Global Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

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Market Structure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Structure - Research Paper Example PERFECT COMPETITION: Firms operating under perfect competition essentially rest upon four primary assumptions, the first of which is that since there are several firms operating under this model the significance of their output from a perspective of the entire industry supply is unimportant which means that such firms do not have the capability to influence the price of the product, therefore, at the market price perfect competition firms are said to experience perfectly elastic demand. Henceforth, this phenomenon postulates that perfect competition firms are price takers (Mankiw, 2011). The second assumption of the model of perfect competition relates to the freedom of entry into the industry or whether there is existence of any barriers to entry or exit. In this scenario, new firms do not face any lack of restrictions if they wish to enter the industry, however, the concept of freedom of entry is said to be applicable in the long-run owing to the period it takes to establish an org anization (Sloman, 2006). A fundamental assumption of the model relates to product homogeneity within the industry, this concept is based upon the idea that all businesses supply products that are identical (Sloman, 2006). Lastly, it is supposed that buyers and sellers have perfect knowledge regarding the market such as price, quality and costs. The profit maximizing output of the firm occurs at the intersection of Marginal Cost and Marginal Revenue where, MC = MR (Sloman, 2006). Therefore, when P = MC firms in perfect competition are economically efficient, where allocative efficiency occurs when consumer as well as producer surplus is at its maximum and productive efficiency occurs because the firm’s equilibrium output in the long-run is established where the businesses’ average cost is the least. The quantity of firms in the short run varies as firms leave or come into the industry, if it is understood that the costs of the firms experience no change the exit of som e firms will lead to generation of abnormal profit or supernormal profit where AR>AC. In the long-run however, the attraction of abnormal profits will cause firms to enter the industry because of no barriers to entry or exit thereby, bringing the state of the market back to equilibrium at a point on the LRAC curve which is the least, causing firms to make normal or zero economic profit such that the long-run equilibrium occurs where P = AR = LRAC = LRMC = MR (Stanlake & Grant, 2000). Due to obvious factors relating to the model of perfect competition it can be concluded that most firms are not audacious in terms of taking risks. The instability of demand therefore, causes perfectly competitive firms to diversify which leads to intra-industry trade and if the condition of elastic demand is fulfilled such exchange of identical commodities on an international scale proves to be beneficial for both the countries and firms involved (Cukrowski & Aksen, 2003). Hypothetically, the economic efficiency of perfectly competitive firms would indicate that government regulation is not required in such a model but in the short-run government intervention might be needed to control prices if firms are generating supernormal profits, however, the primary premise remains that in a perfectly competi

Aesthetics In Piano Music From Romanticsm To Modernism Music Essay

Aesthetics In Piano Music From Romanticsm To Modernism Music Essay Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty (Aesthetics, 2010, Online). It is also a study of relationship between human and reality in an aesthetical investigation. Arts is the main object of investigation particularly, where its essence of beauty, ugly, sublime and other aesthetical aspects are examined. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory which is also called the judgements of sentiment and taste (Aesthetics, 2010, Online). The study of aesthetics is very diverse. It can be a speculative approach to philosophical ideas; it can also be drawn on current research methods through other related disciplines such as psychological analysis, anthropological and sociological methods, linguistics and culture learning methods, description of experience and so on. The perception of beauty is very subjective as it is basically based on our personal feeling and own experience. Different people have different feelings towards an aesthetical object thus often arguments are speculative and changed along with time and experience. Therefore, aesthetics is an independent discipline where the essence of beauty and its significance are examined. In this essay, the aesthetic of piano music in both Romanticism and Modernism will be discussed. As we know, these two neighbouring periods showed a tremendous different contrast in social development and movements, hence music as well had been morphed into a new aspect. Moreover, the style of piano playing was also changed due to the aesthetical values of composers and pianists were also affected. 1. Piano Music in Romanticism 1.1 Romantic Characteristics The term romantic derived from the medieval romance which has several meanings. A romance was a poem or tale about heroic events or persons, or it could also connote something distant, legendary, and fantastic. Basically, it suggested something imaginary, far away from reality. In the nineteenth century, the term was applied to literature, music, and art. The term contrasted with classic poetry, which was objectively beautiful. Thus, romantic poetry, which was not bound by rules and limits, focused more on the individuality of expression (Burkholder, 2010a, Online). Instrumental music was regarded as an ideal art in Romanticism as it started to grow more importance compared to vocal music. It is because of the genre was free from words, images, characterised costumes, props and others. However, composers imagination often led them to explore new sounds although they still kept their works in a Classical framework. Besides, many romantics composers were also writers or had friends who were writers, such as Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and others. They always linked the intrumental pieces to literary works so as to draw out the inner meanings of the text through the music. At times, the use of literatures and descriptive titles were also added after the work was created (Burkholder, 2010a, Online). Hence, distinctions were made between types of instrumental music absolute music and programmatic music, which later indirectly led to arguments between these two camps. Romantic views of music have been influential. Composers created music to express their own ideas and feelings rather than to suit the tastes of their patrons or audiences (Burkholder, 2010a, Online). Originality was hence importance for composers and tradition was balanced with their own individuality and creativity. 1.2 The Aesthetic of Romanticism Musical Expression and Emotion In the Romanticism, music had reached the peak of emotionalism which was shaped by the lyrical melodies, daring harmonies, colourful instrumentation, and the strong contrast of form. Musical expression and emotion had been such a powerful force to influence the composers. The most crucial figure in the nineteenth century culture would be Richard Wagner. He was also one of the most influential musicians of all times. He brought German Romantic opera to a new height, created the music drama, as well as his rich chromatic idiom influenced later composers (A History of European Music, 2010, Online). Not only in composing great music, Wagner also wrote a number of essays regarding music and aesthetics, causing huge arguments among scholars at that time including the famous German philosopher and music critic Eduard Hanslick. In a series of essays, Wagner argued that music should serve dramatic expression. He felt that Beethoven had exhausted instrumental music because in his opinion the Ninth Symphony showed the path to the future with its union of music and words. He saw himself as the true successor to Beethoven. He therefore created Gesmatkunstwerk (total or collective artwork) as he felt that poetry, scenic design, staging, action, and music should work together. In other words, the words or texts related the events and situations, while the orchestra conveyed the inner drama (Burkholder, 2010b, Online). Although Wagner and his contemporaries such as Liszt saw the legacy of Beethoven pointing toward new genres and musical approaches, Johannes Brahms on the other hand matured himself as a composer in the Classical repertory. He combined Classicism with Romantic sensibility. He composed in Classical traditions but he also added new elements in order to appeal to contemporary audiences. Overall, he has been viewed as conservative, but he was a trailblazer. He was among the first to draw upon both the music of the past and present, a process or method that has been repeated by numerous composers of the twentieth century (Burkholder, 2010b, Online). In the mid Romanticism, the term New German School was coined as Wagner, Liszt, and Berlioz were leaders. Although Liszt and Berlioz were not Germans, Beethoven was their model. However, the term helped polarized the division between supporters of Liszt and Wagner, and supporters of Brahms and Hanslick. Among the composers who sided with Wagner and Liszt are Bruckner, Wolf, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. These two camps debated the topics of music and its aesthetics, especially in musical meaning and expression, absolute and program music, tradition and innovation, Classical genres and forms as well as the new ones, and the list goes on. 1.3 Wagner versus Hanslick Expression was the growing importance as a source of aesthetic value. It pays no heed to the claims of formal convention. Music was viewed as a medium of expression and it has the power to influence listeners mind. The use of poetic titles was a manifestation of Romanticism, which signifying musics expressive powers. For instance the post-Beethoven composers especially Liszt, employed poetry to give a clearer expression so as to elevate the art to a powerful metaphysical status. Whatever its subject matter, the status of poetic or programme music was hotly debated in late nineteenth century music criticism and it naturally invoked the related concept of absolute music. In 1854, Eduard Hanslick wrote his own reflections on the nature of the beautiful in music (Vom Musikalisch-Schà ¶nen). In his book, he argues about music and feelings and disagrees with the exaggerated philosophical and cultural pretensions of the writings by Wagner and Liszt. Hanslicks convincing arguments quickly brought his book to attention. This indirectly overshadowed Hanslick as the leading critical antagonist of Richard Wagner and the New German School in general. Hanslick opposed their claims that programmatic instrumental music and the symphonically through-composed declaimed music drama represented the way of the musical future (Grey, 2010, Online). In other words, he is a typical classical formalist. Hanslick was the protagonist of Brahms. They both advocated for the continuity of classical tradition and opposed the radical dissolution of melodic and formal convention celebrated by the progressives of the day as a means of achieving greater expressive truth or the articulation of an ideal or conceptual content (Grey, 2010, Online). Hanslick writes: Music is not contingent upon, or in need of, any subject introduced from without, but it consists of sounds artistically combined. The ingenious coordination of intrinsically pleasing sounds, their consonance and contrast, their flight and reapproach, their increasing and diminishing strength this it is, which in free and unimpeded forms, presents itself to our Mental Vision. What is it then that music expresses? The answer is musical ideas. Now, a musical idea, reproduced in its entirety, is not only an object of intrinsic beauty, but also an end in itself and not a means for representing feelings and thoughts. The essence of music is sound in motion (1986, p.64). Hanslick thinks that the expression or representation of distinct feelings cannot be considered the content of music or the basis of its aesthetic value. He describes the content of music as tonally moving forms. He articulated that instrumental music is not a representational medium, and that representational impulses are likely to distract both composer and listener from musics true nature as beautiful (and freely or abstractly expressive) form (Grey, 2010, Online). The Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwek, however, provoked Hanslicks never ending opposition. He never agreed the composers exaggerated self-promotion and the dramatic and poetic expression. Hanslick thinks that music is purely autonomous while Wagner (who is also an anti-Semitic) portrays the postulate of autonomous musical beauty as a kind of ideological conspiracy to promote the ideals of a Judaized musical culture (Grey, 2010, Online). For Wagner, the content of music is not only sound but also the connotation of emotion that blended together. He thinks that the study of the aesthetics of music as autonomous restrains the beauty of music. 1.4 Programmatic Piano Music Piano music in the Romantic period was still expanding the formal structure from the Classical. However, the expansion of form (those elements related to form, key, instrumentation, harmony, and the like) within a typical composition made the pieces more passionate and expressive. So, it became easier to identify an artist based on the work. Piano music basically struggled to increase emotional expression and power to describe these deeper truths, while preserving or even extending the formal structures from the classical period. But are the composers aims in the romantic period just to focus in expressing their music? What kind of aesthetic value instilled in the listeners mind at that time? The most successful piano music composers in the romantic period certainly were Chopin and Liszt. They not only sought to fuse the large structure harmonic planning with chromatic innovations, but also brought the piano music to a virtuosic level. They also analogized piano music to poetry and its rhapsodic and narrative structures, while creating a more systematic basis for the composing and performing of concert music (Romantic Music, 2010, Online). In other words, they continued using previous practices such as the sonata form but extended them with increasing focus on impressive melodies, emotional harmonies, and themes. The use of literary inspiration was paramount to the composers. For instance, Chopin famous four ballades were inspired by Adam Mickiewiczs poems; while Liszts Sonettos were inspired by Francesco Petrarcas (Petratch) poems. Liszt also transcribed a huge number of songs from Schubert particularly where the texts came from Goethe, as well as transcribed from operas. Besides poetry and literature, composers also composed piano music through their experience and travel. Liszts Annà ©es de pà ¨lerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) is a good example when he travelled to Swiss, Italy, and France he wrote the music. This shows his complete mature musical style which ranges from virtuosic fireworks to sincerely moving emotional statements where he gained from his experience of life and travel. Another example will be the piano cycles, Kinderszenen of Robert Schumann which came from the composers reminiscences of childhood. Obviously, audience at that time were fully influenced by the powerful emotion through the aids of text, poetry and literature. They no longer restricted themselves in the frame of stereotyped abstract titles like Sonata in C Major, Rondo in A minor, Prelude and Fugue and so on, but they had more variety of direct programmatic titles such as Romance, La Campanella, Wanderer Fantasy and the like. The music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas and let the audience experience the unique emotions. Generally, composers had more freedom in form and design so that a more intense personal expression of emotion in which fantasy, imagination and a quest for adventure play an important part (Romantic Music, 2010, Online). 1.5 Piano Playing Style in Romanticism Moreover, the piano performing style in the romantic period was virtuosic and phenomenal. Virtuoso concerts became immensely popular. This phenomenon was actually pioneered by Niccolo Paganini, the famous violin virtuoso, and it was then developed by Liszt on piano. Carl Czerny claimed Liszt was a natural player who played according to feeling, and reviews of his concerts especially praise the brilliance, strength and precision in his playing (Liszt, 2010, online). One of the most detailed descriptions of his playing from this time comes from the winter of 1831/1832, during which he was earning a living primarily as a teacher in Paris. Among his pupils was Valerie Boissier, whose mother Caroline kept a careful diary of the lessons. From her we learn that: M. Liszts playing contains abandonment, a liberated feeling, but even when it becomes impetuous and energetic in his fortissimo, it is still without harshness and dryness. [] [He] draws from the piano tones that are purer, mellower and stronger than anyone has been able to do; his touch has an indescribable charm. [] He is the enemy of affected, stilted, contorted expressions. Most of all, he wants truth in musical sentiment, and so he makes a psychological study of his emotions to convey them as they are. Thus, a strong expression is often followed by a sense of fatigue and dejection, a kind of coldness, because this is the way nature works. (Liszt, 2010, online). From the quotation above, the piano playing style of Liszt is full of emotion. As we know it was the performance practice that every pianist would play the piano with beautiful tone colour, especially what the Chopin had called the Bel Canto playing in shaping lyrical melodies. Moreover Liszts facial expression and gestures at the piano would reflect what he played (Liszt, 2010, online). Also noted that the extravagant liberties he took created a dramatic feeling. Hence, pianists started to take tempo rubato for granted with their ancillary body movements so as to communicate with the audience more musically and successfully. Generally, the aesthetics of piano music in Romanticism were multi-facets. Performers not only swayed their body to make an intimate relationship with music, but also from their movements they conveyed emotional intentions to the audience. They made the piano sings with touching tone colour as well as their virtuosic playing and stage presence made vivid impressions to the ectasied audiences. However, these beautiful piano playing styles were then fully rejected in the Modernism by Prokofiev, Schoenberg, and Cage. These will be discussed in the later chapters. 2. Piano Music in Modernism 2.1 Modern Characteristics Modern music must be understood in terms of their own frame of reference and what artists (whether composers or performers) are trying to do. It was dissonant, controversial and shocking as compared to the prevailing Romantic period. Composers tried to achieve disorder rather than order. The art of creating sometimes replaces the importance of the object created. During that time, the Establishment considered modernism scandalous and an offense to good taste, common sense, and the conventions of polite society. It was also considered rebellious and threatening to the establishment order. However, when the arts of the modernists began to achieve world-wide attention and became more common, acceptance eventually followed. Museums were founded to exhibit modernist works, symphony hall started to promote more modern music, and middle-class society became collectors as modernist paintings rose in commercial value. These indirectly made a new establishment for modernism in art, music, literature, and architecture. In the era of modernism, lots of movements were created such as expressionism, serialism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, and others. All of these separate movements within modernism combined to produce some distinct characteristics. Modernity has no respect for the past, even its own past. Therefore, it not only entails a ruthless break with any or all preceding historical conditions, but it is characterized by a never-ending process of internal ruptures and fragmentations within itself (Harvey, 1990, pg. 12). The image of creative destruction is very important to understanding modernity. How could new art, music, literature, and architecture be created without destroying much that had gone before? Artist Pablo Picasso and composer Arnold Schoenberg adopt through their individual works that the modernist must destroy in order to create, and the only way to be truly creative is through a process of destruction that is liable in the end to be itself destructive of those creations. (Harvey, 1990, pg. 19). It is important to note that the modernism that emerged around the first World War was a reaction to the new conditions of production (the machine, the factory, urbanization), circulation (systems of transport and communication), and consumption (rise of mass markets, advertising, mass fashion), as it was a pioneer in the production of such changes. These influenced the trend of music such as Darius Milhauds Machine Agricoles (1919) and Sergei Prokofievs The Factory form Pas deacier (1927) demonstrate the influence of the machine age. Undeniably, modernism was also an urban phenomenon that emerged with explosive urban growth. Modernism was an art of cities which confirmed how important the urban experience was in shaping the cultural modernist movement (Harvey, 1990, pg. 25). Machines, new transport and communication systems, skyscrapers, and bridges were all influences from which aesthetic modernism drew much of its stimulus. Finally, modernism in the arts, music, literature, and architecture could not represent the world in a single language. It is so diverse that understanding had to be constructed through the exploration of multiple perspectives. 2.2 The Aesthetic of Modernism Music and Atonality In the twentieth century, concert halls became museums for musical artworks created over the last two centuries. Living composers at that time found themselves competing with music of the past. Composers sought to continue tradition while offering something new. They needed to make decision about what to preserve and what to change. Hence, individuality took over conventionality causing that some composers abandoned tonality while others redefined it. Moreover, their composition turned to more national styles. Composers in the early twentieth century faced the challenge of creating works worthy of performance alongside the classics of the past. The music they created had to be of high quality in the tradition of serious art music. The music also had to have lasting value that rewarded performers and listeners through multiple hearings and study. Thus, these gave rise to young composers wanted a more radical break from the past. They reassessed inherited conventions and did not aim to please their listeners on first hearing so as to challenge perceptions and capacities (Burkholder, 2010c, Online). The major movement in Modernism came from serialism. Serialism is the process of giving a mathematical order to the way one composes music. The techniques used in these kinds of pieces have been termed such as twelve-tone, dodecaphonic, matrixes, tone rows, and others. The serialistic style of composition, most notably employed by Arnold Schoenberg, Alan Berg and Anton Webern, became so influential that these composers are often referred to as the Second Viennese School (1903-1925). This band of composers and their students believed in the idea that the use of mathematical representations could restore order to the composition of music without having to rely on the techniques of the past. 2.3 Schoenberg and Atonality in Piano Music Schoenberg wrote Six Little Piano Pieces Op. 19 in 1911. This is an example of Schoenberg short refining works, but also represents his early free atonal piano masterpiece. The entire work, a total of six little pieces, each creation embodies its own characteristics. Schoenberg abandoned the traditional tonal harmony and took equal importance of every single notes. He showed a new way of musical organization in 20th century piano music. The sounds created were not ever heard before, but many times were not well received by audiences. However, he was championed for what he had invented and his influence spread. The emancipation of the dissonance was Schoenbergs concept of freeing dissonance from its need to resolve to a consonance. This indirectly creates a distinctive musical language of Schoenberg which reflects the composers deep inner spiritual meaning that is the aesthetics of expressionism. Schoenbergs new music not only breaks the stereotyped tonality which had ruled the music for more than thousand years, but also after breaking, he re-established atonal music to a new order the twelve-tone system. Hence the new aesthetics value in Modernism was created. There is no more tonal centre in his music which providing the core. There is also no functional relationship between notes to notes, chords to chords. Tonal harmony is avoided absolutely at it best. Thus as compared to the piano music in Romanticism, the melody in Schoenbergs music is no more impressive and not as beautiful as before, the melody cannot be even easily sung in the mind. Hence, the aesthetics towards Schoenbergs atonal music is ambiguous; it can be beautiful, sublime, or even the other sides. There are no more clear boundaries in appreciating the music. In Schoenbergs early tonal period (before 1908), the composer was greatly influenced by Brahms and Wagner especially in the late works of German Romantic music. They were full of flavour, and the chromaticism which Wagner had developed had reached the limit. Hence in order to express the music more meaningfully, Schoenberg had to destroy all the tonality systems and began to explore new expressive musical style. He was inspired by the Marxism and Expressionism movements at his time and the atonal works were then created. For instance, the performance of his famous melodrama Pierrot lunaire Op. 21 (1912) shows the work as despair, fear, tension, pain and other pathological mental status, while the emotional musical language is also exaggerated, distorted, and weird. In the first decade of 20th Century, Schoenberg successfully established a new concept of musical arts, and thus set another standard for the aesthetic values which are subject to a strong challenge at that time. The aesthetic concepts were changed partly because of the tremendous changes in social thinking. From a social point of view, the extreme fear, agitation, depression, and twisted soul were embodied in Schoenbergs atonal music. These actually were influenced by the serious economic crisis in Europe at that time, social conflicts, and disasters caused by the World War I. From the cultural point of view, the performance of this non-rational atonal music reflected the artists humanistic ideas where serious imbalance of sense and sensibility occurred in the Europe at that time. These let Schoenberg to open the door of his inner creative power. Where tonality had reached its extreme limit, his creation of atonality frees the spirit and essence of expressionism, which contains a pr ofound social content and psychological motivation in that anxious time. The Six Little Piano Pieces although are small and insignificant, it definitely reflects the creative thinking of Schoenberg the new Expressionist aesthetics. Hence in order to understand Schoenbergs atonal music, one should escape and avoid from any musical representation, but from the spiritual essence to feel him, learn from him. 2.4 New Piano Playing Style in Modernism Prokofiev In the composition arena, Schoenberg particularly had made the emancipation of dissonnance. However, besides the changes in compositional techniques, how is the piano playing technique like in Modernism? Do pianists still equip the traditional technique or playing way to interpret the more radical modern piano music? Or perhaps any new playing way formed? As the Romantic pianisism were striving for making incredible beautiful singing line on the piano, Prokofiev however developed new kind of piano playing style which is more percussive and ear sore on the first heard. This new type of piano playing not only expressive but also it carries some sorts of hidden messages the elements of irony and mockery. Hence, Prokofiev again wrote new aesthetics elements on piano playing in the Modernism. Debussy wanted to suggest a piano without hammers. Prokofiev, Bartok, Stravinsky and Hindemith had the opposite view. Nonsense, they said in effect. The piano is a percussive instrument, and theres no use trying to disguise the fact. So lets face up to it and treat the piano as a percussive instrument. (Schonberg, 1964, p.389-90) From this quotation, Prokofiev together with his contemporaries were trying to argue that the piano could not be a singing instrument with superbly legato, as it is the nature of piano to have hammer effects which cause the piano to be percussive. Certainly, they all were bored with the beautiful, heavily wet sustained sounds from the piano pedal effect that went far beyond anything Chopin had dreamed of. They looked for another kind of new sound for which the piano can produce. So, they had to accept the fact that piano is a percussive instrument, the tones produced cannot be cheated or covered by the sustaining pedal. Harold Schonberg, a music critic of the New York Times, said about the playing of Prokofiev in a recital: Young Serge Prokofieff, the pianist of steel, came raging out of Russia, playing his own music and startling the West with his vigor, his exuberance, his wild rhythm, his disdain for the trappings of romanticism. The anti-romanticism age was under way [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Prokofieff at the piano attacked the music with a controlled fury, blasting out savage and complicated rhythms, giving or asking no mercy. He went about it almost without pedal, and with a percussive, metallic-sounding tone. (Schonberg, 1964, p. 390) Noted that the anti-romanticism is also a key of Prokofievs piano playing style. Remember, in his time, the early 20th century piano performance practice, pianists especially like Alfred Cortot, Paderewski, Rachmaninoff, and others play expressively with great liberty. They took tempo rubato for granted and more aware of bel canto playing on the piano. This performance tradition was actually passed down from the time of Chopin and Liszt. The famous Russian pedagogue, Heinrich Neuhaus, who is the teacher of great pianist Sviatoslav Richter, said about Prokofievs piano playing: Energy, confidence, indomitable will, steel rhythm, powerful tone (sometimes even hard to bear in a small room), a peculiar epic quality that scrupulously avoided any suggestion of over-refinement or intimacy, yet with a remarkable ability to convey true lyricism, poetry, sadness, reflection, an extraordinary human warmth, and feeling for natureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Shlifstein,1968, p.233) Although the views are subjective, these quotations give us clearer views of Prokofievs piano playing. Basically, Prokofievs tone on the piano was somewhat dry, but he still played with amazing assurance and freedom. Beneath his fingers the piano does not sing or vibrate. Hence, this evoked contradictory on the piano playing style should the pianists tone be deliberately violent or ugly, or should he strive for musical beauty? Definitely, Prokofiev had made a revolution on the aesthetics of piano playing to the violently, ugly playing style on the piano. This playing style is obvious in his later piano sonatas, especially in the three War Sonatas. The Pianists Responsibilities No matter how the aesthetics of piano music changed, the relationships among composer, pianist, and listener are always inter-related. Pianist, as a medium between the creator and the beneficiary, carries an important role in a performance. For me, regardless of playing the pieces from which period or time to the hardly understandable extreme contemporary piano music, a piano performance is not just a musical performance, it contains rich and valuable aesthetics thinking. From the aesthetic view of Hanslick, he states that music only contains its sound movement and its musical form and structure. If that case, they should be the only essence of piano music without incorporating the personal feeling and emotion into it. However personally, as a pianist, I am more in favour to have music can express emotion and meaning other than just mere sound so as to communicate with the audience as well as to convey the composers messages and intentions. A piano music score is just a carrier of written material, it does not make sense from a hearing point of view. However, if the score is being played by the pianist, it can express meaningful significance. So in a piano performance where the music is accepted and played, it creates a social consciousness relationship with its audience. It thus gives impact to the audience whether auditory, visually or emotionally. At the end, the pianist translates all the static musical symbols on the scores and liberates them into reality so as to make it into life. The aesthetic of piano playing is always based on the individuality of performers as well as the commonality of playing facts. The provisions of piano playing is not absolutely clear, we can never play the music authentically. Hence it is the tendency that every pianists will show their understanding of the music based on their own aesthetical point of views. Together with their unique personality, different pianists play the same stories with different resonance. Their own unique playing style are irreplaceable and cannot be represented by other pianists because their characters of playing were accumulated continuously from the past creative performances. Their innovations always grow with their experience of playing. The commonality of piano playing however restricts and limits performers playing style. It is the style of composers, and the style of playing of that period, that merged into a common playing style. Pianists still have to follow the conventions. Hence pianists individuality cannot exceed the basic style restriction or the commonality of a work in other words. For instance, each performers show different characters of playing on Beethovens Piano Sonata with their own treatment, but they still restrict themselves in a framework of typical Beethoven style, which is the general spirit and characteristics of Beethoven. In short, before playing the music with our own individuality and feeling, we must first respect to the composers

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The Once and Future King Description of Guenever   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guenever is one whose personality and appearance fluctuates often during the course of her life. The facts that she fell in love with someone other than her husband and that she never bore a child contributes greatly to these abrupt and drastic changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The description of Guenever as a young wife is one with deep, clear blue eyes, which almost beheld a sort of fearlessness which was startling, as was her black hair. Although Gwen was quite fond of her husband, she found herself taken a fancy to the young knight, Lancelot. She admired his broken face and found herself falling in love. She loved both Lance and Arthur. She felt respect with gratitude, kindness, love and a sense of protection, but there was no romance felt in her relationship with the King.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gwen is said to have been clumsy when under pressure and lacking knowledge to ache or swell, selfishness indecently exposed, an inability to settle down, pert arguments on abstract subjects and a lack of exof the world. Like most 22 year olds, it was stated that Guenever had a chaos of the mind and body, a confusion and profusion of beliefs and hopes, the ability to be transported by the beauty of physical objects, a heart perience as to when truth should be suppressed in deference to the middle aged. On top of these, there were the broad and yet uncertain lines of her personal charact...

Dancers, Costumes and Movement Content Essay

Costume: The costume throughout Flesh and Blood is a very important attribute to the piece. All seven of the female dancers wear the same costume in each of the five sections therefore this shows that the costume that Lea Anderson chose was relevant to the themes within the piece all the way through. The costumes are of a medieval style, we know this from the design of the dress as they have square necks and tight fitting wrist length sleeves much like the dresses that were worn in that time period. The dresses reach ankle length on each of the dances and have a fitted torso with a dropped v-waist which then falls into a slightly gathered, loose material lower half which flows down from the waist to the ankle. In this piece I believe it is important for the dresses to be fitted on the arms and torso area as these are the main areas of which are used in the contact work such as lifts- and it then makes it easier to perform these moves as dancers can get a better grip on each other. There are also many intricate arm and hand movements where dancers have to intertwine with each other- therefore the tight fitting arms ensure that the moves can be performed with clarity and precision. The material of the dresses is particularly specific to the underlying storyline of Joan of Arc, as it is a metallic and shiny stretchy silver fabric. This infers the idea of the dresses symbolising armour, which is relevant to the battles that Joan of Arc had to fight. The masculine armour like fabric then contrasts against the feminine style of dress, again backing up the important theme of Joan of Arc throughout the piece. The shiny material also shimmers in the light and emphasises movements and enhances angles that the dancers perform, whether they are big or small moves which then makes developing motifs clearer to see. The dancers have bare feet in each section of the dance, I believe this adds a sense of vulnerability to the hard faced characters and shows that no matter how determined Joan of Arc was she, and also the characters within this dance all have a weak spot. The dresses that the dancers wear also have calf length, fitted grey leggings underneath which we see in section two- and also work to highlight and emphasize movement. I also believe it was important for the dancers to wear leggings as section two has a lot of floor  work involved so it is practical to have these underneath the dresses. Make-up and hair are also important aspects of the costume within this piece and they highlight areas of intricate movement. This is shown in the Cathedral in section 2 of the dance where small eye movements upwards, then to the left are used. This move is simple but is an important reoccurring motif which could symbolise looking up to god- and therefore needs to stand out, which is done through the use of dark eye makeup that contrasts against the dancers pale faces. The red lipstick worn throughout shows the dancers are still feminine even though they have to wear a masculine army colour, and have a short style of hair which is what Joan of Arc had to do in order to disguise herself. The red lipstick symbolises danger and passion and also shows that even though they are pretending to be males- they are still strong female characters for sticking up for what they believe in. Dancers: All of the dancers look on average between the ages of 25 to 35 and are all female. I believe this shows a strong sense of unity within the piece to symbolise the fact that they are part of an army and also makes them all equal to each other. This is important as it shows that the piece is thematic- rather than narrative with main characters. Due to the style of the dance, I believe the dancers will of had to have had training in ballet and contemporary and be able to perform in confined spaces such as the black box theatre setting which is used and be adaptable for the site specific places that they had to perform. Another key aspect of the performance is that the dancers are very precise in the unison sections. This is effective as it heightens smaller movements such as the tapping of the feet in the cathedral setting in section 2. A way that the dancers could have done this is through using specific counts in the music and keeping to a rhythm. Due to their being a lot of minimal eye movement in unison within the routine- also shown in the black box studio in section 5 when the dancers look up as if to heaven, it is important that the dancers were aware of their focus points so that their movements were precise and equal to each other, which is something that is important throughout this piece. Movements: Section 1: The movement in section one is very contained and small. It is a duet between two of the dancers and involves using a lot or inticate armwork where they have to weavein and out of each other. This could symbolise that the battle Joan of Arc had to face was a constant struggle. This concept is also shown and the first female dancer in this section looks as though she is being dominated and controlled by the second femal character who is stood behind her throughout- almost overlooking all of her actions and having imput into what she does. This is shown as a movement when dancer two pushes dancer one down to the floor to continue her movements on a lower level. This makes dancer two look more superior and therefore gives off the impression she is symbolic of the males telling Joan of Arc she wasn’t allowed to fight. Section 2: Section two involves all 7 of the female dancers and is set in a black box studio. The floor work in this section such as the repeat motif which is shown also in section five where the dancers lay on their back with their feet flat to the floor and their knees bent on and angle with their arms by their side as they push their legs straight out to move backwards gives off an impression that they are symbolising beetles and other insects. Thesharp and angled movements give off imagery as if they are symbolising being bugs- which links to the heaven and hell paintings by the artist Bosch. Because much of this section is on the floor it is symbolic of Hell being present- and is where most people believed Joan of Arc went after her burning at the stake. The calf length leggings and bare feet that the dancers are wearing can also be seen in this scuttling back movement and highlight the angles of the legs- as is also done with the tight fitting sleeves on the arms. Section 3: This section is set inside of a Cathedral and shows 3 of the dancer standing in the alter and the other 4 laid in the knave. This symbolises the communication that Joan of Arc is said to have had with God who told her to  battle with the men, this is shown through intricate eye movement from the dancers standing in the alter as the first thing they do it look upward to heaven, to the left as if to purgatory and then downwards as if to hell. Use of a head tilt to the right when looking to the left is also used which could symbolise shock in hearing or seeing something. The dancers laid on the floor are symbolic of the dreams that Joan of Arc is said to of had and repeat motifs such as the rolling of the fingers that tap onto the floor suggest that her nightmares and dreams were reoccurring and made her react immediately- even before she woke up and decided that she wanted to go into battle. The dynamics in this section are a lot slower then any other andthe dancers are all individuals which suggests that when Joan of Arc visited the church she was distanced from everyone else and felt more alone and vulnerable. Section 4: Section 4 is set outside of the cathedral and is an adapted version of section 1, as it has 2 unison duets- one further forward than the other. This section is also very contact based and manipulative which gives an indication of the relationship that the dancers have with each other. The ‘crusifix’ arm movement is a repeat motif throughout and is shown is section 2 when the dancers sit up from the floor, as if god is helping them progress and become better people. It is also shown in section 4 when the dancers are lifted by the dominating dancers, and their feet are left loosely flailing beneath them while their arms lower so their palms are flat facing downwards. This motif could symbolise that god is now taking Joan of Arcs soul to Heaven as she is burnt at the stake. The shaking of the feet indicates that many people believed she would go to Hell- which is why the arms are lowered from the crucifix movement as this is less holy and God wouldn’t have wanted tha t for the female who stood up for herself.

Fast Food Essay Essay

America’s obesity is caused by numerous factors, that which are viewed differently by people. For example, many different people believe the problem of obesity is caused by over eating, increased portion sizes, lack of nutrition, and how fast food companies are going after children. These problems are all considered to be immense problems of obesity. Though, different people may believe only one of the followings is a major cause. Thus, it is of importance to discuss the reasons why. see more:effect of junk food essay First of all, portion sizes from fast food restaurants have dramatically increased over the course of a few decades. In the article, â€Å"By Any Other Name, It’s Still a Supersize,† the author, Lisa R. Young, states that, â€Å"In the last few years, Hardee’s, Burger King and Wendy’s all have introduced 1,000-calorie-plus sandwiches stuffed with 12 ounces of beef – the amount of meat recommended for two days for most adults.† This shows that one meal can be more than half the average calories needed for individuals in a single day. Instead, people should avoid large quantities of food and should eat healthier. Consequently, big portion sizes are one of the factors of obesity. Second, fast food companies are deliberately targeting children as they are easy targets to go after. Kelly Brownell, the author of â€Å"Are Children Prey for Fast Food Companies?† says how Happy Meals from McDonalds are served with toys. These toys are advertised and are served with low nutritious food. â€Å"Only 12 of 3,039 possible kids’ meal combinations meet nutrition criteria for preschoolers.† However, if fast food companies would serve healthier foods to children, like fruits and milk, the statistics would increase. Also, these foods are high in sugar, and fat. Ultimately, companies targeting children with unhealthy food and toys can lead to a higher rate of children being obese or diabetic. Strangely enough, fast food mimicking fast casual places may actually be better and healthier due to its fresher ingredients. Julie Jargon writes the article, â€Å"Fast Food Aspires to ‘Fast Casual’†; and she states that fast food restaurants are up scaling their food. â€Å"In the hope of appealing to more-sophisticated consumers, fast-food chains are moving beyond simple cheeseburgers and tacos, adding fancier ingredients such as portabella mushrooms, citrus-herb marinated chicken, and pepper bacon.† This upgrade may be attracting more customers to the fast food industry, but they will be attracted to healthier foods. Therefore, it may not be as much as a leading cause as of obesity as other things. In conclusion, fast food companies have changed America for the worse over the course of a few years. Fast food places mostly have high fat and low nutritious portion sizes that shouldn’t be eaten daily. Families shouldn’t eat fast foods as much as they think they should, and instead should result in eating healthier, fresher products. Alternatives to fast food places may dramatically decrease obesity in America. America’s obesity epidemic may be led by the fast food industries.

Free Essays on The Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights means that people have the right to be treated the same regardless of their race, gender and/or religion. These rights are laws in the United States and many other countries. Civil rights are guaranteed by law but took many years to achieve. For example even after the Civil War, African Americans were treated badly. They got the worst jobs and were paid poorly. Blacks and whites were segregated. They were kept separate in public places including at theaters, restrooms, schools and transportation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in 1909 to push for civil rights (Civil Rights). That is just one example of programs established to fight for civil rights. Other groups have also fought for their civil rights including women, immigrant groups (Irish, Chinese, Japanese), and religious groups (Civil Rights). Many events occurred during the Civil Right’s Movement. One of the most famous protests was the non-violent protest. Dr. Martin Luther King introduced the nonviolence philosophy into the civil rights movement. He adopted his philosophy from Indian activist Ghandi. King studied Gandi's approach and applied his beliefs in America's struggle for equal rights. King wanted to express how to use non-violence to gain equal rights. In the 1950's and 1960's Martin Luther King Jr. became known as the leader for the nonviolent civil rights movement (Nonviolence in Civil Rights Movement). The non-violent phase of the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and 1956. (Ward and Badger 214). The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially started on December 1, 1955. That was the day when the blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. It was not, however, the day that the movement to desegregate the buses started. (Wright 52-53). This phase bega... Free Essays on The Civil Rights Movement Free Essays on The Civil Rights Movement Civil rights means that people have the right to be treated the same regardless of their race, gender and/or religion. These rights are laws in the United States and many other countries. Civil rights are guaranteed by law but took many years to achieve. For example even after the Civil War, African Americans were treated badly. They got the worst jobs and were paid poorly. Blacks and whites were segregated. They were kept separate in public places including at theaters, restrooms, schools and transportation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in 1909 to push for civil rights (Civil Rights). That is just one example of programs established to fight for civil rights. Other groups have also fought for their civil rights including women, immigrant groups (Irish, Chinese, Japanese), and religious groups (Civil Rights). Many events occurred during the Civil Right’s Movement. One of the most famous protests was the non-violent protest. Dr. Martin Luther King introduced the nonviolence philosophy into the civil rights movement. He adopted his philosophy from Indian activist Ghandi. King studied Gandi's approach and applied his beliefs in America's struggle for equal rights. King wanted to express how to use non-violence to gain equal rights. In the 1950's and 1960's Martin Luther King Jr. became known as the leader for the nonviolent civil rights movement (Nonviolence in Civil Rights Movement). The non-violent phase of the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and 1956. (Ward and Badger 214). The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially started on December 1, 1955. That was the day when the blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. It was not, however, the day that the movement to desegregate the buses started. (Wright 52-53). This phase bega...

Chinese Funeral Traditions and Preparation

Chinese Funeral Traditions and Preparation While Chinese funeral traditions vary depending on where the deceased person and his or her family are from, some basic traditions still apply. Funeral Preparation The job of coordinating and preparing  Chinese funerals falls on the children or younger family members of the deceased person. It is part of the Confucian principle of filial piety and devotion to one’s parents. Family members must consult the Chinese Almanac to determine the best date to hold the Chinese funeral ceremony. Funeral homes and local temples help the family prepare the body and coordinate the funeral rites. Announcements of the funeral are sent in the form of invitations. For most Chinese funerals, the invitations are white. If the person was age 80 or older, then the invitations are pink. Living until 80 or beyond is considered a feat worth celebrating and mourners should celebrate the person’s longevity rather than mourn. The invitation includes information about the funeral’s date, time, and location, as well as a small obituary that includes information about the deceased that may include his or her birth date, date of death, age, family members that survived them and sometimes how the person died. The invitation may also include a family tree. A phone call or in-person invitation may precede the paper invitation. Either way, an RSVP is expected. If a guest cannot attend the funeral, the tradition is that he or she sends flowers and a white envelope with money. Chinese Funeral Attire Guests at a Chinese funeral wear somber colors like black. Bright and colorful clothing, especially red, must be avoided as these colors are associated with happiness. White is acceptable and, if the deceased was 80 or above, white with pink or red is acceptable as the event is cause for celebration. The deceased person wears a white robe. The Wake There is often a wake preceding the funeral that  may last several days. Family members are expected to keep an overnight vigil for at least one night in which the person’s picture, flowers, and candles are placed on the body and the family sits near by. During the wake, family and friends bring flowers, which are elaborate wreaths that include banners with couplets written on them, and white envelopes filled with cash. Traditional Chinese funeral flowers are white. The white envelopes are similar to red envelopes that are given at weddings. White is the color reserved for death in Chinese culture. The amount of money put in the envelope varies depending on the relationship to the deceased but must be in odd numbers. The money is meant to help the family pay for the funeral. If the deceased person was employed, his or her company is often expected to send a large flower wreath and a sizable monetary contribution. The Funeral At the funeral, the family will burn joss paper (or spirit paper) to ensure their loved one has a safe journey to the netherworld. Fake paper money and miniature items like cars, houses, and televisions are burned. These items are sometimes associated with the loved ones interests and are believed to follow them into the afterlife. This way they have everything they need when they enter the spirit world.   A eulogy may be given and, if the person was religious, prayers may also be said. The family will distribute to guests red envelopes with a coin inside  to ensure they return home safely. The family may also give guests a piece of candy that must be consumed that day and before going home. A handkerchief may also be given.  The envelope with coin, sweet, and handkerchief should not be taken home.   One final item, a piece of red thread, may be given. The red threads should be taken home and tied to the front doorknobs of the guests’ homes to keep evil spirits away. After the Funeral After the funeral ceremony, a funeral procession to the cemetery or crematorium is held. A hired band resembling a marching band typically leads the procession and  plays loud music to frighten spirits and ghosts. The family wears mourning clothes and  walks behind the band.  Following the family is the hearse or sedan containing the coffin. It is typically adorned with a large portrait of the deceased hanging on the windshield. Friends and associates complete the procession. The size of the procession depends on the wealth of the deceased and his or her family. The sons and daughters wear black and white mourning clothes and walk in the front row of the procession. Daughters-in-law come next and also wear black and white clothes. Grandsons and granddaughters wear blue mourning clothes. Professional mourners who are paid to wail and cry are often hired to fill up the procession. Depending on their personal preference, Chinese are either buried or cremated. At a minimum, families make an annual visit to the gravesite on the Qing Ming or Tomb Sweeping Festival. Mourners will wear a cloth band on their arms to show that they are in a period of mourning. If the deceased is a man, the band goes on the left sleeve. If the deceased is a woman, the band is pinned to the right sleeve. The mourning band is worn for the duration of the mourning period which can last 49 to 100 days. Mourners also wear somber clothes. Bright and colorful clothes are avoided during the mourning period.

Case Study Rolls Royce Economics Essay

Case Study Rolls Royce Economics Essay By instructing that parts and sub-assemblies are only produced to meet that demand MRP seeks to meet projected customer demand. Using the bill of materials to calculate how many are needed and when they must be made MRP back schedules demand for part and sub-assemblies. This is how MRP connects customer demand with the internal and external supply network. Although JIT planning and control has similar objectives. Derived from end-customer demand Pull scheduling parts only move in response to matched and synchronised signals (Slack, 2004). MRP is driven by the MPS that identifies future end-item demand. Using a computer to calculate how many of, and when, each part should be made a fixed lead-time environment is modelled. Its output is of time-phased environment plans that are centrally calculated and coordinated. Regardless of whether the next process can take or actually need the part at that time it is made in response to central instructions. The authority of MRP is undermine and make the plans unworkable at the shop floor level due to day-to-day disturbances, such as quality problems and inaccurate stock records. While MRP is excellent at planning, it is weak at control (Slack, 2004). MRP II is more precise than MRP because it instigates production of a variety of components, releases orders and offsets inventory reductions. â€Å"MRP II grasps the final product by its parts, orders their delivery to operators, keeps track of inventory positions in all stages of production, and determines what is needed to add to existing inventories† (Karmarkar, 1989). Through such products as SAP and Oracle, MRP II has led to additional advancements such as ERP. An ERP system consists of a suite of software modules, where each module is usually responsible for a separate business function. Its functionality has increased by new software capabilities; however the core planning and control assumptions that underline these packages have developed less rapidly (Steven son, 2005). Case Study: Rolls Royce One of the world’s largest manufacturers of the gas turbines is Rolls Royce. Their products are used to in civil aircraft, military aircraft, fast ships and power generation in addition to many other uses. Typically each product has around 25,000 parts as they are exceptionally complex products, and have hundreds of assemblies and sub-assemblies. Moreover, their production is equally complex with thousands of work centres in many different locations and over 600 external suppliers. Rolls Royce was one of the earliest users of computers to help with the task due to the complexity of planning and controlling their manufacture. Conventionally the company developed its won systems and software. The company then decided on implementing a standard ERP system, which was supplied by SAP and was their best selling R/3 product. This system offered a number of advantages over the approach previously used within the company. Significantly, it was an of f-the-shelf system that would force the company to implement a standardised and disciplined approach. Ultimately the entire organisation would use a singular modular database that would reduce duplication and errors. â€Å"There was an extensive data clean up to ensure accuracy and integrity of existing information, and all existing processes were reviewed and standardisedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Within operations we have already seen a significant reduction in inventory, improved customer service, and substantially improved business information and controls.† (Slack, 2004)

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 9

Financial Management - Essay Example need to have a clear and well planned budget, monitoring the performance and taking action whenever needed, focus should be placed on essential numbers like salaries, materials and also sales. A keen eye on these aspects of the financial management will lead to the better financial management in large companies (Brodie, 2009). Choice of a determining the optimal mix of components of the capital structure is a very complex process and involves a number of different considerations. A number of different views of the capital structures need to be considered like the net corporate or personal tax, agency costs, bankruptcy cost and pecking order. There are a few components which build a company’s capital, these are: Ordinary shares, preference shares, debentures, and loan stock. Deciding the optimal mix is based on finding the right mix of long term funds which allow minimizing the cost of capital and helping maximize the value of the organization. This situation is referred to as the optimal capital structure. However, it is a known fact that gaining an optimal capital structure is not possible since, the changing of the mox of capital does not change the values. A company can be financed by a number of different modes. The type of capital financing that has been chosen for the company is referred to as the capital structure of the company. A company can be financed using debentures, equity shares, long term loans, etc. These options however are based on the nature of risk the investors are willing to take. The following sections will discuss the various financing options that are available for investors to finance their companies and the factors that affect the choice have also been discussed. a) Equity Financing: This is the most common mode of financing used by companies. Here companies raise monies for the business by selling stocks of the company. These can either be

Learning Team Policy Analysis II Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning Team Policy Analysis II Paper - Essay Example If the police do not have the duty of arresting the suspects, then offenders cannot be taken through the four policies (Mackenzie 4). There would also be no offenders since the courts would not have any suspects to prosecute. The police policies mainly involve arresting suspects. The suspects can be reported by the public or spotted by the police. The police then go ahead to have statements of wrongdoing by the suspects written down in preparation for the court. This directly affects the court since the prosecutors can only prosecute the suspect according to the statements written down. Sometimes the prosecutors end up complaining about the poor quality of the statement forwarded by the police. The role of the police goes on to affect the correctional facilities, if the suspect becomes convicted of his/her offences at the court. It affects the correctional facilities by having the offender punished according to the offences he/she has been convicted of and their magnitude. Over time, drug related arrests have increased significantly. The reason behind the increase mainly involves the higher rate of testing for drugs. This led to drug related offences being the highest number of arrests made. As a result, most of the correctional facilities have too many offenders (Drakeford and Kristin 13). Due to this problem, prosecutors found it necessary to avoid prosecuting suspects possessing little quantities of drugs. As a result, the correctional officers have recorded less congestion in their facilities. In conclusion, the police play a central role in the criminal justice system. Without the police, the criminal justice system can as well be considered useless. For instance, a judge cannot pass judgement on a suspect without considering the offence that led to the suspect’s arrest. Likewise, a prosecutor cannot prosecute a suspect without considering the offence that led to the suspect’s arrest. The correctional officers then end up administering punishment

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Information Systems - Essay Example The CDMS is not only required to manage these activities but also required to provide decision support to Chief Executive. Moreover, it will serve as the first impression for the client at web. By building a web interface we mean, building a web enabled application. At application level we have to build various forms and reports in web page format. In our case we will make web pages in dotnet using C# at backend and ASP.net as the front end language. Our database in SQL Server 2000 will be connect be connected to our application through a connection object in application. We will be build web pages for the employees of the company; these pages will only be accessible through authorized login in to the application. SSL will be implemented to ensure the security of the information while accessing the application from web. However, clients of the company can access various informational pages without establish and secure channel and login. The level of user input will be kept to an absolute minimum in order to avoid typo errors from the user. Wherever possible, user input shall be facilitated with components that reduce possibilities of input-errors. CDMS is a mini Web Application on donNet platform. The application is designed for a small Computer Dealer and business requirement for big organizations are not catered for in this document. The database design is kept as simple as possible to avoid complexity. However, it provides all basic functionalities required for the implementation of a mini web application. SQL queries are provided only for example purposes and are not test over SQL Server 2000, which is the proposed database server for the application. Only few important functional requirements of the system are enlisted for the purpose of conciseness, however the design of the system can support many other functionalities which can be implemented while actual development of the system. This design

Genetics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genetics - Article Example Atherogenesis and increased afterload and left ventricular hypertrophy are identified as the two ways that link hypertension and coronary heart disease. Physical activity and healthy lifestyle behaviors are some of the nonpharmacological interventions to the treatment of hypertension in patients who have coronary heart disease. The pharmacological interventions discussed are the agents of antihypertensives that include beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme. The article also proposes a combinational therapy that uses different antihypertensives and other therapies in the treatment of hypertension. It concludes that the goal of hypertension treatment should be to reduce mortality and morbidity that is caused by hypertension and coronary heart disease (Olafiranye et al 9). This article could help researchers study the different hypertension treatment alternatives and their effectiveness. It could help doctors and nurses offer better care to patients who have hypertension. In addition, the article establishes a basis for evidence based research and evidence based practice for managing hypertension, and is therefore applicable researchers in the healthcare profession. Olafiranye, Oladipupo, Zizi, Ferdinand, Brimah, Perry, Jean-louis, Girardin, Makaryus, Amgad, McFarlane, Samy & Ogedegbe, Gbenga. Management of Hypertension among Patients with Coronary Heart Disease. International Journal of Hypertension, 2011: 1 – 6, 2011. Print. Retrieved September 25, 2014 from

Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Eassy - Essay Example nt disadvantages of the said groups, I am of the opinion that schools sustain sororities and fraternities because the costs of their abolishment outweigh the shortcomings. In recent years, Greek sects have been plagued with negative publicity. For one, they encourage sexism and gender based stereotypes. Such stereotypes further escalate to the lethal levels of women discrimination (New par. 1). An institution of higher learning brings together intellects who have surpassed barbaric tendencies such as sex differences. They are supposed to coexist and blend with one another while appreciating each other’s societal roles. Ironically, fraternities and sororities only serve to counter that objective. Considering that they are same sex groups, they override the objectives of inclusiveness, creating a rift between equals. New (par. 1) recognizes the need to do away with the groups because of their salient trait of sexism. Additionally, clamping together of individuals of the same sex has the unwanted effect of encouraging abnormal sexual behavior. A fraternity group was suspended for erecting a poster that read, â€Å"No means yes, yes means analâ₠¬  (New par. 1). What that statement means is that unnatural acts are subsistent in the social setups of same sex persons. More than that, the openness with which the students profess their weird tendencies such as homosexuality vindicates the negative influence they receive from these groups. Sororities and fraternities have led to the outright creation of social misfits. Some students allied to these groups exhibit unnatural tendencies such as rape cases and or unnatural behavior (New par. 7). Universities that have a deeply rooted culture of Greek culture have been dragged into ceaseless court battles as students fall prey to the criminal elements subsistent in the alumni. A case in point is the rape case of a Wesleyan student in one of the fraternity houses, raising questions about the integrity of the fraternities.

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Information Systems - Essay Example The CDMS is not only required to manage these activities but also required to provide decision support to Chief Executive. Moreover, it will serve as the first impression for the client at web. By building a web interface we mean, building a web enabled application. At application level we have to build various forms and reports in web page format. In our case we will make web pages in dotnet using C# at backend and ASP.net as the front end language. Our database in SQL Server 2000 will be connect be connected to our application through a connection object in application. We will be build web pages for the employees of the company; these pages will only be accessible through authorized login in to the application. SSL will be implemented to ensure the security of the information while accessing the application from web. However, clients of the company can access various informational pages without establish and secure channel and login. The level of user input will be kept to an absolute minimum in order to avoid typo errors from the user. Wherever possible, user input shall be facilitated with components that reduce possibilities of input-errors. CDMS is a mini Web Application on donNet platform. The application is designed for a small Computer Dealer and business requirement for big organizations are not catered for in this document. The database design is kept as simple as possible to avoid complexity. However, it provides all basic functionalities required for the implementation of a mini web application. SQL queries are provided only for example purposes and are not test over SQL Server 2000, which is the proposed database server for the application. Only few important functional requirements of the system are enlisted for the purpose of conciseness, however the design of the system can support many other functionalities which can be implemented while actual development of the system. This design

Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Eassy - Essay Example nt disadvantages of the said groups, I am of the opinion that schools sustain sororities and fraternities because the costs of their abolishment outweigh the shortcomings. In recent years, Greek sects have been plagued with negative publicity. For one, they encourage sexism and gender based stereotypes. Such stereotypes further escalate to the lethal levels of women discrimination (New par. 1). An institution of higher learning brings together intellects who have surpassed barbaric tendencies such as sex differences. They are supposed to coexist and blend with one another while appreciating each other’s societal roles. Ironically, fraternities and sororities only serve to counter that objective. Considering that they are same sex groups, they override the objectives of inclusiveness, creating a rift between equals. New (par. 1) recognizes the need to do away with the groups because of their salient trait of sexism. Additionally, clamping together of individuals of the same sex has the unwanted effect of encouraging abnormal sexual behavior. A fraternity group was suspended for erecting a poster that read, â€Å"No means yes, yes means analâ₠¬  (New par. 1). What that statement means is that unnatural acts are subsistent in the social setups of same sex persons. More than that, the openness with which the students profess their weird tendencies such as homosexuality vindicates the negative influence they receive from these groups. Sororities and fraternities have led to the outright creation of social misfits. Some students allied to these groups exhibit unnatural tendencies such as rape cases and or unnatural behavior (New par. 7). Universities that have a deeply rooted culture of Greek culture have been dragged into ceaseless court battles as students fall prey to the criminal elements subsistent in the alumni. A case in point is the rape case of a Wesleyan student in one of the fraternity houses, raising questions about the integrity of the fraternities.

A Description of the Sumerian Society Essay Example for Free

A Description of the Sumerian Society Essay ?Sumerian society migrated into the Middle East and settled in the Mesopotamian area around 4000 B. C. E. , resulting in the settlement of that civilization. Sumerians contributed the city-states concept, created an essential writing system, strengthened their connection to their religion, and also recorded the world’s oldest story. The addition to Sumer’s city-states idea had a booming affect in their political structure. They were more organized than most political systems in other civilizations. With this, the Sumerian society was able to regulate religion and enforce laws in a better manner. Their concept later became a tradition of regional rule, basically creating an early bureaucracy for other societies to adopt and learn from. After several centuries of Sumer’s settlement, writing, the most significant invention in millennia’s, was introduced into Sumerian society. Although it was very sudden, the addition to such a revolutionary idea made their culture even more prosperous. Things led to another, and soon enough, the Sumerian society had an entire alphabet that was referred to as cuneiform, in the palm of their hands. They began to record their history and culture, later resulting in the world’s oldest story, the Epic of Gilgamesh and much more from their culture. Sumer’s introduction to cuneiform bloomed into an economical boost throughout their entire society. Their invention helped to promote trade and manufacturing. They were able to communicate much more flawlessly, leading to trades as far as India. Not only did it support the trading system, but it did wonders in recording much of Sumerian history. Sumer’s settlement meant many prosperous things. Their ideas and inventions of cuneiform, city-states, ziggurats, job specialization, etc. , led to great achievements that other civilizations adopted and duplicated.

Rhenium Oxide (ReO3) and Highly Applied Pressure

Rhenium Oxide (ReO3) and Highly Applied Pressure Describe the symmetry characteristics of the ReO3 polymorphs and their relationship to applied pressure. Rhenium Oxide also known as ReO3 has been researched and looked into detail widely with the use of highly applied pressure. ReO3 is described as a non distorted structure at surrounding pressure levels. Accurate and precise measurements of the pressure-volume relationship crafted by Batloff showed that the transistion pressure was at a value of 5.0kbar and also presented that volume strain is related to (P-PC)2/3. Differences in volume strain was evidently great when comparing with other materials that went through the same process.The reason for this large difference was due to the buckling of the Re-O-Re bonds while ReO6 continued to be firm and strong. With the assumption that octahedral rotation is always as rigid units,stress on rotations that are small will be directly related to the square of the rotation angle, Ø that leads to Ø2. This in turn would allow the polymorph to transform into various phases. The curvature behaviour which was found by Razavi starts at low temp eratures with pressure level of 3kbar.M3 phonons being triply degenerate allows the surrounding temperature of ReO3 with a ambient pressure to have a Pm-3m symmetry. At this current stage it will undergo a transition to a structure that contains a Im-3 symmetry. When changed to a tetragonal form, it will be P4/mbm at 5.2kbar and cubic Im3 at 7.3kbar at increased levels of pressure. The Im3 structures were formed with the process known as condensation from one, two or three M3 phonons. With this transformation, the cubic structure will go through a rhombohedral phase with the symmetry structure of R-3c. The current R-3c will morph again to a rhombohedral phase. ReO6 being a octahedral undergoes a distortion at high pressure, giving a rotation angle of (P-PC) ÃŽ ² where ÃŽ ²=0.322(5) (ÃŽ ² describes the large critical region where the rotation angle is more than 14Â º) that is valid from pressure levels of 5.0 to 27.4kbar. Pressure measurements are mainly done to identify different h igh pressure formations of the ReO3 and the quantity of these formations. Particularly with the use of the time of flight Laue method, when the pressure formation reaches a value of 15 kbar, the structure deduced as a cubic Im3. Despite, the discovery there was a downturn which was the values tabulated was only at a single pressure point. Therefore the entire formation of the breakdown of the structured could not be figured out. Describe the metrical relationships between the polymorph unit cells and ReO6 octahedral tilting. Use the CIF files to create ATOMS drawings that support your analysis. The malformation of perovskite structures can be acquired with reference from the Pm3m structure by rotating the octahedral about the cubic axes. High tension and stress arrangements can be identified and elaborated with the aid of 23 various rotating arrangements that was discovered by Glazer. Respective symmetry groups for high stress transitions include the P4/mbm and Im3 where both groups are homogenous with the M3 phonon condensation. The element Re is fixed in the 8c position in the Im3 space group with only 2 thermal values whereas the oxygen atoms is found to be at the 24g position with 4 thermal values. With a increased in the loading added to the P4/mbm structure will create a deceasing strain that may deform the structure. P4/mbm being a 7 lattice point structure has a normal way of placing the positions of the elements found in ReO3. The Rhenium element is located in the 2b position while the oxygen atom would be fixated in the 4h and 2a position. In the presence of surro unding atmospheric pressure, the direct dependency of the oxygen atoms is fairly lower in the Im3 group than the one found in the Pm3m.In the Im3 unit cell for the ReO3, rotation was done around the coordinates of (111) for the eight sided compound. Evidently P4/mbm produces a nonzero seven sided pull that creates a positive and negative strain value. This rotation created the process of condensation that affected all three M3 phonons. Deformation in the eight sided ReO6 produces two different Re-O bond distances in the P4/mbm formation while there would only be a single Re-O bond found in the Im3 strucutres.Re-O bonds parallel with the c axis will remain in a pressed state when turned whereas Re-O bond that are normal to the c axis will not be in a pressed position but instead arranged in an order where there are gaps.However both formations include double O-O corners of the octahedron that is used to quantify any errors in ReO6.However the O-O distances found in the Im3 and P4/mbm are varied at a pressure value of 27.40kbar that leads to certain abnormalities but can be ignored as trivial. Explain the distortion of the ReO6 octahedra with pressure and quantify the ReO6 octahedral titlting. The deformation and the distortion of the ReO6 octahedron is usually found in the P4/mbm and Im3 structures. Starting with the P4/mbm, there are two symmetry Re-O bonds which are not equal in nature. With the process known as the powder neutron diffraction , the results obtained shows the in depth structural details of the transformation with the function of pressure and thus this confirms that at least 2 high pressure phases are present. When the ReO6 octahedra are rotated they are observed more with ease through the neutrons than the x rays. The method known as Rietveld method of the structural refinement with the high resolution powder data produces the single-crystal neutron diffraction study and this would allow the pressure dependence of the distortion to be measured with sufficient accuracy to state that the order parameter exponent ÃŽ ² where Ø is proportional to the (P-Pc) ÃŽ ² presents the pressure dependence of the rotation angle. This pressure based on the rotation ang le is illustrated well by the law of power in the formula Ø~(P-Pc) ÃŽ ².Ø against the pressure and the curve is plotted with this reference. The result from the exponent ÃŽ ² was obtained with the linear gradient of the slope of the lnØ against the ln(P-Pc) curve that produces the value of ÃŽ ²=0.322(5). Through the discrepancies Ø is always continuing with the stress value of 5 kbar despite the direction of the rotation axis that would vary from (100) to (111) during the change from P4/mbm to the Im3 phase (5.3kbar). With condensation of one, two or three M3 phonons would increase the phase transition from Pm3m to P4/mbm to I4/mm and lastly to the Im3 that have usually been seen in Nax WO3 during the M3 phonon condensation upon cooling. The parameter for the phase transition would be a three component order with the Ø as the magnitude of the rotation angle surrounding the direction of the rotation aixs. The transformation from Pm3m to any of the groups between the P4 /mbm, I4/mmm and Im3 would be the first order that would produce from the rotation around a axis. Abnormalities in the lattice during the transformation would have been seen in the Nax WO3.

Terrorism: Media Simplistically Portrays War as Good vs. Evil :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Media Simplistically Portrays War as Good vs. Evil    The morning of September 11, 2001, will be a communal memory for many around the world.   On this morning, peace was threatened by terrorism on United States ¹ soil and the U.S. declared war in defense of peace. The majority of television, print, and internet media coverage of these events have focused around a discussion of good vs. evil.   In this paper, I will address ways in which hegemonic and counterhegemonic forms of media have contributed to the discussion of good vs. evil at war.    The depiction of good (us) vs. evil (them) in the media has justified war in the name of peace.   The United States ¹ first visual of good vs. evil came with television broadcast statements from the leaders of this war.   From this, the American public ascertained that the evil guys are led by Osama bin Laden who promised that  ³America will not live in peaceÃ…  1 ² sitting atop a rock outside a cave.   In turn, the good guys are led by President George W. Bush who, from his leather chair in the White House, asserted  ³We are at war with terrorism.2 ²Ã‚   These broadcasts became proof for many that  ³they ² attacked peace therefore  ³we ² were justified in declaring war. President Bush extended this belief by reminding the American public that,  ³If you ¹re not with us, you ¹re against us.3 ²Ã‚   This statement called all of America to war against terrorism; Bush ¹s comment implied that those in opposition are the enemy.   As one of the most access ible forms of news, television has become the most powerful form of social pedagogy.   With few exceptions, television has succeeded in perpetuating and legitimizing a hegemonic good vs. evil mentality where  ³we ² are good and  ³they ² are bad.   One could argue that few have sufficient media literacy skills to deconstruct dominant messages put forth by the majority of television networks.    Conversely, internet and print media have, on more occasions, provided counterhegemonic alternative readings on the September 11 events.   One can still visit mainstream websites such as NBC, ABC, FOX, and CNN to view hegemonic references of good vs. evil.   A series of clicks on one ¹s mouse can take a web surfer from photos of candlelight vigils and Twin Tower donation centers to sites where one can watch Powell and Bush, singing calypso, about the demise of Osama Bin Laden as well as play an interactive torture game on the leader of evil4.

The Scarlet Letter - The Letter of a Thousand Words :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - The Letter of a Thousand Words    The Scarlet Letter deals with the theme of sin. Throughout history, people have committed all types of sins, and whether they are major or minor, people have been punished. However the severity of a punishment is very difficult to agree on. Some people feel that sinners should be deeply punished no matter how little the wrongdoing was. Others feel that a person's punishment should be based upon the severity of their crime. What many people overlook is the fact that in time, we all have committed sins. That is the case with the three main characters from the Scarlet Letter. Even though they were all different on the outside, inside they all shared a certain feeling of sin and guilt. So when I think of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, I think heavily upon the feelings that they all shared together, which were sin and guilt.    This novel was brought about from one mistake that a young, beautiful woman made. Here she was sent over to Boston without her husband, and many years later still hasn't shown up. She doesn't know if he is alive or died at sea. In the meantime, she got acquainted with Reverend Dimmesdale. Between the two of them, Hester bears a child and that child is the living proof, and a constant reminder that Hester has committed a sin. So the townspeople made Hester wear the letter A on her chest and made her stand on a scaffold in front of the town to display her shame. So everywhere she went she had to carry that guilt with her. In the meantime Chillingworth shows up and demands to know whom the father of Pearl is. Hester will not tell him so he constantly batters her but Hester keeps her strength and refuses each time. Which isn't so easy because she has to face him everyday.    Dimmesdale is most likely the worst sinner of all. His sin was that he was Hester's partner, which was Pearls father. Since he was a coward, he didn't have the guts to admit it to the public. He didn't want to lose the public's trust and his popularity that he had from his congregation.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Metropolitan areas usually have specialized groups, based on such member characteristics as gender, length Of time in recovery, age, sexual orientation, profession, ethnicity, and language spoken† (CAST, 2008). Vast majorities of drug addiction treatment programs encourage the participation of self-help group therapy during and after formal treatment because the patients benefit from the social reinforcement that comes from peer discussion, while also helping to promote, achieve, and maintain drug-free and healthy lifestyles.The 12-Step Program is a uniquely, well-rounded phase of treatment that includes maintaining a close relationship with a sponsor who is experienced with self-discipline and long-term abstinence. The meetings also incorporate skills such as helping others, taking responsibility for recovery, sharing personal experiences, and accepting the existence of a higher power. â€Å"Research has shown that when group therapy either is offered in conjunction with indi vidualized drug counseling or is formatted to reflect the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy or contingency management, positive outcomes are achieved† (NADIA, 2012).The original 12 Step Guide was inspired and created in 1935 by pioneer AAA members. A couple years later, the two founders of AAA published a book based on their experiences, including both the failures and the successes. The book describes the original AAA philosophy and methods, along with establishing the Twelve Steps. Although it has been revised throughout the years, and continues to be updated, the Twelve Steps have remained intact as it carries on its stories of success from one group to the other.Nearly four decades of scientific research and clinical practice has taught us about many diverse and effective approaches to the treatment of drug addiction, resulting in the creation of overall manuals and guides throughout the years. The etiology of substance use disorders can be explained through a var iety of social dynamics. Genetic factors have been studied most frequently with alcohol and tobacco use disorders. â€Å"Specific genes have been identified, but the interaction of these genes with the environment is key for understanding genetic contributions† (Kiering, 2014).More often than not, drugs are used as an escape – an escape from reality – and this temporary escape is used to avoid the negative feelings and bad moods which are known to be related to withdrawal symptoms. In addition, this also helps in explaining the frequency and pattern of relapse. â€Å"Many substances are used to alter mood (e. G. , to reduce tension of increase positive affect), and people with certain personality traits, such as those high in negative affect or low in constraint, are especially likely to use drugs† (Kiering, 2014).Neurological factors, including the brain's reward pathways, seem to have an influence on the use of some substances in certain individuals. â €Å"Nearly all drugs, including alcohol, stimulate the dopamine system in the brain, which produces rewarding or pleasurable feelings. Incentive-assassination theory explains that the dopamine system becomes sensitive to the drug, as well as the cues associated with the drug (needles, rolling papers, etc. ). Sensitivity to these cues induces and strengthens wanting and craving for the drug' (Kiering, 2014).Cognitive and psychological variables are also very important to detect, such as the expectations about the effects of drugs. When an individual believes, and expects, to have positive effects from a certain drug (e. G. , drinking alcohol to reduce Stress and anxiety), the likelihood that the individual will abuse the rug is extremely high. Coloratura factors also play a vital role in how frequently a substance is used, with family and friends being the most influential.A broken family home (e. G. , marital problems, parent/sibling alcohol or drug use, and legal or psychiatric pr oblems) can have a tremendous negative effect on a child and the decisions they make. A lack of emotional support from parents is found to increase drug use, whereas the lack of parental monitoring if often associated with higher drug use (Kiering, 2014). The idea of being â€Å"popular† and having a ton of friends seems to be a moon goal for the majority of adolescents and young adults.Social influence is explained by the fact that having peers who drink, influences drinking behavior: however, it is also known that individuals will choose friends with drinking patterns similar to their own. While growing up, most of us have always been told to choose our friends wisely; however, they neglected to tell us how difficult this can be. The 1 2-Step program addresses the factors or causes that are responsible for, or related to, substance abuse by helping individuals to understand the concept of change. Processes of change are the covert and overt activities hat people engage in t o alter affect, thinking, behavior, or relationships related to particular problems or patterns of living† (NADIA, 2012). The 12-Step Program helps by addressing a patient's motivation and ability to change while building skills to resist drug use, replacing drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding activities, increasing social alternatives and behaviors that elicit old behaviors, as well as, improving problem-solving skills, and incorporating Sponsorship to help build, or rebuild, healthy interpersonal relationships.It has also been proven that participation in roof therapy, during and following treatment, can help maintain abstinence. A longitudinal study was conducted in 2011 among a U. S. National sample of people who were living in communal-living recovery/transition homes (Oxford Houses) and were also actively involved with Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. â€Å"Categorical involvement in a set of 1 2-step activities and averaged summary scores of involvement were examined in relation to abstinence and self-efficacy for abstinence.Participants who were categorically involved in all 1 2-step activities reported significantly higher evils of abstinence and self-efficacy for abstinence at 1 year compared with those who were less involved† (Major, 2011). The results suggest that the 12- step program provides individuals with substance use disorders the resources they need for ongoing recovery. In 201 3, a longitudinal study, similar to the previous one, was conducted among a U. S. Sample of patients who were in the process of leaving treatment for substance use dependencies. Categorical involvement in a set of 1 2-step activities and summary scores of involvement from the Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation Scale were examined in relation to continuous abstinence and aftercare (Oxford House or usual care) condition† (Major, 2013). The people who were actively involved and participated in the 12-step activities were s ignificantly more likely to maintain and continue drug-free lifestyles after 2 years, versus those who were less involved.Through these two studies, it is suggested that involvement in the 1 2-step program and living in settings, such as the Oxford Houses, are two important factors that are related to continuous abstinence (from both alcohol and illicit drugs) among people with substance use dependencies. Most recently, a study was done on stimulant drug abusers to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week combined group, which included individual 1 2-step facilitative intervention and 12-step meeting attendance and service.The study consisted of a â€Å"MultiMate randomized controlled trial, with assessments at baseline, mid-treatment, end of treatment, and 3- and 6-month post- randomization follow-ups (Fiji)† (Donovan, 2014). It took place in several intensive outpatient substance treatment programs and it measured self- reports of substance use, 12-step attendance and activi ties, as well as a Urinalysis. The results were compared with treatment as usual (TAXI), sousing on the impact of incorporating the 1 2-step program into intensive outpatient drug treatment programs.Although it did associate with more days of use among those who were not achieving abstinence during this period, â€Å"STAGE-12 participants had lower Addiction Severity Index Drug Composite scores at and a significant reduction from baseline to the 3-month IF, attended 12-step meetings on a greater number of days during the early phase of active treatment, engaged in more other types of 12-step activities throughout the active treatment phase and the entire IF period, and had ore days of self-reported service at meetings from mid-treatment through the 6-month IF† (Donovan, 2014).More importantly, the study results indicate that individuals in a 12-step program had higher rates of meeting attendance and were involved in more related activities throughout the active treatment phas e and the entire 6-month follow-up period. Being a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, myself, I absolutely recommend the 12-step program to anyone who is looking for help with their addictions. In 2012, was sentenced to do court-ordered drug counseling and it changed my life for the better.The 12-step program was originally signed for alcoholics, but throughout the years it has been known to help any type of drug addict. I was apprehensive about this at first, but I finally understood after my counselor explained that you just replace the word â€Å"alcohol† with your drug of choice. This is why you can now find individualized programs like Narcotics Anonymous, which cater to and revolve around the 12-steps. â€Å"Another benefit of mutual support group participation is that ‘helping helps the helper. Helping others by sharing experiences and providing support increases involvement in 12-Step groups, which in turn increases abstinence† (CAST, 2008). An agree, and have seen for myself, that helping truly does help the helper. Future research that has been recommended is â€Å"systematic encouragement and community access, which utilizes 12-step members as volunteers in a ‘buddy system' that provides a bridge between formal treatment and community 12-step programs† (Donovan, 2013).Instead of just providing a list of meetings and encouraging attendance, which is the typical referral method, counselors should also introduce the individual to a current member of a 1 2-step program using an in-session telephone meeting in order to arrange attending meeting with him or her. Further studies on this idea will help to determine if there IS a significant difference in rates of attendance when being provided a guide between formal treatment and community 12-step programs, as opposed to just relying on will-power.These future studies could also help the effort to decrease the rates of recidivism in drug addicts by providing an extra step into the reintegration of inmates back into society. Overall, research over the past four decades has proven that active participation in any type of mutual support group, specifically the 12-step aerogram, has significantly increased the likelihood of maintaining a continuous, healthy, alcohol and drug-free lifestyle. In addition, â€Å"an important finding is that these abstinence rates increase with greater group participation† (CAST, 2008).