How ICT Is Applied To The Tourism And Hospitality Industries Essay

How ICT Is Applied To The Tourism And Hospitality Industries - Essay Example e tourism and hospitality industries commonly involves the execution of activities such as incorporation of telecommunications technology with computers and other essential software, which further allows the user companies to access, store as well as share information among their various operational departments. It would not be erroneous to depict in this regard that ICT has its influences in various sections of the business and it acts as a major driving force in deciding the performance of the business operations of companies functioning in any sector including tourism and hospitality sectors. The significance of ICT for companies operating in any sector can be affirmed from the fact that it is actively implemented in certain specific and vital sections of tourism and hospitality business constituted with the various dimensions of production, marketing, research and communication among others. ICT is also a prime tool for tourism and hospitality companies operating in the contempor ary business environment in the context of accomplishing daily tasks, which comprise generating business reports and executing continuous communications with the stakeholders of the business (Hooff & Wijngaert, 2005). Hence, it can be apparently stated that ICT is quite vital for businesses in various distinct domains as it attempts to make significant contributions towards enhancing the value and performance of the businesses operating in any particular sector. Aim of the Study With reference to the determined purview related to ICT, it is evident that it is used in various domains of the business context in the modern era. Consequently, in order to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding the aforementioned aspect, this study evaluates various literatures, studies and practical... The tools of ICT have been in wide use in this particular industrial context, wherein the applicant companies have understood about how these technologies might be helpful for conducting most effective business operations. It has been further observed from the research that ICT helps the players in the tourism sector to interact with the customers on a usual and efficient manner where they intend to build a healthy relationship with the same. The study further revealed that ICT also enables companies to strengthen their communication prospects within the internal and external business environments. Notably, through this approach, tourism and hospitality companies were able to enhance their performance along with operational efficiency. This aspect was justified with the example of performance augmentation of tourism industry productivity of Ireland rewarding better scope for effective communication among various business departments. Apart from this, the research was also able to dep ict the positive effects of ICT in the marketing and financing sector of tourism and hospitality industry. Nevertheless, secondary data used in this paper also revealed both favorable and unfavorable effects of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industries advocating that the benefits of its usage depend substantially on the credibility of its users. In support of this particular inference, case examples related to ICT application in China and Ghana tourism industries were presented in the research study.

Macro & Micro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Macro & Micro economics - Essay Example With the rising income levels of most of the economies, the demands for entertainment products like dolls have substantially increased. In the modern age, dolls are often made of rubberized plastic materials. These materials comprises of crude oil and national gas in them. There are special machines that help to give shape to standardized pieces of doll parts in the manufacturing process. Nowadays to park more potential buyers, doll manufacturing companies use special chemicals to produce dolls of various skin colors to make them attractive to various types’ customers belonging to different global zones. Car Production Process Unlike doll production, automobile industry or car production process is highly labor intensive in nature. Mercedes, Honda, Tesla, BMW etc are the various companies manufacturing cars. With the growth of per capita income levels and the improvement in the rate of urbanization in most of the economies in the world, the proportions of cars demanded in the market have increased significantly. However it should be considered that manufacturing of cars requires high state of technology and exclusive machineries. It is clearly observed in the video that the level of car production process takes place via various steps, where there are huge modern machines automatically executing the manufacturing process. Thus unlike doll industries, car manufacturing industries requires large amount of electricity and petroleum for its working. Hypothetical Input Output Matrix Industry Input Costs Toy Industry (manufacturing dolls) Automobile Industry (manufacturing cars) Cost of Labor Input $153 million $85 million Cost of Capital Input $ 60 million $200 million (Source: Authors Creation) The above hypothetical input industry 2x2 matrixes clearly shows that the gross cost of labor input is more than capital input in the toy industry producing dolls. On the other hand, the automobile industry manufacturing cars require more expensive capital input cost than labor cost. Thus it is quantitatively proved that the toy industry is a labor intensive industry and the car manufacturing industry is a capital intensive industry. Factor Intensity and Factor Abundance China is the most populated nation in the world. Perhaps this is the reason for which the country is rich in terms of labor resource. The nation always concentrates in labor intensive modes of production. It is a labor abundant nation, where the size of its labor force is 937.27 million as recorded in 2011. On the other hand, U.S. is a nation rich in terms of financial resources. This is the reason for which the country is a capital abundant nation that is rich in terms of technological knowhow. The following section of the essay will concentrate on the factor endowments of the two countries and the factor intensities of the industries in a graphically represented Hecksher Ohlin model. Figure 1: Hecksher Ohlin Model Car Production Doll Production The production Possibility Front iers (PPF) shows the two combinations of two goods that can be produced with the given amount of resources and state of technology1. The steeper PPF is of U.S., signifying capital abundance and intensity in production. The flatter PPF is of China, signifying labor abundance and intensity in production. The convex lines are the isoquants that show the different combinations of inputs that can be utilized to produce the same amount of output. B and E are the points inside the PPF of U.S. and China respectively, showing situations where all the resources are not efficiently used. A and G are the autarky or non trading positions of U.S. and China

Analysing The Political System In Ukraine Politics Essay

Analysing The Political System In Ukraine Politics Essay Before mentioning about the presidents and presidential elections, the political system of the Ukraine is important to analyze its political transition. With its independence, Ukraine had some difficult task which would be solved in short time. A new political system had to be built. New system of national security and defense had to be created. With its Constitution, the general foundations of the political system are defined. Ukraine is an independent, sovereign, democratic and social and jural state in accordance with its organic law. The state power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches. According to Constitution, the main responsibility of the state is to establish and promote human rights and freedoms. Ukraine is a unitary state, in which its territory is integral and inviolable. The state has a single citizenship. (http://www.ukraine-arabia.ae/ukraine/politics/president/) As we look into the President of the Ukraine, this post is designated to be Head of State and a guarantor of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and adherence to the Constitution. President is elected by the citizens of the state on the basis of direct universal suffrage. The term of presidential office is five years. In order to be elected as President there are obligations. One of them is living in Ukraine for ten years before the elections, the other is being citizens.(http://www.ukraine-arabia.ae/ukraine/politics/president/) The only legislative body of Ukraine is the Parliament which is called the Verkhovna Rada. Citizens elect the deputies of Ukraine via direct universal suffrage through secret vote. The parliamentary election system is mixed with majority and proportional. 450 deputies are elected 225 of them are elected at single-mandate constituencies in terms of relative majority, and another 225 are elected proportionally at multi-mandate national constituency from the list of candidates who comes from the political parties. Constitution and laws of Ukraine establish the powers of the peoples deputies. They can unite themselves into factions with more than 25 members. These deputy groups are formed on a party and non-party basis. Then, the Cabinet of Ministers which is the supreme executive authority of Ukraine comes. Presidential orders, laws of Ukraine and the Constitution are the legal basis for its actions. The Government is responsible to the President and it is controlled by the Verkhovna Rada. This dependency leads to presidential appointment of a Prime minister with parliamentary consent. Prime Ministers authorities may be suspended and discharged by the President. Furthermore, Members of Cabinet of Ministers are discharged and appointed by President. When we look at the judicial authority system, there are Constitutional Court and Courts of General Jurisdiction. Furthermore, the supreme authority in judiciary is Supreme Court of Ukraine. The system of courts of general jurisdiction is based on the principles of territorial and special jurisdiction. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a separate entity and is independent from the Courts of General Jurisdiction. The activities of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine promote constitutional control in all spheres, stabilization and strengthening of constitutional order, the establishment of principle of primacy of law and the supreme legal force of the Constitution, and the promotion of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. Ukrainians had to take a program of state and nation building simultaneously. In the process of state building, Ukrainian policy was shaped with the  desire  to  guarantee its  independence. It can be said that Ukrainian independence was accompanied with the qualifications of quasi-state and quasi-nation as a part of the Soviet heritage. Policy of Ukraine since 1991- 1992 until the 2004- 2005 was based on the process of state and nation building. Because of locked within the Soviet borders, Ukraine has isolated from the other world. All the interactions with the entire world were conducted by Moscow, that is the reason why Ukrainian authorities had no experience in cooperation with other states and independent administration of the state. (http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/3/6/1/1/8/pages361183/p361183-20.php) E.2.Presidents of Ukraine While examining the political transition of the Ukraine, it is also necessary to deal with the presidents and elections. After the independence from Soviet in 1991, in Ukraine there held 5 presidential elections in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2004 and 2010, five parliamentary elections in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2007. The Ukrainian Constitution which was adopted in 1996 and was amended in 2004, stipulates a de-facto dual executive that is dependent on both the president and the parliamentary majority. (Oleksandr Sushko and Olena Prystayko) There held the first presidential election on 1st December 1991. Leonid Kravchuk won the elections with the 61,59 percent of the votes in the first round and became the state President. He showed a degree of political continuity from the Soviet period. He failed in understanding the need for economic reform. Consequently, because of not implementing the reforms in which power was divided between the communists and the opposition, the result became a hybrid regime. (Karpyk, Tamila,8) As it was stated before, the first years of independence was dealing with nation  building  and  political  survival.  The appearance and activities of Rukh (the Peoples Movement of Ukraine) which is a new Democratic Party was important for preservation of national identity among the masses. Vyacheslav  Chornovil  was the leader of the Democratic Party and he had significant characteristics on the spirit of nationalism in Ukraine. In these circumstances, changing into a nation-builder and being a mediator between the nationalist West and the Russified Eastern part of the country was not difficult for the first President Leonid Kravchuk who was former Second Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine. However, it was not an easy task. Before his office term ended, he had to call an early election because of the strike of the coal miners on 7th July 1993. (http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=72956cat_id=32588) With the decision of referendum, the early election was held on 26th June1994. Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma were among the candidates of this election. In the first round, none of the candidates gained over 50 percent. Leonid Kravchuk got 38,36 percent and Leonid Kuchma got 31,17 percent of the votes. In the second round which was held on 10th July 1994, while the current head of the state received the 45,06, Leonid Kuchma was elected as Ukranian second Head of State with the 52,15 percent. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1898.html) It was surprise for Leonid Kravchuk to lose to Leonid Kuchma in the early elections. Leonid Kuchma was the former manager of Ukraines biggest armaments factory. On coming to power, Kuchma devolved greater power to the regions to decide linguistic and national questions. In his election campaign, anti-nationalist sentiment was aired by the Kuchma. (Kuzio, 214) However, this more liberal policy has squarely contradicted his desire for national consolidation and thwarted attempts to make policy implementation by the center in the periphery more efficient and effective. His first year in power led to financial stabilization. However, he could not continue the reform process and that led to small group in power becoming richer and the majority of the people had to find another means for survival. In 1999, during the Office term of Kuchma, The Committee to Protect Journalists stated Ukraine for its restrictions over independent media. The image of Ukraine was influenced in negative way bec ause of disappearance of opposition journalist. (Karpyk, Tamila,20) Kuchma has intimate relations with Putin. His administration can be seen as soft authoritarianism. Corruption, suppression of the media and weakening of the civil society were activities during the period of Leonid Kuchma. He aspired to construct a system of managed democracy which is formal democratic practices but informal control of all political institutions similar to Putins model of government in Russia but he never had such kind of success. Ukraines three largest oligarchic group did back Kuchma and wielded their media and financial resources. (McFaul,50-51) However, Kuchma did not control the rents generated from oil and gas sales that could have been used to purchase the loyalty of societal challengers. Kuchmas regime did not control or own major segments of the Ukrainian economy. The third election was held on 31st October 1999, Leonid Kuchma also took part in this election. There were 13 candidates but none of them got the majority of the votes. Ukrainian Communist Party leader Petro Simonenko and Leonid Kuchma competed in the second round. The former President was re-elected for a second term by taking 56,25 percent of the votes. In 2000, Viktor Yuschenko became Prime Minister of Kuchma. In economic domain, the citizens became hopeful with this change. Especially encouraging privatization, comprehensive reform programs and attempts for prevention of corruption enabled Yuschenko to have support from Ukrainians. As a consequence, he automatically became opponent to Kuchma and he was dismissed from his post. In 2000, a former socialist and oligarch leader released a video record which contains Leonid Kuchmas illegal orders. With this event, a scandal broke out and it brought a different approach to Ukrainian politics. In the parliamentary elections, Yuschenkos bloc got 112 chairs. However Kuchmas party got 104 chairs and it became sign for the upcoming elections for President. (SarÄ ±kaya, p.3) Kuchma has tried to squelch opposition voices. However, his jailing of former Energy Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, his dismissal of Prime Minister Yuschenko and his apparent collusion in the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze further weakened the state and created more opposition. (McFaul, p.54) As a final impression on Kuchmas term, he did not aspire to construct full blown autocracy. He was prepared to transgress democratic rules to prevent the opposition from coming to power and he also wanted to maintain the appearance of democracy. The fourth Presidential elections were really struggling and it led to the Orange Revolution which will be explained in the following section. The election held on 31st October 2004 had 26 candidates. Two of the candidates were Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych backed by Russia and former Prime Minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko supported by the West. The first round was really competitive and in the second round the percentage of the votes of Yanukovych and Yushchenko were close to each other. With the announcement of the international electoral watchdogs about defraud on the elections resulted in the mass demonstrations of the population. Ukrainian High Court explained that the results were not valid. As the new election was held, Yushchenko instead of Yanukovych got the Presidency with the help of the Orange Revolution. Although Yanukovych did not win the election, it was seen that his and Russias political influence power in Ukraine was very strong. (http://www.turks am.org/tr/a1898.html) When Yushchenko first came to power, Ukraines Orange government seemed like it could meet the popular demands for radical political reform and immediate integration into Europe. Yushchenko and his Prime Minister Tymoshenko showed their incompatibility while working. They criticized each other openly. The Ukrainian political system became more dysfunctional. (Motyl, Alexander, 4) There is also an important and positive improvement. During Yuschchenkos term Ukraine was upgraded to FREE from Partly Free by Freedom House. He failed to understand the need to deal with Ukraines past or how to integrate Ukraine and follow through on pursuing criminal charges against the elites who had murdered journalists, abused their positions of power through massive corruption and theft of state property, and organized mass election fraud. (Kuzio, 217) On the other hand, he actively favored his ethnic Ukrainian base by promoting the Ukrainian language, culture, and identity in schools, government, and the media. With these actions, he alienated many of the ethnic Russians and Russian speaking Ukrainians in the countrys east and south. (Motyl, Alexander, 3) On 17 January 2010, 18 candidates competed in the elections. Current President Yushchenko was also one of the participants. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1898.html) In February 2010, Viktor Yanukovych made a remarkable political comeback. It was surprising that Orange Revolution was conducted against Yanukovychs Presidency and now the Ukrainians elected him voluntarily. The economic conditions of Ukraine could be explanation for this situation. In 2009, the countrys GDP fell by 15 percent. People were frustrated and they were willing to support anyone who could fix the economic conditions. And Tymoshenko was seen as guilty and Yanukovych became the winner.At the start of his presidency, Yanukovych laid out his foreign policy priorities: restoring Ukraines close ties with Russia, European integration and building relationships with strategic partners such as the United States. By playing to these priorities and, at the same time, pursuing their own interests in the region, Russia, the European Union, and the United States can help stabilize the Yanukovych presidency and Ukraine.(Motyl,Alexander, 2) Yanukovych claimed that he learned from his mist akes in the past. However, he had already done some mistakes. He redefined democracy as political order. He does not advocate Ukrainian heritage contrary to his opponent Yushchenko. He appointed Dmytro Tabachnyk for Ministery of Education and Science. He was not a good choice because he openly declares his anti-Ukrainian views. He also claims that ethnic Ukrainians in the west of Ukraine are too Westernized to be genuine Ukrainians. His assault on the Ukrainian identity resulted in demonstrations and protests which were directed at Yanukovych and his minister. (Motyl,Alexander, 4) As a result of Yanukovychs centralized and anti-Ukrainian regime, Ukraine does not reach national consensus on the political and economic direction of country. He is not expected to be authoritarian because of not having strong coercive apparatus as Putin but his regime is seen as return to Kuchmism. There created strong opposition to him and Ukraines first President Kravchuk is among them. He criticized lawlessness, permissiveness, use of force and corruption which are done by the team of Yanukovych. It is believed that if he continues to act like this, he can provoke a second Orange Revolution. Lacking the ability, capacity, and will to change the system, Yanukovych will probably try to enhance his regimes legitimacy. However, its Party of Region is not supported by population in Kiev and no reform is expected during his term because of gathering Kuchmas incompetent ministers in his team. Furthermore, the lower natural gas price that Yanukovych negotiated with Russia will bring imm ediate benefits to the oligarchs. Lower gas prices will allow them to keep the costs of their products low and globally competitive without forcing them to modernize or become more efficient. Even if the people welcomes lower gas prices at first Yanukovychs regime is expected to be more corrupt. (Kuzio, 214) After evaluating Presidents of Ukraine, the citizens ideas on democracy are worthy to examine. According to survey which is conducted in 2010, the preference for democracy is highest in Western Ukraine, while apathy toward the type of governing system is highest in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. More Ukrainians do not view Ukraine as a democracy than those who do. Only 25 percent of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine is a democracy compared to 41 percent who do not believe it is a democracy . E.3. The Orange Revolution From over two decades, Ukraine has been facing with a most difficult transition from its authoritarian past. On the way to democratization, it has experienced economic collapse, over lasting constitution making period, border disputes with its neighbors, severe discontinuities and a revolution.(Bohdan Harasymiw, 2002) The fall 2004 presidential election was one of the pivotal movements in the history of Ukraine. The current president Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych who was chosen successor of Kuchma deployed state resources, national media, and private funding from both Ukrainians and Russians to win against Viktor Yushchenko. When this effort was not enough, the government of Kuchma added votes in the second round for Yanukovych. As a response, Yushchenko called his supporters to come to Independence Square. The reason for this call is to protest this fraud in the election. Thousands of people came together in Kiev and stayed there until Supreme Court decided to cancel the second round results. (McFaul, 49) As we evaluate the Orange Revolution, it is understood that domestic factors accounted for most of the drama of this event.but external factors played direct role in constraining some dimensions of autocratic power. It also enhanced some dimensions of the oppositions power. However, Ukrainian democracy did not consolidate after the Revolution. Even if the Ukrainian democracy go back towards autocracy over the long run, this dramatic event is still seen as a democratic breakthrough in this decade.(McFaul, 48) With the Orange Revolution, it was seen that in Ukraine there is a struggle for between a semi-autocratic regime and a democratic opposition. Although there were improvements towards liberal democracy but not guaranteed. Institutional changes remain modest. 5 years after this movement, election of Yanukovych can be surprising and made the Orange Revolution waste of time. It has just postponed his Presidency. F.3.Ukraine-Turkey Relations: Turkey and Ukraine are neighbors on the Black Sea. When we look at the general situation between these two countries it can be said that it is good but not sufficient compared to their current potential. Especially in the issue of security in Black Sea, Ukraine has great importance for Turkey. Furthermore, its location on the energy lines, being one of the significant Black Sea countries, the historical ties with Crimea region and nearly 265000 Crimean Turks living in Crimea makes their relations substantial and sensitive. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa) As it is all known Ukraine has importance on the international relations with its strategic position. Ukraine sees Turkey as a key country for exit for Middle East and Mediterranean Sea. Ukraines foreign policy in its South axis aims to improve relations with Turkey. For Turkey, Ukraine is a buffer zone in order to prevent Russians to reach Black Sea. Turkey also attaches importance to Ukraine in terms of the stability of the region and strives to further develop its bilateral relations with Ukraine in every field especially economic and trade. (http://www.turksam.org/tr/a1512.html) Turkey is one of the first countries which recognized the Ukrainian Independence. Because of the discontinuity of the political relations, economic and the trade relations moved ahead of them. The Protocol on the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Ukraine was signed on February 3, 1992. The legal framework which regulates the relations and cooperation between these two countries is almost complete after the signing of several agreements and protocols in political, military, economic, cultural, educational and intelligence related fields. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa) In 1994, Trade Economic Cooperation Agreement entered into force. There has been no serious political problem and there is an increase on the economic dynamic. There is an unbalanced situation of trade. Although Turkey imports more, its exports to Ukraine remains very low. 70 percent of Ukraines exports to Turkey is composed of iron, steel and the other mine products. There has been an increase of the Turkeys exportations on coal, organic and inorganic chemical substances, wood, aluminum, paper, plaster, stone and cement from 2007.  Turkeys investment in Ukraine is towards 135 million US dollars. There are over 500 enterprises. Another part of the relationship between these two countries is composed of Black Sea Economic Cooperation which both are the members. (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-ukrayna-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa)    Moreover, Turkey and Ukraine support each other in international organizations such as UN, CoE, and OSCE. Military relations are conducted both on bilate ral basis and within the framework of NATO-Ukraine Commission, BLACKSEAFOR and Operation Black Sea Harmony.(http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkey_s-political-relations-with-ukraine.en.mfa) In 2003, Turkey declared Ukraine as privileged State status so Ukraine became privileged in Turkeys foreign policy. There have been several negotiations of the Foreign and Prime Ministers of both countries. In January 2007, Prime Minister Yanukovich visited Turkey and Operation Black Sea Harmony was signed. G.Conclusion In conclusion, after evaluating the Ukraines triple transition period, we have reached some important points. Although there have been some attempts to fully implement democracy, there are some obstacles. At first glance, the problems seem to be resulted from its communist past and Russian influence. Ukraine does not fully integrate as Ukrainian society. The problematic national transition of Ukraine can be traced back to this period. Seperatist minority groups, ethnic Russians and Crimean Tatars, keep Ukraine deal with its internal problems rather than economic ones. Economic crises which resulted from the price of gas fluctuations led to frustration within the country. Another obstacle that Ukraine faces with is its dependency on Russia in terms of energy. If it does not overcome this struggle, it seems to restrict Ukraines regional power. However, explaining Ukrainian internal conflicts only with the Russia based reasons would be wrong. Russia is extremely influential factor but we should not underestimate the other factors. In Ukraine, there are not only two cleavages that split the country. Ukrainians are divided also among themselves. It is clear that Ukrainian part and Russified part in Ukraine exist and surprisingly there was no civil war because there is no clear distinction between these counterparts. One of the most important sign for democracy is civil society and in Ukraine it can be seen as the strongest among the other Post-Communist states though it is not in Western standards. This led to the Orange Revolution that increased the political competition however; it could not succeed in long term reforms. Political instabilities and crisis environment became continuous in which Yanukovychs pro-Russian attitudes and Yushchenkos Ukrainian nationalism competed. Besides Ukrainian society chose best of the worst option because of the high level of corruption. As a matter of fact that in the first place Ukraine should focus on the problem of high level of corruption as the society expected to do so. The reason hidden behind societys choice for Yanukovych is his claims on economic solutions rather than his political views. After all, the analytical outcomes show that Ukraine does not fully achieve a consolidated democracy. Although civil society and independent media paint a promising Picture, it has more things to do in order to reach the standards of Western democracies. Especially, the deficiency in the reforms on the political institutions should be reconsidered. Nevertheless, Ukraine succeeded sufficient triple transition, coming after the Baltic States, when we compared it to the remaining post-Soviet countries like the Caucasus and the Central Asia.

The Physics Of A Crystal :: essays research papers

The Physics of a Crystal Most simple chemical compounds consist of crystals. If you were to examine a lump of crystalline material very closely, you would be able to see tiny individual crystals. All crystals have a definite geometric shape, determined by the way the atoms are linked together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mineralogists recognize 32 different classes of crystal, which are grouped into seven crystal systems. Crystal systems are described by their axis, which are imaginary lines that join the center of opposing faces of a crystal. For example, if a cubic crystal has three sets of opposing faces, it has three axes. They are all of equal length and are all at right angles to each other. Cubic crystals are described as being isometric, but not all isometric crystals are plain cubes. If the corners of a cube are cut off, the result is a polyhedron with six octagonal faced and eight triangular ones. Aside from the isometric system, there is also; a tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic and hexagonal system. Crystals may form when a solution of a substance evaporates. Crystals may also form when a vapor or molten substance solidifies. Allotropes are different forms of the same element. For Example, oxygen has two allotropes, normal oxygen and ozone. Pure carbon also has two allotropes, diamond and graphite. A crystal of diamond is in fact a single giant molecule in which every carbon atom is linked to four other, by four equal, strong bonds. These bonds are arranged tetrahedrally round each atom and there are no planes along which the giant molecule can easily be split. This quality is what gives diamond its tremendous hardness.

On the First of October 2017

On the first of October 2017, the Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont held a succession vote to declare the territory of Catalonia as independent from Spain. Ninety percent of votes were in favor for independence (Catalonia). Later in the month, on the 27th of October, Puigdemont declared the northwestern territory of Spain as independent. The Spanish government responded by suspending the Catalonian government and managing the region under the central government, which is justified under Article 155 of their constitution which entitles that the government of Spain can â€Å"take the measures necessary† to â€Å"protect general interests† (The Spanish). But the succession forces in Catalonia are trying to challenge the Spanish Constitution over the illegality of their independence. The question is if these blockades imprinted in the Constitution are moral to be put into place. This situation of political chaos has escalated to the extent where the former regional leaders of Catalonia are either in jail in Madrid or in exile in Belgium and if they were to return to the region of Catalonia, they would face prosecution for treason (Minder). However, this has not stopped the succession forces in the region to try and put Puigdemont and his cabinet back into office. The controversy in these situations lies on a case to case basis. The campaign in territories seeking independence is based on the prosecution and legality of the laws set in place by the mother country. In Kurdistan, the Kurds want to succeed from the Iraqi government due to the oppression the people have had from historically being manipulated by other governments (Ali). The debate on the independence referendum in Scotland is based around the kingdom's decision to remain part of the European Union or leave with the rest of the United Kingdom. To reach a decision in these debates, one must look into the social, political, and economic viewpoints for the morality of the independence situation for these territories. Initially, â€Å"the Kurds have long fought for their freedom, and have faced unimaginable oppression as a people† (Ali). This is the view of the 35 million Kurdish peoples long fight for independence starting back in World War Two. However, this movement has found conflict both in this region of Iraq and in the Western powers. In the case of Kurdistan, the debate if the territory should have their own state and if the United States and the other Western powers should support the Kurdish independence movement. Mohammed Ali's opinion on this, the referendum in 2014 followed disputes on the sharing of oil proceeds between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Government (Ali). This has had lukewarm reception by the Western governments. The Kurdish people have just reasoning and have proven reliable, so why would governments want to inhibit this process? So why, would the vote for independence in the region be condemned. Overall, Mohammed Ali is a journalist for the Independent and has articles about the situation in Kurdistan. Ali's bias, as formally stated, makes his statements very questionable and focused on his side of the argument. Krishnadev Calamur is a senior editor at The Atlantic and focuses mostly on news reports in the Middle East and Asia and on the United States involvement, which adds a sense of bias for Kurdistan to his articles.Subsequently, â€Å"Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against our will,† and this underlines the need for Scotland to have self-determination (Clock). The issue in Scotland and their movement towards succession is based around the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Some of the nationalist parties in Scotland are organizing a referendum after the parliament of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union (Clock). These parties say that Scotland had little say in this matter and they think that Scotland would have better hopes of governing itself inside of the European Union (Clock). The increased following on the nationalist parties and the formation of a referendum would need to happen sooner than later if any movement is to happen in this territory. To analyze, The Herald newspaper in Scotland backed a no vote in the independence referendum but proclaims itself to be unbiased from any political belief. The newspaper is the eighth oldest newspaper in the world and has political bias depending on which authors are working for The Herald. With all of this noted, it can be inferred that the bias of this article is to the nationalistic side of the Scotland argument due to bold statements against leaving the European Union.In Catalonia, the constitution instituted Article 155 in Catalonia to stop the region from leaving Spain. This independence movement has hurt Catalonia as a whole. â€Å"Unemployment, retail sales, and tourist numbers all came in worse than expected for the end of 2017 while the growth of the Catalan economy lagged behind the nation as a whole† (Savitsky). This economic situation did not trouble Catalonia before this active movement for succession. Catalonia has added up to sixteen percent of the population and twenty percent of the Spanish economy, which is 223.6 billion euros as of October 2017 (Bosch). If the government of Catalonia is able to succeed, the tensions between the two sides would reduce, and the governments could focus on more important issues, like the economy, and be able to progress further separately.To evaluate, this side of the Catalonia issue shows that if the region of Catalonia is able to succeed, it would allow both Spain and Catalonia to progress from their currently regressed economic situations. From this position, it would be the best for both sides for Catalonia to become independent. From the opposing viewpoint, Kurdistan would have a struggling economy if they became independent. An Iraqi trader mentioned that â€Å"the market would die† if the Kurds threats became reality (Dziadosz). The economy in the region is based on oil sales that add up to ninety percent of its revenues (Dziadosz). This could bring a problem of self-reliance for the Kurdish people. Also, the majority of the oil goes to Turkey, which questions to the viability of the economy of an independent Kurdistan arise (Dziadosz). Despite this, even Turkey is against the independence of the Kurds. The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned the Kurds vote for independence as â€Å"treachery† and that the region would â€Å"not find food or clothing† if independence ensued (Dziadosz). This threat has kept the Kurds from becoming independent is due to the one dimensional economy of oil and the fact that basic goods in the region need to be imported (Dziadosz). Based on the facts, should Kurdistan become an independent nation with the knowledge that it cannot support itself economically.To evaluate, Alex Dziadosz is a freelance journalist currently based in Lebanon and has been awarded the New York Press Award for his reporting in Iraq. Based on this, Dziadosz has seemed to take evidence of his findings from the Middle East to make his own credible statements and this article seems to be no exception. Moreover, Scotland is seen to be better off if Scotland stays with the United Kingdom. As a whole, the United Kingdom is a world power that is both relatively small both geographically and in population. Scotland benefits from being considered a world power. Scotland also values the United Nations, where the United Kingdom is one of the five permanent members on the world security council (McCafferty). This makes Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland stronger together than in their separate ways. As well, the complaint that Scotland is not represented in the United Kingdom is not true. Based on evidence, Scotland has more money spent on public services per person than that of England, a  £1,460 difference (McCafferty). As with that, the general public opinion in Scotland is that they are â€Å"equally Scottish and British† and many Scots have family across the border (McCafferty).In analysis, Ross McCafferty is a writer for the Scotsman that talks about his views on politics and sports in the United Kingdom and Scotland. The fact that McCafferty states his views in his articles could make them have questionable bias if they are not backed up with facts and not recognize the other side of the issue. McCafferty's article has a bias for continued union with the United Kingdom but is no less reliable based on the facts and evidence proposed in the article.Furthermore, the issue of the independence of Catalonia is a risk of uncertainty for the region. Economists at Berenberg Bank, one of the leading private banks based in Germany, mentioned that there was no practical way for Catalonia to become an independent nation inside of the European Union (Kottasovà ¡). With independence, Catalonia would not be a World Trade Organization member, and would face major trade barriers (Kottasovà ¡). With these blockades, the price of imported goods into the region would rise, and would result in more unemployment (Kottasovà ¡). The region could also use the euro as a currency, but with no representation, as they would not have a seat in the European Central Bank (Kottasovà ¡). With this, the region of Catalonia would face barriers far larger than the ones that they currently have with Spain. This would most likely result in the loss of the rest of the Spain as a trade partner. With this, would they be able to risk the uncertainty that would ensue with independence?To evaluate, Ivana Kottasovà ¡ is a reporter at CNN Money that covers European business and economy. The article covers both sides of the issue in Catalonia but focuses mostly on the perspective of Spain. The author's credentials and the evaluation of both sides of the case makes the case of the economics seem credible. Thus, after the evaluation of the cases, one can decide the logical perspective that each case should be placed into. Initially, my perspective on the issue was for the independence for these territories. But after extensive research and contemplation on the subject matter, my perspective has changed. Currently with the Kurdish people, there is evidence of an inefficient economy based solely on oil with an unestablished government. Secondly, in Scotland, the country would be better prepared, both economically and politically, to stay with the rest of the United Kingdom. No matter what the nationalistic politicians claim, they are receiving help from the rest of the union. However, I still believe the circumstance in Catalonia is still under debate. The Catalans have a diverse economy in a territory around the size of Belgium. The territory also has the political leaders ready to take the next step from Spain with the public opinion of the region on their side. In final analysis, the information presented is still very limited. There is a need for the evaluation of the individual bias of the leaders of each government to ensure that their beliefs are for the best. Along with that, there is the need for the analysis of past territories that have either become independent or have stayed with their union. The issue at hand is very complex and is in need for further review for each case independently. Overall, I stand that the territories should be able to show their protest, but in the cases provided, these territories should stay with their current nations.

Origins of Cold War Essay

The Cold War was one of the most important historical events in the world, which had created a great impact that is still felt within the international community. The United States and the Soviet Union became the two most influential and powerful forces during this era. The relationship between the two former allies was anchored on political, ideological and economic interests, which at the end of the Second World War came as threats wherein developed bitterness and rivalry for power over the years (Hoesel, 1992). The Cold War which has been referred to as the period of â€Å"elusive peace† dictated that the United States of America as the world’s leading hegemonic power, with the defeat and disintegration of the Soviet Union at the end of the war. The Cold War indeed has been a conflict involving former allies, United States of America and the Soviet Union due to the difference in political ideologies held by the two superpowers (Nosotro, n.d).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The difference in political ideologies caused the development of animosity and hostility between United States and the Soviet bloc. The United States having been supportive of capitalism clashed with the communist Soviet Union (Nosotro, n.d). Although there had been no direct confrontation between the two world superpowers, indirect confrontations among the United States and Soviet allies were enough to assess the impact of the Cold War. Economic, political and military affairs of the two states and their allies underwent massive policy changes in order to keep abreast with the happenings during the Cold War. The â€Å"arms race† was one of the most important indirect military offensives that took place between United States and Soviet Union, both states trying to produce more sophisticated weapons ahead of the other. This in turn created a great impact on the two states’ economic and social services sectors (Kishlansky, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As such, the political allies of both United States and Soviet Union were also affected as both governments of the two states worked towards spreading influences in less developed countries. The series of decolonization became rampant and emphasized in regions such as Asia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East. And as such, the conflicts brought by the Cold War were instantly shifted and transmitted within these areas (â€Å"The Elusive Peace The Cold War,† 1992). References Hoesel, F.V. (1992). The Soviet Union and the United States. Soviet Archives Exhibit. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/intro2.htmls Kishlansky, M. (2005) Civilization in the West, Volume C (since 1789), 7th edition. Nosotro, R. (n.d). The cold war. Hyperhistory. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/big/w30coldwar.htm The elusive peace the cold war. (1992). History World International. Retrieved August 9, 2008, from http://history-world.org/coldwar.htm

Implicit Parameters in Java

Implicit Parameters in Java The implicit parameter in Java is the object that the method belongs to. Its passed by specifying the reference or variable of the object before the name of the method.  An implicit parameter is opposite to an  explicit  parameter, which is passed when specifying the parameter in the parenthesis of a method call. If a parameter isnt explicitly defined, the parameter is considered implicit. Explicit Method Example When your program calls a method of an object, its common to pass a value to the method. For example, here, the object Employee has a method called setJobTitle: Employee dave new Employee(); dave.setJobTitle(Candlestick Maker); The String Candlestick Maker is an explicit parameter being passed to the setJobTitle method. Implicit Method Example However, there is another parameter in the method call that is known as the implicit parameter. The implicit parameter is the object the method belongs to. In the above example, its dave, the object of type Employee. Implicit parameters are not defined within a method declaration because they are implied by the class the method is in: public class Employee {  Ã‚  public void setJobTitle(String jobTitle)  Ã‚  {  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  this.jobTitle jobTitle;  Ã‚  } } In order to call the setJobTitle method, there must be an object of type Employee.

Be A Lean Author, with Patrick Vlaskovits

Be A Lean Author, with Patrick Vlaskovits "Be A Lean Author", with Patrick Vlaskovits Today we interview bestselling author and entrepreneur Patrick Vlaskovits, whose constant search for better ways of working has turned him into a formidable thought-leader in technology and business. His writing has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and The Browser and he speaks at technology conferences nationally and internationally.We asked Patrick about how he applied his thinking to his into self-publishing with his two books The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development and The Lean Entrepreneur. In his no-nonsense style, he reveals his approach and why a â€Å"Build It and They Will Come† mentality is bad for business as well as books.Hi Patrick, great to have you here! As well as being a serial entrepreneur and startup mentor, you’re also the author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development and The Lean Entrepreneur. What prompted you to write these books?With The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Cust omer Development, back in 2009, I had just come off wasting a lot of time and a lot of my own money building a web startup that failed. Someone mentioned The 4 Steps to the Epiphany to me and I started reading it.At the time, Steve Blank’s work was highly unorthodox – he was the only (?) person saying that â€Å"Build It and They Will Come.† is not a good strategy.I recommended my friends start reading Steve’s book so we could discuss his ideas – but few of my friends took me up on it. Meeting up with Brant Cooper and Hiten Shah in late 2009, they had similar problems – I believe it was Hiten who said â€Å"Someone needs to write the Cliff Notes to Steve’s book.†To which I said, â€Å"Why not us?†We self-published the book in early 2010.The Lean Entrepreneur, published by Wiley in 2013, was an entirely different experience. Multiple publishers had approached us because the Customer Development book had been so successful and they all wanted us to do a book with them.None of the deals made sense until we spoke to Wiley. They made a good deal for us financially and supported our vision for the book, a book that would expand upon Lean Startup and talk about Lean Startup and how to apply it in industries and sectors beyond tech. We wanted a book that would also tell stories visually with fakegrimlock’s artwork.The idea behind the â€Å"lean methodology† is that startups should build their products iteratively, testing and getting customer validation on each new feature before even building it. How is this concept applicable to non-fiction authors? Did you interact with your target audience while writing the books? Are you a lean author?We absolutely interacted and engaged with our readers before, during and after writing the book.For the Customer Development book, we did a lot of price-testing and talking about what was clear or unclear in their understanding of Customer Development.For T he Lean Entrepreneur, we pre-sold +500 books before we even started writing. We cobbled this video together on a landing page -Later on, we had a professionally done book trailer done:For both books, we threw a lot of ideas at them in our in-person talks and presentations, and noted what worked and what didn’t.You self-published The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development back in 2010. What made you go â€Å"indie† back then? And why did you choose to sign with a publisher for The Lean Entrepreneur?For the CustDev book, we had strong reason to believe that no publisher would want to touch a book that was a derivative of another cult self-published book!Self-publishing made perfect sense. I think it was the right choice and we learned a ton.For The Lean Entrepreneur, we wanted to try some new things from a different platform (to us).The main struggle for many authors is marketing, reader-acquisition and discoverability. These challenges similar to those of s tartups, right? How do you think your background in tech/startups helped you approach marketing your book?I think my background in marketing technology helped me tremendously.First, I understood the tools available to market products online – but paramountly, I had no hang-ups about marketing or acquiring customers/readers. Too many authors are too wrapped up in being â€Å"artistes† and mistakenly believe that someone else (i.e. the publisher) should market their ‘art’.Big mistake.We recently wrote a piece on whether it is worth indie authors partnering with a book marketer. You worked with Casey Armstrong on The Lean Entrepreneur. What did Casey do for you? More generally, do you think it makes sense for authors to â€Å"outsource† (part of) the marketing of their books?Casey was a tremendous help. If you can afford Casey, do your best to engage him. He was instrumental in the success of The Lean Entrepreneur.Amongst the many ways he helped â€⠀œ including multiple cool growth-hacks – he helped us prioritize, scale and leverage all of our marketing activities from blog and media outreach, from retargeting to email marketing.I don’t think that authors should ‘outsource’ marketing of their books – but should try to bring a marketer onto their team, define the goal, and figure out what crossing the finish line looks like – and this is important: together hand-in-hand with the marketer.1,000 books sold? 10,000 books sold? 100,000 books sold? And then work backwards from there to derive strategy and tactics as needed, be they SEO, social media, etc.As entrepreneurs, founders or early employees, we live through some pretty amazing experiences, which we often want to share with the world. What would be your #1 piece of advice to aspiring authors from the startup world?You’ll have to wait till my next book for that. 🙂But really, in the meantime, read The War of Art by Steve n Pressfied as soon as possible. Thank me later.Follow Patrick and Reedsy on Twitter:  @Pv  and  @ReedsyHQDo you agree that too many authors still think someone else (i.e. the publisher) should market their books? Or are expectations changing amongst authors?

Factual Questions in ACT Science How to Read Graphs, Tables, and Data

Factual Questions in ACT Science How to Read Graphs, Tables, and Data SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Reading graphs is like reading in a foreign language. It comes easy to some and is very difficult for others.If you struggle tounderstand graph, tables, and other visuals for ACT Science questions, this article containing tips, strategies, and practice questions is perfect for you. If you're a â€Å"fluent† pro, this article will be a good review to make sure your skills are on point.Even if you are a pro, the ACT Science section often tests the basic skill of reading visuals in new and challenging ways, so this article will make sure you have strategies forboth easy and hard questions. Here is an overview of what we'll cover in this guide: Understanding the core elements of a graph The importance of labels How to use axes What to do with units of measure Mastering the different types of graphs on the ACT Science section Reading bar graphs Analyzing scatter plots Using line graphs Pulling data from tables Deciphering tricky graphs Reading Graphs and Other Visuals Is the Key to Success on the ACT Science Section Factual Questions Ask You to Evaluate Visuals and Just Relay Information. These questions simply ask you to relay factual information that is presented in the passage.To answer these questions, you need to read the graphs, tables, and/or scatterplots. For the simplest type of ACT Science practice questions that we'll be covering here, you'll need to pull out specific data points without further calculation/inferences. These Types of Questions Are Typically Found in Data Representation Passages. These passages are similar to those found in science journals and text.They present you with a short paragraph or two as well as 1-4 visual representations of data (such as graphs, tables, and/or scatterplots). The passages will mention specific studies and label sections as Study 1/2/3.Each Data Representation Passage has 5 questions, often using the skills we'll be covering here. If you want to learn more about the types of passages and questions on the ACT Science section, check out our article on the 3 Types of ACT Science Passages. In the PrepScholar ACT Program, we categorize the questions for Data Representation into 3 categories (not everyone categorizes them the same way). Factual questions or â€Å"pure data† questions is one of the three types. Here is a sample Data Representation Passage from an ACT practice test: Here is an example of a factual question from the above passage: There may be more advanced versions of these questions in which you are asked to look at a weird graph. Such as this one: Does this graph look crazy to you? Don’t fret! You will master this crazy graph and all others by the end of this article. Core Elements of a Graph Let's start off with basic ACT Science tips about the basic components of graphs, and strategies on how to interpret them. The Importance of Labels Labels are SUPER IMPORTANT on the ACT Science section.Each visual is labeled with Figure plus a number. So if there are 3 visuals, they will be labeled Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3.See below: Why are they labeled?So you will refer to the correct one (though many students still don’t look at the right visual). The question will often specifically tell you which figure to look at such as this one: In Figure 2, what percent of captured finches from Island C had a 10 mm beak depth? To correctly answer this question, you need to check the labels and make sure you look at Figure 2.Then, identify the graph that shows the finches from Island C.In this case, you need to use the bottom graph.I see the beak depth is along the x-axis.At 10 mm beak depth, I follow the bar up and see it is just short of 35%, so probably about 34%. The first step in most ACT Science questions is to read the label, and if you get this step wrong, you will get the answer wrong.So make sure you check the label to ensure you are looking at the correct visual for the question. How to Use Axes Axes are the lines at the side(s) and bottom of a graph.Axes are useful to figure out the control and the variable(s) in the experiment.I will go into detail on this topic in the examples below. Graphs by definition have an x-axis and y-axis. The x-axis is the horizontal line (typically at the bottom of the graph).The y-axis is the vertical line (typically on the left side of the graph, though more challenging graphs on the ACT Science will have one on the left and one on the right). Let’s take a look at this simple graph for practice: In this graph, the x-axis doesn't measure anything (it only lists animals).In this graph, the y-axis measures the animals’ weights.The animals’ weights would be considered the variable in the research.The researchers did not know what the weights would be exactly until they measured the weights.We can use this graph to compare the 4 elements of only one data set: the weights of animals. If the passage had asked you, What isthe weight of a dog? First, we need to find dog on the axis that defines the type of animal, which is the x-axis. Next, we look on the y-axis for the value of the dog's weight and see that it reads 10 kg. Now, for practice, let’s take a look at a slightly more complicated scatterplot with measurements on both axes: In this graph, the x-axis measures the distance from the center of the plot to the nearest clearing.In this graph, the y-axis measures the average change in AGTB (it is not important to understand what AGTB is). The average change in AGTB would be considered the "dependent variable" in the research.The researchers did not know what the average change in AGTB would be exactly until they measured it.We can use this graph to compare the distance from the center of the plot to the nearest clearing TO the average change in AGTB. If the passage had asked you, What is theaverage change in AGTB at a distance of 50 m from the center of the plot to the nearest clearing? To do so, we first need to find 50 on the axis that defines the distance from the center of the plot to the nearest clearing, which is the x-axis. Next, we look on the y-axis for the value of the average change in AGTB and see that it reads 5 t/yr. We will evaluate this graph further in the next portion: What to Do With Units of Measure On graphs on the ACT Science section, they will present units of measure for each axis next to the label. Don't try to understand what the units mean.The ACT Science section throws in these crazy, weird units that you won’t have seen unless you studied very high-level Physics or Chemistry.You do not need to know exactly what they referto in order to answer the questions.Take for example the graph we just discussed: While you probably know that m is meters, you may be unfamiliar with t/yr, yet you had no problem answering the question above.For the ACT Science section, when the units are listed in the answer choice, they match up to the units shown in one of the visuals or mentioned in the passage (such as in the example above).So, there is no need to dwell on them or stress over them. In all of the practice sections I’ve ever done or that I’ve ever seen or given to students, I have NEVER seen an ACT Science question ask you to convert the units from one form of measure to another.You most likely were taught this in Math and/or Science classes.Set those skills aside.You do not need them for this test. Why do the ACT makers include these units if you don’t need them?To make the graph more challenging or to test your ability to sort information that you may not know. Ignore what you don’t need and find the information to answer the question.Focus on what you can identify, which lead us to our next topic: The Different Types of Graphs The ACT will show you a variety of graphs. Most of these are predictable. The hardest graphs are graphs that you will never have seen before and have to interpret on the fly. Thankfully, with the clear step by step structure I present below, you'll be able to tackle even the hardest graphs. Bar Graph Bar graphs tend to be one of the easier visuals used by the ACT Science section.They are easier because there will only be one variable shown.Let’s examine the example practice question below: In this graph, the x-axis lists the years (in 1-year increments from 1976-1985). The y-axis measures the average beak depth, the variable in this research. We can use this graph to compare the year to average beak depth. If the passage had asked us, What isthe average beak depth in 1983? First, we need to find 1983 on the x-axis. Next, we look on the y-axis for the value of the average beak depth and see that it reads 9.6 mm.Bar graphs are really easy, so long as you make sure you have identified the correct bar, you will find the data you need. Scatter Plot Scatterplots are graphs of plotted points that show the relationship between two sets of data.We looked at one earlier, but here is another from the same passage: In this example, each dot represents the measure of the average cumulative percent change in AGTB in a specific year. Let's attempt this practice question: What wasthe average cumulative percent change in AGTB during Year 2? To answer this question, we firstneed to find Year 2 on the x-axis. Follow that up to the Year 2 point on the scatterplot. Next, we look on the y-axis for the average cumulative percent change in AGTB and see that it reads 6%. Scatterplots can be slightly more challenging if they ask you a question about a point not marked.Let’s say they had asked you instead: What was the average cumulative percent change in AGTB during Year 9? F. 0%G. 6%H. 10%J. 14% Well, there is no point for Year 9, but you can see the downward trend.In order to answer this question, I recommend drawing on the graph provided.See my example: Connect the dots you have to create a curve.Sorry for my less than perfect drawing, but you don’t have to be perfect.You can clearly see the curve is much closer to 14% than any of the other options, so the answer is 14%.When answering these trend questions, try whenever possible to draw out the curve on the graph you are given and then use process of elimination. When in doubt, draw it out. Which our next graphs happen to do for you! Also, check our ourarticles on calculating questions and interpolations questions! Line Graphs Line graphs are one of the harder types of visuals used in the ACT Science section.The reason they are more difficult is that they show essentially an infinite number of data points, and you need to be precise about which data point you're looking at.There are so many values since each point on the line is a new value. Also, the ACT Science section often uses line graphs to show 2 entirely different sets of data, one on the left and one on the right with a key to differentiate between the two lines such as in this example graph: Let’s break this graph down.2 lines represent 2 independent groups of information. Each line has its own range of measurements. The x-axis shows time in increments of 5 years.So if you were asked the practice question, What is the RCRF in January 1990? You must first notice the correct line. The solid line represents RCRF according to the key. Match it up to the measurement on the right or left. The right side represents RCRF in %.It may help to use the edge of your paper or a pen or pencil to create a straight line to find the point of intersection.See my example: Then, find the point of intersection between that solid line and the January 1990 mark, which is around 7-7.5% so that is the answer. So the key ACT Sciencestrategiesto remember with line graphs are: Identify the correct line Match it up to the correct measurement on the left or right Draw the point of intersection Now that we’ve conquered one of the hardest graphs on the ACT Science section, let’s take a break with a simple visual: Tables Tables are one of the easier types of visuals provided.There are a number of columns, and each entry in a column corresponds to the entry directly to the right or left of that entry in the same row.For example, the below table is typical: A sample question about a table may look like this: Based on Table 1, 0.001 ml of titrant added produced a reaction time of? The answer would be 12 seconds. To find this, you look up 0.001 in the left column representing "Amount of titrant added," and look to the corresponding value on the right, "reaction time." For tables, the key points are Identify the correct column in question Find the correct data point in question Look to the right or left of it in the same row to find the matching data point Some tables on the ACT Science section will have many rows and columns of data, but the technique is always the same. Finally, now that we have grasped most visual concepts, let’s take a whack at: Tricky Graphs You should be very close to visual reading â€Å"fluency.†Let’s check out a graph that is not what it seems: A lot of lines with confusing labels. Let’s say we asked a question: Which of the following absorbed the most light across all wavelengths? White S Orange S Red S Brown S First, let's take a look at the graph. There are 5 lines here, and each one represents a different color of light plus Sulfur Oxide (which we do not need for this question, as it's not one of the answer choices). Each graph represents the reflectance at each wavelength. The question is asking us for which substance absorbed the most light across all wavelengths. Let's break down this question.First, "absorb the most light" means the opposite of reflectance. Reflectance is what is graphed. Second, "across all wavelengths" means we're not just looking at one point on the x-axis; we're looking across all points. The unprepared or rushed student would answer White S because they see it reflects the most light across all wavelengths, of the options in the answer choices. However, knowing that absorbance is the opposite of reflectance and looking across all wavelengths, I see that Brown S is reflecting the least across all wavelengths.Therefore, it is absorbing the most, so the answer is Brown S. Rules to remember with graphs: always compare what you are being asked to what the graph actually shows.That way you don’t get tricked! Let’s check out another tricky graph: This graph is even more complex. There are intersecting lines of weird shapes, and labels for each of the regions enclosed by lines. But just like every other table, we can attack it one by one. Let’s say the practice question asked you: Which of the following would most likely NOT be found at a pressure of 10 kb? Facies A Facies C Facies G Facies E First, let's take a look at the graph. There are 7 Facies identified (facies is a geology term for a body of rock with specified characteristics - this info would be given in the passage). The graph shows the pressure, depth, and temperature at which these 7 Facies appear. The question is asking us for which of the following is NOT found at a pressure of 10 kb. Let's break down this question.First, pressure means we need to use the left y-axis.Second, we need to find 10 kb. Next, because the question asks what is likely NOT found at a pressure of 10kb,we need to draw a line across it,as inmy example: Now, you can see that Facies C, G, and E all are found out 10kb, but Facies A is not, so A is the correct answer. The unprepared or rushed student might choose Facies C, G, or E as the answer if they missed the NOT, or that student might accidentally look at a depth of 10 km on the right instead of pressure and get the answer entirely wrong. What to learn from this, Always make sure you have found the correct axis in question Be extra careful when you see a NOT or EXCEPT This way you avoid getting tricked by referring to the wrong data piece or answering the wrong question! Recap If you've ever had trouble with interpreting graphs, hopefully, you found this guide useful. Most graphs on the ACT will be of the more simplistic types, but now you should feel confident to tackle even the most complicated graphs the ACT throws at you. Here's a breakdown of the steps you should take: Read labels very carefully.Make sure you'relooking at the correct Figure. Remember the basics - what the axes represent, how the data points are depicted, how to go step by step to the value you need. All of the same rules apply to tables, bar graphs, scatterplots, line graphs, and tricky graphs. Don't try to understandthe units of measure. Practice practice practice to make sure you have these skills down. What’s Next? I hope you feel like a visual reading pro!As your next steps in studying for the ACT Science section, you should learnthe best way to study and practice for ACT Science. Not sure where you’d like to go to college? Figure out how to find your target school. Interested in attending a top college? Check out our guides to getting into Harvard and Stanford! Struggling with your college application? Learn how to write your personal statement and how to write about extracurriculars. Like this article? Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Sciencelesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dora Seigel About the Author As an SAT/ACT tutor, Dora has guided many students to test prep success. She loves watching students succeed and is committed to helping you get there. Dora received a full-tuition merit based scholarship to University of Southern California. She graduated magna cum laude and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. She is also passionate about acting, writing, and photography. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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The Nation Splits and Reunites (US History) Assignment

The Nation Splits and Reunites (US History) - Assignment Example Northern businessmen helped get the "Tariff Act" passed which in turn raised the prices of manufactured products from Europe mainly sold in the South. This angered the Southern people to have to pay more for these goods and hence developed hatred towards the Northern people (Davis). The political power in the Federal government led further to escalation of the conflict. Since the Northern States were becoming more and more powerful, the Southern States felt a growing need for freedom and as such wanted to break away from the north and govern themselves. The north would not allow this and hence the civil war. Finally, the martial confrontation between the Federal states and the Confederate States of America further fueled the Civil War when Fort Sumter in South Carolina was attacked (Davis). 2) In most polls of presidents by historians Lincoln is either ranked first or second. Does he deserved such an exalted position, or as his detractors claim, he should be ranked lower because he presided over a war that killed 620,000 of his fellow citizens? Explain. In my opinion, Abraham Lincoln should be ranked lower as the President of the United States because he presided over a war that killed 620,000 of his fellow citizens. Firstly, he vowed to keep the country united and the new western territories free from slavery. Sadly, this was not so. First of all, many Southerners were afraid that he was not sympathetic to their way of life and therefore could not treat them fairly (Davis). This feeling led the South to break away from the United States and joined together to form a new nation named the Confederate States of America. Although more than half of the said deaths were caused by disease, documented statistics indicate that one third of all Southern soldiers died in the civil war during Lincoln’s reign (Davis). Consequently, a big majority of families felt this pain and loss, a testimony of how much the War had scarred and devastated the American

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Maternal and New born care - Research Proposal Example During the pregnancy, proper care should be taken to ensure no complications are encountered and in case of any problems, they should be handled with urgency. After childbirth, the issue of newborn care then comes into play concern about the newborn health, nutrition and development. In rural and peri-urban populations in India, proper maternal healthcare is not adhered to during pregnancy. Due to this, children are born with numerous health complications. The mother may die or lose the child. Majority of these take place because of the lack of access to adequate information on proper maternal health. There also exist a lot of cultural beliefs and practices that hinder the women from accessing heath services and information from health care providers. There is also the problem of high level of poverty that limits the amount of disposable income that can be spent on medical care. Matters concerning health need to be handled with a certain level of urgency especially those involving maternal health and newborn health. Most of the problems encountered have very simple solution but the absence of adequate information among folks in rural and peri-urban settlements is causing devastating health effects. Knowledge particularly on proper maternal nutrition is lacking. Folic acid is an important variety of the vitamin B9. Extremely water-soluble and in occurs in the natural state as folate. In fortified foods, folate occurs as folic acid. Folic acid is important for a pregnant woman it aids in proper growth and development during pregnancy (World Health Organization, 2003). It significantly diminishes the probability of a baby being born with any defects. These defects always mainly occur to the brain and the spinal code. Folic acid achieves this through the development of the neural tube. Consuming a diet-containing vitamin B9 reduces the chances of getting any de fects by up to seventy

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Court , Newcastle Upon Tyne - Essay Example The role of the Crown Court is to deal with the most serious criminal matters. which include cases which are sent to the Crown Court from magistrates courts or youth courts due to the seriousness of the offence. Sole entering in Court 3 of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Combined Court Centre shows very specific atmosphere of law, order and formality. Located in imposing building made of red brick and glass, Court center dominates the center of the town. Criminal court layout is typical for crown courts in United Kingdom. Room is dominated by judgeswearing colored gowns which are seated in the far end of the room, while in front of them is seated court clerk that manages all the court files relating the case that is being on process. Also in the area just in front of the judges bench is the sound recordist which records proceedings on a double deck cassette recorder with one tape or the other being changed at intervals. This record may be used if the case later goes to appeal. Throughout the roo m prosecution and defense lawyers are seated while behind them are places for probation officers and press reporters. Along the wall on the opposite side of magistrates are seats for audience and another court clerk while the doc, place where accused is seating is placed by the right wall of the courtroom. From that place he is able to monitor all the acters of the process. The court layout was good because no matter where you was seated you still had a good view of the surroundings David Moore case which I have visited showed all the complexity and way of work of criminal justice courts in United Kingdom. This 16 year old youth is accused together with his brother for damaging of property, and on 21th of February was brought for a first hearing which was conducted to decade if there is enough potential for starting the trial. Several minor issues were tackled during the

Text and Traditions Final Take-Home Examination Term Paper

Text and Traditions Final Take-Home Examination - Term Paper Example These lines inform that Wieder was in such a helpless state as was Jonah. He has nothing to do but act as destiny wishes him to do. His appearance is narrated as a â€Å"thundering reappearance† that is also indicative of his association with biblical figures or some Greek hero. The narrator explains each and every detail concerning Wieder as someone witnessing everything with his own eyes. Wieder is a poet for sure, as with his performance in air; he also shows his taste in poetry. Like Elizabeth Bishop, Wieder’s poetry is also about death and fascination with the idea of death. Wieder initially says, â€Å"Death is friendship†, which is informative of the idea that for Wieder, death is not a destructive force but something that causes ease for a being due to which, he calls it friendly. Later on, he attaches death with Chile, as he says, â€Å"Death is Chile†. He writes these words after seeing life in Chile. Life is not that much persuasive for him to make him understand that life is friendship or life is Chile but the idea of death dominates his mind. After writing about death and Chile, he sees the city as a picture that is torn into pieces. For him, there is no life in anything. Everything that he sees makes him to remember death. In his last round of the plane, he writes, â€Å"Death is responsibility†. Here, he feels that death cannot be attained so easily, there are certain responsibilities of a person that he has to fulfill before embracing death as a friend. Wieder is a poet and a sensitive person as explained by the narrator. He is also a performer. Wieder’s profession, that is his being a pilot and his passion for poetry, are two quite different fields, which are attached by Wieder by making use of skywriting. Wieder shows his passion of poetry by writing on the sky and making people to read his verses through his professional training of flying. In the paragraph, the whole picture and scene of the whole

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Relationship Marketing in Lenovo - Essay Example This facilitated the organisation to build greater portion of loyal customers in domestic along with international business markets. Relationship marketing is the association prevailing between the sellers and the buyers in the context of marketing any product and/or service. It is also regarded as the trust and belief persisting amid the customers and the employees of an organisation, which eventually grows a long-term relationship between them (Sà ¼phan, 2015). It has been argued that relationship marketing is not only limited between the customers and the employees of an organisation, but also amid every stakeholder of an organisation. Relationship marketing is of extreme value from the perspective of an organisation, as it is long lasting and difficult to be imitated as well as destroyed by the competitors (Angeles & Nath, 2003). Relationship marketing is reckoned to be a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy, which tends to encourage long lasting and strong connection between a brand and a customer.  This results into generating repetitive sales by collecting relevant information from the potential customers and encouraging word-of-mouth promotion (Brink & Berndt, 2008). On a further note, the other purposes of relationship marketing  are to create repeated sales and most importantly endorsing word-of-mouth promotion among others. In relationship marketing,  buying patterns, customer profile  and history of  contacts  are  maintained  in a  sales  database (Rai, 2012). Moreover, account executives are also recruited in order to fulfil the  needs  and demands of the High Net worth Individual (HNI) clients and maintain effective relationship with them in order to derive maximum profits. Such clients or the executives also have the opportunity to cross sell different products of the organisations (Bidgoli, 2010). Moreover, maintaining

Text and Traditions Final Take-Home Examination Term Paper

Text and Traditions Final Take-Home Examination - Term Paper Example These lines inform that Wieder was in such a helpless state as was Jonah. He has nothing to do but act as destiny wishes him to do. His appearance is narrated as a â€Å"thundering reappearance† that is also indicative of his association with biblical figures or some Greek hero. The narrator explains each and every detail concerning Wieder as someone witnessing everything with his own eyes. Wieder is a poet for sure, as with his performance in air; he also shows his taste in poetry. Like Elizabeth Bishop, Wieder’s poetry is also about death and fascination with the idea of death. Wieder initially says, â€Å"Death is friendship†, which is informative of the idea that for Wieder, death is not a destructive force but something that causes ease for a being due to which, he calls it friendly. Later on, he attaches death with Chile, as he says, â€Å"Death is Chile†. He writes these words after seeing life in Chile. Life is not that much persuasive for him to make him understand that life is friendship or life is Chile but the idea of death dominates his mind. After writing about death and Chile, he sees the city as a picture that is torn into pieces. For him, there is no life in anything. Everything that he sees makes him to remember death. In his last round of the plane, he writes, â€Å"Death is responsibility†. Here, he feels that death cannot be attained so easily, there are certain responsibilities of a person that he has to fulfill before embracing death as a friend. Wieder is a poet and a sensitive person as explained by the narrator. He is also a performer. Wieder’s profession, that is his being a pilot and his passion for poetry, are two quite different fields, which are attached by Wieder by making use of skywriting. Wieder shows his passion of poetry by writing on the sky and making people to read his verses through his professional training of flying. In the paragraph, the whole picture and scene of the whole

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example for Free

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The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living Socrates Philosophy Essay

The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living Socrates Philosophy Essay The unexamined life is not worth living. With these words, Socrates stated the creed of reflective men and women and set the task for ethics: to seek, with the help of reason, a consistent and defensible approach to life and its moral dilemmas (Walters 22). Ethical inquiry is important to us when we are unsure of the direction in which we are heading. New philosophy calls all in doubt, wrote John Donne in the wake of the Copernican Revolution and of Charles Is violent death, suggesting that new thoughts had challenged old practices (Donne). Today, new practices in the biomedical sciences are challenging old thoughts: New medicine calls all in doubt (Walters 22). Few moral convictions are more deeply ingrained than that of the sanctity of life. If plausible once, however, the view that life is a sacred process (initiated, sustained, and finally halted by God) is now more difficult to maintain (Baier 1-4). Recent advances in the biomedical sciences allow us to intervene in, and sometimes take control of, the processes of life and death. Not only can death, quite often, be kept waiting by the bed or machine, doctors and scientists can now also intervene in, indeed, initiate the process of life: cloning and recombination of DNA are two examples; in vitro fertilization (IVF) is another (Walters 23). It is not surprising, then, that in the wake of these revolutionary developments, bioethics is flourishing. Despite the obvious enthusiasm of philosophers to take a stand on many complex moral issues in the biomedical sciences, however, a curious skepticism pervades the enterprise (Walters 23). Take the comments by a dean of an Australian Medical School on the teaching of medical ethics: Like any other lifelong clinical teacher I have firm views about such topics as euthanasia, continuing severe pain, acceptable and unacceptable risks of various treatments, the appropriate use of life support systems and numerous other matters of this sort which I discuss with my colleagues, assistants, and students but would not wish to teach dogmatically since much depends on the religious and ethical views which they may have and which also must command my respect (Medical Ethics). The paragraph suggests that although ethics is not a matter of dogmatism, it is a matter of personal preference or choice, something one cannot-or should not-argue about. Then there is another attitude, implied in a newspaper article by B.A. Santamaria, that ethical inquiry is useless unless those investigating bioethical issues have been à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦endowed with authority by Almighty God [or] the Prime Ministerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Santamaria). Since the study of ethics is all about what is right and what is wrong, it is not possible to come to a correct conclusion unless one is directly appointed by God to make this conclusion. God is the only One who can correctly decree what is ethical and unethical; we as imperfect humans should not even attempt to do this job. IVF raises many of these difficult moral issues. If the above conceptions about the nature of ethics were correct, however, discussion of these issues would either be futile (because morality is a matter of personal choice or opinion) or superfluous (because morality is what a divine or secular authority says it is) (Walters 23). In this paper, I want to suggest that it is not only possible, but also necessary to inquire into the ethics of such practices as IVF because the fact that we can do something does not mean that we ought to do it. To begin with, I will provide the basic medical facts involving IVF to give a solid understanding of what goes into the whole process and what facts involving this process cause the questioning of the ethical and moral issues. Infertility affects about 4.9 million couples in the United States, or one in every twelve. Approximately one-third of infertility cases can be traced to causes in the female (Encarta). However, a small proportion of infertile women can produce healthy eggs but, although they have a normal uterus, they have damaged or diseased fallopian tubes which prevent the egg from passing from the ovary to the uterus (Warnock 29). Aside from conventional methods of fertility treatment, there are also several newer techniques, collectively known as assisted reproductive technology (ART). The best known of these is in vitro fertilization (IVF) (Encarta). The concept of IVF is simple. A ripe human egg is extracted from the ovary, shortly before it would have been released naturally. The egg is then mixed with the semen of the husband or partner so that fertilization can occur. The fertilized egg, once it has started to divide, is then transferred back to the mothers uterus. It is common practice to transfer more than one embryo to a potential mother whenever possible because of the normal hazards that come along with pregnancy, such as the egg not attaching to the wall of the uterus (Warnock 29-30). As many ripe eggs as are accessible are harvested. Each egg is then mixed with semen to achieve fertilization. Assuming there is no abnormality in the semen, the success rate of fertilization is usually at least 75%. When the time comes to transfer the embryos to the woman, it may be that only one embryo is suitable for transfer, or there may be several. The reason for transferring more then one embryo is that this should give the woman a better chance of achieving a pregnancy (Warnock 30). Nearly 0.2% of American and 1% of British babies are being born after IVF. There are now more than 300,000 IVF babies worldwide. Patients stand in line for treatment, regardless of the stress, discomfort, and risks, and despite the fact that the success rate for the treatment is seldom better than 1 in 5 or 20% (Gosden 26-27). This surprisingly high number of IVF babies, and the many more IVF attempts that do not produce babies, which are currently being produced around the world present a need for the discussion of the ethical, or unethical-ness of in vitro fertilization. To call an infant born as the result of IVF a created individual is to imply that there is some difference between a child conceived and brought to term in this way and one conceived in the womb and carried through completely to term by the mother. To many religious people, the work of creation belongs, in the first place, to God, as it is outlined in the creation stories of the book of Genesis. God is the one who creates life and order out of chaos. Mankind is the highest product of creation, made from materials, which are part of creation. To man, who is made in the image of God, there is given dominion over the created world and the authority to exercise a stewardship which involves caring for what has been created. This has been developed within the Christian tradition so that man may be considered a partner with God in the continuing work of creation (Walters 88). In examining the question of IVF we are not looking at a question of creation out of nothing, but rather what may be seen, from the religious viewpoint, as an aspect of the trust given to mankind to care for creation. It may then be more appropriate to think of the facilitated rather then the created individual when we consider human intervention in the process of human fertilization (Walters 88). In considering this question and its ramification we will look at the viewpoints of some writers, both within and outside the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition, and try to determine whether or not basic notions of humanity are threatened by the artificiality which some have claimed is involved in the process. One argument against IVF is presented by the Roman Catholic Church using natural law as the basis for their argument. The theory of natural law is widely taken to mean that God has visibly set forth Gods laws in nature and humans should obey them (Dyson 52). The primary feature of IVF that comes under scrutiny from natural law is undoubtedly concerned with IVF as external fertilization. This is to say, the primary accusation coming from natural law focuses on the fact that in IVF, fertilization occurs in vitro in a glass dish, rather than in vivo, namely in the womans body. A second feature of IVF that is challenged by natural law is the use of masturbation by the husband or donor to provide the sperm without which the external fertilization cannot go ahead (Dyson 53). A rebuttal against this is presented by Fletcher, in which he has proposed a personal instead of a biological interpretation [of the natural law theory], so that the nature to be respected becomes not the reproductive process but what is worthy of a human being-freedom, planning, control of physical nature to serve human nature! à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Mans vocation is actually to frustrate nature as do medicine and technology, if rational needs and purposes require it (Fletcher 323). Another argument that many use to defend IVF, and also abortion, is that the embryo is not actually a human being but instead just a mass of cells with the potential to become a child, therefore not worthy of respect or careful treatment as that which would be awarded to a baby. Walters, however, argues that the embryo is actually living: it metabolizes, respires, responds to changes in the environment, grows, and divides (Kass 32-60). It is actually human; it pertains to the species homo sapiens. It is inappropriate, therefore, to refer to it as potential human life. We could, however, say it is potentially a mature human being (Walters 51). Walters continues this argument using the reasoning of Paul Ramsey. The human individual comes into existence first as a minute informational speckà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (with the single exception of identical [multiple births]) no one else in the entire history of the human race has ever had or will ever have exactly the same genotype. Thus, it can be said that the individual is whoever he is going to become from the moment of impregnation. Thereafter, his subsequent development may be ascribed as a process of becoming the one he already is. However, some would counter-argue that, since twinning and recombination are possible in the early days after fertilization, irreversible individuality had not been achieved at this stage. These possibilities show the uncertainty of human individuation at conception. If the uncertainty remains as long as twinning is possible, it would seem that individuality could be certainly established only at blastocyst (an embryo four to six days after fertilization). Before this period, the embryo may be considered as only potentially a human being. This would imply that it is worthy of respect but not the same degree of respect as accorded to a mature human being (Walters 53). There are many more arguments concerning the ethicalness of in vitro fertilization, but the discussions stated above are the main points stated by the opposing sides. I do not believe one single conclusion can ever be drawn from these arguments. One can form him or her own personal opinion, but there will never be a single right or wrong answer. Based on the arguments I have read and learned about while writing this paper, I have drawn my own conclusions regarding the ethicalness of in vitro fertilization. I believe an embryo is a human being from the moment of conception and therefore its life should be treated with as much respect as a born baby should. I believe this life is precious and a creation of God. A baby is also, or should be, the representation of two people coming together in love to create a life. It should not be done outside of the body. An argument presented in Walters book that defends this position states: Those who reject human interference at the beginning of life would most certainly do so on the basis that what nature has decreed cannot take place ought not to take place. For an infertile couple, this implies that they must remain infertile: if they cannot produce a child by the normal means of conception then they must remain childlessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(89) This is not necessarily the case and is a very narrow-minded conclusion to draw, as I will explain in the next paragraph. I sympathize with the couples who wish to have a child that shares their genetics, but I believe God made the couple infertile for a specific reason. He made them infertile so they could have the opportunity to give an orphaned or abandoned child a home. There are thousands, maybe even millions, of children without families all over the world. These children deserve love and a home just as much as the couple deserves to have a child. As William Walters put it so clearly, instead of insisting on the right of a couple to have a child, as some have done, let us be mindful rather of the right of a child to have parents (Walters 78). Just because a couple cannot produce their own genetic child does not mean that they must remain childless. While many people may not agree with other conclusions I have drawn regarding the personhood of the embryo or the immorality of a couple having a child outside of intimacy, there is no disputing the fact that infertile couples have an alternative to having a child created through science. They could make something good out of a seemingly bad thing by giving a child without a family a home, love, and a life. There is an alternative to infertility without relying on scientists, test tubes, and small chances. They can create their own miracle by giving life to an already-born deserving child. Baier, K. The Sanctity of Life, Journal of Social Philosophy. Vol. 5. April 1974: 1-4. Donne, John. The First Anniversary. Dyson, Anthony O. The Ethics of IVF. Mowbrey: 1995. Fletcher, J. Anglican Theology and the Ethics of Natural Law, Christian Social Ethics in a Changing World: An Ecumenical Theological Inquiry. Association Press: New York, 1966. Flynn, Eileen P. Human Fertilization In Vitro: A Catholic Moral Perspective. University Press of America: 1984. Gosden, Roger. Designing Babies. W.H. Freeman and Co.: New York, 1999. Kass, L.R. Making Babies Revisited, The Public Interest. Vol. 54. 1979: 32-60. Infertility. Encarta 1998. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1993-1997. Medical Ethics. Editorial. The Medical Journal of Australia 11 June 1977: p. 871. ODonovon, Oliver. Begotten or Made? Clarendon Press: 1984. Ramsey, Paul in Rachels, J. ed. Moral Problems. Harper Row: New York, 1975. Santamaria, B.A. Medics Play God With Babes on Ice. Perth Independent 26 May 1981. Walters, William and Peter Singer ed. Test-Tube Babies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. Warnock, Mary. A Question of Life. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984.