How I Met Myself

How I Met Myself Q: Based on the novel above, describe the main character. Answer with evidence. Ans: The main character in the novel ‘How I Met Myself‘ is John Taylor. He is a 34-year-old-Englishman living and working in Hungary. He is 2 meters tall with light brown hair and eyes and a moustache. Taylor is adventurous and eager to try something new. He is a computer programmer who takes a job in another country, especially in one which he has never visited before, because he thinks it will be interesting. He takes Hungarian lessons from a girl named Andrea.They fall in love and get married. Later, they also have a daughter whom they name Kati. Taylor is also curious and determined to understand the strange meeting that took place on 18 January. He feels afraid whenever he thinks of the strange encounter but his curiosity pushes him to seek answers. Q : Based on the novel above, describe one of the following moments in the story, answer with evidence. – the most fr ightening – the saddest Ans : The most frightening part in the novel ‘How I Met Myself’ is when the main character, John Taylor meets himself.The incident happens one evening when a man comes out of a street door and runs straight into Taylor. It is eerie that when the man apologises and Taylor looks at his face, he sees someone who looks just like him. He has the same features as Taylor. Even more puzzling as well as intriguing is that there are no footprints on the snow left by the man. Taylor follows the man but discovers no one has seen him. He seems to have simply vanished. Taylor’s life changes after that strange encounter as he begins to have dreams about the meeting. It is frightening because he has to relieve the experience over and over again.He also always wakes up feeling afraid. Taylor cannot understand the meaning of the strange meeting which only makes it intriguing. Q : Based on the novel above, describe an important event which changes the main character’s life, answer with evidence. Ans : In the novel ‘How I Met Myself’ the life—changing event for John Taylor is when he meets himself during one cold January evening, A man runs into Taylor and he looks just like him. The strange meeting is both confusing and frightening for Taylor. Taylor’s life changes after the strange event.He dreams about the encounter every night. He gets up in the dark feeling afraid every night. At times, when he does not go back to sleep after dreaming, he lays awake. He grows more and more tired. He even isn’t nice to his wife, Andrea. He also isn't honest with her. He does not tell her that he is arriving home late every night. Andrea also notices the change in his attitude and she is unhappy, Even his work life is affected. He finds it difficult to think about the things he has to do. Soon, Taylor is afraid to go home and sleep because he is afraid he will dream the same dream.He no longer has a sim ple and happy life with his wife like he did before the strange meeting. Q : Based on the novel above, describe the relationship between two characters, answer with evidence. Ans: In the novel ‘How I Met Myself’, the two characters I would like to write about are John Taylor and his wife, Andrea. Taylor and his wife share a close and loving relationship. Andrea notices a change in her husband’s attitude. She feels hurt and upset. Taylor loves Andrea very much and fees terrible that he has been hurting her. At first, Taylor does not tell his wife about his strange meeting and his recurring dreams.However, when he does, she wants to help him find answers to his questions about the strange encounter. Taylor soon begins to feel more hopeful for the future once Andrea knows the truth. They work together to find information about the man’s identity. Even though, they learn nothing from talking to the people living in the buildings where the strange meeting took place, the fact that Andrea knows about the strange meeting is comforting to Taylor. His life returns to what it was before. Soon, they discover they will have a baby.Q : Based on the novel above, write about a conflict between the characters, answer with evidence. Ans: In the novel ‘How l Met Myself’ conflict arises between Taylor and his wife, Andrea, because of the strange events that happened to Taylor that turned his life upside down. Andrea is first unhappy with Taylor’s change in attitude. Once she knows what is troubling him, she helps to investigate. However, Taylor continues to dream about the strange meeting and wants to know the truth. In doing so, he spends less time with Andrea and his daughter He also does not tell her that he goes to the ibrary to read old newspapers to find clues that can help him make sense of his strange meeting. When she finds out, she is angry and does not want to help him anymore. Andrea fails to understand that her husband wants to be free of the dreams. The story of the doppelganger may seem impossible in the normal world so she finds it hard to believe her husband. She grows tired of his doppelganger story and wants him to think about taking care of his family. The doppelganger and Taylor’s quest to find answers seem to drive a wedge between Taylor and Andrea. Later, she even thinks he is ill and needs a doctor's help.Q: Based on the novel above, write about an important event/s in one of the character’s life, answer with evidence. Ans: In the novel ‘How l Met Myself’ the most important event occurs when John Taylor discovers more about what happened to him one cold January evening when he met himself. It is called a doppelganger. Taylor realizes that he had met his doppelganger that evening. Then, after talking to his old friend, he realizes he is not crazy and what happened to him has happened to other people. His friend tells him that a doppelganger comes to give a mess age to the person who can see him.After New Year, Taylor realizes that the one year anniversary of the strange meeting is drawing near. Then, an idea comes to him. He realizes that the date is important. This is the reason he has never met himself again after the first meeting. Taylor begins to investigate all the events that took place on that day in the past. He looks at some old newspapers to find out if there was any event that could help him understand what is happening to him. These separate events which occurred after the first strange meeting were important to help Taylor understand, at least a little, what he experienced.Q: Based on the novel above, write about a quality which you like in a character, answer with evidence. Ans : In the novel ‘How l Met Myself’ I like the determination shown by John Taylor. Even though the strange meeting is puzzling and he is afraid about what he is experiencing, he wants to learn more about it. He does not know what frightenin g revelation may be in store if he uncovers the truth but it is better than doing nothing. He does some research like reading old newspapers and with his wife talks to people near the location of the strange meeting to find out the identity of the man.He also confides in his old friend about his experience. All along, after the first strange meeting, he still has dreams about the encounter which leaves him afraid to sleep and more and more tired. His life is turned upside down with a few happy moments such as the birth of his first child. However, the dreams come back to haunt him. Taylor's determination to seek the truth probably helped him maintain his sanity and peace of mind. Q: Based on the novel above, write about your favourite part in the novel, why do you like this part? Answer with evidence.Ans: My favourite part in the novel ‘How I Met Myself is when Taylor finds relevant information that can help him understand what happened to him. He reads about a story where a w oman and a child died in a cellar of a building in Gergely utca which was hit by a Russian bomb. The tragedy occurred on 18 January which was the same date that Taylor met himself. The doppelganger comes out of a building in Felka utca and runs to Gergely utca. This part is interesting because this information also sheds some light on Taylor‘s doppelganger.Taylor talks to several people to enquire about the name Szabo. An old woman tells Taylor about Janos Szabo and the tragedy which befell his wife and daughter. There are several similarities between Taylor and Janos Szabo. It is at this time that Taylor realizes his doppelganger wants to help him but he is still puzzled why he appears to look like him. I like this part as it gives me clues to solve the mystery surrounding the doppelganger. I realize that Taylor’s wife, Andrea, and his daughter are in danger. Q: Based on the novel above, do you like the ending of the novel?Answer with evidence. Ans: I like the ending i n the novel ‘How l Met Myself’. This is mainly because it has a happy ending. The story reaches a suspenseful moment when Taylor realizes that Janos Szabo is Hungarian for John Taylor. Taylor and his doppelganger share the same. Then, he discovers that Janos Szabo‘s wife and daughter were also named Andrea and Kati respectively. Then, on 18 January. Andrea leaves a note saying that she and Kati will be at the bar. Taylor runs to get them but there is a blast. Taylor arrives at the bar and frantically tries to clear the entrance.However, he is told to go home so the authorities can clear the debris. Taylor feels terrible that he was too interested in the doppelganger and not on what he wanted to tell him. He thinks his life is destroyed and that he will never be happy again without his wife and daughter. I feel terrible for Taylor, too, because he could not save his family. Unexpectedly the doppelganger appears to him again and points to Andrea and Kati. Taylor is so happy. The ending is happy and bittersweet too because Szabo, unable to save his own wife and daughter, in the end helped to save Taylor’s wife and daughter.Q: Based on the novel above, write about an unexpected twist in the story, answer with evidence. Ans: In the novel ‘How l Met Myself’ an unexpected twist comes towards the end of the story when the doppelganger appears to someone close to Taylor to give that person an important message. He wants to save Andrea and Kati’s lives because Taylor has not been able to understand or act upon the earlier warnings. After the blast, Taylor walks home, thinking that his wife and daughter have just died in the cafe. Suddenly, he bumps into his doppelganger.The doppelganger points to Andrea and Kati. Taylor is so happy to be reunited with his family. On three previous occasions, the doppelganger appears to Taylor as he (the doppelganger) runs out of Felka utca. He, then, appears in front of Andrea and Kati to wa rn them. Andrea thinks John is blocking their way but when Kati begins to cry she realizes that it is his doppelganger. He wants them to leave the place so they do. Janos Szabo enters Taylor and his family’s life to save them. He lost his family too and probably does not want someone else to suffer like he did.Q: Based on the novel above, write about an interesting character that you admire. Answer with evidence. Ans: An interesting character that l admire is Andrea Taylor from the novel How I Met Myself. She is a loving and understanding wife. She always puts her family’s needs ahead of everything else. She takes good care of her husband, John and their daughter, Kati. She works hard as a teacher, putting in many hours of work at home as well as giving classes outside the home. When she loses her teaching job at the bank, she takes up Zsolt’s offer to help out at the cafe. Her daughter Kati is always with her.In the beginning, she tries to be supportive and und erstanding regarding John's preoccupation with his doppelganger but she soon grows tired and annoyed with John. She sees this as a waste of time, time that can be better spent with his family. Still, no matter how angry she is with her husband, she remains a loyal partner and carries on with her duties as a good wife and mother. When the doppelganger appears to her at the entrance of the cafe, she is not afraid. She also does not ignore his warning, remembering everything that John has shared with her about Janes Szabo.This saves her and Kati from the explosion at the cafe. Q: Based on the novel above, describe the most interesting event you found in the story. Answer with evidence. Ans: The event that I find the most exciting in the novel How I Met Myself is at the very end of the novel, when the explosion at the cafe takes place. John rushes over to the cafe, thinking that Andrea and Kati are there, but upon reaching Felka utca, he hears an explosion. John frantically tries to dig them out of the rubble, with the help of the passers-by. But when the police and firemen arrive, they stop him as it is too dangerous for him to do so.He is told to go home and wait for news about his wife and child. As he is walking home, feeling devastated as he is so sure that he has lost his wife and child, he sees his doppelganger. Janos points to the end of the street. John looks up and sees Andrea and Kati. He is overjoyed. Janos, the doppelganger, has saved their lives. Q: Based on the novel above, write a lesson you have learnt from the novel. Answer with evidence. Ans: The lesson I have learnt from How I Met Myself is that one must be persistent in seeking the truth about something that we wish to understand.John remains persistent in trying to find out more about his doppelganger throughout the novel. He cries his best to make his wife understand the importance of his quest. He doesn't give up easily even though he faces many challenges. Andrea becomes angry and annoyed with him as a result of all the time he spends researching about his doppelganger. This puts his marriage in trouble. But John is determined to carry on as he knows that it is important for him to understand the reason behind meeting his doppelganger, not just for him, but for his wife and child too.His persistence pays off in the end when he learns about Janos Szabo's sad story. Q: Based on the novel above, write a character that you dislike the most. Answer with evidence. Ans: The character I dislike in the novel How I Met Myself is Andrea Taylor. Although for the most part she is a loyal and loving wife, there are times when she does not support or try to understand her husband's predicament. Her husband, John Taylor, is convinced that his doppelganger has an important message to convey to him, most likely involving his wife and child. Therefore, he is determined to find the identity of his doppelganger.Unfortunately, Andrea fails to understand this and gets annoyed with him. She refuses to listen to any more stories about the doppelganger which in the end forces John to investigate the matter in secret. This causes a rift in their marriage. It is ironic that it is the doppelganger who saves her and her child's life at the end of the story. Q: Based on the novel above, write why you find the novel interesting. Answer with evidence. Ans: I find this novel interesting as it explores the subject of doppelgangers. One snowy night, while walking home from work, John Taylor is knocked over by a stranger in the streets.The man turns around to apologise and to John's surprise the man looks exactly like him. From this point on, the story gets even more interesting. John tries to find out more about his double. He soon stumbles upon an article on doppelgangers and is then convinced that the man he saw in the streets that fateful night is indeed his doppelganger. It is said that a doppelganger usually appears to give advice or present a warning to the person it appear s to. In the end, it is revealed that John's doppelganger did indeed appear to warn him of the impending danger that involve his wife, Andrea, and his daughter, Kati.Andrea and Kari are saved from the explosion at the cafe thanks to the doppelganger. Q: Based on the novel above, write about a theme in the story. Answer with evidence. Ans: One of the themes in the novel How I Met Myself is love. John Taylor's love for his wife and daughter spur him on to find out more about his doppelganger and the massage that the doppelganger is trying to convey to him. John realises that it is something important, not only for him, but for his family. The doppelganger, Janos Szabo, lost his wife and child in a tragic bombing during the war.The doppelganger does not want the same devastating fate to befall John. In the end, John's wife and child are saved from the explosion at the cafe with the doppelganger’s help. Q: Based on the novel above, write about why you like or dislike the ending. Answer with evidence. Ans: I like the happy ending in the novel How I Met Myself. Andrea and Kari are saved from the explosion at the cafe. The doppelganger, Janes Szabo, saves them by warning them not to go into the cafe, John, who initially thinks that he has lost his wife and child, is overjoyed to discover that they are safe.He would have been deeply devastated if he lost them. Q: Based on the novel above, write about what happened to the protagonist or main character at the end of the story. Answer with evidence. Ans: The main character, John Taylor, meets his doppelganger at the very beginning of the story. He is deeply disturbed by this meeting and he is determined to find out the reason why his doppelganger has appeared to him. He realises at the end of the story that his doppelganger had come to warn him of the impending danger to his wife and child.As a result, his wife and child are saved. Q: Based on the novel above, write about the plot in the story. Answer with evidenc e. Ans: On a snowy evening, John Taylor is on his way home from the office when a man runs into him and knocks him over. The man turns to apologise and John is shocked to see that the man looks exactly like him. The double rushes off leaving no footprints in the snow. John tries to look for the man but he has somehow mysteriously disappeared. From this point on, John becomes almost obsessed with finding out more about his double and why he has met him.From his findings, John learns that the man he saw was his doppelganger and that meeting his doppelganger was no accident. His doppelganger had a very important message for him, that is to warn him of impending danger. In the end, John learns that the doppelganger has saved the lives of his wife and child and he is extremely grateful. Q: Based on the novel above, write about the positive influence that a character has on another character in the novel. Answer with evidence. Ans: The doppelganger, Janos Szabo, has a positive influence o n John Taylor. The doppelganger tries to help John by warning him of impending danger.As a result of his doppelganger’s appearance, John learns the meaning of determination and perseverance in his quest to uncover the identity of his doppelganger. He faces many obstacles before he succeeds in doing so. Finding out more about his doppelganger also helps John realise how important his family is to him. When he mistakenly thinks that his family has died in the explosion, he is truly devastated. This makes him appreciate them all the more when he realises that they are alive after all. Q: Based on the novel above, write about the relationship between two characters in the story.Answer with evidence. Ans: In the beginning of the story, John and Andrea have a very close and loving relationship. But once the doppelganger appears to John and he becomes almost obsessed with finding out whatever he can about the doppelganger, Andrea grows annoyed and angry with John. She feels that he should be spending more time with his family. Their marriage becomes strained. Towards the end of the novel, John and Andrea are barely on speaking terms. But, when the doppelganger appears to Andrea and saves her and Kati from the explosion at the cafe, things between John and Andrea get bette

Are Ghosts Real or Not

Ghosts are real. First, the most important thing to know is that ghosts are just human beings not living in physical bodies. These are people just like you and me. Like people everywhere, ghosts can be friendly, scary, smart, and stupid and everything in between, but they're just people. Both skeptics and ardent believers in the paranormal admit that supernatural and unexplainable activity—sightings of ghost, spirit and/or aliens is on the rise. If there is no supernatural, what are these apparitions?Millions of eager viewers are gobbling up popular movies such as Ghost, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetle juice, Ghost Rider, and Ghost Busters. Video fantasy and arcade games featuring ghosts, skeletons, and mummies and beings alive after death are the rage. ? The most logical place to go to get the facts about supernatural things is the Bible. the one authority on things that cannot be seen or explained by natural earthly laws. And indeed, the Bible does indicate that paranorma l activity and interest in the spirit world would increase at the very end of time.Even more alarmingly, the Bible warns that these spirits will lure multitudes into world wide deception. â€Å"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. † Revelation 16:13-14. With this in mind, how vital it is that we understand what the Bible says about ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife. ___________________ Bruce A. Moen, Voyage Beyond Doubt , (1996-2003) http://www. afterlife-knowledge. com/bnddoubt. html ? Ghosts are the mind's way of interpreting how the body reacts to certain surroundings, say UK psychologists. A chill in the air, low-light conditions and even magnetic fields may trigger feel ings that â€Å"a presence† is in a room – but that is all they are, feelings. This explanation of ghosts the result of a large study which researchers led hundreds of volunteers around two of the U.K’s supposedly most haunted locations – Hampton Court Palace, England, and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, and his colleagues say their work has thrown up some interesting data to suggest why so many people can be spooked in the same building but provides no evidence that ghosts are real. Science accept it will never know everything about the universe. Science also accepts that without evidence there is no knowledge, only guesses. Ghosts might exist, so might Bigfoot, Nessie, and David Icke. We need evidence to demonstrate it, though.The possibility is not enough to warrant belief, as a whole bunch of things could be possible – science is the system of weeding out the actual from th e possible. ____________________ ? http://www. bookrags. com/researchtopics/ghosts/sub7. html Lights turning off and on – likewise, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the experiencer knows they were not left that way. This can also happen with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items. Unexplained shadows – the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen out of the corner of the eye.This phenomenon has also been discussed in some detail in â€Å"Shadow People. † Strange animal behavior – a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be â€Å"watching† something cross a room. Feelings of being watched – this is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time. hearing a door open or close is one thing. Actually seeing it happen is quite another. Feelings of being touched – the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or â€Å"a hand† on the shoulder. Cries and whispers – on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source.Cold or hot spots – cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence. Unexplained smells – the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. Physical assault – scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing. Other physical evidence – un explained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints. Apparitions – physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. Are Ghosts Real or Not Ghosts are real. First, the most important thing to know is that ghosts are just human beings not living in physical bodies. These are people just like you and me. Like people everywhere, ghosts can be friendly, scary, smart, and stupid and everything in between, but they're just people. Both skeptics and ardent believers in the paranormal admit that supernatural and unexplainable activity—sightings of ghost, spirit and/or aliens is on the rise. If there is no supernatural, what are these apparitions?Millions of eager viewers are gobbling up popular movies such as Ghost, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetle juice, Ghost Rider, and Ghost Busters. Video fantasy and arcade games featuring ghosts, skeletons, and mummies and beings alive after death are the rage. ? The most logical place to go to get the facts about supernatural things is the Bible. the one authority on things that cannot be seen or explained by natural earthly laws. And indeed, the Bible does indicate that paranorma l activity and interest in the spirit world would increase at the very end of time.Even more alarmingly, the Bible warns that these spirits will lure multitudes into world wide deception. â€Å"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. † Revelation 16:13-14. With this in mind, how vital it is that we understand what the Bible says about ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife. ___________________ Bruce A. Moen, Voyage Beyond Doubt , (1996-2003) http://www. afterlife-knowledge. com/bnddoubt. html ? Ghosts are the mind's way of interpreting how the body reacts to certain surroundings, say UK psychologists. A chill in the air, low-light conditions and even magnetic fields may trigger feel ings that â€Å"a presence† is in a room – but that is all they are, feelings. This explanation of ghosts the result of a large study which researchers led hundreds of volunteers around two of the U.K’s supposedly most haunted locations – Hampton Court Palace, England, and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, and his colleagues say their work has thrown up some interesting data to suggest why so many people can be spooked in the same building but provides no evidence that ghosts are real. Science accept it will never know everything about the universe. Science also accepts that without evidence there is no knowledge, only guesses. Ghosts might exist, so might Bigfoot, Nessie, and David Icke. We need evidence to demonstrate it, though.The possibility is not enough to warrant belief, as a whole bunch of things could be possible – science is the system of weeding out the actual from th e possible. ____________________ ? http://www. bookrags. com/researchtopics/ghosts/sub7. html Lights turning off and on – likewise, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the experiencer knows they were not left that way. This can also happen with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items. Unexplained shadows – the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen out of the corner of the eye.This phenomenon has also been discussed in some detail in â€Å"Shadow People. † Strange animal behavior – a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be â€Å"watching† something cross a room. Feelings of being watched – this is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time. hearing a door open or close is one thing. Actually seeing it happen is quite another. Feelings of being touched – the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or â€Å"a hand† on the shoulder. Cries and whispers – on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source.Cold or hot spots – cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence. Unexplained smells – the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. Physical assault – scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing. Other physical evidence – un explained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints. Apparitions – physical manifestation of a spirit or entity.

Anita Desai Essay Example for Free

Anita Desai Essay The main characters who struck me the most are Uma and her brother Arun; to them are dedicated the two parts of the novel. Personally I think they have a lot of things in common and I’m not only considering the fact that they belong to the same close-knit family: they are somehow subjected to a reality from which they both want to escape. Uma is the plainest character of the novel, I think: she always obeys her parents and makes everything they want her to do. This is not completely a negative point but, reading the first pages of the book, I admit that I would like to react for her to the commandments of her MamaPapa, as they are often mentioned†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Go to the cook†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ Prepare the packet for your brother†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ Write a letter†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦but how can she manage to do all these things together?! In my opinion Uma is also naà ¯ve, she seems to be somehow tied by a sense of duty to her parents, especially after the failure of her two arranged marriages, and what about the dowry she has squandered?! as her father reminds her. The only â€Å"pause† of her life is given by the visits of Mira-masi, a particular woman who deeply fascinates Uma for the stories she tells her: she represents a ray of hope into the life of the girl, although her parents don’t approve the complicity created between them. Arun, whose birth was really longed for, is sent to the USA where he attends the college: being the only son of the family he has the honour of receiving a good education and he has also the possibility to live far from the oppressing reality of his homeland. But his life remains very unhappy: also the family to which he lives while in America is a sort of weight for him. The second part of the novel seems to me a long digression about food, I think that the food itself is the only reason for a link between Arun and the new family, Mrs Patton in particular. I think both brother and sister are oppressed voices who want to live in peace and to escape from the world they live in, although they aren’t able to rebel against it. For this very reason I would like them to write to each other, what does not happen in the novel. Dear Arun, Maybe for the first time in my life I admit that I’m very sad but what troubles me the most is the fact that I’m not able to find a way out†¦ Our cousin Anamika is dead. Everybody here is trying to give an explanation but†¦what for, she won’t ever come back and there are no acceptable explanations for her death†¦ I absolutely can’t imagine that the urn in front of me contains her ashes†¦she is dead†¦ but I’m dead too. Her awe for the family led her towards death, but what about me? I will stay forever with MamaPapa, I can’t abandon them, they are†¦my life! When mama grips my hand I know, I feel that there is something strong between us and I can’t, I can’t leave†¦ MamaPapa is calling me†¦I have to go. I don’t know if I will ever send this letter to you: perhaps I will burn it. Uma Dear Uma, A new semester at the college is beginning and my stay with the Pattons is over. I’m happy because I can leave this strange family: it wasn’t my place, I didn’t feel comfortable with them, I felt oppressed and obliged to be part of it, maybe only because I felt sorry for Mrs Patton and I didn’t want to disappoint her. This is the reason why I gave her the presents you sent me (but please don’t reveal anything to MamaPapa!): I didn’t want her to be worried about me when I silently walked out of her life. Arun Alice Bravin 5 H Liceo Scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Pordenone Anita Desai â€Å"FASTING, FEASTING† The novel by Anita Desai appeared insipid to my eyes. If I were asked to collect all the emotions that the book has stirred in my heart, I would find myself in anguishing troubles, for I’m quite numb to it as well I am frustrated by each work of art dominated by a sense of heaviness. The characters are imbued with, or even better, they are emblems of this heaviness which reveals itself mainly in the temperament of Uma, who is the best-built character of the novel. Anita Desai succeeded in the enterprise of creating a character without personality, a woman deprived of her soul. She is the designated victim who is doomed to endure the burden of life, symbolized first of all by her parents. Uma doesn’t strike my sensibility: I don’t feel pity for her, nor would I establish a sort of sympathetic relationship with her; her ineptitude doesn’t arouse my anger, nor would I shake her out of the status of torpor she experiences. I am quite interested in one of the psychological aspects of Uma, that of repression. Uma is not free to be what she wants to be, to do what she wants to do, so she is utterly repressed in her passions, in her feelings, in her personality; this last dimension is completely neglected to her. These inner forces run inside her veins and arteries, like water permeating through the cracks of a rock and when temperatures gets colder, it becomes ice and causes the explosion of the rock. The same happens inside Uma and the implosion is disguised as a sort of disease. Convulsions, nausea which leads to vomit, suffered cries, these moments are the most involving – and at the same time disturbing – moments and situations of the novel. I would have appreciated if Anita Desai had developed this edge of the prism of Uma. Sigmund Freud stated that mental patients are like diamonds, whose structure is based on its corners. In these lines the diamond would break in case it fell on the ground. Uma is like that. Her body seems possessed by a demoniac spirit, her limbs, her bowels are rocked by the unique act of rebellion which is allowed to her. I wonder why the writer has snobbed this issue, which probably assumes a religious and philosophical value and is strictly connected to Indian culture. The heaviness that haunts the book is expressed even by the settings. Concerning this point I would like to recall the image of Uma and her aunt who leave together on a spiritual trip. The bus they catch is incredibly crowded: this episode evokes the image of mingled noises and smells within the dusty and sandy air of India. The writer enables us to appreciate each aspect of the setting – thanks to her detailed language – so that the reader manages to broaden his sensorial perceptions and is caught by the use of synaesthesia. ( The description of the believers bathing in the Gange becomes meaningful in this sense ). Before starting reading the book I thought it would be quite precious for me in order to learn more about the Indian world, even appreciating it by means of the parallel Anita Desai draws with Northern America. But I was wrong: â€Å"Fasting, feasting † doesn’t seem so representative of India: the impression I get is that of a character – Uma – who might be possibly Irish or even Italian. Westerners share the same common imagery about India and this common imagery is banal and dominated by prejudices. The book is ambiguous, in the sense that neither supports this statement, nor deny it. The same ambiguity lies in the second part of the novel – that dedicated to Arun – which takes place in the United Stated of America. Anita Desai gives us tenets and traits of the American Society coming in the story of an American family. Here there aren’t crowded busses or temples, but televisions, junk food, couches, barbecues, baseball matches and people who enjoy all these objects and events. The same dusty air is breathed by Arun when he goes back home walking on the boundaries of the street. The same atmosphere of heaviness which degenerates into disease. For these very reasons I state that Uma and her story are not so â€Å"Indian†. Moreover, I have some perplexities about the last chapter – really shorter than the first one – which doesn’t find a proper literary justification. It is a sort of appendix, even if only almost at the end of the book there’s the precise reference to the tile â€Å"Fasting, feasting† and is embodied by the bulimic girl. Alessandra Crimi 5 H Liceo Scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Pordenone Anita Desai – Fasting, Feasting Fasting, Feasting is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Thanks to the brilliant descriptions and the elegant narration the reader has the opportunity to create an imaginary but precise setting were characters develop during the story. I think that this novel is like a mirror because it gives the opportunity to reflect, in both meanings of the word. We can reflect ourselves in the protagonists (mirror-like effect) and we can reflect, think, about the different values and importance that people from different societies give to ideals they believe in. In my opinion the rhythm of the narration is sometimes too slow, but I can understand that it is due to the fact that, once again, it mirrors the context where the story takes place. In India, in fact, there is no frenetic life, no stress, no anxiety of living and for this very reason people can pay attention to little events that we probably ignore. When the father asks for his drink, it seems to me that everyone in the family has to stop and be there for this event; when a guest arrives unexpectedly, all the attention is directed to him; even the choice of one kind of food rather than another seems to be one of the most important problems of the day. . The character of Mumdad is what emotionally touched me most, maybe because to a certain extent I can detect in them some traits my parents have. The image of Mumdad on the swing describes their indissoluble bond. Mumdad are a unique person/entity made up of two different souls. These two souls are always at unison, they never take opposite decisions, they argue but they always find a compromise, they are, in a word, complementary. I always admired this ability to build little by little a life together even if, for a child, sometimes it’s not so easy to accept their decision, or rather, their impositions. Uma is my favourite character. In some parts of the novel I felt really involved in her problems, in her thoughts and desires. She loves school even if she isn’t able to get good marks; she loves learning, she wants to try again, to spend another year at school, she’s sure she will improve. She suffers when Mumdad decide she should give up her studies. She suffers when she understands she is not as beautiful, intelligent as her sister Aruna, and so she is considered a lesser woman. Uma suffers silently, she accepts her condition of inferiority, yet she is always looking for a moment of glory that, unfortunately, never comes. She is like the most humble flower that grows up silently, that is trampled from the gardener that gave her birth, because a rose is blooming next to the humble flower and he must be there to praise the perfection and beauty of the rose. I’m not saying that I reflect myself in Uma , absolutely not, on the contrary, I’m saying that all my life I have been an Aruna, and I didn’t know about it. I’m an only child, there is no Uma in my family, but thanks to the juxtaposition of the two characters I have understood that I have always been loved and pampered and nursed and highly considered and I don’t really know if I deserve all this. This book has really been a great opportunity for me, it has made me reflect on my values and on the meaning of my â€Å"little† life: too often we don’t realise what is around us. But now I want stop talking about me. I would love to write a few lines about arranged marriages. In our Western society, marriage is generally viewed as a value strongly linked with the concept of freedom, the freedom to choose the person with whom we would like to spend all our life. We have this great opportunity and we often waste it. We are free to love a person for his peculiarities and not for his money and often people choose the partner for his richness, we get married and then we divorce and kids are treated as merchandise, we often get married for reasons that sometimes are far away from love and we claim to judge a society where parents choose a spouse for their children. I think that Western people are more contradictory than what they want to admit and perhaps less happy. Perhaps it is this very feeling that leads plenty of us to judge other cultures. DA PIEVE LUCIA 5 H Liceo scientifico â€Å"M. Grigoletti† Anita Desai â€Å"Fasting,Feasting† This is the first book by Anita Desai I have ever read. Her observations are astute whether they are on living conditions in India or USA. Anita Desai uses her words perfectly to convey exactly what she feels,but even if it could seem a contradiction,I think that the problem with the book is its dry, clinical approach in chronicling the lives of the characters, the book lacks passion. I was always on the outside, looking into the lives of people. The book offers few chances of getting involved with the characters ,in fact while reading the book I didn’t feel the compulsion of finishing it quickly. The part I liked better is the first half of the book that deals with life in a small, slow town in India, with rigid parents and well-drafted routines. The †Indian half† is more detailed than the other half which deals with the â€Å"rule-less† life in suburban USA. In the first half there is a partly successful, proud father, who goes through life, with set patterns and no passion. A mother who goes along with her husband, doing what is supposedly right and expected of her, curbing and killing all her innate desires. Three children. The eldest, Uma, clumsy . The middle daughter Aruna, pretty, ambitious and smart, but eventually also a victim of her choices. The last, a son, Arun, on whom the parents put all their dreams and energies. All of them, along with members of their extended family, go through some form of deprivation (of will, of fun, of passion and of love). I think that a merit of this book is the way it highlights the Indian traditions, cultures and mostly the place of a woman in an Indian family. I liked the character of Uma in the book because she is both willing to take a chance with life and at the same time dedicated to her family.She takes whatever happens to her life with such grace that she does not give me a chance to cry for her. I like her inner strength. The story in itself is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Uma, who starts out as a wideeyed child at a convent who shows an enthusiasm for education but with the birth of her brother Arun, Uma takes on the role of nanny. Here, one encounters the distinct preference parents have for the male child. Desai next explores the conventional belief that ties a woman’s worth to her physical appearance. A woman who lacks beauty is often rushed into the first marital offer she receives, only to pay a heavy price later on. Desai shows the challenges a single woman faces regardless of how successful she is. By contrast, Uma’s cousin is portrayed as the ultimate success because she is able to marry well thanks to her looks. She makes the reader wonder how happy she truly is, when she eventually takes her own life. Uma is the main character in the first half of the novel. She is a clumsy, uncoordinated woman who finds it difficult to succeed in almost everything she does – she fails in school, can’t cook, spills food and drink and can’t find anyone worthwhile to get married to. Her father feels that Uma is incapable of fending for herself, as she is too clumsy, uncoordinated and proves a failure in almost everything she does.Uma fails in school, in the kitchen and she even fails to find anyone worthwhile to get married to. The father asks Uma to interrupt her studies in the Christian convent when he find out she not doing very well at school. He feels that it was a waste of time and money to provide Uma an education ;he has other plans for her.She will look after her baby brother Arun and take care of the household while her mother rests after giving birth. Uma’s life is constantly planned by her father.Uma cannot resist her father’s oppressive patriarchal ideology, as she is afraid of the consequences that would befall her if she angered the colonial characteristics of her father. Uma’s entertainment comes in the form of her cousin, Ramu. When Ramu is around, Uma feels at ease. But the father feels that Ramu is a bad influence on Uma. He does not want Uma to be influenced by other men who are capable of brainwashing her to resist the demands of his patriarchal nature. Anita Desai. (2016, May 06).

The Enduring Value of History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Enduring Value of History - Assignment Example The history of modern art dates back to 1880. Modern art broke from the restrictions of realism in art that was the norm in those days. Modern art embraced a subjective representation of real life objects. Modern artwork is more inclined to looking inwards and artists seek to portray the evolution of their subject over a period of time. According to Gregory, this form of art was targeted at showcasing the evolution of ideas over time and the impact of the society . Modern art evolved over time to present the changes in the society. Impressionism was the first form of modern art that deviated from the traditional aspects of art. The modern artists who practiced this style focused majorly on recreating the scene of the art and appealing to the emotional aspect of the painting. Cubism was more inclined towards finding strong forms for art work instead of just squares. The composition of the artwork was given prominence and primitive geometric shapes were not prioritized. The most vital aspect of modern art that is relevant to the requirements of Apperception is the use abstraction. Abstract art focuses on a feeling of thought that cannot be quantified and not necessarily a recognizable object. The paintings that applied this style showcased several layers of abstraction. The importance of this abstraction is that it spurs the mind to generate interpretations of the painting in several unique ways . It’s a possibility to have a unique interpretation of the painting each time that he sees it.

HUMAN RIGHTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

HUMAN RIGHTS - Essay Example A charter was thus crafted that detailed the creation of the International Military Tribunal and the procedure to be followed during the trials. 2 Finally, the trials and the subsequent judgment handed down at the trials for such novel crimes as ‘crimes against humanity,’ ‘crimes against peace,’ (jus ad bellum) and ‘war crimes’ (jus in bello) committed during a state of war 3has established a precedent that became the models in recent cases like Rwanda and Yugoslavia. These judgments assailed, inter alia, on the grounds that they were based on a crime that was in the nature of ex-post facto law, were nevertheless just and fair considering the grievous crimes that were committed. The indictment of about 24 major defendants specified three kinds of crimes: crimes against peace, which included crimes of waging aggressive war, as opposed to self-defence, against other countries; war crimes, or crimes which violated the conduct of war in accordance with Article 46 of the Geneva Convention like â€Å"murder, ill-treatment, and deportation of populations in the conquered territories, the killing of hostages and prisoners of war, the seizing of private property, and the wanton destruction of villages, towns and cities,† and; crimes against humanity, or crimes committed before and during war like â€Å"murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts committed against civilian population.† Another crime, that of conspiracy, - the planned commission of the crimes by two or more persons - connected some of the crimes. After eight months of preparation, considered short for a major trial, the trial began on November 20, 1945. 4 To serve as evidence for the prosecution, the indictments came supported by testimonies, photographs and films – with the last two primarily coming from the Germans who obviously documented every atrocious deed they made with pride. The

Social policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Social policy - Essay Example Social policy in United Kingdom is inclined towards conservatism policies. According to Spicker (1991: 9), the concept of ‘subsidiarity’ can be a dominant influence on the European community. It upholds the responsibilities resulting from the closeness of the traditional society inside smaller social units. Therefore, intervention in the United Kingdom impersonates subsidiarity and establishes solidarity. Social insurance plan mostly dates back to the Elizabethan period when the society approved poor taxation policies (Www2.rgu.ac.uk, n.d.). The conservatives operate inside the limitations involving xenophobia in the immigration policies. At the same time, the people reviewed the immigration policies in reaction to the 2001 riots where immigrant criminal offenses were prominent in the Northern English cities (Young, 2003, p. 452). Following the adoption of social policy, the generation of immigration staff has received economic prosperity, legal equality, as well as discrimination inside the borders of the country. According to Spicker (1991, p.10), the government features policies in coping with the success of the economy. This involves outdated manufacturing industry. This is because the manufacturing efforts of the government were ignored in the workforce (Www2.rgu.ac.uk,

ARE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FULLY MEETING THE NEEDS OF SERVICE USERS Essay

ARE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FULLY MEETING THE NEEDS OF SERVICE USERS WITH DUAL DIAGNOSIS ILLICIT SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS - Essay Example However, in order to implement this framework in practice, the mental health professionals must be educated and trained suitably enough to be first aware of such conditions so they in turn can raise awareness of the clients in order to motivate them better. Substance misuse and addictive behaviour are very common and are regarded as a major public health problem in the United Kingdom. Dual diagnoses of substance abuse and mental disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. The mental disorders comprise mostly of schizophrenia, affective, anxiety, personality, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Research has shown that they place enormous burden on individuals and society and hence the nation (Copello, Graham, & Birchwood, 2001, 585-587). The common co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders with alcohol and drug use disorders is well recognized. The reasons for co-occurrence, the best methods to differentiate substance abuse from psychiatric syndromes, and the best treatments for comorbidity remain open research questions. There is now an emerging consensus that when the clinical picture is limited to a single disorder, there are chances of fewer complications (Drake & Wallach, 2000, 1126-1129). Along with th at, it has been acknowledged that comorbid psychiatric and substance abuse disorders present problems. Research again has demonstrated that co-occurring mental and substance use disorders are associated with problems among users, dependence among problem users, with severity and persistence of both mental and alcohol-drug disorders, poor health and failed treatment attempts, with violence, incarceration, and poverty (Essock et al, 2001, 469-476). Therefore, it would be pertinent to investigate or to find evidence whether these available mental health services are adequate enough to meet the growing needs of these individuals with dual diagnosis. In this review article, a systemic review has been proposed to be undertaken within a methodological framework, so the evidence may be culled in order to substantiate the focus question and rationale to conduct this review. Focus Question Are mental health services fully meeting the needs of service users with dual diagnosis, illicit substance misuse and serious mental illness Rationale The problems of dual diagnosis are further compounded by the fact that clients with a dual diagnosis are difficult to assess because they are not a homogenous group. In addition, these clients often are poor historians and are noncompliant during the assessment process. Individuals with dual diagnosis often have complex and multiple needs that are difficult to assess in a comprehensive manner. There are indeed barriers to care for this population, which are significant and multidimensional. Services available for these individuals are absent, inadequate, and

Rational choice theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rational choice theory - Essay Example Specifically, rational choice theory also claims that the decision maker knows all the potential alternatives and that s/he makes a decision after evaluating them all (Heath 2001). Decision-making process in organizations can be distinguished as automatic— regular decisions made in accordance to established guiding principles—or non-programmed—choices necessitating new and innovative solutions (White 2006). Furthermore, decisions vary with regard to the level of risk present, ranging from those wherein the results of a decision are fairly definite to those wherein results are considerably indefinite. Indefinite circumstances are communicates as probability statements derived from either subjective or objective facts (Heath 2001). Rational choice theory portrays decision makers as systematically rummaging around appropriate and relevant information to make the best possible decision. This essay will discuss the premises of rational choice theory, its implications on managerial decision making, and the validity of the argument that ‘individuals are rational and normally act as maximizing entrepreneurs’. Rationality is revered in the Western world. A rational choice is one that arises in structured procedures and maximizes a value, regardless if it is marketability, controllability, reliability, efficiency, integrity, or any of numerous other values (Goodin 1998). Observance of any value requires upholding one alternative over another. According to rational choice theory there are major steps to making a rational decision (Allingham 2002). The endeavor is as crucial as the ultimate decision, due to the fact that each step affords an opportunity to re-evaluate the minimized and maximized values (Allingham 2002). The first step is problem definition. This entails identifying key variables under consideration and analyzing the

Serious Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Serious Game Critique - Essay Example Farmville is a very popular game all around the world. It is meant to improve the intellectual and the creative capacity of the user. Moreover, the environmental aspects associated with the game intend to improve the aptitude of people towards farming and environment. The game has been designed based on the traits of responsibility and regularity. For instance, if a vegetable is planted by the gamer in the morning, the player will have to return on a set time to irrigate it or harvest it so as to maintain the crop. It is the regular maintenance and harvesting of the crops that advances one through the game. As I played the game, I felt that the game apparently stimulates an encouraging emotional change. The mouse clicks, through which the player plough, harvest and plant are perceived as expressions of hard work and dedication. The rewards of harvesting result in a lot of satisfaction through which a positive emotional status is created. I personally felt being proud of receiving the rewards of the labor that I put in. These rewards could further be used to enhance the farming area both qualitatively and quantitatively. As the game is played on the public forum, the farms can be showcased on the social media and can be compared with the farms of the virtual neighbors. This is an important social element associated with the game. It lets you boast over your achievement on the game in the virtual social space. Further as I advanced through the game, I discovered the game to be shallow in terms of its content. As the advanced stages I could not find the process intellectually or emotionally empowering. The game becomes simpler and less laborious as one achieves more rewards in the game. For instance, at later stages of the game the harvesting machine eases the player of the labour of clicking each square plot. Thus my experience the game fails in sustaining the emotional, physical and social excitement which it provides in the beginning. Thus at an advanced level game was delimiting the social and physical improvement of the user The game is obviously growing in its popularity. The provision for the current users to tempt the non-users through their facebook accounts severs as provision for its increasing popularity. These face book ‘updates’ creates a state of obligation for others to join. The game thus can be found to be bound by the principles of obligation along with responsibility and regularity. The commercial success and the increasing popularity of the game suggest the success of the game in catering to the targeted audience. Farmville also bound its users by adding an ethical aspect to it. The game raised almost one million dollars for the Haiti earthquake relief operations. This move could successfully bring in social and emotional change within the community of the gamers. They developed a feeling that they were playing for a social cause. This promoted more people to join the gaming community and further bound the g amers together. The physical change that the game brought forth in its gamers is however limited. The healthy physical, psychological and social development of any individual requires their active involvement in a variety of physical and social activities in the real time environment. For an individual to be healthy, happy, and productive, the integration of their physical activities, social interaction and

Ethical Implications of Cloning and Stem Cell Research Essay Example for Free

Ethical Implications of Cloning and Stem Cell Research Essay Bio-medical breakthroughs in the fields of genetic and tissue engineering hold great promise. However, as modern medicine advances, it often poses major ethical issues on which people are seriously divided. The argument in favor of proceeding with research at unrestrained pace is mainly advocated by scientists and medical experts who would like to see some fantastic therapeutic benefits that science promises in the form of stem cell technologies. Scientists are absolutely thrilled by the possibilities looming on the horizon (Thompson, Harrub 2001c). On the other side of the debate are people, sometimes led by religious groups, who are concerned we may going too far too fast, using unacceptable means and in unknown directions. Stem cell research has the greatest potential for saving lives, but is controversial for its research based on embryos and fetuses (Rickard 2002). Stem cells are immature and unspecialized cells that that possess both the capacity to renew themselves indefinitely as well as the capability to differentiate themselves into specialized and mature cells. Mature cells, such as the heart’s myocytes or the liver’s hepatocytes, stop dividing after several dozen divisions, while stem cells can keep on dividing indefinitely, either renewing themselves or bringing out specialized cells. There are four types of stem cells in the human body 1) adult stem cells, 2) fetal stem cells 3) embryonic stem cells, and 4) nuclear transplant stem cells. For the first three months of pregnancy, a fertilized cell, or zygote, divides and grows in the mothers womb and is referred to as an embryo. The embryo’s stem cells are the precursors of the development of a complete human baby. They produce all of the bodys various 100 trillion cells. It should become possible to use embryonic stem cells to regenerate any type of cell that the body needs. When the embryo assumes an apparent human body form, it becomes a fetus. Because the fetus is growing rapidly, all tissues and organs, including the brain, contain stem cells. It is for this reason that stem cell researchers are interested in studying fetal tissues. Studies suggest that human embryonic stem cells have immense potential in terms of developing into multiple tissue types and long-term self-renewal. Therefore, stem cell research entails the intentional creation of human embryos in the highly artificial context of an IVF clinic, using cloning techniques, and discarding them after their use for research is exhausted (Thompson, Harrub 2001a). The question to be resolved is whether research on embryonic stem cells constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights, in particular the principle of respect for human dignity and the right of life. However, many believe that conception/fertilization is not a moment but a process, and the early development does not indicate true individuality in any sense of the word, and therefore there is violation of human rights. The promise of embryo research, liberal-minded people tend to think, is too real to ignore any longer by sticking to conservative attitudes that stand in the face of pragmatism. And yet, even they would flinch at the possibilities of reproductive cloning. The difference between therapeutic cloning using embryonic stem cells (stem cell research) and reproductive cloning is the distinction between creating cloned body tissue or organs for therapeutic purposes and creating cloned human beings. Reproductive cloning is generally viewed as morally abhorrent because it is seen as unnatural and a commodification of human life, and it captures public fears about the power of science to pursue a eugenic agenda. When governmental organizations of today debate ban on human cloning, the main issue in such debates would be whether to ban outright all forms of embryo cloning, which a number of countries seem to support, or to permit the cloning of embryos for research purposes (therapeutic cloning/ stem cell research) while outlawing human reproductive cloning. Besides reproductive cloning, there is another untoward ramification to therapeutic cloning, which is cloning for enhancement. The issue of using advances in stem cell research for the purposes of enhancement, as against solely therapeutic purposes, opens up a Pandora’s box of all kinds of complications, ethical, social, psychological, philosophical and practical. For instance, stem cell approaches might help to cure Parkinsons patients, but, in the not too distant future, they could also be used to improve brain functions. Rich people would be able to afford this therapy and poor people would not. This could create a most undesirable stratification of the society. But where does therapeutic cloning end, and enhancement cloning begin — even if cloning was advanced for purely therapeutic purposes, it would soon spread into the domain of enhancement. This is the argument of â€Å"slippery slope† commonly advanced against all biomedical research involving genetic and cellular manipulation. Last but not least, thanks to the promise that genetic engineering and human cloning research hold, the prospects of achieving capabilities for indefinite life extension even within the next twenty to thirty years are very high (Thompson, Harrub 2001b). The consequences of physical immortality for whole populations are simply inconceivable. But today, the possibility of human race becoming permanently deathless looms uncomfortably close to us. Therefore it becomes imperative that something be done to stem the advances of genetic and cloning research before the situation goes out of hand. A number of states have already enacted specific cloning-ban legislation, either banning the cloning of humans or imposing a moratorium on cloning within the state. Other states have taken action at least to consider formally similar legislation. At federal level, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003, which bans the process of human cloning for any purpose and the importation of any product derived from an embryo created via cloning, was passed by the U. S. House of Representatives on 27 February 2003. It was not ratified by the senate though. The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005 bans only reproductive cloning while allowing therapeutic cloning. To date, federal regulations only prohibit federal funding for research into human cloning (Cash 2005). Though the science of bio-medical engineering is making rapid strides, and offers the promise of unveiling radical new therapies, simply the fact that a technology exists does not imply that anyone who can pay for it can be automatically allowed to use it. This is because the emerging genetic and cellular techniques and technologies raise all kinds of issues, ethical, philosophical, social, psychological and so on. They carry with them implications very difficult even to comprehend.

Cloud Computing Advantages and Disadvantages

Cloud Computing Advantages and Disadvantages Cloud computing has changed the landscape of business today. Through cloud computing many companies has improved their performance through reengineering their business process both internally and externally. In this section we will look at some of the companies who have adopted the cloud computing and gain advantage from it. Amazon Industry Type: Online Retailer Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the market right now. It is among first who adopted the cloud technology for its online retail store. They are the pioneers of online consumer sales with a supply chain management that has an edge over other competitors in the market. They started off by first creating in-house cloud solution for their own IT. In the starting Amazon created a core online e-commerce website and packing service. Gradually when the e-commerce platform started improving, Amazon started offering it as a service to third-party vendors. Then they started on developing in-house, technology-driven solutions for their operations were initially outsourced, and later on offer these solutions as an external service to third-party businesses. Later as their cloud solution model mature they started of offering their web service to other vendors. With this Amazon strategy shifted from online retailer to B2B service as they started offering a stack of critical infrastructure as a service to other business. Today, more than two million third-party sellers account for 40 percent of Amazons sales. Amazon with its successful marketplace keeps on scaling and improving its technology have a developed a improve supply chain by focusing on warehousing and logistic components. Amazons approach of leveraging technology and scale to reduce costs will change the future of the supply chain in coming times as they have now started offering outsourced consolidation for international sellers in 2014, leveraging bulk discounts for cheaper U.S. import rates. Amazon is driven by either the customer satisfaction or to increase their market share for which they have a cleared define structure: Identify inefficiencies, Develop a technological solution, Scale the solution into a platform, Offer the platform as a novel solution for third-party businesses. ABOF (Aditya Birla Online Fashion) Industry: Fashion The abof (Aditya Birla Online Fashion) is an online fashion store of Aditya Birlas group. They developed a web store that provides 3D virtual trial room that enables customers to see how clothing items look on them by providing their body dimension data in the application. The website also provides a style quiz to help personalize the service it provides to customers. The Challenge The company did not wanted to have an infrastructure comprising various physical hardware such as servers, storage, and networks in an on-premise or collocated datacenter for running the web store because of the scalability issue. The business expected that an increase in demand for apparel, footwear, and accessories and that would spike during sales and other promotional events. This will impose a sizable cost burden on the business as they would have to purchase new computer and other resources, and there is always a risk that these resources will be underused during non-peak periods. Also they were not in favour of hiring any technical personnel for maintaining these resources. The Solution So the company chose AWS (Amazon Web Service) because of ease of use and rich array of services that can be utilize to optimize the performance of its online store. The online store launched in late 2015, with the IBM technology stack powering the e-commerce service all-in on AWS. The store infrastructure operates in the AWS Asia-Pacific (Singapore) Region and uses multiple Availability Zones for redundancy. They use following solution from AWS and IBM for running the online web store: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances run the IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite An IBM DB2 relational database that runs e-commerce store-related datasets also runs in Amazon EC2 Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS). Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) stores content such as product images and videos Amazon CloudFront improves the websites performance by distributing content to users with low latency and high data transfer speeds. Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) to store Amazon EC2 instance and web server logs. The Benefits Multiple instances can be created instantly to update and create new software which provide agility to innovate quickly and compete effectively in the crowded online shopping marketplace. Process for scaling the infrastructure was automated to support demand peaks generated by campaigns that encourage customers to visit the website and purchase products. Good performance and availability of online store to customers with 99.999 percent infrastructure availability with AWS, and an average page loading time of around 1.5 seconds. Lower total cost of running abof on AWS as compared to a physical infrastructure in an on-premises or hosted datacenter. 3M Health Information Systems Industry : Health Care Service 3M Health Information Systems (3M HIS), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the worlds largest providers of software for the healthcare industry whose healthcare applications like 360 Encompass System are used throughout the United State by hospitals to integrate their clinical documentation and coding workflows. The organization provides solutions in more than 20 countries and 7,500 hospitals worldwide. The Challenge A core part the company software solutions uses natural-language processing to automatically create medical codes, which are critical to both clinicians and the business of healthcare delivery and is very critical for healthcare-system workflow. For this multiple IT centers and collocated environments were used to support it. However, this approach led to major challenges as many activities required more computing power and storage capacity at certain hours of the day. Moreover, the agility to develop and deploy new applications faster was need of the hour. The Solution After a thorough analysis, the company decided to use AWS as it has the best infrastructure and performance to meet its needs. So they started off by migrating several important applications to the AWS Cloud. The organization worked closely with AWS Professional Services, which provided the expert architecture and configuration guidance required to accelerate the migration. The applications utilizes following service Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) running hundreds of instances Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), which helps the organization operate and scale its relational database deployments. AWS-managed CodeCommit source-control service to host private Git repositories AWS CodeDeploy to automate deployment AWS CloudFormation to automate infrastructure-all supporting a DevOps culture AWS CodePipeline to manage continuous integration and continuous delivery deployment workflows. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to meet its regulatory and security requirements. The Benefits Applications running on AWS, effortlessly scale up or down without the need to acquire and provision servers months in advance. By using AWS services developers were able to innovate faster which lead to increase efficiency. As it continues to migrate more of its applications to AWS, 3M HIS expects to create and implement innovative new healthcare software for its customers. Dangote Industries Limited Industry : Manufacturing Dangote Group is one of Nigerias most diversified business conglomerates with a hard earned reputation for excellent business practices and products quality. Its operational headquarter is located in the bustling metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria. The Challenge The company was struggling to keep it datacenters, server and network up and running due to poor power supply and lengthy lead time to acquire hardware parts for these resources. The company was unable to operate it on-premises hardware at 100% due to that lack of external environment factor so their systems were neither reliable nor resilience.ÂÂ   And a new refinery project in hand this issue has become critical. The Solution The company find the solution by moving to a hybrid enterprise cloud model. Its transition is center on Microsoft Azures reliable, useful backup and disaster recovery features while a major enterprise software app has also just been carried over to the new platform. Following are service that is utilized from the Microsoft Azure Cloud solution: The delivered set-up uses Microsofts complete hybrid cloud storage solution for enterprises, StorSimple, Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) provided by Azure Site Recovery. These technologies ensure rapid upload to the cloud and carry out a big part of the heavy lifting around backups. ECM (Enterprise Content Management) system based on EMC Documentum technology over to the cloud, the team were ensuring that the company staff in multiple locations could work jointly on the platform. Azure StorSimple to safely store its SAP ERP and other mission critical application backups for added resiliency. The Benifits Maximum resilience of the back office. Solution was delivered in a very short timeframe. Reliable stable environment. A lot of inefficiencies have been removed from business processes.