too." Ohio Psychological Press 1994. Stage, F. K., and Maple, S. A., "Incompatible Goals: Narratives of Graduate Women in the Mathematics Pipeline." American Educational Research Journal (1996): 33, 23-51.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Exploring the Theme of Love in Sonnets 57 and 58 Essay -- Shakespeare’

Shakespeare’s sonnets are numbered in a sequential order and adjacent sonnets often have similar content. Throughout Shakespeare’s sonnets, he covers many subjects, such as interest in the life of a young man, his love for a young man, and his love for a dark haired woman. In sonnets 57 and 58, Shakespeare discusses how love is like slavery in its different manifestations. The object of the narrator’s love has a dominating power over the narrator, which controls him and guides his actions. Shakespeare shows in sonnets 57 and 58 that love can be displayed by using many different routes such as viewing love as a controlling force, exploring the theme of time and waiting in regards to love, and the question of the physical state of being of love. Throughout both sonnets there is a sense that the narrator has resigned himself to the slavery of love. In sonnet 57, the narrator asserts in the first two lines that all he (we will assume the narrator is a "he") can do is wait until the lover needs something. This blind devotion to the lover seems to come without any reservations on behalf of the narrator and seems to be a natural inclination to give of one’s self whole-heartedly and unconditionally ("unconditional love"). In sonnet 58, line 13, "though waiting so be hell" shows the pain that the narrator is going through while he is waiting on the lover. In sonnet 58, line five, "let me suffer, being at your beck" again constitutes this devotion of the narrator to the recipient of the love without any reservations. The narrator is willingly accepting suffering, hell, and sadness, as seen in the phrase "sad slave" (sonnet 57, line 11), in order to be a slave to love. This devotion to loving servitude is admirable and the bon d formed... ... that love thinks no ill. Shakespeare uses many different methods of discourse to examine this theme of love. In both sonnets the lover is exerting his control over the narrator, but the narrator does not really mind being controlled in either sonnet. Both sonnets include many elements and references to time and waiting and all of these references relate to love by showing love’s long lifespan and varying strengths over time. The only major difference between the two sonnets lies in their addressing love. Sonnet 57 talks directly to it in a personifying manner, whereas sonnet 58 merely refers to it through other means. Through this variety of explorations of the theme of love, Shakespeare shows that love has many faces and ways of expressing itself. Â   Works Cited McCurry, Justin. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Shakespeare’s Sonnets 57 and 58.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Agrarian Discontent In The Late 1800s :: essays research papers

"Why the Farmers Were Wrong" The period between 1880 and 1900 was a boom time for American politics. The country was for once free of the threat of war, and many of its citizens were living comfortably. However, as these two decades went by, the American farmer found it harder and harder to live comfortably. Crops such as cotton and wheat, once the bulwark of agriculture, were selling at prices so low that it was nearly impossible for farmers to make a profit off them. Furthermore, improvement in transportation allowed foreign competition to materialize, making it harder for American farmers to dispose of surplus crop. Finally, years of drought in the midwest and the downward spiral of business in the 1890's devastated many of the nation's farmers. As a result of the agricultural depression, many farm groups, most notably the Populist Party, arose to fight what farmers saw as the reasons for the decline in agriculture. During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century, many farmers in the United States saw monopolies and trusts, railroads, and money shortages and the demonetization of silver as threats to their way of life, though in many cases their complaints were not valid. The growth of the railroad was one of the most significant elements in American economic growth. However, in many ways, the railroads hurt small shippers and farmers. Extreme competition between rail companies necessitated some way to win business. To do this, many railroads offered rebates and drawbacks to larger shippers who used their rails. However, this practice hurt smaller shippers, including farmers, for often times railroad companies would charge more to ship products short distances than they would for long trips. The rail companies justified this practice by asserting that if they did not rebate, they would not make enough profit to stay in business. In his testimony to the Senate Cullom Committee, George W. Parker stated, "...the operating expense of this road...requires a certain volume of business to meet these fixed expenses....in some seasons of the year, the local business of the road...is not sufficient to make the earnings...when we make up a train of ten of fifteen cars of local freight...we can attach fifteen or twenty cars...of strictly through business. We can take the latter at a very low rate than go without it." Later, when asked the consequences of charging local traffic the same rate as through freight, Mr.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Oryx and Crake Essay

Throughout the book we learn through flashbacks that Snowman was once jimmy, a young boy who was very different from Snowman. He was changed into the extremely depressed, negative, and socially lacking individual by certain hardships that occurred over his life time. He was abandoned by his parents, Lacked a social life, and his skills were grossly over looked in his society. All making Jimmy feel worthless and pointless spiraling him into the extreme state of depression that currently overtakes him as Snowman. All throughout Jimmy’s childhood there was an extreme lack of affection displayed. He eventually became completely abandoned by his mother and father. His mother with her running away and his father with marring Ramona and attempting to start a new family without him leaving him feeling alone and unwanted. â€Å"Things had changed a lot in the field since Jimmy came along! (came along, as if he hadn’t actually been born, but had just sort of dropped by for a visit. )† (302). Showing that Jimmy feels as though he is not wanted by his father and Ramona like he is not a part of their family at all. This caused Jimmy to avoid any time spent with his father and Ramona. Ramona invited Jimmy for the holidays, but he had no wish to go, so he pleaded overwork† (303). Since Jimmy did not feel as though he was wanted as part of their family he did not join them for normal family events. This caused Jimmy to miss out something everyone else had, a family. Jimmy has not ever really had a healthy social life. Apart from the women he slept with, he had not made friends other the Crake. This had a huge impact on Jimmy’s life, because Crake was away at another school and Jimmy was left to be by himself, causing Jimmy to become extremely lonely. He might go to the movie at the mall, just to convince himself he was part of a group of other people. † (307). When Jimmy worked at Anoo Yoo he did not make a single friend, he spent out his days alone only finding company over the internet or by pretend. He felt completely left out from all of his peers, like an outsider. â€Å"So this was the rest of his life. It felt like a party to which he’d been invited, but an address he couldn’t actually locate. Someone must be having fun at it, this life of his; only, right at the moment, it wasn’t him. † (305). Jimmy’s lack of social life and people skills caused him severe loneliness and depression. The society Jimmy lived in was completely focused on science, leaving no need for any other focuses. Because Jimmy’s talent was not with science but with words, it left his skill greatly underappreciated. He did not feel as though his skill was useful for anything important anymore. â€Å"He should have been pleased by his success with these verbal fabrications, but instead he was depressed by it. The memos that came from above telling him he’d done a good job meant nothing to him because they’d been dictated by semi-literates; all they proved was that no one at Anoo Yoo was capable of appreciating how clever he had been. (301). Although Jimmy was being praised he did not feel as he was being utilized properly, he felt as though he could do more. Overall making him feel useful and underappreciated. Overall Snowman’s personality is not without reason. He was never taught how to love by his parents, causing him to be incapable of a normal relationship with a woman. His lack of social life caused him to put himself down and make himself feel unwanted. He was never fully accepted for his talents even by his parents, because of the focus society had on science. Causing himself hatred, depression and loneliness.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Day That Changed My Life

The Day My Life Changed Forever I will never forget the day when my life was changed forever. I was twenty-two years old and about to give birth to my first child. I was having a girl, who I was going to name Mia Alexandria. Up until this point in my life I was able to go and come as I pleased, but that was about to all change. I knew that having a child would change my life but did not know how much. It was in December of 1996, and was a cold, dreary winter day. I was in my eighth month of pregnancy and I was crabby about having to lug around extra weight that was in my belly.I awoke early that morning and decided to run some errands. I drove a Jeep Wrangler at that time, a red one with a white hard top that consistently bounced around the road with every bump and crack that you hit. I can still feel the bitter draft that seeped through the cracks as I drove. It was a stick shift, which many of my friends did not know how to operate. Reluctantly, I hopped my pregnant body up into it barely being able to move my limbs from being bundled up in my poufy parka. My friend decided to join me that day to keep me company.Our first stop was to the unemployment agency. The unemployment agency back then was located in several buildings scattered throughout the state so you just had to find the closest 2 one to you, drive to it, fill out some paperwork, and stand in line to file your claim. Things were not done as they are now with all the fancy computer technology. As we arrived in the parking lot I was feeling a little anxious, not having applied before, and not knowing what I was going to say to the person behind the counter.I had been released from my waitressing job a few weeks before because of my pregnancy, the owner was afraid I might slip and fall while I was working and didn’t want to be responsible or even take that chance. The owner said I could come back after I had the baby but in the meantime I wasn’t able to pay December’s rent nor did I have any food in my apartment. My mom said I could come eat any time I wanted at her house and always sent a care package with me when I left, but still that did not pay the rent.Needless to say I did not have very much money for gas to drive back and forth to her house either and we lived about 15 miles apart. I wasn’t sure if I was going to qualify to receive unemployment but I knew I desperately needed to do something because of the baby I had on the way. When we walked into the building I saw a tremendously long line, a take a number sign, rows and rows of chairs with other fellow unemployed citizens, and quite a few government workers behind the counters. The place was huge.The atmosphere felt stuffy to me and the room was predominantly filled with men that displayed gloomy faces. I took a number and my friend and I took our place in line. We were standing for about twenty minutes when all of a sudden I felt this rush of wetness between my thighs. I was not sure what had just happened but I thought to myself I could not have just had an accident like a preschooler. As I mentally assessed the situation, the 3 only thing that kept me running from embarrassment was my long parka that came down past a good portion of my back side so you could not see my midsection.My bladder control was not as it was before I was pregnant; however when I realized after a minute or two that maybe the liquid that was uncontrollably releasing from my body was not urine at all, but that my water had broke, which meant I was going into labor. Being twenty-two and it being my first child I think I may have been in shock. Not knowing what else I should do, I decided to walk up to one of the few ladies I saw in the office. I wanted to ask what I should do because I had already signed in. The lady looked at me in disbelief and said â€Å"Leave, who cares that you signed in. You need to go to the hospital†.My friend and I looked at one another and then quickly scurried out to my Jeep and jumped in. My friend thought she should drive but did not know how to drive a stick-shift. I figured it was probably a much better idea if I drove and assured her I was not in any pain and I was fine to drive. I swiftly sped off not really having the next destination in mind but knowing I had towards the hospital. I was not in pain and did not want to rely on someone else to decide what to bring to the hospital for me so I decided to make a pit stop back at my apartment before heading over to the hospital.When we arrived only twenty minutes or so had passed and I thought by now something else should be happening with my body and was anticipating the worse was about to come. I changed out of my miserably wet pants and I quickly gathered up the things I thought I should bring. We jumped back in my bouncy jeep with our destination being the hospital this time and began making our journey there. We had about a thirty minute drive to Royal Oak Beaumont without traffic and even though I was not having any contractions I knew I did not 4 want to give birth in my vehicle.I had heard numerous crazy stories from people throughout my pregnancy about giving birth in weird places and just really wanted to make it to the hospital. When we arrived at Royal Oak Beaumont I entered through the emergency room. The security guard went to get me a wheel chair but I felt that I was fine and decided to walk up to the labor and delivery floor. When I got to the floor the nurses greeted me excitedly and hooked me up to a computer with all this wires that were connected to a stretchy band that fit around my belly.I didn’t know what they were for at the time, but now I know they were to measure my contractions. The nurse checked my dilation status and I was at a four and when you deliver the baby a person’s dilation status is at a ten. The nurse bundled all my belongings in a plastic bag and swiftly rushed me to appropriate room for delivery. When I was walking to my new room the nurses were astonished that I was dilated to four and walking around without feeling any pain. I didn’t have the foggiest idea what was going to happened so it really didn’t faze me.My friend must have been calling every person I knew because people started trickling in to see me. Tons of family and friends rotated in and out of my room baring gifts and helpful encouraging tips. The hospital staff allowed many more people in the room at one time then I thought was allowed. I had been at the hospital for about an hour and a half and still wasn’t feeling any contractions even though the nurse said I was having them. One of my friends had brought a deck of cards and another stopped at the store and brought me candy for my weet tooth I had so we were playing cards and I was eating candy when the doctor showed up. 5 The doctor was a middle age man, probably in his forty’s, which I had never met before. He was the doctor responsible for the patients from the office I went to for my prenatal checkups. I went to the hospital obgyn clinic were the doctors were doing their internships and other senior staff doctors oversaw that they were performing the correct way. He told us I probably would not be having the baby for a few hours, it was now about dinner time and I was starting to get hungry.My dilation status had stayed at between four and five for quite some time and he decided to order for me to have pitocin which tricks your body into starting to have contractions so your body will deliver the baby faster. This drug mimics the effects of the hormone, oxytocin that naturally is released in your body to induce labor. My dad and step-mom did not want to miss the birth of my first child but wanted to leave to go get dinner and they were going to bring me something back.They said I could not eat but they were allowing me to eat the candy which was a little strange. Eventually I knew I would want some dinner though and encouraged them to go and come back. Little did my dad or I know that what he feared was about to come true. He kissed me on the head and said â€Å"Don’t have that baby till I get back, ya hear†. I laughed and replied â€Å"Ok†. My dad left and the nurse came in to administer the pitocin. As the medicine flowed through my IV into my vein it felt not quite cold but a cool trickling rush like some little bugs were invading my body.It had only been a few minutes when I could start feeling maybe a little squeezing of my belly that they were calling a contraction. About seven or eight people were standing in my room talking to one another and asking me a bunch of questions when all of a sudden I felt the biggest kick, it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Then next came a contraction, it was hard 6 And it hurt. I yelled to the nurse â€Å"I think I’m about to have the baby†, she said â€Å"Let me check probably not just yet†.I shou ted back â€Å"I think I need something for pain then†. Quickly I was administered some Demerol which was supposed to curve the pain. It just made me feel like I was going to vomit as it rushed through my veins and gave me the biggest high I had ever felt. Again I felt a big contraction â€Å"I want everyone out† I yelled. Everyone scurried out the nurse checked me and I was about to have the baby, she pushed the emergency button and the doctor came running. No one was ready, none of the packages were opened up for the delivery, and no one had their proper labor and delivery gear on.There was no time for any of that I had one more contraction and I was told not to push yet but there was no pushing nor any stopping that baby from coming into this world. Next thing I knew this small watermelon size thing came bounding out and it was over. No more pain, no more scary anticipation, and no more extra weight in my belly. And of course my dad had missed it. Mia Alexandria was here and weighed 5lbs 15oz, and was 19 inches long. My freedom at that moment ended forever. I would always be responsible for this other little person forever, or what would seem forever.No more just getting up and going. No more random journeys in my jeep at the spur of the moment not knowing where we might end up. Everywhere I would go from then on out I would have lots of extra things I would have to take with me for the care of the baby. Even though my life changed at that moment forever it was for the better. The birth of my daughter made me think about all my actions and the consequences that may follow. I always tried my hardest to do the right thing and be the best person I could be from that moment on because I wanted to be the best mommy ever.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Bus230 Exam Iii Review Ch10-13

BBus20 – Exam III Review – Ch 10-13 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. While trying to determine the effects of lighting and noise on workers' productivity, which of the following found that social and psychological factors could significantly affect productivity? A. Frederick Taylor B. Elton Mayo C. Abraham Maslow D. Victor Vroom E. B. F. Skinner 2. Theories X and Y are most closely associated with A. Abraham Maslow. B. Frederick Herzberg. C. Douglas McGregor. D. Elton Mayo. E. William Ouchi. 3. Sue wants to be warm, but she is not; she has a A. roblem. B. motivation. C. morale. D. need. E. goal. 4. An inner drive that directs behavior toward objectives is called A. a goal. B. a need. C. motivation. D. morale. E. an incentive. 5. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a person who buys a smoke alarm is motivated to do so in an attempt to fulfill the following need: A. physiological. B. social. C. esteem. D. security. E. self-actualization. 6. All of the following would be examples of objective assessments of an employee's performance appraisal except A. a factory worker's level of output. B. number of units sold for a salesperson.C. a ranking system for an office worker. D. batting average for a baseball player. E. shooting percentage for a basketball player. 7. The major reason for forming a labor union is that A. a group has more clout with management than an individual. B. management always listens to groups. C. unions are good social groups. D. unions are socialistic. E. unions force employers to hire too many people. 8. To achieve its objectives, management may use A. boycotts. B. strikes. C. lockouts. D. picketing. E. all of the above. 9. June works at McDonald's twenty hours per week as a grill operator.She will probably be paid with which of the following compensation methods? A. Commission. B. Time wages. C. Piece wages. D. A bonus. E. A salary. 10. When Sandy Smith moved to a new job that involved more responsibility and an increase in compensation, she received a A. transfer. B. demotion. C. lateral move. D. horizontal move. E. promotion. 11. When William Wilson became a father he began to look for household items that were safe for use around young children. His new perspective is related to his A. over-protectiveness. B. motivation. C. social class. D. reference groups. E. time utility. 12.After analyzing its own resources and unique abilities, a company is now trying to determine what group of customers it can satisfy with a good or service. It is in the process of choosing a A. production strategy. B. target market. C. sales plan. D. geographical region. E. product line. 13. When an organization hauls canned goods from the manufacturer to grocery stores, it is involved with which marketing function? A. Buying B. Selling C. Transporting D. Storing E. Grading 14. If a company markets to a segment of people who have a certain lifestyle, the type of segmentatio n being used is A. behavioristic. B. geographic. C. topographic.D. psychographic. E. demographic. 15. XYZ Inc. is surveying customers as to what kinds of services they would like the company to add. It is involved in the marketing function of A. buying. B. storing. C. financing. D. marketing research. E. risk taking. 16. Which of the marketing mix elements is the least flexible? A. Manufacturing B. Product C. Price D. Promotion E. Distribution 17. Many people incorrectly equate promotion with A. advertising. B. selling. C. pricing. D. product designing. E. distribution. 18. Which of the following involves the physical handling and movement of products in warehouse operations and in transportation?A. inventory planning and control B. transportation C. warehousing D. materials handling E. physical distribution 19. The financial value placed on an object involved in an exchange is A. the price. B. the discount. C. comparable value. D. negotiated value. E. nominal value. 20. Industrial products such as lumber, cotton, and iron are classified as A. major equipment. B. supplies. C. accessory equipment. D. raw materials. E. component parts. Bus20 – Exam III Review – Ch 10-13 Key 1. (p. 300) B 2. (p. 304) C 3. (p. 296-297) D 4. (p. 296) C 5. (p. 302) D 6. (p. 330) C 7. (p. 340) A 8. (p. 342) C 9. (p. 335) B 10. (p. 332) E 1. (p. 378-379) D 12. (p. 369) B 13. (p. 365) C 14. (p. 373) D 15. (p. 365) D 16. (p. 408) E 17. (p. 409) A 18. (p. 408) D 19. (p. 399) A 20. (p. 392) D Bus20 – Exam III Review – Ch 10-13 Summary Category|# of Questions| AACSB: Reflective Thinking|20| Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension|9| Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge|11| Difficulty: Easy|4| Difficulty: Hard|4| Difficulty: Medium|12| Ferrell – Chapter 10|5| Ferrell – Chapter 11|5| Ferrell – Chapter 12|5| Ferrell – Chapter 13|5| Learning Objective: 1|3| Learning Objective: 2|4| Learning Objective: 3|4| Learning Objective: 4|5| Learning Objective: 5|2| Learning Objective: 6|2|

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Exercise Physiology

Direct calorimetry uses the measurement of heat production as an indication of metabolic rate. * Indirect calorimetry estimates metabolic rate via the measurement of oxygen consumption. * Energy expenditure can be expressed in L†¢min-1, kcal†¢min-1, ml†¢kg-1†¢min-1, METs, and kcal†¢kg-1†¢hr-1. * To convert L†¢min-1 to kcal†¢min-1, multiply by 5. 0 kcal†¢L-1. * To convert L†¢min-1 to ml†¢kg-1†¢min-1, multiply by 1000 and divide by body weight in kilograms. * To convert ml†¢kg-1†¢min-1 to METs or kcal†¢kg-1†¢hr-1, divide by 3. 5 ml†¢kg-1†¢min-1. Efficiency: * Exercise work rate Efficiency decreases as work rate increases * Speed of movement* There is an optimum speed of movement and any deviation reduces efficiency * Muscle fiber type * Higher efficiency in muscles with greater percentage of slow fibers SUMMARY: Net efficiency is defined as the mathematical ratio of work performed divided by the e nergy expenditure above rest, and is expressed as a percentage. * The efficiency of exercise decreases as the exercise work rate increases. This occurs because the relationship between work rate and energy expenditure is curvilinear. To achieve maximal efficiency at any work rate, there is an optimal speed of movement. * Exercise efficiency is greater in subjects who possess a high percentage of slow muscle fibers compared to subjects with a high percentage of fast fibers.This is occurs because slow muscle fibers are more efficient than fast fibers. * Not possible to calculate net efficiency of horizontal running * Running Economy * Oxygen cost of running at given speed * Lower VO2 (ml†¢kg–1†¢min–1) at same speed indicates better running economy * Gender difference * No difference at slow speeds At â€Å"race pace† speeds, males may be more economical that females 170-188 CIRCULATORY RESPONSE TO EXERCISE Organization: arteries branch to form vessels, v essels become microscopic and form arterioles, which develop into â€Å"beds† called capillaries. Capillaries are the smallest and most numerous of blood vessels—exchange of oxygen, CO2, and nutrients. Blood passes from capillary beds to venules that move back to heart and increase in size becoming veins. Mixed venous blood= mixture of venous blood from both upper and lower body in the right side of the heart. *it represents an average of venous blood from entire body.HEART: Right/left side separated by muscular wall called interventricular septum (prevents mixing blood from sides). Valves: Bicuspid/mitral = left atrioventricular valve **atrioventriculars close when heart contracts to prevent backflow. Tricuspid= right atrioventricular valve Semilunar valve (pulmonary semilunar)- b/w right ventricle and pulmonary artery. Prevents backflow from arteries into ventricles. Aortic valve (aortic semilunar)= b/w left ventricle and aorta. Also prevents backflow†¦ Right si de pumps deoxygenated blood to pulmonary circuit so oxygen can be loaded and CO2 released.Left side pumps oxygenated blood to body via systemic circuit. RIGHT: to lungs LEFT: to body Heart sounds are due to closing of atrioventricular valves (first sound-systole) and the closing of aortic and pulmonary valves (second sound-diastole) Wall of heart is 3 layered: 1) outer layer is epicardium, 2) muscular middle layer called myocardium, 3) inner layer endocardium. Myocardium contracts to force blood out. Right and left coronary arteries supply myocardium Cardiac muscle fibers are shorter than skeletal and are branched and involuntary. Heart muscle fibers are all connected via intercalated discs- transmit electrical impulses.They are leaky membranes that allow ions to cross b/w fibers (contract together= functional syncytium). *atria contract separate from ventricles because there is a separating layer of CT *heart is only type 1, slow fiber- highly aerobic, many mitochondria (more than skeletal). Cardiac cycle: Systole- contraction phase (blood ejected) Diastole- relaxation period (arterial BP decreases– filling) There is also an atrial systole and diastole. Atrial contraction during ventricular diastole, atrial relaxation when ventricular systole. *SO there are TWO steps of heart pumping. *atria contract together, which empties arterial blood into ventricles. . 1 second and then ventricles contract to deliver blood to systemic and pulmonary circuits.*when atria relax, blood flows into them from venous circulation as they fill, pressure inside increases. Increase in HR less time spent in diastole (not as much impact on time in systole until at high HR) Arterial Blood Pressure: -greatest in arteries BP = the force exerted by blood against the arterial walls. Determined by how much blood is pumped and the resistance to blood flow. -male: 120/80, female: 110/70 systolic/diastolic dif between the two is calls â€Å"pulse pressure† â€Å"mean arterial pr essure†= av pressure during cardiac cycle. determines rate of blood flow through systemic circuit Mean arterial pressure = DBP + . 33 (pulse pressure) (DBP: diastolic blood pressure) (pulse pressure: dif between systolic and diastolic pressure) SO, if someone has bp 120/80, Mean arterial pressure= 80mmHg + . 33(120 – 80) = 93 mmHg *but this calculation is only used for cardiac cycle at rest.Hypertension- increases workload on left ventricle so cardiac mass increases, but this eventually results in diminished pumping capacity. Also increase risk for other disease/damage of body parts like brain and kidneys. 20% all US adults Factors influencing arterial BP: ) cardiac output—amount of blood pumped from heart 2) total vascular resistance – sum of resistance to blood flow by all systemic blood vessels. —blood volume, blood viscosity Mean arterial blood pressure = (cardiac output x total vascular resistance) *so increase in either will increase the mean art. BP Blood pressure increases when increase in: blood volume, HR, SV, blood viscosity, peripheral resistance. And it decreases when any of those decrease. BP regulated short term by the sympathetic NS, long term by the kidneys (bc they control blood volume). Baroreceptors- sense arterial blood pressure in carotid artery and aorta.Increase in pressure send impulses to CV control center which will decrease the sympathetic activity (lowers cardiac output and/or reduces vascular resistance lowers BP). Decrease in BP reduction of baroreceptors activity to brain CV control center increases sympathetic activity raise BP to normal Electrical Activity of the Heart: Sionatrial node (SA node)- in the right atrium (by the vena cava). responsible for spontaneous electrical activity in normal heart, it’s the pacemaker. Occurs due to decay of resting membrane potential (bc of diffusion of NA during diastole).When SA is depolarized and reaches threshold, a wave of depolarization is spread over the atria contraction! Wave of atrial depolarization needs special conductive tissue to transport it to the ventricles. This conductive tissue is called the atrioventricular node (AV node- in floor of right atrium). When blood from atria empties into ventricles, the conductive pathways branch into smaller fibers called purkinje fibers that spread the wave of depolarization through ventricle so it can contract. Electrocardiogram (ECG)- recording of electrical charges in myocardium during cardiac cycle. –ability of hear to conduct impulses.P wave- depolarization of atria QRS complex- depolarization of ventricles and atrial repolarization(during beginning of systole, aprx . 10 seconds after Pwave) T wave- ventricular repolarization (same time as QRS, but at the beginning of diastole) CARDIAC OUTPUT (Q): Q = HR X SV Regulation of heart rate: -because SA node controls HR, changes in HR involve factors influencing SA node. Most influence over HR: parasympathetic and sympathet ic NS Parasympathetic NS- acts as braking system to slow HR using vagus nerve which touches SA and AV node and releases acetylcholine decrease activity of SA and AV nodes due to hyperpolarization= reduce HR. —initial increase in HR during exrcise up to 100bpm is due to decrease in parasympathetic tone. Sympathetic fibers use cardiac accelerator nerves to innervate both SA node and ventricles.Increase HR and myocardial contraction when they release norepinephrine. –beta receptors *all beta-blocking drugs will decrease resting HR and exercise HR. CV control center regulates- pressure receptors in right atrial respond when there is increased pressure by increasing Q to reduce the BP. Body Temp also influences HR. increase temp = increase HR Regulation of stroke volume: ) end-diastolic volume (EDV aka â€Å"preload†) (volume of blood at end of diastole) 2) average aortic BP 3) strength of ventricular contraction EDV- Frank and Starling, stronger contraction with hig her EDV bc there is more stretch of ventricles. EDV influenced by rate of venous return to heart- more return= higher EDV. Venous return regulated by: 1) venoconstriction – reduced volume capacity of veins to store blood. *sympathetic control- activates organ increase HR (the parasympathetic inhibits activation decrease HR) 2) muscle pump—muscles contract and compress veins blood pushed to heart.Venous return reduced when muscles are contracted. isometric exercise, mechanical. 3) respiratory pump- breathing decreases pressure in chest and increases abdominal pressure so venous blood flows from abdominal into thorax and increases return. *more respiration in exercise Aortic pressure (mean arterial pressure/afterload)- to eject blood, pressure in left ventricle must be more than in the aorta. Increase in aortic pressure= decrease SV. Less afterload during exercise bc arteriole dilation reduces afterload. Circulating epinephrine-norepinephrine (increase Ca+ entry) and dir ect sympathetic stimulation of heart by cardiac accelerator nerves.Increase in sympathetic stimulation of heart increases SV at any level of EDV. HEMODYNAMICS: -blood flow is in a continuous loop. Physical characteristic of blood- composed of plasma (watery portion, contains ions/proteins/hormones) and cells (called the hematocrit: RBC/platelets/WBC). Hematocrit= 42% of blood (38% in college women), the rest is plasma. RBCs are largest part of a blood cell—influence viscosity. Anemia decreases RBC, so decreases viscosity Relationships among pressure, resistance, and flow: Rate of flow is proportional to pressure difference. Inversely proportioned to resistance.Blood Flow= change in pressure/ resistance -Change in pressure is the dif between the two ends of the circulatory system -resistance due to length of vessel and viscosity, and radius of vessel **Blood flow increases with increase in BP or with decrease in resistance. -during exercise blood flow increases mainly due to d ecrease in resistance with small rise in pressure. Resistance = (length x viscosity)/ radius^4 (**so radius is VERY important-vasoconstriction/vasodilation) Sources of vascular resistance: -vasoconstriction/vasodilation the greatest vascular resistance in blood flow occurs in arterioles.Pg 188 – 196 Changes in oxygen delivery to muscle during exercise: Metabolic need for O2 increases so there is an increase in blood flow to muscle- increase O2 delivery by 1) increased cardiac output and 2) redistribution of blood flow from inactive organs to working skeletal muscle. Changes in cardiac output during exercise: -cardiac output increases in proportion to metabolic rate for task -maximal cardiac output decreases after 30 yrs of age mostly bc of decreased maximal heart rate with age. Cardiac output = heart rate X stroke volume Max HR = 220 – age (years)Changes in Arterial-Mixed Venous O2 content during exercise: -change in arterial-mixed venous oxygen difference (a – VO2 diff)during exercise. It represents the amount of O2 taken from 100 ml of blood by the tissue during 1 systemic circuit. The relationship between cardiac output (Q), a – VO2 diff, and oxygen uptake is given by the Fick equation: VO2 = Q X (a- VO2 diff). Fick equation: VO2 is equal to the product of cardiac output and the a-VO2 diff. *SO INCREASE IN CARDIAC OUTPUT OR (a – VO2 diff ) WOULD ELEVATE VO2. Redistribution of Blood Flow During Exercise:Increase flow to skeletal muscles and decrease to less-active organs like liver, kidneys, GI tract. Increase in muscle blood flow and decrease in splanchnic blood flow change as a linear function of %VO2 max. -at rest aprx 15-20% total cardiac output is directed to skeletal muscles. -during maximal exercise 80-85% of total cardiac output goes to skeletal muscle (to help meet oxygen needs for contracting) -during heavy exercise % that goes to brain is reduced compared to rest. -total coronary blood flow increases due to incre ase in cardiac output -reduction of blood flow to skin and abdominal organsRegulation of local blood flow during exercise: Regulated with arterioles in skeletal muscles that have a high vascular resistance at rest (due to adrenergic sympathetic stimulation which causes vasoconstriction). This results in low blood flow to muscle (4-5 ml/min per 100g muscle) but this is still 20-25% total flow from heart. **autoregulation (an intrinsic metabolic control) -vasodilation (opens vessels) results from local changes during exercise like decrease in O2 tension, increase in CO2 tension, nitric oxide, potassium and adenosine concentrations, increase in acidity.Vasodilation reduces vascular resistance and therefore increases blood flow. Also aided by recruitment of cappilaries- at rest only 5-10% of capillaries are open, all are open during heavy exercise. **level of vasodilation regulated by metabolic need of the muscle (intensity and # of motor units recruited determines blood flow to active muscle fibers) during exercise, vascular resistance in skeletal muscle decreases and vascular resistance to flow in the visceral organs/other inactive tissue increases. *because on increased sympathetic output to these organs regulated by CV control center. increase in visceral vasoconstriction during exercise decreases blood flow to viscera by 20-30% resting value. During exercise in upright position, SV reaches plateau at 40% VO2 max, therefore, at work rate about 40% VO2 max, the rise in cardiac output (Q) is due to increased HR only.CIRCULATORY RESPONSES TO EXERCISE: HR and blood pressure at any VO2 (oxygen uptake) are higher in arm than in leg -higher HR in hot/humid conditions emotional influence- HR increase with high emotion because increase in sympathetic NS activity. Does not generally alter peak HR or blood pressure during exercise itself but does elevate pre-exercise HR. ransition from rest to exercise- increase in HR and SV and cardiac output at beginning of exercise (a fter 1st second! ) then if work is constant it plateaus recovery from exercise- recovery from short-term/low intensity is rapid. Recovery after exercise better in trained individuals bc their HR doesn’t get as high. Recovery from long-term is slower because elevated body temp. incremental exercise- HR and cardiac output increase in direct proportion to O2 uptake. More O2 uptake = more blood flow to muscles. Plateau of cardiac output and HR at 100% VO2 max (no more hemoglobin to transport O2).The increase in HR and systolic BP results in increased workload on the heart (increased metabolic demand on heart estimated by: double product = HR x systolic BP) maximal exercise increases workload on heart by 500% Useful equation to tell patients with coronary artery blockage how they can exercise. **cardiac output increases because decrease in vascular resistance to flow and increase in mean arterial blood pressure. Arm vs. Leg exercise- HR and BP higher in arm because greater sympath etic outflow to heart during arm work when compared to leg work.Large increase in BP for arms because of vasoconstriction in inactive muscle groups. Large muscles (legs) have more resistance vessels dialated, so there is lower peripheral resistance and lower BP (cardiac output x resistance= pressure). Intermittent exercise- (interval training), recovery of HR and BP depends on level of fitness, environmental conditions, and duration and intensity. Recovery not complete if the temperature is high because that increases HR. with repeated bouts of light exercise, many repetitions can be preformed. Prolonged exercise- cardiac output at constant level.SV declines while HR increases because the increase (cardiac output constant bc HR increases and balances SV decrease). Cardiovascular drift= increase in HR and decrease in SV during prolonged exercise. , it is due to rising body temp and reduction in plasma volume. Reduction in plasma volume reduces venous return to heart and thus decrease in SV REGULATION OF CARDIOVASCULAR ADJUSTMENTS TO EXERCISE –increase in sympathetic stimulation of heart and vasodilation of arterioles and increase resistance of vessels in less-active areas= increase cardiac output so that blood flow to muscle matches metabolic needs.Central command- CV change due to centrally generated cv motor signals **also modified by heart mechanoreceptors, muscle chemoreceptors, muscle mechanoreceptors, and pressure-sensitive receptors (baroreceptors) â€Å"tuners† during exercise: muscle chemoreceptors- muscle metabolites (K, lactic acid, etc. ) muscle mechanoreceptors- force and speed of muscular movement baroreceptors- change in arterial BP- regulate arterial BP Page 267-269, 277-280 VO2 max = HR max X SV max X (a- vO2 dif)max STROKE VOLUME SV = End diastolic volume(EDV) – End systolic volume (ESV) *EDV increase ecause increase in ventricle size/increase in venous return (â€Å"preload†), increase in myocardial contractility, and decrease in resistance to blood flow out of heart (â€Å"afterload†) End diastolic volume (EDV) Left ventricle increase with endurance training bc of volume loading during exercise Plasma volume increases with endurance training (loss of plasma volume = decrease VO2 max in first weeks of detraining) **EDV increase with training. FRANK-STARLING MECHANISM: increase stretch of ventricle = increased SV Cardiac contractility- strength of contraction when fiber length, afterload, and HR are constant.Afterload- peripheral resistance against which the ventricle contracts in order to push portion of EDV into aorta. Decrease in resistance = increase max cardiac output, SO arterial BP is unchanged (MAP = Q x TPR) **endurance training lower resistance in working muscle to facilitate higher blood flow blood pressure falls when muscles capacity for blood flow exceeds hearts ability to provide it.. —to maintain BP some of muscle mass is vasoconstricted (other is vasodialated) tra ining decrease resistance of vascular bed to match increase in max cardiac output to maintain BP Arteriovenous O2 difference: increase in difference could be due to elevation of the arterial oxygen content, or decrease in the mixed venous oxygen content. -increase capacity of muscle to extract O2 after training probably because increase in capillary density (mitochondria too) accommodate more blood flow *training-induced increase in maximal SV due to increase in preload and a decrease in afterload.Preload increased because end diastolic ventricular volume and associated increase in plasma volume. Afterload decreased because decrease in arteriolar constriction in trained muscles increases maximal muscle blood flow but no change in mean arterial BP. in young, sedentary ppl, 50% of increase in VO2 is bc of increase in systemic a-VO2 dif (due to increase in capillary density). Decrease in VO2 max when you stop training because decrease in max SV and decrease in oxygen extraction. 277-28 0 net cost of walking is ? of net cost running use pace maker test for kids field test for CRF use walking, running, stepping. Can test many ppl at low cost. Hard to measure response for some, and motivation can be a variable. VO2 max estimates from all-out run tests are based on the linear relationship b/w running speed and oxygen cost of running.VO2 max estimated in endurance test is influences by CV function and % body fat. Canadian home fitness test: submaximal, uses lowest two 8-inch steps in a staircase. Evaluates cardiorespiratory fitness using post-exercise HR. 1 mile walk test: VO2 based on age, weight, sex, time, HR improved fitness: lower HR and/or time and higher VO2 max cardiorespiratory fitness measured using: treadmill, cycle ergometer, stepping bench measured by: palpation (carotid/radial artery), stethoscope (systolic- 1st korotkoff sound, diastolic- 4th sound), ECG ncreased metabolic demand on heart estimated by: double product= HR x systolic BP -double product is estimate of myocardia O2 demand arrhythmia- irregularity in normal electrical rhythm: atrial fibrillation, premature contractions conduction disturbances- depolarization is slowed/blocked (first-degree AV block or bundle branch block) myocardial ischemia- inadequate perfusion of the myocardiumflow limitation= O2 insufficiency (angina pectoris- symptom)(ST segment depression-sign upsloping, horizontal, downsloping—downsloping is worst) teady state:HR measured over 15-30 seconds post exercise HR: measured for 10 seconds within first 15 seconds of stopping exercise, then multiple the # by 6 HR and systolic BP increase with exercise intensity * Typical measurements obtained during a graded exercise test include heart rate, blood pressure, ECG, and rating of perceived exertion. * Specific signs (e. g. , fall in systolic pressure with an increase in work rate) and symptoms (e. g. , dizziness) are used to stop GXT. VO2 max: â€Å"gold standard† to measure CRF VO2 increases wi th increasing loads on a GXT until max capacity reached- VO2 estimated based on final work rate achieved in graded exercise test- can also be estimated from HR responses to submaximal exercise using age, also consider environmental factors.Estimation of VO2 max from last work rate: Poorly fit individuals take longer to achieve the steady state at moderate/heavy work rates may overestimate the VO2 max when using formula Estimation of VO2 max from submaximal HR response: HR plotted against work rate (or estimated VO2) until termination criterion of 70%- 85% of age-adjusted maximal HR reached (220-age). careful of environmental factors- dehydration, temp, emotions, medication * VO2 max Estimation of VO2 max from Last Work Rate Estimation of VO2 max from Submaximal HR Response CRITERIA FOR ACHIEVING VO2 MAX: * Leveling off of VO2 with higher work rate <150 ml†¢min–1 or <2. 1 ml†¢kg–1†¢min–1 * Post-exercise blood lactate >8 mmoles†¢L†“1 * R >1. 15 * HR within 10 beats†¢min–1 of age-predicted maximal HR * Usefulness has been questioned * Should not expect subjects to meet all criteria * Graded Exercise Test: Protocols Treadmill Cycle Ergometer Step Test * Graded Exercise Tests: MeasurementsHeart Rate Blood Pressure ECG Rating of Perceived Exertion Termination Criteria Treadmill- don’t have to adjust for body weight in calculation because subject is carrying their own weight ( so VO2 is proportional to weight). Health or cardiac risk inventory—PAR-Q (physical activity readiness questionnaire) – heart condition, pain in chest when doing physical activity, lose balance/dizziness/lose consciousness, bone/joint probs, drugs/meds for BP or heart condition * Estimating VO2 max * Based on extrapolating submaximal HR during incremental test * YMCA protocol