Health Care Systems Essay

Abstract The primary objective of any health care system is to provide adequate and effective medical care to the population. Health care systems may vary due to political and other factors. Factors may include location, access to care, basic needs of the populations as well as economic status. However, the primary goal remains the same. Because of the ongoing need for government to allocate funds to the medical budget their involvement in health care cannot be discounted. This paper introduces two major health care systems. First that of the Netherlands and secondly, the United States. The pros and cons will be discussed, as well as the role and function of the government as it relates to health care. A compare and contrast of the differences and similarities of both systems will be made. Health Care Systems The Netherlands The health care system in the Netherlands is comprised of three distinct compartments and is mandatory for all residents and non-resident who pay Dutch income tax. They are required to purchase health insurance coverage, except for those with conscious objections and active members of the armed forces. Coverage is mandatory under the health insurance act provided by private insurance companies and regulated under private law. One percent of the Dutch population were uninsured in 2009 and approximately sixteen percent between the ages of twenty and thirty years. Those who failed to pay premiums for at least six months are also known as defaulters. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 1) Insurance companies are forbidden to perform â€Å"risk assessment† that deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, risk factors based on age, gender, or health profile. Tax credits make the package affordable for those who have low income while those who have no income receive coverage as part of their social assistance package. (Daley & Gubb, 2011) The government provides health care allowances also known as premium subsidies for low-income families if their premium exceeds five percent of the household income. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 80) Individuals who do not sign up for health care coverage are subject to a tax fine of one hundred and thirty percent of the premium. (Daley & Gubb, 2011) The Exceptional Medical Expenses Act regulates the first compartment. (Daley & Gubb, 2011) Contributions were taken as a 12.55% salary deduction and further supplemented by a government grant. (Daley & Gubb, 2011) Basic insurance packages include General Practitioner, Hospital specialists, Midwives, as well as hospitalization, dental coverage up to the age of eighteen after which only specialist dental care is covered (dentures e.g); medical aides such as home health care and medical equipment pharmaceutical care, maternity, ambulance and patient transport services, paramedical care, mental health and limited lifestyle improvement (smoking cessation programs e.g.). In vetro fertilization is also covered for the first three attempts. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 1-2) The second compartment deals with basic and essential needs. These medical needs are first treated by a General Practitioner. Every resident and non-resident must be registered with a General Practitioner who oversees basic care including, physicals and common illnesses. In the event specialized care is needed, patients are referred to a Nurse Specialist who is responsible for giving medical treatment. This may include information pertaining to prevention, education, social and psychological support. (â€Å"Nursing,† n.d) For example if a patient is diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus their first encounter is with the General Practitioner who makes the diagnosis, and puts together a team consisting of the Diabetic Nurse Specialist and an Endocrinologist. The Endocrinologist supervises the Nurse Specialist who in turn acts as a supervisor or consultant to the General Practitioner. Members of the team must meet on a regular basis to discuss the patient’s needs and progress. Based on the severity of the patient’s illness (which could be deemed as low, moderate or severe) determined by the patients’ test results one of the three care givers will in fact manage follow-up care. However, all three practitioners will continue to be involved. The Nurse Specialist acts a liaison between both the Practitioner and the Specialist. (â€Å"Nursing,† n.d) The third is an optional supplemental coverage and is paid for by the individual or as part of an employer/employee contract. Care can include, dental after the age of 18 years, physiotherapy and cosmetic procedures. The focus on overcoming disparities such as obesity and smoking cessation do not exist in the Netherlands, as it is believed that it is the responsibility of the individual to seek treatment, which is covered under the basic package. Before the 2006 Reform, there were long waiting lines to see the General Practitioner. There are forty Dutch health insurers across the country and individuals are free to choose the company of their choice based on their personal needs and preferences. At the time of annual open enrollment, patients are allowed to change their insurance company to one of their own choosing. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 84) Every insured individual age 18 and over must pay a deductible ranging from â‚ ¬170 to â‚ ¬ 670 referred to as cost sharing. General practitioner care and children health care are exempt from cost sharing. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 80) How is the health system financed? – The first â‚ ¬ 32,369 are taxed at a rate of 6.9 %. The employer is required to reimburse this contribution while the employee must pay taxes on the reimbursement. For those who do not have an employer or do not receive unemployment benefits the contribution is 4.8% while the self-employed is individually assessed by the Department of Revenue. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 80) Organization – The General Practitioner is the considered to be the gate- keeper. The General Practitioner must refer hospitalization or specialized health care and the only exception is for emergency care. The General Practitioner gets a capitation fee for each registered patient and is further compensated for after hours care on an hourly basis. Consultation fees including phone consults are also accrued and an additional amount is paid to the General Practitioner for managing the patients care without having to make a referral. Bundled payments are made for chronic diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease, Congestive Heart Failure etc. If the General Practitioner hires a private nurse to assist in his practice, the insurance company makes full reimbursement to the General Practitioner for nurses’ salary. The population of the Netherlands is 16.7 million people (â€Å"One World Nations Online†) of which only one percent is uninsured. The reason for this is not due to an inability to pay but rather a default for greater than six months. The health care system in the Netherlands is Universal and does not depend on employment status. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 78) Although the government mandates heath insurance, private insurance companies are allowed to provide coverage. With five insurance companies that dominate the market the government has created a market environment for healthy competition that also benefits the consumer. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 80) The triangle between the Insurer, the Provider and the Insured requires that quality and efficient care remains consistent. There are five non-governmental entities that regulate care. The Health Council advises the government on health care issues (e.g. public health); The Health Insurance Board (advises what should be included in the basic health insurance packet). The Medical Evaluation Board is responsible for efficiency, safety and quality are always taken into account; The Dutch Health Care sAuthority, which ensures that the market is functioning while the Dutch Competition Authority ensures there, is fair competition among insurers and providers. (Westert & Klazinga, 2011, p. 83) The United States In the United States government is heavily intertwined with health care at many different levels. Laws have been created by both the federal and state legislative bodies. Health care policies have been shaped through a combination of the arenas that make decisions at the local, state and federal levels. The United States health care system is comprised of two separate entities identified as the private and public sectors. First, the private sector is made up of private health insurance companies and employer sponsored insurance coverage. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 will require employers who have fifty or more employees to provide health insurance coverage or pay a financial penalty to the federal government. Medicaid program will be expanding and will be required to cover those who fall above the level of poverty.. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 36) This like the health care system in the Netherlands tries to cover a greater amount of the population The public s ector is made up of Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid is a welfare initiative that is not a single national program, but a collection of fifty state-administered programs. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 29) Medicaid is designed to cover low-income families. It is jointly funded by the state and federal government. The poorer the state the larger the federal contribution however, each state has specific eligibility rules, benefits and payment schedules. A little known fact about Medicaid is that it can be given free to those who cannot afford it, or it can be given at a low cost depending on one’s income. (Social Security†) Medicare on the other hand is a social as well as a federal insurance program designed to cover people aged 65 and older as well as the disabled regardless of age or income. There are four parts to Medicare. Part A also known as hospital insurance covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facilities, hospice and some home health care. Part B also known as medical insurance covers certain doctor’s services, outpatient care, medical supplies and preventative services. Part C also known as the medical advantage plan is a type of medical health care plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare to provide Part A and Part B benefits. Part D, also known as the prescription drug coverage, can be added onto the original Medicare plan. The aforementioned plans, are offered by insurance companies and other private companies approved by Medicare. (medicare.gov). The public sector is designed to cover the segment of the population that is not covered by employer-sponsored insurance. The United States highest annual health care spending per capita in terms of purchasing power parity is $7,538 is significantly higher than the Netherlands, which spends $4, 063 per capita. This trend has remained constant for the past forty years. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 68) It is reported that the United States has the largest proportion of adults who have the hardest time seeing a specialist, however other countries have reported the same difficulties with low-income levels having a greater difficulty than those with higher income. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 69) The life expectancy in the United States for male was 75.64 years while women was 80.78 years. In the Netherlands on the other hand, life expectancy for a male is 81.4 years and for female 85.3 years a significant difference and is believed to be due to the quality and access to health care. The quality of life in the Netherlands is assumed to be much better because of preventative care and education. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, children in the United States will now be covered up to the age of 26. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 25) In the Netherlands children are only covered until the age of 18 at which time they are expected to be contributing members of society. Approximately 16% of the United States population is uninsured, which is a significant disparity between that of the Netherlands. Americans are uninsured primarily because of high out-of-pocket medical expenses and considerable amounts of medical debt. Most of those uninsured are families with full- or part-time jobs or those who are self-employed will not be able to afford or access health care. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 32-33) Health care provisions are adequately satisfied in the Netherlands, which make provision for all Citizens while still leaving room for healthy competition among insurance carriers. Although guidelines are set up by the government to ensure universal health care it is the responsibility of insurance companies and non-governmental agencies to ensure that these guidelines are followed. On the other hand, while the United States supports those with low income and disabilities there remains the 17% of the population that contribute to the Medicaid and Medicare funds but are still unable to afford health insurance coverage. I believe it is to the detriment of the United States health care system to pull certain aspects from many different health care systems such as the Netherlands and Switzerland that do not always work to our benefit. (Kaovner & Knicman, 2011, p. 79) The absence of a body to oversee making checks and balances in the systems leaves the door open for fraud and fraudulent activities within the system. If these aspects were to be imported it must be modified and carefully monitored to ensure there is no conflict with existing programs that have been proven effective. If the average household income per year is $40,000 of which 30% is spent on heath care it leaves a family with insufficient funds to provide for basic needs. In effect, health care becomes the â€Å"basic need†, creating further health care needs due to the inability to cover food, clothing and shelter. In conclusion, it is my opinion that the health care system in the Netherlands is by far more advanced in terms of organization and effectiveness. The ability for all residents to access health care contributes to the longer life expectancy and overall quality of life which in together ensures that the people will be valuable contributors to society. References Daley, C., & Gubb, J. (2011). Health Care Systems: The Netherlands. Civitas. Retrieved from http://www.civitas.org.uk/nhs/download/netherlands.pdf Kaovner, A., & Knicman, J. (2011). Health Care Delivery in the United States (10th ed.). New Yor, NY: Springer Publishing Company LLC. Nursing in the Netherlands. (n.d). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/qualifications/docs/nurses/2000-study/nurses_nederland_en.pdf Westert, G., & Klazinga, N. (2011). International Profiles of Health Care Systems, 2011 [Entire issue]. The Common Wealth Fund. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2011/Nov/1562_Squires_Intl_Profiles_2011_11_10.pdf

Foundations of Psychology Paper Essay

Abstract The miscellaneous condition of psychology is a scientific investigation of humankind mind, body, and behavior. Psychology includes different departments of psychology to apprehend and supervise observations on the mental technique of a person mind and behavior. Psychology is regularly used to establish the secrecy of the human behavior. Observation was the way to study a person mind to become aware of the mental conscious and unconscious states. As time went by psychology was established, alone with some major schools of thoughts. The paper below will discuss the six major schools of thought in psychology, examine the foundation of psychology, and examine their major underlying assumptions, behaviorism, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive. In addition, it will show how the primary biological foundations of psychology are linked to behavior such as, brain, central nervous system, peripheral nervous System, and genetics/evolution. Behavioral Theory Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a learning theory established on the notion that behaviors are gathered by conditioning. Conditioning develops from influenced of the environment. Operant and classical are the two major types of conditioning. A natural stimulus is paired with a response, when a procedure known as classical conditioning is the procedure used in behavioral training. When someone receives rewards and punishments for behavior that is what we call Operant conditioning. Behaviorists speculate that a person acknowledgement to environmental stimuli shapes a person behavior. Behaviorism made psychology more scientific by concentrating totally on observable behavior. This school of thought suggests that observable only behaviors should be studied. Structuralism and Functionalism| A German scientist, Wilhelm Wundt decided to take a structuralist approach to psychology after he founded his laboratory in Leipzig. An American, William James took the functionalist approach in his lab at Harvard. They both decided that since psychology was not being approached as a discipline of human behavior, they both decided to take their knowledge of the principles of scientific research and apply their study to human behavior. Psychology’s foundation as a science needs to be thoroughly understood, so let us take a look at both men’s foundation as scientists. Wundt’s approach to the structuralist approach sought to identify the building blocks, or the structure, of psychological experience, in the same way other sciences had been broken down in this way before. Physics had its fundamental laws, just as chemistry had its periodic table of elements, and Wundt wanted to do the same for psychology, which would establish a series of fundamental relations or structures that could be used to explain all behavior.However, William James, over at Harvard, working on his functionalist approach, did not agree with Wundt’s scientific approach of structuralism. James thought that Wundt’s mental processes were to complex. Psychologists believe the method of measuring would always change what was always trying to be measured. Influenced by Darwin’s theory of natural selection, James preferred instead to question why we behave the way we do. James wanted to understand the functions of behavior in our lives; in terms of either how it helped us or hurt us and why certain behaviors were more common than others, such as why do humans feel jealousy. | | Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theory Various kinds of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies have been established. In the twentieth century, Freud was an important scientific thinker and his theories have influenced cultures and counseling and psychotherapy practices. Freud believed that personality is shaped by biological drives expressed early in life through preoccupation with specific parts of the body, and that each stage involves gratification associated with the function of that part of the body and the child’s developmental stage. The psychodynamic theory consists of rests on three elements. First, a person feelings and thoughts is part of his or her minds. Second, the awareness of the conscious has various mental issues that happen  outside. Third, these mental issues may interfere with each other, causing jeopardize motives. Psychoanalysis and other analytic approaches have been criticized on several fronts related to multicultural issues length and lack of affordability, and overemphasis on individual dynamics versus social issues and influences. Cognitive Theory Cognitive theories focused on the way a person is motivated, solve problems, make decision, and thinking. Cognitive psychology studies mental understandings that consist of how people think, comprehend, and learn. The focus is how people collect, understand, and accumulate information. There are many administrations for cognitive research, such as, improving a person memory, building making decision correctly, and building educational to increase learning. Starting in the late 70s behaviorism was the main controller in the school of thought in psychology, but the focus to move away from behavioral psychology to subjects such as attention, memory and problem-solving. Behavioral The brain is a sophisticated, functional, and manageable structure that controls a person behaviors and mental performances. Psychologists study the brain many ways. The verbal and nonverbal behaviors are tested by neuropsychologist to measure the affected by brain damage. The activity of the brain is studied using an electroencephalogram (EEG), (CT) scans, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The brain consists of three parts: the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. The hindbrain consists of the brain stem and the cerebellum that controls a person, movement, posture, and balance. The midbrain is located in the middle of the brain that helps control vision, sleep, and sound. The forebrain’s holds the thalamus and hypothalamus sensors that control a person motivation and emotion behavior. The motivation urges a person have come from the limbic system that also synchronizes memory and emotion. The brain has a right and a left side known as hemispheres. The two hemispheres correspond and work together with the aid of the corpus callosum. When one hemisphere does a main job, this is known as lateralization. Genetics/Evolution Evolutionary psychology central point is biologically functions established as solutions to same kind of difficulties of adjustments. Evolution means a change over time which the rhythm with certain genes happens within a crossbreeding society. Darwin’s theory foundation of evolution is the fundamental of uncontrolled collection, which shows that biologically based features that reinforce the survival and reproductive in the population because people who lack the features are less likely to pass on their genes. Many features are impelling by the cooperation of many genes. Behavior geneticists investigate the addition of genetic and environmental ingredients psychological characteristics and behaviors. These investigations suggest that psychological characteristics have genetic contributions. Genetic structure allows researchers to copy and transform genetic. Central Nervous System The central nervous system transports signals back and forth within the brain, the spinal cord, and glands and muscles. Nerve endings sends signal to the brain, which causes neurons within the brain to be used. This signal may cause a muscle to contract or relax. The nervous system consists of connected nerve chambers that send instruction throughout the body. There are four distinguish features of the nervous system. The intelligence of the brain to adjust is termed plasticity. Cells that transport information to the brain is called afferent neurons and those that transport information out of the brain are called efferent neurons. The communication of the nervous system consist of networking, which the cells combine sensory input and motor output. Peripheral Nervous System The peripheral nervous system joins the brain and spinal cord and connects to other body parts. The peripheral nervous system is split into the somatic nervous system, which includes sensory, motor nerves, and the autonomic nervous system, which monitors the bodily organs located inside the body. Peripheral nervous system can be damage easily and exposed to toxins and injuries because it is not protected by the bone of spine, skull,  or by the blood–brain restriction. Conclusion The miscellaneous condition of psychology is a scientific investigation of humankind mind, body, and behavior. Psychology includes different departments of psychology to apprehend and supervise observations on the mental technique of a person mind and behavior. Behaviorism made psychology more scientific by concentrating totally on observable behavior. Humanist thinkers believe that both psychoanalysis and behaviorism were too depressing focusing on the tragic of emotions. Cognitive psychology studies mental understandings that consist of how people think, comprehend, and learn. Foundations of biopsychology are the foundation that every thought, emotion, and behavior that a person has starts in the brain. In the past, foundations of biopsychology were thought of as physiological psychology or behavioral neuroscience. Evolutionary psychology central point is biologically functions established as solutions to same kind of difficulties of adjustments. References Wickens, A. (2005). Foundations of Biopsychology Harlow, England: Prentice Hall. Retrieved electronically November 26, 2007 from: http://www.psypress.com/common/supplementary/184169360X/part1.pdf James, W. (1904) The Chicago school. Psychological Bulletin. 1, 1-5. Retrieved electronically February 6, 2013 from: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/two-early-approaches-functionalism-and-structuralism.html

An Analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Time is not really suspended, even for the novels beautiful young hero In the light of this comment, discuss ways in which Willed portrays time passing in The Picture Of Dorian Gray. One of the main ways in which Willed portrays time passing is the ageing and changing of the portrait. Dorian is exceptionally vain and becomes convinced, after a brief conversation with rod Henry that his most significant characteristics; his youth and attractiveness are slowly going to fade away. The thought of this makesDorian worried and therefore he curses his fate and pledges his soul so that he could live without bearing the physical burdens of aging and sinning. He no longer sees his beauty as a gift but as something he must fight to retain at any cost. The fact that at first, Dorian Gray is described as a beautiful creature, and someone who should always be there in winter when we have no flowers to look at suddenly, with a matter of time, after listening to Lord Henrys famous aphorisms he soon believes them and with that he turns into meeting completely different from how he was first described. He changes into something volatile with mad hungers that become more ravenous. He goes through life living through sin and pleasure and after being given the yellow book by Lord Henry, he lives under the influence of the book. As he approaches his thirties, many people shun him, whilst others find him charming, due to the fact that these are the people that have seen him in person and therefore dismiss his wrong doings due to the purity of his face.His face however reveals no dissipation; his appearance is merely innocent, only his soul has been poisoned by a book. Although physically Dorian doesnt age, emotionally he does. He seems to grow more and more restricted from others and gain pleasure at any cost, something Freudianism would call an over indulgence of the id the pleasure principle where this pleasure principle is outweighed more than the ego -? reality principle and the superego the morality principle.

Titanic - The Unsinkable Ship Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Titanic - The Unsinkable Ship - Research Paper Example Before going into the details of the famous and tragic Titanic disaster, let’s first plunge into the history of the Titanic ship. Titanic is the ship that grabbed the attention of the whole world, when it was made, and when it sank (Molony). The 1950's version of the Titanic's sinking, "A Night to Remember', and the latest 1997’s version of James Cameron’s Titanic, are the masterpieces that detail the shipwreck. Ambekar (para.1) writes that, â€Å"Titanic was one the greatest ship built in twentieth century.† It was of such great strength that it was believed to be unsinkable. It was the largest ship ever made, â€Å"stretching a sixth of a mile from bow to stern, standing ten stories high from its keel to the top of its four funnels and displacing over 45,000 tons†, writes Barczewski (1). It was an ostentatious and grand ship, known as the British passenger ocean liner, and was owned and driven by White Star Line (Eaton and Haas). Thomas Andrews, t he head of Harland & Wolff design department, was the designer of this 882.5 feet long ship. Commissioned by White Star and built by Harland and Wolff, it was created between 1908 and1909 in Belfast (Ireland), by more than 15,000 Irish shipyard workers. It is said that at that time, every worker was paid nearly $10 per week. Titanic was called unsinkable because of its strong structure. It had double bottom. The hull, whose number was 401, was divided into sixteen waterproof compartments. The structure of the ship was such that it could support the ship to stay floating, even if two of its middle compartments, or four of the front compartments, submerged under water and got flooded. Interior Design Now, let’s talk about the interior decoration of Titanic. Registered in Liverpool and belonging to the Olympic class of the White Star Line, the ship offered a luxurious lifestyle to its passengers, though it was far away from land. It contained all kinds of entertainment facilities, dining halls, pubs, dancing floors, living rooms, and massive kitchens. Equipped with four 400 kilowatt electrical generators, the Titanic ship had a plentiful supply of electricity. The passengers had the facility of separate rooms, and they could use electric heaters and electric lamps. The deck offered all kinds of continental foods, thus increasing the lavishness on the ship. The food was stored and refrigerated properly. Special areas had been dedicated to indoor games. A fully furnished gymnasium was also present in which the passengers could do their daily exercises. Passengers could use lifts for moving inside the ship. There was proper ventilation in the ship, due to which proper airy conditions were maintained. Passengers could use telephones to communicate. Radios were also available

Zara Questions Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Zara Questions - Case Study Example Then, both internal as well as external production flowed into Zara’s central distribution center. From there, the products were shipped to strategically located and attractive stores twice a week, which in a way eliminates the need for warehouses. This way Zara is able to design and reach the finished goods in stores within 4 to 5 weeks, and just 2 weeks for the restocking of existing products. 2. The major competitors of Zara as described in the case study are The Gap, Hennes & Mauritz, and Benetton. The Gap is the U.S. based retailer of casual clothes particularly selling T-shirts and jeans. Its store operations are mainly U.S. centric but its production is internationalized, with 90 percent of their finished products being outsourced from outside the U.S. Hennes and Mauritz is the Sweden based retailer of casual clothes and is regarded as the closest competitor to Zara. H&M has strongly internationalized its operations because of which it generates more than half of its sales from foreign stores. Benetton is the Italy based retailer who mainly manufactured and sold brightly colored knitwear. It outsourced most of its production to subcontractors. The competitors who are not described in the case study include Uniqlo and Primark. Uniqlo is the Japanese retailer of casual wears. It manufactures its products in-house and also sources from its supply units in China and Thai land. Primark is an international food and cloth retailing group, with stores in a number of European countries. It sources its finished products from India, Bangladesh, and others. 3. The major strength of Zara is that it has a broader and optimal vertical scope when compared with its competitors. That is, while Zara owns and operates its production as well as its stores, its competitors due to their narrower vertical scope maximally outsourced their production and even licensed their stores. For example, both The Gap and H&M have outsourced all of their production to Asian countries

Underage drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Underage drinking - Essay Example A statistical voyage through this social malady would be more helpful to understand the inherent danger that under age drinking possess to our society. It has been estimated that each year around five thousand young people succumb to underage drinking. Here underage implies age below 21. Among these 5000 ill fortunate young blood, crash in motor vehicle claims 1900 lives, 1600 dies of murder and 300 ends their own lives. Ironically this high number of life casualty seems to have little effect on opening our eyes to this great danger that looms around our society. A survey among youths that has been carried on during 2005 revealed that 75% of the 12th graders, well over 66% of the 10th graders and 40% of the 8th graders are addicted to alcohol. More alarming fact is that heavy drinking or binge drinking as it is popularly known is a common phenomenon among 29% of 12th graders, 22% of 10th graders and 11% of 8th graders. Consuming alcohol rapidly such as more than four to five drinks w ithin two hours increases the blood alcohol concentration to an unprecedented high level of 0.08 grams%; this can initiate erratic behavior on behalf of the concerned underage person. Interestingly knowing all these have only led to the decline of the age of alcohol consumption over the years. As an example in the year 1965 the average age of beginners of alcohol was 17 and half. In 2003 the age of the first timer regarding alcohol has declined to 14. Such a decrease in first timer age regarding alcohol consumption reflects a grave social problem, as it has been observed that people who start early with alcohol, especially before the age of 15 are four times more prone to grow alcohol dependency (severe alcoholism) at some point of their lives (especially during the middle ages). Again such dependency often precedes middle age and starts quite early at young age and might be even during the adolescents. Moreover early drinkers are more likely to be socially maladjusted and cause har m to others as well as themselves. Risky behaviours such as taking illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and others are more likely to be found among early drinkers. Changing of sex partners and simultaneously having sex with more than one person is also more common among underage drinkers. They also have been found to get poor grade in schools and Ds and Fs are common among them. It is worth keeping in mind that the associated problems with underage drinking that have been discussed so far expose one million high school students all over America to great danger as the number associated with underage drinking in America has been found around that figure. (Alcohol Alert, 2006) Questions might be asked that even after knowing the consequences why such practise among youths is growing day by day? According to scientists and psychologists, teenage is an age when a person seeks adventure and tries to explore the unknown, if he or she considers alcohol among those unexplored horizons then they might feel attracted to alcohol as well. Through out the adolescence conception regarding alcohol undergoes several changes. It starts with a negative feeling regarding alcohol consumption at the age of 9 but strangely by 13 they consider it as holding something fairy within itself and that’s when the problem began. It has also been observed that youth with troublesome nature and aggression as a main type of characteristic, anxious, lonesome and upset tend to consume alcohol at a much early age than others. It has been observed

Egyptian Style Rendering Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Egyptian Style Rendering - Assignment Example The creativity aspect of Egyptian art is evident in the variety of art created with some seemingly contradicting one another. However, with in art symbolism always plays a major role and it depends on how a particular piece of art is interpreted and the contradictions may be a way of concealing the deeper meanings. Figure 1 shows an example of an ancient Egyptian drawing of a god. An analysis of the drawing will bring out some key characteristics of Egyptian art. Figure 1 Essence of the Drawing An important aspect of ancient Egyptian art was to bridge the gap between mortals and the gods and to improve the understanding of the mortals of the gods. The drawing in figure 1 shows an Egyptian god depicted by the fact that it has the head of an animal. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads did not essentially refer to physical animals but depicted spiritual animals that were considered to have godly statures (2012). For instance, the Egyptian god Anubis is always depicted as having t he head of a jackal. The drawing in figure 1 was meant to educate Egyptians on religious belief and to instill in them a feeling of awe towards the gods. Despite the fact that the drawing has a human body, it is evident that the head is that one of a spiritual animal. The use of animal heads was also important in drawing to create a distinction between mortals and gods. According to Aloi, the use of animal heads in ancient art had roots in the perception of human beings with regard to certain animals. Aloi continues to outline that different animals aroused different perceptions in different cultures and this is evident in how different cultures use animals differently in their respective works of art. However, one common aspect in the use of animals in art was that there was a deeper meaning of a feeling that the work of art intended to portray and arouse. Therefore, the drawing was created to show all Egyptians that it was of a god and to consolidate the powers of the kings of Egy pt especially immediately after the introduction of the kingship. According to Frankfort (1978), in the Egyptian Heirarchical system the Kings closely followed the gods and were even sometimes accorded godly statuses. Frankfort outlines that before the kingship period in Egypt the depiction of gods in works of art was not very common. However, after the introduction of the kingship Egyptians artists began showing interest in the depiction of gods. The fact that the gods were supposed to be held in high esteem and awe also meant that the kings were to be given an almost similar position. The work of art was meant to ensure that kings immediately after the introduction of kingship were able to consolidate power against foreign and domestic opposition. This is depicted by the fact that Egyptians worshipped their kings and other neighboring communities were afraid of the Egyptian kings. The Value of the Drawing The depiction of a god in any drawing was always aimed at bringing out some important aspect of life after death in the Egyptian culture. The gods assured Egyptians that there was in deed life after death and that they were not to be afraid of dying but rather look forward to it (Frankfort, 1978). Man has always been disturbed by what happens after one dies bringing into perspectives aspects such as religion, gods and reincarnation. The Egyptians were not exceptions considering that calamities

Megacities in Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Megacities in Asia - Essay Example Oxidation causes arseno-pyrite minerals to release arsenic. Further, when the water table is lowered by over exploiting groundwater in irrigation procedures, more arsenic is released (Karim, 2000). The most likely remediation strategy to be implemented is the use of innovative alternative drinking water sources. Although restoring the natural flow of rivers and level of ground water would have been the ideal situation, the time implications in achieving such goals are not practical. Examples would include harvesting rainwater, pond sand filters, Ranney wells and infiltration galleries. These methods are recommended because they are less costly than most of the proposed solutions. Secondly, they have the potential of providing drinking water for longer terms than the rest of the proposals. For example, harvesting rain water may incur an initial cost of putting up the structures, but once that is done, no more expenses are expected. The same applies for ponds, which require minimum

NARRATIVE story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NARRATIVE story - Essay Example Only that morning, after my brother’s compulsion, I decided to get out of my room to go with him and my parents to the beach for some fun. At first I was very annoyed as I preferred to stay indoors and watch some television as it was a weekend. During the weekdays, I had enough and more school work to be done and got very little television time. So weekends are usually a television marathon for me and I would never go out. My brother and my father have a weekend routine which I thought was lame. They would go for swimming at a nearby club and invite me all the time. I always felt very nostalgic to swimming pools and the blue colored water spread across as if it were a blue blanket made me uncomfortable. But today, as the club was closed due to some maintenance activity, my brother had planned for this trip to a beach nearby and had compelled me to come. I thought I will just get some sun and stay away from the ‘deep blue sea’. After reaching there and watching eve ryone have fun, I was not able to control my rising yearn to hit the water. Unfortunately, failed to notice the board which said ‘this area is for strong swimmers only’. So, here I am dragged inwards toward the horizon by the strong waves. I opened my eyes and found that everything around me was different and that confused feeling was still there. I was looking around to figure out whether I was in heaven (hopefully). I could hear the sounds of people talking outside. I woke up fully to get back to reality. My brother was walking towards me and paid no attention to me. I was little bit ignited with this act, as I expected him to come and ask me how I felt after coming in close encounters with death. Instead, he just started hitting me with his towel asking me to get up. I got up, now fully awake, and was staring blankly at my brother who was yelling, ‘are you coming with us to the swimming club at least today?’ Just then everything hit

Criminal minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal minds - Essay Example In spite of the efforts in this direction crimes continue to exist and it can be concluded that the crimes will continue to exist and this problem can not be solved. In order to solve this problem it becomes necessary that the cause of the crimes or the reason why people commit crimes need to be analysed. Traditionally crime has been considered as associated with two domains by the specialists. The domains are the nature or the environment of the individuals including the family and the peers of the individuals. However it must be noted that these specialists belong to different fields of science as the complexity and dynamics of crime extends to different areas which are difficult to comprehend. When reference is made to the science of criminology automatically reference is made to different branches of science such as psychology, genetics, sociology etc. The main purpose of criminology is to deal with crimes and criminals and solve this social problem. As mentioned earlier the main approaches to deal with the problem of crimes and their resolution are the natural approach and the environmental approach. The environmental approach deals with the circumstances that made an individual to commit a crime and it does not consider the heredity or family background of the criminal. Whereas the natural approach is sure that the nature of the criminal, his or her genes, and heredity are the main reasons that make him/her to commit the crimes. The latest developments in genetics have been fairly successful in substantiating the environmental causes for people committing crimes and this has put away the theories about the heredity and genes being responsible for the crimes which need to be proved scientifically. The theories relating to the presupposition of the heredity and genes are ambiguous and are to be established with a scientific base before they can be taken into account. On the other hand the followers of the environmental approach also can not deny the fact that the heredity and genetic causes play an important role in shaping the character of a person. They also contribute to the committing of the crime by the individuals. It is important that environment in which a person is born and brought up is considered while studying the crimes, as such environmental factors do have a large influence on the formation of the personality of the individual and the shaping of his or her characters. Though this new approach is relatively young and new it is becoming more and more popular and deserves to be analysed thoroughly before any conclusion can be drawn from the approach. According to Wilson and Herrnstein (1985) "criminology is the study of delinquency and crime with the goal of developing a body of knowledge including all the dynamics that surround crime and criminals to assist in their understanding of the phenomenon". Thus the focus of the science of criminology is to evolve a deep understanding of crime, the reasons why people commit crimes and also the nature of the people who commit crimes namely the criminals. It is a fact that it would be difficult to understand the crimes as a social phenomenon in general and all the details of the crime in particular as it affects the society, unless the causes which make the people commit the crimes.

Teenage Suicide Essay Example for Free

Teenage Suicide Essay Depression is the leading cause of teenage suicide. Severe depression is often accompanied by a general sense of suffering as well as the belief to escape from its hopelessness. The pain of existence often becomes too much for severe depressed people to bear. The state of depression changes their thinking, allowing ideas like â€Å"Everyone would all be better off without me† to make rational sense. They shouldn’t be blamed for falling prey to such distorted thoughts any more than a heart patient should be blamed for experiencing chest pain: it’s simply the nature of their disease. Often people suffer with it silently, planning suicide without anyone ever knowing. Untreated mental illness including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and many others are the cause for the wide majority of suicides. Some of the negative life experiences like death of a loved one, divorce, separation, or being victimized (domestic violence, rape, assault, etc), a loved one being victimized (child murder, child molestation, kidnapping, murder, rape, assault, etc.), feeling trapped in a situation perceived as negative, feeling that things will never get better, feeling helpless, feeling taken advantage of, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, a feeling of not being accepted by family, friends, or society, bullying, low self-esteem may trigger depression which mainly leads to suicide. However, depression can also lead to rape. Rape is a horrible crime and it effects the victims for the rest of their lives. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are common conditions among rape victims. Numerous rape victims have suicidal thoughts which leads to actually committing suicide. Unfortunately, sexual assaults are extremely common. Rape victim endure physical and emotional pain. Teenager thats done been through a sexual abuse feel many different emiotions including fear of their abuser, anger at other adults around them who didnt protect them, isolation because they feel alone in their experience, shame for not being able to stop the abuse, guilt for not being able to stop the abuse and confusion because their feelings change constantly. Many rape victims said,They feel like the rapist sentenced them to a life of hell. Bullying is the third leading cause of teenage suicide. Bully-related suicide among teenagers can be connected to any type of bullying, including physical bullying, emotional bullying, cyberbullying, and sexting. Bullying is an extremely serious problem in schools that is resulting to people taking their own lives. Many adults  still see bullying as being kid related, but it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non- victims, according to Yale Unveristy. The most popular and powerful, single out and harshly bully a socially weaker classmate which then drives the victim into a darkness where he or she sees no alternative other than committing suicide. Bullying is defined as an ongoing pattern of intimidation by a child or teenager over others who have less power.

Essay Example for Free

Essay Most people think â€Å"we† are becoming more equal through out history. Although, the reality is that we repeat history. Between class, gender, and race the recreation of systems of discrimination is repetitive. With that being said I will introduce five facts that reflect social construct relating to class, gender and race in America. Class is a set of concepts that society has created to measure ones income, wealth, and status. While, there is not a direct definition of class it is a huge aspect of the way we live our lives. I will break down class within the way society measures it. Income is based on the particular money or revenue an employee is bringing home. Meaning wealth is significantly associated with income plus the material things an individual owns; for example expensive cars, land, or any ownership that shows fortune. In theory, status is the exemplification of inheritance, for example a family business, a home or even something as small as jewelry. The Daily Conversation displays a visual by a Harvard business professor whom interviewed five thousand people on their view of wealth inequality in America (YouTube, 2014). As shown in the YouTube video Wealth Inequality In America Daily Conversation proves that society has no authentic awareness on the way wealth is spread among the American people. Out of the five thousand Americans interviewed they thought that the top twenty percent of wealthy people were almost as half the amount of high-middle, middle, and poor class wealth. Ninety-two percent of those people think the ideal wealth should be dispensed nearly equally among the top twenty percent wealthy and middle class with a less portion to the poor class. In reality the top twenty percent of wealthy Americans are roughly three-fourths the wealth compared to the middle and lower class. As mentioned in the article Mobility, measured it shows that â€Å"America is no less socially mobile than it was a generation ago† (The Economist, 2014). The image showed before the article displays a triple bunk bed related to the differences’ between social class constructions. On the top bunk posi tioned the wealthy percent of the population with only two characters, a man and woman. Underneath the middle class is placed then demonstrated as the educated. Next the poor or lower class is detained in a filthy and packed environment. On the sides of the bunk bed are ladders. On the left is a character that seems to be educated and excited to move up the ladder to the top wealthy percentile. Also on the left another educated character is  falling off the ladder showing the immobilization of society. There are many reasons why social mobility is decreasing over the years. Such as the correlation between parents and children, â€Å"†¦the odds that a child born into the bottom fifth of the income distribution will climb all the way up to the top fifth† (The Economist, 2014) is nearly unmanageable. Statistics show that this correlation has not altered over years. Although there is evidence that mobilization is lessening, Americans still believe that the lower class has a chance at climbing the ladder and succeeding, just as mentioned in the YouTube video previously. It may seem nevertheless that class is the only contribution to each individual’s well-being but everyone has intersectionality in society. Class, gender and race include all aspects of who we are and where we are placed among the spectrum. Gender roles are a huge democracy in today’s American society. Yet, they are different in all types of cultures in different parts of the world. It was simply that the women was a housewife and contributed to the man of the household and children as her job. Furthermore the men’s job was to work and bring home the income. Society presents these different types of roles through everyday media. The cheery blossom market mentioned in the YouTube video Medias portrayal of gender roles shows little girls grocery shopping and cooking like women roles should be, so why not learn early? Not to mention the Tonka Pods that are small construction toys to show little boys where they are expected to work (YouTube, 2014). Though parents might think toys are just for children to play with, those â€Å"toys† are molding them for the future. Toys such as Baby Alive or the American Girl dolls, give the perception that its okay for young ladies to have children and that its their role to take care of the child, because they are a the woman. On the a web page called women in advertisements and body image illustrate an image with a woman on the floor seeming to be looking a Christmas card. In the caption of the advertisement it states â€Å" Christmas morning she will be happier with a hoover† this statement undergoes the housewife role. Studies of advertisements in a variety of mens, womens, and general interest magazines have categorized women in various roles: housewife, decorative element, sex object, and dependent on men† (Zimmerman Dahlberg, 71). With the intention of grabbing the man or woman’s attraction to the product based on their gender roles, thus their interest. In addition, race is the  greatest influential on society. Well what exactly is race? Race is grouping of entities that believed to share joint inborn biological characteristics. To start from the beginning slave codes where set to govern slaves, black people. Once it became unconstitutional the black codes where then placed, which are regulations that only affected blacks. As stated before the recreation of systems of discrimination is repetitive. Meaning black codes where only the recreated, yet name change of slave codes. Ne xt the Jim Crow laws were assigned setting segregation status between whites and blacks. Although these laws are not placed today and are considered unconstitutional statistics show that blacks are still the underdogs. The likelihood that a black defendant with a white victim will be prosecuted is significantly more than a white defendant and a black victim. Race has physical and cultural social construction. Physical differences cause the cultural differences. For example within the African American culture there is a battle between the light skin and dark skin men and women. In the Race In Hollywood: Black Actresses Weigh In On The Light Skin Vs. Dark Skin Debate (VIDEO) successful actresses and the lovely Oprah discuses the topic of dark and lighter skin people in the same race. Oprah asked if the actresses wherever denied a part, because it was for the â€Å"prettier black girl, even from their own people† and two mentioned yes (The Huffington Post, 2014). Gabrielle Union mentioned in the video that dark and light skin girls go to clubs and promote against each other. From experience I have personality been a victim of the dark and light skin discrimination. Things like â€Å"our pretty for a dark skin girl† or even â€Å"your dark skin makeup sets well† are a few slurs African American females through at each other. As for the African American race to be the most victimized it is astonishing that there would be hatred against each other. Also, said in the Oprah interview some believe this is the aftermath of slavery that African Americans are still mad, hurt and are continuing to battle against one another because of it. Do you think â€Å"we† are becoming more equal through out history? Although, the reality is that we repeat history. Between class, gender, and race the recreation of systems of discrimination is repetitive. After showing the massive class misconception and non-mobility, gender roles, race against race, yet also against same racial group how well is our society creating a equal nation. References The Economist,. Mobility, measured, 2014. Online. Internet. 11 Nov. 2014. . Available: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21595437-america-no-less-socially-mobile-it-was-generation-ago-mobility-measured. The Huffington Post,. WATCH: Actresses Tackle The Light Skin Vs. Dark Skin Debate, 2014. Online. Internet. 11 Nov. 2014. . Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/race-in-hollywood-light-dark-skin_n_3473707.html. Womeninads.weebly.com,. WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS AND BODY IMAGE Overview, 2014. Online. Internet. 11 Nov. 2014. . Available: http://womeninads.weebly.com/index.html. YouTube,. Medias portrayal of gender roles, 2014. Online. Internet. 11 Nov. 2014. . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2bYinZ6RX0. YouTube,. Wealth Inequality In America, 2014. Online. Internet. 11 Nov. 2014. . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTj9AcwkaKM.

Comparison of Stalin and Hitler

Comparison of Stalin and Hitler Even though some people may argue this, its a common fact that Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are one of the two worst villains in history. Stalin murdered millions of people and Hitler murdered millions of people. They both tortured innocent people. They both threatened violence towards the rest of the world. Hitler started the worst war in history. Stalin spread Communism to other countries. Hitler almost wiped out a human race. Stalin slaughtered his own people. Whos the most hideous person? Stalin was a more hideous person than Hitler. Hitler was born to an overprotective mother and an overbearing father. While his mother would shower him with affection, his father barely even acknowledged his existence. His love for Germany started when he was very young. His love for Germany awakened when he moved to Germany and started to play with German children. This love for Germany would never die (Ayer 16). His independence started when he was six when he walked to and from school and dealing with mischievous boys. It was around this time when Hitlers father was starting to come home drunk every day. He was abused daily by his father because Hitler refused to give in to his fathers demands. In school, he was a leader. One boy quoted We all liked him, at desk and at play. He had guts. He wasnt a hothead, he was a quiet fanatic (Ayer 19). At thirteen his father passed away suddenly and Hitler became the male head of the house. Hitler was very charismatic. His words go like an arrow to their target, he touches each private wo und on the raw, expressing [peoples] intermost [hopes], telling [them] what [they] most want to hear (Strasser 65). When at school he took a particular liking to Professor Leopold Potsch. Potsch was a follower of the Volkisch Movement. The movement was a group that believed that the German people were superior to everyone else especially the Jews (Ayer 21). Hitler saw the opera Rienzi and it changed his life forever. His friend, Kubizek, said: Now he aspired to something higher, something I could not yet fully understand. All this surprised me, because I believed that the [life] of an artist was for him the highest of all goals, the one most striving for. But now he was speaking of an [order] he would one day receive from the people, to lead them out of [slavery] to the heights of freedom. (Ayers 23) Hitler blamed his own poverty and humiliation on the Jews. It was during World War 1 when he finally did something with his life. He enlisted. War was brilliant to him. He was at home in the trenches. He received the greatest award Germany had to offer. When Germany lost he was completely devastated. It was at this time when he finally got into politics. Hitler became interested and joined the German Workers Party. Soon later he changed the name of the party to the NAZI Party. He silenced any high ranking official within the party that didnt agree with him. He blamed the Jews on all the bad problems in Germany. Hitler was eventually arrested. While he was in jail he wrote Mein Kampf. This would later be the Nazi Bible. Once out of jail he reformed the Nazi Party into something far greater than it ever was. In 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor. Soon later he became the sole dictator of Germany. This was only the beginning for Hitler. Stalins childhood was marked with hate. His father would beat him savagely for no reason. This made Stalin grim and heartless. His mother on the other hand spoiled him and always gave excuses for his bad behavior. This made Stalin think at a young age that everything he did was alright. When Stalin was in school he tried to dominate his classmates in everything they did. He studied his classmates weaknesses and acted upon their weaknesses to force the other children to accept his leadership. Stalin saw the illiterate tribes of the towering Caucasus Mountains as romantic heroes. They were fierce and stopped at nothing until they got what they want. When he was thirteen he was exposed to scientific thought for the first time. These books made Stalin believe that there was no god. At the age of sixteen, Stalin went to a seminary. While at the seminary he secretly joined a new revolutionary party. He smuggles illegal books into the seminary. It was in these books that Stalin first learne d what Communism is by Marx. He was so much against the idea of god he wasnt able to fake it anymore. His grades went from best to worst in the class and four months before graduation he was expelled. Even though he hated the seminary, it did leave its mark on him. It hardened for the life of a professional revolutionary. He also applied the religious fanaticism to Communism (Archer 19). The seminarys spy system was the inspiration for his own secret police. On May 1, 1901, Stalin led two thousand railway workers into a bloody clash against the Tsars forces. He fled being arrested. He began an outlaws life taking on false names and always slipping away from the police. Stalin looked up to and inspired Lenin for having to fill his life with great purpose (Archer 23). On April 5, 1902, he was finally arrested. He viewed this setback as a positive. He began recruiting prisoners into the Social Democratic Party. On January 21, 1905, Stalin announced that the revolution has begun. In 190 7, he wife died. This made Stalin even more sarcastic, cold, and vengeful than ever before (Archer 35). It wasnt until World War I that the revolution won and took over the government of Russia. In 1924 Lenin had died and there was a struggle on who should now rule Russia. After the dust has settled it was the Man of Steel, Joseph Stalin, which began his role of being one of the best rulers in Russias history. There are many people who Hitler hated and wanted to annihilate. Hitler wanted a pure Aryan race. This means he wanted only perfect people. The people must be tall, slender, physically fit, and free of any disability, deformity, abnormality, mental illness, and homosexuality. Above all people Hitler hated he hated the Jews the most. He firmly believed that the Jews were the inferior race. He blamed the Jews for Germanys defeat in World War I. He believed that Germany would have never lost the war if it wasnt for the Jews stabbing Germany in the back. In Europe at the time, Jews were known as Communists and to some people Germany was known as a Jewish Country. This was the last thing Hitler wanted his country called. Stalin hated everyone who was against him and Communism. He always feared for his position in power and for Communism. It didnt matter if they were political enemies or just civilians who didnt like communism, Stalin hated them all. Stalin did everything in his power to instill fear into his enemies. He wanted to make sure whoever was against him know that that was a grave and deadly mistake. In 1939, Hitler started the worst war in history. Hitler wanted to make a German Empire all throughout Europe and evidentially the world. World War II had over sixty nations involved in it. He wanted superiority over everyone in the world. Hitler wanted to wipe out an entire race. He put Jews in concentration camps. In concentration camps, Jews were tortured, gassed, used as sick experiments, shot, starved, and hung. He wasnt going to stop until he wiped every single Jew off the face of the world. To Hitler, the Jewish race was nothing but little, annoying animals. What Stalin did to his own people is sickening. Stalin was a huge fanatic of being patriotic for the motherland. He killed anyone he expected to be a traitor. During World War II, if a soldier took one step backwards to retreat then an officer would shoot them on the spot declaring they were traitors even though in reality they werent really traitors. After World War II, Stalin reopened some of the concentration camps and put German civilians in them. Stalin killed anyone that disagreed with him. He executed over forty thousand polish prisoners. If Stalin had a political enemy then the enemy would be taken to a labor and be never seen from again. Conditions in the labor camps have been said are worst then some of the concentration camps Hitler put the Jews in. Stalin wasnt only ruthless to foreign people he was ruthless towards his own people making them fear him so much they were forced to love him. Hitler killed six million people. Most of those people were Jews while some were other minorities. Stalin killed over forty thousand polish prisoners and also killed two hundred thousand Georgian civilians. In all Stalin murdered roughly twenty to forty-five million people. Hitler and Stalin were both extremely evil men who stopped at nothing to achieve what they wanted. They both grew up in hateful homes. They lied and killed to make their way to the top. They both killed millions of people. In all, Stalin was the most hideous one. Even Hitler did many bad things in his life, Stalin definitely out did him. Stalin hated more people, he killed millions and millions of more people then Hitler, and he was more ruthless than the Nazi leader. Stalin was the essence of the devil himself.

moralhod Morality in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart

Morality in The Heart of Darkness  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   "I trust I shall be forgiven the discovery that all moral philosophy hitherto was boring and belonged among the soporifics" (Nietzsche 561).   Maybe so, but the issue of moral philosophy has been discussed though out time and provides a significant element in Conrad's story Heart of Darkness.   In general, the timeless discussion traces back to the first philosophical writings of Plato and transcends from general religious grounds to general applications and codes of behavior espoused by Kant and Mills.   These individuals and lines of thought try to establish a 'good' code of behavior based on something: a benevolent god, extensible codes similar to The Golden Rule, or even relativistic collective opinion. Later, in the eighteen hundreds though the turn of the century, popular thought turned around and attacked such codes though works such as Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Nietzsche's various works like Beyond Good and Evil. In more modern times a ki nd of balancing of those two streams leads to what Richard Garner describes as amorality, or the discarding of a moral system altogether.   Conrad, who wrote Heart of Darkness while his contemporaries were denouncing objective moralities, incorporates much of these philosophies and uses the work as a demonstrative system for a unique morality. Developing a moral system generally runs into quite a few problems; mainly, and this affects systems of morality based on Judeo-Christian religious principles, that evil exists in the world.   A morality based on a Judeo-Christian God enters into a conflict between the omnibenelovence and that existence, for how could an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenelovent god allow evil to exis... ...strate his own thoughts of a relativistic morality.    Works Cited    Conrad, Joseph.   Heart of Darkness.   New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1988.    Garner, Richard.  Ã‚   The Experience of Philosophy.   Ed. Daniel Kolak,   Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.    Guerard, Albert J.   The Journey Within. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1988. Kant, Immanuel.  Ã‚   The Experience of Philosophy.   Ed. Daniel Kolak,   Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.    Milton, John.   Paradise Lost. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1993.    Nietzsche, Friedrich.     Beyond Good and Evil.   Trans. Marianne Cowan.   Chicago: Gateway Editions, 1955.    Plato.  Ã‚   The four Socratic dialogues of Plato.   Trans. Benjamin Jowett.   Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1934.      

To Be Legal :: essays research papers

To Be Legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marijuana smokers are generally mildly intoxicated, giggle, laugh, bother no one, and have a good time. They do not stagger or fall, and wouldn’t ordinarily attempt to harm anyone. It has not been proven that smoking marijuana leads to crimes of a violent nature or to crimes of a sexual nature. Smoking marijuana has no unpleasant after-affects, no dependence is developed on the drug, and the practice can easily be stopped at any time. So why is marijuana illegal? Although marijuana usage is frowned upon by society, marijuana can be used for industrial, recreational, and even medical purposes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The industry could certainly benefit from marijuana. Hemp (processed marijuana) is among the oldest of industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginning of pottery. Surprisingly, Hemp can replace many of the elements used in products today. One acre of hemp in annual rotation will produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres of trees during the same twenty-year period. Hemp can be grown and harvested every year, unlike trees that take a lasting fifty to one hundred years to grow back. Also, making paper from trees creates over five times more pollution than making paper from hemp. Hemp could also have an effect on the clothing industry producing three times as much fiber per acre as cotton. While cotton is grown on only 3% of the world’s farmland, it uses a devastating 26% of the world’s pesticides per year. Hemp requires no pesticides or herbicides to grow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In regards to recreational use, marijuana is about as benign as you can get. It is not addictive. It does not cause violence. It creates no hangovers and no one has ever died from an overdose. Marijuana serves as a natural relaxant, unlike alcohol, which produces more hyper emotions. Personally, I noticed that people attending college parties based around the consumption of alcohol tend to be more aggressive than those under the influence of marijuana. Marijuana users tend to be more jovial in a social atmosphere such as a party/club and do not pursue things that involve large amounts of energy. Although there are some that claim marijuana usage is harmful to the body, impairing the normal flow of thought, causing loss of coordination, and even brain damage, it can also be a way of enjoying yourself, socializing with friends, and escaping the troubled reality of the world.

Response to On Going Home Essay -- Personal Essays

According to Joan Didion's essay "On Going Home", continuing changes in life makes it almost impossible to remove memories of one's past. Especially when one has been away from a previous home, which that person was raised, then return to that same home a number of years later. In a home which family and friends shared memories of events, news, gossip and situations, whether it be bad or good. Old artifacts and various family heirlooms in the home that stimulates a memory of those old times when used. Surrounding areas of that old home are remembered just as well also. Being in a new home makes the old memories even more missed. These may be the strongest influences in why memories are kept and remembered. When someone is away from their original home, meaning a home that the certain person was raised and grew up at, there is no doubt that the home will be missed. It would be forgotten but only at a certain extent. An extent that things will be remembered about that home every time someone relates something to it. But when a person is returned to that old home, like Didian, the memories are even more apparent than while away from home. Didain was overloaded with memories that were once forgotten. These memories are forgotten, and then quickly aroused with a simple touch, sight, smell or sound. People have different relations with memories and how they conceive them, but Didian makes it very apparent that these memories about a home that is missed and forgotten exists inside of us all. Physical items such as family heirlooms, "teacups"(Didian 373), or the condition of a house are strong reminders of past memories. Instead of a thought trying to relate one thing to another, an object can have it's own history. ... ...missed. Too much remembrance will definitely impair judgment and living conditions of one's present life. It should be very private and for one's thoughts only. Remembering past places once lived at and how much different the weather, conditions and surroundings were. People that a person used to interact with now will never have even remotely the same conversations that the same person used to with old family and friends. A piece of clothing, an eating instrument or even a musical instrument that were remembered will somewhat relate to an event that happened in the past. Just a few examples of how memories will never be forgotten. Memories will always be remembered, sometimes forgotten but always revived as a person's life changes. Works Cited Tropp, Sandra Fehl and Ann Pierson D'Angelo, editors. Essays in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Benefits to the family, school, and community of school age program

Schools are seen to have natural intervention vehicles that many health programs for children can fit. Today schools are used as venue for influencing healthy habits in children. Healthy living values, skills, and actions that promote healthy living and healthful behaviors of children are now being integrated in school age programs. Healthy living is essential to children’s effective living and learning. Accordingly â€Å"getting children started early in the habit of healthy living will benefit them throughout their lives† (Breithaupt, 2004).A healthy lifestyle helps children achieve their full physical, mental, social and emotional potential. Age-appropriate recreational activities in the school like camping, ball games, and physical exercise are considered to be constructive and developmental vehicles for children’s physical and social-well being that enhance a balanced and healthy living. School age program adopting healthy living has indeed a positive impact to the family, the community, and the surrounding organizations. The promotion of healthy living in school helps parents accomplish their primary responsibility to raise their children in a healthy way.Its re-assuring effect offers them degree of flexibility and enables them to work and conduct other activities away from their children. Parents become more effective and productive in their work. The children’s healthy learning experiences in school help eliminate parents’ anxiety of the well-being of their children. Further, the effect of the promotion of healthy living in school makes the school environment safe and conducive to healthy living for everybody and its impact goes beyond the classroom, the school, and the family as it also benefited the community and the surrounding organizations.The healthy living values, skills, and behavior of children learned in school can help improve the quality of life in the community reducing the risks of health-related problems and anti-social behaviors, and give assurance of a healthy adult population in the future. The surrounding organization will have also a reduced budget for medical and healthcare programs, thus allowing them to create other developmental programs for the community. Reference List Breithaupt, G. (2004). Healthy living early benefits children. Mount Vernon News. Retrieved January 27, 2007 from http://www. mountvernonnews. com/local/06/03/04/fitness. html.

Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair Essay

â€Å"Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air,† said the witches in the first act and scene of Macbeth. Pertaining to the story, I believe this quote sheds light to the audience on the evil the witches possess. Without even reading further into the book, the audience can feel the eerie aura that the witches give off. You can foreshadow that the witches are going to turn what is good, foul and maintain what is foul. The witches are saying that fair and foul are the same: to be fair, you must be foul and to be foul, you must be fair. The witches do foul things because they think it is the only fair way. The witches basically symbolize everything that the kingdom does not need to prosper. The witches are manipulative. They manipulate Macbeth simply because his downfall would bring them joy. Evil and foul prophecies will cloud Macbeth’s judgment, making him think that they are fair and what he needs to follow. They are foul in their motives but their words are fair and their wordplay cannot be defined as lying but they skillfully dance around the truth. To the witches foul is fair and vice versa. You can also say that what is foul to any normal human is what is fair and good to the witches because they embody everything that we believe is evil. You can relate the phrase to reality or just believe that this is the witches’ opinion. Relating to real life outside of the book, I believe that this quote can mean that sometimes do be fair and just you have to go about it in a way that isn’t fair and just. Justice has to be attained, sometimes, by unjust means. It can also mean that the truth hurts and life is not fair, also to be fair is not to be appealing. These two words are opposite of their meanings. Depending on a person’s definition of fair and foul, it can change its meaning. It is circumstantial, and the meaning can change frequently. Defining fair as benevolent and good and foul as evil and menacing, you can say that to be good, you have to be malicious and to malicious you have to go about it in a ‘good’ and nice way. Some things that are fair might not always be the best but things that are fair might always be what a person what a person wants. Also, it could mean that people and things aren’t as they seem. People who seem foul could be fair and people who seem fair could be foul.

Excel Logistics Case Essay

Purpose To introduce participants to the supply chain concept and to the effects decisions along the chain have on inventory levels and costs. Introduction In this game the retailer sells cases of beer to a consumer and orders cases of beer from the wholesaler; the wholesaler sells cases of beer to the retailer and orders cases of beer from the distributor; and the distributor sells cases of beer to the wholesaler and orders beer from the factory (brewery). The factory brews the beer. The beer supply chain is shown below: Players of the game each take on a different role in the supply chain. The roles are the Factory, Distributor, Wholesaler and Retailer. Each position is directly linked, and beer cannot skip the adjacent position. For example, the Wholesaler orders beer from the Distributor, and ships beer to the Retailer. An important consideration in making decisions is the delay in the movement of beer through the supply chain. It takes three periods to move an order of beer between each player in the supply chain. If during period 3 the Wholesaler decides to ship 10 cases of beer to the Retailer, the beer would take periods 4 and 5 to move to the Retailer and then would be available for sale by the Retailer at the beginning of period 6. Similarly, orders are not visible to the upstream player for one period. For example, if the Wholesaler places an order in period 3, the order is received by the Distributor at the beginning of period 4. For each period of play, every participant follows the same cycle: 1. The system is updated by your instructor where new orders and shipments are received, shipments enroute are advanced, and inventory levels and backorder positions are calculated (these tasks are done automatically by the server program. 2. The player updates the status screen and reviews current position. 3. A shipping decision is made according to new orders and backlog, subject to inventory availability, 4. An ordering decision is made for more beer. There are only two costs involved in this simplified version of a logistics  supply chain: inventory holding cost ($1.00/case/period) and back order costs ($2.00/case/period). Each team has the goal of minimizing the sum of these costs by balancing the cost of having inventory (inventory holding cost) with the cost of being out of inventory when a customer orders beer (back order cost). The server program keeps track of the costs incurred by each team. At the end of the game, the total game cost for the distribution system is the sum of the four individual participants’ total costs (retailer cost + wholesaler cost + distributor cost + factory cost). The goal is to minimize team costs. Action The game begins with a fully-loaded â€Å"pipeline† of cases of beer: – 16 cases of inventory in each position’s â€Å"current inventory,† – 4 cases in each of the â€Å"production delay† pipeline, – 4 cases in each of the â€Å"shipping delay† pipeline, – each position has an initial order for 4 cases of beer. Definitions The following terms are used in the status report: Current Demand – This is the demand for the current period at this position. For the Retailer, this demand is determined by an external demand stream. For all other positions, this demand reflects an order placed by the downstream position in the supply chain during the previous period. Backorder – This is the demand that has not been met to date at this position. When a position does not meet demand by shipping cases of beer, the backorder amount is increased. This amount does not include the demand during the current period. Current Shipment – This is the amount that is being shipped to the downstream position during the current period. After the ordering and shipping decisions have been made, the â€Å"status† button can be used to update the status report. The status report will reflect the current order and shipment decisions. Remember that after the instructor has updated the system, the â€Å"statu s† button should be pressed again to receive a report that reflects the execution of the decisions for the previous period. On Hand – This is the current amount in inventory at the position. This is the total amount that can be shipped this period from this position. Due Next Period – This is the number of units that are scheduled to arrive at this position next period. Due In Two Periods – This is the number of units that are scheduled to arrive in two periods. Current Order Release – This is the number of units that are being ordered from the upstream position. The  upstream position will not see this order until after the system has been updated to the next period. Inventory Cost – This is the cumulative inventory cost for this position. This is calculated from the actual inventory balance at the end of each simulated period. During the update process, the system first ships material to the downstream position, updates the cumulative inventory and backorder costs based on the inventory and backorder levels, and then receives new material into the position. Backorder Cost – This is the cumulative backorder cost for the position. Tot al Cost – This is the total cumulative cost for the position.

Explain “Transfer Pricing” as presented in Stealing Africa

Explain â€Å"Transfer Pricing† as presented in Stealing Africa. Transportation Pricing: When there is any kind of trade or merchandising or buying that occurs between two companies that are lawfully related someway so the monetary value of the goods or the merchandises that are traded between those two companies is what we call reassign pricing. Transfer pricing is fundamentally the money saved by the company by hedging revenue enhancement through selling the goods or purchasing the goods from its ain subordinate and so showing it as an disbursal in its balance sheets. GLENCORE owns the excavation Millss in Zambia and the coal that is obtained from the state is one of the biggest export points of the state and a batch of their fiscal public assistance depend upon this natural resource. What GLENCORE does is that it extracts coal from Zambia through MOPANI mines that it owns in the state and so buys the coal at a monetary value that they set for themselves. This manner they evade paying a higher revenue enhancement rate by demoing a lower income or net income that is generated by the company runing in Zambia. Legally it is of import for companies to bear down a monetary value for a merchandise that they decide to sell and purchase from its subordinate or to its subordinate at a monetary value that would hold been chosen if the company was covering or trading with a company that was non a portion of its entity that is what we normally call an arm’s length trader. Unless and until GLENCORE buys the coal that it extracts from Zambia at a monetary value that it would hold to pay in instance it was purchasing from an independent party. Since the company is non making this, the state and the people of Zambia are enduring through immense losingss in national income as companies like GLENCORE usage transportation pricing to hedge the revenue enhancements that they should really be paying. Taking advantage of the inefficient legal system present in Zambia, the company is carry oning concern in a non-ethical mode. Harmonizing to Stealing Africa and Amos Wilson, Whites are dominant globally because they are still populating on the accrued advantages gained from white privilege historically and in the present. Explain including illustrations. White privilege fundamentally means that a individual gets treated otherwise merely because of his race. When a white individual is given penchant over other people belonging to different races, he is fundamentally sing white privilege. Even though things have been a small better for people from different races late but its still non anything near perfect. Black people are discriminated badly all around the universe but particularly in the western states. The jurisprudence, the province and other establishments are ever biased towards the westerner and the fact that it has been a superior race in the past and is still ruling the universe scenario, it is hard to raise a voice against it and make something to wholly do it halt. In the docudrama, they talked about Marc Rich who had been involved in the biggest fiscal fraud and revenue enhancement fraud in the history of the United States of America but he was still pardoned because of his presence non merely socially every bit good as economically. He had the best of the best attorneies supporting him and constructing up a instance to turn out him guiltless even though there was adequate grounds to convict him and direct him to gaol. GLENCORE’s operations in Zambia are earnestly damaging the country’s environment and public wellness conditions and besides rip offing the country’s fiscal establishments by non paying the right sum of revenue enhancements utilizing transportation pricing to take down their cost and take advantage of Zambia’s uneffective legal system utilizing their expert attorneies and comptrollers that gathers informations and physiques instances and present studies that can non be countered by the Zambians. Africa is a affluent continent yet many Africans live in poorness. Explain. Africa is so a rich continent but the continent is non rich in footings of fiscal criterions and economic growing. The continent is highly affluent when it comes to holding natural resources that are an of import trade good out in the universe and that have attracted legion Multinationals in to the continent. Now even though many would state that the foreign direct investing inflow would assist the states in the continent flourish and recognize their true potency but that is non what is go oning. Majority of the African states are really a portion of the list that includes the poorest states and the little economic sizes. The major ground for this is that the legal system in these states is really inefficient as of now. There is high corruptness and really small focal point on the some of the really major issues such as wellness and instruction. The political system in these states is besides really weak which makes the provinces really vulnerable to foreign influence and puts them at a hazard of being exploited which is what is go oning. The multinationals that are runing in the states in Africa are taking advantage of the all the loopholes on the system and operating in an unethical manner which consequences in highly high net incomes for them but the states itself and the people populating there are severely affected. The negative effects on the people are non merely restricted to pollution and corruptness, there is small money available to better the substructure and no focal point on instruction as they lack even more major basic necessities like nutrient and wellness attention. The rate of unemployment is besides really high and the immense companies prefer paying below the globally recognized pay rates taking advantage of the fact that the people in these states are highly despairing for a occupation. Harmonizing to Amos Wilson ( Blueprint for Black power ) , the wealth of people is non in their things but in their heads. Explain. If the wealth you had depended upon the things that you had so Africa wouldn’t have been fighting with issues such as poorness and unemployment. Taking the illustration of Zambia as it was discussed rather briefly in the docudrama, the state is fighting with serious issues and even though it has copiousness of natural resources like coal, it still fails to better its conditions and is a direct to foreign development. The states that have leverage on other states are the 1s that can acquire what they want even if its illegal and so protect themselves from the effects. They do that by assailing at the loopholes in the system of these hapless or developing states and utilize their influence to acquire their manner. Even though Zambia has immense sums of coal with it but merely holding the resource with them is non making them any good and the state is enduring at the custodies of the multinationals that aren’t paying adequate revenue enhancement and destructing their environment and people’s wellness without any guilt. If these states had people that could be after a manner to utilize their strength in a manner that could assist them protect themselves against these multinationals and foreign influence so the province of the Zambia would hold been better than what it is now. The state lacks heads that could assist them counter the foreign menaces and influence and do people do concern on their footings since they are utilizing their resources, their land and their people. Merely because Zambia lacks a proper system and proper planning and heads that can happen a manner to leverage their place, they will maintain on enduring from legion issues even when it is highly affluent when it comes to natural resources like coal.

Discussion questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion questions - Coursework Example Information sharing helps management relate to their employees directly. Times are changing organization structures from the old vertical structural policies, to horizontal structures. As a result, there are little or no communication boundaries between managers and employees. Tasks are now given to empowered employees (Daft 41). This is a change from the customary, routine tasks. The structures provide precision on each tasks, and who is to perform the task. For an organization to remain economically sound, their cultures change from rigid to adaptive ones. The new culture advocates for openness, change, continuous improvement, and equality. Competition is reduced to collaboration between organizations to allow for horning of talent and skill (Daft 41). Differences expected among stakeholders’ expectations in a non-profit organization as compared to a for-profit organization exist. In most cases, stakeholders in a non-profit organization do not expect profit from their everyday business dealings. All the profit gained through business goes back to running the organization. Stakeholders in for-profit organizations, on the other hand, expect profit from daily business operations, for their own benefit (Daft 37). This is depending on how they may have invested in the organization. Non-profit managers do not need to pay more attention to stakeholders than business managers. This is because; business managers ensure the capital invested in the organization is spent as per the required standards. They are, therefore, considered parties that run the organizations. Stakeholders, on the other hand, only need to be filled in on the financial situation of the organization from time to time. This is to ensure that the capital in the organization is used properly. They monitor the fiscal activity in the organization (Daft 38). It is, therefore, the manager’s prerogative to watch business managers, more than the

IT Journal Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

IT Journal Article - Essay Example rms is the use of electronic health record that provides a streamlined communication system between the physicians through use of universal records of the patient. The EHRs make the clinical guidelines available when care is being provided. Reviews on EHRs have shown that there is improved adherence to the set clinical guidelines (Ballard, 2012). The research carried out took place in 2006 in health Texas provider network that was already implementing the EHR system. The data was collected analyzed and conclusions made from the results. From the results, it was clear that implementing EHR had an immense impact on documented care and outcomes on the diabetic patients. The exposure of the system was associated with improvement on optimal care and individual process and outcome measures. However, the results did not show evidence that use of EHR has effects on the most important measure of diabetes care. The study had a limitation of lack of randomization that prevented ruling out effects because of the unobserved differences between groups. Despite the limitations of the research, the assessment on the effect of E H R implementation shows optimal care is significant with the use of EHR (Ballard,

Global Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Global Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Secondly, a high demand for quality and safe products become a challenge to a majority of Supply chains. Normally, the first obstacle and a lack of understanding on how to reduce the costs cause this. Management of supplier relationship could prove imperative in overcoming this challenge. Additionally, outsourcing, regular maintenance of machines as well as forecasting and preparing for customer’s ever-dynamic needs could be helpful. Thirdly, inadequate knowledge of the need to have a supply chain resiliency plan has been identified as the major hurdle for many. Three important relations in this third option include the supplier-customer, top management-supplier, and top management-customer relationships. This paper has extensively handled this topic, and hopefully, it will offer the much-needed solution. Supply chains play a critical role in ensuring that the services needed are delivered to their respective clients. On the other hand, the clients trust this industry to deliv er products and services, which are reliable, safe, and ones that meet the precise need they have. However, the recent horsemeat scandal involving Tesco has cast a shadow of doubt on the supply chains. A debate has since risen on the need to change the way supply chains do business with some calling for transparency on this industry’s operations. While it is easy to criticize an industry whenever a scandal especially one that has to do with health concerns, this paper’s takes a different approach. With an aim to provide a solution to a vital industry whose services are needed, this paper seeks to highlight at least three obstacles the Supply chain has to overcome. To achieve this goal, this paper uses the UK automobile manufacturers, Jaguar as a case study originally named ‘Swallow Sidecar Company’, Jaguar Landrover is UK multinational company headquartered in Whitley.

History of each instrument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of each instrument - Essay Example The standard flute had six holes and one key divided into three sections. This changed when Theobald Boehm changed the flute in the 1830’s. He developed a cylindrical flute with 15 tone holes, 23 keys, and levers. Keys were also arranged where almost all holes opened naturally. The Boehm Flute has remained unchanged and is used to this day. The oboe is also in the woodwind family. The first reed instrument was made by Egyptians. Initially barley straws pressed flat and then placed into a small pipe were the first oboes. Romans had instruments of similar make. By the 12th century, a short double-reed instrument made its appearance. The 14th century saw the instrument change. Finally in the 17th century the instrument was made into the modern oboe. The Hotteterre family made the first oboe with three sections and six keys and hole. This oboe was improved on with more key mechanisms, with the used of nine keys. Another woodwind is the clarinet. One of the first instruments resembling a clarinet was found in Greece, Persia, and India. It was a round pipe with one reed. The Celts made a clarinet out of animal bones with seven holes. These instruments evolved into the 16th century to instruments with eight finger holes/two keys called a chalumeau. John Christopher Denner changed upon the instrument in the late 17th century by adding a special key. More keys were added through the Boehm system of keys in the 19th century. This version is still used today. The Bassoon is in the woodwind family. The forerunner of the bassoon was created by B.C. Egyptians. Barley straws were pressed flat, and then placed in a small pipe. Later holes were added. The Romans had a similar instrument called a tibiae. The shawm was formed in 12th century Europe. This was a short double reed with a conical bore and a wide bell. This came from the East to Europe. The 16th century was when Alfranio Canon of Ferrara