Ethical Assessment Of The Coffee Shop - 1446 Words

Ethical Climate Survey Organization I have been selected by the Dreamx Coffee Parlour for the purpose of conducting survey about the causes of ethical breaches by its employees and its impact on organizational culture. This coffee shop has been in operation since a decade. Coffee shop provides the coffee lovers a unique taste of Coffee with blend of ancient Italian roaster. The coffee shop also offers juices, sandwiches, snacks, chocolates, cakes as side orders. It primarily employs college students as its employees and the management of the coffee shop constitutes of senior students. So, its management lacks experience and skills of leadership and managing employees in a way that yields positive performance and results. Moreover, the organization is poorly structured that has resulted in the decline in its revenue and profit. The purpose of employing students as its employees is to get the work done in in-convenient hours and under low wages. These practices have demotivated employees resulting in escalation of their turnover intentions. Key Steps for Organization The purpose or aim of every organization is to establish such an organizational culture and behavior among its employees that helps in achievement of ideal ethical standards. There are certain determinants that play a critical role in helping achieve the right organizational culture. Some of these include personal moral intensity, social ties, codes of ethics, locus of control and Machiavellianism. TheseShow MoreRelatedExplain the Factors Involved in Planning the Monitoring and Assessment of Work Performance1084 Words   |  5 Pagesspecific scenario that you need to read carefully. It is important to place your work in the context of a business organisation therefore examples will be required to support your discussion linked with appropriate theory. 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Starbucks arsenal not only consists of the signature Starbucks brand but also goods and services under names such as Teavana, Tazo, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Starbucks VIA, Starbucks Refreshers, Evolution Fresh, La Boula nge andRead MoreDescription of My Interview743 Words   |  3 Pagesarranged the interview in a quiet location at the far right corner of a coffee shop. I made it a point to share the area with no one except my interviewee. It was nothing too formal, just a casual time to talk about some life experiences in a cozy place. Tables along aisles will get a lot of disturbance that might harm the real purpose of the meeting. This is the main reason why I have chosen the far right corner of the coffee shop to do away with practical noise factors and with the inclusion of inconvenientRead MoreStarbucks Marketing Strategy For Starbucks1429 Words   |  6 Pageswas started. Shultz replaced Starbucks main coffee with Pike Place Roast to compete with Dunkin Donuts. This would use whole beans ground instore and coffee would not sit for more than 30 mins. Senior Management Schultz head hunted new management from leading tech companies like Google s Sheryl Sandberg, Amazon’s Chris Bruzzo and also external consultants experienced in turning around failing companies. Innovation Schultz began selling VIA – Instant Coffee, bringing the Starbucks brand to new customers

Composition Of Richard Strauss s Ein Heldenleben

Composition of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben began in a Bavarian mountain resort where Strauss was staying in July of 1898. With a letter sent out from his resort, Strauss proclaimed that, â€Å"Since Beethoven’s Eroica is so unpopular†¦. And hence rarely performed†¦ I am filling the void with a tone poem of substantial length on a similar theme.† In his letter, he expressed that while titled A Hero’s Life, this piece is â€Å"no funeral march† but does have lots of horns, â€Å"horns being quite the thing to express heroism.† Strauss aspired to complete this piece before New Year’s Day of 1899, and finished on December 27th of 1898. The first public performance was then played in March of 1899, in Frankfurt, Germany. While Strauss denied that he was the hero of this piece, it was apparent that the work was ultimately his autobiography. Ein Heldenleben featured parts written about Strauss’s wife, his critics, and over 30 musical quotes from many of his past works. Strauss is quoted as saying, â€Å"I am not a hero. I haven’t got the necessary strength; I am not cut out for battle; I prefer to withdraw, to be quiet, to have peace†¦.† In a programme note for the premiere of the piece, he wrote that the subject was â€Å"not a single poetical or historical figure, but rather a more general and free ideal of great many heroism.† The music of the work points to the composer as its subject, however, and Strauss has said that he believed himself to be â€Å"no less interesting than Napolean.† Ein

Relaxing on the Beach Free Essays

Relaxing On the Beach Everyone goes through stress at some point in his or her lifetime. Coming from Basic Military Training was no deferent. Consistently getting yelled at, even for doing the right thing, being in top notch physical shape by running five miles a day or paying attention to detail by removing one tiny microscopic string from one’s uniform stress will eventually add up. We will write a custom essay sample on Relaxing on the Beach or any similar topic only for you Order Now While we all go through stress, we all need to deal with stress and relax in our own ways. The white sandy beach right off base is so calming and peaceful I can sit and relax with friends while letting my mind wonder and simply leaving the â€Å"real world† behind for the day. After being pummel by spit for eight and a half weeks In San Antonio, Texas. All I want to do is be on the white sandy beach of Billow, Mississippi, relaxing in the hot sun. Grabbing my six string. Few buddies, and other beach essentials I headed out the door in a flash. Walking outside to the beach I couldn’t help but notice the white ND puffy cuneiform clouds in the sky telling me this was going to be a good day. We could hear kids laughing, sea gulls chirping, and waves crashing in the distant but Just couldn’t tell how much further our trek had to go. Feeling like a camel walking across the Sarah Desert, we finally saw it, the big blue ocean only to be seen in travel magazines. A sea breeze hit our face making us feel and smell the freedom In the air. Immediately arriving on the white soft sandy beach, our sandals came off and we let our feet feel the sand between our toes. Walking down the beachfront we saw a rainbow of tent tops and with little kids laughing and giggling made music to my ears. Finally arriving at an empty spot we opened up the cooler and had our thirst quenched by ice-cold lemonade. We began laughing and telling jokes trying to soak up the sun’s radiation to give us a golden bronze tan. Soon after being in the hot son we began lathering on suntan lotion, which gave off the aroma of summer, was finally here. After a while we all decided to take a nap and let our minds wander where they ay. Lying on the hot summer sand and listening to the sounds of summer, all of the stress has been slowly lifted off my shoulders, almost feeling weightless. We had no shoes, no shirts, and no problems. Eventually, the perfect day had to come to an end. Sitting down watching the waves slowly crash against the shore we listened to the six string guitar play a little melody that made one remind of the peaceful times of life and made the day nice and relaxing. Sitting there listening to the melody we watched the bright sun set running into an orange masterpiece for our eyes to fixate on. Nothing more could be done In this day to make it any more peaceful and relaxing. In conclusion, the beach can be a way to relax for the day and be a calming place for someone trying to get away from stress. Everyone goes through stress In life and 1 OFF and friends or watching the sunset while listening to a melody the beach can be a beneficial way to relive stress in one’s life and leave the stress at the door of the â€Å"real world†. How to cite Relaxing on the Beach, Papers

Culture and Arts in an Exotic Society free essay sample

This paper is on the culture of Hawaii, focusing on Hawaiian art and culture. The author primarily focuses on the rich cultural history, Hawaiian dance, the Hula, and includes general traditions in Hawaiian art. There is a lengthy examination of Hawaiis racial mixtures, food, clothing, homes, family life, language, religion, and various activities, such as sculpture, painting, music, and dance. Hawaiian contributions to society include music, dance, surfing, the lei, and language.The Hawaiian culture is a fascinating one, based on ancient history of colonization and gods among other things. The ancient culture is so rich and is still just as vibrant today. It is portrayed beautifully with bright colors, the use of nature, and many forms of art. Though the Hawaiian culture may seem extremely different than that of other states, it is similar in many ways. There are a great number of differences that make the culture so fascinating. We will write a custom essay sample on Culture and Arts in an Exotic Society or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It may seem the similarities are buried among differences, but traditional American culture has a lot in common with Hawaiian culture. Some similarities include recreation, holidays, language, and diversity. Both cultures influence each other and will continue throughout time, but I dont think the traditional Hawaiian culture will ever fade out.

Leadership In Ancient Civilizations Essays - Iulii,

Leadership in Ancient Civilizations Leadership in Ancient Civilizations During the period of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, different leaders exhibited different styles of leadership and employed different political strategies. In addition, these leaders came to power and maintained their control in their own unique ways. Each leader seemed to have his own agenda, which set the tone for that era. Five prominent leaders of this time period were Agricola, Augustus, Julius Caesar, and the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. The point to be made with respect to these particular men is related to the obvious correlation between the nature of a leader's agenda and the impact of his reign. In the end, a ruler's fate was dependent not on his agenda, but on style and strategy with which he pushed his agenda. Those leaders whose methods were completely altruistic were heralded as great leaders, while those with devious and/or unethical methods of pushing their agendas were hastily assassinated. First consider Tiberius Gracchus. It is imperative to analyze his style of leadership and his political strategies. During his term as tribune, Tiberius' major goal was to pass a land reform bill. This bill was biased toward the masses. Tiberius tried fairly and squarely to gain the support of the Roman senate, but this effort was to no avail. Tiberius then resorted to unfavorable tactics when he impeached another tribune, Octavius, the major opponent of Tiberius' bill. Thus Tiberius willingly destroyed the long-held and quite favored notion of an immune tribune. However, this is what the common people wanted. Tiberius' big mistake was blatantly opposing, thus disrespecting the Roman senate. As a result, the senate assassinated Tiberius. The lesson to be learned here is not that Tiberius' agenda was constructed out of self-interest or greed. Tiberius simply wanted to help the common people. However, Tiberius' methods were not proper for that time in that place. And it is probable that Tiberius could easily have been persuaded to compromise. Thus, Tiberius' downfall was not his agenda, but his style and political strategy. A different example of the same principle is summed up with the story of Tiberius' younger brother, Gaius Gracchus. Gaius worked not to appease the senate, but to appease the people. Although this seems quite noble of him, it was still a mistake to oppose the senate. Granted, this notion is counter-intuitive. One would expect that the senate is supposed to help the people, and since Gaius was helping the people, the senate should favor him. One would also expect that because it was the common people and not the senate that elected him, that he should have unwavering loyalty to the people. However, one must not look at the situation with a 1990's, American, free will and liberty, democratic eyes. Rome was not a democracy. The senate commanded respect, and to disregard the senate, whether the people were in favor of you or not, was not a wise thing to do. Thus, Gaius was also assassinated, like his brother, by the senate. It does not seem fair that Gaius was killed, but such is life, and had Gaius employed a more "senate-friendly" strategy of passing his laws, it is probable that his fate would not have been what it was. One final example of this is Julius Caesar. Caesar was a warlord and a dictator, but if one can look past that, as ridiculous as it sounds, then one would also notice that Caesar did a lot of good for Rome. As dictator, Caesar saw to a series of rapid reforms in many areas of Roman life. He scaled down his large army by settling many of his soldiers in newly founded colonies and extended Roman civilization into some of the provinces. His most lasting reform was one by which we still regulate our lives ? the establishment of a calendar based on the old Egyptian reckoning of 365 days, with one day added every fourth year. This "Julian" calendar lasted until 1582. Then, there were those leaders whose style of leadership and political strategy fit perfectly into the framework of society, such that they were considered to be great leaders. These leaders were Agricola and Augustus. Agricola was an army commander for most of his relatively long life. He was regarded to be one of the best men anywhere, and he was revered by all. Yet, being an army commander does require some killing and punishing. Let's be real. How is it that Agricola was, by the nature of his profession, a killer, yet was so respected, while Tiberius and Gaius strove to help people, and were assassinated? The answer

English words spelled

English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ By Maeve Maddox Among several ways to spell the long i sound in English is the 3-letter combination -igh- as in sight [sÄ «t]. The spelling reflects an earlier pronunciation in which the gh represented a sound made with the soft palate, rather like the ch heard in German ich. The -igh- spelling has persisted in English because it occurs in a small group of high frequency one-syllable words. Its easy to tolerate an apparently difficult spelling when one sees it frequently. Most of the -igh- words end with the /t/ sound and spelling. Exceptions are high, nigh, and sigh, in which igh represents the final sound. The other most common -igh- words are: bright from O.E. beorht, byrht fight from O.E. feohtan flight from O.E. flyht knight from OE cniht, cneoht light from O.E. leï ¿ ¼oht might from O.E. meahte, mihte night from O.E. niht right from O.E. riht sight from O.E. sihth The word delight has come to be grouped with the -igh- words because of association with the word light. Etymologically speaking, delight belongs with sprite and spite. All three words come from the French. delight from Old French delit, deleit, from delitier, deleitier sprite from Old French esprit spite shortened from despite which comes from Old French despit In the 16th century, sprite was often spelled spright and spite was spelled spight. Since then, theyve reverted to spellngs closer to their origins, probably because they are not in such frequent use as delight. In case you havent come across the word sprite as anything but a brand name, Ill define it: A sprite is an other-worldly creature, like an elf or a fairy. The word derives from the same source as spirit, but spirit has a more serious connotation than sprite. A sprite plays tricks. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"The Possessive ApostropheEspecially vs. Specially

Business Ethics Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Ethics Master - Essay Example Unfortunately, fast food can only be delivered fast if it is fried. This is because frying food in oil is the fastest way of cooking something, especially meat, which is preferred by most people. Secondly, fatty food tastes better. Fat itself has a lot of taste. The real magic of fried food tasting so good is not in the hands of the chef. There is no real secret ingredient. The only ingredient which everyone loves in their fast food is fat. This fat however has caused a bit of a dilemma though because even though it tastes excellent, it is full of saturated hydrogen compounds which are very difficult for our body to break down and digest properly. Hence, our body doesn't digest them when it's confronted with such large amounts of it. It merely deposits it in convenient places in our body, hence leading to obesity. Now this would have been relatively fine if it was only happening to the very busy Mr. Businessman. But the truth is, fast food has become the very thing to have at mealtim es. It's become not a thing to have just when you are running late, but as the only meal no matter who you are and which meal of the day you are having. Careless parents give their children loads of cash without bothering to ask where it is being spent, either on pornography, drugs or fast food. Hence children have become dependent upon it and fat being so tasty has become sort of an addiction for these children and they have completely switched from eating proper meals to eating fast foods whenever they feel hungry. In fact, marketing of such products have become so good and so persuasive that young employees and entrepreneurs are also on the same path. So who can blame the children They are only doing what they see going on around them. No warning, no label and not the tiniest hint of the truth. Marketing of fast food is going on so ferociously that for many marketing companies, the account of a corporate giant has become the swan song of the company which was once up in rompers. Ethical Theories The bottom line for every big cheese is always is that whatever they are doing is not unethical. Big corporations put a lot of effort and even more money in trying to make everything they do seem ethical, even if it involves tearing families apart and nailing small children on the wall. Utilitarianism This is one of the theories of ethics with a contrasting opinion of itself. It basically says that man is allowed to do anything as long as it is "for the greater good"1. This means that on one hand it's ok for scientists to make human clones then chop them up into pieces for their organs because apparently they will not be accepted into society as they are completely alienated from our experiences of life and they would come under better use if their organs are used to save "real" humans. On the other hand however, killing these clones might promote a feeling of neglecting the value of human life and our children who will grow up seeing this inhumane treatment will learn to value human life even less than the scientists and political figures do at present. Applying this to our topic, it is good for McDonalds to promote their Big Mac and for KFC to promote their version of packaged fat because they are serving the society by saving

Research hitlers Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hitlers - Research Paper Example The fact that some Jews at birth is not at all associated with genetics. The only other way to become a Jew is conversion so this should not be a surprise that there are Jews with blue eyes and blonde hair. This is surprising to me as it is very contradictory to what he actually did. He interfered with the lives of the Jews because of his belief in a perfect race. He strongly desired a â€Å"perfect race† and by attempting to do this, he has killed about seventy million Jewish people during his rule in Germany, believing that, â€Å"we [Germans] shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews.† By â€Å"decontaminating† Germany, Hitler was one step ahead in achieving his ideal â€Å"super race.† Therefore, I definitely disagree with this quote because he did the exact opposite of what he just said. During both World War I and II, Europe’s economy and Asia’s economy was going extremely downhill. There was so much destruction. However, the United States, although it interfered in wars of other countries, the country in itself did not face a drastic decline of the economy. Therefore, I strongly agree with this quote, considering the situation and condition of the worldwide economy during the time. National socialism, or Nazism, was a unique fascist ideology practiced in Germany during the 1st and 2nd World War. I partly agree with this quote, as Hitler did not force Nazism on anybody, except the Jews. The Germans inspired by Hitler and with the same goal to bring Germany back to power, joined Hitler. Together, they were the ones who fervently desired to help Germany get back on its feet after World War I and the great worldwide Great Depression. I personally disagree with this quote of Hitler. Again, it is very contradictory to the reality. Being a war leader was against his will, but it was his very will that turned him into a war leader not just in Germany, but he was a war leader that was known throughout the world. In fact,

Art of the renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art of the renaissance - Essay Example I am trying to persuade one of my patrons to support these young men and so it was a fortunate coincidence that allowed me to come and view your works at the same time. I very much enjoyed my visit to that quaint little corner of the city behind the Cathedral of San Marco. It was most interesting to see the new works that Fra Angelico is doing for the monks there and I do believe that they will soon be finished. I don’t expect you will be permitted to view them, my dear, because the monks will hardly be prepared to open their doors to even one so beautiful as you, on the grounds that you are a women and hence forbidden to enter their hallowed rooms. I do assure you, however, that Fra Angelico’s frescoes are magnificent and truly a masterpiece worthy of this fine city of ours. I happened to meet him when I was coming out of the tavern, and he says that there has never been a more glorious time or place for art than our beloved Florence at the present time. When I told hi m that I was coming to see your paintings, he was most intrigued and informed me that he had indeed spied one or two young women carrying easel and paints and setting out their wares for sale at the marketplace alongside the boys. My how times have changed since my youth! I always have fond memories of your innocence and beauty since the days when I used to visit your father so many years ago. Your mama told me that one day you would be married to young Giovanni and live in that beautiful house by the lagoon. It is so very pleasing to see you all grown up and experimenting with art in your spare time now that you have settled down to married life. I expect that you have very little time for painting now, what with all your wifely duties, and so it is all the more fitting that you should have a chance to hang your paintings in public just for once before you have a family. I must say that I found your paintings delightful in their naive and honest depiction of womanly habits. Your ap preciation of the intricacies of female dress gave me a glimpse of the lady’s dressing room, and I am sure no man could have captured the mood of these scenes quite as well as you have managed it. Of course, there are some technical points that you have yet to learn, but I feel that I can excuse some such faults in your composition because you have not had the benefit of formal tuition in the way that my young Florentine apprentices have had. They will one day astonish us all with their brilliance, because they can match the power of the imagination with the skill acquired through long training at the feet of master artists. But you, my dear, have studied your subject well, and your pictures will no doubt be very useful as gifts to your adoring friends and family who will adorn the walls of their private spaces with your little oeuvres. I was particularly impressed with your copies of the work of Michelangelo. I expect that he will one day be revered across the whole of Europ e, because he captures the spirit of our age so perfectly. You would do well to copy his work more in the future, if you have time to continue your hobby, because he will teach you so many wonderful things about space, and proportion and texture – things that you could have learned about if you had been a man. As it

Oncolytic Virus Therapy for Cancer

Oncolytic Virus Therapy for Cancer Abstract Interest of oncolytic virotherapy is mounting from over the past few decades for treating many kinds of malignancies. Despite oncolytic viruses attain many successes in cancer therapeutic era; they all have still challenges in their developments. The interaction between virulence factors of viruses, hosts immune defense system, microenvironments and tumour factors are the hazardous influences in their achievements of novelties. Currently, with the thanks of modern recombinant biotechnology, most of the oncolytic viruses are increasing their tumour selectivity and specificity. On the other hand, they reduce their efficacies on physiologically functioning cells. Furthermore, combinational therapies with traditional anti-cancer treatment regimes have also promising and relevance outcomes. In 2004, Chinese food and drug administration (FDA) approved first oncolytic virus in treatment of head and neck tumours. However, they have some still unsolved obstacles in proper cancer therapy. In m y paper, the current issues and future prospects of the oncolytic viruses are highlighted how to use as therapeutic weapons. Keywords: Oncolytic viruses; Oncolytic virotherapy; Cancer gene therapies; recombinant 1. Introduction Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally comprising 13% of all deaths (7.6 million deaths) in 2008. Although well established conventional therapies including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are existed, we still need new therapies and strategic plans. Local therapies such as surgery and radiotherapy have been limited in disseminated tumours. Likewise, chemotherapy has some intolerable adverse effects and sometimes, pre-existing chemo-sensitive tumours are resistance to chemotherapy after prolonged used. Thus, we really need certain promising therapies to handle these problems. Recent years, oncolytic virotherapy is uprising and promising for the various types of cancers. Ideology of virotherapy treating the malignancy has been introduced since early 20th century. However, since early oncolytic viruses were targeted not only tumour cells but also the normal cells, interest in the virotherapy was declined. Therefore, many trials related with such therapy were termi nated during the following decades. Late 1990s, interest of virotherapy was re-active with the advance of modern biotechnology. Today, concern of the virotherapy is high and it has the potential promises as a reasonable cancer treatment by itself or conjunction with other conventional therapies such as surgery, radio and/ or chemotherapy (synergic effect). Advance technology allows the development of oncolytic viruses which only effective on dividing cancer cells but not attack the normal dividing cells. There are generally two types of oncolytic viruses namely non-engineered (naturally occouring) and engineered agents. Both types may destroy the malignant cells without harming the normal cells. Generally, oncolytic viruses only infect and preferentially replicate within the cancer cells followed by lyses these cells. In recent years, many therapeutic virus candidates are emerging and testing their oncolytic prosperities with preclinical and clinical trials. Among them, adenovirus H101 was the first virus approved by C hinese food and drug administration (FDA) in 2004 as the adjuvant oncolytic virotherapy combined with pre-existing conventional chemo- and radiotherapy in the head and neck cancers. 2. Type of oncolytic viruses Oncolytic viruses are principally divided into 4 types according to their mechanisms of action. There are intrinsically tumour selective viruses, virulent gene deleted viruses, promoter inserted viruses and pseudotyped viruses. Genetic modified oncolytic viruses are manipulated whether insertion of the transgenes or deletion of the virulence genes. Naturally occouring tumour selective viruses are the viruses that are not genetically modified, direct targeting on the malignant cells. For instance, New castle disease virus, Vesicular stomatitis virus, Poliovirus and Reovirus are intrinsically tumour selective. However, affectivity is less due to depend on the natural strength of their lytic properties. Virulent gene deleted oncolytic viruses are more popular because their selectivity on target tumours are more specific without infectivity to normal ones. For example, herpes simplex virus, adenovirus, measles virus and vaccinia virus can be modified by deletion of their virulence protein coding genes. In addition, inserting of foreign genetic elements such as promoter region boost tumor specificity and selectivity of oncolytic viruses. Thus, tumour cells allow the replication of these viruses because only tumour cells can activate the promoter region of them. For example, prostate specific antigen (PSA) promoter inserted adenovirus CG7870 applies in prostate cancer and promising results were came out. Pesudotyped oncolytic viruses are modified with ligands which target tumour selective cell surface receptors. Therefore, they solely have their infectivity on malignant cells. (E.g. adenovirus delta 24RGD). Moreover, these viruses may reduce toxicity and dose requirement. 3. Characteristic features of standard oncolytic virus Since viruses can infect not only the malignant cells but also the functioning cells, oncolytic virotherapy is the critical therapy. Hence, safety and efficacy of the virotherapy are considerable issue and still challenging for further improvement. Potential oncolytic viruses are needed to confirm or compare whether they have real ideal characters of oncolytic virus or not. Standard characters of the oncolytic virus stated that (1) they only replicate within tumour with high multiplication rate, not on normal cells (2) less or no infectivity and virulence than their wild types (3) genetically stable so that mutations and recombination with other viruses are minimized for manufacturing and safety issues. DNA virus is more stable than RNA virus (4) can inactivated anytime with antiviral drugs or other mechanisms (5) considerable mass production (commercially available) can be possible with good manufacturing practices. Therefore, for development of virotherapy, all oncolytic viruses sh ould be fulfilled above criteria. Adenovirus and Herpes simplex virus (HSV) have high selectivity and specificity on tumour cells with massive replication rate of 1000 folds in 1st cycle. Besides, they are considerably stable whereas terminate anytime with their respective antiviral therapy (e.g. adenovirus is self-limiting and HSV is treated by acyclovir). 4. Tumour selective mechanism With the knowledge of the malignant cells molecular biology, oncolytic virotherapy can be created to attack the tumour cells selectively. Cancer cells undergo changes ranging from subtle point mutation to chromosomal instability. Inherent tumour selective viruses specifically attack the tumour cells by targeting the specific tumour promoting pathway of the malignant cells such as activated Ras and AKT pathway, defective interferon (IFN) pathway etc. RNA-activated protein kinase (PKR) pathway is a natural process that inhibits viral protein synthesis. Physiologically, interferon (IFN) secreted from infected cells phosphorylates the PKR which subsequent phosphorylates eIF-2ÃŽ ±. Then, phosphorylated eIF-2ÃŽ ± interfere the oncolytic viral protein synthesis that require for their virulence. In contrast, Ras mutation and defective IFN in malignant cells disturbs the PKR pathway and favours the oncolytic virus activity. For instance, herpes simplex virus (HSV) containing neurovirulence gene ÃŽ ³34.5 that binds with intracellular phosphatase and dephosphorylates eIF-2ÃŽ ± allowing replication of HSV in both normal and tumour cells. However, deletion of this gene permits to replicate only in Ras mutated or interferon (IFN) defective cells. Controversially, recent finding suggested that ÃŽ ³34.5 deleted HSV can also replicate in PKR functional malignant cells. It is seen to be defects in PI-3 kinase pathway which favours translation of ÃŽ ³34.5 mutant HSV. Moreover, genetically modified adenovirus (dl331), VAI mutant strain, prefers to replicate only in tumour cells with Ras activation. Similarly, dl331 is also effective in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated tumours such as nasopharyngeal malignancy because Epstein-Barr virus expresses viral associated RNAs (VA RNAs) that defect PKR pathway. Many cancer cells over-express receptors for virus in high level. Thus, exploiting this mechanism, many oncolytic viruses are selectively homed in their specific malignant cells. For example, over-expression of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and decay acceleration factor (DAF) in tumour favours to infect Coxsackie virus A21. Besides, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) binds sialic acid receptors. Alpha virus similarly uses heparin sulphate or ICAM-1 as its receptors. Both of them are highly express in tumor population. Therefore, these viruses are highly concentrated in tumour cells. 5. Immunogenicity of virotherapy Likewise as many other viruses, oncolytic viruses also stimulate and activate the body defense mechanisms including innate as well as adopted immunity. These viruses produce the viral proteins required for their replication within tumour cells. These proteins also stimulate the MHC class I gene to present it on the cellular surface of tumour cells as well as on the normal cells. MHC class I antigen was recognized by cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) or CD8+ cells which may destroy any cells representing MHC I antigens. Therefore, nature immunity allows eliminating both tumour and normal non-dividing cells. So, oncolytic viruses may also destroy normal cells apart from abnormal ones. An immune mechanism on the oncolytic viruses is one of the major constraints for developing modern virotherapy. However, to date, genetically modified viruses can only replicate and lyses p53 mutant cells. They cannot inactivate p53 gene of the normal host cells. p53 is functional and prevent replication of these viruses in the normal host cells. So, they are allowed their functions only in mutant tumour cells. 6. Conversion of oncogenic to oncolytic Many oncogenic viruses are potential to use as oncolytic therapy nowadays after genetically manipulation. Generally, 15-20% of the carcinogenesis is contributed by various kinds of oncogenic viruses such as herpes papilloma virus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus etc. Reversely, these viruses can be changed to treat the malignancies by exploiting their lytic effects on the dividing cells. One of the classical examples is herpes simplex virus type 2 which is ongoing trials in many tumour cell lines by deleting its oncogenic genes coding thymidilase kinase or ribonucleotide reductase. Therefore, even tumourogenic agents can be used as oncolytic therapy by engineering their oncogenic gene components. 7. Novel oncolytic viruses 7.1. Adenovirus Adenovirus is interested in treatment of brain tumour especially in glioma multiforme. This tumour is never metastasized and contributed as single lesion. Moreover, it is almost resistance to systemic therapy because of blood-brain barrier and lack of cell mediated antigen drainage. However, fortunately, oncolytic viruses can replicate and spread within the tumour population since blood brain barrier create immune privileged site. In glioma cells, tumour suppressor gene (Rb) is inactivated and lack of expression. Taking this advantage, genetically modified adenoviruses are constructed by deletion of eight amino acids in Rb binding region of E1A protein. Therefore, they are unable to replicate in the normal cells because viruses cannot inactivate Rb gene of the functioning cells. But they can easily divide within the malignant cells owing to the lack of Rb protein. Additionally, adenoviruses induce autophagy in infected cells (malignant cells) through down-regulation of AKT/TOR pathwa y. Many genetically engineered adenoviruses are still on trials including in vitro and in vivo tests. ONYX-015 (dl1520) is a simple adenovirus lack of E1B 55K protein which do not replicate in the normal cells. So, they only express their functions in p53 mutant cells. In other word, their function does not work in p53 competent cells. Onyx-015 is a first oncolytic virus that has been approved by china FDA to treat the head and neck cancers especially refractory nasopharyngeal cancer combining with standard cisplatin based chemotherapy. Onyx-015 should be given intratumoural or peritumoural injection because of their side effects (e.g. flu-like syndrome). In addition, it showed 50% response rate observed in phase I and II clinical trials of pancreatic cancer. Recent studies found that Onyx-015 replication is not solely dependent on p53 function. Onyx-015 can replicate within some p53 competent cells whereas sometimes, cannot replicate even in mutant p53 cells. It may think to be reliable on E1B 55K independent nuclear late mRNA export of the tumour cells but not in functionally norma l cells. Besides, other co-founding effects should be considered. For example, increasing the temperature (fever, hyperthermia or drugs) promotes replication of E1B deficient adenovirus in the malignant cells rather than normal ones. dl250 mutant strain is engineered by deletion of E1B 19K which is homologue of Bcl-2 and also inhibits pro-apoptotic protein Bax. Functionally, Bcl-2 is the anti-apoptosis protein. Hence, deletion of E1B 19K leads to permit cell death in Bcl-2 over-expressed tumour cells. It may also reduce expression of anti-apoptosis proteins and various growth factors. This type of virus is more potent in anti-tumour activity than dl1520. Delta 24 (dl922-947) adenoviruses are genetically modifying agents which are deleted the gene related with virulence factors and upregulate the transcription elements sensitive to the transcription factors of tumour cells. E.g. Delta-24 is modified by deleting of 24 nucleotides (pRb binding region) in E1A gene so that it is unable to inactivate Rb gene in the normal cells. So, it can only effective in the malignant cells. Now, many studies promise that it has potent anti-tumor effect in glioma. E1A mutants are more superior in oncolysis than E1B strains in vivo and vitro. Besides, Delta-24 RGD is more efficient in treating the low CAR (coxsackie-adenovirus receptor) expression malignant cells such as glioma and bronchogenic carcinoma cells. 7.2. Herpes Simplex virus First herpes simplex virus (dlsptk) as an oncolytic agent is developed in 1991 that is deleted in thymine kinase (TK) genes required for nucleic acid metabolism. Lacking of this gene, Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) lose its ability of replication in the normal cells. Hence, HSV only prefer to infect the tumour cells. HSV is a primarily potential treatment in several paediatric cancers including brain tumours. So far, ÃŽ ³34.5 deleted HSV are tracking on the clinical trials. These all vectors directly target to the tumour cells by deletion of neurovirulant gene ÃŽ ³34.5 (30kb) which is not essential for replication of the malignant cells. G47Δ HSV virus is derived from G207 parent virus. They are constructed by deletion of both copies of ÃŽ ³34.5 gene (1kb) and deletion of 312bp in ICP47 gene increasing oncolyitc efficacy. Also, they promote MHC class I expression in the tumour cells enhancing the immunogenicity of these cells. G207 variant was completed phase I study in glioblastoma multiforme resulting with no serious side-effects. Similarly, HSV 1716 is a genetically engineered variant by manipulating HSV1 stain 17 and deleting both copies of neurovirulent gene, ÃŽ ³34.5. Pilot study has already completed in Metastatic melanoma. NV 1020 (R7020) stain is the chimeric recombinant of HSV 1 and 2 with deleting one copy of ÃŽ ³34.5 gene, UL24 and 56 genes. Originally, it is developed as HSV vaccination. However, recently, it is still ongoing phase II trial on hepatic metastases of colorectal cancer by direct infusion into the hepatic artery. OncoVEXTM is recombinant vector with deletion of ÃŽ ³34.5 gene as well as ICP47. Deletion of ÃŽ ³34.5 reduces intrinsic neuro-pathogenecity of HSV whereas ICP47 deletion restores MHC class I presentation. Additionally, insertion of GM-CSF gene stimulates immune response of the host to the tumour cells. Releasing of GM-CSF promotes recruitment of dendritic cells for tumour specific response. It promotes tumour specific antigen (TSA) expression as well. Thus, OncoVEXTM affects not only on local tumour but on metastases or distant tumours. Currently, OncoVEXTM improved loco-regional control of head and neck cancers combining with chemo-radiotherapy. Intralesional injection of OncoVEX GM-CSF is ongoing phase I trials on cutaneous metastases and melanomas although it has dose related limitation such as injection site inflammation. Another advantage is that it is able to carry large transgenes up to 150kb. It is the main advantage of these viruses using for oncolytic agent although they ma y produce neurotoxity at high doses, difficult cloning and reactivate latent herpes infection which are hidden in the nervous systems (Ganglions). 7.3. Newcastle disease virus Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is paramyxovirus containing single stranded RNA which causes Newcastle disease in avian (birds). Earliest NDV (73-T strain) has been started to use as a clinical trial oncolytic virus for cervical cancer in 1965. Based on their oncolytic properties, NDV is divided into lytic and non-lytic stains. Lytic strains direct lyses the targeted cells. Currently, 2 lytic strains of NDV are ongoing trials which are NDV-HUJ and PV701. Both are naturally occouring live attenuated viruses. As NDV-HUJ strain is a neurotropic virus, it applies in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Likewise, NDV-PV701 strain has effect on many types of tumours. Results of their trials have potential promising. One of the advantages of NDV is that it selectively replicates in the tumour cells, not on normal ones. When NDV has also studied in breast cancer patients neoadjuvant with chemotherapy, outcome was desirable with minimal adverse effects including fever, flu-like syndrome, hypotension etc. Occourance and severity of side effects is reduced in subsequent therapy due to development of NDV antibodies in patients serum. On the other hand, non-lytic strains disturb the malignant cell metabolisms leading to allow regression of the tumours. Common non-lytic strains include Ulster stain. NDV damages the malignant cells by either direct lysis of the cells, induction of cytokine production (Interferon, Tumour necrotic factor) or enhance apoptosis including both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. 72-T stain induces cytokine release while Ulster stain over-expresses the TRAIL receptors on tumour cells surface which may lead to apoptosis. 7.4. Mump virus and Simian virus Mump virus is the first paramyxovirus trying to treat in variety of human malignant cells. Vaccine strain 79 (S79) has potential promising oncolytic virus because S79 can only be infected to the cancer cells but not in normal ones. Studying in nude mice, mump virus demonstrated its tumour inhibition effect significantly. Simian virus is also a rubulavirus and among them, strain 5 can be genetically engineered as an oncolytic virus. This modified strain is able to attack several different cancer cell types significantly. 7.5. Vesicular stomatitis virus Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is only rhabdovirus potentially using in cancer therapy. VSV is a single stranded RNA virus considering for oncolytic therapy. Developing of the recombinant VSV virus in 1995, the role of VSV is amounting in virotherapy. In recent studies, genetically modified replication competent VSV prolonged survival of hapatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer and malignant melanoma. Oncolytic properties of VSV is more effective in type I interferon (IFN) resistance malignant cells. Tumour cells are defect in interferon (IFN) signaling pathways but activated in Ras -ERK pathway. However, VSV can also impact on the normal cells especially in high doses. Thus, early (prophylactic) interferon therapy is required concomitant with VSV virotherapy because interferon appears to prevent the viral replication within the normal cells. Using the advantage of replication within the interferon defect cells, recombinant VSV deltaM51 which is defective in M (matrix) protein (poin t mutation) was constructed. Matrix protein is the regulator protein that increases replication and transcription of the virus but blocks the host cells anti-viral mechanism. Studies showed that VSV deltaM51 strain has beneficial role in glioma cells xenografted nude mice. Furthermore, VSV shutdown the blood supply to the tumour leading to deprivation of oxygen and nutrients which may require for tumour growth. 7.6. Measles Measles as oncolytic therapy is more interesting since there was significant regression of Hodgkins lymphoma after infecting with measles virus. Resent study suggested that recombinant measles virus (Edmonston B strain) showed significant inhibition on xenograft SCID mice with human lymphoma cells. Next, Edmonston B stain specifically attracts CD 46 cell surface receptors that are highly expressed in human mesothelioma cells. Thus, this strain has highly attractive role in treatment of mesothelioma. In addition, engineered measles virus with interferon (IFN) ÃŽ ² gene inhibits tumour angiogenesis rather than parental strain. Despite most of the people previously encountered with measles infection or vaccination in their early life which may cause therapeutic failure, the evidence highlighted that replication of measles virus was taken place even in the immune individuals. It seems to be immunosuppression due to cancer itself or concurrent use of other anti-cancer therapies such as ra diotherapy, and (or) chemotherapy. 7.7. Poxvirus Vaccinia virus (VV) is the most potential candidate poxvirus utilized as virotherapy recently. This virus is genetically engineered by deletion of thymidine kinase genes like herpes simplex virus (HSV). For instance, JX-594 strain which is transfected with GM-CSF gene, displayed oncolytic activity in animal models. However, it may rarely affective in the normal cells. Most Vaccinia viruses kill the targeted malignant cells by apoptosis as well as traditional mechanisms. Myxoma virus, another poxvirus, is significantly effective on human glioma cancer cell lines. In addition, rapamycin (immunosuppressant) reinforced its oncolytic efficacy when using combination. 7.8. Togaviruses Togaviruses (Sindbis and Semliki Forest Virus) also show their potential roles in the oncolytic therapy. Sindbis virus (SIN) is an RNA virus that naturally infects human by mosquito bites. This virus binds with its receptors of 65kD (Laminin receptors) which are highly express on the tumor cells (tumour homing property). To take the advantage, Sindbis virus promotes considerably regression of the several tumor cell lines in vitro testing and xenograft SCID mice. In human study, it has promising effect on cervical and ovarian malignancies with minimal or no remarkable adverse effect on normal cells. Next, Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) may inoculate repeatedly without prominent immune response. Togaviruses favour as the oncolytic virotherapy agents due to their high replication rate, broad spectrum of host ranges, increase transgene expression and stable in blood stream. Apart from these viruses, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) is also a replication competent virus which is int eresting in certain circumstance of oncolytic therapy. 7.9. Retrovirus Gamma retrovirus (moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV)) may have effect on the tumour cells not in the non-dividing cells. So, it may safe as oncolysis. For instance, when U87 glioma xenografted nude mice were administrated with MoMLV, significant oncolytic result has been reported. These viruses are less effect on normal cells due to lack of nuclear transport of viral genome. Certainly, they cannot replicate well within non-dividing cells. In addition, modified MoMLV viruses expressing HSV thymidine kinase (TK) have synergistic effect on glioblastoma cells combining with ganciclovir (anti-viral agent for HSV). Another retrovirus such as fomy virus has also intrinsic oncolytic property. It is researched recently on glioma implanted nude mice. However, the result is still controversial.

Cocaine :: essays research papers

Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine is distributed on the street in two main forms: cocaine hydrochloride is a white crystalline powder that can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected; and "crack" is cocaine hydrochloride that has been processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water into a freebase cocaine. These chips, chunks, or rocks can be smoked. Cocaine may be used occasionally, daily, or in a variety of compulsive, repeated-use "binges". Regardless of how it is used, cocaine is highly addictive. Crack cocaine and injected cocaine reach the brain quickly and bring an intense and immediate high. Snorted cocaine produces a high more slowly. Cocaine can produce a surge in energy, a feeling of intense pleasure, and increased confidence. The effects of powder cocaine last about 20 minutes, while the effects of "crack" last about 12 minutes. Heavy use of cocaine may produce hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, insomnia, and depression. Cocaine's effects are short lived, and once the drug leaves the brain, the user experiences a "coke crash" that includes depression, irritability, and fatigue. Many people ask is cocaine addictive? Yes. Cocaine can take over your life and cause you to lose interest in everything else. Studies in monkeys have shown that animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine limited in order not to take toxic or even lethal doses. People addicted to cocaine behave similarly. They will go to great lengths to get cocaine and continue to take it even when it hurts their school or job performance and their relationships with loved ones. Do users develop a tolerance to crack or cocaine? Yes. Users may find they need more and more of the drug to get high. What are the effects of cocaine use? Cocaine stimulates the central nervous system. It acts on the "pleasure centers" of the brain, producing heightened pleasure and increased confidence. Other immediate effects include dilated pupils and elevated blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature. The pleasurable effects of powder cocaine last about 20 minutes. Occasional use can cause a stuffy or runny nose, and chronic use can ulcerate the mucous membrane of the nose. Injecting cocaine with contaminated equipment can cause AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases. Preparation of freebase cocaine, which involves the use of volatile solvents, can result in death or injury from fire or explosion.

Leadership Assumptions

Leadership entails enormous responsibility. To become an effective leader, one has to possess the right characteristics and implement only the right principles. However, an accurate description of a leader is yet to be determined. In fact, there are a number of faulty assumptions when it comes to what an outstanding leader really is. And these faulty assumptions, if applied to certain scenarios could actually be destructive.   It is then very important for a potential leader to determine these assumptions so as not to apply them in their managerial processes. The first faulty assumption is the idea that the development and use of one’s charisma is good enough trait to become an outstanding leader. While it is true that charisma alone may allow a leader’s subordinate to follow relentlessly, it is the be all and end all trait to ensure good leadership. Charismatic leadership may be responsible for a very remarkable impact that leaders have on their followers, but leaders should strive to use charisma with innate leadership and decision making skills in order to be successful in their respective fields (Bedell, et al 2006). The extraordinary gifts, vision, problem solving skills, and even the repeated success of the leader are all going to be important and are also used as a basis to determine whether or not the leader had effectively guided his group towards the right course. Charismatic leadership is all about vision. This means the greatness of a charismatic leader is based entirely on the way he percieves his members and the way his members percieves him. That principle alone is not sufficient. A leader that is equipped with a good vision for his organzation and a harmonious relationship with his members should also be able to make the right decisions and execute the proper solutions to problems as well. The mere use of charisma is not going to be enough (Bedell, et al 2006). Another false assumption when it comes to leadership is the idea that the possession of transformational characteristics is all that is required to lead. Transformational leadership corresponds to the creation of job satisfaction, as well as leader satisfaction among subordinates. It is also the principle that stimulates follower motivation that brings about superior group performance. These are all evident in transformational leaders because its principles allow all members to percieve their leaders as somebody exceptional purely due to their excellent job performace and overall effectiveness (Judge, 2004). But even if this is the case, transformational leadership alone is not the backbone of an efficient leader. It is a big part of a good leader without doubt, but it is definitely not all of it. Actually, transformational leadership is only the outcome of transactional leadership. This will further prove that transactional leadership is not a concept that works in direct opposition to transformational leadership. To differentiate the two, transactional leadership pertains to a leader’s ability to provide contingent rewards to members and manage his subordinates by being both exception-active and exception-passive. The false assumption behind transformational leadership can then be corrected by directly applying the concepts behind transactional leadership so that the two principles merge in complete harmony with each other. Transformational leadership should be practiced on the foundation of transactional leadership – for an outstanding leader possesses both the characteristics of a transformational leader and a transactional leader (Judge, 2004). But then again, both transformational and transactional leadership is not everything that a leader should be composed of. Authentic transformational and transactional leadership should be based on ethics as well (Kanungo, 2001). There should be some sort of a moral foundation as far as the views, action, and ideas of the leader are concerned. Although the morals of transactional and transformational leaders are based on values entirely different to each other, the idea applied is still the same (Harland et al, 2005). Transformational leaders tend to have moral altruistic motives and organic worldview on the matters they have at hand. On the other hand, transactional leaders have mutual altruistic motives and an atomistic worldview. Transformational leaders have their pricinples grounded on deontological perspective while transactional leaders ground theirs on teleological perspective (Kanungo, 2001). These are three examples of false leadership assumptions. Therefore, to become a good leader, one needs to know and apply the intellectual, social, and emotional requirements that come along with the job. The intellectual prerequisites of a good leader correspond to the level of education he or she attained to acquire the right amount of knowledge so as to create only the right rules that the whole organization should follow (Smith et al, 2005). A leader should be both psychologically and intellectually capable of predicting, deciding, and acting in favor for the betterment of the organization. This metal capability can be achieved primarily through proper schooling and advanced studies. Ideally, the leader should have finished at least one distinctive degree that is very much related to the organization that he heads. Without proper schooling, the intellectual competence of the leader will be doubted not only by his direct subordinates, but the rest of the people who works around him as well. The emotional prerequisite of a leader corresponds to his ability to feel what’s good for the group and all its members. A leader should be human enough to understand the every situation that his organization and subordinates are in. He should be able to use not only his mind but his heart as well when it comes to formulating and enacting decisions for his own company or group. A leader who uses purely his mind while at work is cold. The one who uses his sentiment along with his mind is a better picture of a good leader. A leader should also be socially competent. This means he or she should be able to relate and interact with all his members in a fair and equal manner at all times. Social skills should both be learned and practiced so that its principles can be applied in a very efficient manner. Most organizations fail because the leaders are painstakingly unreachable by their own members. The leader then should always be the first one to create an air of warmth and in the process, produce a healthy social relationship among members. This ensures that all the members working relations are always at optimum levels. References Harland, L., Harrison, W., Jones, J., & Reiter-Palmon, R. (2005). Leadership behaviors and subordinate resilience. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 11(2), 2. Judge, T. (2004, October). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755-768. Kanungo, R. (2001, December). Ethical values of transactional and transformational leaders. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 18(4), 257. Smith, B., Montagno, R., & Kuzmenko, T. (2004, Spring). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 10(4), 80.         

Submitting a Paper Essays

Submitting a Paper Essays Submitting a Paper Essay Submitting a Paper Essay An essay mill (or paper mill) helps students who seek to buy essays and other written homework and to pass off this ghostwritten work as their own. Educators generally see this as a form of academic dishonesty or academic fraud (see also plagiarism). The typical customers of such a service are university and college students. Universities and colleges may investigate papers suspected to be from an essay mill by using Internet plagiarism detection software, which compares essays against a atabase of known essay mill essays and by orally testing students on the contents of their papers.In response, many essay mills state that a unique essay will be composed by a ghost author and pre-screened with plagiarism detection software before delivery, and as such will be undetectable as an essay mill product. Essay mill companies hire university students, graduates, and professional writers to ghostwrite essays and term papers, and solicit business from university and college students by posting advertisements. Until the early 1990s, most essay mill companies were bricks and mortar businesses offering their services by mail-order or from offices located in university or college towns.By the 2000s, most essay mill businesses have switched to an e-commerce business model, soliciting business and selling essays using an Internet website. Companies often provide free sample essays on popular topics, such as Hamlet or The Merchant of Venice, to attract Internet searches. [citation needed] The most basic essay mill service is the sale of a previously-written essay; services dvertise essays that have allegedly gained a good grade and which have allegedly not been used for plagiarism before.Students using essay mill services have little or no legal recourse if the essay they purchase does not act ually receive a good grade. Since submitting a previously-written essay exposes a student to the risk of detection, some students will pay a much higher price for custom-written papers that take into account the course outline, topic, number of sources and any specific grade the student wants.While some students select a high grade on the ghostwritten paper to oost their average, other students with poor grades may choose to purchase a paper that deliberately contains errors, and which will receive a grade such as C+, to reduce the suspicion that they have committed academic dishonesty. The academic community has criticized essay mill companies for helping students to commit academic fraud. Some essay mills have defended themselves against criticism by claiming that they are selling pre-written examples which students can use as guidelines and models for the students own work.In 2002, a UK-based essay mill called Elizabeth Hall material provided by Elizabeth Hall Associates [is] on the understanding that it is a guidance model only. [l] Other essay mills claim that they are scholarly publishing houses that provide students with essays that the student can then cite in the students own work. Although essay mills and the students who use them are considered unethical by many educational professionals, they do not violate copyright law; the mill is the legal copyright holder of the papers, and the papers are licensed to paying students for imited use.As of 2009, no essay mill or client of a mill has been legally prosecuted for engaging in transactions. The mill may, however, hold the student legally responsible in the case where they redistribute the paper to other students without the permission of the mill. In informal settings where students exchange papers without any formal licensing or transfer of copyright, copyright violation may occur, but it is unlikely that the students will press charges, since they would incriminate themselves by doing so.

Term Papers Medieval Knights

Term Papers Medieval Knights Term Papers Medieval Knights Term Papers Medieval Knights Writing a term paper about medieval knights is an interesting assignment. It is hardly possible to find a male student who has not been fascinated with the knights in the childhood! Down this page is a short term paper sample on knighthood. If you need more sample term papers, please check our free blog. employs a team of professional writers who are available to help you with term paper writing if you are looking for the custom term paper assistance. Our prices are affordable, our writers are educated, and our guarantees are outstanding! Term Paper Sample on Medieval Knights Knighthood was one of the most significant institutions of the Middle Ages. In the twelfth century, John of Salisbury declared emphatically that knighthood was divinely instituted; Caxton later maintained that knighthood was the earliest device of God to ensure the recovery of mankind from the consequences of the Fall. Ideally, knighthood became a way of life with formal traditions, a definite education, and a world view of its own. The Bible itself was regarded as a source of knightly virtue. Stories, like those of Abraham, of Jonas and the Whale, of Daniel and the Lion, were popular because they appealed to the romantic imagination of the aristocracy. Just as the monks made a recluse out of Joseph, so did the knights fashion Joshua into a chevalier. Mary with her unblemished virtues and her merciful ways was appealed to for protection. One might pray also to the saints, particularly to St. Michael, the personal antagonist of Satan, to St. James, St. George, and St. Martin, who had been selected as heavenly paragons of aristocratic virtues. Chivalric education consequently was imbued with a religious tincture. From baptism to death in battle, the knight came in contact with religious ideals, not for the purpose of acquiring scholastic education, but to ensure religion's protection against evil powers. Early education of medieval knights began in the home. His mother, or the local priest, taught the young boy simple prayers as well as obedience to his elders. When the boy was seven years old, he usually was sent to the castle of a secular lord or to the palace of a prominent churchman. This second stage in education, though it varied from country to country and depended upon individual choice, seemed to have been quite common. As a page the boy shared duties with other members of the household. His task consisted of attending the lord and his lady; from the latter he was able to learn the rudiments of etiquette and receive instruction in knightly behavior. Sometimes he even procured some elementary lessons in the Seven Liberal Arts, but this part of his education was generally overlooked. Most of the time there were wandering singers from whom the page might learn how to sing and play the harp. A more prominent part of his training consisted of outdoor activities such as boxing, wr estling, and horseback riding.

The legalization of gay marriage Research Proposal

The legalization of gay marriage - Research Proposal Example The primary reasons for banning gay marriage in the USA are religious, ethical, and moral. â€Å"American freedom... is attached to a set of communal responsibilities and dependant on the individual’s ability to confirm in compliance with a moral, ethical and religious standard.† Thus the freedom of self shall not come in clash with the freedom of America, which comes with a set of responsibilities of individuals towards community. The issue of legalizing gay marriage might be a personal problem faced by many gays living together and seeking some sort of state-sanctioned marriage. The community can no way benefit from their marriage- in fact, it has created a cultural war in America between those that believe in the traditional form of marriage and those that are proponents of gay marriage. People from different social and political backgrounds have mixed views regarding the legalization of gay marriage and they can influence the decision of the courts through ballot ca mpaigns against gay marriages. In Washington this year, a ballot campaign will be held and if the required numbers of votes are gathered, the move would be nullified and gay marriage will be banned in Washington. â€Å"There is precedent in California for handling such a situation. California's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2008, only for voters to approve a constitutional amendment six months later defining marriage as between a man and a woman.†

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTas coherent and strategic management Essay

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTas coherent and strategic management - Essay Example The term 'human resource,' first emerged in 1950's, coined by Peter Druker in one of his seminars and traces back to organisational development and human capital theory. HRM is controversial and debatable surrounded by great academic diversity. Confusion is caused because of the 'ambiguous pedigree' of the concept (Noon, 1992). There is a lack of clarity, the term can be viewed as being broad. HRM is a concept regarded as being enigmatic / obscure due to ideological, empirical and theoretical reasons and in many cases because of micro politics (Storey, 1992). Difficulties in defining HRM and the lack of a universally accepted definition implies that HRM is an innovation that takes on the meaning of whatever the person speaking at the time wants it to be (Torrington, 1989). Questions arise over the existence of HRM (Armstrong, 2000), over its meaning and status; is HRM a 'map,' 'model' or 'theory' (Noon, 1992) and of whether it is distinct from the traditional rhetoric of personnel an d industrial relations management. ... However, there must also be something extra if HRM is to be considered as a new innovative approach. Distinction by integration similarly leads to debate as integration is viewed differently. Again, lack of clarity leads back to the thought of HRM being whatever an organisation wants it to be. There is an apparent scale in operation which takes into account hard and soft HRM. Hard versions of HRM place emphasis on: "Strategic interventions to secure full utilisation of labour resources" (Worsfold, 1999, 340). This type of people management may be expected within the manufacturing industry, on the production line which is product and profit driven rather than service. Whereas soft versions of HRM emphasise: "Strategic interventions for commitment and development" (Worsfold, 1999, 340). Soft HRM would appear to be more synonymous with service industries, where the product is generally intangible, customers often receive an experience provided by the 'human resource,' thus commitment is sought. The human resource is perhaps more valuable, their impact greater and they may not be as easily replaced as perhaps a production operative in the manufacturing industry. Hard HRM relates back to the human relations movement from where personnel management can claim some of its origins and presents workers as a commodity, a resource to be exploited: "to be used dispassionately and in a formal rational manner" (Storey, 1992, 26). Hard HRM reflects the capitalist tradition, operating against workers' interests with no significance regarded to their well being, exploitation being paternalist and benevolent (Guest, 1999). "Essentially workers are simply resources to be squeezed and disposed of as business

A martain is your target reader, has no knowledge or understanding of Essay

A martain is your target reader, has no knowledge or understanding of life on planet earth - Essay Example The baseball game at Fenway Park is one of the most spectacular sports played in the field, a form of entertainment that yearly will flood the stadium with thousands of spectators who are certified baseball enthusiasts. Although some of them are just mere spectators with no particular affinity for a baseball game, they will always find themselves entertained with the game. This is because the baseball game at Fenway Park is already a historic event and a significant part of the human life on earth, as sports cannot be separated from the lives of the people. In the first place, people on earth have the affinity for not only being entertained with the actual sports, but on finding who will win in the game, or the best at playing the sports. The winners in every sport are usually considered the best. Therefore, every player definitely would want to win. In particular, many spectators are looking forward to how the Boston Red Sox would defeat their opponents and bring home the victory. O n the other side, the opponents of Boston Red Sox are thinking the same thing, and so they have in mind to play their best and for them to bring home the trophy. Baseball is a bat-and-ball game. This is a kind of game that is played not only by a one individual, but a team which is composed of nine players. The game is to be played by two competing teams, having nine players each. In every game, one team must be assigned for batting and the other for fielding. The team in batting should hit the ball thrown by the pitcher assigned coming from the fielding team, so that the players in the batting team can run counterclockwise around the arrays of four bases arranged separately at a specific but equal distance in the field in a diamond-like shape. The goal of the fielding team is to achieve three outs from the batting team, by eliminating possible runs from the batting team to the bases.

An I.T. System for a Video Rental Store Essay Example for Free

An I.T. System for a Video Rental Store Essay Contents * Choice of Problem * Description of Problem * Investigation and Analysis of Problem * Specification of Solution * Design of Solution * Implementation of Solution: * Resources Required * Data Collection, Capture and Input * Data Verification and Validation * Output Format * Testing of Solution * Documentation of Solution * Evaluation of Solution Choice of Problem I live in large city called London. My Grandfather runs a video shop there under the name Video Rentals LTD. Has a large and varied amount of stock that he finds hard to keep track of. At the moment he employs a card index system but this has its limitations: * Cards often get misfiled meaning that extra time has to be spent refilling and amending lost data. * On average it takes 30 seconds to search for a record, at busy times this is too long. * The shop currently has about 150 customers, which means that to find a record it may take a long time, this will delay the time that it takes to sort through the records and therefore customers may not want to wait that long and may go to another shop. Description of Problem At my grandfathers video shop the current system involves filing all the information in a filing cabinet. This is a manual system as all the data is hand written. I believe that because of this the video shop needs a computerised system, which will make the database better. There will be graphical menu System that will link all the forms and queries together. My database project will allow the shopkeeper to edit, create and delete record details of members, videos and loans. Investigation To find out more about what the database required I phoned my Grandfather. I wanted to know: * The precise objectives of the new system * The problems or weaknesses in the current manual system * The information that needs to be kept on each customer * The required output * The volume of data (e.g. number of existing customers, number of new customers each year/month) * Any hardware or software constraints. My evaluation will be based firstly on whether it works properly, secondly that it is faster in finding a particular video or client than the existing manual system and thirdly that my Grandfather finds it easy to use. Specification of Solution Objectives of the new system * It should take less than thirty seconds to establish whether a customer is already on file. * It should be possible to go directly from the Customer Details form to the entry of a video that that customer has hired, without having to re-enter the customers name, etc. * Data entry should be as fast and as easy as possible, particularly as there are several hundred existing customers and videos to be entered when the system is first installed. * It be able to show who has rented what video and when. * There must be provision for more than one video to be hired at once by the same person. * The new system is required to provide the following information: * A list of all business customers * A list of all customers interested in a certain type of video such as horror, comedy etc. * A list of customers whose numbers of rentals exceeds a given value. * A list of all rentals that are overdue and need chasing. * It should be possible to send a standard letter to selected customers, using criteria mentioned above. * The user must be able to create new letters whenever needed and perform a mail merge to selected customers. * The main menu should be displayed automatically when the database is loaded, and the whole system should be menu driven. Design of Solution A database package will be ideal for implementing the system for my Grandfathers video rental shop. He has requested that it is done in Access 97 so this is the package that must be used. It would probably be possible to implement the system using Visual Basic or another programming language but it would take a lot longer and would involve the owners having to buy more software which is not really necessary, as Access has all the capabilities required. I already have some experience of Access 97 and it is available in my house for development. Using this package it will be possible to: * Set up the necessary tables and relationships * Produce customised input screens, using Visual Basic to automate data entry wherever possible and to perform various validations * Use Visual Basic modules to enable fast searches for a particular customer and past jobs * Design reports as needed * Make and save queries to select certain customers for a mail merge * Implement a customised menu system On starting up the database, I will design it so that you are presented with a main menu that is linked to the client and video databases, which in turn are linked to each other. I will make it so that on each of the forms there are buttons that enable you to scroll between records, delete records and search for records. If you choose to search for a record then you will be prompted to enter the details of the record you want. The database will be menu orientated so I will make a separate options menu that is linked to everything else. The options menu will also contain a help menu that will cover everything that is covered in the user manual. My system will be based on two separate files, one is of the customers and the other is of the videos in stock. Each record in whichever file will only contain one video or customer, and contain fields like name, address, video name, and certificate. The implementation will begin with the design of the database, then data capture forms, entry screens and output screens. Before the database is put in to use I will test the system using a range of valid and invalid data to make sure the system works as it should. I will then create a user manual that will support the system and its functions. Implementation of Solution Resouces Required I have chosen to design and make my database in Access version 97 because this is the program that the final product will be used on. It allows me to create customized data input screens and has a wide range of validation checks available, so unless a good reason transpires for using an alternative program or package, Access will be the first choice of software. In order to run Access 97 and be able to perform a mail merge using Word, a minimum of a Pentium 133 system with 16Mb, wil be required. A faster processor may be needed if the system is going to appear slow in switching between screens and searching for records. When the system is up and running it will take up about 5Mb. The user has a Pentium 300 with 16Mb, which will be perfectly suitable, and similar machines are available for development work in my house at school. My Grandfather is familiar with Word and has good keyboard skills, so should have no problem in entering the data but may need help in doing some of the more complicated functions. In the future he would like to improve his knowledge of Access so that he can perform new queries and reports as the need arises. Data Collection, Capture and Input Three data input forms are needed: 1. Customer Details This form will be used for several purposes so it needs to be able to: * Add a new customer * Look through the current clients and see what videos they have hired. Validations will be performed automatically. The Member ID field will be an integer and letter field so that it is more personalised. Wherever possible default values will be inserted automatically (e.g. most customers are from Ludlow so the relevant fields will default to those values). Tab order will also be used to speed data entry, so each field will have a certain order in which the data is entered. The form will be straightforward and follow in a top-to-bottom order. 2. Video Details This needs basically to be the same kind of layout and make up as the customer details form except that the fields are those to do with the video. I shall use a validation rule for things such as the videos certificate which can only be one of five (18,15,12,PG,U) and have validation text that warns if the data has been incorrectly inputted. 3. Hire Details This form is designed to make the inputting of information much easier and quicker than searching for a customer and ammending the details every time. It just requires you to input the video number and the client number. Everything else is done automatically. If the wrong client or video number is given then a dialogue box comes up telling you so. You will also have the ability to go staright to a clear form so that a new customer can be added or ammended. Validations will be performed automatically. The client number field will be made up of two numbers and a capital letter, 11A for example. All text that is inputted will automatically be put into upper case lettering for ease. A sample of a data capture form is in the appendix. This is how the system will operate: The diagram shows how the menus will be linked. The hire details are entered in and stored to the various tables. Then comes th possibility of ammending a current customer or adding a new one. Data Verification and Validation Access allows you to say what type of data is included in any field, and also allows me to say the maximum length allowed for any particular field. It also gives the possibility of making input masks for the field. The First and Last Name fields will always be text and most names will be shorter than twenty letters. The House Name/ Number field allows for three digits to be put in first eg 112 Orpen Drive. In fields like Sex, Title and Form Of ID, I have coded it so that only the abreviations of the input are required, and even then the input is one of a choice. This speeds up entry time and reduces the possiblilty for error. The input masks and validation rules reduce data being incorrectly inputted, but they do not completey reduces errors. Data such as name and address, can not be validated, so it has to be verified by the user when the information is being entered. This verification involves manually checking each record to ensure accuracy. Output Format I wanted the output in my database to ocupy 3 sections, the visual display forms, the query which was a search output and the mail merge. I will now show that I have completed those task. First of all here is my Main form, which links all the other forms and functions together. Another output would be the members table I Also designed a query to find all the curent videos that are on loan. ID number of Member ID number of DVD ID number of Video Date Out Date In Surname Of Member Name of DVD Name Of Video Old Member Cost She1 dv004 1 25/7/01 27/7/01 Sheppard The Mummy The Fast one Yes à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.95 My mail merge is contained at the end of this project. User Guide To load the database click on the database file twice quickly (double click) To save the database click file, the save. Or just click on the icon that looks like this. If you require any further help try microsofts built in help progam. Then is one in Help/Microsoft assistant. And also one accesible by pressing the start button. Then on the help file. Testing of Solution I am going to test my database using a variety of correct and incorrect data. In doing this I hope to find any problems with the system, and in doing this finding the solution. The test results for the major tests are shown below. Errors which came to light during the test were corrected and all tests gave expected results. Test 1: test password When the correct password was entered the database opened. Otherwise the following message was displayed: Test 2: Entering client information Client details entered. All different options, defaults and fields were tested during data entry. The tests resulted in some minor changes of the input masks, such as the number of characters allowed in the address field was not big enough for my address. Test 3: Deleting a record A client was deleted and the result were as expected, access alowed me to delte the record, after promiting me in what I was about to do. I also needed to test whether or not my query worked, to do this I first loaded it up. I was asked to type in th date when the video was due back so I typed in 27/11/01 and the query found the following result. As the query found the right result I believe that my query works correctly. Evaluation of Solution By looking at my testing I can conlcude that my database is succesfull, as all the buttons, tables and queries work correctly. If I look at my my evaluation crtitera I can say whether or not I have completeed them. * It should take less than thirty seconds to establish whether a customer is already on file (Query member search) DONE * It should be possible to go directly from the Customer Details form to the entry of a video that that customer has hired, without having to re-enter the customers name, etc. (Relationships) DONE * Data entry should be as fast and as easy as possible, particularly as there are several hundred existing customers and videos to be entered when the system is first installed. (Data flow) DONE * It be able to show who has rented what video and when. (loan table) DONE * There must be provision for more than one video to be hired at once by the same person. IMCOMPLETE * The new system is required to provide the following information: * A list of all rentals that are overdue and need chasing. (Date due back query) DONE * It should be possible to send a standard letter to selected customers, using criteria mentioned above. (Mail merge) DONE * The user must be able to create new letters whenever needed and perform a mail merge to selected customers. (Mail merge wizard) DONE Seeing as I have completed nearly all of my evaluation points I believe that I can say that my database project is a complete success.

Impacts of Technology on Art

Impacts of Technology on Art Many modern artists use high technology equipment in their works. Whereas traditionally artists used a pencil or brush to make beautiful works of art, artists in the early twenty-first century are now using sound, video or computer generated images. Digital art developed from simple patterns and shapes made using computer programs to finished works of art which can look as realistic as a watercolour or oil painting. Modern art exhibitions often include more videos and installations than traditional painting or drawings. Even artists which use traditional techniques increasingly use modern technology such as the internet to display their works and communicate with other artists. Modern technology provides a means for artists to create works faster with more tools than ever before. I will be discussing the impact of some of these technologies in relation to the art of some modern artists. I will argue that modern technology such as the computer and video is another tool for an artist t o use in their work. I will especially focus on the video artwork of Tracey Moffat and the computer artwork of Lillian Schwartz as but two examples of artists today who use modern techniques. Moffat is an Australian contemporary artist who uses film extensively as an art-form, and many of her works are based on and reflect the modern technology of Hollywood movies and television. Schwartz is an artist who has a long history of using computer technology to experiment ways of creating and manipulating works of art. She has also written extensively about the topic of computer influence in art, and about art produced by computers. Modern technology is having a huge impact on recent art. Modern artists are using new materials and techniques to produce their artworks. Whereas in the past painting and drawing were the main mediums used by artists in their work, now in the 21st century installations, sound, video and computers are becoming more widely used and popular. Artists today are continually experimenting with new technology in different ways, finding new ways to use old mediums and finding new mediums as well. In modern art displays such as the various Biennales held around the world, video plays a dominant role, as well as installation art and increasingly, digital art. There are even exhibitions that solely focus on digital art, such as Ars Electronica held annually in Linz, Austria. The internet is becoming used more with many contemporary artists using it to display their works with online galleries, talk to other artists and sell their works. Internet sites such as deviantart.com or yessy.com offer ar tists an opportunity to sell and display their works and communicate with people throughout the world. Computer programs such as Photoshop and Painter allow artists to easily manipulate photographs and paint pictures using custom artists tools which can create the effects in a few minutes of what previously would have taken months to paint. Many artists today are involved in using digital art technology to produce websites, computer games or online art exhibitions. The conceptart.org website is one example of a site which mostly displays digital art, that has over 100,000 posts by many different people. Digital art is increasingly being displayed in contemporary art exhibitions as well as being online, becoming more popular towards the end of the 20th century. Digital art made its official entry into the art world only in the late 1990s, when museums and galleries began increasingly to incorporate the art form into their shows and dedicate entire exhibitions to it. (Paul 2003: 23) T he impact that these technologies is having on contemporary art is sometimes hard to pin down at one time since they are moving so fast that they are constantly changing and being updated. However, while modern technology provides artists with many opportunities and ways to produce art, it still functions similar to any other artists tool of the past. Films are being produced for art galleries just as paintings were made for exhibiting by the impressionists, such as the films made by Tracey Moffat. Tracey Moffat is inspired by images which come from television and movies to make her own films. These films show that she is not only using new technology to display art, but her ideas for the films are based on the technology itself. In one of her recent films, Artist, Moffat shows a collection of clips from movies and television programs which show how Hollywood and contemporary society depicts artists. By showing popular television shows slant on what the idea of an artist means to modern society, this reflects the view of the ordinary person, who can sometimes misunderstand contemporary art. This film reflects the sometimes uninformed, sometimes humorous view of society towards artists today. She shows a clip from the Agony and the Ecstasy with Michelangelo destroying his first painting in the Sistine Chapel, a comic scene from the movie Batman with Rembrandts and Degas paintings being vandalised by the Joker and a scene from the television show Absolutely Fabulous, as well as o ther scenes from art movies such as Surviving Picasso. This clever 10 minute documentary gives an excellent insight in the way artists are perceived in modern society, how five decades of mainstream media have perceived the creative process and creators themselves (http://www.wmm.com/Catalog/_makers/fm253.htm), especially given that the word artist now more often than not in popular usage such as on television and on the radio, refers to a musician rather than a visual artist, with many people today sometimes confused by a postmodernist style of visual art where anything is allowed and considered art. In another of her short films, Lip, Moffat shows clips put together of black servants in Hollywood movies talking back to their bosses, in what she is trying to show is the discrimination which is often evident in films towards minorities, and reveals the narrow margin Hollywood has allowed black actresses to shine in (http://www.wmm.com/Catalog/_makers/fm253.htm) While watching the fi lms the racism in the movie may be subtle, but when she appropriates many images from different films and puts them together it is much more apparent. In many of her films and images Tracey Moffat has used a style which is close to an appropriation similar to that done by other postmodern artists. In the series of photographs called GUAPA (Good Looking) (Fig.4) she shows photographs of people from different races roller-skating in a rink as though it were a contest with a referee, the image borrowed from similar television images. She uses a soft magenta colour effect in the images, which contrasts with the action which is taking place. The people in the film are dressed in unusual outfits, which gives an impression possibly of a futuristic sport. In one of Moffats films, Heaven (Fig.2), she shows footage of men getting changed in a car park near a beach, and she takes the position with the camera of someone watching who possibly is not supposed to, or whom the people in the film are uncomfortable with having there. She is someone watching the surfers who is not supposed to, shamelessly plays voyeur to a succession of surfers chang ing into their wetsuits in parking lots (http://www.renaissancesociety.org/ show/moffat/index.html) Once again, Moffat is responding to the programs shown on television and in the movies, and by making art on this theme it shows that television and movies are influencing the art which is being displayed in contemporary art galleries. This film makes art out of a seemingly ordinary activity, includes shots of a car as seen from the inside and outside, as well as surfers wearing ordinary clothes and jewellery. She appropriates these symbols of modern life such as the cars and modern clothing and uses them in an artistic way to express the voyeur theme which she is trying to get across. In her film, Bedevil (Fig.3) which is composed of three separate films, Moffat appropriates images from modern life such as the American soldier in the first story Mister Chuck, the railway tracks in the second Choo Choo Choo Choo and the landlord and eviction in the third Lovin the Spin Im in. The imag es from these films have been partly inspired by memories from her early life. Tracey Moffat uses for inspiration in many of her films the movies and television programs she remembers from her childhood. Modern technology in this way is having an impact on the art produced by artists such as Moffat, who bases her ideas directly upon ideas coming from these things. In her films, she uses imagery which comes from popular culture, from television programs and movies that she has seen including from sources which are not often seen as part of the art world, such as B-grade television programs and television advertisements. She makes use of the stylistic resources of advertising and even so-called trash-TV' (Reinhardt 1999: 7) She grew up in Brisbane in the 1960s, and during this time experienced much of popular culture through different types of modern culture on the new technological tools of television and cinema, from melodramas to deeply surreal film noir (Sever 2001: 12) She also uses modern music in her films such as with cuts showing Jimmie Little singing in the film Night Cries (Fig.1). This film shows a woman caring for her dying mother, as well as showing many years before the woman as a young child at the beach with her mother who is much younger then. Moffat has used the film to create an effect similar to that of Frederick McCubbins The Pioneer which shows a dying person on one side and the same person much younger on the other. This gives the audience a feeling of sadness as they think about all the events which the person went through in their lifetime. The audience would see the way the woman would feel bound to care for her mother in the same way that her mother cared for her when she was a child. Moffat also has considered using computers in manipulating photographic images, because the number of things she can do is greatly increased with many computing tools available for the artist. Photography is always a wonderful challenge Of course now with computer manipulations the possibilities make you exhausted even thinking about it. (Tracey Moffat, quoted in Hentschel 1998: 23) American artist Lillian Schwartz made many experiments with computer art during her long career. Computers are being used by recent artists as tools with which to analyse and create works of art. Schwartz was one of the first artists to experiment with computer images and computer effects on art. She worked closely with scientists in the 1970s in the early stages of computer development, and developed one of the first rock music videos. She also made one of the first digitised films to be shown as a work of art, her video Pixillation showing diagonal red squares and other shapes such as cones, pyramids on black on white backgrounds. This video is regarded as one of the most important early works of computer film art which with her other work is now considered seminal works of computer artcomposed of programmed abstract images. (Rush 1999: 172) She worked in the early stages of her career with scientists as Bell Laboratories developing mixtures of sound, video and art. Later on, durin g the 1980s, Schwartz made many experiments with artworks manipulating images using computer technology and creating some artworks of her own. Schwartz extensively used the works of Leonardo Da Vinci in experiments with computers. These experiments showed some of the ways in which computers can be used to change and develop images. These images expand the audiences perception of artworks which they already know. She used a 3D computer generated model to show that the lines on the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan match the perspective lines of Leonardos fresco painting of the Last Supper, showing that his painting may have been designed to appear as an extension to the room from where the monks would have been sitting to observe it. Thus technology has given a new dimension to the painting by allowing viewers to better understand why it possibly had been made. Similarly, in Schwartzs most famous work, the Mona Leo (Fig.5), she spliced the left side of the Mona Lisa (Fig.6) with a flipped left side of the red chalk portrait of Leonardo (Fig.7), arguing that the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait by Leonardo. She shows that the Leo nardo self portrait and the Mona Lisa line up perfectly, as when the two images noses were aligned the rest of the face lined up exactly. Using lines drawn on the image, she shows the bottom of the eye, eyebrow, nose and chin all line up together. She also removes the grey tones in the Leonardo self portrait and superimposes the Mona Lisa eye over it in further experiments to show how the images are closely related. Without the aid of a computer, these experiments would take a much longer amount of time, for instance if she was to paint the Mona Leo by hand. Her new works each function as separate works of art in themselves with all the characteristics of a work of art, so the computer is a tool which creates art just as a paintbrush does. This can be considered an art of appropriation, as where an artist has borrowed the images of another artist to create a new work. Schwartz uses computers to manipulate many other images which relate to art and art history, creating new works of art. Schwartzs experiments with computers to manipulate images were done decades before digital art became popular in the late 1990s. She used shapes generated by a computer to make images on the computer screen, such as using trapezium shapes to create an object recognisable as a cat (Fig. 8), as well as triangle shapes to represent a human head. (Fig. 9) She also experimented with ways to superimpose multiple images onto another recognisable image in an effect of a collage, as with Statue of Liberty (Fig.10) and Homage to Van Gogh (Fig.11) Computers applied in such ways can create collages and images faster than possible by hand. These images function not only as experiments with computer work, but also as works of art in themselves. Statue of Liberty is composed of different elements which have been put together using a computer, similar to Cubist collages and Dadaist photomontages of the early 20th century. She warped images of faces of Rembrandt into a photo of Einstein, showing similarities in the facial features (Fig. 12), a task which would be almost impossible to do by hand, but only take a few seconds with the aid of a computer. She similarly combined images of works of art in a poster for the Museum of Modern Art in New York in her poster Big MoMA (Fig. 13), an also near impossible task by hand, but relatively easy with computers, and still creating a legitimate award winning work of art. The role of computers to be used by the artist has been addressed by Schwartz. Computers can today perform many functions for the artist, from creating artworks through altering photography or by flipping shapes, changing colours, adding tones and a seemingly infinite amount of other uses. Computer artists can create interactive images, robot installations, digitalised and/or 3 dimensional images. Many of the ways which this latest technology is used to create art makes art into a genre becoming close to being a video game or a movie. In her research on computers, Schwartz discusses whether art produced wholly by computers can be considered as art, the question is asked as to what a work of art means, Is it the final piece of art (or output) by which creativity is judged, or is creativity independent of the art. (Schwartz 1992: 256) She asks whether it means that something must be produced creatively, or are people impressed with the craftsmanship and effort that has gone into a work such as a Michelangelo or Titian when they think of it as art. For if it is only the craftsmanship which makes a work of art then computers can surely produce artworks since they have the ability to work faster than humans in many ways. Paint and brushes can be regarded as technology of sorts because they are implements which are made for the artist to use in his painting, just as a painting computer program is there for an artist to create his works on. The Renaissance artists had assistants to mix paints, prepare canvases, or in the case of Rubens even finish off the painting. The computer can be regarded as assistant which allows the artist greater time to put into creative ideas, and less into repetitive tasks which can easily handled by a computer. The computer is very much like an apprentice Since the master (the programmer or artist) does not have to be present for many of these operations, it seems as if the computer is acting in place of the artist. We have again found our scientist-artist, and it is the computer itself. (Schwartz 1992: 233) Video and computers are having a huge influence on modern art. Modern art exhibitions are increasingly incorporating the use of both video and computers, as well as other technologies. In addition, artists such as Moffat are using ideas obtained from new media such as television and Hollywood movies which are being displayed in art galleries. Schwartz uses computers to manipulate images and create new works of art. Art is continuing to change with the introduction of new technologies. Artists are effectively using these technologies in their works, and will almost certainly continue to do so in the future. Moffats use of film and Schwartzs use of computers shows that these new media can and are often used in art, and are every bit as valid a medium as a paintbrush or pencil. Reference List Books Cooke, Lynne and Kelly, Karen 1998, Tracey Moffat: Free-Falling. Dia Center for the Arts, New York, USA Duckrey, Timothy 1999, Ars Electronica: Facing the Future. A Survey of Two Decades, Massachusetts institute of Technology, USA Goodman, Cynthia 1987, Digital Visions. Computers and Art. Harry N. Abrams inc. publishers, New York, USA Hentschel, Martin 1998, Tracey Moffat, Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany Hertz, Richard and Klein, Norman 1990, Twentieth Century Art Theory. Urbanism, Politics and Mass Culture, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, USA. Lucie-Smith, Edward 1995, Movements in art since 1945. Issues and concepts, Thames and Hudson, London, UK Paul, Christiane 2003, Digital Art, Thames Hudson, London, UK Popper, Frank 1997, Art of the Electronic Age, Thames Hudson, London, UK Reinhardt, Brigitte 1999, Tracey Moffatt. Laudanum, Hatje Cantz Publishers, Ostfildern, Germany Rush, Michael 1999, New Media in Late 20th Century Art. Thames Hudson, London, UK Schwartz, Lillian F. 1992, The Computer Artists Handbook. Concepts, Techniques and Applications. WW Norton Co. Inc, New York, USA Sever, Nancy 2001, Tracey Moffat. Invocations, ANU Drill Hall Gallery, Australia