Music Therapy for Health and Wellness

Lilia Grabenstein Professor Lambert Hartman GWRTC 103 11 October 2012 How Does Music Therapy Affect Patient’s Psychological and Physiological Well-being? Many countries that you can travel to, have their own style of music that makes up their culture, which is incorporated into their lifestyles. Music was not only created around the world for enjoyment, but has been used as a form of comfort, a stress reliever, and a healer (â€Å"What Is Music Therapy? †).According to the American Cancer Society, in their Find and Support Treatment section, music therapy was developed in during World War II where it was used in US Veteran Administration hospitals to treat soldiers from suffering from shell shock (â€Å"Music Therapy†). From a personal experience, I feel that music eases my tension, helps me focus, and relates to how I am feeling. In addition to my personal experience and connection with music, I was curious to see how music can be even more therapeutic. I am int erested about the profession of music therapy as well as the effects that it has on patients and people with disabilities.For my research, I decided to choose the question, â€Å"What effect does music therapy have on various patients’ physical and mental wellbeing? † I wanted to examine this question more intently, because I believe that music therapy can provide evidence for a new method of healing for people that suffer from illnesses including cancer, disease, and depression as well as mental disabilities like autism. As I started my research, I first wanted to find out what music therapy was and what type of audience it was aimed toward.The first resource that I found to steer me in the right direction was the Music Therapy Association website where I read, â€Å"What is Music Therapy? † This provided me with the basic definition of music therapy and how it aimed to help their patients. Music Therapy is defined as, â€Å"the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program (â€Å"What is Music Therapy? †). Here, I learned that the entire website is geared toward people who find it difficult to express themselves and feel strengthened by the music that the program is creating for them. For many years music therapy has been developing and helping to ease the pain of many patients ranging from various ages with illnesses and disorders. Specialized in this area, music therapists are â€Å"trained professionals who assess the well being of the physical health, communications, and functions of client needs† (â€Å"What Is Music Therapy? ). Some of their main goals are to â€Å"promote wellness, alleviate pain enhance memory, and promote physical rehabilitation† (â€Å"What Is Music Therapy? †). The website gives you the opportunity to sign up as a Music Th erapist, attend conferences for the program, and provides many stories and quotes about personal experiences with musical therapy. Although this website was beneficial to the start of my search, I knew I needed more to do more in depth research about my topic.I decided to expand on my previous topic so I searched the LEO Library Website on the JMU page for further research. Here, I found a book called Interactive Music Therapy, where Amelia Oldfield shares her experience from traveling to a Child Development Center where she conducted a study the developmental relationship on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their parents. Since Oldfield specializes in studying children with ASD, I knew she would provide quality information for me to include.For eighteen to twenty-six weeks Oldfield studied ten children and their parents by video analysis, semi-structured parent interviews, music therapy reports, and Parenting Stress Index questionnaires. After hours of recording data at t he end of the study, nine out of ten parents felt the sessions proved to have a positive impact after participating in the program. The children resulted in increased levels of engagement, communication levels, playfulness, and interaction with their parents.Parents PSI levels all lowered, but it was proven that two pairs of parents PSI levels decreased dramatically. The video analysis data was not as positive as the music report, which proved to be more helpful in the study (Oldfield 157-169). After reading this excerpt, I gained more insight into understanding how interactions, communication, and even relaxation levels can increase based on music therapy treatments. At this point in my study, I knew that I had made progress in researching he topic of music therapy and how it increased interaction of children with ASD. I knew that I had to dig even deeper if I wanted to support my question. Oldfield’s study seemed like children with ASD were increasing their connection with their parents. I wanted to learn even more about how music therapy could potentially improve autistic children’s learning methods. In my next source, Hayoung A. Lim shares a perspective of children with ASD in the classroom. In addition to my last research source, I decided to go to the library to further my research.I took about six books off the shelf, and one that stood out to me was Developmental Speech-Language Training Through Music for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, by Hayoung A. Lim, which provided me with another variation of a test on children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. In a study Lim shares, Carla Hoskins investigated sung and spoken versions of three standardized speech tests, which included a verbal test, verbal with pictures, and a sung version with guitar. This was used to see if it would produce better short-term memory.Through multiple tests with regular verbal talk, music, and music with words, there was a significant difference in learning ex perience of the children in each group. It appeared to be evident that the tests with the verbal music with pictures improved short-term memory, increased communication, created more focus in the classroom. The results of this research was the cause of enjoyment in accordance to the method using music and pictures, which took away from the boring learning atmosphere compared to other methods (Lim 73-77).After reading this excerpt, I came to the conclusion that these tests and studies on children with ASD and delayed speech development started to clarify the first part of my question about the improvement of the psychological well-being of people. This information gave me a clearer perspective of how music and learning combined makes it more exciting, especially for children to gain knowledge about certain subjects. Besides children, I wanted to understand how music could also affect adults and teens.Another great article that I found on the LexisNexis Academic database was about how music therapy can be an â€Å"effective tool in enhancing the quality of life among cancer survivors and people suffering from chronic illnesses† (Wee). May Wong Mei-lin found the Hong Breast Cancer Foundation after she experienced breast cancer herself, where the Hong Kong Music Therapy program had professionals perform for patients. A breast cancer survivor that attended Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, Pollina Ip Lai-chun, joined a program called Melody-in-Mind after experiencing depression after chemotherapy.She stated that singing lifted her spirits and she feels that she has become â€Å"more cheerful† (Wee). In Wee’s article, she included the four types of intervention in a music therapy session: performing including singing or playing instruments, composing, improvising, and listening. In addition, Wee included some studies in her article like one that was conducted in 2009 by the University of Maryland Medical center that found that, â€Å"Alzheime r’s patients who received music therapy experienced lower levels of anxiety and depression†.She also discovered a study from Drexel University by Joke Bradt provided that, â€Å"music can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and may also have positive effects on mood, pain, and quality of life†. Lastly, another study included from Nature Neuroscience showed that listening to preferred music could cause the brain to release a dopamine chemical that improves our moods. This information created answers to my questions and even expanded on the side effects music therapy can have on the brain. This positive feedback made my research process look even more promising.After numerous amounts of research, I kept finding articles that discussed the improvement in psychological areas, but I was very adamant about learning if music therapy truly could help the physiological state of being for patients that had were in worse conditions of illness. If I could find more informatio n about physical improvement, I could answer my initial question confidently. In some cases, I have heard that music can be a factor in curing sicknesses and diseases, so I was also curious to see if this information was factual.In my final day of research, a study that I read from the American Cancer Society called â€Å"Music Therapy†, included that in a clinical trial, musical therapy provided for cancer patients was proven to reduce symptoms like high blood pressure, heart rate, insomnia, and breathing rate. This information provides evidence that music therapy can help our physiological state. While reading this article, I found the author included that music did help short-term pain after surgeries, but a key factor that I noticed was that he stated, â€Å"there were no difference in survival rates† (â€Å"Music Therapy†).Soon after I read this, I realized that the method of musical therapy might help emotional well-being and decrease in levels like stress , but it would not actually cure a patient of a medical illness. After I searched through different data bases on the LEO Library, my eye caught various titles like â€Å"Music Therapy Cures Stroke Patients† and â€Å"Music Therapy Cures Cancer Patients†. However, the articles and excerpts I read were very short and did not have factual evidence to support the claims. With that, I have concluded that Music Therapy does not help our physiological wellbeing as much as it helps our psychological wellbeing.Although I could not find too much supporting evidence about the physical aid that music therapy provides patients besides reducing things like heart rate, the last article I stumbled upon provided a new angle of vision toward my topic. Although I found many article about curing illnesses, this story provided a unique twist to my research about the use of music therapy in a hospice setting. The article â€Å"Music Therapy Taken To Hospice Patients†, Sarah Pitts, a trained musical therapist, worked in a four-year musical therapy program at the Hospice of West Alabama in Tuscaloosa.Pitts brought instruments like drums, which helped release tension in children that had cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. Pitts saw improvement in patients who had overcome strokes and had other similar impairments. She even played music for a family that requested here while the patient died peacefully. As Pitts simply played on her guitar and sang for patients, she was able help reduce anxiety in her patients and even a few patients became well enough to leave hospice (â€Å"Music Therapy Taken To Hospice Patients†).This article did provide evidence of physical improvement in relation to patients with physical impairments, however, not enough information was provided that signified dramatic physical improvement. After hours of research spent in the library and online, I found that the art of music therapy provides a healing power for people everywhere. Whether we are elderly, youth, or teenagers, we all can find a comfort while listening to music. The goal of music therapists is to provide an interactive atmosphere where patients can socialize and physically watch a performance wherever they may reside.In response to my initial research question, I have concluded that music therapy is beneficial in augmenting the intellect of children with disabilities, lowering anxiety levels, easing tension, and lowering heart rate, to name few. In addition, my research provided that music therapy alone doesn’t cure cancer and illnesses. There is a possibility that it has cured patients, but many studies that I read concluded that the music only eased short-term pain. Overall, I have found that music therapy has been proven to increase our psychological well being more than our physical wellbeing.I would have to conduct more research about music therapy and its capability of physically curing patients fully in order to answer my research question more accurately. Annotated Bibiographies Lim, Hayoung A. Lim. Developmental Speech-Language Training Through Music for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012. 73-77. Print. This book provides copious amounts of information for parents that are curious in learning about how they can help their child become more at ease by using music therapy.In the chapter I read, there was a test that was made for children that tested the short term memory of children with ASD which improved after testing with musical therapy. This article is important because it informs us about different ways autistic children can enhance their development of intelligence with this unique approach. â€Å"Music Therapy†. Find Support and Treatment. American Cancer Society. 1 Nov. 2011. Web 10 Oct. 2012. The article from the American Cancer society website about music therapy is geared toward readers curious about alternative methods of relieving the pain o f cancer patients.It talks about the benefits of attaining an overall sense of well-being that patients receive from music therapy at the bedside in hospitals. This article is helpful in providing information about the many physical reliefs that music can help to treat various cancer patients. â€Å"Music Therapy Taken to Hospice Patients†. Hospice Management Advisor (2010): LexisNexis Academic. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. Written for readers who are interested in methods of healing during hospice, this journal article provides how a music therapist improved spirits of patients in critical conditions.This article shares how being part of interactive musical therapy can help patients in hospice to ease their anxiety and maintain their peace by listening to therapists like Sarah Pitts. This information is valuable because it promotes the development of both psychological and physiological wellbeing that can improve attitudes of people that are suffering from illness. Oldfield, Amelia. I nteractive Music Therapy: A Positive Approach. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006. 157-169. Print. In this interactive online book, Oldfield creates her focus toward parents of children with disabilities.Specifically, in one of her studies, she observed interactions of parents and their children who took many music therapy tests and structured interviews. This chapter in the book provided that music therapy does have an impact on how children with autism interact with their surroundings, providing that they were more open to self-expression, learning, and interaction while listening to music during the tests. Wee, Margaret. â€Å"Music Therapy is Proving to be an Effective Tool in Enhancing the Quality of Life Among Cancer Survivors and People Suffering From Chronic Illnesses†.South China Morning Post (2011): LexisNexis Academic. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. This is a journalistic article that features a story written for readers who are curious about cures for breast canc er. While music therapy is not exactly a cure for breast cancer, this article provides information about how it acts as a temporary healer for patients suffering from depression and anxiety during chemotherapy. This is an important article because it provides valuable information that can help researchers gain more insight about the healing music therapy promotes. What Is Music Therapy? † Music Therapy Association. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. This website provides stories about various patient’s who experienced the healing of music therapy. The website provides an opportunity for music therapists to sign up online and join for a good cause. The website provides basic definitions and information about what the association is geared toward. From this there are many beneficial links about AMTA and how it is utilized in places like schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.

Living Environment Essay

* All living things must maintain homeostasis in order to stay alive. * Homeostasis: A balanced state in an organism’s body. * Failure to maintain homeostasis results in disease or death. * Homeostasis is often maintained using feedback mechanisms. * Feedback mechanisms are cycles in which the product of one reaction causes another to start or stop. * While organisms are balanced, they are not unchanging. The term used to describe the balanced state is dynamic equilibrium. * Dynamic Equilibrium: A balanced state created by many small, opposing changes. * Life Processes: All living things carry out the same basic chemical processes. Taken together, these processes make up an organism’s metabolism. * Metabolism: All the chemical processes that take place in an organism. * Nutrition: Using nutrients for growth, synthesis, repair and energy. * Respiration: Converts energy in food into a  usable form (ATP). * Synthesis: Making complex chemicals from simple substances. * Transport: Absorbing and distributing materials throughout the body. * Regulation: The control and coordination of life processes. * Excretion: Removing of wastes produced by metabolic activities. * Reproduction: Passes on genes to offspring. * Inorganic Chemicals: Simple compounds * Water ( H2O) : Most common substance in all living things (about 60% of body mass) * Needed for chemical reactions ( which won’t happen in â€Å"dry† conditions) * Dissolves other molecules into solution, allowing them to be transported through the body. * Oxygen (O2): Needed by most (not all) organisms for cellular respiration. * Released by plants and algae as a waste product of photosynthesis. * Aerobic respiration: Process that uses oxygen to extract energy from glucose (sugar). Used by most organisms. * Anaerobic respiration: Process that extracts energy from glucose without using oxygen. Gives less energy, so only used by some simple organisms (some bacteria, yeast). These organisms do not need to breathe in oxygen. * Carbon Dioxide (CO2): * With water, used by plants to make glucose (photosynthesis). * Waste product of aerobic respiration. * Nitrogen (N2): * Most common gas in air (70%) * Needed to make protein. * Converted into nitrates by soil bacteria. Nitrates are absorbed by plants and then eaten by animals . * Excreted as waste in urine. * Acids and Bases: * Measured by the pH scale * pH can affect rates of chemical reactions; for example, digestive enzymes work fastest in acidic environments, which is why we make stomach acid (hydrochloric acid, or HCl). * Organic Compounds: Larger, more complex chemicals. Always contain the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). Synthesized from simpler substances (building blocks). * Carbohydrates: Sugars and starches * Building blocks: Simple sugars * Functions: * A starch (A) is broken down by an enzyme (B) into two simple sugars (C, D). This is also a good example of the lock and key model. A starch (A) is broken down by an enzyme (B) into two simple sugars (C, D). This is also a good example of the lock and key model. Provides energy * Stores energy in plants (starch) * Lipids: Fats, oils and waxes * Functions: * Stores energy (animal fat) * Insulation * Water proofing * Cell membrane * Proteins: Complex compounds that carry out all the body’s activities. * Building blocks: Amino acids  * Have many different functions as determined by their shape. * Lock and Key Model: Proteins must have the right shape to â€Å"fit† with other molecules. * Changing the shape of a protein will change what it can interact with its function. * Important types of proteins: * Hormones and neurotransmitters – carry messages through the body. * Cell receptors – in cell membrane; receive hormones and neurotransmitters. * Antibodies – attack foreign pathogens * Enzymes- act as catalysts, controlling all chemical reactions in the body. * High temperatures will cause enzymes to denature (lose their shape) and stop functioning. This is why high fevers are dangerous. * Nucleic Acids (DNA and RNA): Make up genes and chromosomes. * Building blocks: Nucleotides; molecular bases (ATCGU) Topic Two: The Cell I. Definition: The basic unit of structure and function in all living things. II. Cell Theory has three parts: 1. All living things are made of one or more cells. * Unicellular – single celled organisms (amoeba, paramecium) * Multicellular – have more than 1 cell; may be only a few cells, or many trillions of cells. Almost all structures in multicelled organisms are made of or by cells. 2. Cells carry out all life processes. * Everything you do is the result of the work of your cells – walking, talking, even thinking and feeling. When you get sick, it is because your cells are not working correctly. 3. All cells come from preexisting cells. This seems obvious now, but at one time people believed in spontaneous generation, the idea that living things regularly emerged from nonliving things. A) Exceptions to the Cell Theory 4. Viruses are not made of cells. However, they also do not carry out all life processes; so many biologists do not consider them true living things. 5. The first cell obviously could not come from another cell. III. Organization B) Atoms C) Molecules D) Organelles – Cell structures E) Cells F) Tissues – Cells with the same structure and function. G) Organs – Made of different tissues working together for the same function. H) Organ Systems – Groups of organs that work together. I) Organism IV. Cell Organelles: These are the tiny cell parts that make up a cell. 6. Nucleus * Controls the cell * Contains hereditary material (chromosomes, genes, DNA) 7. Cytoplasm (technically not an organelle) * Fluid/liquid in the cell – mostly water * Helps transport material 8. Mitochondrion * Carries out cellular respiration. * Gives cell energy (Powerhouse of the cell). 9. Ribosome * Makes proteins from amino acids. 10. Vacuole * Stores food, water and waste * Food vacuoles may digest large molecules. * Waste vacuoles may excrete waste out the cell membrane 11. Chloroplast * Carries out photosynthesis * Plant and algae cells only 12. Cell Wall * Gives shape, structure and protection. * NEVER found in animal cells. 13. Cell Membrane * Separates cell interior from environment * Controls what enters and leaves the cell using transport proteins. * Has receptor molecules that pick up signals from other cells. * Has antigens which are protein â€Å"tags† that identify the cell (see immune system). Topic Three: Nutrition, Photosynthesis and Respiration Reminder: All life processes are chemical activities which make up your metabolism. * Nutrition: Taking in nutrients (food) for various activities including: * growth * healing * synthesis * respiration (energy) A) Ingestion: To take nutrients into the body. B) Digestion: To break down nutrients into smaller pieces. 1. Nutrients must be broken down into smaller parts so that they can be absorbed into the blood and cells of organisms. * Starches are digested into simple sugars. * Proteins are digested into amino acids. C) Autotrophic Nutrition: Organisms take inorganic materials (CO2, H2O) and convert them into organic nutrients (carbohydrates). 2. Auto = self ; troph = food; so Autotroph = self feeding 3. Photosynthesis is most common form of autotrophic nutrition 4. Plants, algae and blue-green bacteria (cyanobacteria) are common autotrophs. D) Heterotrophic Nutrition: Organisms must consume nutrients from other organisms. 5. Hetero = other so Heterotroph = feeds on others. 6. All animals and fungi are heterotrophs. 7. Includes: * Carnivores: eats mostly animals * Herbivores: eats mostly plants or algae * Omnivores: eats both plants and animals * Decomposers: breaks down dead matter and waste * Decomposers are important for recycling nutrients * I. Photosynthesis: Process in which sun’s energy is trapped in the chemical bonds of sugar. E) Requires sunlight, water and CO2. F) Makes glucose (C6H12O6) as food. G) Water and oxygen are waste products. H) Benefits: 8. Provides food for all plants, animals and other organisms. 9. Provides oxygen to breathe. 10. Removes CO2 from atmosphere. I) Plant adaptations: 11. Chloroplast: Cell organelle that does photosynthesis 12. Gas exchange: * Stomata : Pores under a leaf; let gases in and out * Guard cells: open and close stomata to prevent dehydration 13. Transport: * Xylem and Phloem: â€Å"tubes† transport food and water throughout the plant. Two different views of the stomates and their guard cells (X). Two different views of the stomates and their guard cells (X). II. Cellular Respiration: Process that takes energy from sugar molecules and places it in molecules of ATP. J) ATP is the molecule all life uses for energy. * No organism can get energy from sunlight or sugar without first putting the energy into ATP. K) Requires oxygen, glucose and water. L) Carbon dioxide and water are waste products. M) Most organisms carry out aerobic respiration (uses oxygen) in their mitochondria. N) Anaerobic respiration does not require oxygen, but gives less ATP (energy) for each molecule of sugar. * When exercise causes human muscles to run out of oxygen, their cells will do anaerobic respiration. The waste product, lactic acid, causes muscles to â€Å" burn† so that you will stop. O) Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration are opposite reactions! They are also important in cycling oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and water through the environment P) Common mistakes: * â€Å"Plants use photosynthesis, animals use respiration.† All organisms, including plants, use respiration to get their energy. * â€Å"Respiration is breathing.† Breathing is not respiration. Breathing exchanges the gases needed for respiration. Inhaling and exhaling does not give you ATP. * â€Å"Oxygen is used to breathe.† This is backwards. Breathing is used to get oxygen which is used for respiration. Without oxygen, you have no respiration, no ATP, and no energy. * â€Å"All living things need oxygen/need to breathe.† Anaerobic organisms do not need oxygen, and do not have to breathe.

Terry Fox Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terry Fox - Research Paper Example Also right from the starting, he have a dream –- to run through over Canada to raise cash for cancer research. This is what Terrys story of hope was all about. Through a smart blend of visual components and a simple to-read, ordered story, Maxin Trottier shows Terrys progresses from a conventional Canadian kid with hopeful inclinations to became resolved a successfully adolescent sportsperson who influence millions to do their part for cancer research. Memorabilia, quotes and photographs give a scrapbook-style presentation of the story support the content strongly as well as successfully hold the reader’s interest. Leslie Scriveners book, Terry Fox - His Story, is initially distributed in 1981, on the other hand in 1983 and 2000 by The Terry Fox Foundation. The first version is composed while Terry is still alive. The new release, recognized the twentieth year of the Marathon of Hope, giving upgrades on how Terrys legacy exist. The book is composed in ordered request and incorporates numerous eminent pictures and extracts from Terrys diary. It is a book worth perusing for such a large number of explanations. If you find the opportun ity, I trust you appreciate and are roused. This moving document on a man whose bravery raised $20,000,000 for an admirable motivation is additionally a valid look at the account of determination. When Fox choose to run in the cross-country marathon (5,150 miles) to raise cash for cancer research, his guardians, his physician, and his companions contradicted the idea however he persevered, persuading a companion with a camper to support him. The noteworthy contributions of Terry Fox got to be especially obvious in the year 1976, after he started treatment for cancer and saw the enduring of other cancer patients. Trottier incorporates actualities about the astonishing chain of occasions that roused him to make this

Chinese Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese Politics - Essay Example These students were against the failure of the state to mourn Hu Yaobang who was the CPC General Secretary and a symbol of liberal reform and a clean government to them. They were joined by allegiances that were against the communist and in need of economic reform and liberalization. The response of the PRC to the peaceful protests was repressive in nature and an absolute violation of human rights.2 The government had warned the protesters of drastic actions to control the ‘social chaos’. True to their words, army action was taken against the protesters and they were shot dead.3 Given that the troops sent by the PRC were unable to enforce martial law in the face of 100,000 protesters who had protested for seven weeks, they resorted to open fire indiscriminately on the protesters and this saw thousands of protesters killed thus making it the major turning point of the history of China. Apart from the killings, many other protesters together with their supporters were arrested and foreign press banned from the country thus leaving the coverage of events to be controlled strictly by the PRC press. The government used every possible measure to crush the uprising thus enabling it to remain in power. Russia and Eastern Europe faced an economic crisis as their economy performed poorly hence attracting public intervention. This led to protests against the government which was successful as it resulted in the displacement of the communist government. China, on the other hand, did not fall even though it faced similar challenges like the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe since it successfully suppressed every uprising. In addition, the economic performance of China was not declining given that years later under the same party the country has made tremendous progress economically.

General Electric Medical Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

General Electric Medical Systems - Essay Example PEST Analysis Political UK offers stable political conditions and a favorable business environment. The laws, rules, and regulations are also favorable for any company to establish its business operations in the region. It is said to provide a very politically friendly environment for conducting businesses. This has made it one of the leading destinations of investments by companies expanding their global operations. The country also maintains consular relationships with other countries. This would provide a favorable place for the growth of the healthcare sector (Coleman, 2010, p.12). Economic The open economy of UK enhances the facilities if international trade and also provides opportunities for conducting overseas businesses. The gross domestic product or the GDP rate is as high as $2,345 billion. According to forecasts, it is expected to develop the â€Å"strongest business environment of all major European economies for the period 2007 to 2011† (Coleman, 2010, p.12). It is also blessed with a strong workforce which is a basic requirement for the establishment of any enterprise. This implies that the company would not confront with problems in finding manpower. Socio-Cultural The most favorable aspect is the absence of any adverse cultural or religious influences on ways in which businesses are conducted. Also, the general business hours start from 9 am and runs till 5.30, which demonstrates very flexible timings of work. The number of working hours in a week is 37.5 (Coleman, 2010, p.12). The media sector is also predominant and flourishing which would provide greater facilities of communication for business and the general public. Technological It has a number of development agencies which look into the promotion of the economic growth of their respective regions. One of the main sectors that come under the purview of these agencies is healthcare technologies. It tries to identify the business needs and prospects of the industry (Coleman, 2010, p. 17). The nation has been showing immense productivity growth and has been outperforming most other nations. This can be attributed to the technological innovation of the nation. Competitive Analysis The healthcare system in the UK is highly competitive. The government has been making extensive efforts in â€Å"extending choice and competition† in the healthcare sector to enhance productivity. This has also been done in favor of improving the healthcare services as per the needs of patients. The result has been improved healthcare services at low costs (Propper, 2010, p.6). â€Å"UK Healthcare† is one of the best providers of medical services in the nation. â€Å"The UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital† is considered to be one of the best hospitals in the nation. It is also said to be the best academic medical center. The nation has also witnessed the growth of a number of online medical facilities (UK Healthcare, 2007, p.1). There are numerous numbers of suppliers of medical services. Some of the well-known names are â€Å"Baxter Healthcare Limited†, â€Å"Bayer PLC†, â€Å"Beckman Coulter UK Limited† (Burton Hospitals, 2008, p.1), etc.

The Gulf War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Gulf War - Essay Example After easily conquering Kuwait, Iraq began verbal attacks on Saudi Arabia, which forced the rest of the world to take a stern action against the stubborn Iraq nation. When Iraq defied all the warnings to leave Kuwait, a military action was the only remaining solution to cub that problem. The western world in collaboration with other wealthy nations contributed funds and security forces to fight Iraq. The gulf war negatively affected the economies of almost all nations, with the worst hit being the developing nations and it altered global democracy. The gulf war had a great negative effect on the world economy that was under pressure in recovering from the Second World War was threatened once again. Oil prices escalated at a great deal since Middle East countries are the major world oil producers because the war had interrupted oil mining and the exportation processes. The oil supply in Middle East countries reduced greatly up to a point where it could not meet global energy demands. Due to the scarcity of oil from major producers, the few Non- OPEC oil producing countries took advantage and hiked their oil prices and the customers did not have a choice but to dig deeper into their pockets. Those prices affected the budgets of various countries since a portion of money that had been set aside for other national projects had to be used to meet the rising cost of oil (Schwab 340). After the problem persisted for a long time, the global economy had taken a recession direction. Many developed nations opted to exploit on other sources of energy to meet their energy demands. Those unplanned new projects hampered development in those nations due to the increased expenditures that those countries did not anticipate. The cost of production of energy rose at an alarming rate, and the result was that the production cost of goods also rose. The increased cost of production further worsened the world economic status since most industries had reduced their production capabili ties and they faced weaker purchasing powers. Most ended up in retrenching a good number of their workers thus increasing the rate of unemployment and overdependence at the same time. Annual revenues that governments earned from those companies reduced drastically forcing them to reduce funding the national projects and development of infrastructures. Free trade markets experienced acute shortages of various goods whose prices had also risen; the nations that relied on these products had to spend more to get them (Schwab 342). Since many sovereign states had cut down on the cost of development, it implied that they produced fewer goods to trade and thus they earned less from foreign exchange markets and in local trades. The poverty levels pushed up due to the increased rate of unemployment, thus posing a great threat to the nationals’ securities since a considerable number of people had turned into theft and other criminal acts to earn their daily bread (Cashman & Robinson 11 ). The developing states faced the worst economic crisis as compared to the developed countries primarily because those nations heavily depended on the imported goods from their developed neighbors (Costigan & Perry 301). The oil crisis forced those developed states to use more money from their budgets and they had to stall some of their projects

Working while being a college student is bad Essay

Working while being a college student is bad - Essay Example Not every student is fit for a work study but a large number participate in the program since they have no other source of funds to cater for their educational expenses. Working while in college comes with some challenges that pose significant obstacles to the students in their pursuit to attain educational excellence thus making it a bad idea. It is prudent that working while in college is not advisable as it is associated with a number of drawbacks that include; careful in managing time for both the job and school work, stress related to the job as well as the wages earned might induce the students into dropping from their studies to concentrate on those jobs (Perozzi 37). Time is a precious resource for any college students since he/she has to balance all activities to attain both academic and extra curriculum excellence. Part-time jobs while in college come with an additional time obligation since the students concerned will have to set aside between four to twenty hours a week for working depending on the kind of jobs they undertake. That implies that students who take work study programs should have an excellent sense of time management for them to juggle between school work and job obligations. Conversely, a majority of the students who are working while in college they do not evaluate their time management abilities prior to indulging in the program rather the desire to make an extra dollar or rather financial constraints drive them to the program. Often students who do not manage to balance their studies with job obligations end up failing in their GPA or worse situations drop out of college before graduating (48). It is apparent that working w hile at college is something that comes along with extra demand for the students’ time thus imposing additional pressure on their lives a thing that a majority of the students are not capable of handling. Conversely, students are denied the chance to take other

Racism in the Workforce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Racism in the Workforce - Essay Example In other words it can be said that with the increase of globalization most of the companies and organizations are multicultural in nature. This has helped them to bring together people with vast experience, cultural diversity, education and professional skills. However, when issues of racism arise in the work place, I believe it is destructive in nature. It restricts the individuals and will have a direct impact on their productivity. It destroys community cohesion and creates divisions in work place. I believe that it is the opposite of the democratic principle of equality. Additionally, this kind of destructive behavior results in domination of a particular group or individual. As a result the practices of that group or the individual are seen as the standard to which other cultural practices should conform. I feel that this is a wrong practice and it frequently and systematically advantages some ethnic and cultural groups and disadvantages others who do not belong to these groups. I have seen this happen to one of my colleague who belongs to a Negro community. She was talented and was perhaps much better performer when compared to many others in my organization. Every time she applied for her promotion, her application was rejected based on some reason.

Welfare and Cigarettes Essay Example for Free

Welfare and Cigarettes Essay With the increased health problems that caused by smoking, more and more people think that the production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal. However, these people tend to ignore that the positive outcome of cigarettes business brings to the society. They also falsely believe that prohibition of producing and selling cigarettes will lead people to adopt a healthier living environment. Cigarettes business is one of the most profitable industries in the world. The government receive huge amount of taxes from cigarettes companies and it actually uses the money to help fund the welfare program, in which a lot of people can benefit from. Making production and sale of cigarettes illegal will definitely hurt the income of the government, and add pressures on many people who are in need of welfare programs. Some producers of cigarettes will probably keep the business running under the table, as they are still attracted by the humongous profit. This will create more problems that it actually has. It may cause chaos to the community, since smokers can go depressed and do harmful things without having cigarettes. It may also increase crime rate, since people have to trade cigarettes illegally; it can burden the government, since the government needs to spend more money on hiring people to stop the illegal sale and purchase of cigarettes. The potential negative effects on the illegalization of cigarettes are clearly telling us that it is not a desirable approach. In addition, many smokers know that if they consume too many cigarettes, their life will be thread with various health problems; however, they still choose to smoke without worrying about their future health. If they have already cared less of their health, they could find way around to purchase cigarettes and smoke anyway even knowing that is illegal. Thus, it cannot provide people with a healthier living environment. In conclusion, the government should not make the production and sale of cigarettes illegal because it will harm the society economically as well as create more problems that it actually has. The cost of illegalization of cigarettes outweighs the advantage of it, thus they should not make producing and selling cigarettes illegal.

Plato And Augustin Essay Example for Free

Plato And Augustin Essay 1) WHAT IS PLATO’S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE BODY? (300 Words) http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Platos work SYMPOSIUM there is much subtext to be found under the surface of what seems like a marginally focused conversation among several individuals. What is unique about this work is that within the random bits of dialogue put forth there is a certain unique cohesion that presents itself. That cohesion is present in the way in which the random gives way to the logical and nothing is more evident of this than what is found within Platos concept of the body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The body, at first, refers to the physical appearance of an individual. This physical appearance provides the basis for attraction for a loved one. However, this attraction is very vapid and indicative of a surface level understanding of the individual. However, physical attraction is a strong emotion and while this attraction is devoid of depth it does give way to quantity. In other words, when physical attraction is all that matters to an individual then happiness derives from simply associating with more and more attractive bodies. This is about as vapid of a series of human relationships as one could possibly involve oneself. It also bases relationships on errant randomness as an individual simply bounces from one attractive person to the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Where Plato does redeem the image of the body is in the way he presents it as a conduit to deeper meaning. In other words, while there is a certain randomness and banality to chasing beauty this chase can lead one to a partner who offers far more than merely what the body offers. Looks then become the conduit to true love, intellectual stimulation or a combination of both. This way the randomness found in the search for the best body merely acts as a transitory function in the sense that it eventually leads to the cohesiveness of a deep relationship. Well, hopefully anyway. 2) HOW DOES AUGUSTINE VIEW HUMAN NATURE? (300 WORDS) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XII.1.html   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The relationship between God and Gods subordinates has been debated for many years. Much of this debate derives from the fact that there has never been a definitive statement on what God truly intended from those whom God created. As such, much has been left to speculation and interpretation. Regarding human nature, St. Augustine examines the flaws inherent with such nature and links these flaws with fluctuations inherent with reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To a great degree, Augustine notes that it is human nature to be flawed and much of this derives from reason. Augustine is clear to point out that there are a number of factors which separate humans from lesser beings and that while all things created from God are good humans have the capacity to deviate from natural order due to reason and passion. Hence, they can be prone to errors in judgment whereas lesser animals are not. Hence, human nature has the capacity for improvement but it also has the capacity to great harm to the self or others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Augustine points out that often people will use God as a crutch. That is, because it is human nature to draw value from the external many will see themselves as weak and cleave to God because it is God that gives them strength, God that gives them reason, etc. This, however, diminishes the value of the human as the reliance of the self is gone. So, while this cleaving to God may have noble intentions (seek advice from the higher power) it is actually a sign of weakness and a rejection of the free will God has provided. Hence, it represents another aspect of the flawed nature of humanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Granted, while Augustine views human nature as a flawed entity he does equate flawed with bad. Flawed simply is the state of human nature and is neither good nor bad. It is simply the natural order of things.

Discuss Controversial Figure Thomas Cromwell History Essay

Discuss Controversial Figure Thomas Cromwell History Essay In this paper I would like to discuss Thomas Cromwell which was a controversial figure. Some people called him the ideal statesman of Tudor England, the other people called him most corrupt Chancellor. Cromwell was one of the most outstanding personalities of the English Renaissance era, which had ahead his time. Lets start from the biography of Thomas Cromwell. He was an important political personality in medieval England, he was the first counselor of King Henry VIII in 1532-1540., He was the chief ideologist of the English Reformation, one of the Anglicanism founders. He was born in 1485 in the family of tavern and brewery owner Walter Cromwell. His grandfather was a blacksmith. In addition, the father of Thomas Cromwell hadnt sober and honest behavior. There is evidence that he not only had a violent temper, but was accused of fraud. But Thomas and his older sister, Katherine were quite different people. As a teenager, after a conflict with his father, he left not only his home in the village of Putney (now part of London), but also the country. The thirst for adventure and a desire to see the world made him a French mercenaries in the Italian army from which he soon deserted, leaving the battlefield. After the army he went to live in Florence and employed to work at the banker whose name was Friskabaldi. Such start of young life made him possible to get on his feet quickly and travel to Rome. However, inquisitive Cromwell interested not only in finances. He enthusiastically watched the political life in Florence, where he met with the writings of Machiavelli. Later, he often followed the recommendations of the Emperor author. A few years later he moved to Holland, where he worked as a sales agent of English merchants in Antwerp. Approximately in 1513 Thomas Cromwell returned to England with a sufficient amount of money and began to live in London, at first he traded fabrics and wool, and then became one of the most famous lawyer in England. Such situation gave him the opportunity to meet with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Lord Chancellor of King Henry VIII, so that he became his secretary and manager of pontifical estates. The most famous act in that capacity à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ was the abolition of the small monasteries. In 1529 he became a member of Parliament, and after the fall of Wolsey succeeded his officials under the kings court. Cromwells career abruptly went up in 1533 when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and then in the 1536 he became Lord Privy Seal. However, the real power of Cromwell was given him by the Kings friendship and confidence. Cromwell had undoubted talent for management, some historians regarded him as the founder of the revolution in the governments control scheme. If earlier decisions were made in accordance with the wishes of the King (sometimes ill-advised and inconsistent), then Cromwell had developed a system of departments with used control techniques. Not all researchers agree with this statement, but, no doubt, Thomas Cromwell played a leading role in monasteries destruction. Harshness with which Cromwell enforced the secularization of church property, gave him the nickname the hammer of monks. Widespread closures of monasteries almost cost Thomas Cromwells career. In 1537 in the north of England, began the rebellion of Catholics, called the Pilgrimage of Mercy. The main demand of the rebels was the execution of Cromwell. However, the rebellion was suppressed. All segments of society hated him, they often guided by a completely opposite intentions, there wasnt such segment of society, which support or sympathy he could count on. For ordinary people, he was the organizer of the bloody persecution suppressor action against the new levies, the hardships that had befallen peasants after the closure of the monasteries. For the nobility, he was an upstart a commoner, which did not take rightful place at court. Catholics (especially the clergy) didnt forgiven him the break with Rome and the subordination of church to the king, plundered of church lands and weal th, Lutherans patronage . And those, in turn, accused the minister in the pursuit of new, true faith, and in condescending attitude towards Catholics. The Scots, Irish, inhabitants of Wales had a lot of claims to Cromwell. Cromwell played a leading role in establishing the rule of a monarch over the church, in the empowerment of the royal Privy Council, whose rights were extended to the north of England, Wales and Ireland. Cromwell filled the lower house of parliament by creatures of the yard and turned it into an instrument of the Crown. He was able to dramatically increase revenue of coffers at the expense of confiscation of monastic lands, and taxation of trade, development of which he encouraged by skilled protectionist policies, Thomas Cromwell managed to increase British influence in Scotland, a significant expansion of the British crown estates in Ireland, the final incorporation of Wales. Analyzing the literature I can say that Tomas Cromwell greatly influenced King. What else could King claim from the Minister, which not only handles all the orders of the king, but tried to guess his desires and anticipate the plans to which he had not yet figured out? However, the success of Cromwell jaundiced narcissistic Henry, he got into a huff by his minister intellectual superiority. The influence of Cromwell testified Henrys inability to get out of a painful divorce case, to reorganize the state and church affairs in the spirit of royal absolutism. The minister was a living reminder about the second marriage of King, the infamous process and the execution of Anne Boleyn, which he wanted to bring to eternal oblivion. More than once it seemed to Henry that Cromwell prevented him from appling his public capacity, prevented him to be among the major politicsof his era Charles V and Francis I. Thomas Cromwell made a great contribution to a difficult divorce of Henry VIII. The first wife of Henry VIII was Catherine of Aragon. Henry was still young when he married her, she was a widow of his brother Arthur. Katerina was a Spaniard, she was strict in religion and morals, with calm nature, which didnt correspond to rapid temper of the king. The only thing that spoke in favor of Henry it was his beauty, mind, love to science, amorous, but none of these qualities she did not appreciate. She married him because the marriage was approved by the pope. But the blessing of the pope did not save her from unhappiness. Henry could not long remain faithful to his wife. A great admirer of the female, he was constantly moved from one subject of passion to another, until finally he stopped on the court lady, Anne Boleyn, who didnt want to live together without marriage, and demanded the marriage and Henry chose the divorce with Catherine. However, the king met with resistance! Everybody were against divorce: the Father, and Catherine, and trusted people of the King. But Henry has already managed to learn all the charm of tyranny and said he would not retreat from his decision. Divorce in medieval dynastic tradition was a quite common phenomenon, so Henry was not particularly doubt in his success, but the question of Henrys divorce had been delaying for six years. King has repeatedly tried to make Ekaterina to divorce with him, or retired to a monastery, but she skillfully and firmly reflected his attack. Henry was hoping for the Popes order of invalidity of marriage on the grounds that the King married his brothers wife. Thomas Cromwell proposed Henry divorced Catherine without the Pope permission. Why, he said, the king did not want to follow the example of German princes and with the assistance of Parliament declare himself the head of the national church? This idea seemed very attractive, and soon he returned to persuade himself. Henry, following the advice of Thomas Cromwell, decided to break with the Pope and declared himself as a head of the English Church, asked to help the domestic court. To give the case a legal nature, the council was convened, chaired by Archbishop of Canterbury. Cathedral decided or rather, Henry decided, by means of Archbishop, who blindly did his will that the head of the English Church, will be king. Often, but erroneously stated that Cromwell wanted to make Henry the absolute monarch. Cromwell acted through the House of Commons, that is why the decisive factor was the adoption of the Parliament reform (1529-1536). Thomas Cranmer rightly wrote in 1537 to Strasbourg reformer Wolfgang Kapiton: In all that has hitherto been achieved in the reformation of religion and the clergy, only Cromwell did more than all the others together. Five-year legal reform led the authority of the Pope in England replaced by supremacy of the king over the English church. Cromwells efforts to abolish the legal independence of the church began with the adoption of the Supplication of the Commons Against the Ordinaries, which said about restricting the right of clergy to assert ecclesiastical laws without the consent of the House of Commons, and the arbitrary and abusive acts of ecclesiastical courts were criticized, which were often unfair to the laity. The King complained the Speaker of the House that the prelates during his ordination sweared allegiance to the Pope. On May 15, 1532 council adopted an appeal of the clergy, asking the king the protection from the House of Commons and giving the council control of his legislative activities in return for his patronage of the ecclesiastical courts. The next day, Thomas More resigned from his post as chancellor. By the end of the year the stopping payment of annatto act to Rome was approved , and the Pope, because of the threat, made Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury,. In March 1533 Cromwell prepared statement of overriding Act to limit appeals. The famous preamble to the Act reads: The Kingdom of England is the Empire under the sole rule of the Supreme Head and King, who has the imperial dignity and the imperial throne, and whom society consisting of people of different classes and conditions of various titles and the foundations of spiritual and secular, after God is obliged by natural and humble obedience. Act held that issues relating to the activities of the king, sent for consideration to the Supreme Church Council, the highest legal authority, and no further appeal beyond the Kingdom, for example in Rome were impossible. Resistance to the Henry church upheaval was surprisingly weak, but on the altar of change were two victims: Bishop John Fisher and the layman Sir Thomas More. Fisher and More could not make a compromise with their conscience and to sign the Act of the rule, because it rejected the authority of the Pope. In February 1536 the reformist parliament received from Cromwell inspectors reports about monasteries and approved the first act of elimination. Henry was forced to limit the number of monasteries, due to economic reasons, as well as for religious reasons and because of the anticlerical the House of Commons mood. In adopting the act in 1536, Parliament abolished the small communities with an annual income of less than 200 pounds. Most of the larger monasteries were forced to obey the King. Monastic lands transition to the hands of the nobility contributed to further strengthening of this class and his participation in the governance of the country, while at the level of local governance became dominate the rich esquires. Profits from the land sale and other property were used for the pensions of certain former monks and nuns for the content of the new diocese, new schools and colleges as well as to enrich the royal purse. In 1539, to strike up relations with German Protestants, Cromwell persuaded the king to marry Anne of Cleves the sister of a German duke. Alas, the bride did not like Henry. Circumstances allowed the leaders of the Catholic party at the yard Thomas Duke of Norfolk and Bishop Stephen Gardiner to convince a suspicious king in the unreliability of his most loyal ministers. He was arrested and executed in confidence in the Tower of London in 1540. After that, his head was welded and installed on a stake on London Bridge. Reformer Tomas Cromwell made a great contribution to the formation of the Anglican Church. Renowned British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay called the Anglican Church fruit of unity of government and Protestants, i.e., the result of the consent of both parties in the views of the church. Alliance between the Crown and Protestantism was not easy and was characterized by periods of tension and regression. Obviously, Henry VIII believed in the possibility of destruction the relation with Rome without any changes in church teaching and worship. The king maintained a conservative theology, and in the period from 1532 to 1540 was forced to choose between the radicals, led by Cromwell and the Conservatives, led by the Duke of Norfolk and the Bishop of Winchester by Stephen Gardiner. At first, followed by a period of elevation of radicals, and after the fall of Cromwell in 1540 the Conservatives. Henry tried to act as judge in the competition of the parties, as later in the same century , his daughter Elizabeth maintained her position over the Anglican and Puritan parties. As a consequence, the Reformation in England developed by universal course via media, as nowhere else on the continent, with the possible exception of Sweden. Summing it up I would like to stress that a small portion of society has learned for himself the benefit of the Reformation. These were the new people, the emerging class of capitalists and bureaucrats who have acquired property, without noble birth. As a result of the Reformation there were such large changes in class composition of society, which it hasnt known throughout their history.

Free Essays: Adams The Education :: Adams The Education Essays

The Education The typist who appears next in the passage is a worker named metonymically for the machine she tends, so merged with it, in fact, that she is called a "typist" even at home. In The Education, Henry Adams proclaims his astonishment at the denizens of the new American cities: "new types, -- or type-writers, -- telephone and telegraph-girls, shop-clerks, factory hands, running into millions on millions .... " Eliot's point here seems very close to Adams's. Eliot's woman is also a "type," identified with her type-writer so thoroughly she becomes it. She is a machine, acting as she does with "automatic hand." The typist is horrifying both because she is reduced by the conditions of labor to a mere part and because she is infinitely multiple. In fact, her very status as a "type" is dependent on a prior reduction from whole to part. She can become one member of Adams's faceless crowd only by being first reduced to a "hand." The typist is the very type of metonymy, of the social system that accumulates its members by mere aggregation. Yet this "type" is linked syntactically to Tiresias as well. In fact, the sentence surrenders its nominal subject, Tiresias, in favor of her. The evening hour "strives / Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea, / The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights / Her stove, and lays out food in tins." The typist shifts in mid-line from object to subject, from passive to active. Does the evening hour clear her breakfast, or should the reader search even farther back for an appropriate subject, to Tiresias himself. Though this would hardly clarify the syntax, Tiresias could function logically as both subject and object, seen and seer, because, as the notes tell us, he is the typist: "All the women are one woman, and the two sexes meet in Tiresias." The confused syntax represents this process of identification, erasing ordinary boundaries between active and passi ve, subject and object. On what basis can the typist merge with all other men and women to become part of Tiresias? In other words, what is the figurative relationship between the whole he represents and the part acted by the typist? The process of figurative identification seems similar to that in "Prufrock," where women are also represented as mere "arms" and where all women are also one woman.

Philip Roth- Master of the Double Identity :: essays research papers fc

Philip Roth - Master of the â€Å"Double Identity† because he suffers from one What influences one's identity? Is it their homes, their parents, their religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and each identity is unique, or is it? In literature, (or life) religion plays a large role in a character's identity. However, sometimes the writer's own religion and personal experiences shapes the character's identity more than his/her imagination does. A person's religion can play a big role in one's identity. Throughout his works, Philip Roth explores the theme of identity doubles. Roth's portrayal of identity formation in his characters is directly inspired by his own identity; his life. One of the most obvious examples of Roth's art imitating life is in two of his books naming the main characters after none other than himself. It was among some of the many startling gestures in his career; in Deception (1990) he referred to the main character as Philip and in Operation Shylock (1993) he made reference to the main character as Philip Roth. In her article titled, â€Å"Philip Roth's Fictions of Self Exposure†, Debra Shostak remarks how odd it is for an author to outwardly make reference to themselves when most authors want avoid any personal association with their work other than writing it, she further points out that Roth intentionally writes this way, making his career out of his reader's inclinations toward â€Å"biographical interpretations†: Few writers dare to name themselves at the center of their inventions, which is why it is so arresting to find a work of fiction that pronounces its author's name within the text. Because readers are frequently tempted, from either prurient interest or more impartial motives, to discern autobiography in a fictional narrative, most writers of fiction seem to labor out of modesty , a sense of privacy, or a display of imaginative capacities to erase the traces of their own lives from their work. Not so Philip Roth. Especially since his invention of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth has encouraged readers to interpret the narrative voice of his fiction as a self-revealing "I," a Roth surrogate who, by the time of Deception and Operation Shylock, is no longer a surrogate but is "Roth" himself†¦ What I argue here is not that Roth is, strictly, writing autobiographically, but rather that he makes capital out of his readers' inclinations toward biographical interpretations of his work.

The Persistence of Memory

Looking at the picture The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, people can see an abstract aesthetic deep within. The landscapes associated with his childhood have become an inspiration for his paintings. When he grew up, Dali still spent his time to painting the Catalonia’s landscape elaborately. Completed in 1931, The Persistence of Memory became one of his well-known paintings. This famous artwork is called â€Å"Dali ‘s hand painted dream photographs†, and it is simultaneously read as a painting depicting landscape, still life, and self-portrait. As I find curious in this abstract, I use many researches in reference book and Internet in order to look for the meaning of this picture so far. One interesting idea is about the melting watches that inspire randomly. In one hot August afternoon in 1931, as Dali was having lunch on his work bench, suddenly an idea of paranoiac hallucinations came to his mind. He took his pencil and slid under a bit of Camembert cheese, which was softer by the heating of summer weather, and started drawing. Dali came up with an idea about the melting watches as the main subject. These soft melting watches convey Dali’s primary philosophy about the â€Å"softness† and the â€Å"hardness†. The melting watches are one symbol that is commonly associated with Salvador Dali's Surrealism. They are literally meant to show the irrelevance of time. According to the Wikipedia website, one famous art history professor named Dawn Ades wrote, â€Å"The soft watches are an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time, a Surrealist meditation on the collapse of our notions of a fixed cosmic order. In addition, there are some interesting subjects appearing in this painting such as the craggy rocks of Catalonia spreading out further away. This is the place where he grew up, and also indeed the association with his painting The Persistence of Memory. It shows a typical Dalinian landscape with his beloved Cape Creus (a peninsula and a headland located at Mediterranean) in the background. In the foreground, there is an orange clock at the bottom l eft of the painting, which is covered in ants. Beside, the figure in the middle of the painting can be recognized as a human figure in a dream state that Dali uses to represent himself, as the artwork became a self-portrait, maybe. Looking closely as the details, we see the abstract form has one closed eye with curvy eyelashes, as it falls into a dream state. The melting clock laid on top symbolizes the passing time experienced in a dream. The bottom left of a painting usually is a death spot; people perceive a painting by reading the focus elements, then following the direction it points too. Sometimes leads to death point. But in this picture, the plate is oval to top right, leading the viewers up back to the watches that can make viewers focus on the foreground. As the technique of drawing, the painting presents a linear perspective. The tree, the table, the clocks stand out in the foreground, but they are colored with a darker color. This lets the bright yellow cliffs and the blue water shinning in the background as it helps to emphasize the landscape of Dali’s childhood. The contrast of bright and dark color also creates the intensity of â€Å"real† and imagination of the â€Å"composition† Well, in my opinion, I perceive things rights at this part because dark color means dark reality, and bright color means dreamy, but in this picture is the opposite. Dark color is unrealistic world; bright color may be his memory on the beautiful land. His reality now is dark and shallow that represents the watch is the time has passed in his life. As the choices of color, this artwork has used a bright white and blue in the top left hand corner and then fading up into the darkness. There is an orange clock in the bottom left hand corner sticks out of the brown and black foreground. The cool colors include the sky, and three melting watches that are harmony with the rest of landscape’s color. This painting represents a linear perspective. The objects in front of the piece, the tree, the clocks, the table stand out more than the objects that the artist wants the viewers to notice like the mountain, the sky, the ocean, and the rocks in the background. Even though they are the main points in this painting, they are less of focusing than the melting clocks in the foreground. Dali interpretation gives much confusion for critics and art lovers. Partly because Dali’s work is to convey a concept of two different sides: real and imagination. For example, The Persistence of Memory is a landscape painting produced based on the landscape that Dali saw in his childhood. In the background is a beach with sand and water, rock and cliffs. These details represent real subjects in life. Yet, in the foreground, there are some melting watches and an unrecognizable figure sliding over the rocks in the center of the painting. The melting watches and the strange figure can be seen as products of his imagination, and the cliffs which is a place in Catalonia depicts Dali’s childhood memory. The Persistence of Memory is named itself. It resembles for Port Lligat, the home of Salvador Dali. He tried to expose his hometown with sand, beach, branch tree, rock and cliff. Still, there are many interpretations in this painting. Some we can understand, others are hard to explain. Perhaps the images of the melting watches are really nothing more than the ideas that Dali was inspired by the Camembert cheese melt in a warm sunny day. As I find Dali’s artwork intriguing and repulsive, his painting looks really realistic, creative, and stunning. He was the person that could put the photorealistic images on a canvas. His style noted as a Surrealist, which was influenced by famous psychologist who led him to explore his fears and fantasies, or possible, a crazy idea. This is the reason I choose his artwork because through them, he brings me a new concept that looks abnormal at firs but then really intense as I discover deepen into its meanings. Salvador Dali was a great artist, a man who is not ashamed to show his feeling. Through The Persistence of Memory, I felt like it is a perfect example for Dali’s style, very surrealist and realistic. No matter what is said about the painting, this work has stood the test of time as it has a great influence on pop culture today. Salvador Dali has become an icon for a generation that is interested in the abstract and distortion of reality.

Freemasonry and United States Essay

Freemasonry, teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Organizational Structure There are approximately 5 million members worldwide, mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. With adherents in almost every nation where Freemasonry is not officially banned, it forms the largest secret society in the world. There is no central Masonic authority; jurisdiction is divided among autonomous national authorities, called grand lodges, and many concordant organizations of higher-degree Masons. In the United States and Canada the highest authority rests with state and provincial grand lodges. Custom is the supreme authority of the order, and there are elaborate symbolic rites and ceremonies, most of which utilize the instruments of the stonemason–the plumb, the square, the level, and compasses–and apocryphal events concerning the building of King Solomon’s Temple for allegorical purposes. The principles of Freemasonry have traditionally been liberal and democratic. Anderson’s Constitutions (1723), the bylaws of the Grand Lodge of England, which is Freemasonry’s oldest extant lodge, cites religious toleration, loyalty to local government, and political compromise as basic to the Masonic ideal. Masons are expected to believe in a Supreme Being, use a holy book appropriate to the religion of the lodge’s members, and maintain a vow of secrecy concerning the order’s ceremonies. The basic unit of Freemasonry is the local Blue lodge, generally housed in a Masonic temple. The lodge consists of three Craft, Symbolic, or Blue Degrees: Entered Apprentice (First Degree), Fellow Craft (Second Degree), and Master Mason (Third Degree). These gradations are meant to correspond to the three levels–apprentice, journeyman, and master–of the medieval stonemasons’ guilds. The average Mason does not rise above Master Mason. If he does, however, he has the choice of advancing through about 100 different rites, encompassing some 1,000 higher degrees, throughout the world. In the United States, the two most popular rites are the Scottish and the York. The Scottish Rite awards 30 higher degrees, from Secret Master (Fourth Degree) to Sovereign Grand Inspector General (Thirty-third Degree). The York Rite awards ten degrees, from Mark Master to Order of Knights Templar, the latter being similar to a Thirty-third Degree Scottish Rite Mason. Other important Masonic groups are the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, to which many African-American Masons belong; the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (the â€Å"fraternal fun order for Blue Lodge Masons†); and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Thirty-second degree Masons who, as the Shriners, are noted for their colorful parades and support of children’s hospitals). There are also many subsidiary Masonic groups, including the Order of the Eastern Star, limited to Master Masons and their female relatives; De Molay, an organization for boys; and Job’s Daughters and Rainbow, two organizations for girls. Many of the orders maintain homes for aged members. Development of the Order The order is thought to have arisen from the English and Scottish fraternities of practicing stonemasons and cathedral builders in the early Middle Ages; traces of the society have been found as early as the 14th cent. Because, however, some documents of the order trace the sciences of masonry and geometry from Egypt, Babylon, and Palestine to England and France, some historians of Masonry claim that the order has roots in antiquity. The formation of the English Grand Lodge in London (1717) was the beginning of the widespread dissemination of speculative Freemasonry, the present-day fraternal order, whose membership is not limited to working stonemasons. The six lodges in England in 1700 grew to about 30 by 1723. There was a parallel development in Scotland and Ireland, although some lodges remained unaffiliated and open only to practicing masons. By the end of the 18th cent. here were Masonic lodges in all European countries and in many other parts of the world as well. The first lodge in the United States was founded in Philadelphia (1730); Benjamin Franklin was a member. Many of the leaders of the American Revolution, including John Hancock and Paul Revere, were members of St. Andrew’s Lodge in Boston. George Washington became a Mason in 1752. At the time of the Revolution most of the American lodges broke away from their English and Scottish antecedents. Freemasonry has continued to be important in politics; 13 Presidents have been Masons, and at any given time quite a large number of the members of Congress have belonged to Masonic lodges. Notable European Masons included Voltaire, Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Franz Joseph Haydn, Johann von Goethe, Johann von Schiller, and many leaders of Russia’s Decembrist revolt (1825). Opposition to Freemasonry Because of its identification with 19th-century bourgeois liberalism, there has been much opposition to Freemasonry. The most violent in the United States was that of the Anti-Masonic party. Freemasonry’s anticlerical attitude has also led to strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, which first expressed its anti-Masonic attitude in a bull of Pope Clement XII (1738). The Catholic Church still discourages its members from joining the order. Totalitarian states have always suppressed Freemasonry; the lodges in Italy, Austria, and Germany were forcibly eradicated under fascism and Nazism, and there are now no lodges in China.

Globalization Essay

Effects of Globalization As Candied said (a character created by Voltaire), we must cultivate our garden. Globalization causes diversity between cultures because unfortunately thanks to globalization, the world changes negatively day by day and also cultures are shaped according to this change. In today’s world we have to cultivate ourselves In order to exist in society, Cooperation in cultures helps to follow this change and creates new identities. According to Tyler Cowmen, globalization has a cultural benefits for society but in contrast Dry. Stranger argues that globalization creates a monotone identities which people want to attain It. Thus, this change which we call cross-culture has both negative and positive side and from my point of view, It’s true that cross-culture has positive effects for creating diversity in cultures but by a majority, globalization has a negative side on us as Dry. Stranger claims. Society’s perspective determine women and men roles in society. Before the period of globalization there was a definitive gap between genders. Thus, thanks to globalization, society’s point of view changes on man and women positively. Before, women have to look beautiful, made-up and have specific body size which makes them all seem bland and plastic like Barry dolls. They don’t have right to work because they are fragile, naive and emotional but In contrast, man has to be a bread winner because they are strong, not sensitive and independent. Therefore Simons De Behavior (French philosopher) used Hedge’s description of the master-slave dialectic. She compared the terms â€Å"master† and â€Å"slave† with â€Å"subject† and â€Å"other. She claims â€Å"The subject Is the absolute. The other Is the inessential. † (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010) Therefore she argues hat there is a huge inequality between genders and this inequality put women into the background. However, after the French revolution, the world started to change. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France was over; people became aware of what they were and what they can do. Thus, this revolution caused a big change in Europe, After this revolution, Europe had entered into three revolutions and the most effective one was is the industrial revolution. Thanks to the industrial revolution, society perspective was shaped differently because states started to cooperate between each other. As a conclusion, society needs more labor and this event caused a change in gender roles. Women may also place in the work place which reduces the inequality between man and women. Also this is a revolution of new identities because we act our social roles how society wants. This revolution causes a change in social perspective, culture, so people’s view Is also change which creates new identities. After all. People developed themselves. As Tyler Cowmen claims â€Å"Look at a book and ask yourself, where does paper come from, where does printing come from, where do the ideas in the book come from? What’s the religious background of the author? (Really Creative Destination August,2003) Thanks to revolution, Europe made a trade between each other which caused a diversity in cultures. They changed all their view in every subject especially in gender roles. Thus, this interaction caused a change in whole world. People became more open-minded and they cultivate ‘Off Cowmen affirms, these discoveries created more comfortable lives. Consequently, I’m agree with the idea that interaction lead to the development of personality. It’s true that globalization has a positive side as has been illustrated, but in my opinion, costly, it has a negative side. For instance, the inequality between rich and poor increases. The Rich get richer and poor get poorer. Economic power causes this difference which influences the culture. It’s indispensable that people should protect their own traditions but globalization cause a loss of cultural identities. Most of the world tries to act according to American lifestyle because America has all the economic, politic power. Therefore, globalization can lift people out of poverty but the inequalities between groups get stronger. People wear same clothes; same shoes and eat same foods such as fast food. They follow same trends and same dream so as Dry. Stranger claims â€Å"As humans we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a ‘global village’ we are comparing ourselves with the most ‘significant’ people in the world and finding ourselves wanting. † (Bates, 2011). Accordingly, this global village which Dry. Stranger mentions causes a loss of cultural identities because we act and try to be like a dominant culture. In fact, we don’t want to be like a dominant culture. They force us to be like them, they manipulate our brains so they make pressure on us that we should act according to their rules. For example; George Orwell explains this situation in one of them his books which is 1984. In 1984, he creates a character which he entitles Big Brother who is a dictator of his own state and he forces his people to obey them. He manipulates their brains and he gives a role to play for existing in society. Thus these people loss their identity also their personality as we do. The another example is sass’s Turkey which we experienced the period of wrong westernizes due to media and literary influence. In sass’s all of Turkish people try to live like Europe. However, their lifestyle is not laid for our culture so in time family values changed and were mostly lost. Also our language started to get lost their value which is a another negative side of globalization. Languages lost their value day by day and it’s a big cultural loss because language is the most important element of identity. As Tyler Cowmen approved the cross-culture, he also add â€Å"In terms of culture, there is a loss. For instance, it’s absolutely true that a lot of languages are dying. † (Really Creative Destination August,2003). Therefore in sass’s Turkey people migrate to Europe and if e read the books of this time we will observe that writers use French in order to use Turkish. Also if we regard today’s world everyone use English in order to use their tongue. In this manner, I may say that, globalization creates diversity but this diversity also creates a chaos in culture because people start to take someone as a roll-model and try to live like that. In this case, we observe a loss in cultural traditions which makes a negative effects on society. Again Taylor Cowmen argues â€Å"The Julian Simon point that the gains are much larger than the costs is certainly true. Really Creative Destination August,2003). I’m totally disagree with this claim so from my point of view, in this situation, the costs are much larger than the gains because when we lost cultural values there will defends that globalization has a positive effect on cultures because thanks to diversity people make change in t heir perspective especially, they start to know many cultures which help to develop themselves. However I’m disagree with this idea like Dry. Stranger. Globalization damages cultural values. It’s true that thanks to globalization people are not stay shallow but constantly, it causes a loss in cultural identities. Therefore, I assert the idea of protectionism. Everyone should protect their cultural values and be aware of what they are. Otherwise; in the future, there will be a monotone people as Dry. Stranger asserted. Eventually, this cultural interaction causes a shape in society negatively to the contrary of the claim of Taylor Cowmen. Works Cited Ibuprofen, Debra. â€Å"Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’ 2010. Simons De Behavior. Cowmen, Tyler. â€Å"Really Creative Destruction August† September, 2003. Interviewed by Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine. Bates, Claire. â€Å"The Daily Mail†.

Pure conversation movement in China Essay

The â€Å"Pure Conversation† (qingtan ) cultural movement emerged in the Wei-Jin period and is defined as not only the approach that scholars communicate with each other, sharing their thoughts, but also a form that shows the main stream of the philosophy thoughts of the society in the Wei-Jin period. (Tang 1991, pg. 18). :This essay will introduce the â€Å"Pure Conversation†(qingtan) movement by analyzing the reason that it emerged and the influences of it. In the first part, the origin of qingtan will be introduced. It is advocated by the historian that qingtan is an extension of qingyi in the late Han dynasty, which will be explained in details later. (Tang 1991, pg. 11)). While discussing the reasons of its origin, some points of view of scholars will be reviewed. Also, the argument that whether the â€Å"Pure Conversation† has negative or positive influences to the society will be discussed. Some scholars believed qingtan is the major reason that caused the fall of the dynasty. (Chan 1963: pg. 314). However, the positive influences of qingtan cannot be ignored. Since qingtan helped to develop Neo-Daoism, it is one side to judge qingtan as a completely negative thing. (Chan,1963:316). In the last part, a comprehensive conclusion will be given to conclude that in what extent qingtan has positive influences and negative influences to the society. :Yiming Tang in his dissertation proposed that the â€Å"Pure Conversation† (qingtan) cultural movement in Wei-Jin period refers to the conversation that conducted by educated elites to discuss about the events including human life, society and the universe. (Tang 1991, pg. 18). :He also pointed out that qingtan often took the form of debate to illustrate the ability of eloquence and rhetorical skills of the participants. (Tang 1991, pg. 18). :Miyazaki Ichisada, a Japanese historian argued that the origin of qingtan could date back to the Han dynasty. (Tang 1991, pg. 11. ). In his opinion, qingtan is an extension of qingyi in the late Han dynasty. (Tang 1991, pg. 11). Brackenridge Scot in his dissertation â€Å"The Character of Wei-Jin qingtan Reading Guo Xiang’s â€Å"Zhuang Zi†Ã¢â‚¬  pointed out that in the Han dynasty, qingyi literally means pure criticism, which is used by the eminent scholars to comment on politics and the talents that the government uses. (Scot 2010, pg. 33). Later, Neo-Taoism (xuanxue ? ? ) flourished in the  Wei-Jin period, the subject of qingyi changed to talking about xuan ?. (Scot 2010, pg. 29). Therefore, the term qingtan replaced qingyi and it was generally referred as xuanyan , tanxuan sometimes. (Scot 2010, pg. 33). ? ? ? ? ? ? ? : There are some reasons that proposed by scholars to analyze why the â€Å"Pure Conversation† (qingtan) cultural movement appeared in the Wei-Jin period. A historian of Chinese philosophy Chan Wing-tsit believed that after the collapse of the Han dynasty, the poor situation of the country did not improved under Wei’s dominant is an important reason. (Chan 1963: pg. 314). It is demonstrated that the continuous war and repeated floods and drought caused a largely decreased population and a poor living standard of people. (Chan 1963: pg. 314) However, the government of the Wei dynasty still repeated the ugly drama of the Han dynasty. (Chan 1963: pg. 314). The corrupt government directly leading to many scholars lost the confidence to the government, thus they refused to serve the government and escape from the reality in order to research the transcendental values using the form of qingtan. (Chan 1963: pg. 314). Further, another historian of Chinese philosophy Fung Yu-lan believed that  the appearance of the â€Å"Pure Conversation† cultural movement followed the trend of the philosophy ideology development in Chinese history. (Fung 1959: pg. 231). In the Han dynasty, thinking of Confucius was the dominated ideology in the society. (Chan 1963, pg. 315). Moreover, the government selected talents by the criteria that whether people can recite the classics of Confucius. (Chan 1963, pg. 316). Therefore, the thinking of Confucius was widely spread and well developed. However, after experienced the continuous war, many precious classical books of Confucius were damaged and destroyed. (Chan 1963: pg. 316). When the  Wei came to the central power, the numbers of the teacher that who teaching the rites and thoughts of Confucius was shapely decreased. (Chan 1963: pg. 316). Therefore, the Daoism with simplified thoughts and rites were widely spread due to this special historical context. Daoism significantly influenced people in the Wei-Jin period which leading to the approach that used to discuss the thinking of Taoism qingtan was very popular. (Fung 1959: pg. 231). As it mentioned before, qingtan often took the form of debate to display the ability of eloquence and rhetorical skills of the participants. The book Shishuo Xinyu complied by Liu Yi-qing , who is a princess of Liu-Song dynasty 420-429, records the activities of scholar officials and noble families from the end of the Han dynasty to the end of the Eastern Jin dynasty. (Tang 1991, pg. 15). This book is the only extant book from Wei-Jin period. (Tang 1991, pg. 15). Although it is traditionally classified as a novella (xiaoshuo ? ? ) and not a history in the strict sense, it is historical intent and can give an impression of the life and thought of the upper social class during Wei-Jin period as Tang argued. (Tang 1991, pg. 16). Professor Richard Mather’s English version of Shishuo Xinyu (Anew account of tales of the world) will be cited in this essay for discussing qingtan. A group of men of letters during the Wei-Jin period (mingshi , â€Å"famous scholars† or â€Å"famous gentlemen†) is noticed as the most famous representation of the activity of qingtan, which is known as the â€Å"Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove† ? ? ? ? (zhulinqixian). (Scot 2010, pg. 2). The â€Å"Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove† including Ji Kang , Ruan Ji ? ?, Shan Tao , Xiang Xiu , Liu Ling , Wang Rong and Ruan Xian . (Scot 2010, pg. 3). Shishuo Xinyu described them as â€Å"The seven used to gather beneath a bamboo grove, letting their fancy free in merry  revelry. † It is pointed out that their life style was opposed to orthodox values (i. e. , Confucian) and government service, and that instead they were devoted to wine, music, literature, and the art of conversation (qingtan). (Chan 1963, pg. 315). Also, they conducted qingtan is described as purely an escape from reality. (Chan 1963: pg. 314). As a representation of advocating qingtan, it can be seen that many educated elites in Wei-Jin period were acting just like the â€Å"Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove†; they did not care about national affairs but conducted qingtan for entertainment all day. Critics judged this type of  behavior as the most important reason for the fall of the dynasty. : Gu Yan-wu (1613-1682) who is a Chinese philologist in the late Ming dynasty and the early Qing dynasty (Bartlett 2009, pg. 185) used the activity of qingtan during the Wei-Jin period as an example to blame scholars in the later Ming dynasty for they do not have concerns about the society but advocate to empty talks, thus the Ming dynasty fell. (Bartlett 2009, pg. 185). In an essay of his work Rizhi lu (Record of Daily Learning), he proposed that: When (the barbarian chiefs) Liu (Yuan) and Shi (Le) invaded China (in  the early 4th century), the root cause was the widespread intellectual collapse due to (Neo-Daoist) qingtan thought; everyone knows that. †¦ They do not study the classical texts, and don’t investigate the records of the great rulers, they substitute empty phrase for the substantial learning of self-cultivation and governing others. (Bartlett 2009, pg. 189). Qingtan directly leading to the result that the regime collapsed is one criticism by scholars to the ethos of talking about xuanxue during the Wei-Jin period. Although it is partial to comment that the regime in Wei-Jin period fell because of qingtan, the truth that the Wei-Jin scholars  abandoned the real world affairs and concentrated on abstract and theoretical activities cannot be denied. No. 3 of Affairs of State from Shishuo Xinshuo demonstrated that: Wang Meng, Liu Tan and the monk Zhi Daolin came to visit general He. However, He was reading documents and letters and paid no attention to them. Wang said to him, â€Å"We’ve come today with Zhi Daolin for a visit, hoping you would lay aside ordinary duties and join us in some abstruse conversation. How does it happen that we find you just now with bowed head reading this stuff? † He replied, â€Å"If I didn’t read ‘this stuff’, how would you fellows manage  to survive? Everyone considered it as a fine answer. It is illustrated by Shishuo Xinshuo that people in Wei-Jin period were aware of the harmful effect of qingtan. Although the criticisms above about qingtan are reasonable, qingtan still have some positive aspects that should be noticed. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? : First of all, it is argued that the aesthetic values of qingtan couldn’t be ignored. Fung in his work Short history of Chinese philosophy pointed out that: The art of such conversation (qingtan) consisted in expressing the best thought, which was usually Daoistic, in the best language and tersest phraseology. (Fung 1959, pg. 231). As it mentioned before, qingtan has high requirement to the ability of eloquence and rhetorical skills of the participants. Tang concluded the critiques of a good qingtan as, first of all, the participants should be creative and not mimic other’s point of view; secondly, their argument should be soundly reasonable and convincing; thirdly, they have to be eloquent and rich in style. (Tang 1991, pg. 43). From the critiques of qingtan, it is demonstrated that qingtan is not only an approach to exchange the intellectual’s thinking but also a form of art to show the beauty of language. More importantly, Chan argued that the most significant influence of qingtan is that the Wei-Jin scholars developed new thinking that is Neo-Taoism (xuanxue) under the effects of the Daoism of the Laozi and Zhuangzi. (Chan,1963:316). The Wei-Jin scholars enjoyed debate with each other, and enjoyed ‘demolishing â€Å"objections†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. (Chan,1963:316). However, they were not satisfied with the argumentation they developed in research of transcendental values, they further exploit the concepts of Taoism and the Neo-Taoism appeared. (Chan,1963:316). Qingtan as the form talking about xuanxue helped Neo-Taoism flourished in the Wei-Jin period. As mentioned, the object of qingtan is talking about xuan, which refers to the content of the three books Zhuangzi , Laozi and Zhouyi . (Scot 2010,pg. 1). However, the foundation of Neo-Daoism was laid by the work of Wei-Jin scholars including Wangbi’s Laozi Zhu (Commentary to Laozi), Guoxiang’s Zhuangzi Zhu (Commentary to Zhuangzi) and Xiangxiu’s Zhouyi Zhu (Commentary to Zhouyi). (Scot 2010,pg. 2). Some examples from Shishuo Xinyu will be present to illustrate how people using qingtan to discuss xuanxue. ? ? ? : No. 55 of Letters and Scholarship recorded that one day Zhidao Lin, Xu, Xie Shengde and others of outstanding virtues were gathered together at the home of Wang Meng. Xie proposed that everyone should all speak or intone poems to express their feelings to memorize the assembly. He then asked everyone present to make an exposition of the title of one of Zhuangzi’s chapter Yufu. Then everyone told him what in his mind and discuss about each other’s idea. This story illustrated that during the Wei-Jin period, it is very normal to see a group of the educated elite gathered together to talk about xuanxue. : â€Å"No. 29 of Letters and Scholarship mentioned that Huan Wen  was assembling the famous and outstanding men of the time for lectures on the Zhouyi and was planning to do one hexagram a day. Emperor Jian Wen heard this he turned back, saying, â€Å"Some of the interpretations will naturally be difficult and some easy. How can each lecture be limited to one hexagram? † From this excerpt it can be seen that talking about Zhouyi was very popular in that time. By conducting qingtan, scholars in the Wei-Jin period developed the concept of â€Å"non-being† of the Daoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi and pursued the reality beyond the space and time instead in research of the mutual  effect between the nature and the man that was the most popular approach in Han thought. (Chan 1963: pg. 317). ; In the Han dynasty, the teachings of Confucius were the dominated philosophy thought. However, the situation was not beneficial for the diversity of the development of culture. (Chan 1963, pg. 317). Therefore, qingtan also helped to improve this situation; people did not necessarily learn the doctrines of Confucius and can gradually develop the ability of independent thinking by practicing qingtan (Chan 1963, pg. 315). Also, it is pointed out that the movement of  qingtan had created a spirit of critical and independent thinking. (Chan 1963, 315). As people no longer view Confucius as ‘a throneless king whose subtle doctrines lay behind his written word’ but ‘an ancient teacher who transmitted the wisdom of the past’. (Chan 1963: pg. 315). In conclusion, this essay introduced the background of the origin of qingtan, meanwhile, the reasons of its emergence were discussed. It is believed that qingtan is an expansion of qingyi that can be date back to the late Han dynasty. However, the subject of qingyi, which is, talking about politics had changed to talk about human life, society and the  universe, thus qingtan emerged. Reasons of its emergence can be concluded as scholars in the Wei-Jin period were disappointed to the government thus they used qingtan as an approach to escape the reality; another reason is that the development of Chinese philosophy helped the emergence of qingtan, since people in that time were attracted to Laozi and Zhuangzi. Before discussing the influences of qingtan, Shishuo Xinyu, a book recorded qingtan from Wei-Jin period was introduced. By referencing some stories from Shishuo Xinyu, the positive influence and negative influence of qingtan were discussed in a comprehensive view. It is argued that qingtan is an approach that used by the elites to escape the reality which leading to that the elites does not care about the national affairs d resulted in that the dynasty collapsed. However, some different perspectives were proposed that qingtan can have some positive effects referring to its aesthetic value, also it helped the Neo-Daoism flourished in the Wei-Jin period and it was beneficial to the diversity of the development of culture. By judging by the appearance, qingtan had negative effects because it prevented the development of the Wei-Jing society. However,  the reason of the fall of the Wei dynasty can be complicated more than just one. It is one side to make the judgment that qingtan directly leading to the fall of the dynasty. Still, the positive aspects should be considered when discussing qingtan. For the most important reason, Neo-Daoism will not be flourished and spread in Wei-Jin period without qingtan. References: Bartlett, Thomas (2009). Phonology as Statecraft in Gu Yanwu’s Thought in Link, P. (ed. ), The Scholar’s Mind in Honor of Frederick W. Mote (pp. 181-206). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. Chan, Wing-Tsit (1963). A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (1953). A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Bodde, Derk. (Ed. ). New York: The Macmillan Company. Liu Yi-qing, Shishuo Xinyu A New Account of Tales of the World, trans. Mather, Richard B, (2002). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan. Scot. J Brackenridge (2010). The Character of Wei-Jin qingtan Reading Guo Xiang’s Zhuangzi commentary as an Expression of Political Practice. Received from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT 3448864). Tang, Yi-ming (1991). The voices of Wei-Jin scholars: A study of ‘qingtan’. Received from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT 9202757).