Requirements Analysis and Railway Reservation - 1505 Words

A SRS SUBMISSION FOR PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF PRACTICAL SESSION OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING LAB [pic] BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IV SEMESTER SESSION 2012-13 |SUBMITTED BY: |SUBMITTED TO : | |Saurabh Sharma (11ERICS033) | Pratibha Dabaas | |Shilpa Singh (11ERICS034) | | |Suraj Singh (11ERICS035) | | ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A study or a project of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Reservation Against Cancellation. †¢ Waiting list Check. †¢ Online Reservation. †¢ PNR Generation 4.1.2 INTENDED AUDIENCE AND READING SUGGESTIONS: The different types of readers are †¢Developers †¢ Customers Management people specifically, Passengers Clerk 4.1.3 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS †¢ NTES – National Train Enquiry System †¢ IVRS – Interactive Voice Response system †¢ PRS – passenger reservation system It consists of †¢ Train details †¢ Reservation form †¢ Billing †¢ Cancellation. 4.2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION: 4.2.1.PRODUCT PERSPECTIVE: It enables us to maintain the railway train details like their timings, number of seat available and reservation billing and cancelling the tickets. COMMUNICATION INTERFACES †¢ Indian Railway’s web-site, www.indianrail.gov.in offers PRS enquiries on the internet Berth/Seat availability, Passenger Status, Fare, Train Schedule etc,. †¢ National Train Enquiry System (NTES) website, www.trainenquiry.com gives dynamic information about the running status of any train and its expected arrival/departure at any given station. †¢ MobileShow MoreRelatedBusiness System Planning For Indian Railways For The Economic Health Of The Country1436 Words   |  6 Pagesas well as CENTRAL FOR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEM can benefit from its use. Indian Railways uses BSP when they want a new way to view the organization and determine the information needs in order to build CRIS. This process is very comprehensive, therefore it is often time consuming and expensive. BSP defines the information architecture for IR. Back ground: An efficient planning document is essential for Indian Railways for the economic health of the country. Indian Railways connects the differentRead MoreOnline Railway Passenger Reservation3358 Words   |  14 PagesFACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (ISS 1123) PROJECT ON: ONLINE RAILWAY PASSENGER RESERVATION SYSTEM (ORPRS) PREPARED FOR: Mr. WAN AZLAN BIN HASSAN PREPARED BY: SHUAIB YUNUS 4101022902 NAHVLEN A/L THIRUVALLUVAN 4101024621 WAN IZ’AAN WAN HANAFI 4101009351 MUGILAN A/L MATHIVANAN 4101023262 MOHAMED RASHID ALI Read MoreAdvanced Railway Resevation System Project1132 Words   |  5 PagesADVANCED RAILWAY RESEVATION SYSTEM Jitesh Bhoir VIVA Institute of Technology Bhoir.jitesh12@ hotmail.com Malaika Mulla VIVA Institute of Technology malaikamulla.9218@ gmail.com Ragini Kale VIVA Institute of Technology raginikale10@ gmail.com Nikita Patil VIVA Institute of Technology nikita.patil@ vivacollege.org ABSTRACT In our country railways have become prominent. Our system consists of solution for reservation, planning and managing railway transportation. It includes the idea ofRead MoreLetter Transmittal : Information System Consultant2139 Words   |  9 Pages703302 COURSE: CIS8004 ASSIGNMENT 1 Letter of Transmittal Sree Divya Kalangi, Information System Consultant, India. To, The Indian Railway Minster, Dear Sir, I appreciate for the acceptance of my earlier proposal for the IRCTC. I have conducted a depth research on the key elements, which you have requested for with about additional information of various mobile operating system versionsRead MoreIndias Cost Advantage For The Indian Railways3087 Words   |  13 Pagesenterprise with a definite cost 7 | P a g e advantage. Railways can generate significant cost savings by sending tickets, newsletters, quotes, and other documents via Internet, rather than by post. Most importantly, Railways can save on customer service costs by enabling customers to serve themselves. Differentiation: The features 1 to 8 put Railways in this category. E-ticketing is a win-win solution for the Indian Railways. It offers them the chance to make considerable savings in bothRead MoreOnline Hotel Booking System1699 Words   |  7 PagesCongratulations! You may now proceed to Chapter 2 and 3. Find time to visit me in the office for further consultation for the better improvement of your research. Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Situation Analysis â€Å"If you want to impose change into something, you have to evaluate first where it stands at the moment. That’s the only way you could completely understand the needed improvement.† As you walk in the lobby, embrace the warm welcome and smiles of the staff and feel at home. From friendly andRead MoreOnline Transaction Processing System4954 Words   |  20 Pagesconcurrency in OLTP environments is very high. A requirement for thousands of concurrent users is not uncommon. * Large data volumes Depending on the application type, the user population, and the data retention time, OLTP systems can become very large. For example, every customer of a bank could have access to the online banking system which shows all their transactions for the last 12 months. * High availability The availability requirements for OLTP systems are often extremely high. AnRead MoreUml Designs2041 Words   |  9 Pagesb. Use case of Library management c. Use case of Railway Reservation System 4. Class introduction 5. Class diagram a. Class diagram of collage management system b. Class diagram of Hospital Management system c. Class diagram of Library management system 6. Interactive diagram Introduction 7. Interactive diagram a. Interactive diagram for ATM machine b. Interactive diagram for Library Management system c. Interactive diagram for Railway Reservation system 8. Collaboration introduction 9. 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This then entails the scheduling of flights and crew. • Passenger services system Ââ€" software which allows the airlines to function comprehensive passenger reservations, inventory control, fares, ticketing, and departure control functions (AirportTecnology.com 2006). This allows airlines to reduce their costs of wages and paper transactions, and maximize utilization. • Yield management Ââ€" this allows the airlines

Greenfield vs Brownfield Sites for Housing Development Free Essays

Greenfield vs Brownfield Sites for Housing Development A Brownfield site is land which has been developed previously and is or has been occupied by a permanent structure. It may be in an urban or rural setting. It does not include agricultural land, forest or parks. We will write a custom essay sample on Greenfield vs Brownfield Sites for Housing Development or any similar topic only for you Order Now Whereas a Greenfield site is Land which has not been occupied by a permanent structure. It usually applies to land in the countryside but can be undeveloped land within an urban setting. Both of these sites can be ideal for the development of new housing but both also have benefits and drawbacks to doing so. Firstly redeveloping Brownfield sites eases pressure on Greenfield sites and is more sustainable. Although Greenfield sites are often on the edge of towns and cities and may have better access, have less congestion, be in a more pleasant environment and have more space and room to expand. Redeveloping a Brownfield site would cause House prices to increase in inner city areas as people are encouraged back to the area. This is a benefit for people already living there but, this might mean that other people cannot afford the houses, and the council will have to provide for them which may cause problems. Basic Infrastructure already exists in Brownfield sites but in Greenfield sites new drainage, electricity, roads etc. would all have to be produced deeming them more expensive. Although Light industry and Science Parks favour out of town locations on Greenfield sites opposed to Brownfield sites and crucially so do their workers who are happier to live away from urban areas. New sites are easier to build on as remains of previous land use do not need to be cleared making them more attractive to retail parks, housing developers etc. But using Greenfield sites is not sustainable as there is too much pressure on the rural-urban fringe therefore making the development of Brownfield sites a better option. There is an issue of contamination and making sites safe for development, given what the land may have been used for before but towns and cities do not want their areas to decay and redeveloping these areas results in more people coming to the area. This helps local businesses as more people means more customers. Building on Greenfield sites on the other hand pulls people out of the towns and cities causing shops etc. aving to re locate on the edge of and towns and cities. In conclusion I feel looking at the benefits and drawbacks of using Brownfield and Greenfield sites for housing redevelopment it would be most beneficial to use Brownfield sites firstly because it is the more sustainable option also the basic infrastructure already exists as well as there being public transport links already in place in many area s. Also it is would help develop areas which may be suffering and increase house prices within that area, making them more wealthy and hopefully lowering crime rates etc. How to cite Greenfield vs Brownfield Sites for Housing Development, Papers

Interesting and exciting in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example For Students

Interesting and exciting in Romeo and Juliet Essay Im going to analyse and comment on how Shakespeare has made these two scenes dramatically interesting and exciting for the audience. In act 1, scene 5, he manipulates a potentially explosive situation between two rivalling families and in act 5, scene 1, he leaves the audience in a state of fearful anticipation. Shakespeare uses a wide range of techniques throughout the play such as: iambic pentameter, imagery, similes, metaphors and oxymorons. The story of Romeo and Juliet is a love affair between two young people from feuding families (lines 3 to 6) From ancient grudgea pair of star crossd lovers take their life. The prologue tells us the story in advance and the knowledge of their certain deaths adds pity to our view of events. We can see them struggling to attain happiness and know that they are always doomed to fail. Along the way people try to help them, but in fact this only leads to disaster, and in the end death for both of them is a better choice than to live without each other. It is a play full of coincidences, which the audience could interpret as fate, and by introducing the situation where Romeo and his friends appear at the Capulet party uninvited, the audience anticipate some kind of disaster, especially as it has been established that the two families hate each other. In Act 1, scene 1, a fight had broken out between the servants of the Montague and Capulet families, and the course language used makes the bad feelings between them obvious, (line 39) Do you bite your thumb at us sir? This defiant gesture was considered to be an insult in Elizabethan England. Scene 5 opens at the party and the atmosphere is relaxed and festive, when within minutes of being there Romeo is struck by Juliets beauty and he admits it, (line 43 to line 52), O she doth teach the torches to burn bright! I neer saw true beauty till this night. It is very dramatic in the sense that Romeo seems to be falling instantly in love with Juliet, and the audience, knowing their families to be enemies, are gripped by the tenseness of the situation. A part of the audience could believe this to be love at first sight, whereas the less romantic members might feel that Romeo is being fickle, insincere and unfaithful to Rosaline. Earlier in Act 1 when she rejected him, Romeo came across as a very lovesick and unhappy young man (line 194) What, shall I groan and tell thee? and later in the same conversation with Benvolio, Romeo has a great deal to say about Rosalines virtues, his admiration and love for her all the while Benvolio tries to convince him to forget her and look elsew here. It seems incredible that such deep feelings of love for Rosaline at the beginning of the act can be so quickly and easily transferred to Juliet. No sooner has Romeo spoken, when Tybalt recognising his voice, wants to start a fight, (line 58), To strike him dead I hold it not a sin. This is very exciting as Romeo is in a room full of people who loathe him and his family. His revealing himself would put his life in great danger. The audience now realise that the evening is not going to go smoothly and the seed of drama and tension has been sown. Tybalts uncle tries to calm the situation (line 70 to 72), Therefore be patient, take no note of himShow a fair presence, and put off these frowns. He has heard Romeo to be Virtuous and well-governd (line 67) and knows that the Prince has banned the two families from fighting. In the end Tybalt backs off, but his presence is felt throughout the scene, reminding the audience of the potential danger that exists while they watch the romance develop between the young couple. This underlying feeling of apprehension remains and is brought to a climax when Romeo realises she is a Capulet, (line 117), O dear account! My life is my foes debt. Revealing his feeling of devastation. .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .postImageUrl , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:hover , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:visited , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:active { border:0!important; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:active , .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66 .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue79041ac25f74d624c98c4c319b41d66:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Sample theatre review (Don John) EssayRomeo and Juliets first meeting is handled most unusually, in the form of a sonnet (lines 93 to 106). Shakespeare would have had music and dancing going on, and because of the nature of the dances in those days, the couple would not always have been dancing with each other. Bearing this in mind, the exchange of conversation would have been broken up while the partners were dancing with someone else, leaving the audience in suspense and longing for the next exchange of words in the sonnet; involving the audience in this most intimate moment. Shakespeare uses much religious imagery for example; (line 93) This holy shrine refers to Juliet s hand and makes an analogy between a pilgrim (Romeo), and a saint (Juliet); allowing Romeo to take the initiative to kiss Juliet when she says Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake.. Words such as sin, trespass and prayer are all used as imagery in these fourteen lines. It is an appropriate and original choice of words and has a beauty and formality, which perfectly captures the awkwardness yet, irresistibility of the moment. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses and keeps coming back to this theme of fate. He first mentions this in the prologue when he says theyre a pair of star-crossed lovers and develops this idea throughout the play. In Act 1 scene 5 Juliet and Romeo find out that they are both from opposing families but are in love. In this scene Romeo comes across as immature and quite desperate. He acts like he is hard done by when actually he has a life most would envy. The reason why this scene is so important is because Shakespeare has now introduced the two star-crossed lovers and they are on the threshold of the fateful romance that turns into disaster, expressed by the chorus, (lines 144 to 157), Now old desire doth in his death-bed lieTempring extremities with extreme sweet. Leaving the audience hoping that against all odds everything will work itself out. Act 5, scene 1, opens with Romeo awaiting news of Juliet and full of optimism that young love inspires. My dreams presage some joyful news at hand (line 2) as previously he had dreamt of Juliet bringing him back to life. The audience have watched the romance between the young lovers develop; they have been infused with the knowledge of the marriage and deceit, they know that Juliet is not really dead, and are hoping that Friar Lawrences plan may work. Even when Balthazar arrives with the news that Juliet is dead, Her body sleeps in Capels monument, (line 18), they still believe that somehow the messenger will arrive and put things right. As Romeo begins to absorb what has happened, Balthazar is frightened for him I do beseech you sir, have patience. some misadventure., (Lines 27-29) because Romeo is looking pale and wild and might do something foolish and dangerous. After Balthazar has gone the audience understand what Romeo intends to do when he says Well, Juliet I will lie with thee tonightWhat ho, apothecary (lines 34-57) as in this long speech he talks of poison and how he will obtain it. It seems very convenient and coincidental that Romeo happened to remember seeing a poor apothecary nearby, who would be only too glad to sell him something illegal in exchange for gold, so he might have a good meal. The audience must want to shout out to Romeo and tell him that Juliet is only sleeping, but they still hope that the messenger will suddenly rush on stage with Friar Lawrences letter. They wait, not believing that Shakespeare could allow Romeo to kill himself- the young couple so near to happiness together- but the scene closes with no news from the Friar, only Romeos determination to end his life next to Juliet in Verona. .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .postImageUrl , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:hover , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:visited , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:active { border:0!important; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:active , .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681 .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6197acf52a54d3d448e158e6c69eb681:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Brutus always acts in an honourable manner and is right to kill Caesar EssaySome of the audience fear the worst, whereas others pray for some kind of intervention before its too late, but no one can yet be certain of the outcome. Just like a good suspense, as the curtain closes on scene 1, Shakespeare has the audience on the edge of their seats in alarm.

Political and Economic Scenarios for the GCC by Catham House

The article ‘Political and Economic Scenarios for the GCC’ presents a brief synopsis of negotiations that were conducted at an intensive course convened at Chatham House in the last month of the spring in 2012. Part of Chatham House’s plan towards outlook tendencies in the GCC, the occasion assembled together a cluster of political objectors from diverse engagements, administrative and NGO councils, economists, commerce members, and scholars.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on ‘Political and Economic Scenarios for the GCC’ by Catham House specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are several most noteworthy key issues that arose at the meeting. These issues integrated the long-lasting exertions to expand the GCC economies in the other direction from oil; moreover, these efforts are being threatened by existing tendencies in communal expenses. These efforts have a need for an ever-escal ating oil cost in order to stabilize the financial plan and are mostly providing subsidies for elevated wages and financial backing rather than prolific performance. In due course, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council require to be converted into less dependent on oil and overseas work force. According to the authors of the article, the necessity of these improvements diverges from state to state; however, each eventually has to face the similar confrontations. Economic incorporation exertions have to aim their attention on searching for collective resolutions. On the course of the following ten years, administration expenditure arrangements and the construction of the employment market will want to change, even despite the fact that the insistence of improvement differs among the GCC states. Financial variations capacity ultimately has to become the chief forces of political deviations. In most of the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the main part of residents seeks for an evolutionary improvement. Furthermore, a diversity of applicants articulated an aspiration to subsidize concepts for their nation’s expansion and acknowledged that the administrations were occasionally too rapid to perceive criticism as a menace deprived of escalating its productive prospective. â€Å"This meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule and the views expressed are those of the participants. This document is intended to serve as an aide-mà ©moire to those who took part and to provide a general summary of discussions for those who did not† (Political and economic scenarios, 2012, p. 2). Basing on the information represented in the report, the improvements are perceived as unavoidable; however, the applicants pronounced worries towards this course of events.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Current economic replies to the Arab arousals were mainly short-termist responsive strategies, concentrating on public-segment salary rambles, occupation formation, and sponsorships. These paces appeared to be departed against several of the optimistic longer-term performance that the administrations were implementing to turn the economies into more maintainable. As a result, from the analytical point of view, the GCC countries will require becoming less reliant on oil and extraneous work force. The insistence of such improvements differs; nonetheless, every state is believed to face the same challenges in the end. Economic assimilation exertions are recommended to center on the discovery of communal resolutions rather than merely providing the countries that were finishing their oil with substitute allowances. Moreover, the ambitions for party-political contribution differ from state to state due to the alterations in economic constructions, party-political principles, and history. In the majority of the Gulf Cooperation Council c ountries, the preponderance of inhabitants wants an evolutionary reorganization; a diversity of contestants uttered an aspiration towards contributing their thoughts for their state’s expansion. The Gulf Cooperation Council continues to be in an administratively perilous area, with the prospective for inconveniences to arise from Iran, Iraq and Yemen. References Political and economic scenarios for the GCC. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Middle%20East/0512gcc_summarytwo.pdf This report on ‘Political and Economic Scenarios for the GCC’ by Catham House was written and submitted by user Terrell Huber to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Practice Creative Writing With These Prompts

Practice Creative Writing With These Prompts You need to write a story for your creative writing class? Would you like it to be a horror story, a suspense, a romance or a sci-fi one? Whatever genre you choose, here are some creative writing prompts for you: Your Biggest Fan This one is straight out of the book Misery by Stephen King where a deranged fan kidnaps and tortures her favorite writer. How can you put a twist on a creepy, invasive fan that will make peoples skin crawl? The Reader Takes Part in the Action Why not write a book where the narrator slowly falls in love with the reader? How would you describe that? Haunted House Is there a creepy old house in your neighborhood that nobody wants to walk past? Are there steep stairs leading up to it like in Psycho? Maybe its a mystery who lives there as nobody is ever seen going in or out, yet theres always a candle in the window at night? What finally brings you to an encounter with the house? A dare from your friends? Did your cat escape and run into the scary house and you have to find it? What do you see when you enter? Vampires, Monsters and Zombies Then there are the traditional monster and zombie stories where bloodthirsty supernatural beings invade a town and start a killing spree. Where are you when this happens? How do you escape? What scenes of horror do you witness as you run for your life? Alternative Dreams The kids usually dream of becoming ninjas, astronauts, cowboys. Instead, they grow up to become bankers, accountants. Imagine the alternative reality, where a little boy wanted to be a lawyer whereas had to become an FBI agent. How would the story evolve? Ghosts These can be some of the scariest stories. Someone has died, but their spirit wont leave. How do you come into contact with this ghost? How do things develop? In the beginning, you merely sense something strange, but as time goes on, the ghost becomes more and more invasive in your life until you find yourself possessed by it! How do you fight the ghost? With a priest? Why is it tormenting you? How can you put it to rest? What is its story? Another Kind of Death In this universe, the dead dont just become limp corpses. They function just like regular bodies, just without a soul. How do they interact with those alive? Why not break the clichà © and make zombies good this time? The Forgotten You awake and start getting ready for work, you go downstairs and no one in your house knows who you are and your pictures have vanished. What do you do first? How do you make your loved ones remember you? Buried Alive As in The Raven where Poes fiancà ©e is buried alive slowly, how could you write this theme to evoke the terror of feeling the earth cover you while youre still alive? Does your victim escape? How do they do it? Who put them there in the first place and why? Accident Sometimes there doesnt have to be a villain for the story to be terrifying. What if you were in an accident, a car crash, or are hanging from a cliff? How do you overcome the situation and make it out alive? Bring on Some Sci-Fi You have invented an A.I system that integrates with a human body to automatically provide adjustments that will allow you to evolve and better your life. You are the first person to test new technology out. What adjustments do you think will be made? A great idea is always vital for a successful story. Pick one of the above or think of one yourself and go ahead, start creating! Got some incredible prompts youd like to share with others? Write them in the comments!

Barbarians and Roman Civilisation

Barbarians and Roman Civilisation The debate surrounding the extent to which the Barbarians facilitated the disappearance of Roman civilisation in the years 376AD to 496AD is one that has been contested throughout history. The arguments can be divided into two major schools of thought. Firstly, Henri Pirenne’s, ‘ Pirenne Thesis’ [1] , which postulates the Barbarians did not facilitate for the disappearance of Roman civilisation and culture, with Roman society continuing after the breakdown of central authority. Pirenne asserts the Barbarian’s sought to benefit from the established Roman civilisation, and thus strove to preserve the Roman way of life. Conversely, the eminent Bryan Ward-Perkins -archaeologist and professor at Oxford University- hypothesises in his magnum opus , ‘ The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization’ the argument: Germanic people instigated the ‘end of civilisation’ for almost one thousand years, characterised by â€Å"social, econom ic and technological regression.† [2] I believe, it’s undeniable to determine that numerous areas of the former Western Empire suffered detrimental changes to their quality of life at the hands of the Barbarian tribes. Nevertheless, evidence shows an abundance of continuity across the former Western Empire following the Germanic incursions, with society progressing in Barbarians cities such as Marseille [3] . Therefore, when assessing the extent to which the Barbarians facilitated for the disappearance of Roman Civilisation; one must determine on a case-by-case basis with no overarching answer conclusively possible. Although, it appears for the majority of the former Western Empire that society progressed, characteristically Roman, but slowly transformed into a Germanic-Romano society, reinforced prominent primary and contemporary sources. One example of the â€Å"supposed regression† that Ward-Perkins uses to develop the idea of the fall of Roman civilisation is the collapse of literary sophistication [4] which characterised the Empire. Ward-Perkins argues the literary record of the ‘Dark Ages’ was not as comprehensive and sophisticated as the period of Roman authority that preceded it. When assessing whether Romanic literary culture survived, or in fact developed, the most utilitarian surviving material is the primary source of eight court charters from Lombardy and Merovingian France. These documents provide an unrivalled primary source for evaluating if Romanic literary culture survived. The Merovingian documents illuminate that of 138 subscribers 73.2% managed to sign the document themselves. [5] With only 37 not being able to sign and therefore assumed ‘illiterate’ we can see an exceptionally high literacy rate. The documents also highlight the demographics of the signatories allowing us to see indisputably, 53 out of the literate 101 were traditional laymen. [6] Of course, this statistic cannot be conc lusive of the entire former Western Empire, but is an indicator that decades after the sacking and formal Germanic occupation a culture of literacy did not irrefutably fall, and in places such as Merovingian France it undeniably developed. Subsequently, this primary source supports Henri Pirenne, who asserted, â€Å"There was an extensive and mostly literate Merovingian lay culture [under Clovis I.]† [7] However, as much as these primary documents aid Pirenne’s argument, in equal regard, they retract, supporting the argument that one cannot provide an overarching answer, assisting Ward-Perkins’ overall regression claims. The first reason why the source is disputable in its substance is those called to sign attendance were innately from the higher echelons of society, even at upper lay level [8] , where literacy was more common than across the general population spectrum. Analysing the equivalent primary documents of Lombard Italy, the number is nowhere near a s impressive, considering that of 988 signatories only 326 [9] could sign their name. Despite representing 633 of the signatures, only 14% of laymen managed to sign with 554 instead having to use the stamp. The value of this Pro-Pirenne source is retracted further when considering that Lombard women were excluded from signing, allowing us to assume immediately that 50% of the population was inherently illiterate. Subsequently, this primary source provides a clear level of understanding into the nature of post-Roman literacy. Nevertheless, it must be ascertained that the documents can’t be treated overly conclusive due to their incomplete nature, and as they only show a localised picture.   Moreover, the documents suggest arguably the most conclusive argument, pockets of Romanic civilisation in the field of literacy continued to excel, whereas others regressed following the fall of Rome. It must be acknowledged since only a modicum of documents survived they cannot be wholly representative of the population, coupled with the fact, not everyone would have been called to sign a during their life. These people were the lowest on the social hierarchy; as a feudal society and due to the nature of the time it’s overwhelmingly likely that the majority of the population would remain illiterate. Overall, this primary source appears to be mostly useful as it mirrors the trends of many other facets of ‘Roman life’ that can be proved more conclusively with France flourishing, culturally and economically whereas other regions, especially in Italy [10] . There is evidence, in line with the ‘Pirenne Thesis’ suggesting society did not back track, seen in Merovingian France, with Gregory of Tours’ ‘ Historia Francorum ,’ [11] allowing us to see literary sophistication surviving 108 years after the fall of Rome. Yet, concurrently supporting Ward-Perkins as there is evident disparity across the Empire, from writ ten sophistication, down to technical regression, with the reduction of documents written on Papyrus paper; seen by the fact that 7 th century Italy only has eight surviving Papyrus documents, only one originating from Rome. [12] Therefore, allowing us to see that even though the upper classes are still literate they’re producing less material of the prowess that characterised the empire. Similarly, for the subordinate classes the lack of evidence makes it impossible to formulate a broad conclusion for large areas of the former Western Empire. On the surviving information, available the evidence would suggest the ‘Pirenne Thesis’ as the most convincing argument when analysing literacy in the former Western Empire, as it appears broadly, a literary culture survived. Many contemporary historians promote the view of the Barbarian as, lacking refinement being â€Å"primitive, ignorant, brutal, rapacious, destructive and cruel.† [13] Emphasising the idea, Roman civilisation was extinguished suddenly and brutally: â€Å"Roman civilization did not pass peacefully. It was assassinated.† [14] Which I do not agree with; rather I align with Pirenne who affirms the Barbarians found it advantageous to embrace the culture. [15] The Primary source, Sidonius Apollinaris promotes in his letters [16] the ‘civilised Barbarian’, the Visigoth King, Theodoric II. Apollinaris presents Theodoric with a lengthy description describing him as a man of prestige and celestial reverence, with the masculine grandeur avowing â€Å"If there is a miss through either’s error, your vision will mostly be at fault, and not the archer’s skill.† Yet still possess a fair complexion â€Å"often flush, but from modesty, and not from anger.† From Apollinaris’ description, we see Theodoric as the ideal ‘Tertullian’ [17] nobleman, an embodiment of Western Culture; which Theodoric II unequivocally strove to fit, a blend between the philosophically methodical and the compassionate. [18] We can see that Apollinaris’ epistle is a valuable source for analysing whether the Barbarians continued Roman ideals, due to contextual factors. Firstly, Theodoric strove to preserve Roman civilization like his father, as they saw Frankish culture as subordinate to Roman due to the ‘admirable’ ideals Roman culture presented. Their determination to preserve roman culture can be seen at the Battle of Chà ¢lonswhere they fought alongside the Romans to force Attila out of North-Eastern France. Despite being the (illegitimate) grandson of Alaric I, under Theodoric I, Frankish-Barbarian culture became interconnected with the Romans. As they were pivotal to Roman victory upon Theodoric’s II succession he was engulfed into the higher strata of Romanic civilisation having gained acclamation defending Romanic culture against rival Barbarian empires. Therefore, when evaluating the source, we can see from Theodoric’s territories, despite the loss of a centralised government in 476AD, the region remained Roman in nearly every sense of the word, only through decades of gradual attrition long after the fall of Rome that the region itself stopped identifying as ‘Roman’, evolving into a Gallo-Romano society. Theodoric produced a myriad of geometric and stonework motifs [19] in Carcassonnea promoting continuity between Rome and the reign of Theodoric II, showing Roman civilisation surviving. Despite Apollinaris’ sheer idealisation of Theodoric, we can see that the description isn’t just propaganda comparable with Tacitus’ ‘ Germania’ [20] , but, rather an astute analysis of Theodoric’s character. We can see this as Apollinaris outlines Theodoric wanting to represent a Roman man but falling short, he embraced Christianity to preserve Roman civilisation; however, it was apparent his prayers were â€Å"mo re in habit than in convicted assiduity†. Subsequently, it’s undeniable to determine that despite the sources amplification, it’s credible in its material; a criticism suggesting Theodoric wasn’t a convicted Christian would send him into a bout of rage. However, the suggestion he was almost so civilised as for him to be ‘Roman’ should be taken lightly as despite his appreciation of culture and art, he obtained the throne by the murdering elder brother Thorismund [21] . Gibbon stated: â€Å"he justified this atrocious deed by the design which the heir-apparent formed of violating his alliance with the empire.† [22] Therefore, regardless of the good nature to Theodoric’s crime, defending the Empire, he violated the principles of being ‘Roman’. In Theodoric’s Visigoth kingdom, it’s clear to see Romano culture surviving, only after gradual attrition, evolving. Therefore, we see both Pirenne and Ward-Perkin s coming through; Pirenne could clearly assert that culture here did survive before transforming into a Gothic kingdom. This source validates the argument of Ward-Perkins, it’s clear despite the attempts made by Theodoric to maintain a level of Roman culture; it was incompatible with the average Barbarian who had little interesting in preserving Romanness dating back to the tribe of Theodoric’s grandfather sacking Rome in 410AD. Theodoric’s Roman ideals were not shared by the upper echelons of the Frank society, seen by the fact he was assassinated only a few years after taking the throne by brother Euric. It’s possible to see the shift (or, perceived shift) in civilisation from Roman control to Barbarian through the primary source, the Bishop of Chaves, Hydatius. Hydatius’ ‘The Chronicle of Hydatius and the Consularia Constantinopolitana ‘ [23] provides the only extensive account of Spanish history through the fifth century. Hydati us states that post-Roman Gallaecia was, â€Å"A wretched place to live, the inhabitants: cold, inhospitable and brutishà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Despite the mineral wealth, the place had a vile reputation for brigandage and ruinous tribal warfare.† [24] Hydatius allows us to see the transition from peaceful times the emergence of a Germanic kingdom, following 411AD and, Vandal and Suevi invasions there’s a drop in the variety of sources used by the Churchman. Hydatius was forced to live within an isolated Roman community constantly threatened by the barbarian presence [25] , subsequently Germanising the region facilitating for a cultural revolution. The complexity of the Chronicle is replaced by uncertainty; Hydatius makes no secret of the fact that the Barbarians that facilitated for the loss of sophistication in his work. Following the death of John of Jerusalem in 417AD, all Hydatius could ascertain was that an â€Å"elderly man† took over the bishopric, despite it b eing well known outside Northern Spain that Praylius had been occupying the role for several years. Due to the Barbarian occupation, we see clear gaps in the information the source presents. Hydatius knows after the expulsion of Nestorius from Constantinople, Flavian became the Patriarch (447-449); but gives no indication that he knew of either man who occupied the role from 431-447AD, Maximian and Proclus [26] . Subsequently, we see an undeniable decline under Germanic occupation regressing from fluid streams of communication with Flavius Aetius to uncertainty; reinforcing the argument that Barbarian’s facilitated the disappearance of Roman civilisation in the years 376AD to 496AD. However, akin to many characteristics of the period, the answer appears to be somewhere in the middle, which becomes apparent due to Hydatius’ source limitations. Hydatius is intrinsically anti-German due to their forceful occupation of his land and therefore he demonises them at every op portunity. It’s perspicuous that the Chronicle was never intended for anyone outside Spaniards, potentially even Galicia. [27] Despite being a one-of-a-kind account of Barbarian’s in Spain, Hydatius is prone to exaggerating the occupations impacts. The barbarian entry in 409AD was undoubtable an event which made an impact, but not a resounding one, with chroniclers such as Count Marcellinus passing over it with silence, but to Hydatius it was an event of equal significance to the Sack of Rome. Delusion expected of a man who â€Å"fully expected the world to end within fifteen years† [28] . One of the reasons why Hydatius’ source is not conclusive of Germanic Spain is due the contrast between Hydatius’ meagre knowledge of the world, compared with the other letters and sources coming out of Spain synchronously. We can see that during the period of 468-483AD, when the times were more tumultuous, encompassing the fall of Rome we can see that communica tion between the Rome and Mà ©rida was frequent and fast. This consequently, suggests the rest of Spain was not so cut off from civilisation and the Romanic world. There are many communiquà ©s addressed to Zeno, the Bishop of Mà ©rida from Pope Simplicius, with one reading â€Å"We have learned from the report of many† [29] , about Zeno’s excellent administration. Therefore, it can be deduced that many travellers reported the ecclesiastical conditions in Southern Spain, Simplicius bears no hint of anticipating any difficulties in sending confidential letters outlining his ambitions to a distant land that Hydatius had marked as ‘Barbaric.’ Correspondingly, the metropolitan bishop, and the Pope years prior to Hydatius, referred to North-Western Spain as the edge of the world and â€Å"an extreme part of the earth† [30] , it is subsequently no surprise that Cape Finisterre was believed to the furthest west point on Earth. Therefore, the hypothesis that the Barbarians alone were responsible for the lack of communication is not a conclusive one, despite it being true that the reach of the sources decreased; there was a reason why for centuries the Greeks referred to the land as â€Å"mountainous, cold and hard to reach.† Subsequently, supporting the argument that despite what Hydatius said appearing mostly true, when considering the entire Western Empire, the account is microcosmic. Reinforcing the idea that in certain areas, life carried on as normal, whereas in other places, such as Galicia, the status-quo Romanic culture was replaced by the new Germanic one. For the majority of people in Spanish lands communication does not seem to be affected, referenced by the dozens of surviving letters between Tarragona and Rome (463-465AD) with, in the many qualms raised, communication never even being implied. When assessing whether Roman Civilisation ‘disappeared’ or not, one of the most compelling arguments fro m both Ward-Perkins and Pirenne is centred on the post-Roman economy. Henri Pirenne’s ‘Thesis’ has spearheaded the argument suggesting continuity with the Roman economic model. The ‘Thesis’ establishes that Mediterranean trade in 600AD was no different to that of 400AD taking the stance that the Germanic invasions did not destroy the unity that the ancient Mediterranean world had enjoyed [31] . This perception of continuity has stemmed debate, especially considering Pirenne’s Thesis is heavily reliant upon written evidence [32] ,   Looking at the archaeology along with the written sources is pivotal to comprehending the post-Roman economy and the role the barbarian invasions played; thus, Ward-Perkins’ provides a convincing argument. Extensive settlements such as Marseille are communities that had significant populations supported by excellent archaeological records, enabling the most rounded view on the extent to which Barbarian s facilitated the disappearance of Roman Civilisation. As preluded, one such case study mentioned by both Ward-Perkins and Pirenne is Marseille, a site which has been extensively excavated enabling for detailed accounts of Late Antique Marseille to be presented. Ward-Perkins incorporates the evidence of professor Simon Loseby, accredited for the most vigorous excavation and analysis of Marseille into his work, Ward-Perkins believes, ‘Marseille may have been particularly well-placed to ride, even to turn back, a tide of events whichà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was pushing ahead the process of urban and economic decline. [33] ‘ This conclusion is possible due to examination of both written and archaeological evidence; pinpointing the fact that Marseille continued as a trading centre centuries after 476AD through examination of the ceramic material available there. [34]    It appears Marseille was able to continue as a part of the pan-Mediterranean trading network until at leas t the end of the sixth century.   It’s also noted that Marseille had its own mint, capable of producing copper and gold coinage, suggesting that Marseille had an economic hegemony on the surrounding area [35] .   Thus, Marseille’s image is not simply of a city that endured Barbarian rule, but rather one that progressed.   This view is emphasised in written sources too, seen from the Bishop of Tours, presenting a thriving cosmopolitan city, stimulated by the perpetual flow of merchants, diplomats and churchmen [36] . Conclusively, Marseille undoubtedly avoided economic decline under the rule of the barbarians and from the contextual evidence available the Roman way of life appear does not appear to vanish from the city; collateral to, neighbours Arles. However, Marseille is an isolated case study.   In this instance, the barbarians appear to have had a very small role in the end of the Roman world, Marseille is not representative of the sit uation many found themselves in after the barbarian invasions.   What it shows through archaeology was that the invasions were not universally detrimental as in some areas, Barbarians sought to use Roman institutions for profit, promoting continuity between the Romans and Barbarians. This is where the differentiation between Ward-Perkins and Pirenne comes in. Across the former Empire, evidence suggests a general decline in standards of living. Ward-Perkins actively pursues the idea that the period following 476AD was one of a ‘dramatic move away from sophistication toward much greater simplicity’. [37] He reinforces this stance by through an examination of pottery and coinage, seen through the existence of luxury, but a substantial middle and lower goods market. [38]    Ward-Perkins also establishes a pattern of reduced pottery and coinage production, across the former Empire in from 476 until the fourteenth century [39] .   Where the ‘Pirenn e Thesis’ falls short compared to Ward-Perkins is the fact that Ward-Perkins recognises cities such as London and Marseille flourished following the collapse of Imperial power, whilst other economic centres collapsed. Wherever the Barbarians didn’t see profit, they laid siege destroying the societies civilisation, seen from the economic damage left to industries such as farmland, and the loss of citizens either through capture or violence.   Evidence of the Barbarian trail of destruction can be seen from the sack of Mainz all the way to Toulouse and into Spain.   It may be unfair to criticise Pirenne exceedingly, as Ward-Perkins had the best part of seventy years’ extra research available following Pirenne’s posthumously published ‘Thesis’. Considering the information Pirenne had in the 1920s he provides a detailed, accurate analysis of Mediterranean trade and Roman Civilisation. But, when we add the years of development, with w idespread archaeological analysis, predominantly a post-World War II development; in the Mediterranean and Central/Western European we see a new light. Thus, we are able to come to the conclusion that whilst areas of the former Western Empire fell into a state of economic devastation, other areas improved, rising to new heights under Barbarian occupation. In conclusion, whilst the Barbarians catalysed the ending of the most vast and complex institution in the ancient world, the notion they conclusively marked the end of civilisation in the west for a thousand years is a claim that does not stand true conclusively.   There is undoubtable evidence to suggest that after the occupation of the Empire by the barbarian peoples, the systems implemented by the Romans were still in place, and that both the administrative [40] and day to day status quo remained largely unchanged for over two hundred years. Archaeological and literary evidence suggests, after the Barbarian invasions i ndividual provinces and communities continued to carry out daily life in much the same way that they had done in the later days of the Empire the early seventh century. Following the Barbarians penetration of the empire it’s undeniable that certain tribes sought to ruthlessly destroy, as can see be in Pesaro and Fano in Italy which had their walls destroyed and internal structures burnt to the ground. [41] Milan too, where the Milanese women and children were enslaved and the men all killed [42] . But, there were clear examples of the preservation of Roman culture as we can see through case studies such as Marseille, and Barbarian kingdoms originally characterised by their Roman way of life. Leading to the assertion that the extent to which Roman civilisation survived depended on where you happened to live. Predominantly, Romanic culture appears to continue for decades after the first crossing of the Danube by the Barbarians, the period of Germanic rule ushered â€Å"a time of narrowing horizons, strengthening local roots, and consolidating old loyalties.† [43] Bibliography

Detecting Cry1Ab gene in Mon0810 Transgenic Maize by PCR Lab Report

Detecting Cry1Ab gene in Mon0810 Transgenic Maize by PCR - Lab Report Example The idea is to check for the gene size of Cry1Ab in order to distinguish it from the rest of the other gene strands. Cry1Ab is a gene from an incorporated plant pesticide thus its genetic sequence is known. A comparison of the known and the established one from the photograph helps to determine its presence in the transgenic maize. If its size is seen to match with the known then it is present, if there is no matching band of close size then Cry1Ab is not present in the maize. Basically, PCR is an easier method for detection of genes as their amplification and comparison with the known size of the DNA strand becomes captured. GAMARRA,LUIS FERNANDO RIMACHI, DELGADO,JORGE ALCAÃŒ NTARA, VILLASANTE,YENY AQUINO, & ORTIZ,RODOMIRO. (2011). Detecting adventitious transgenic events in a maize center of diversity. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology. http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-34582011000400009. WALSH, MARIA C., BUZOIANU, STEFAN G., GARDINER, GILLIAN E., REA, MARY C., GELENCSÉR, EVA, Jà NOSI, ANNA, EPSTEIN, MICHELLE M., ROSS, R. PAUL, & LAWLOR, PEADAR G. (n.d.). Fate of Transgenic DNA from Orally Administered Bt MON810 Maize and Effects on Immune Response and Growth in Pigs. Public Library of Science.

Education and Transportation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education and Transportation - Research Paper Example On the way to the Middle East, the Ottoman led Turkey’s Empire conquered Qatar and maintained strong control of strategic cities for several centuries. By 1821, this virgin and valuable land attracted the interests of the Britain who invaded its coastal lands and destroyed the Portuguese structures on the claim that it was a haven for piracy (Al-Amoodi and Kasim 145). Since their entry into the country, the British has dominated and transformed leading sectors of the economy. They have also influenced Qatar’s original culture, language, and general economic activities. One of the areas that have heavily been influenced by the British culture is education. Qatar has many schools and learning institutions that cater for local and foreign academic demands. Its education systems are jointly controlled by the Supreme Education Council and the Ministry of Education. However, the bulk of regulation and control of the academic systems are left to the Supreme Education Council. This is regulatory body has tried to make Qatar’s educations system world-class. This has been realized through according learning institutions more authority to independently exercise full control over their academic affairs. Private and international schools are very popular in major cities of the country. Notably, very few locals attend these institutions on the account that they are unaffordable to majority of low and medium income Qataris (Trani and Holsworth 71). The popular and recommended curriculums are American, French, International, and the British Education Syste m. Given that dominance of the Britain in Qatar, its political systems have referred and recommended the British Education System for the local and international interests. The British academic modules and programs have been applied in Qatar. This has impacted on the general academic standards of the country. This is because they have heavily borrowed from the British education

Statement of purpose Essay Example for Free

Statement of purpose Essay Civil Engineering is vital to the modern world as it has been since the beginning of human history. The scientific, mathematical and team-working challenges present in modern engineering have always fascinated me and from the beginning of my secondary education, I have realized that I will always crave and enjoy such challenges. My desire to command projects from drawings and numbers on a sheet of paper to awe-inspiring physical structures has been present ever since I took part in a school engineering project. It consisted of three teams of five students whose task was to design and build a mini-sculpture of a transport bridge which would later be tested and scrutinized by the task leaders. My communication and leadership abilities were obvious from this project and I have been focused on improving them ever since. My desire and interest for engineering was further escalated as I watched day-by-day the construction of 30 St Mary Axe all the way to completion. My wonder that such a beautiful and complicated building could be constructed within the UK simply inspired me. My ambition for the future is to become a fully qualified Civil Engineer and to work my way up in a large construction company to become a Project Manager. I have read many case studies of people who have achieved this and I am working hard in order to gain the skills and knowledge these successful engineers have. I am currently studying Advanced Higher Mathematics and Higher Business Management because I believe these subjects can provide me with the essential skills and knowledge vital to a successful engineer. I very much enjoy mathematics aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" it being my most accomplished subject. I have taken part in the Mathematics Challenge every year of my secondary education and have found each yearaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s puzzle more exciting than the last. Completion of this yearaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s challenge is therefore one of my targets for the coming year. In addition to this, I have also joined the Stirling High School Senior Mathematics Team and am eagerly awaiting the scheduled competitions against our neighbouring schools in the Central Region. In my sixth year at school I have taken part in the Young Enterprise program and have managed to obtain the position of Finance Director, I have accomplished this through convincing the other members of my mathematical talent and interest. I often have long discussions with the Managing Director about the companyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s next moves and provide him with the financial data that I have collected. I have also taken the initiative to set up a chess club in my school where I teach the junior members and some disabled students how to play chess, and for the students already able, I show them tricks and techniques in order to develop their skills as a player. I find this very rewarding and exciting as I can apply my communication and teaching skills to a hobby. I have managed to build a relationship with the Large Property Developer aâ‚ ¬? Carronvale Homesaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. I have informed them of my desire to be a civil engineer and so once a week I am granted access to talk to the Project Manager at a site near my home who gives me updates and insights into what is going on around the site that day. I have found our interactions to be invaluable as they have provided me with an insight into what a day in the life of a Project Manager is like and has further escalated my ambition to be a civil engineer. In addition to my school related commitments, I am currently working part time as a sales assistant at Homebase while I complete my studies. I enjoy working during very busy hours so I can challenge myself and further improve my communication skills whilst sustaining an acceptable level of service under enormous pressure. Working within this environment has drastically improved my ability to work as an individual and as part of a small team and I hope to further improve these skills in the future. My main hobby is playing the bagpipes both as a solo competitor and as part of a world championship winning pipe band. My father has the leading role as Pipe Major in the band but I am often relied upon to lead the 30-strong team in his absence. This allows me to test my communication and leadership skills simultaneously. I have trained since I was very young and have shown absolute commitment to my hobby for almost ten years. I am absolutely committed to becoming a successful engineer and will work endlessly in order to achieve my goals. I feel that university will be one of the most exciting and interesting times of my life and eagerly await the experiences which university life will provide for me. I believe I am more than capable of achieving my aspirations through a series of short-term goals aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" perhaps the most significant of which is gaining entrance into university, which will provide me with the challenges and experiences any ambitious engineer should crave.

Freedom: Digital and Literal Essay -- The Internet

The internet has become an integral part of our lives, linking people overseas, transmitting ideas, and propelling innovation. In order to continue the innovations and links, governments and service providers should not regulate, restrict, or censor the internet. The internet, as it stands today, serves as a medium for our entertainment, communication, and commercial needs. It is something many of us have come to take for granted. The original intended purpose of the first â€Å"internet,† however, goes back to the days of the Cold War where the ever looming threat of a nuclear missile attack prompted the U.S., as well as many other countries, to build a robust, fault-tolerant, and widely distributed computer network. By 1970, ARPANET had been created from research funded by the Department of Defense. ARPANET linked research facilities in the East and West coasts in a way that was unprecedented in terms of speed and cost. The internet was not commercialized until the last decade of the 20th century, after which it gained widespread popularity and was subsequently incorporated into many aspects of our lives. How different groups approach these problems are sometimes as different as night and day. All of these approaches, however, center around regulation, which is itself composed of issues such as anti-piracy laws, net neutrality, and freedom of speech. The most recent of these issues concerns many pieces of â€Å"anti-piracy† legislation that have appeared before the United States’ Congress and before the European Union’s Parliament. In 2010, Congress attempted to quietly pass the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act, which would allow the suspension of websites that have been determined to be "dedicated to infringing acti... ...ter Bomb’." Wired. (2012): 1. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Segal, David. "Stop the Internet Blacklist." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Steigman, Daria. "Is Internet Access a Human Right?" Steigman Communications, LLC. 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Suderman, Peter. "Internet Cop." Reason. 01 Mar. 2011: 20. eLibrary. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Tait, Robert. "Censorship Fears Rise as Iran Blocks Access to Top Websites." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 03 Dec. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Tassi, Paul. "You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You." Forbes. Forbes, 03 Feb 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Wagner, Adam. "Is Internet Access a Human Right?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Wyden, Ron. "Press Releases." Wyden Places Hold on Protect IP Act. 26 May 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Freedom: Digital and Literal Essay -- The Internet The internet has become an integral part of our lives, linking people overseas, transmitting ideas, and propelling innovation. In order to continue the innovations and links, governments and service providers should not regulate, restrict, or censor the internet. The internet, as it stands today, serves as a medium for our entertainment, communication, and commercial needs. It is something many of us have come to take for granted. The original intended purpose of the first â€Å"internet,† however, goes back to the days of the Cold War where the ever looming threat of a nuclear missile attack prompted the U.S., as well as many other countries, to build a robust, fault-tolerant, and widely distributed computer network. By 1970, ARPANET had been created from research funded by the Department of Defense. ARPANET linked research facilities in the East and West coasts in a way that was unprecedented in terms of speed and cost. The internet was not commercialized until the last decade of the 20th century, after which it gained widespread popularity and was subsequently incorporated into many aspects of our lives. How different groups approach these problems are sometimes as different as night and day. All of these approaches, however, center around regulation, which is itself composed of issues such as anti-piracy laws, net neutrality, and freedom of speech. The most recent of these issues concerns many pieces of â€Å"anti-piracy† legislation that have appeared before the United States’ Congress and before the European Union’s Parliament. In 2010, Congress attempted to quietly pass the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act, which would allow the suspension of websites that have been determined to be "dedicated to infringing acti... ...ter Bomb’." Wired. (2012): 1. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Segal, David. "Stop the Internet Blacklist." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Steigman, Daria. "Is Internet Access a Human Right?" Steigman Communications, LLC. 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Suderman, Peter. "Internet Cop." Reason. 01 Mar. 2011: 20. eLibrary. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Tait, Robert. "Censorship Fears Rise as Iran Blocks Access to Top Websites." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 03 Dec. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Tassi, Paul. "You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You." Forbes. Forbes, 03 Feb 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2012. Wagner, Adam. "Is Internet Access a Human Right?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. Wyden, Ron. "Press Releases." Wyden Places Hold on Protect IP Act. 26 May 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

Agricultural Revolution of the 10th Century

This paper will look at the Agrarian revolution that occurred in 10th century and the resulting effects on the political, social, cultural and economic conditions in Europe.Agricultural revolution in Europe was a period where there was witness of sustained changes in the way people carried out their farming activities. It had to do with increased output of products and general changes in the methods of carrying out agricultural activities on farmland.  10th century Europe fell under the â€Å"Middle ages, an era when agricultural methods of production were mostly peasantry in nature. Most of the populations during the 10th century Europe were serfs who were employed by other people to work on their farmlands† (Chris, par. 2).There was no clear sub-division of land and the main tool farming was the ox drawn plow and the system of farming was the two field system. This was a system of farming where one field was cultivated while leaving the other one fallow so as to reclaim th e soil’s nutrients. Population growth during these ages was very low. This can be attributed to the poor methods of farming which led to low yields hence food insecurity.Agricultural revolution came about with the systematic changes in the methods of production. One major indicator of the revolution was through the consolidation of common land that led to introduction of individual ownership of those properties.Thus rights of ownership were created through the abolition of the open field system of cultivation. The plow as the main tool of cultivation underwent redesigning, and also, the two-field crop rotation was changed to a three- field, and hence these served as contributors to the increased food production that occurred.The Agricultural revolution that occurred at this time brought great impacts to the socio-economic conditions of Europe as a whole. One impact was increase in population, mostly in the towns. Individual ownership of land led to many people selling off the ir lands.The consequences were that there was increase in the number of people without land, but who were working as laborers for the big landowners. Others migrated to towns and thus contributed to rapid population growth.Furthermore adoption of better methods of farming led to increased food production and hence surplus production. This surplus production was then traded for other goods that were lacking. This served as the beginning of exchange of goods and services and also development of trading systems.The agricultural revolution also served as the main cause of change from feudalism to capitalism. Introduction of wage labour whereby landlords entered agreements with workers served as the springboard on which market economy fundamentals were established and power over the land which was appropriated by those who controlled it.Developments that resulted from the agricultural revolutions in terms of new towns, migrations and changes in land ownership necessitated changes in the political and cultural system of the people.There were changes from â€Å"feudalism as the most dominant form of political organization to formation of the nation-state† (Adriaan, par. 4). Development of ideas of sovereignty led to establishment of monarchies in countries like France and England which were seen as the reflection of civilization.â€Å"Moreover changes in the cultural mentality of the people were witnessed with the spread of renaissance ideas, diffusion of old ideas and the rise of secular attitudes in art, education and politics.† (par. 6).ConclusionThe agricultural revolution was a crucial event as far as mankind is concerned.   Interactions over time throughout man’s history that have brought about inventions and development of man’s civilization cannot be said to be complete without reference to the Agrarian revolution.Works CitedAdriaan Verhulst. â€Å".Medieval Socio-economic Historiography in Western Europe: Towards an Integrated Approach.† Journal of Medieval History. June 1998. Mechelsesteenweg. Antwerp. Belgium. 12 Nov. 2008< http://www.sciencedirect.com/science>Chris, Butler. â€Å"The agricultural revolution in medieval Europe.† The Flow of History.2007:  12 Nov. 2008 < http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west>

The impasse situation

People want these concerns met (neither excessively nor minimally) but to the appropriate extent. Three standards can be used in measuring the extent to which others are treating these concerns. They are to determine whether the approach to these concerns is fair, is honest and is consistent with current circumstances. According to Webster’s dictionary, an impasse is a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position.The impasse situation I would like to analyze is one where the technical and business teams are working on an initiative. The technical team is taking the lead role. The business team is not cooperative because they believe that the technical team always takes the glory on these types of projects. This conflict has now become an impasse because the business team is not forthcoming with the information that is needed to move the project forward. The concern I would address at such an impasse is that of Status.It appears that the business team believes that their relative standing is being treated as inferior to others. To meet this concern, as leader of the technical team, I would give full recognition to the business team. This recognition is well deserved because the business team is close to the operations and has a full understanding of the business requirements. I would introduce the business partners by status and designation and recognize their previous contributions at projects of this nature. I would even go as far as saying that these initiatives could not get done without the business partners.All memos and status reports would be co-signed by the technical and the technical team leaders to show contribution from both teams. By doing this I would be able to overcome any adversarial behavior due to this misconception. Instead, this would encourage co-operative behavior and creative solutions to the problem as well as trust between bo th teams. References Fisher R. , Shapiro D. , 2005. Beyond reason: using emotions as you negotiate. New York: Viking. pp. 15-21. impasse. (n. d. ). Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law. Retrieved August 07, 2007, from Dictionary. com website: http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/impasse

Mastaba, the Original Pyramids

Mastaba, the Original Pyramids A mastaba is a large rectangular structure that was used as a type of tomb, often for royalty, in Ancient Egypt. Mastabas were relatively low (especially when compared to pyramids), rectangular, flat-roofed, roughly bench shaped burial structures that were created and utilized for the pre-Dynastic pharaohs or nobility of Ancient Egypt. They had distinct sloping sides and were typically made of mud bricks or stones. The mastabas themselves served as visible monuments for the prominent Egyptian nobility that they housed, although the actual burial chambers for the mummified corpses were underground and were not visible to the public from the outside of the structure. Step Pyramid Technically, mastabas preceded the original pyramid. In fact, pyramids developed directly from mastabas, as the first pyramid was actually a type of step pyramid, which was constructed by stacking one mastaba directly on top of a slightly larger one. This process was repeated several times in order to create the initial pyramid. The original step pyramid was designed by Imhotepin the third millennium BC. The sloping sides of traditional pyramids were adopted directly from mastabas, although the flat roof typical of mastabas was replaced by a pointed roof in pyramids. The common flat-sided, pointed pyramid also developed directly from the mastabas. Such pyramids were created by modifying the step pyramid by filling in the uneven sides of the pyramids with stones and lime in order to create the flat, even outward appearance. This eliminated the stair-like appearance of step pyramids. Thus, the progression of pyramids went from the mastabas to the step pyramids to the bent pyramids (which was an in-between form of the step pyramid and the triangular shaped pyramids), and then finally the triangle shaped pyramids, like those seen at Giza. Usage Eventually, during the Old Kingdom in Egypt, Egyptian royalty such as kings stopped being buried in mastabas, and began being buried in more modern, and more aesthetically pleasing, pyramids. Egyptians of non-royal background continued to be buried in mastabas. From the Encyclopedia Britannica: â€Å"Old Kingdom mastabas were used chiefly for non-royal burials. In nonroyal tombs, a chapel was provided that included a formal tablet or stela on which the deceased was shown seated at a table of offerings. The earliest examples are simple and architecturally undemanding; later a suitable room, the tomb-chapel, was provided for the stela (now incorporated in a false door) in the tomb superstructure. Storage chambers were stocked with food and equipment, and walls were often decorated with scenes showing the deceased’s expected daily activities. What had earlier been a niche on the side grew into a chapel with an offering table and a false door through which the spirit of the deceased could leave and enter the burial chamber.†

Different Views On Slavery Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Different Views On Slavery - Research Paper Example The assignment "Different Views On Slavery" presents a review of the situation in the United States America regarding slavery including the views on slavery of several significant figures in the United States politics. Slavery was a very common sort of business that was widely prevailing in the western as well as eastern culture. It was not simply getting the work out of people but also treating them brutally and cruelly, rather not regarding them as a part of the society. They only considered as one’s property that can also be traded with other parties in an open market. No matter if that slave is actually willing to work or not, he was ruthlessly forced to do all the tasks that have been assigned to him. Explaining this all concept of slavery, in a nutshell, can be termed as crafting a sense of inferiority in a certain group of people and making them feel that they are nothing but an instrument of great people. This concept was initiated in the early centuries in which people were purchased by giving some amount of money and then taken on remand for almost all of their lives. They were further traded with other people charging more money depending upon the slaves' skills, capabilities, personality looks etc. the captured slaves have no rights in the society and in all cases were considered inferior. In older times, this slavery was recognized by most parts of the world and was considered lawful. However, it was purely un- ethical to treat humans and things and under grading certain cast. Slavery in United States of America It was the initial colonial era that endorsed slavery. In the late seventies and stretching to late eighties, slavery was widely accepted by reputed and well established communities of the western as well as eastern world. Most importantly, it was very dominating and prominent in major areas of the United States of America. Slavery in the united states was termed as major legal institution and was regarded lawful and ethical. The roots of such act and laws popped up when united states successfully managed to get the independence from Great Britian in the year 1776. After a certain period of time, few people took the initiative to step against the tide. Few people rebelled against this evil practice of the Northern part of the country and endorsed the basic human and society rights of individuals. But on the other hand South was in complete favor of slavery. All this prevailing situation gave a courage to the slave society to raise their voices for themselves and halt this evil practice in the upcoming future. As a result, a chaos situation triumph in the whole country that later on, at the extreme, lead to the Civil War in the United States. Views On Slavery The topic of slavery became the limelight of a number of historians, philosophers, scholars and scientists. They were found highly interesting in researching and writing on this hot issue that w as in the air at those times. A great number of scholars took slavery as a part of their research for the reason that it was fitting really well into their officially authorized focus on the fresh scientific history (Smith, 1980). In addition, Thomas Jefferson also highlights the issue of slavery. His work on this topic can be termed as mix and even contradictory to his own points. His work on slavery completely represents his point that he was highly against this cruelty, ruthlessness and brutal treatment of the human element. He condemned this act widely through his columns, papers etc. He was the one man army which stood firm against the entire Virginia Assembly to enforce the law of Manumission in 1769 (Ford, 2008). Stanley Elkins' Slavery Stanley Elkins is a renowned personality that has great lists of works as far as the topic of slavery is concerned. His work was highly influential and striking at that point in time as it was the age when slavery was at the height of its prev ailing period. He made two most important arguments in regard to slavery 1. The American natives or some who were also known as the abolitionist had an idea to cut off the total efficiency and efficacy by means of insisting on the consistency of the roots of ideology, wholesomeness and steadiness.

System Modelling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

System Modelling - Assignment Example The represented logical structures abstract the inputs, outputs and data flows in the system. In other words the process and representations in the system are models. Keywords: Web-based, management, JavaScript, Remote, Information Technology Sequence Diagram to add a book into the library database: Collaboration Diagram to add a new book to the library Alternative solutions In library management, the software application solutions available are numerous. For instance, one can build a virtual library, use the manual system, use a cloud application for the library management etc. Another additional option is to purchase an information system off the shelf. This means that it is not a tailor made solution; therefore it may pose incompatibility problems. All these systems require careful evaluation and assessment, in order to come up with the most cost effective option that also caters for the organisational needs (Lesley, 2006). The process of system analysis and design should cover th e business, or operational aspect of the organisation. This is in order to guarantee that the system makes â€Å"business sense†. The definition for business sense is a system that balances the organisational needs and the user requirements. This ensures that the end solution does not implement the business requirements and leave the user functionality (Hickie, Greasley & Bocij, 2008). Proposed system description Based on the requirements of the organisation, the system desired should introduce the concepts of automatic record keeping and digitize the library processes. The system will provide the functionality to add new books, update book details and manage non-book items. In addition, the system shall display referral links to electronic book sites and also provide purchase links. Further, the system proposed will also act as an information collaboration platform. This will coordinate the communication between the staff/management and the library members (Boehm, & Petty 19 99). Alternative solution one: Virtual Library The virtual library solution provides a fully functional system that manages issuing, sale and reading of electronic books. It can be accessed via the internet by users. However, the users need to register with the library for accounts and also pay a small subscription fee. The virtual library has the advantage of cost. It is cheap to implement it as a solution and it has minimal infrastructural needs. Berndt (2002) explains that the main disadvantage of the virtual library is that it cannot hold any physical objects given that it runs on the system. The Swansea Docklands society needs a physical access and the online system is intended to bring efficiency and convenience. To publicise their library internet marketing may work, but the virtual library will not be the desired product. Alternative solution two: Cloud Application Boehm, & Petty (1999) points that cloud computing is among the most recent technology developments in the IT wo rld that has revolutionised communication, data storage and. This technology squarely fits the needs of a museum and library management system. End users are able to access cloud based library manageme

Week 3 student replys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Week 3 student replys - Essay Example The post gives an enlightening account of the involvement of Tempo Air in every stage of construction, and until the home is actually occupied and being lived in by the homeowner and his/her family. It is clear that inspection and testing is undertaken, and that the ultimate results have to do with reduction of energy bills, elimination of problems involving moisture content, and enhancement of indoor air quality or IAQ. What appears vague is the particular process undertaken by Tempo Air in the course of achieving its objectives. Why is there a need for Tempo Air to be involved in the early stages of the home (or building) construction when the matter of indoor climate control is a matter that can be addressed only after the building has been constructed? Is it not just a matter of choosing the right brand of air-conditioning units and the right horsepower rating that it could deliver? The post ends with a mention of ‘segmentation’ as separating the company Tempo Air from less reputable firms. I believe ‘segmentation’ in that sense does not refer to market segmentation, which distinguishes between customer-groups. Segmentation should refer to the groups of consumers which the company distinguishes and targets for its goods and services. Neuhaus, E & Schellen, H (2006) ‘Conservatism Heating to Control Relative Humaidity and Create Museum Indoor Conditions in an Monumental Building.’ Retrieved from http://www.monumenten.bwk.tue.nl/documenten/Conservation%20Heating%20to%20Control%20Relative%20Humidity%20and%20Crea.pdf A very informed query is propounded by Kevin Gillin on the post describing St. Jude Medical, a high-tech medical devices manufacturer and distributor. The products and services of St. Jude are vital in extending the lives of people, and the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) may have material impact on the medical devices industry (Forbes, 2013) to which St. Jude

Diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Diversity - Assignment Example The company intends to foster remarkable cultures that celebrate diversity. In order to achieve the company’s commitment to promoting diversity, the company has the following objectives. Focusing on providing a remarkably inclusive workplace, which enables each of the employees to utilize skills and competencies and participate in innovation and creativity for the benefit of the company (Bond & Haynes, 2014). In addition, the company exhibits its commitment to diversity in its promotional strategies. Notably, all the employees who have the relevant qualifications for the promotion are eligible to apply. The selection process will have its basis of merit in accordance with the equal employment opportunity and diversity policies. In order to ensure that none of the staff members is disadvantaged, the teams responsible for the promotion give consideration to none traditional patterns of achievement that are evident in any member of the staff regardless of the gender, ethical backgrounds, or disability. In addition, the company will consider a proper assessment of an individual’s achievement relative to opportunity (Armache, 2012). Therefore, applicants should always include their achievements and inform the team so that fairness and diversity can be promoted. The company is committed to ensuring that all the employees receive further training and education in order to improve their competencies. The company appreciates the qualifications of each employee, but has in place a program for training all the new employees. The company operates in unique ways and wants all the employees to understand the basic operations that define the company’s business. In addition, the company also offers training programs for each team. The training programs for different teams are suited to fit their job description. Usually, the training needs of each group are identified from the group

The Manifestation Of Hedonism In Malaysian Entertainment Theology Religion Essay

The Manifestation Of Hedonism In Malaysian Entertainment Theology Religion Essay The objective of this paper is to identify the effects and degree of hedonism in Malaysia. The study is conducted using secondary sources. The finding of this paper is indicated that hedonism occurs in Malaysian entertainment industry via the excessive of exposure persuasive advertisements and tremendous amount of reality show in local television. 1. INTRODUCTION Entertainment is any activity that is designed to delight and, to a smaller degree, enlighten through the exhibition of the fortunes or misfortunes of others, but also through the display of special skills by other and or self (Bates Ferri, 2010). It has been part of cultures. People from different cultures have different ways to entertain themselves. For instance, the traditional Malaysians tend to amuse themselves by playing congkak, gasing and many more. Thus, entertainment has become the identity of ones culture. As the life goes on, entertainment and media industry have been developing since the introduction of electronic television in the late 1920s (Maggie, 2008). However, this transformation has resulted to several impacts toward the local entertainment industry. For instance, the recent analysis on Malaysian entertainment in electronic media specifically has showed that this industry has adopted excessive element of Western cultures or in other word it has been westernized (Shriver, 2002). As a result of this process, most local television programs tend to exhibit the element of hedonism implicitly. Recent researchers have proved that one of the hedonic needs is entertainment (OBrien, 2010). Hedonism basically derived from the ancient Greek term which is hedonà ©. It means pleasure, joy or lust (Mees Schmitt, 2008). Hedonism as defined by Crisp (2006) is the view that human action is motivated by a concern for the greatest expected balance of pleasure over pain. Further, according to hedonist, what is good for any individual is the enjoyable experience in ones life and what is painful considered as bad. Therefore, the life best for an indi vidual is that with the greatest balance of enjoyment over suffering. Entertainment in Islam Entertainment in Islam is an issue which has been debated across time. It has no certainty whether it is prohibit or permissible or in Islam is called dhan (Ø ¸Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  .(. However, this issue should not be the reason Muslim being divided and separated. According to Yusuf Al-Qaradawi in his book al-halal wa al-haram fi al-Islam, entertainment can be permissible and prohibited according the situation. It is nature of human being to be entertained and entertaining others. Entertainment is prohibited when it is associated with things which forbidden then it is prohibit. It is in line with an Islamic legal maxim which says what lead to haram than it is haram. With the advent of technology, the entertainment industry has flourished and become immensely popular. Combine this with the exponential advances in technology, and the result is an increasing number of ways to amuse ourselves. According to Pahrol (2011) in Solusi, Entertainment in Islam generally can be divided int o two; primary and secondary. Primary entertainment is the entertainment that is aims to pleasure Allah such as prayer, zikr, reciting Al-Quran and more. Secondary entertainment on the other hand is entertainment that intends to please oneself in permissible way. Nonetheless, how Muslims scholars define entertainment? In Malaysia, the entertainment has its own guidelines or regulation to be followed. According to Perlis Islamic Legislation Council (1970) entertainment is include the singing and music with instruments or without that is permissible as long it is not against the few conditions; i) The programs were organized has good benefits, ii) Dress modestly and cover themselves, iii) Not to mix boys and girls up to mischief and disobedience stimulate, iv) Lyrics quality and does not conflict with Islamic law and v) Place of performance that does not invite evil. If these guidelines is broken then it has reach the status of prohibition or haram. Thus, from these conditions we shou ld be cleared whether the entertainment today is according to Islam or not. This fatwa was done on Malaysian culture but is it still applicable nowadays? 2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Hedonism requires leisure time and personal wealth. No nation in all of world history has ever been as hedonistic as the United States now is. Americans now spend more money on pleasurable pursuits of all types than on religion and education combined (as cited in William S. Banowsky, 1969). Hedonism also occurs in Malaysia. Hedonism makes Muslims easy prey for Christians, growing hedonism, materialism and liberalism among Muslim have weakened their faith and made them easy for Christianization. (Malaysian insider 4 April 2012). Many research have been conducted to study hedonism, little is known about the drive behind their behaviour. Thus it is necessity for a study to be conducted to identify the manifestation of hedonism especially in Malaysia. 3. RESEARCH QUESTION What are the effects of hedonism toward Malaysian entertainment? To what extent Malaysian society involve in hedonism? 4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1. To identify the effect of hedonism toward Malaysian entertainment. 2. To examine the degree of hedonism in Malaysian society. 5.1 THE EFFECT OF HEDONISM IN THE CONTEXT OF MALAYSIAN ENTERTAINMENT. Malaysia is considered one of Islamic world most modern and open societies. Although Malaysians fully embrace their own cultural and Asian values, influences from foreign cultures and values such as those of the West transmitted by the media are generally accepted. In Malaysia, these influences from the media are considered part of the media globalization process. More influences from the West, which conflict with Asian values, began to be transmitted in forms of Western television genres with the launch of Malaysias first government controlled satellite television station in 1997. Although the content is censored by the television station, there are still very strong Western influences in these programs which invite the Malaysian audiences to adopt Western practices. Unconditionally, it may affect the nature of Malaysia entertainment and may lead to hedonism. All products have a certain degree of hedonism. This is because all products have some degree of symbolic meaning that arouses at least some degree of hedonic motivations among individuals (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982a, 1982b; Kleine, Kleine and Kernan, 1993; Schlosser, 1998). If products are varying in the extent of inherent symbolism, then one can expect that the hedonic value would vary across product categories. This is supported by research examining the extent of hedonism in different products (Batra and Ahtola, 1991; Bloch, Sherrell and Ridgway, 1986; Babin and Darden 1994; Lofman, 1991). Hedonic value across products seems to vary depending on the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of the product (Dodds and Monroe, 1985). All products used advertisements to attract buyer. Advertisements or commercials are an important aspect of television broadcast. Merrill,et al. (1994) indicated that television lives and dies by advertising because sponsors directly or indirectly provides all of the stations revenue. Generally, television makes profits from advertising revenues. Thus, television station devote considerable effort to structure their programming in order to hold the larger desirable audience possible (Saenz, 2001). Higher and ranked program, for instance program with larger audience size, attract more advertisement compared to lower ranked program. Therefore, advertisements play an important role to instil information to the viewer directly or indirectly. It may influence viewer thinking and behaviour. In relationship with the concepts of hedonism, this excessive exposure of persuasive advertisement may lead to the act of unnecessary spending of money. It is because; frequent exposure may increase the likelihood of alteration in peoples perception toward the act of excessive spending. Those tempting advertisements may implicitly illustrate such wasteful act of using money as a means for to attain pleasure or to release their tension and stress. Based from this phenomenon, the tremendous increasing of entertainment industry profit may clearly indicate the raising of hedonic lifestyle among Malaysians without they realize it. Those people are actually blinded by the motivation to satisfy their hunger for pleasure. Thus, they are willing to spend huge amount of money just to watch their favourite contestant win the show. However, without they realize, those irresponsible television station companies are actually manipulating these reality TV shows as a means to seize viewers money for the sake of their earnings. Psychological View on Effect of Hedonism This relates to behaviourism concept, as behaviourist James Watson (as cited in Elliot Covington, 2001) suggested that, pleasure and pain can be regarded as springs of action. He further that, pleasure can be considered as a tremendous reinforce and pain as the tremendous inhibitor of behaviour. In other word, the experience of pleasure may represent reinforcement for an individual to repeat a specific action. Meanwhile, the experience of pain may represent the punisher for an individual to avoid the act. While according to Freud (as cited in Elliot Covington, 2001), he presumed that humans are like lower animals and constantly seek pleasure and avoid pain. He also viewed this hedonistic tendency as the motivational basis of psychodynamic and it is regulated automatically by the principle of pleasure (1939). Islamic Perspective 5.2 THE DEGREE OF HEDONISM IN MALAYSIA In Malaysia, television is the most popular among components of media. It has become an indispensable household item and watching television is a past time activity (Rahmah, 1996). I supporting this nation, Media Guide (2004) indicates that among the media available in Malaysia, television is the most popular as it is able to reach 96% of adult population. Adult populations are those above 15 years old. Reality TV gains its popularity in the Malaysian television industry with the introduction of the highly acclaimed American reality TV, Survivor in year 2000. After the success of the programme, Malaysia television industry has introduced its own local reality TV show, known as Explorace broadcast on TV3. The first season of the programme managed to attract an average of 2.3 million viewers and was billed as one of the most successful reality adventure/game show programme in Malaysia (Utusan Malaysia, 23 February 2005). A turning point in the Malaysian television industry came with the creation of Akademi Fantasia (2003) broadcast on ASTRO. Akademi Fantasia is an adaptation of La Academia, one of the most successful musical/ singing talent reality TV show originated from Mexico (Utusan Malaysia, 7 August 2005). For the first time, ASTRO through Akademi Fantasia has created the first interactive TV phenomenon that became a huge craze to almost every level of Malaysian society. Home an d studio audience are invited to vote for their favourite contestants. Audience through short message service (SMS) vote were given a hundred percent of deciding power to determine the winner (Utusan Malaysia, 6 July 2005). The first season of Akademi Fantasia in 2003 drew in profits through the votes made by audiences throughout the nine weeks of the show. All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator (ASTRO) managed to collect 2.5 million ringgit as a profit in return for their services to entertain the audience. In 2004, 15 million SMS were sent to ASTRO, and the profit made for the second season amounted up to 7.5 million ringgit, all made possible by the voting system created for the audiences (Utusan Malaysia, 6 July 2005). Psychological View on the Degree of Hedonism Islamic Perspective 6. ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES The enemies have flocked towards us by using various approaches such as schools and creeds, theories and philosophies, organizations and institutions, states and countries. They have all gathered to fight Islam and the Muslims. Some of them are driven by a hidden hatred and some by an old animosity. The Twentieth Century has witnessed one of the fiercest blows inflicted upon our Ummah by our enemy such the collapse of the Khilafah. They did not stop there but to the extent they went on to indoctrinate Muslims with strange, foreign ideas and concepts, in order to confuse our understanding of our religion (Deen). Once we wake up and try to return to our original religion (Deen), we will be confronted with an intellectual perplexity, in which evil and good is mixed. Hence, the truth will be ambiguous and we will go astray, and lose the true understanding of Islam. It is clearly show in the philosophy of hedonism whereby it connotes the being pleasure is the ultimate goal of human being aside that it is used for avoiding pain. According to psychoanalysis we are born with sexual desire and the behaviourist tend to believe that we are promoted to hedonism due to reinforcement with the purpose of avoiding pain which is categorise as negative reinforcement. However, Islam does not put that ultimate desire or pleasure as the highest aim. We are born we sexual desire but we can educate or nurture it toward purity. Allah mentioned in the Quran that we are sent to this land to worship Him not to devote ourselves to only pleasure. I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. (Az-zariyat 51:56) Then, for this purpose Allah has sent prophets to educate people with the knowledge how to worship Him. The Pleasure of Allah, Mighty is He, is an objective before which all other objectives diminish in importance: And Allah is better [as regards reward in comparison to your reward], and more lasting [as regards punishment in comparison your punishment. (Surah Ta-Ha 20: 73) Nevertheless, human being can seek pleasure as they want but within the boundary of Islam. According to Alias (2008) a lot of verses in the Quran defining or explaining about how we can use our sensation and perception to seek pleasure. It is our as His servant to fulfil our responsibility by using this senses to seek permissible pleasure. As we know, we are granted by Allah with lust (nafs) which defines by Al-Ghazali (as cited in Najati, 1993) the powers of anger and sexual appetite in a human being. Although being has sexual appetite we not should only fuel ourselves with sexual activities but by educating it to pleasure only Allah. In addition, this only can be change but purifying ones heart. Imam Al-Ghazali and Ibn Qayyim (as cited in Najati, 1993) even mention that heart (Al-Qalb) is the governor of the senses which if pure will make our perception cleaned and if it dark or dirty than it can make our perception polluted. Allah mentioned, Have you seen the one who chooseth for his god his own lust? (Al-Furqaan25:43) He followed his own lust. Therefor his likeness is as the likeness of a dog; if thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leavest him he panteth with his tongue out (AlAraf7:176) and about the person who controlled the passion of his ego God says: But as for him who feared to stand before his Lord and restrained his soul from lust, Lo! The garden will be his home (An Nazià ¢t79:40-41) Hence, the total devotion to desire or pleasure is not being accepted in Islam but we need to put our ultimate goal to only pleasure Allah. By pleasuring Allah, the negative reinforcement which leads to seeking worldly pleasure will diminish because it is change by Allah with a lot of sustenance. As mentioned above, psychoanalysis only focus on sexual desire and hedonism explained about the avoidance of pain. In Islam, as Allah stated in the Al-Quran: And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss (Al Isra17:82) In this verse Allah reminds us that the cure of the pain is in the Al-Quran. In order to reduce or cure the illness it is better for human being to follow what has been prearranged by Allah SWT. In addition to that, the most important things in Muslim life are prayer. The importance of prayer actually mentioned by Allah: Verily, prayer prevents from Al-fahsha(i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed etc.) (Al-Ankabut 29:45) Hence, from this verse we can see that as psychoanalysis believed that human are born with sexual desire and they need to fulfil it by doing sexual related behaviour which if not done conflict will arise. However in Islam it is prohibited to do sexual related behaviour in illegal way such as adultery that is the effect of hedonism. Thus, prayer eventually is one of the medications that have been provided from Allah to human being. Allah adds: O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i.e. the Quran, ordering all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that ( disease of ignorance, doubt.hypocrisy and differences, etc.) in your breasts, a guidance and a mercy (explaining lawful and unlawful things, etc.) for the believers. (Yunus 10: 57) This verse mentioned the healing process that give into the breast. Breast here can be defined as heart. According to Murad (1985) heart is not only mere part of flesh in your body, but the centre of all your thoughts, emotions, motives, drives, aspirations, memory and attention. It can be softened and can be hardened. Allah states: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦their hearts do soften to the celebration of Allah.s praises. Such is the guidance of Allah. He guides there with whom He pleases, but such as Allah leaves to stray, can have none to guide. (Az-Zumar 39:23) Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and even worse in hardness. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do. (Al-Baqarah 2:74) The Prophet also said narrated from Abu Numan: Lo! Verily, there is in the body a small piece of flesh; if it is good the whole body is good and if it is corrupted the whole body is corrupted; lo! it is the heart. Thus, it is our responsibility to take a good care of our heart as it governs our body and mind. Therefore as Imam Al-Nawawi explained in al-Majmu`aas for the knowledge of the heart, it is knowing the diseases of the heart, such as envy, conceit and the like. Imam al-Ghazali said in ihya ulumuddin: Knowing the definition of these diseases, their causes and their cures, and remedies how to fix them, is personally obligatory (fard `ayn) on every Muslim. Hedonism only can be taken care by turn back to the only source of Al-Quran and Al-Sunnah however, the questions is the Muslim and non-Muslim which do not know it. How can it be possible to overcome this matter? We need to bear in mind and heart that the Quran and prophet Muhammads Sunnah and teachings is not only for Muslims but to entire universe. As the prophet mentioned:Abu Said al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) had said: Whoever amongst you sees anything objectionable, let him chan ge it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith. Narrated by Muslim. This hadith actually explain the way of dealing with evil deeds and hedonism is one kind of evil deeds. First, it is the responsibility of the authority which has been commentary by Muslims scholars that the hand it the one who with power. For instance, the government of Malaysia should realize their task is not only making development but also to instill the faith or creed of Islam in Muslim specifically and society generally by doing some changes in entertainment industry, educational system and media. Second, the role of society is basically taken from the word tongue in the hadith. The society should not only talk about the issue but eventually take opportunity to invite or promote good health lifestyle to their family and friends since hedonism only will lead to bad health lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle is not only limited to Muslims but also should be practiced by all races. 7. CONCLUSION As discussed above the concern about manifestation of hedonism in Malaysia revolved around the effect and the degree of hedonic values in the Malaysian entertainment industry.