Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Cancer Results From Abnormal, Unregulated Cell Growth

BACKGROUND Cancer results from abnormal, unregulated cell growth which can create physiological impairments in body tissues (1). Two adverse characteristics of cancer cells include the ability to invade other tissues and the inability to die (2). Cells generally become cancerous due to changes in gene expression and subsequent errors in protein function (2). These faults in genes and physiology can be caused by mutations which can result from exposure to carcinogens. One of the most common substances associated with carcinogens (though not carcinogenic itself) that promotes cancerous growth is nicotine (3). Nicotine has been shown to stimulate growth, promote the creation of blood vessels (angiogenesis), and prevent cell death through nicotinic acetycholine receptors (nAChRs)(3). In mice, for example, nicotine increased levels of angiogenesis by altering mechanisms involved in a heightened response of the COX-2, prostacyclin, VEGFR-2, MMPs, uPA, and e-NOS protein activity (3). These increases in cell sensitivity to these particular factors stimulated by nicotine promoted cell growth and migration to other tissues (3). Nicotine may significantly impact tissues lining the airway, particularly since it is present in cigarette smoke which is inhaled (3). One form of advanced cancer that involves these tissues is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (1). There are three types of NSCLC: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma, all of which involve DNAShow MoreRelatedFacts, Types, and Effects of Leukemia Essay1243 Words   |  5 PagesCancer is defined as the unregulated growth of abnormal, mutated cells in the body. Yet perhaps the more routine understanding of the disease is its seriousness regarding an individual’s health. Cancer comes in numerous differing forms that collectively hold cancer as the second leading cause of death in the United States according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. An array of cancers can a ffect any organ system in any person no matter the gender, age, or race. One chronic formRead MoreThe Effect Of Calf Serum On Cell Proliferation1154 Words   |  5 PagesGrowth Factor Dependence and Oncogenic Transformation Valerie Thigpen Biology 3040-002 TA: Maisha Rashid Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to determine how calf serum affected cell proliferation. The hypothesis is the following: if different concentrations of Fetal Bovine Serum were added to non-transformed and transformed cells, it would provide nutrients for the non-transformed cells but does not affect the transformed cells. As far as Western Blot analysis goes, theRead MoreCancer : A Common Disease1135 Words   |  5 PagesToday all around the world cancer is increasingly a more common disease that has affected many and affecting more each day. Cancer takes the lives of almost ten millions each year. Cancer is a disease that is caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells that divide exponentially. It has the ability to spread to different parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Cancer has become such a common disease that it can be inherited by genetics, but it can also be contracted by poorRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms ( Gmos )1575 Words   |  7 Pagesimpact on crops and animals that intentionally make copies of a genes for a wanted trait in these organisms. The result is a GMO. All genetically modified foods that have been approved are considered by the government to be as safe as their traditional counterparts and are generally unregulated (FDA website). However, there are several types of potential health effects that could result from the insertion of a novel gene into an organism. Since the beginning of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)Read MoreCell Cycle Regulation, Uncontrolled Growth And Division Of Cells1981 Words   |  8 PagesCANCER Cancer is defined as group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and division of cells. The condition also includes spreading of abnormal cells to adjacent healthy sites of the body (1). If this condition is not controlled it could result in death. Abnormality in cell cycle regulation mechanisms, uncontrolled cell division, and invasiveness to the healthy tissues are the characteristic features of the cancer cells. Cells are the structural and functional units of all organisms.Read MoreCoated Sirna Theranotic Naoparticle For Cancer Case Study1784 Words   |  8 PagesRBC-Coated siRNA Theranostic Nanoparticle for Cancer l. Specific Aims Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide as accounted for 8.8 million deaths in 2015, nearly 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer as per WHO Fact sheet. Technology has evolved for developing nano sized drugs for effective cancer therapy and diagnosis. PEGylation of nanoparticles allows significant extension of their biological half-life, reduction in toxicity, antigenicity and immunogenicity while sustaining therapeutic effectivenessRead MoreA Brief Look at Breast Cancer Essay1736 Words   |  7 PagesBREAST CANCER Introduction/Background Cancer is characterized by unregulated/uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. The etiological factors of Cancer include both external factors (tobacco, infectious organisms, chemicals, and radiation) and inherent factors (inherited mutations, hormones, immune conditions, and mutations that occur from metabolism). The etiological factors may act together or in sequence to trigger the development of cancer. It may take several years for the manifestationRead MoreOvarian Cancer : Development, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment2191 Words   |  9 PagesOvarian Cancer: Development, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Ovarian cancer is the rapid and unregulated division of the ovarian cells and is referred to as the ‘most lethal gynaecologic cancer’ (1). Despite a small lifelong risk of only 1.3% in the general population and only a small proportion of 1.3% of all new cancers, ovarian cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related death in women (2). This essay will give an insight into the development of this type of cancer, the symptoms, diagnosisRead MoreStudy Notes for Advanced Pathophysiology5046 Words   |  21 Pageshow neoplastic growth differs from the normal adaptive changes seen in atrophy, hypertrophy, and hyperplasia. Neoplasia- Means â€Å"New Growth†. Neoplastic growth proliferate (process of cell division) to form new tissue; There is no waiting for signals from the body that new tissue is needed; The ignore signals to stop dividing; They do not mature normally (differentiate), to do the job the tissue is supposed to do. They do not die off (apoptosis), to keep the number of total cells constant. NormallyRead MoreNeoplasia10526 Words   |  43 PagesNigeria. Neoplasia means the process of new growth whilst Neoplasm means a new growth. Sometimes, the parenchyma cells stimulate the formation of an abundant collagenous stroma, referred to as desmoplasia. Some tumours e.g. some cancers of breast are stony hard or scirrhous. Sarcomas have little connective tissue stroma and so are fleshy. Pseudo tumours: i) An ectopic rest of normal tissue is sometimes called a choristoma e.g a rest of adrenal cells under the kidney capsule or a pancreatic nodular

Monday, December 16, 2019

Investigating Number of Stomata on a Leaf Free Essays

Lab Design â€Å"Investigate the effect of a factor on the number of stomata of a leaf. † Research Question: How do differing leaf heights affect the number/density of stomata of a leaf? Hypothesis Stomata are pores, typically found under the leaf (lower epidermis), that control the gas exchange of transpiration, where water vapor leaves the plants, and carbon dioxide enters. I predict that the stomatal density on high leafs is higher than on low leafs. We will write a custom essay sample on Investigating Number of Stomata on a Leaf or any similar topic only for you Order Now During photosynthesis the chloroplasts in the leaf cells synthesize ATP from ADP as a result of exposure to light, while oxygen is produced as a by-product of the photosynthetic reaction. Carbon dioxide, which enters the plant through diffusion via the stomata, is needed for this process (photosynthesis) to occur. When the chloroplasts in the leafs cell is exposed to higher light intensities, more ATP is synthesized from ADP, while production of the by-product oxygen also increases. This increase in the rate of photosynthesis calls for more â€Å"fuel†, i. e. Carbon dioxide. So for a higher concentration of carbon dioxide to diffuse into the plant, the plant must grow a greater stomatal density (higher number of stomata). This will create a larger surface area for carbon dioxide diffusion, the excretion of water vapor (transpiration) and the large amounts of oxygen being produced. As the higher leafs are exposed to higher light intensities I predict the stomatal density to be high. Lower leafs are exposed to lower light intensities due to, for example, shading by top leafs, and will so have a lower stomatal density than high leafs. Variables Controlled: Type of plant- The type of plant that is going to be used will stay the same, i. e. controlled. The type of plant that is used for this experiment is called Quercus Ilex. Amount of leafs (10 ‘high’ leafs, 10 ‘low’ leafs)- the ensure fair testing the number of leaves tested from each variable will be the same. Apparatus used- Same set up each time. Microscope magnification (400x)- Magnification at which the number of stomata will be counted at is at a magnification of 400x. Independent Variable: Leaf Source- The leaf source regarding to the ‘high’ and ‘low’ leafs is the variable which will be changed to test the difference in number of stomata of the two variables. Distance between high/low leafs- The distance between the height at which ‘low’ and at which ‘high’ leaves were picked each time had to be of a minimum of 20cm to ensure plausible results. Lower epidermis of leaf used to count stomatal density- Because Quercus Ilex is a dicotyledonous plant, the number of stomata on the lower epidermis will be higher than on the upper epidermis. This is because dicotyledonous plants hold up their leaves horizontally, which directly illuminates the lower epidermis. So, to prevent water loss, fewer stomata will then be located on the upper epidermis. Dependent Variable: Stomatal Density of high leafs Stomatal Density of low leafs Apparatus/Material 10 high leafs 10 low leafs Clear nail polish Slides Pincette Microscope Clear Tape Calculator Method Find a leaf source that has a significant height from which you will be collecting your leafs from throughout the entire experiment. Determine a low area, of little height from the ground, on the source from which you will pick 10 ‘low’ leafs. Repeat step 2, except that the area must be at an increased height distance of at least 20cm, to ensure a fair test and collection of ‘high’ leafs from a higher area than that of the ‘low’ leafs. Choose a leaf of which the stomatal density is to be examined but don’t pick it off the plant. This is so that the plants photosynthetic process will not be disturbed which could lead to change in the leafs natural state and affect your results. Paint a layer of clear nail polish on the lower epidermis of the leaf and wait until it has dried. Use your tweezers to gently peel off the dried layer of nail polish. Gently peel the area of dried nail polish from the leaf completely. You should see a cloudy impression of leaf surface on the piece of tape. This is the leaf impression. Place the leaf impression to a clean slide. Label the slide for identification if necessary. Focus the leaf impression under a microscope magnification of 40x until it is focused and observe the leaf impression. Find an area that is clean of thumbprints, away from the edge of impression, has no damaged areas or big leaf vein impressions in view. When focused, observe the impression under an increased microscope magnification of 100x and make sure it is focused. When focused, observe the impression under an increased microscope magnification of 400x, the magnification at which you will count the number of stomata, and focus. Count the number of stomata you see in the field of view and record the number in a table under the relevant variable (‘high’ or ‘low’ leaf). To ensure a fair test, repeat steps 9-13 two times by choosing a new spot on the same leaf to focus on. Use the higher number of the 2 repeats to find the average later on. Repeat steps 1-14 ten times for the 10 high leafs and 10 low leafs. Raw Data: How differing leaf heights affect the number/density of stomata of a leaf One manipulation that was done to the raw data to help make it more useful for interpretation was the rounding off of ? Average # of stomata of ? Final?.. etc? , because firstly a stomata cannot be present in the quantity of a decimal and secondly, so that when drawing the graph all numbers have the same number of significant figures which will produce a neater and more accurate graph. Processed Data: How differing leaf heights affect the number/density of stomata of a leaf Magnification: 400x Field of View (FOV) diameter: 0. 45 mm Radius (r ): 0. 225 mm Surface Area (SA)/mm? N (? r? ) : 3. 14 x (0. 225)? = 0. 159 mm? |Leaf |# of stomata of ‘High’ Leafs per 0. 159 mm? 2 Stomata) | | |1 |2 |Final | |1 |39 |35 |39 | |2 |52 |56 |56 | |3 |32 |38 |38 | |4 |50 |40 |50 | |5 |37 |34 |37 | |6 |53 |47 |53 | |7 |45 |42 |45 | |8 |43 |50 |50 | |9 |53 |49 |53 | |10 |42 |39 |42 | |Average # of stomata of ‘Final’ per 0. 159 mm?  ± 2 Stomata) | | | |46 | Graphs Graph including processed data trial 1 2 for High and Low leafs: Blue: # of stomata on High leafs per 0. 159 mm? , trial 1 Red: # of stomata on High lea fs per 0. 159 mm? , trial 2 Yellow: # of stomata on Low leafs per 0. 159 mm? , trial 1 Green: # of stomata on Low leafs per 0. 159 mm? , trial 2 Graph including processed data ‘Final’s results for High and Low leafs: High Leafs: Mean value line with value 46. 3, standard deviation: 6. 993 Low Leafs: Mean value line with value 26. 2, standard deviation: 2. 3 Calculations Difference in mean 46. – 26. 2 = 20. 1 Difference in S. D. 6. 993 – 2. 3 = 4. 693 Because the standard deviations are much less than the difference in the mean number of stomata, it is very likely that the difference in the mean number of stomata between High Leafs and Low Leafs is significant. T-TEST Null hypothesis: The number of stomata on high leafs and low leafs are not different. The differences in the data sets are the result of chance variation only and they are not really different. Mean of # of stomata on High Leafs: 46. 3 Mean of # of stomata on Low Leafs: 26. 2 t=8. 63 Degrees of freedom= (10+10)–2= 18 Critical value for t=2. 101 (P= 0. 05) Conclusion How to cite Investigating Number of Stomata on a Leaf, Essay examples

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Opportunity cost is the cost o... free essay sample

Opportunity cost is the cost of an alternative action that must be sacrificed in order to pursue a certain action. Therefore, opportunity cost occurs anytime we make choices in our life. The process of giving up something we enjoy to gain another good has been a part of human traits since day one. As a society we should make good decisions only if we know and acknowledge that there might be other available options that will benefit us. As logical thinkers, we tend to pick activities that not only will amplify our time, but also benefit our future. For example, I know I have to get up early in the morning because I have an exam at 8 AM, yet I still want to go to the concert tonight. I can either go see the hot stuff in the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, FL which is 3 hours away from home, or I can go watch the good times band in the AAA here in Miami which is 15 minutes away from my home. We will write a custom essay sample on Opportunity cost is the cost o or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Both tickets are $150, I value hot stuffs concert at $225. I am now debating on which of the two bands I should go and see or if I should stay home and study because I have to prepare for my exam the next morning. Marginal utility is the additional satisfaction a consumer gains from consuming one more unit of a good or service. As for in my situation, Im okay with paying a marginal utility of $225 per ticket, drive 3 hours to Tampa and return to Miami around 2 am once the concert is done. But it doesnt make any sense for me to spend more than 10 hours going to a concert on the night before my exam. Despite the fact that the satisfaction that I would feel after seeing the band Ive been dreaming of seeing would have been amazing, but the satisfaction that I would have felt for staying in studying and passing my exam would have been ten times better. Having a good nights rest would definitely be the best alternative for me, taking off hot stuffs the list. Now the Good times concert in AAA is calling my name because it is so close to me. Similar to the next best alternative as I previously mentioned, using my night to actually rest and study for my exam the next day is the opportunity cost. Being the logical person that I am, I know what is the best alternative for me. Instead of me going out and spending a couple hours in a concert and spending money that I should be saving for school, I rather stay home and rest which helps me avoid all that. Not only will I be saving money but I will also be saving my energy and I would study which gives me a higher possibility of passing my exam the next morning, which I need to in order for me to graduate. By me not being well rested the night before a big exam itll be costing me a lot. I will be sacrificing my education which will sacrifice my future career. In conclusion, the opportunity cost for staying home is way higher than if I would have attended one of the concerts. The value for my education outweighs the lost concerts.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Marvel Enterprises Inc free essay sample

Marvel Comics was founded in the late 1930’s with the their first comics appearing in 1939. Up to the time of the case, the company had changed owners a few times, had ups and downs, and had built a large following by providing up to 60 periodicals per month which included comics like: Spiderman, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man along with about 4,700 other characters. Decision Dilemna: What business model should Marvel Executives pursue to ensure continued growth? Analysis of Case Facts, Missing info and Contradictions: †¢There was a lot of talk about existing deals; I’d like to know the terms of those deals and when they were made, when they expire etc. †¢One of those deals and a very important one was the SpiderMan movie deal with Sony. Said â€Å"on the day of release, Marvel had only received about $25mm from Sony. † Were they expecting to get more? This would be nice to understand the terms here to valuate worth. We will write a custom essay sample on Marvel Enterprises Inc or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They talk a lot about primary market, I would like to see a marketing breakdown of what they are marketing to who? How they are working to capture and keep intrest from toddlers to elderly enthusiasts. †¢I’d like to better understand the comic book market. Do customers stick with one comic like spiderman and only read that? Or do they start with a spidermand and evolve to others? Buy multiples? †¢How many comic books does the average consumer buy? Adult vs kid? Would like more insight on efforts regarding Toy distribution, especially when they get space from a retailer 12 months in advance but then the film/toy gets squashed†¦how does this reflect on them †¢I would like to see an organization chart; who’s working for who, how many people are there, etc. at certain points it sounds like they have harldy anyone working there and others sounds like they have huge teams †¢Would like more info on dollar amounts for movie revenues. Talks about US retail averages and then worldwide production costs†¦would like to compare apples to apples. World wide everything. †¢I assume Marvel had IP surrounding their characters and story lines but it’s never mentioned. Would like that to be clarified †¢ Contradictions: †¢They talk a lot about comic books and the retailing around that but it sounds like their cashcow is licensing deals, movies, actionfigures, etc. †¢The case discusses Marvels brand dating back to the 30’s and how they believed they need to stay true to where they’ve come from yet they are modernizing their comics, essentially retelling same stories but updated with modern technologies. Like spiderman having a cellphone †¢The case discusses market share in the comic book industry showing Marvel and DC to be leaders with similar share in the market yet the case points out â€Å"8 of the top 10 monthly comic books were Marvel publications. † Little confusing without more info. †¢Under Toys licensing; they state Marvel received a royalty fee of 15% of the wholesale value of toys sold. Then it goes on to say Marvel handles the design, marketing and sales and received a feed that generally exceeded 20% of toy wholesale values. Is this 20% on top of the 15%? Or al together? Add: Kotler Text and Personal Insight Decision Options: Status Quo: Continue doing what they are doing with licensing deals, movies, toys, etc. Pros: need 3 Cons: need 3 Capital Intense: Extend their content creation and production beyond comic books and toys. Write, script and produce own movies, tv channel and content, theme parks, etc. Pros: need 3 Cons: need 3 Sell Marvel: completely sell off the company Pros: Need 3 Cons: need 3 Back to Basics: focus on their roots of creating and re-creating comic books for enthusiasts Pros: need 3 Cons Need 3 My Decision and Why.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Challenges of Scholarly Writing Essay Example

Challenges of Scholarly Writing Essay Example Challenges of Scholarly Writing Essay Challenges of Scholarly Writing Essay Writing is a means of expressing oneself through words and even a method of sharing information about different fields of study. Many have enjoyed and appreciated various forms literature that have transformed readers to another place or make them feel that they are someone else. The benefits of writing are endless. More so, it has become an integral part of a persons life and an inevitable component of the society. For without it, the world today would be bland and monotonous.Since we were toddlers we were trained to read and write so that in our adult years, we will be equipped with a tool that can advance our status in the society which can either be for personal or professional purposes. For me, writing has been an arduous but rewarding part of my life. At first, I was a little apprehensive about writing because it requires the writer to know a lot about sentence constructions, proper usage of punctuations and others. It seemed that writing was a tedious task that demanded time a nd effort in order to produce high-quality outputs. But after numerous writing exercises and trials, I was able to get used to with the rules and guidelines involved in writing. Because of this, I was able to be exposed to various forms of writing such as creative, technical and scholarly writing. Among the three, creative writing is the easiest and most enjoyable because it gives freedom to the writer to write about anything under the sun. It is like typing on the keyboard or scribbling on a piece paper everything that pops in your head. Meanwhile, technical writing demands technical knowledge about a certain subject which makes it harder than creative and scholarly writing. However, scholarly writing is a different story because it is arduous to write but the end results are beneficial and helpful particularly to the academe.During my days as a student, I was bombarded with a lot of scholarly papers which helped us to learn more about the courses that we took in college. There wer e days that ideas just came flowing in your mind that helped me finished my research or writing papers in a short amount of time. But there are also moments when you can not seem to extract any good thoughts from your brain even if you spend hours and hours researching, reading and brainstorming. This type of incident is famously known as writer’s block wherein the writer experiences a short-term inability to start or continue the writing process which is frequently caused by the lack of drive and creativity. Also, another writing obstacle is the generation of ideas or thoughts. The most difficult part of writing is the beginning and the conclusion phase. As a writer, I found it hard to organize and develop properly my views and perceptions about a certain subject matter. Even though there is a lot of information, sometimes it is difficult to synthesize all of them to make coherent and logical paragraphs. Aside from this, writers particularly students also go through many obs tacles in scholarly writing such as poor structure of writing composition, incorrect usage of grammar and words, citations and plagiarism.When these factors remained unnoticed, the likelihood of generating a solid writing material would be impossible. The key to producing a well-structured scholarly paper is that the thesis statement must be direct and concise. Also, it should be supported by strong arguments at the body of the paper and followed by a conclusion that summarizes the main points and answers the thesis statement. More so, grammar and language used should be appropriate to the topic to make the paper credible and smooth-flowing. However, the most important factor to consider in writing is using proper citations to avoid plagiarism. In writing, it is inevitable to borrow ideas from other writers or previous studies. In order to avoid committing a professional misconduct, writers should cite all sources that they have used in their scholarly papers as a sign of acknowledg ment that the incorporated information were taken from other publications. As an alternative, it would be better if writers tried to create their own ideas instead of copying other people’s work thus their skills in writing and critical thinking would be further developed.There is no shortcut in making excellent scholarly papers. Writers must learn the basics of writing before they can be able to yield productive outputs. Moreover, there is no alternate for sitting down and jotting down your ideas on paper so writers should make the best out of writing and try to be honest and responsible .

Friday, November 22, 2019

Voiced vs. Unvoiced Pronunciation

Voiced vs. Unvoiced Pronunciation Voiced vs. Unvoiced Pronunciation Voiced vs. Unvoiced Pronunciation By Maeve Maddox Two terms I often use when writing about pronunciation are voiced and unvoiced. Apparently they are not as familiar in this context as I assumed they were. A reader has asked me to explain my use of them. In one sense, to voice something is the same as to say or speak it: Homeowners voice their concerns about increased earthquake activity. Likewise, in some contexts, unvoiced means unspoken: If people seem tense because of  unvoiced  disagreements, you may have to bring  concerns  out into the open. In the context of pronunciation, however, voiced and unvoiced refer to consonant sounds that are uttered with the lips, tongue and teeth in the same position, but which produce different sounds. Voiced sounds result when the vocal cords are touching and vibrate. Unvoiced sounds are pronounced with the vocal cords apart. For example, both sounds, /d/ and /t/ are uttered with the tongue in the same position, but the sound at the beginning of the word dog is voiced. The sound at the beginning of the word toy is unvoiced. The following English consonant letter pairs represent voiced and unvoiced sounds: b/p = boy, pit d/t = dog, toy v/f = van, fan Note: The usual spelling for the unvoiced sound in this pair is f. An exception is the word of, in which the letter f represents the voiced sound. j/tch = jet, witch Note: The letter g represents two sounds. The â€Å"soft† sound is the same as that of the letter j. The â€Å"hard† sound belongs to the following consonant pair. g/k = girl, kite The letter s and the letter-combination th represent both voiced and unvoiced sounds: s = music [voiced], sing [unvoiced] th = they [voiced], thin [unvoiced] The sound /zh/ is represented by the letter g in a few English words derived from French, such as genre and menagerie, but more often the sound /zh/ is spelled with the letter combination si: invasion, intrusion, vision. The /zh/ sound is also spelled with the letter s followed by u: visual, casual. The unvoiced sound of /zh/ is /sh/, as in ship. The sounds for the letters l, m, n, ng, and r are voiced. They do not have unvoiced equivalents in English. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?"Have" vs "Having" in Certain ExpressionsPreposition Mistakes #1: Accused and Excited

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Correct Survey Organization within Research Essay

Correct Survey Organization within Research - Essay Example Concerning the opinion on the flaws in a survey instrument design, the following strengths and weaknesses can be pointed out. First, if the questions are irrelevant, the research will be ineffective. However, when the research aims and objectives are well followed when formulating questions, such a problem cannot be observed. Second, it is true that failure to build rapport with the respondent before asking too hard and personal questions will put him/her off from answering any more questions. However, if the researcher is competent, creating rapport will be the priority once he/she come into contact with the respondent. After all, some respondents may be unwilling to cooperate, whether a rapport is created or not (Tourangeau, Roger, & Yan 2007). Third, use of jargons may make the respondent not understand what is being asked. This is not a big problem because the respondent is made to understand the questions during introduction. Fourth, asking of pointless and low-quality questions puts the respondent off easily. In fact, quality collected data largely depends on the quality of questions asked. In most instances, this is not a big problem because questions are formulated based on the objective of the research (Mitchell & Jolley 2010).Mathew 7:7 encourages the researcher to seek information. However, the verse does not encourage the researcher to be diligent. â€Å"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

LPS Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

LPS - Literature review Example The LPS of this group of bacteria can be divided into 3 components, 1) lipid A, 2) a core oligosaccharide, which can be further subdivided into an inner and outer core structure, and a glycosyl polymer of repeating units, called O-polysaccharide. The hydrophobic lipid A domain of the molecule contributes to the structural stability of LPS. The core oligosaccharide, on the other hand, maintain the semi-permeable barrier of the bacterial cell‘s membrane by cross-linking with divalent cations or polyamines (Frirdich and Whitfield, 2005). Because of its biological effects, it has been used in experimental research as a prototype endotoxin as well as an adjuvant. Through the elucidation that LPS’ lipid A component is a nontoxic immunostimulatory molecule, it was established that the lipid A domain modulates LPS’ biological activity (Harsoliya et al., 2011). According to Frirdich and Whitfield (2005), this domain of LPS is the most conserved, followed by the inner core oligosaccharide moiety attached to lipid A. 2. Modifications Just like other membrane proteins, LPS undergo structural changes to accommodate environmental changes such as availability of nutrients and balance of ions. In particular, lipid A modifications were found to enable the bacteria to adapt to an environment with low divalent cations, abundant cationic peptides and low temperature (Frirdich and Whitfield, 2005). The TLR4 pathway TLR4 is a membrane protein expressed by hematopoietic-derived, immune cells such as macrophages, neutrophils, lymphocytes and dendritic cells. It is the link of LPS to the innate immune pathway, which allows a faster recruitment of immune cells to the site of infection. It is able to do so by stimulating the transfer of nuclear factor- (NF-) to the nucleus, thus initiating the expression of the genes coding for IL-6, IL-1 and TNF-? (Creely, 2007), whose importance will be discussed in detail later. Because many body surfaces and mucosa are susceptible to bacterial infection, many body parts may be exposed to LPS as well. As such, they are also expressed by non-hematopoietic cells such as epithelia and endothelia. In the respiratory tract, many studies have already recognized the role of TLR4 in inducing defensive mechanisms against pulmonary infection. Since the non-hematopoietic cells do not have immune functions, they release signals that allow the recruitment neutrophils to the site of infection. If uncontrolled, however, this response may lead to a decrease in lung function due to inflammation of the lungs, as well as exacerbation of allergic asthma. (Hollingsworth et al., 2005). However, it was determine by Hollingsworth et al. (2005) that, at least in the respiratory tract, immune response is different in magnitude when LPS is detected by hematopoietic cells than if it is by epithelial and endothelial cells of the airway. In their experiment, they used chimeric mice to limit expression of TLR4 in 1) hematopoietic cells onl y, or in 2) structural cells only. Number of neutrophils present, cytokine/chemokine production, and airway inflammation, through assessment of tracheal pressure. It was observed that even if the epithelia and endothelia of the respiratory tract do not express TLR4, neutrophil recruitment was still made possible because hematopoietic cell

Saturday, November 16, 2019

History of Guitar Essay Example for Free

History of Guitar Essay Music has always been a part of the world’s culture throughout the history. Way back thousands of years ago, people utilized their body parts such as their mouth, hands and feet, in order to create sounds. However, due to people’s inventiveness and resourcefulness, they have begun to use different materials that are part of their everyday life so the creation of musical instruments has begun. One of those discovered and invented instruments is guitar. This paper endeavors to present detailed information with regards to the history of guitar. First, it will provide a definition of the term ‘musical instrument,’ and its types. Then, it will also provide a definition of the musical instrument ‘guitar. ’ Second, it will trace and narrate its history. And lastly, it will reveal its benefits to the society. Furthermore, it will give a brief knowledge its contemporary status in the society. Musical instrument, traditionally, is any sound-producing material that comes from any culture, activated in any means, and is utilized for making what is universally and frequently known as â€Å"music. † It encompasses automatic or mechanical however it also includes recording or playback device (Rice). It is classified into different types namely: (1) idiophones, which consists of cymbals, triangles, gongs, castanets, bells, xylophones; (2) membranophones, which consists of drums, a skin or membranes is extended and stretched across a reverberating cavity; (3) chordophones or instruments that produce and make sounds by way of vibration of one or more strings stretched amidst two fixed points. It can be a guitar, lupe, harp, violin, cello; (4) aerophones which are blowing devices that use vibration of the air. These include trumpets, clarinets, flutes, bagpipes, whistle (qtd. n Wade 10). Guitar is a stringed instrument, which looks like the lute or the violin, however, it is bigger in size and has six strings: three of them are silk-covered silver wire and the other three are catgut (â€Å"Guitar†). It is a globally mobile instrument by which form, tonal textures and playing strategies and techniques are result of its appropriation. It is utilized in various locally specific musical contexts (Bennett and Dawe 1). It is made of wood, akin with lute, however, it has a more box-shaped resonator—the general characteristic of the instrument. All through the history, its strings are played by either a plectrum or a finger. It possesses a circular soundhole in its center (Wade 12). The modern English terminology for ‘guitar’ came from the Spanish term ‘guittara’ and was derived from Arabic and Latin terms ‘qitara’ and ‘cithara,’ respectively. These terms were derived from ‘kithara,’ and earlier Greek word, and from the Persian term ‘sithar’. â€Å"‘Sithar’ itself is related to the Indian instrument, the sitar† (â€Å"History of Guitar†). The history of guitar is traced hundred of years ago. It has been established along with other ancestor instruments known as lyres and harps, which are mentioned in the Old Testament, Mesopotamian long-necked lutes, string instruments delineated in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian art (Wade 13). The oldest famous representation of the instrument that displays all its important features is on a 3,300-year old stone carving of Hittite bard (â€Å"History of Guitar†) found at Alaca Hoyuk (Wade 13). Throughout the Middle Ages, three, four, five-string guitars do exist. The Guittara Latina, which has curved sides, is said and thought to have originated in Spain (â€Å"Acoustic Guitar History†). It is a product per se of a long and multifaceted history of various influences (â€Å"History of Guitar†). Renaissance is the chosen period that is said to be the suitable starting point of guitar because it is during this epoch that the instrument is already in relation to music (Turnbull 2). During this period, composers wrote most of the time in tablature (â€Å"Acoustic Guitar History†), a musical notation relatively different from the modern ones. Its page usually looked flamboyant, ornate and complicated but for musicians and instrumentalists, it has been a very practical, useful and a straightforward method and manner of transforming symbols into sounds (Wade 18). Nevertheless, in this period, the guitar never possessed the respect that the lute has because it has not been regarded as a serious instrument. The first publication for guitar was recognized to have come from Alonso Muddara’s â€Å"Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela. † Finally, the guitar commenced to attract instrumentalists hence; there had been an increase in publication and music (â€Å"Some Guitar History†). Italy became the center of guitar in 17th century. In the late 18th century subsequent to the addition of the sixth string, the Spanish school of guitar making flourished. In the era of 19th century, there was already an enhanced and improved communication and transportation that allowed the performers to journey around the world, thus, the guitar evolved to become a widely known musical instrument (â€Å"Acoustic Guitar History†). The aspects and dimensions of the modern classical guitar were established and founded by Antonio Torres, who works in Seville in 1850 (â€Å"History of Guitar†). Guitar music then became popular in Spain. The development in guitar that was done by Torres signified alterations in appearance. The modern guitar took the form of a broadened body, the waist curve was increased and the belly was thinned. An improvement with regards to its internal bracing was designed; single string courses were replaced by double courses and the machine head replaced the wooden tuning pegs (â€Å"Acoustic Guitar History†). By the end of the 19th century, the guitar has fallen out of favor. However, it was revived by Francisco Tarrega, who was known for his â€Å"Receurdos de la Alhambra. † He performed in public and chose to perform for his friends at his home. He wrote a technique on how to teach guitar. He also transcribed a myriad of musical pieces for guitar. He was also considered as the pioneer of playing guitar with fingernails; which evolved into a tradition (â€Å"Some Guitar History†). Most of the credit and recognition regarding the development of guitar was carried on to the Europeans. Today, steel-string acoustic guitars are developed by the Americans. In the early 20th century, when European emigrants arrived in America, a number of them are highly skilled musical instrument makers, which includes those specialists in the steel-stringed guitar. There are two kinds of production that have evolved—the flat-top guitar and the arch-top guitar (â€Å"Acoustic of Guitar History†). When guitar technology has finally led and made its way to the United States in the early 19th century, it was Charles Friedrich Martin, a guitar maker who migrated in New York in 1833, who initiated it. In early 1900s, the Martin Company produced and made larger guitar instruments yet still adhered and abided with the classic model designs, especially the Spanish guitar (â€Å"How a Guitar is Made: Background†). The lineage of the guitar is huge and arduous to trace especially because there is a partial misconception that the guitar is a direct successor of the lute. The lack of reputation and prominence of guitar in history is aptly due to the fact that it attracts little heed from good composers and musicians until the 20th century (â€Å"A Contextual Background†). The creation of guitar has been of vital importance in the field of music. It is a representation and embodiment of discovery, inventiveness, imagination and expression of performing intelligence and skill. The early guitar bestowed significant contributions during the Baroque period. The guitar and guitar ancestors took hold of the attention of folk culture and the middle class way back the Baroque era as well as the Classical period (â€Å"A Contextual Background†). The instrument represents an abstract idea, a mode of thinking with regards to sound and a mode of identifying and recognizing cultures. The guitar is a fundamental icon in American culture and other cultures around the world. There are several versions of stringed instruments that are crafted and created as distant away from Japan, and are developed into the orchestra. It also forms unique variations like the Sitar of India (â€Å"The Linage of Guitar Construction†). The growth of the guitar in the course of history is in a two-fold path. The technical progression and developments have been enthralling, fascinating and fundamental. Nevertheless, nourishing and developing that evolution and development has been the social element of guitar’s reputation and recognition. The mechanical alterations that have been demanded socially contributed to its better and louder instrumentation. Thus, there have been documentations on its development and journey. The guitar’s progression in the course of time is one of the mirrors that culture indeed changes over time. It evolves just like how the guitar evolves (Kentor and Michaels 10). The guitar is not just an embodiment of one’s culture and time. It is also a representation of the status of whoever owns it especially during the ancient times because most people in the middle class owned a guitar. Its development serves a reflection that people’s ingenuity, thinking and creativity do enhance and progress, alongside with the culture that they belong. The creation of guitar has helped a lot in the music industry because it accompanies and produces sound even without the use of electricity. It is purely mechanical because only the fingers or a pick is used in playing. However, the invention of electric guitar has contrasted that fact. Compared to the classic mechanical guitar, it produces louder and better sound. On the other hand, the discovery and creation of electronic music, music that can be created even without musical instruments at hand—purely digital, has given way to the somewhat â€Å"death† of guitar industry. It is now being taken for granted little by little even though there are still some who take hold of its importance and still utilize it in composing and crafting new musical pieces.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Land Of Desire :: essays papers

Land Of Desire The transformations that America went through in order to become a capitalist country were very significant and are sometimes looked past. However, in the book Land of Desire, the author, William Leach extensively goes into many of those things. There were many things that went into this ranging from specific poeple and incidents to outside places and things. Leach shows each individual ordeal and explains the personal effect that it had on the industry, as well as how society accepted, or in some cases condemned such things. All of this comes from his own education and understanding of the situation. He shows the drift into a capitalistic country as being a gradual change in one thing that then led to another, and to another, and so on. Not to mention that many, many things took part in it. And that if such things had not occurred, we would not be the country that we are today. There isn't a whole lot of information on William Leach, but he does appear to be a very well-thought out man. This is not his only historical book and he's also done other things, including the book True Love and Perfect Union: The Feminist Reform of Sex and Society, and editing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. That specifically shows up a number of times in Land of Desire. He refers to L. Frank Baum (the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) throughout the book, as well as to the book itself. Other than that, though, there's not much else I know about him, too bad it's not exactly the most helpful information as far as why he thinks the way he does. Leach broke the book up into 5 major parts. The first being the preface and the introduction. These two parts laid out the main ideas of the book. After that, Leach went into the three main sections of the book, which end up being the three main steps in the transformation into capitalism. The first entitled Strategies of Enticement, went into a little bit of history, as well as the first recognition of capitalism and were it all began. The second section, Circuits of Power, retold stories of how the public reacted to the whole thing. It also dealt with the philosophical side of capitalism. The final major section of the book, Managing a Dream Culture, displayed the managerial aspects of capitalism and the poeple behind it. Then, the last pages illustrate how the

Monday, November 11, 2019

Phonics †Word Identification Essay

1. Identification of Student Prerequisite Skills Needed for Lesson: (4 minutes) a. The teacher begins the lesson by asking her students to think about strategies that they use to read and spell bigger words. The students are prompted to write one of these strategies on a sticky note and to compare strategies with their pod. b. After reviewing strategies as a class, the teacher writes the following objective on the board: i. Given a set of letter cards, and verbal directions from the teacher, students will spell and write down multisyllabic words for their weekly spelling list. c. Before passing out materials, the teacher engages the class in a discussion to focuses the on the term multisyllabic, and especially the pre-fix â€Å"multi†. 2. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: (7 minutes) a. Parent volunteers help pass out â€Å"letter cards† to each student, and all  students are prompted to keep letter cards in the envelope until the activity begins. b. The teacher tells the students about the contents of the envelope and its purpose. Next, the teacher asks the students to open their envelopes. c. As a modeling exercise, the teacher reads the following directions: i. â€Å"As a class, we will now spell the word â€Å"ate† using three letters from our envelope.† d. She models how she would arrange the letters in the correct order (a-t-e) underneath the document camera for all students to see. She has the students do the same, as she roams the room to informally check their understanding of directions. She prompts those who finish early to attempt to construct other words using the same three letters. (tea, eat, tee, etc.) 3. Guided Practice: (10 – 15 minutes) *As students finish up the modeling exercise, the teacher gains student attention by clapping three times. She prompts students to open their spelling notebook and then she gives her first direction for guided practice: â€Å"Students, our first multisyllabic word that we are going to construct is a five letter, two syllable word: â€Å"pizza†. Before you arrange your letters please attempt to spell â€Å"pizza† in your spelling notebook. Once you have it written down in your spelling journal, please construct the word using your letter cards. When you have finished, please put your pencil down, and your thumb up. Remember to keep your answer a secret from your neighbors†¦We will reveal our answers at the same time. *After all students finish, a volunteer arranges the letters â€Å"p-i-z-z-a† underneath the document camera. Students who misspelled the given word are prompted to correct the word in their spelling notebook. As more words are introduced, the parent volunteers line up the completed words on the chalkboard ledge. Students are prompted to discuss patterns among their new spelling words (prefix, suffix, vowel combinations, etc.). After all words are shown on the chalkboard ledge, the class discusses these patterns. This is repeated in the culminating activity, as well. *Lastly, students check their answer with a neighbor to ensure proper understanding. -The teacher roams the room, checking for student understanding. -The same directions are repeated for the following words: lastly, general, mostly, optional, directly, moral, and anticipation. 4. Independent Student Practice: When students finish their guided practice work, they are prompted to pair up, grab a computer, and log in to their accounts on spellingcity.com *After logging in, students are prompted to take turns typing their new spelling words into a new list. This list should be saved as â€Å"making words list† on their account. *When finished with the list entry, students are prompted to play a game or activity related to their list. Examples of games and activities include: 1. Test Me (orally given by computer generated voice) 2. Hang Mouse (similar to Hang Man, but with words from the new list) 5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: After comparing/reviewing spelling patterns among their new words, students are prompted to write down two challenge words to add to their list at a later time. These words must be at least three syllables and 8-12 letters long. Pedagogical Strategy (or Strategies): – direct instruction – modeling of desired behavior – partner work (checking for partner’s correct spelling) Differentiated Instruction: Gifted/accelerated learners: *These students are given a separate (and more challenging) list of words. They can also help check the work of the other students at their pod. Student Assessment/Rubrics: *informal assessment performed by teacher during guided practice *results from â€Å"Test Me† and other games/activities are sent to the teacher’s spellingcity.com account and this data is used to modify instruction.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Earth science Essay

Speculations of the actual rate of global warming had been contradictory to the least. In fact, there have been arguments that the year 1998 and not 2005 is the warmest year recorded. However, based on the global climate simulation models, warming considerably larger in the Western Equatorial Pacific than in the East Equatorial Pacific. The authors also suggested that the increased East-West temperature gradient may have also increased the likelihood of El Nino such as those in 1983 and 1998. Global temperature is a gauge used for measuring and summarizing the state of global climate. Although the effects on climate are normally felt locally, its distribution nonetheless is congruent with that of the climate models. According to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Analysis, the estimated uncertainty of global mean temperature implies that we can only state that 2005 was probably the warmest year. This conclusion was based on satellite measurements of sea surface temperature since 1982, a ship-based analysis for earlier years and documented procedures for data over land. Also, this analysis has a 95 percent confidence. As mentioned earlier, 2005 is noted for its warmth and this is not due to the contribution of the El Nino phenomenon contrary to the one recorded in 1998 wherein 0. 2Â ° C was lifted from the trend line and considered to be the strongest in the century. Hence, global warming is tallied to be at 0. 6Â ° C in the past decades and 0. 8Â °C higher than in the past century. Contrary to what was speculated before, it is now incorrect to say that most global warming occurred before the 1940s. This may be attributed to the large fluctuations and yet slow warming over the century until 1975 which was then followed by a rapid warming, noted at 0. Â °C per decade. Hence, global warming is not just a concocted artefact due to the measurements in urban areas and used to scare people into being earth friendly but a real climate change. It is confirmed by surface temperature change inferred from borehole temperature profiles at remote locations, the rate of alpine glaciers around the world and progressively earlier breakup of ice on rivers and lakes. (10). Moreover, the fact that there is indeed a geographical distribution of warming gives proof that there is a real climate change. The largest warming recorded occurred not in urban areas but in remote regions including high latitudes. Furthermore, warming has also been documented in ocean areas, which are considerably far from the direct effects of humans. On the other hand, calculations made through the first global climate model, presented in the congressional testimony in 1988 was allegedly 300 percent wrong. However, further analysis indicated that the first transient climate simulations proved to be quite accurate and certainly not wrong by 300 percent.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Donald Trump Essay

Donald Trump Essay Donald Trump Essay Donald Trump EssayDonald Trump’s win in the recent Presidential campaign is probably one of the greatest paradoxes in the recent political history of the US. On the one hand, he was the candidate unwanted and criticised by everyone, including the Republican Party, which has actually nominated him as the President. On the other hand, his very controversial sayings and ideas has drawn the public attention and public support to him and revived nostalgic feelings of many Americans about traditional American values and return of America to its greatness.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, in its essence, Donald Trump just manipulated with the public opinion and made a stir to draw the public attention that was his main purpose. On analysing his Presidential campaign it is possible to conclude that he attempted to draw the attention to his name and himself rather than to gain supporters. He wanted people and media speak about him and he made a great success in his efforts. He made a lot of stir to the extent that he triggered the severe criticism of his ideas even within his party, while the public and media was often shocked by his ideas and criticised him severely.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In such a situation, his major rival, Hillary Clinton, seemed to have ample opportunities to win the elections and to gain advantages of Trump’s ideas and sayings that caused the severe criticism. Nevertheless, Donald Trump has defeated his opponent, regardless of all forecasts concerning the expected win of Hillary Clinton. This was probably the main paradox, taking into consideration the experience and strength of his rival.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the same time, the key factor of his victory is his radicalism and his ability to draw the public attention to him. He made people speak about him and he did not care what people said about him, whether they said good or bad things about his ideas and himself a s the candidate. Instead, he wanted to make people speak about him and he reached that end. This strategy was the cornerstone of his success because he has managed to gain publicity that helped him to defeat his rivals within the Republican Party during the Primaries and later to defeat Hillary Clinton as his major rival in the Presidential campaign. His strategy of attracting the public attention by controversial sayings has proved to be successful since it made the public speak about him. What is more important, such strategy has attracted those Americans, who were dissatisfied with their current socioeconomic position and current problems the US society confronts. This is why his win was, to a significant extent, was the result of the growing dissatisfaction of many Americans with the current situation in the US and in their own life.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the role of personal qualities of Donald Trump should not be underestimated in his win on the Presidential election. He has never given up throughout the campaign, even when his loss seemed to be very close. Instead, he carried on and struggled until the end to win the Presidential election.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Tips for Writing the UC Personal Statement Prompt #1

Tips for Writing the UC Personal Statement Prompt #1 Note The  article below is for the pre-2016 University of California application, and the suggestions are only marginally relevant for current applicants to the UC System. For tips on the new essay requirements, read this article:  Tips and Strategies for the 8 UC Personal Insight Questions. The pre-2016 UC personal statement prompt #1 stated, Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations. Its a question that every freshman applicant to one of the nine undergraduate UC campuses had to answer. Note that this question has much in common with the Common Application option #1 on your background and identity. Overview of the Question The prompt sounds simple enough. After all, if theres one subject you know something about, its the surroundings in which you live. But dont be fooled by how accessible the question appears to be. Admission to the University of California system is remarkably competitive, especially for some of the more elite campuses, and you should think carefully about the subtleties of the prompt. Before answering the question, consider the purpose of the essay. The admissions officers want to get to know you. The essays are the one place where you can truly present your passions and personality. Test scores, GPAs, and other quantitative data do not really tell the university who you are; instead, they show that you are a capable student. But what really makes you you? Each of the UC campuses receives far more applications than they can accept. Use the essay to show how you differ from all the other capable applicants. Breaking Down the Question The personal statement is, obviously, personal. It tells the admissions officers what you value, what gets you out of bed in the morning, what drives you to excel. Make sure your response to prompt #1 is specific and detailed, not broad and generic. To answer the prompt effectively, consider the following: World is a versatile term. The prompt gives your family, community and school as examples of possible worlds, but they are just three examples. Where is it that you truly live? What really makes up your world? Is it your team? The local animal shelter? Your grandmothers kitchen table? Your church? The pages of a book? Someplace where your imagination likes to wander?Focus on that word how. How has your world shaped you? The prompt is asking you to be analytical and introspective. It is asking you to connect your environment to your identity. It is asking you to project forward and imagine your future. The best responses to prompt #1 highlight your analytical abilities.Avoid the obvious. If you write about your family or school, its easy to focus on that teacher or parent who pushed you to excel. This isnt necessarily a bad approach to the essay, but make sure you provide enough specific details to paint a true portrait of yourself. Thousands of students could write an essay about how their supportive parents helped them succeed. Make sure your essay is about you and isnt something that thousands of other students could have written. Your world doesnt have to be a pretty place. Adversity sometimes shapes us more than positive experiences. If your world has been filled with challenges, feel free to write about them. You never want to sound like you are whining or complaining, but a good essay can explore how negative environmental forces have defined who you are.Stay on target. You have just 1,000 words with which to answer prompts #1 and #2. Thats not much space. Make sure every word you write is necessary. Keep these 5 essay tips in mind, follow these suggestions for improving your essays style, and cut anything in your essay that isnt defining your world and explaining how that world has defined you. A Final Word on the UC Essays For any essay on any college application, always keep the purpose of the essay in mind. The university is asking for an essay because it has holistic admissions. The UC schools want to know you as a whole person, not as a simple matrix of grades and standardized test scores. Make sure your essay makes a positive impression. The admissions folks should finish reading your essay thinking, This is a student we want to join our university community.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Answer 7 individual questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Answer 7 individual questions - Essay Example The individual cannot breakdown such proteins leading to their accumulation and final death of the host as the proteins demand for more space. Viroids contain RNA as the nucleic acid and have no protein coat. Their infection materializes in the company of viruses. A case example is the viroid, Hepatitis D usually evident in the caspid of the virus, Hepatitis B. Bacteria are ubiquitous and unlike viruses, they lack the membrane enclosing the DNA contained in their nucleus. This makes them reproduce quickly via binary fission, independent of other cells. Bacteria also adapt to new environments and replicate even faster to overwhelm the hosts immunity. Consequently, a disease is evident. Viruses in the lytic cycle attach their phage on the host cells using tail fibers. Their penetration occurs once the lysozyme cell wall opens up allowing the tail sheath to contract and enforce DNA and tail core inwards (Harvey, 2007). In this cycle, production of phage proteins and DNA transpires, followed by mellowing and assembly of phage particles prior to their release once the cell wall of lysozyme breaks. Lytic cycles lead to lysis and eventual death of host cell. Chemical bonding and signaling to produce enzymes regulate the process. Latent cycle also known as lysogeny and temperance marks a period of no virulent activity. In this case, prophage DNA may be integrated in the hosts nucleic acid inducing specialized transduction and phage conversion in the future (Tortora, Funke & Case, 2010). This results to a provirus that allows infected cells to function normally for some time. The cycle involves the production of repressor proteins, which in spontaneous occasions may fail, making the virus to enter the lytic cycle. Viruses act as co-carcinogens, in that they propagate cancer progression. In some cases, they cause cancer, though pathology results after a long time. It is said that 10% of

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Short articles about sex, gender and society Essay - 2

Short articles about sex, gender and society - Essay Example Vampirism, as a category akin to femininity, continues to assert itself in what underpins relationships between the main characters, focusing on understanding and sympathy that is most often attributed to the female persona. This same feminine-like persona is also illustrated in a situation where Sonny and Eric have a physical altercation when Sonny describes Eric’s love interest as a woman with big tits. For showing this type of disrespect for women, Sonny receives a quick blow and a reprimand for his insensitivity and callous actions. Furthermore, when Sookie and Bill are having a sexual experience, Sookie compares the love-making activity to I am woman, hear me roar, illustrating that the vampires are sensitive to their needs of their sexual partners, another attribute mostly attributed to female personality. There is a type of communal obligation to ensure that any member of vampire cliques do not maintain emotional distress and that their needs are fulfilled. This, to me, should be viewed as being more attributable to feminine characteristics and this gender is exemplified in the closeness and intimacy that underpins all relationships, something much different than masculinity as it is perceived in the stereotypical sense. Riker’s relationship with the androgynous alien shows that the bonds of legitimate love transcend gender stereotypes. When Riker confides to his ex-lover, Deanna, that he is falling for the alien, he receives ample emotional support, though advised to proceed cautiously. Riker is willing to explore sexual relationships with this androgynous being because he feels a deep emotional love for the creature, which illustrates that love and sex, under traditional views of romance and relationships, go hand-in-hand and are absolute necessities to ensure intimacy and closeness. Sex as a component of romantic love assists in our understanding of

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Compare an revolution to civil war Research Paper

Compare an revolution to civil war - Research Paper Example The similarities and differences are also stated and explained. Revolution may be caused by army and rebellious groups with a certain motive which will be of their advantages. This leads to the major types of revolutions that are experienced globally. The first one is the violent and sudden revolution that seeks to transform the entire nation establishing new political systems that prioritize the citizens’ issues. The other revolutions are the political revolutions in which the government is replaced but other structures like property relations are left intact. The best example of such a revolution is the French revolution that happened in 1830 and 1848. Political revolutions entail mass mobilization and more fundamental economic, cultural and social change (Briton, 12). The final types of revolutions involve the sweeping but slow changes of the entire society that take several generations to be embraced globally or in a certain nation. One example is the religion which is spread out from one generation to another in the changing of people’s beliefs. The other example that has being evident globally is the industrial revolution which has been gradually embraced by nations to develop various machines. Industrial Revolution in Britain was really propelled by the development of a steam engine that would enable the pumping of water from coal mines thus enabling deeper mining in the ground (Downing, 7). The one cause that leads to rising of revolution in any nation is when democracy is undermined and collapsed by the reigning regime. Undermining of democracy could be a result of the authoritarian leadership. This leadership does not give the citizens the freedom to express their grievances forward to be met by the people in power. This contends that for a country to expand economically and reduce the rise of revolution there has to be a strong, independent middle class that entails rational legal

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay The purpose of this assignment is to analyze and study the marketing case in Malaysia, particularly, a Malaysian company must be chosen and our choice of company is Mamee Double Decker Berhad. Various aspect of study under the subject matter has been considered. This includes the target marketing mix considerations which is the product, pricing, promotion and distribution decision. Target market analysis is also included. In order to analyze the internal and external problem facing the company, we have done a SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat)This is to highlight and raise several problem or issue facing the company locally or internationally. Market research on comsumer behavior and compettion have also been carried out through a survey questionnaires and the summary or report of the summary have also been done. Mamee Double Decker Went Global Background of the company The company chosen for this case analysis is Mamee Double-Decker Malaysia Berhad.. Mamee was founded in 1971 by Datuk Pan Ching Hin and headquartered in Malacca. Mamee Double Decker is Malaysia food processing, snack and diary product company. It mainly produces and sells instant noodles, snack, confectionery and beverages. Mamee Double Decker not only sells its product locally but had penetrated the international market as well. Today Mamee products are exported all around the world to more than 80 countries and area it serve includes Asia, Middle East, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. Products produced by mamee are popular and well known to most households especially children. Marketing practice from Islamic perspective When mamee first came into existence its product are only mamee monster noodle snack and double decker snack.. Mamee later had gain recognition from several countries because of its distinct and unique feature of the snack that is square-ish noodle like and the adorable face of monster on its packaging while the double-decker snack , is a flavored snack with a choice of prawns chicken and cheese. The company then goes through a major diversification when it produces carbonated drink under the brand cheers. Mamee instant noodle later was produced. However different instant noodles are provided to cater different countries, For example mamee bihun, express noodles, and mi goreng are only available in Malaysia as it suits the mlaysian taste, while these products are not made for the overseas market. The company had produced mamee oriental noodles for outside market. Marketing Mix Consideration Decission made by the company regarding to the price, promotion and distribution are the marketing mix consideration in making a decision. . Product decision. Initially, mamee mainly focus in producing snacks, but it had diversify its product in producing beverages such as soft drinks, cultured drinks and recently the new products by mamee a juice under the brand Rio Fiesta a healthier options for drinks produced by mamee. All product produced by mamee comply to the standards required. The company had obtained Hazzard Analysis and Crtical Control Poiint (HACCP) certificate. This obtainment of this certificate means that mamee had adhered to food safety from raw material production, procurement and handling, manufacturing, distribution and the consumption of the finished product. From Islamic point of view, mamee had free from gharar or uncertainty by providing adequate products description and specification of all its product. This includes complete labeling and nutritios information, ingredient used and its expiry date. At the same time other products evolve in the market under mamee double decker are nutrigen, is acultured drink for children. Mister Potato was out of the market later after that, Now, Mister Potato had officially become the global snack partner with Manchester United. Latest product by Mamee double decker is corntoz, corntoz is a crunchy snack came with different flavours and shapes. The main concern under this food processing, beverages and diary product industry is about the whether the product are halal (permitted). Since this company mainly sell their products in Malaysia and in other Muslim countries, therefore mamee double decker product must be certified halal. As reported in Malaysia Halal Directory Mamee double decker had obtained the halal certificate for all of their products. Their products are free from additives made from animal sources that are forbidden in Islamic Law. Stabilizers, Emulsion and colouring used in their production process are deemed as halal. Promotional Activities Mamee Double Decker, like many other companies in this competitive environment are driven to adapt an aggressive promotional strategies in order to gain market share.Mamee Douible Decker had use various promotional tools including advertising and sales promotion to capture the market. As reported in The Star newspaper July 17 2002, Rm40 million was allocated solely for promotional activities in Malaysia. On the same year, mamee had made an aggressive advertising in Myanmar and china to create brand awareness to familiarize their products in these markets. Recently, mamee had become an official snack partner with Manchaster United. This joint-venture is important as it aims to boost its market share in Asia. One of the interesting activities that has been carried out through this partnership was The Ultimate Manchester United Experience contest. Lucky winners had been treated to a trip to Manchester united to meet their favourite football players. Mamee had also use Malaysia local celebrities, such as Mawi, Felix and Amalyea as ambassadors for mamee sllrpp products in Malaysia. In the recent festive season hari raya, Malaysia celebrity Shahizi sam was featured in mamee sllrrp advertistment and they had conduct a mamee kusayang contest. This shows that mamee double decker had made several aggressive promotion activities throughout the years. Its promotional activities adhere to the basic Islamic principle of business and mamee had ensure its product reach the target market in all around the world. Any promotional activities to stimulate the demand from consumers are permissible as long as it does not exaggerating or breaching the Islmaic principle. Activities like free samples, cash rebates, joint promotion and contest conducted by mamee are therefore deemd permissible. Pricing Decission Pricing of mamee product are reasonable and affordable for the interest of all.This pricing strategy enables it to capture the market share of various market segments. For example in Malaysia, mamee monster snack only cost 30cents and mamee Double decker snack cost only RM2.50. Mamee had made no price discrimination for all of its product. The company Charge same price for same good irrespective of different markets. Therefor mamee pricing strategy is considered fair(Adil) and just. Distribution The distribution channels of mamee food and beverages in Malaysia consist of three stages (producer,retailer,consumer). Mamee which is the producer will sell its products in bulks to retailers (Giants, Tesco,etc) , and eventually retailers will sell it to the consumers. In international level, the distribution are being done through appointed subsidiaries. Mamee has favourable acess to distribution networks in Malaysia. Mamee Double Decker has 13 distribution centres and have about 150 vans for deliveries to about 1000 point of sales. Mamee Double Decker currently has five manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and one in Myanmar. Mamee double decker have centralized marketing and distribution system while mamee have assigned an export manager in each manufacturing subsidiary. . There are three companies under Mamee Double Decker responsible in producing each of their respective lines and products for example snack food and chilled products (KMM), instant noodles (PP) and beverages (MDDB). Target Market Analysis Target Market Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is good in quality and unique brand which targeted to all group of people according to the product offered. As the company began with a single product and consistently grown to 50 products, targeted people become more. The product that already household names, for example, Mamee Monster, Mamee Instant and slurp, and Mamee snacks, are targeted to people whose age is from 6 to 30 years old. In addition, students also being targeted because most of the time they need snacks and drinks while studying to get away the stress especially female students. They always need something to chew and eat during study time or after lecture. The second group of people that Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad will target is people with healthy lifestyle. This is in line with the recent product addition that is Nutrigen Cultured Milk Drink. Geographically, the company will focus on every area that has grocery shop, petrol station or shopping complex. Moreover, people from lower income to higher income will be targeted as well because of the reasonable price and within their budget. From the family structure perspective, a mother with atleast 5 childrens, usually will buy more groceries and household products. Children love to have snacks like Potato Chips, Potato Crisps and Cheer Beverage because the products are very convenient and it comes with different taste based on their preferences. Furthermore, the company targeted people who like to spend their spare time with picnic and party. It is very clear that the size of the companys target market is very large and high. Everyone may be used and consume the product offered because it comes with varieties of food, snacks, beverages, instant noodles and to name a few. SWOT analysis Strength One of the strength pose by Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is as reported in recent mamee double decker (M) Berhad annual report, the company had experienced 57.3% growth of profit before tax from 9.6 million. Mamee Double Decker(M) Berhad strength also lies in its ability to expand their business network by penetrating into new exports market. This is proved to be true as mamee experienced a growth of 6.2% in 2002 in its effort to venture to new exports market. The second strength of mamee is it has a good reputation among customers, since has become part of the choice made by household largely in Malaysia, mamee so far had not fail to impress its consumers all over the world by providing a tip-top service from the process of production to distribution, we can see that mamee products reach consumer easily as it is easily available in store from a small grocery store to large super markets. The third strength of mamee double decker is we can say that it has a quite strong brand name as according to their annual report, mamee had won several awards locally and internationally. The two local awards that mamee has honoured to receive are first, the chief minister awards for Promising local Company Awards in recognition of Mamee Double Decker Berhad (M) to local industries and the second award is by Malaysian Manufacturer packaging Council of Malaysia, given to one of Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad product, that is Nutrigen Liteyo. Internationally, mamee had also been rewarded internationally recognized ISO 9002 togethe riwth China Awards Certificates. Weakness This includes the internal and external problem of Mamee Double Decker (M) berhad. The external problem pose by this company is as reported in the star newspapers 2007, mamee has not yet succeed in gaining a market share in China as there is a negative growth in Mamee double decker operation in China particularly,Mamee Double-Decker Food(Suzhou)Co. Ltd, demand for Mamee in China is low, thus generating low sales and revenue and consequently the company had incurred higher loss. however the company did not loose hope and have confidence in its China operation and Mmaee had appointed a consultant to resolve this issue. The second external problem face by Mamee is high dependency of raw material from Europe as such when there is a rise in Euro against USD the mamee double-decker earnings is affected since some of mamee products ingredients such as Mister potatao crips are imported from Europe, ,thus when the price of raw material increases, this gives pressure to its profit margin. In order to overcome this problem, mamee needs to do more reaseach and development to reduce its dependency from outside. One internal problem in mamee double decker lies in its small number of manufacturing facilities, considering that mamee products are marketed all over the world, with only five manufacturing facilities , limited production can be made per day. If mamee want to extend its product line, it will be restricted as there is a limited space for production. Oppurtunity Since now consumer are becoming more health conscious, one opportunity for mamee double decker is to come up with a product that is more healthy as it will give customer a more options for healthy good food. Mamee double decker plans to obtain health food supplier in an effort to expands its product line.Mamee had identified several suppliers and the company plans to negotiates with this suppliers in providing health supplies of food Threat As customer becoming more educated and conscious about the food they consume, consumer tend to compare prices and quality of products with other brands. Currently in market there are various brands and product they offered similar to Mamee double decker. Thus, the threat of mamee double decker is the competitors in market like for example, Munchys, nestle, unilever foods. Mamee do not only pose an internal threat, external threat in terms of competitors in china is also obvious. Mamee face a greater threat and especially in Shanghai, this is due to the complexity of market in China in addition to variety of snack food products produced by them. IN Shanghai, mamee had to face competitors that have a greater market share like. REPORT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER In order to evaluate the consumers preferences on Mamee Double-Decker products, a survey has been conducted within a population of 100 respondents and 30 out 100 were taken as a sample to this research. There were 17 male and 15 female involved in this sample. A set of 22 questions were asked during the survey session which majority of the respondents came from different background and the survey were conducted online. Before the surveys were taken in place, a short description of the company was given so that the respondents somehow know what they would be expecting during the session. Questions were separated into three parts started with the personal background information then likert scale questions which evaluate their decision making in making purchases and the last part of the questionnaire cover their own given answer accordingly. Result follow suits right after the research conducted was done. Majority of the respondents were Malays which covers 91percent of the total sample taken. This is explained by the major ethnic in Malaysia is Malay followed by Chinese with 6percent and others 3percent. As for income level, most of the respondents categorized as middle class earners because their income level is range between RM1001 to RM3000 with 47percent are in this group while the remaining 44percent belongs to lower income earner like students and jobless teenagers. Within this sample, most of the respondents are in their bachelor degree staying in urban area and living single life which eventually led them to such consumption with the ration of 63:84:97 for all categories. 84percent of these respondents also admit that they enjoyed eating snack food and beverages with a typical consumption of 1 to 2 packs a day. Why this happening is because during the earlier age like teenagers in university, they are prone to having a quick and light food as on the go. This somehow explained the viability of the result. When it comes to factors to decision making questions, the result was significantly expected. Almost all the respondents agreed that they are very cautious in choosing their favourite snack foods and beverages because this factor has to do with their taste buds. While pricing became the second factor that influenced the decision making; 35percent agreed that price do play a vital role in their purchasing power. Morever, 55percent of the respondents were also somewhat agreed that Mamee Double-Decker do became their preferred brand and offer wide range of products under one roof with their given competitive pricing on the products compared to other brands. So most likely consumers can easily make decision in making purchases and less confusion. Unfortunately, Mamee Double-Decker wasnt still at the par in offering good taste for their products because only 47percent out of the total respondents were somewhat agree with the companys taste performance but the remaining disagree with it. However, 41percent of the respondents agreed that Mamee products are reachable in the market which eases them in making purchases. Majority of the respondents bought Mister Potatoes and Mamee Monster snack which are two of the most popular snack foods from Mamee Double-Decker and they usually bought it at convenience stores like 7-eleven and hypermarkets like Tesco. As for substitution for Mamee brand, they usually go for Jack n Jill brand and Nestle which are two of the top snack foods and beverages producers in the world. Thus this is threat for Mamee Double-Decker because of the stiff competition from these giant producers. Mamee Double-Decker should improve their products taste and perhaps packaging in order to stay competitive in the market despite having cheaper price strategy. In a nutshell, Mamee Double-Decker is a proud home-grown snack foods and beverages producer that went global. However, Mamee Double-Decker cannot be relied truly on domestic markets with their currents products either domestic market or international market, instead they should keep doing product development program in order to come out with new line of foods and beverages that suits the preference of the consumers worldwide. REPORT ON COMPETITION FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER A survey has been conducted in order to evaluate the competition for Mamee Double-Decker products. Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd, which has made a name for itself with its snacks and confectionery products. A survey with a population of 50 was targeted and a sample of 30 was chosen for this research. Respondent consiste of 16 males and 14 females.The survey was a close ended survey requiring customers to answer a multiple chouce question with a 5 asnwer options. A set of 15 questions have been asked regarding their brand preferences. Mamee Double Decker have various competitors on market for example, Munchys, Nestle, Unilver Food. Under this company they too had offered various consumer or food products for example, maggi, a brand for instant noodle.Mamee to had rival branding for their beverages particularly cultured drink, for example, nutrigen cultured drink are competing against other various brands like yakult, vitagen and solivite. In a brief summary, 40% of respondents are quite loyal and repeat buyer for mamee products while 60% of them are somewhat in a middle as they also have other preferences and branding in buying consumer goods products. Based on the survey conducted, consumer prefers brand yakult and vitagen more compared to nutrigen which come from Mamee products. This is believe due to the reason that yakult are better in terms of quality as they contain probiotics . On the other hand their champions products like Mamee Monster, Mamee Noodles, Mister Potato, Double Decker and Nicolet Swiss Herb Candy are more preferred by consumers. In a survey, 65% od consumers prefer more of these products because of it tastes and the prices are affordable as compared to other products such as Pringles, Indo Mee, Maggi and etc. However, the remaining percentage of 35% do prefer other snacks brands like Pringles,Lays, Doritos as they may have perceive this brand are better in quality and tastier compared to mamee products. .

Friday, October 25, 2019

Ethical Implications of Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Warfare Essay

Ethical Implications of Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Warfare Thesis As current problems of terrorism and the war on Iraq, chemical, biological and nuclear warfare (CBW) issues are important and relevant. CBW agents are dangerous, uncontrollable and undifferentiating weapons of mass destructions. Chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are capable of mass destruction aimed at killing masses of people. Using CBW agents comes with many ethical dilemmas and consequential side-effects. Chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons are designed to yield a great number of deaths. Regarding the ethical use of CBW, while looking at the larger context of war, one must determine the value of life. As backed by Virtues Ethics, this mass killing caused by CBW is unethical and unjustified. Introduction News of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons seem to plague today's newspapers. Taking a glance at headlines, one would read about current issues regarding Iraqi disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, Russian government intentional use of a gas that killed rebels and hostages, and terrorist threats on the United States. Chemical and biological warfare (CBW) is not a new problem in the war against terror; it was a danger to communities centuries ago. There are many accounts of deliberate use of biological or chemical agents during war. Some of these earliest accounts mentioned are found in the 6th century BCE when the Assyrians poisoned enemy wells with rye ergot, a fungus disease. Also at that time Solon of Athens used the purgative herb hellebore, during siege of Krissa. The Bible describes the ten plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the slaying of the f... ...ns Disarmament Yearbook. (2002). United Nations: New York: United Nations. Hersh, Seymor M. (1968). Chemical and Biological Warfare. Indiana: Bobbs-Merill. McCormick, Dr. Matt. Immanuel Kant-Metaphysics. Retrieved November 18, 2002, from University of Tennessee at Martin web site: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/k/kantmeta.htm Reuters. On anniversary of Japanese subway attack, many fear cult resurgence. Retrieved November 18, 2002, from CNN web site: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9903/20/japan.cult/index.html Rose, Steven. (1968). CBW: Chemical and Biological Warfare. Boston: Beacon Press. SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). (1977). Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Environment. New York: Crane, Russak & Company. Solomon, Brian. (1999). Chemical and Biological Warfare. New York: H.W. Wilson.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Pakistani Art and Culture Essay

Culture and Components of Culture Culture Culture is the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group In the 20th century, â€Å"culture† emerged as a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of human phenomena that cannot be attributed to genetic inheritance. Specifically, the term â€Å"culture† in American anthropology had two meanings: the evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act imaginatively and creatively; and (2) the distinct ways that people living in different parts of the world classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively. Distinctions are currently made between the physical artifacts created by a society, its so-called material culture and everything else,[3] the intangibles such as language, customs, etc. that are the main referent of the term â€Å"culture†. Components of Culture Language. Language is a set of symbols used to assign and communicate meaning. It enables us to name or label the things in our world so we can think and communicate about them. Norms. Norms are humanly created rules for behavior. Norms are considered as rules and expectations eventually set by a particular society that serve as guides to the behavior of its members. It varies in the terms of the degrees of importance and might be change over a period of time. It is reinforced by sanctions in the forms or rewards and punishments. These are standards accepted by society culturally and serves as obligatory and expected behavior’s of the people in different situations in life. Types of norms * Folkways * Taboos * Rituals * Social Control * Ideologies, beliefs, and values. * Physical and verbal reactions. * Embarrassment and stigma. Values Values are anything members of a culture aspire to or hold in high esteem. Values are things to be achieved, things considered of great worth or value. Values are human creations. They are social products. Values can and do become reified. Values can be renegotiated and changed. While people and groups may disagree as to which are most important, Examples * Democracy, liberty, freedom, independence, autonomy, and individual rights. * Capitalism, competition, hard work, self-discipline, and success. * Wealth, prosperity, materialism, and consumerism. * Equity, fairness, and justice. * Equality of opportunity. * Love, compassion, humanitarianism, charity, service, and respect for others. * Tolerance, forgiveness, and acceptance. * Faith, religion, family, conformity, and tradition. * Nationalism, patriotism, civic responsibility, and loyalty. * Health, happiness, and life. * Education, knowledge, science, technology, and innovation. * Complimentary and conflicting values. A groups values tend to compliment and support one another. They tend to be in agreement and make sense when considered together. A careful look at the values above reveals â€Å"sets† of values that seem to go together. However, it is also possible for values to contradict and conflict with each other, especially in complex modern industrial societies. For example, competition and success can be seen as contradictory to humanitarianism, compassion, service and self-sacrafice; while equity and justice contradict forgiveness and conformity and tradition contradict tolerance and acceptance. In fact, many social and political problems can be seen as conflicts between groups emphasizing different values. Beliefs and ideologies Beliefs are the things members of a culture hold to be true. They are the â€Å"facts† accepted by all or most members. Beliefs are not limited to religious statements, but include all the things a people know and accept as  true, including common sense everyday knowledge. Like all other cultural elements, beliefs are humanly created and produced. They are collective social agreements produced during interaction and reified over time. What is â€Å"true† or â€Å"factual† for a given people is what they collectively agree to be true at that point in time. Beliefs can and do change, especially in modern industrial societies. Today we laugh at things our grandparents used to believe and chances are that our grandchildren will laugh at many of our beliefs as well. This suggests that their is no absolute knowledge or absolute truth. All knowledge and truth is relative. Ideologies are integrated and connected systems of beliefs. Sets of beliefs and assumptions connected by a common theme or focus. They are often are associated with specific social institutions or systems and serve to legitimize those systems. * Capitalism. * Christianity (Protestantism). * Individualism * Scientism * Sexism. * Racism. Ideologies are, themselves, often related and connected to each other in complex ideological systems, such that one ideology â€Å"makes sense† when considered with another. They also often serve to legitimize each other. Religious ideologies often encompass or subsume many of a culture’s ideologies, giving them added legitimacy. Statuses and Roles. Status, although related, is not a measure of a persons wealth, power, and prestige. To speak of â€Å"high† or â€Å"low† status is somewhat misleading. A status is a slot or position within a group or society. They tell us who people are and how they â€Å"fit† into the group. Master statuses–age, sex, race, class. Status, prestige, wealth, and power. Roles are norms specifying the rights and responsibilities associated with a particular status. The term role is often used to mean both a position in  society and role expectations associated with it. Roles define what a person in a given status can and should do, as well as what they can and should expect from others. Roles provide a degree of stability and predictability, telling how we should respond to others and giving us an idea of how others should respond to us. Roles are negotiated and produced during interaction, and often become reified over time. However, roles can be renegotiated and changed. Cultural Integration. Cultural integration refers to how interconnected, complimentary, and mutually supportive the various elements of culture are. Cultural heritage Cultural heritage (â€Å"national heritage or just â€Å"heritage†) is the legacy of physical artifacts (cultural property) and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity). The deliberate act of keeping cultural heritage from the present for the future is known as Preservation (American English) or Conservation (British English), though these terms may have more specific or technical meaning in the same contexts in the other dialect. Cultural property (tangible) Cultural property includes the physical, or â€Å"tangible† cultural heritage, such as buildings and historic places, monuments, books, documents, works of art, machines, clothing, and other artifacts, that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. Intangible culture â€Å"Intangible cultural heritage† consists of non-physical aspects of a particular culture, often maintained by social customs during a specific period in history. The ways and means of behavior in a society, and the often formal rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These  include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects. Folklore Oral history Language preservation Cultural Heritage of Pakistan PAKISTAN, LAND AND PEOPLE Pakistan, which means ‘land of the pure’, is the inheritor of a long and varied history, rich in cultural traditions. Its sands have been the playground and burial place for some of the greatest imperialists and adventurers. The land has attracted scholars and mystics, adventurers and missionaries. It is not easy to categorize Pakistanis. They belong to different tribes and ethnic groups and speak different languages. It has been shaped and united by a common faith for centuries, through the message of love, peace, dignity and support for the poor preached by the Sufis who came to the region centuries ago. THE LAND OF INDUS A young nation created in 1947, Pakistan is the inheritor of an ancient past. A country of dramatic landscapes, it is home to eight of the world’s highest peaks, including the breathtaking K2. From the Karakorams in the north, giant glaciers spill down the mountain slopes, melting as they reach lower altitudes to fill the gorges with racing torrents of water. This is the home of the spring known as the ‘Mouth of the Lion’, from where the Indus flows down, cutting its way through barren, forbidding terrain. The river twists through Pakistan for more than 2,800 kilometers. By the time it reaches the rich alluvial plain of the Punjab it has matured, flowing slower and slower as it meanders through Sindh before ending in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea near the port of Karachi. The Indus has been the lifeblood of this  predominantly agricultural economy through the millennia, instrumental in shaping the history and culture of the region. Center of the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest river valley civilizations of the world, it was home to an advanced urban culture and a sophisticated trade network which included the Middle East and Egypt. By virtue of its accessibility through passes to the north and north-west, as well as via the coastline bordering the Arabian Sea, the land that became Pakistan has been the domain of adventurers and invaders, scholars and mystics. Invasions by the Greeks under Alexander, the Huns, the Arabs, and the Central Asian tribes who settled to form the Muslim Slave Dynasty and later the Mughal Empire left their mark on the culture, faith, language and physical appearance of its people. The region that is now Pakistan fostered Buddhism at Gandhara in the north, and Sikhism at Nankana in the Punjab. For several centuries, however, it has been predominantly Muslim. Muhammad bin Qasim, who secured the territory around Multan in the early eighth century, introduced Islam to the region with epic consequences, making it a defining force that unites the nation even today. Known for its breathtaking, dramatic landscapes, home to the highest range of mountains in the world, the Karakorams, and to the ‘Lion River’, the Indus, Pakistan has a rich history. Indus Civilization This land also witnessed the glorious era of Indus civilization about 8000 years B.C when the first village was found at Mehargarh in the Sibi District of Balochistan comparable with the earliest villages of Jericho in Palestine and Jarmo in Iraq. Here, during the last decade i.e., 1980’s, the French and Pakistani archaeologists have excavated mud built houses of the Mehargarh people and their agricultural land known for the cultivation of maize and wheat, together with polished stone tools, beads and other ornaments, painted jars and bowls, drinking glasses, dishes and plates. The archaeologists believe that by 7000 B.C., the Mehargarh people learnt to use the metal for the first time. From the first revolution of agricultural life the man moved to another great revolution in his social, cultural and economic life. He established trade relations with the people of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and the Arab world. He not only specialized  in painting different designs of po ttery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This early bronze age Culture spread out in the countryside of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. This early beginning led to the concentration of population into the small towns, such as Kot Diji in Sindh and Rahman Dheri in Dera Ismail Khan District. It is this social and cultural exchange that led to the rise of the famous cities of Moenjodaro and Harappa, with largest concentration of population including artisans, craftsmen, businessmen and rulers. This culminated in the peak of the Indus Civilization which was primarily based on intensively irrigated agricultural land and overseas trade and contact with Iran, Gulf States, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dames were built for storing river water, land was cultivated by means of bullock-harnessed plough – a system which still prevails in Pakistan, granaries for food storage were built, furnace was used for controlling temperature for making red pottery and various kinds of ornaments, beads of carnelian, agate, and terracotta were pierced through and above all they traded their finished goods with Central Asia and Arab world. It is these trade dividends that enriched the urban populace who developed a new sense of moral honesty, discipline and cleanliness combined with a social stratification in which the priests and the mercantile class dominated the society. The picture of high civilization can be gathered only by looking at the city of Moenjodaro, the First Planned City in the World, in which the streets are aligned straight, parallel to each other with cross streets cutting at right angles. It is through these wide streets that wheeled carriages, drawn by bulls or asses, moved about, carrying well-adorned persons seated on them appreciating the closely aligned houses made of pucca-bricks, all running straight along the streets. And then through the middle of the streets ran stone dressed drains covered with stone slabs – a practice of keeping the streets clean from polluted water, seen for the first time in the world. Gandhara Civilization Pakistan is the land which attracted Alexander the great from Macedonia in 326 B.C., with whom the influence of Greek culture came to this part of the  world. During the 2nd century B.C., it was here that Buddhism was adopted as the state religion which flourished and prevailed here for over 1000 years, starting from 2nd century B.C., until 10th century A.D. During this time Taxila, Swat and Charsaddah (old Pushkalavati) became three important centres for culture, trade and learning. Hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh both in Taxila. It was from these centres that a unique art of sculpture originated which is known as Gandhara Art all over the world. Today the Gandhara Sculptures occupy a prominent place in the museums of England, France, Germany, USA, Japan, Korea, China, India and Afghanistan together with many private collections world over, as well as in the museums of Pakistan. Nevertheless, the zenith of this Gandhara Art is one and only â€Å"Fasting Buddha† now on display in Lahore Museum, Lahore. Finally, the light of Islam penetrated in this part of the world as early as 7th century AD. from the west with the Arabs and during the 10th century AD from the north with the Turks. Islam replaced the early way of life of worshipping idols and introduced new philosophy of faith in one God. With Islam in came a new culture in this land from Arabia and Central Asia. Hence, a new type of architecture, hitherto unknown in this area, was introduced. Tens of thousands of Mosques, Madrassahs, tombs and gardens were created by the Muslim rulers all over the Sub-Continent. The new style of Islamic architecture prevailed and matured in this land for over a thousand years. The most important contribution of the Muslim rulers to this land, however, is a new language ‘Urdu’ which became the national language of Pakistan since its independence in 1947. Islamic Period The light of Islam penetrated in this part of the world as early as 712 A.D from the west with the Arab General Muhammad bin Qasim and during the 10th century A.D from the north with the Turk Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznah ( better known as Mahmud Ghaznavi). Islam replaced the early way of life of worshipping idols and introduced new philosophy of faith in one God. With Islam in came a new culture in this land from Arabia and Central Asia. Hence, a new type of architecture, hitherto unknown in this area, was introduced. Tens of thousands of Mosques, Madrasahs, tombs and gardens were created by the Muslim rulers all over the Sub-Continent. The new style of  Islamic architecture prevailed and matured in this land for over a thousand years. The direct influence of the Muslim Rulers was not only confined to the architecture; their food added a variety of new dishes in the Sub-Continental cuisine. The national dress of Pakistan, â€Å" Shalwar Qamiz† is also a direct gift of the Muslim Turks. Since the mother tongue of the Muslim Rulers was Arabic, Turkish and Farsi, it was only natural that the local languages of the Sub-Continent were greatly influenced and new language was introduced. Thus the most important contribution of the Muslim rulers to this land is a new language ‘Urdu’ which became the national language of Pakistan since its independence in 1947. British Period: 1857 – 1947 Just before the independence of Pakistan this land remained a part of the British Empire for almost a century. Hence the British culture also left an impact on the life of the people of Pakistan. Amongst the British legacy a new form of architecture which is a blend of Islamic and the Western Architecture emerged. This colonial architecture in the form of Residential Bungalows, Educational Institutions, Churches and Railway Stations is still very attrative and in a good condition. Examples of the British Architecture can be seen in all the major cities of Pakistan. The British patronage towards introducing Railways in the Sub-Continent is indeed a great gift and the operational railroad and railway stations in Pakistan today are the same laid and built by the British before 1947. Old Presidency in Rawalpindi, Rest house in Ziarat, Empress Market Karachi, Punjab University’s old Campus, Islamia College Peshawar, and Cathedrals in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar are jus t few examples of the British Heritage.The British Empire, however, ceased to exist in this part of the world after 14 August 1947. Lecture II Culture of Pakistan and Characteristics of Pakistani Culture The society and culture of Pakistan (Urdu: Ø «Ã™â€šÃ˜ §Ã™ Ã˜ ª Ù ¾Ã˜ §Ãš ©Ã˜ ³Ã˜ ªÃ˜ §Ã™â€ ) comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups: the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south; Baloch and Pashtun in the west; and the  ancient Dardic, Wakhi, and Burusho communities in the north. These Pakistani cultures have been greatly influenced by many of the surrounding countries’ cultures, such as the Turkic peoples, Persian, Arab, and other South Asian ethnic groups of the Subcontinent, Central Asia and the Middle East. In ancient times, Pakistan was a major cultural hub. Many cultural practices and great monuments have been inherited from the time of the ancient rulers of the region. One of the greatest cultural influences was that of the Persian Empire, of which Pakistan was a part. In fact, the Pakistani satraps were at one time the richest and most productive of the massive Persian Empire. Other key influences include the Afghan Empire, Mughal Empire and later, the short-lived but influential, the British Empire. Pakistan has a cultural and ethnic background going back to the Indus Valley Civilization, which existed from 2800–1800 B.C., and was remarkable for its ordered cities, advanced sanitation, excellent roads, and uniquely structured society. Pakistan has been invaded many times in the past, and has been occupied and settled by many different peoples, each of whom have left their imprint on the current inhabitants of the country. Some of the largest groups were the Proto-Indo-Aryans, of which Sindhis and Punjabis descend from and later Iranic peoples which the Baloch and Pashtuns descend from. Other less significant ones include the Greeks, Scythians, Persians, White Huns, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Buddhists, and other Eurasian groups, up to and including the British, who left in the late 1940s. The region has formed a distinct cultural unit within the main cultural complex of South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia from the earliest times, and is analogous to Turkey’s position in Eurasia. [1] There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices. Their cultural origins also reveal influences from far afield, including Tibet, Nepal, India, and eastern Afghanistan. All groups show varying degrees of influence from Persia, Turkestan and Hellenistic Greece. Pakistan was the first region of South Asia to receive the full impact of Islam and has developed a distinct Islamic identity, historically different from areas further west.[1] Ancient sites in Pakistan include: Zoroastrian Fire temples, Islamic centres,  shi’a shrines/Sufi shrines, Buddhist temples, Sikh, Hindu, and pagan temples and shrines, gardens, tombs, palaces, monuments, and Mughal and Indo-Saracenic buildings. Sculpture is dominated by Greco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork. Pakistani society is largely multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural. Though cultures within the country differ to some extent, more similarities than differences can be found, as most Pakistanis are mainly of Aryan heritage or have coexisted side by side along the Indus River for several thousand years, or both. However, over 60 years of integration, a distinctive â€Å"Pakistani† culture has sprung up, especially in the urban areas where many of the diverse ethnic groups have coexisted and ithe country now having a literacy rate of 55%, up from 3% at the time of independence. Traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families increasingly form nuclear families, owing to socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional culture of the extended family. The past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Sialkot, Abbottabad, and Multan. Rural areas of Pakistan are regarded as more conservative, and are dominated by regional tribal customs dating back hundreds if not thousands of years. â€Å"Pakistan’s culture is again unique like the rest of the country. Pakistan’s geography is the meeting point of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia/Gulf. Its culture could be termed as a combination of sub continental, Islamic, Regional, English, and more recently global influences. Let us consider them piecemeal. The newly born Pakistan had to have a sub continental leaning, having been a part of for last 5000 years of its civilization. However, the Indus Valley, present day Pakistan, culture was different from the rest of North India or South India† Religious Uniformity Islam is the state religion of Pakistan. 97% of the population is Muslim. The minority community includes Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Ahmedis (Mirzais), Kalash, Sikhs, Bah’a’i, Buddhists and Jews. The Constitution guarantees equal rights to Muslims and non Muslims. Sufi traditions of love, peace, progress, perfection and support of the poor  have strongly influenced Islam in Pakistan. Islam arrived in Sindh in the eighth century, following which the Sufi movement multiplied all over the sub-continent. Pakistan came into existence to provide its people a system of life based on Islam. The people ,in spite of some differences of languages, customs and traditions commonly follow one religion of Islam. Language The national language of Pakistan is Urdu, while English is the official language of the country, widely spoken and understood. Urdu, meaning ‘language of the army camp/caravan,’ is a mixture of predominantly Turkish, Arabic, and Persian with languages of the sub-continent. Urdu is written in the Persian script. It was adopted as the court language during the latter period of the Mughal Empire. Urdu played a dominant role in the re-awakening of Muslim nationalism in the sub-continent, which culminated in the Pakistan Movement. Urdu was therefore adopted as the national language of the country. Besides Urdu, there are six major and over fifty regional languages. The major regional languages are Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baluchi, Saraiki and Hindko. Other widely spoken languages are Potohari, Shina and Broshishki. All these languages have their own literary tradition. Evolution and development of any language is dependent on the evolution and development of a society where that language is spoken. Various invasions and conquests on a place affect the development of its language. Pakistan is a land that attracted many foreign races and empires during the course of its long history. Such was the sponge like quality of the sub-continent of India that under every invasion it readily absorbed foreign traits yet, maintaining their own distinct individuality as well. Language was one such trait. The inhabitants of Indian subcontinent were the speakers of Sanskrit and eventually, words and dialects of the languages of each successive intruder intermingled with Sanskrit and gave birth to various dialects and languages. Most of the languages spoken in Pakistan are part of the Indo-European family of languages. The main language families in Pakistan are Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dravidian and Dardic. Literature Pakistani literature originates from when Pakistan gained its nationhood as a  sovereign state in 1947. The common and shared tradition of Urdu literature and English literature of South Asia was inherited by the new state. Over a period of time, a body of literature unique to Pakistan has emerged in nearly all major Pakistani languages, including Urdu, English, Punjabi, Pashto, Seraiki, Balochi, and Sindhi. Poetry Poetry is a highly respected art and profession in Pakistan. The pre-eminent form of poetry in Pakistan almost always originates in Persian, due in part to the long standing affiliation the region had with the Persian Empire. The enthusiasm for poetry exists at a regional level as well, with nearly all of Pakistan’s provincial languages continuing the legacy. Since the independence of the country in 1947 and establishment of Urdu as the national language, poetry is written in that language as well. The Urdu language has a rich tradition of poetry and includes the famous poets Dr. Allama Iqbal (national poet), Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Faraz, Jazib Qureshi, and Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi. Apart from Urdu poetry, Pakistani poetry also has blends of other regional languages. Balochi, Sindhi, Punjabi, Seraiki, and Pashto poetry have all incorporated and influenced Pakistani poetry. Poetry in the form of marsia salam and naath is also very popular among many Pakistanis. Performing arts * Music The variety of Pakistani music ranges from diverse provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern forms fusing traditional and western music, such as the synchronisation of Qawwali and western music by the world renowned Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition Pakistan is home to many famous folk singers such as the late Alam Lohar, who is also well known in Indian Punjab. Dances Kathak – classical dance developed in the Royal courts of the Mughals. Folk dances are still popular in Pakistan and vary according to region such as: Bhangra – Punjab Luddi – Punjab Sammi – Punjab Jhumar – Saraiki and Balochi folk dance Lewa – Baluch folk dance Chap – Baluch folk dance performed at weddings Jhumar – Saraiki and Balochi folk dance Attan – Folk dance of Pashtuns tribes of Pakistan including the unique styles of Quetta and Waziristan Khattak Dance – Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chitrali Dance – Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Dhammal – Performed at Sufi shrines/ dargahs in Punjab and Sindh Ho Jamalo – Sindhi dance Drama and theatre These are very similar to stage plays in theatres. They are performed by well-known actors and actresses in the Lollywood industry. The dramas and plays deal with many themes from life events, often with a humorous touch. Bollywood movies are also popular. Visual arts Painting Abdul Rehman Chughtai, Sughra Rababi, Ustad Allah Baksh, Ajaz Anwar, Ismail Gulgee, Jamil Naqsh, and Sadequain are prominent painters of Pakistan also known as the old masters. Pakistan is now producing a variety of contemporary art and Pakistani Artists have become world famous. Pakistani vehicle art is a popular folk art. Architecture The architecture of the areas now constituting Pakistan can be traced to four distinct periods: pre-Islamic, Hindu heritage, Buddhist culture, Islamic, colonial, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C., an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large structural facilities, some of which survive to this day.[Mohenjo Daro, Harappa and Kot Diji belong to the pre-Islamic era settlements. The rise of Buddhism, Guptas, Mouryas, and the Persian and Greek influence led to the development of the Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was reached with the culmination of the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The arrival of Islam in today’s Pakistan introduced the classical Islamic construction techniques into Pakistan’s architectural landscape. However, a smooth transition to predominantly  picture-less Islamic architecture occurred. The town of Uch Sharif contains the tombs of Bibi Jawindi, Baha’al-Halim, and Jalaluddin Bukhari, which are considered some of the earliest examples of Islamic architecture in Pakistan and are on the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage Site list since 2004.[5] One of the most important of the few examples of the Persian style of architecture is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Islamic-Persian architecture were fused with, and often produced playful forms of, Hindustani art. Lahore, occasional residence of Mughal rulers, exhibits a multiplicity of important buildings from the empire, among them the Badshahi mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, still strongly Persian seeming Wazir Khan Mosque as well as numerous other mosques and mausoleums. The Shahjahan Mosque of Thatta in Sindh also originates from the epoch of the Mughals, as does the Mohabbat Khan Mosque in Peshawar. In the British colonial age, the buildings developed were predominantly of the Indo-European style, with a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures like the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan and the Mazar-e-Quaid. Recreation and sports The official national sport of Pakistan is field hockey, but cricket and squash are the most popular sports. The Pakistan national field hockey team has won the Hockey World Cup a record four times. The Pakistan national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (in 1992), were runners-up once (in 1999), and co-hosted the games twice (in 1987 and 1996). Additionally, they have also won the ICC World Twenty20 once (in 2009), and were runners-up (in 2007). The team has also won the Austral-Asia Cup in 1986, 1990, and 1994. At the international level, Pakistan has competed many times at the Summer Olympics in field hockey, boxing, athletics, swimming, and shooting. Hockey is the sport in which Pakistan has been most successful at the Olympics, winning three gold medals (1960, 1968, and 1984). Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup four times (1971, 1978, 1982, and 1994).[6] Pakistan has hosted several international competitions, including the South Asian Federation Games in 1989 and 2004. A1 Grand Prix racing is also becoming popular with the entry of a Pakistani team in the 2005 season.  The Tour de Pakistan, modelled on the Tour de France, is an annual cycling competition that covers the length and breadth of Pakistan. Recently, football has grown in popularity across the country, where traditionally it had been played almost exclusively in the western province of Balochistan. FIFA has recently teamed up with the government to bring football closer to the northern areas too. Cuisine Culinary art in Pakistan comprises a mix of Middle Eastern, Iranian, Afghan, Indian, and Turkish influences that reflect the country’s history as well as the variation of cooking practices from across the surrounding regions. Urban centres of the country offer an amalgamation of recipes from all parts of the country, while food with specific local ingredients and tastes is available in rural areas and villages. Besides the main dishes of salan, with or without meat and cooked with vegetables or lentils, there are a number of provincial specialties such as karahi, biryani, and tikka, in various forms and flavours, eaten alongside a variety of breads such as naan, chapati, and roti. There are also local forms of grilled meat or kebabs, desserts, and a variety of hot and cold drinks. Festivals Ramadan The holiest month of the Islamic Calendar, which is a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset and self-discipline, it is widely observed in Pakistan. Muslim Pakistanis (about 97% of the population) fast, attend mosques with increased frequency, and recite Qur’an. Special foods are cooked in greater quantities, parties are held, and special accommodation is made by workplaces and educational institutes. Chand Raat Occurs after the Islamic month of Ramadan. Chand Raat occurs the night before Eid day celebrations commence, marking the end of the month of Ramadan. In the night known as Chand Raat, people celebrate by various means, such as girls putting henna on their hands. People buy gifts and sweets that will be given to friends and families who come over to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Eid celebrations The two Eids, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, commemorate the passing of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the willingness of Ibrahim A.S to sacrifice his son Ishmael for God. On these days, there are national holidays and many festival events that take place to celebrate Eid. As Pakistan is a Muslim state, there are three days off for all businesses and government offices. On the night before Eid, people search for the new moon to mark the end of Ramadan and arrival of Eid ul-Fitr. The day starts with morning prayers, then returning home for a large breakfast with family members. The day is spent visiting relatives and friends and sharing gifts and sweets with everyone. During the evening people hit the town for some partying, going to restaurants or relaxing in city parks. On Eid ul-Fitr, money is given for charity and as gifts to young children. On Eid ul-Adha, people may also distribute meat to relatives and neighbors and donate food for charity. Milaad un Nabi Milaad un Nabi is a known religious festival which is celebrated in many parts of Pakistan. The Milaad is the celebration for the birthday of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Muharram (Ashura)  In Pakistan, the first ten days of Muharram are observed officially. The 10th day of Muharram is marked in the memory of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Muhammad, who was a martyr, along with 72 family members, friends and followers during the Battle of Karbala. Jashn-e-Baharan Jashn-e-Baharan aometimes referred to as Basant, is a pre-Islamic Punjabi festival that marks the coming of spring. Celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore, and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the annual festivities. Kite flying competitions take place all over the city’s rooftops during Basant (now prohibited).[7] The fertile province of Punjab was intimately tied via its agriculture to the different seasons of the year. The arrival of spring was an important event for all farmers and was welcomed with a celebration, hence the name Jashn (celebration) Baharan (spring). Christmas Christmas is usually celebrated by Pakistani Christians who account more than 3 percent of Pakistan and mostly reside in Punjab of Pakistan. Other Pakistanis also commemorate this event to promote inter-communal harmony. Holi Holi is celebrated by Pakistani Hindus. Other Pakistanis celebrate with them as well to promote communal harmony. Nowruz This festival is like Nowruz of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. In Northern Pakistan (Chitral, Gilgit, Baltistan), and Northern Punjab, Nowruz is celebrated as a socio-religious festival. It is also celebrated with much fervour in Balochistan, and in almost all of Pakistan’s major urban centres. In Baltistan, the main features of Nowruz are the giving of coloured eggs to friends and polo matches. In Balochistan, the festival is marked with outdoor feasts, and the traditional jumping over a fire to wash away sins and usher in a fresh start. The origins of this festival are pre-Islamic and date back to when Pakistan was part of the Achaemenid and Sassanid Persian empires. Independence Day On August 14, the people of Pakistan celebrate the day when Pakistan gained its independence from British India, and formed an independent state for Muslims. There are many celebrations all over the country, with people singing and dancing in the streets. Concerts are held with many pop and classical singers. Parades are held in the capital city (Islamabad). Many people decorate their houses and fly the flag of Pakistan. At night, fireworks are used in many cities. Many people pray for the country and reflect on their pride in the country of Pakistan. Defence Day September 6 is another patriotic day, when the Army of Pakistan is put on display for the general public to show Pakistan arms. All Government officials attend the ceremony and recognitions are awarded to special people for their work. In March 2007, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) put on display the new joint manufactured Chinese-Pakistani aircraft called the JF-17 Thunder. Popular media Television Traditionally, the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has been the dominant media player in Pakistan. The PTV channels are controlled  by the government and opposition views are not given much time. The past decade has seen the emergence of several private TV channels showing news and entertainment, such as GEO TV, AAJ TV, ARY Digital, HUM, MTV Pakistan, and others. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas, some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, Asian TV channels, and movies are available to a majority of the population via Cable TV. Television accounted for almost half of the advertising expenditure in Pakistan in 2002. Radio The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) was formed on 14 August 1947, the day of Pakistani independence. It was a direct descendant of the Indian Broadcasting Company, which later became All India Radio. At independence, Pakistan had radio stations in Dhaka, Lahore, and Peshawar. A major programme of expansion saw new stations open at Karachi and Rawalpindi in 1948, and a new broadcasting house at Karachi in 1950. This was followed by new radio stations at Hyderabad (1951), Quetta (1956), a second station at Rawalpindi (1960), and a receiving centre at Peshawar (1960). During the 1980s and 1990s, the corporation expanded its network to many cities and towns of Pakistan to provide greater service to the local people. Today, there are over a hundred radio stations due to more liberal media regulations. Cinema An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan and is known as â€Å"Lollywood†, as it is based in Lahore, producing over forty feature-length films a year. National Dress The national dress is Shalwar Qameez for both men and women. It consists of a long, loose fitting tunic with very baggy trousers. The dress is believed to be an amalgamation of the dresses worn by the ancient Persians, and Mughal Empire who have left their impression on the people and culture of Pakistan.[10] The men’s version consists of solid, masculine colours, and is almost always accompanied by a collar and buttons (similar to a polo shirt). Men often wear an outer waistcoat over the shalwar kameez. The women’s version almost never contains collar and buttons but is often embroidered and consists of feminine colors and may feature lace or flower patterns. In the summer, a light, cotton version is often worn, while during the winter,  a heavier, wool version is worn. The sherwani or achkan, with karakul hat is the recommended dress for male government employees and officials, as it is not specifically associated with any of the provinces. Most male government officials wear the formal black sherwani on state occasions. A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the Western world and the Middle East. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and Scandinavia originally came from a rural background belonging to the working class. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing there. Cultural traditions Pakistanis have evolved an often distinct and unique set of culture, traditions and customs in the region. Shalwar Qameez is the dress commonly worn, both by men and women, and Kashmiru, etc. put and dances are distinctly unique with their own melodies, instruments, patterns and styles. Pakistani arts in metal work, tiles, furniture, rugs, designs/paintings, literature, calligraphy, and much more are diverse and renowned internationally. Pakistani architecture is unique with its infusion of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indigenous styles. The manners and lifestyles are guided by a blend of traditions as well as the culture. Food dishes are also attracting quite a lot of attention with its wide blend of flavours and spices. Ethnic groups The vast majority of Pakistanis are Caucasoid by race but many other distinct minority are also present. The majority of Pakistanis are of average to above average height. Pakistan is notable for having several individuals in the Guinness Book of World Records, such as Alam Channa for the tallest man in the world. Pakistanis are diverse, many possessing dark hair and eyes but light coloured eyes and light coloured hair do occur in significant portions of the population as well, notably in the North amongst the Dardic, Kalash, Burusho, Wakhi, and north western Pashtun tribes. The typical Pakistani can range from light to dark brown skin tones with a few exceptions in mountainous regions of the north. Many of the people inhabiting Pakistan’s  western regions share genetic affinities with ethnic groups in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. While the racial features of each ethnic group in Pakistan are not uniform, Chitralis and some of the Dardic tribes in the north are the most Caucasoid phenotypically, followed by the Pashtuns (also known as Pakhtuns), Kashmiris, Paharis/Potoharis, Balochis, Punjabis, and Sindhis, Muhajirs, and Seraikis. The Negroid people live along the Makran coast and are a small minority known as the Sheedi who came from East Africa in the 15th century. Panjabis, Seraiki and The Sindhis have considerable admixture and show a diverse phenotypic features representative of their multicultural history. The Mongoloid people also inhabit Pakistan are of Central Asian origin where oftentimes their racial elements are infused within the dominant Caucasoid genes of the vast majority of Pakistanis, however there are many instances in which some have retained their distinct racial characteristics. Pakistan’s genetic diversity is due to various factors including the numerous waves of migration from other regions and include Aryans mainly, in smaller amounts Greeks, Iranians, Arabs, Turks, Scythians, Afghans to name a few and also because of its geopolitical location straddling the Iranian Plateau, Central Asian, Tibetan, and South Asian genetic spheres and as a result, the phenotypic expression of its people is reflective of this diversity. Large influxes of refugees from the surrounding nations have further exacerbated this change.