Legal Actiobn toys vs Amazon Essay

1. Based on my research and also from reading the case for each conpany;s arguments that Toys â€Å"R† Us felt that there was a breach of contract because of Amazon.com took on another party to sell toys and Toys â€Å"R† Us felt that they were sole third party for this. They felt like the contract was breach also because Amazon.com did not follow the agreement. But Amazon.com felt that Toys â€Å"R† Us breach contract because they could not keep up with the demand of supplies and the levels of the demand. They felt this because Toys â€Å"R† Us could not keep products in stocks especially during the holidays. The judge ruling saying that both parties breach the agreement and saying that neither parties will get nothing is adqueate. In mhy opinion, I would have also terminate the agreement and not award any damages to either party because I feel that they both the agreement and they both were wrong. 2. I feel the outline for the advantages and disadvantages that Amazon.com would have considered before making any agreement with Toys â€Å"R† Us would be they would have checked to see if they can keep up with the demand of the customers and to make sure that they can have all the products in stock as well. I believe that an advantage was that Toys R† Us knew a lot about the Toy Marketing and what customers wanted. I also think that another advantage would be that Amazon.com was getting a percentage of the sales. I do feel that if Amazon.com had any doubts that they should have waited and done more research into Toys â€Å"R† Us. I also think that Amazon.com was confident and did not have any problems with going into an agreement with them, but if they knew that they were considering other Merchantss, that Amazon.com should have let Toys â€Å"R† Us know before signing agreement, so they could work a better deal with them. 3. Some recommendations that I would have made to Amazon.com that would have benefited both companies would be is that they should have looked at the sales that was coming in. I also would have also told them that they did to evaluate what Toys â€Å"R† Us would have lost as well not just them. I would have have agreed to half what was able asked instead of what they pay. I would have also said maybe we can give it another shot and see what Toys â€Å"R† Us wanted when it comes to other merchants that was selling toys as well.  They probably could have come up with a better agreement. Maybe include that they could have gotten a better deal with working along side with the other merchants and maybe the profits would have been better. 4. I would have kept it going because since was highly successful shoe retailer. It could have benefited Amazon.com a lot. This way that it could have brought money that was being lost when the agreement was terminated with Toys â€Å"R† Us. I would have kept the form becaise it was well thought out and it was doing so well. Amazon.com could have done a lot with Zappos and that it could have brought more customers and that it could have been a huge profit in. I know for me if I would have brought Zappos that I would have made sure that Zappos would stay running and that my customers would know that there was a place for them to shop at to get shoes from. I also feel that it could have benefit from Amazon.com. Amazon.com could have showed the person or persons who was running it ways to better it, if Amazon.com felt that the form was not good. This would have been good for both.

Huck Finn Comparison Essay

Justin Esteves 1/18/12 Puddn’head Wilson and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Comparison Essay There are several differences that are evident between Puddn’head Wilson and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. One of the major differences between the two books is the characters that are involved in the stories. They have different personalities and react differently to different situations.The twins in Puddn’head Wilson are young men from noble descent from Italy who left their country. They are smooth talking, but really don’t lie about a situation. However the Duke and King in Huckleberry Finn aim to trick people in different towns by selling the people tickets to a show that never existed. In one instance a man dies and they pretend to be related to him so they can get his inheritance. The ages of the main characters are different as Huck is a boy while the characters in the other story are adults.In Puddn’head Wilson it is said not to have a spe cific plot line, but in Huck Finn the story follows the classic plot line scheme. There are many similarities between the two stories. One of them is that the settings are very much the same as they both take place on the Mississippi River. Actually when I was reading Huck Finn, I couldn’t get the picture of the setting of Puddn’head out of my head. Another similarity is that the twins and the King and Duke are similar characters since they are together in pairs all the time in the book.The final similarity is the involvement of death in both books. The whole story of Puddn’head is based around a murder. In Huck Finn, Huck makes it look like he was killed to escape from Pap and the town. After Mr. Wilks’ death, the Duke and the King go after the money in his will. Another death in Huck Finn was Pap who was found dead in a house during a flood. Overall The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a lot better than Puddn’head Wilson.After reading several re views more readers liked Huck Finn and some people really disliked Puddn’head Wilson. Both books were about life on the Mississippi River from a long time ago. It was interesting to see how people lived in that period of time. Even though the stories took place many years ago, there are many similarities between the people from then to now as to how they treat each other. People were the same then as they are now and have the same outlook on life. The books and life follow Mark Twain’s quote, â€Å"The damned human race. †

Contemporary Management Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Contemporary Management Issues - Essay Example It was established in the year 1996 with the help of government issued bonds (Oman-oil.com, 2015d). Middle Eastern countries are enjoying high investment in the energy segment. The Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. (OOC) used investments from within and exterior of Oman. Sultanate of Oman has aimed to develop economic and social contribution with the help of contribution of energy producing industry (Oman-oil.com, 2015b). The firm is one of the major investments companies in the energy projects in Oman. They used Omani and foreign investment in order to develop the refineries and purchased or leased various machineries. Its Omani set up is controlled by the Sultanate, which is producing petroleum and other fuel from the crude oil and fossil fuel available within the country borders (Oman-oil.com, 2015a). The company went global and used various country models and natural resources to produce oils. They are having fair amount of market share among Asian and global oil and gas industries. The firm is able to use value chain effectively in order to meet the market demands of oil and gas products in Oman and other Asian and European countries. Oman Oil Company have strong portfolio that involved investments in various segments. Their value chain system includes exploration of crude oil from Oman area and production of the petroleum related products, aluminum and power (Oman-oil.com, 2015c). Current assignment will be developed on the basis of outlining the impacts of the different contemporary issues in management of the firm. It will outline the corporate social responsibility and business ethical strategies on behalf of Oman Oil Company. Moreover, impacts of ethical and CSR related strategies on organizational development and further investment will be outlined in the study. Strategic direction of Oman Oil Company in Oman and internationally are contrasted in the study to contrast the fluctuation of strategic change for the external and internal issues (Cragg,

Tables' data analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tables' data analysis - Essay Example The sub-rows consist of the options for answers and the columns consist of the reasons for the answers. The items marked with an asterisk (*) represent those responses which are not only correct, but are explained rightly too. As in example 1, 70.5% of students selected the right answer and the right reason for their answer. All other values imply either a wrong answer, or the wrong reason, or both. The values in bold (in question 1, 14.1%) provide the percentage of students who answered wrongly and that percentage exceeds 10%. Jian Wang (2006) stated that the role of teachers is perceived as a very strong one in mentoring students. This would also involve a reform minded teaching that would have many challenges. According to experts in the field, a substantial set of these alternative conceptions, i.e., a wrong answer set of more than 10%, is considered a significant alternative conception (Chandra, 2005). These significant alternative conceptions require further study into them, as these are mistakes made by a significant group, pointing to weak basic concepts. If none of the wrong responses total more than 10%, there is no significant alternative conception, as in question 8. In some cases, when there is no response in a particular field, it is represented with a '-'. A surprising fact is that this quiz was taken by pre-service science teachers. Unfortunately, this shows us that even aspiring teachers are not always clear with their concepts, leading to the realization that "Teachers often subscribe to the same alternative conceptions as their students." as per a previous research, Alternative Conceptions, Concept Change, and Constructivism, These teachers, in turn would pass on the misconception, or alternate conception, to their students, causing a network of misinformed science students. These tables help professionals to avoid situations like those, by restricting the spread of these alternate conceptions. The above table gives us an insight into the percentage of students, who got the first part of the question right, but got the second part, the reason, wrong. As a multiple choice question always has the possibility of chance (33% in most of these questions), this table helps getting a finer look at how often chance comes into play here. Getting one answer out of three is much easier than getting one answer out of six options. This is made evident by the drastic difference in percentages between students getting only the first part right and those getting both right. Another important aspect of this table is that it helps realizing how many students truly understand the underlying concepts behind the questions. An answer can be answered with just a little knowledge, but actually explaining it poses a much bigger problem for students. There is an approximate average of 12% difference between the two percentages. This reflects not only chance, but also raw knowledge with a feeble conce ptual base. Certain questions, namely 11 and 15, have no difference in the two percentages. These imply specific knowledge required for the question, possessed only by those who got the answers right. But most of the questions show an opposite

How official sponsors have been affected by the activities of ambush Essay

How official sponsors have been affected by the activities of ambush - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of ambush marketing. Crimmins and Horn define ambush marketing as the act in which a corporation takes advantage of a well known event like FIVA tournaments in football to popularize itself without an official permit from the concerned party. It is considered to be a form of marketing strategy in which one of the many competing companies associates itself with a particular sporting event, without paying the required fee. The company associates itself directly with the event and it’s participants without an official permit, creating an unfair competition with the official sponsors. The aim of the ambush marketing is to popularize their company by influencing fans to buy their products. They only associate themselves to the event but do not use trademarks of the third party while only suggesting a close connection to the event by creatively alluding themselves to that event. Generally, ambush marketing can be demonstrated in one of th e following ways such as through sponsorship of the event’s broadcasting. Lyberger and McCarthy concurs that this will work to their advantage since it will popularize itself among the fans through the televisions covering the event. Secondly, the ambush marketer might also sponsor the event’s subcategories and hence boosting their association through a cost-effective method. Another strategy ambush marketers employ is to buy time to advertise themselves during their competitors’ event. Furthermore they can as well organize for similar but non-sponsored events to run co-currently with the event. Finally, the ambush marketers can opt to buy licenses allowing them to sell their products during the event or offer unsanctioned tickets and hospitality packages to fans of the event. This paper discusses a case study of ambush marketing in India. Case Study Vikrant (2003, p.34) examines India as one of the many countries which have been affected by the activities of th e ambush marketers during the 2003 Cricket World cup. One of the cases was triggered by a promotion dubbed Phillips, which was offering Cricket World Cup tickets as prizes. The slogans that were used during the promotion indicated the name â€Å"Philips† and they urged interested candidates to buy an audio system from Philips and get one cricket world cup ticket (O’Sullivan and Murphy, 2000, p.366). In addition, the tickets indicated a seating place for someone and the entry number at the gate. This incidence caused a lot of suspicion since the Philips Sponsor had no official recognition among the sponsors of the event. Lyberger and McCarthy (2001, p. 134) explains that during that year the International Cricket Council (ICC) had signed official agreements with nine sponsors who were officially recognized. It came to the attention of the council that the sponsor calling itself Philips was not among the nine sponsors. Consequently, the council presented claims that the Philips Sponsor was trespassing and offering unfair competition to the recognized official sponsors. The sponsors of Phillips were an ambushing marketer and the council filed a suit restraining the sponsor from associating its advertisements to the world tournament (Vikrant, 2003, p. 38). However, this was a belated afterthought as the ambush had already caused a lot of damage to the official sponsors and stopping the adverts could not reverse its gains to Phillips. Matters were further complicated by the fact that a case presented to an Indian court by the council was dismissed on grounds that the information contained in the Philips Slogan was just a form of advertisement (Natal, p. 2003). According to the court, Philips was just looking for a way to attract many people to buy their products, which doesn’t amount to an infringement. It interpreted the information in the slogan as any person purchasing goods form Philips would be awarded a prize, only that the prize was the

PA Mod 2 New Homeland Security Challenges Assignment

PA Mod 2 New Homeland Security Challenges - Assignment Example For example, following the rail system bombings in both London and Madrid, a number of suspected terrorists were arrested in Florida, Britain and Canada with the help of the cooperation between the locals and law enforcement agencies. Consequently, this is a likely indication that such campaigns are important in the achievement of the goals of community policing because they may provide key information that can be used to identify suspects and prevent terrorist attacks (McGarrell et al. 142). At a time when asymmetric terrorism is increasingly posing the greatest threat to our homeland security, such campaigns as used in the Dearborn case also help in the achievement of community policing goals because they encourage community members to voluntarily provide information that may lead to the prevention of crime and terrorist activities, and the improvement of public security. According to the current homeland security policies, emergency responses to terrorist attacks should be based on an interrogated approach between law enforcers, DoD, FEMA as well as other emergency response agencies based on intelligence gathering. Yes. Although both community policing and zero tolerance policing are all designed to help fight against crime and criminal activities, zero tolerance policing often works against the goals of community policing particularly with regard to the efforts of logical crime prevention. For example, most citizens and members of the communities generally view the street sweeps aimed at enhancing zero tolerance policing to be biased, brutal and militaristic. In this regard, zero tolerance policing may actually discourage community members from actively participating in community crime prevention initiatives that involve cooperating with the police. Zero tolerance was supposedly initiated to help crack down low level crimes such as scribbling graffiti, loitering and other related

Legal issues and concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legal issues and concepts - Essay Example The concept of malpractice was related to the medical profession in 1768 by Sir William Blackstone, who defined mala praxis or bad practice to include, "Injuries... by the neglect or unskillful [sic] management of [a person's] physician, surgeon, or apothecary... because it breaks the trust which the party had placed in his physician, and tends to the patient's destruction2." Tort law comes into play whenever one person harms another. Tort derives from a Latin word which means twisted. Therefore, a tort is an act that has been twisted from the benchmark or is in other words a wrong. The objective of the legal system in resolving torts is to restore the plaintiff to his previous condition; however this can prove to be impossible in many medical situations. If this is not possible, then money is awarded to compensate for the damages that the defendant caused the plaintiff. In the mid 19th century, physicians strived to obtain for medicine the status of a profession, arguing that physicians and patients were not peers and, hence their relationship should not be judged under the contract law. This change in status enabled medicine to obtain the licensing laws sought by physicians of the period. However, it also served to force malpractices into the sphere of torts, which are vaguer, easily manipulated and more subject to interpretation. A malpractice tort comprises of four criteria, first, duty to treat; second, deviation from the standard of care; third, damages; and finally, the causation of damages by the deviation, which is also known as proximate cause. Success in a malpractice action requires the plaintiff to establish that the defendant has met all the four criteria otherwise the defendant will not be held to be guilty of malpractice. Depending on the state, additional criteria might be required for allowing a case to go to a jury trial. The term duty refers to a duty to provide the standard of care, which is established when the physician patient relationship is created. It refers to the duty to show the required skill, care, and diligence that a prudent physician would have shown under similar circumstances. In the emergency department (ED), the physician and patient have no choice in choosing the relationship. The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)3 applies to EDs requires emergency physicians (EP) and hospitals to provide medical screening examination in all emergency cases, regardless of that person's paying capacity. Under EMTALA, ED and emergency medicine (EM) physicians have to provide care, whereas private practitioners need not do so. Since, EMTALA has unequivocally established the duty of a hospital and EM physician towards the patient, the premise of duty is an uncommon contention in EM malpractice cases. Causation in technical cases, like those involving medical practice can prove to be abstruse for a layperson. Further, confusion is caused by the differences between medical causation and the legal concept of causation. Legal causation or proximate cause refers to the single causative factor of injury. The defendant physician is liable for injuries if they had been of an anticipated nature. In Falcon v Memorial Hospital4, a woman after childbirth had an amniotic embolism and died due to non provision of an intravenous line, which according to the testimony, would have given her 37.5% chance to survive. The court held that this had resulted in the patient being deprived of a chance to survive

Bioethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bioethics - Research Paper Example This is exciting for scientists because being able to harvest these cells means that there would be ways in which organs and disorders could be fixed. However, the highest concentrations of stem cells are found in developing embryos because they are still growing and developing. There are clearly ethical parameters regarding this due to the sensitivity of the use of unborn embryos and fetuses for scientific research. This stems from the religious and political conservatives that believe that these types of matters are crossing into a domain in which humans should not have direct control over. Even though there is much opposition to stem cell research, I think that it is the future of the evolution of biomedical science. Because stem cells have no pre-existing programming and can be turned into anything, it could eliminate cancer by replacing cancer cells with healthy cells. In addition, they could be used in gene therapy to rewrite damaged code or mutated code. In order to harvest th e cells, I believe scientists should be able to take them from aborted fetuses and adults. In this way, it is not taking away the natural rights of the unborn individual and it is making use of biological material that would otherwise be discarded. Instead, it can be used to save lives.

Evidence Based Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evidence Based - Assignment Example Critical appraisal is currently a key component included in the training and continuing professional development of all health professionals like nurses in various settings (Burls, 2009). Critical appraisal allows a nurse to judge the validity, reliability and applicability of results of any clinical research while applying it to practice (Burls, 2009). This is because, the process includes intrinsic factors of research like study design, methods, results, etc,to analyze the value of the study. Critical appraisal is a very essential component of evidence based practice which is gaining momentum. The process of critical appraisal involves identifying the appropriateness of the study for the purpose of evidence based practice, ascertaining whether the studies have been conducted in a way which makes the results sensible, making sense of the results by analyzing the methodology of analysis and also understanding the meaning of the results in the context of decision making (Burls, 2009). One of the main challenges to implementation of critical appraisal for evidence based practice is lack of evidence seeking behaviour amongst many clinicians, poor attitude towards evidence based practice, need for appropriate technical knowledge of research design and statistics which are difficult to acquire and lack of time (Brice and Booth, 2005). Brice, A., and Booth, A. (2005). Fusion or confusion?: challenges in applying critical appraisal methods to the health library literature. EAHIL Workshop: Implementation of quality systems and certification of biomedical libraries, Palermo, June 23-25, 2005. Retrieved on 2nd Feb, 2010 from http://www.eahil.net/conferences/palermo_2005/eahil_oral_docs/pdfcd/Brice-doc.pdf Burls, A. (2009). What is Critical Appraisal? Evidence Based Medicane Second Edition. Retrieved on 2nd Feb, 2010 from

Volunteer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Volunteer - Essay Example Research shows, investment in corporate social responsibility has a positive effect on business revenues (Aras and Crowther 498). Volunteer service learning is an engaged teaching and learning strategy that allows the student to participate in an organized service that target to fulfill a certain community need. The student are supposed to reflect, critically evaluate and analysis the service activity to enhance their sense of civic responsibility, help in understanding the course content and appreciate the discipline they are undertaking. One of the most engaging and interesting service activities that a person can undertake is helping the elderly. In most cases, they are unable to clean their home properly and hence are exposed to diseases. The elderly occupy a special place in our society, and they act as the link between the previous generation and the current one. They preserve knowledge and hence it is the duty of the society to take care of them. I chose this service activity for the knowledge and wisdom that the elderly share with you work in their home. The elderly has a lot of experience, and as you work with them, you can get a glimpse of the previous century. The service learning project involved visiting the homes of the elderly to help them clean their house and yard. The group met in the designated venue early in the morning, and we were a lot of people. Hence, the principal in charge of volunteering divided us into groups. Some groups were to clean the street while others were to visit the elderly homes and help them clean their house and yard. My group was to visit an old couple and clean their house and yard. We left the volunteer office and headed for the old couple home. We started by cleaning the house, where we scrubbed the floors and repainted the kitchen walls. The couple was very old and hence was unable to move furniture and hence we rearranged the house

Synovate Survey Shows Ascending Singaporean Spending Power Essay Example for Free

Synovate Survey Shows Ascending Singaporean Spending Power Essay Synovate survey shows ascending Singaporean spending power. Synovate, a leading global market intelligence company, today released information from the 2005 Synovate PAX media survey that showed rises in wealth, product and service ownership and improvements in lifestyle across Singapores affluent residents. The Synovate PAX survey tracks media, prosperity and influence in eleven markets across the Asia Pacific region – Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, India, Australia and Japan. Wanda Gill, Media Director for Synovate in Singapore said that the affluent of Singapore were enjoying high confidence and spending power. In just the last few months, our constantly-updated tracking has enabled us to watch Singapores ever–increasing confidence translate into higher product ownership, increasing purchase intentions and improving lifestyle. The Synovate PAX results for 2005 show that the average monthly household income of the Lion Citys affluent residents has risen from US$4,826 to US$5,456 – a 13% relative change. With greater household wealth, these Singaporeans are rewarding themselves with purchases of top tier luxury and consumer items and steady increases in property ownership and investment, Ms Gill said. The Synovate PAX survey allows marketers to get a full picture of Singapores affluent consumers – what they watch, read, buy and how they feel about advertising and branding – enabling them to target their marketing efforts. Ms Gill said that the 2005 results painted a picture of Singapore as the quiet powerhouse in relation to other markets in the region. While Hong Kongs wealthy are conspicuous consumers and buy items for their fashion status, Singaporeans tend to be more considered in distributing the fruits of their labours. Singapores elites still spend – and spend a lot – but our data shows they wont get their wallets out on a whim. Marketers must appeal to this lack of pretension and realise Singaporeans are not as status-conscious as people from Hong Kong or as acquisitive as the wealthy of other South East Asian economies which are less mature. Singaporeans are comfortable in their skins and are more likely to buy to make their lives easier, Ms Gill said. The Synovate PAX survey delves into peoples attitudes to brands and advertising via a series of psychographic statements. Some of the findings for Singapore were: * 11. 5% of Singapores elites agreed with the statement that they are among the first to buy a new product or gadget. This is below the regional average, showing that Singaporeans are less in a rush than other markets, waiting to see if the item fits into their lifestyle. More than two thirds of Singaporeans agree that paying for quality is worthwhile. * 46. 9% wealthy Singaporeans prefer to buy well known brands, well over the regional average of 41. 1%. * Singaporeans show a focus on lifestyle with 41. 5% agreeing that a home with modern appliances is important to them – this compares to the regional average of 38. 7% and 28. 9% in Hong Kong. Theres an indulgent streak across affluent Singaporeans, with one of the highest levels of agreement to the statement I sometimes like to treat myself to something special. 8. 2% of PAX respondents agreed in Singapore, with only Sydney-siders more indulgent (62%). The regional average is 48. 5%. Synovate PAX also covers product and service ownership, purchase intention over the twelve months to June 2006 and lifestyle. * As a major regional business hub of Asia, it would be expected that a great deal of business travel originates here. However, from June 2004 to June 2005, we have seen a 22% increase in Singapores affluent taking off on one or more business trips. Around 28% of these PAX respondents travel for business. But Singapores elite still find time to relax – more than 50% have taken one or more leisure trips in the year to June 2005 too. * An all-time high number of 38. 6% of affluent Singaporeans now own laptops or notebooks, up from 31. 9% in June 2004. * Likewise, ownership of a mobile phone with Internet access hits an all-time high – it stands at 37. 7% and shows steady increases for every quarter measured. This continuing trend is good news for mobile manufacturers and 3G networks and service offering planners. Indeed, more than 92% of affluent Singaporeans own a mobile with or without Internet access – they are here to stay and all these people will upgrade as mobile content becomes more and more compelling. * Digital dominance seems more and more inevitable as we observe relentless increases in Singaporean ownership of devices like MP3 players (up to 23. 1%, a rise of a quarter over the year before), digital video cameras (43. 7% now own these, up from 35. 9%) and digital still cameras (more than half of affluent Singaporeans own these an increase from 41% in 2004). Indeed, the love ffair with digital is truly blossoming. * Its fair to say that the marketers of LCD or plasma televisions have enjoyed a good year. They close to doubled their market size, with the number of wealthy Singaporeans already owning one of these TVs rising from 7. 6% to 12. 7%. And theres still a great deal of upside, with 10% expressing the intention to purchase this top tier item in the next 12 months. * Car ownership impressively jumped for the second consecutive year. At the end of June 2005, 60% of cashed up Singaporeans owned one, up from 56. 6% at the same time last year. This is an especially good sign of confidence in this very expensive place to own one – the reduction in COEs would play a significant role in this as well. And indicating that the trend is set to continue, 11. 7% of respondents intend to purchase a private vehicle over the next twelve months. * Singapores love affair with football / soccer continues – a third of PAX respondents read about it, watch it or attend games. This is up from 29. 5% last year. In fact, Singapore is really getting sporty tennis, badminton, basketball and golf all showed higher levels of interest too. With more disposable income, Singaporeans have also been getting cultural. More people have attended a concert, opera, ballet, live theatre, art gallery and museums. * The interest in quality wine continues to gain momentum. Spending on quality wine has dramatically increased from US$144 in 2004 to US$223 in 2005. This is a massive 55% relative increase. * The number of elites of the island state who own a second property is up to 10. 6%. Increases in people living in an owned property have been registered as well – 22. 9% of PAX respondents own their homes.

Septic Shock: Causes and Effects

Septic Shock: Causes and Effects Bacteria are microscopic single celled organisms known to reside in a large proportion of the body as natural flora. They help in normal processes such as digestion and production of nutrients. However if taken out of their natural environment they can become pathogenic and in some cases fatal. These organisms are divided into two main groups namely gram positive and gram negative bacteria (this essay places its emphasis on gram negative bacteria). They can be differentiated into these groups according to their cell wall structure and their ability to retain two stains; safranin in the case of gram negatives and crystal violet in the case of gram positives. This ability lies in the bacterial cell wall (http://micro.digitalproteus.com). Septic shock is the most common killer in intensive care units and gram negative bacteria are the main known cause of this condition (Engel, C. et al, 2007). Innate immunity also known as non-specific immunity is the first line defensive response against such an infection and the most basic resistance responsible for defending the body against infections and foreign organisms. In order to do this wholly, it has a number of characteristics which help it summon cells and use different mechanisms. Just as its name suggests, cells and mechanisms of the non-specific immune system act on pathogens in a generic way. Furthermore this branch of the immune system is unable to produce long-lasting immunity against these threats. In the case of gram negative bacterial infection, the innate immune system is activated by certain motifs found on bacteria. Once discovered it calls upon certain molecules which are able to detect and deal with these pathogens appropriately (www.pathmicro.med.sc.edu). As well as fighting foreign pathogens, the innate immune system regulates inflammatory and immune responses tightly in order to prevent overpowering inflammat ion and or overgrowth of invading pathogens (Norton, J. A. et al, 2008). Gram negative bacteria possess specific components in their cell walls that strengthen their capabilities as pathogens. The main components of their cell wall include a variable capsule, a complex lipopolysaccharide layer, a rigid membrane mucopeptide layer and a cytoplasmic membrane. During infection the most important of these constituents is the lipopolysaccharide layer (LPS) also known as the endotoxin layer; so called because its lipid fraction has the ability to act as a toxin (Engel, C. et al, 2007). This conserved bacterial motif consists of a basal portion called lipid A. Lipid A is a glucosamine-based phospholipid, it is linked by keto-deoxyoctonate to the core lipopolysaccharide. It is in fact this component of LPS that is known as the endotoxin because it is this constituent of gram negative bacteria that causes such immense consequences to the immune system. Lipid A remains the most toxic moiety of gram negative toxins produced. This constituent of LPS makes up the outer monolayer of the outer membrane of most gram-negative bacteria. The core of LPS comprises of N-acetyl glucosamine, glucose, galactose and heptose fractions (Raetz, C. R. H., 1990). Finally the terminal segment encompasses repeating oligosaccharide units known to be the cause for O-antigenetic specificity. Unlike lipid A, it was found that the O-antigen does not bring about an inflammatory response; instead it hinders the detection of lipid A (Nishitani C, 2005) which can be very dangerous, as recognition of lipid A is of great importance to the recognition of such an infection. One bacterium is known to contain approximately 2 x 106 lipid A molecules (Fig.1) and about one-quarter of the fatty acyl chains of the bacterial envelope are connected with LPS (Raetz, C. R. H., 1990). The events leading to the activation of macrophages which in turn leads to the production and release of cytokines is thus very important in the understanding of how things work. As demonstrated by Galanos et al using chemically synthesized material, it can be seen that lipid A brings about most of the effects of endotoxins on these cells (Galanos, C. et al, 1985). The fact that lipid A has such a high potency (Raetz, C. R. H., 1990), coupled with the existence of unresponsive mutants as shown by Sibley et al (Sibley, C. H. et al., 1988), and the detection of an antagonist of endotoxin bioactivity (Takayama, K.. et al, 1989) suggested that a receptor (or receptors) for lipid A exists. During infection with this type of bacteria, LPS is the main activator of the innate immune response. If this toxin finds its way into the blood stream, a series of events can cause host toxicity which can lead to a condition known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (sirs) and in some serious cases gram-negative septic shock syndrome a serious condition characterized by a series of clinical conditions caused by the presence of infection which leads to a successive widespread inflammatory response and results in physiologic alterations that occur at the capillary endothelial level. The infected suffers from a sharp rise in temperature, respiration, heart rate and a sudden fall in blood pressure. A combination of these symptoms can be very severe and in some cases fatal (R.L. Paterson and N.R. Webster, 2000). Sepsis has a similar reaction to infection; however instead of the reaction being contained in one place, its effects are on a systemic level, the consequence being wide spread endothelial dysfunction. Stage one in the development of septic shock is the presence of bacteria in the blood a condition known as bacteremia. The bacterial cells become autolysed, their outer membrane fall apart releasing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Baumgarten, G., et al., 2006). As mentioned before, during gram negative bacterial infection, the provocative cause is the interaction of the host immune cells with the endotoxin LPS. In this process, LPS binds to a serum protein known as LPS binding protein (LBP) forming an LBP-LPS complex. This complex then binds unto receptors on the macrophages and causes regulatory proteins [Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NFkB)] to be activated. This complex is then assembled by the CDreceptors unto the surface of the cell, and finally the signal is translated into the cells by the TLR receptors. This response brings about the production of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines namely; tumor necrosis factor (TNF), Interleukins 1, 6 and 12 and Interferon gamma (IFN gamma), casing a direct effect on organ function and an indirect one through the use of secondary mediators (Bosshart, H. and M. Heinzelmann, 2007). Examples of secondary mediators called upon include, complement and platelet-activating factor. Overproduction of these pro-inflammatory cytokines can lead to the production of tissue-factor causing the deposi tion of fibrin which can in turn cause disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (Bosshart, H. and M. Heinzelmann, 2007). A major advance in our comprehension of the molecular mechanisms of septic shock is the recognition that CD14 is a receptor for LPS. Its accessory molecules and how they can come together to give a tragic result are also important in recognizing how it works. The most important component to take heed of during an infection with gram negative bacteria is CD14. CD14 is the part of the LPS receptor complex which binds ligands, it is made up of two parts namely Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and the extracellular protein myeloid differentiation-2 (MD-2), (Miyake K, 2004). This receptor is a membrane bound glycosyl phosphatidylinositol surface-anchored molecule and a pattern recognition receptor expressed by myeloid cells primarily monocytes and macrophages. It is a critical part of the LPS recognition system which is able to interrelate with a variety of bacterial ligands and is able to recognize major fragments of the gram negative bacterial wall primarily lipopolysaccharide It has a two m ajor roles, firstly it instigates an immune response finally has a fundamental role in systemic inflammation bracause it has the ability to recognize lipopolysaccharide and to a lesser extent other bacterial motifs in the cell wall of gram negative bacteria (SD Wright et al, 1990). During infection, the first line of defense is the extraction of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) monomers from the membranes of the bacteria. This is done by the serum protein LPS-binding protein (LBP) an acute-phase protein produced by hepatocytes in the liver as a 50-kDa single polypeptide but released as a larger 60-kDa glycosylated form (Ramadori, G., et al.1990). This protein has a very high affinity for the lipid A moiety in LPS. LPB has two main functions; firstly in the presence of lipopolyscaccharide binding protein, particles containing LPS undergo opsonisation. This process causes leukocytes to be more sensitive to LPS. Secondly, lipopolysaccharide binding protein channels LPS-coated particles to macrophages by binding to the lipid A portion of LPS and then to macrophages (Wright, S. D et al, 1989). LBP acts as a ligand for CD14 by transferring the LPS monomer to a lipid-binding site on CD14 in the membrane of phagocytes. Membrane-bound CD14 does not have an intracellular domain, making it incomplete on its own right. Thus it has to interrelate with other cell receptors before signal transduction takes place (Bosshart, H. and M. Heinzelmann, 2007). When LPS is recognised by CD14 the innate immune system is stimulated by TLR4. TLR4 receptors bind the foreign antigen and internalize it resulting in signal transduction and innate immune cell activation the final result being cytokine production. This couple contribute to a valuable host defense mechanism against intact gram-negative bacteria and is so effective that removal of CD14 has been found to aid an over development of a number of gram-negative pathogens in vivo as shown in knockout mice (SD Wright et al, 1990) CD14 exists in two forms the first being a soluble protein and the second a membrane bound form. Furthermore, two isoforms of the soluble protein have been identified; one form is produced by detaching itself from the cell surface and the other is released before the glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor is added to cells (Labeta MO, et al, 1993). Two further molecules come together to form a complex which is able to recognize a variety of Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs), LPS being one of them. PAMPs are relatively invariant molecular structures that the bacteria have but are not found in the host. These structures are recognized by Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs. PRRs are transmembrane receptors which are able to distinguish a variety of PAMPs. In the case of gram negative bacterial infection, PRRs are found on cell-surface receptors of cells. They bind the pathogen and set off a signal causing effector molecules to be released. These receptors are Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are vital for the regulation of innate immune responses during infection. A number of toll like receptors have been found as well as the PAMPS they are associated with (Takeda K et al, 2003). The most important TLR in gram negative infection is TLR4 involved in the recognition of the PAMP lipopolyssacharide. With the support of accessory molecules, TLR4 specializes in the recognition of LPS. It requires MD-2 (myeloid differentiation-2) to respond efficiently to LPS. Its amino-terminal region which consists of Glu(24)-Pro(34) is critical for MD-2 binding and LPS signaling(4). This transmembrane protein contains an extracellular region made up of a protein pattern called leucine-rich repeats (LRR). LRR forms a complex with MD-2 an extracellular molecule who has a role in surface expression of TLR4 on cells as well as its interaction with LPS. CD14 promotes the binding of LPS to the TLR4–MD-2 complex, which signals to the cell interior. Reseasch has shown that membrane bound TLR4 is the PRR for LPS as it encourages responsiveness of cells to LPS (Nishitani C, 2005). During gram negative infection, the TLR4–MD-2 complex recognizes gram negative bacteria and activates an effector response causing a signaling cascade which in turn causes NF-ÃŽ ºB to be activated. NF-ÃŽ ºB is a transcription factor which activates many cytokine genes, examples of which are tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-ÃŽ ±) gene, Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and chemokines, (molecules which cause migration of leukocytes to the site of infection), these molecules are all known to cause inflammation at the site of infection. NF-ÃŽ ºB is found in the cytosol of cells where it is bound to IÃŽ ºB its inhibitor. Binding of ligands to the receptor causes IÃŽ ºB to be phosphorylation and destroyed. NF-ÃŽ ºB can then move into the nucleus where the genes required are activated. Genes encoding IL-1 and other cytokines are turned on by this effector molecule resulting in inflammation and other cell precesses such as processes such as cell adhesion cell proliferation, and angiogenesis (http: //users.rcn.com/). The TLR4-MD-2 complex plays an important role in suppressing Gram-negative bacterial infection by activating innate immune responses (Engel, C. et al, 2007). Even though TLR4-MD-2 recognizes LPS, not much is known about the physical interaction between LPS and TLR4-MD-2. It is known that CD14 significantly enhances the formation of LPS-TLR4-MD-2 complexes by loading LPS onto TLR4-MD-2 complexes. In the absence of CD14, the TLR4–MD-2 complex can still function with some forms of LPS in the presence of high concentrations of LPS (Nishitani C, 2005). The effect that the presence of endotoxins brings on the immune system is not as important as the effect which overproduction of cytokines has on the host. The latter caused by over reaction of the hosts immune system is what brings about such dire consequences. Prolonged harm to individual organ systems results in mul ­tiple organ failure, transitioning into the final stage known as refractory septic shock. Past experiments have shown that protein C levels are low during sepsis. Protein C plays a vital role in the inhibition of coagulation. Low levels thus suggest that during sepsis protein C is inhibited causing coagulation to take place on a systematic level. The collective consequence of such a cascade is an imbalanced state, where inflammation prevails over anti-inflammation and coagulation prevails over fibrinolysis. The end result being conditions such as ischemia, and high scale tissue destruction; severe sepsis, shock, and multiple organ failure may follow which could eventually lead to death.

Techniques Of Creating Stop Motion

Techniques Of Creating Stop Motion The dissertation focuses on the techniques and methods of creating stop motion and how it is implemented on various forms of visual media. The initial motivation for the content and structure of this dissertation is based on personal experience during my project and also some research on it. Several research and reviews also helped me to specify and provide certain suggestions. This dissertation will briefly explain about what are stop motion and different techniques and method of creating stop motion. And also study how to improvise and implement the stop motion in the modern CGI media industry. An introduction to some of the most popular types of stop motion. The types of stop motion reviewed and discussed in this dissertation include: Puppet animation Puppetoon Clay mation Cutout animation Silhouette animation Model animation Go motion Object animation Graphic animation Pixilation Chapter 1 Introduction Stop-motion animation is described as a type of animation created or designed by physically manipulating or altering real-world or physical objects and is photographed or captured them on one frame of a film at a single time. And when it plays altogether it will create the illusion of movement. There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named or tagged after the type of media or way used to create the animation. There are many Computer software is widely available in the market to create this type of animation. In late 80s stop motion become unpopular due to its strange appeal and unorthodox style of animating character. Stop motion was widely used in special effect especially in 80s.The process and traditional stop motion has been kept alive by great directors like Tim Burton and Nick Park. Stop motion is usually the work of an oneman craftsmanship performing all the duties under intense concentration on one frame at a time while, CGI or 3D special effect sequences tend to have small group devoted or appointed people to their specialized tasks. In terms of larger debates, stop motion generally wins over the traditional artistically-based 3d animation because its handcrafted naturally and lively and can be corrected any moment by keeping its traditional art history background of design and sculpture, At the end its a magic show in which actual physical or real world objects have been handled or manipulated in a way which produces an illusion of motion to the audience 1. Research question What is stop motion What are the types , methods and technique for creating stop motion What are role and importance of camera in stop motion What are the pros and cons of stop motion in production What is the future of stop motion 2. Aim The dissertation aims to find out the role and techniques of stop motion in visual media industry and also how it can be implemented in present generation media industry. 3. Objectives To define stop motion and its history To explain the different method and techniques involved in creating stop motion To explain how the camera effects on creating stop motion To analyze the pros and cons of stop motion To analyze the integration between the techniques of stop motion with new generation computer graphics media 4. Summary of chapters: 4. a. Stop motion This section provides the introductuion and the brief history of the stop motion. The reader will understand what exactly stop motion is. 4. b. Different types of stop motion This section explains the different types of stop motion, the technique and method to create it and also the resource and artist behind it. 4. c. Camera in stop motion The sections explain of choosing the camera and the requirement for it. A brief summary of camera and also the merits and demerits of each one 4. d. Stop motion in present day media industry This section explains how it is integrated in new generation media industry and also the impact of stop motion over the traditional animators 4. e. Review of some popular stop motion This section provides the use of different technique and method in each individual movie from past and present day media. 4. f. Future of stop motion Stop motion and 3D integration with stereoscopy This section briefly explains the future enhancements and technology involved in the next-generation of stop motion in the media industry Chapter 2 Review of Literature Creating a stop motion is huge and painstaking process than any other form of art .the production is a very time consuming and should take care of sculptor or the modeler and also the technical issue like frame rate and the camera . So in production these things should be executed in a good rhythm to get a fine output The production behind the project should give the proper backup and take care the whole pipeline. The stop motion makes believe, that real object and physical figures comes alive lives in front of them. Its purely an artist work. But in the world of 3d, the stop motion got some great challenge to face. 3d animation takes a short duration of production time regarding stop motion. So commonly the 3d got popular in the industry. But in present world of media industry there are few stop motion enthusiast and director who kept this art alive and bringing a new form of stop motion. The stop motion is purely an intrinsic work and effort of each sculptor or a modeler. So the basic idea of stop motion is the process technique and methods involved etc, is to understand before an artist and he can go ahead and create a stop motion in the production phase. This way he would be able to understand the technique to create a good stop motion Chapter 2 Literature review Article by Ken A. Priebe (2006) mention about the art of stop motion and also How to create puppets and how to bring them to life and create a stop-motion film. Article by Tom Brierton (2006) mention and discuss about the aesthetics of stop-motion animation. He explains the technique of lighting and camera. And the article also discussed on body language of model, facial expression, gesture, movement and emotion of the model. Article by Barey. J.C .Purves (2008) mentions and discussed about the potential of puppet and models insight of world most popular stop motion animators and discussed on initial concept and script writing Chapter 3 | Research Methodology The research paper carries out a qualitative evaluation of material collected from secondary data source i.e. literatures and articles already written. The research is aimed to explain the techniques, method and overall awareness of stop motion to use in present generation production. The research methodology used is described below: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Description about Stop motion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Different types of stop motion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technical analysis of stop motion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Explanation of present day stops motion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Review of some popular stop motion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Analysis and report making suggestions based on the reviews à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Future developments of stop motion are explained. The theory and history behind the development of stop motion is first explained. Then the different type of stop motion is elaborated. This gives a basic idea about the technology and theory behind production Then the various common features and criteria of production are explained to give an idea as to what exactly artists can do. Then some review over the popular work and the techniques and method behind it, Based on the reviews, a report is made to give an idea that how it can be implemented in the perfect way Upcoming developments and enhancements of stop motion production are then explained in brief. Chapter 4 Stop motion Key words: Animation, stop motion Animation is a simulation of movement created by displaying series of image in 2d, 3d or a model position in order to create a sequence 1. | Definition Albert E. Smith and Stuart Blackton (1898) is the creator of first stop motion. Stop motion (also known as stop action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence 2. | Overview Animation as a whole can be related as the base of different type and method of animation available in the industry. It is also considered as the different form of art Animation are categorized by the techniques used, they include: Traditional animation Stop motion 2D animation 3D animation Here the research is on stop motion and the stop motion is divided into Puppet animation Puppetoon Clay mation Cutout animation Silhouette animation Model animation Go motion Object animation Graphic animation Pixilation 3. | History Stop motion had a long history and it is old as the traditional film. The stop motion is involved in animating objects which makes movement to nonliving objects such as toy blocks or any inanimate objects. Later the stop motion animator experimented on clay animation and puppet animation. The early examples of stop motion film and technique can be seen the movie Humpty Dumpty circus (1898) and another film called Fun in bakery shop (1902)[1]. The haunted hotel was very successful movie, with the cinema audience of that time (1907) The first stop motion that used in clay animation got a great critical acclaim (1912) And was called Modeling extraordinary The first woman animator, Helena Smith Dayton, began experimenting with clay stop motion (1916). Her first film released in 1917, Romeo and Juliet The other big changes in stop motion was brought by Willis o Brien by including 49 pre historic animals in his film Some of the other notable Milestones in the History of stop motion The great stop motion animator, Ray Harryhausen received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his contributions in technology 1991. But in early 20th century the face of stop motion has dramatically changed with the development of digital 3D animation and animating 3D character and become much easier and fast which the industry was favored. So it becomes rarely used. Now the stop motion enthusiast and director who kept this art alive are bringing a new form of stop motion. The stop motion is purely an intrinsic work and effort of each sculptor or a modeler. Chapter 5 | Different types of stop motion Stop motion is categorized in different type, according to the media used to create the animation They are Puppet animation Puppetoon Clay animation Cutout animation Silhouette animation Model animation Go motion Object animation Graphic animation Pixilation Stop motion is a highly time-consuming job based on the complexity of the scene and the different animating techniques, methods opt for. 1. Puppet animation: Puppet animation is a method that involves articulated puppet. These puppet figures interact with each other in a constructed environment or a set, in contrast to the real world interaction in a model animation. As on the technical side the puppets are made of constraints which allow them to move the joints to create a movement, and also the puppet will have an armature inside them keep steady or fixed steady in the set The famous puppet animation works are Tale of the Fox (France, 1937), Nightmare before Christmas (US, 1993), Corpse Bride (US, 2005), Coraline (US, 2009), the films of Jiri Trnka and the TV series Robot Chicken (US, 2005-present). a. Puppetoon: Unlike clay animators like Nick Park, Will Vinton or Art Clokey, George Pals animators worked in a replacement technique using hand-carved wooden puppets. A separate puppet (or puppet part) was used for each motion, rather than clay or hinged parts. A single walking sequence, for instance, could involve 12 pairs of legs for one character. An average Puppetoon short would use 9,000 puppets. 2. Clay animation: Clay animation or otherwise termed as plasticine animation is commonly known as Claymation. They use clay or a different type of malleable substance to create the figure which is used for the stop motion animation. Similar to puppet animation figure this Claymation figure also have the armature or wireframe inside them and they can be manipulated or altered the figure in the particular scene or shot. There are certain films like in which the figure is entirely made of clay. By using this method they can morph the creature or the figure into another shape. Examples of clay-animated works include The Gumby Show (US, 1957-1967) Morph shorts (UK, 1977-2000), Wallace and Gromit shorts (UK, as of 1989), Jan Ã…Â  vankmajers Dimensions of Dialogue(Czechoslovakia, 1982), The Trap Door (UK, 1984). Films include Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run and the Adventures of Mark Twain 3. Cut out animation: Cutout animation is based on 2 dimensional animations. In this animation 2D objects like paper or cloth are move frame by frame to create the effect. Examples include Terry Gilliams animated sequences from Monty Pythons Flying Circus (UK, 1969-1974); Fantastic Planet (France/Czechoslovakia, 1973) ; Tale of Tales (Russia, 1979), The pilot episode of the TV series (and sometimes in episodes) of South Park (US, 1997). 4. Silhouette animation: Silhouette animation is a different variant of cutout animation .In this animation the characters are backlited and the result will be a silhouettes of the figure Examples include The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Weimar Republic, 1926) and Princes et princesses (France, 2000). 5. Model animation: Model animation refers to stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as a part of a live-action world. Intercutting, matte effects, and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion characters or objects with live actors and settings. Examples include the work ofRay Harryhausen, as seen in films such Jason and the Argonauts (1961), and the work ofWillis OBrien on films such as King Kong (1933 film). 6. Go motion: Go motion is a variant of model animation which uses various techniques to create motion blur between frames of film, which is not present in traditional stop-motion. The technique was invented by Industrial Light HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Light__MagicHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Light__Magic Magic and Phil Tippett to create special effects scenes for the film The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Another example is Vermithrax from Dragonslayer (1981 film). 7. Object animation: Object animation refers to the use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items. 8. Graphic animation: Graphic animation uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material (photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, etc.) which are sometimes manipulated frame-by-frame to create movement. At other times, the graphics remain stationary, while the stop-motion camera is moved to create on-screen action. 9. Pixilation: Pixilation involves the use of live humans as stop motion characters. This allows for a number of surreal effects, including disappearances and reappearances, allowing people to appear to slide across the ground, and other such effects. In this method live humans are used as stop-motion animation props. A very good example of this is the old sci-fi movies in which actors acting on screen used to just vanish in a split second; one frame they are there and the other they are gone. An awesome example is Norman McLarens Neighbors and A Chairy Tale. A must watch. Examples of pixilation include The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb and Angry Kid shorts. Chapter 6 | Camera in stop motion Camera plays an important role in the field of stop motion. There are certain basic requirements for the camera to shoot decent stop motion film. As the stop motion is based on frame by frame capturing, the camera should be rock solid. The other important thing are the Screen resolution, manual focus and manual image control and also the types of cameras like webcams, film cameras, camcorders and digital still camera. The screen resolution will be dependent on the medium of output and the camera used. When the medium of output is web based then the web camera are mostly appreciated, and when it is broadcasting for television or other bigger screen media , a bigger camera are needed that have broadcast resolution The other thing use must take care in camera are manual focus because in each frame the object will move in the field of view and this cause the focus to change . The other thing u should notice is zoom and it should be optical zoom and not digital zoom, because the digital zoom tend to pixelate. Manual image control is other main feature that can manually override gain, exposure and white balance. Types of camera Web cameras: Web cam will be the cheapest and simplest way to make a stop motion. The plus is that unlike film cameras, there is no waiting for entire role to get exposed and developed. The beginners can start with webcam and slowly by practicing they can go for higher or expensive cameras. The merits of web cams are, they are cheap and with decent web cam we can produce a good broadcast quality animation. And also can check feedback instantly. The demerits are that the lens cannot be interchange for better quality lens Film camera: The most common choice of the motion picture format is super-8, 16mm and 35mm. In this range the 35mm camera will be outside range, because it is costly and it depends on the production In this camera the least expensive is super-8 and for 16mm we must pay little more for film and processing. The small drawback of the camera is that it is having a spring drive device which is used to wind .Because of this it cause uneven exposure, so it is better to get an animation motor fitted on it for the ease of work. The merits are that, the output will look like digital video. They can interchange lenses and also can offer timed exposure, double exposure and matte effects. The demerits are the cost of the film, as it will cost more developing process Camcorders: There are different types of camera available in the market and can be used for filming stop motion. You can capture the live feed from the camera through frame grabber software and can make correction. For an old camcorder you should have a analog/digital converter. If it is DV camcorder you dont need a converter, just connect through fire wire or usb port. You can provide a live feed to the computer through the capturing software without a tape inside Digital still camera: We can take stop motion in digital still camera and this camera offers a high resolution images. And the main feature is that you can do exposure setting The merits are that it got higher resolution and have a good optics, and also allow lens interchange The demerits are they wont work with frame grabbers, and also have flicker issues. Chapter 7 | Stop motion in present day media industry

Chemistry of PNA Peptide Nucleic Acid Essay -- Biology Polymer Medical

Abstract For this report I chose to study PNA, or peptide nucleic acid, a biological polymer that was related to the biomedical field of research. I was very interested in this synthesized molecule because of its inimitable and remarkable properties, comparatively to other nucleic acids such as the more commonly known DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, and RNA, or ribonucleic acid. I also wanted to understand its uses and possible uses in everyday life. My main goal was to learn about the structure, significance, and clinical applications of PNA. Essay Imagine being able to solve problems such as cancer by just a few molecules. Think of all of the lives that would be saved by this miracle molecule. Well, there may be such a thing, and that too a polymer that is similar to DNA. This wonder-molecule is called peptide nucleic acid, or PNA. PNAs can bind with high specificity to a selected target in a gene sequence, so this makes them very significant, especially in the medicinal and biotechnological perspectives. However, before learning how PNA is useful in that way, it is crucial to learn about its properties and their meaning. Peptide nucleic acid is a very special polymer that is unique in its characteristics, functions, and use in the modern world. 3 Although PNA may not be a common household word, it is quite familiar to molecular scientists all over the world. It is a potent structural mimic of DNA with a pseudopeptide backbone. This is clearly shown by the image on the left, as the central composition of both nucleic acids are relatively analogous. The phosphodiester backbone of DNA is replaced in PNA by a 2- aminoethyl-glycine linkage. The structure of the molecule itself is a glycine molecule with .. ...nant Melanoma. 27 Oct. 2006. 29 July 2008 . [5]: Mondhe, Madhav. Figure 2. Chemical Structure of PNA & DNA. [PNA binding to DNA]. Digital image. Madhav Mondhe. 24 Oct. 2007. 29 July 2008 . Pellestor, Franck. PRINS and PNA Technologies in Chromosomal Investigation. New York: Nova Science, Incorporated, 2006. [4]: Vocke, Eric, Everardo Macias, and Virginia Evans. PNA Triplex Ball and Stick. Digital image. DNA Triplexes. 29 July 2008 gcntrl.html#location>. [3]: Vocke, Eric, Everardo Macias, and Virginia Evans. PNA Triplex Black and White. Digital image. DNA Triplexes. 29 July 2008 gcntrl.html#location>.

The Negative Impacts of the Harlem Renaissance Essay -- essays researc

The 1920’s were a period or rapid growth and change in America. After World War I American’s were introduced to a lifestyle of lavishness they had never encountered before. It was a period of radical thought and ideas. It was in this time period that the idea of the Harlem Renaissance was born. The ideology behind the Harlem Renaissance was to create the image of the â€Å"New Negro†. The image of African-American’s changed from rural, uneducated â€Å"peasants† to urban, sophisticated, cosmopolites. Literature and poetry abounded. Jazz music and the clubs where it was performed at became social â€Å"hotspots†. Harlem was the epitome of the â€Å"New Negro†. However, things weren’t as sunny as they appeared. Many felt that the Harlem Renaissance itself wasn’t so much a celebration of Black culture, but rather a regurgitation of White ideals. To these African-Americans, the Harlem Renaissance represented conformity and s ubmission to the White culture. Yet there were also those who were not even given the opportunity to be a part of the Harlem Renaissance. The poor Blacks in the South never received any of the racial tolerance up north. They lived in a world of racism and the Ku Klux Klan. The Harlem Renaissance did not redefine African-American expression. This can be seen through the funding dependence on White Americans, the continued spread of racism and the failure to acknowledge the rights of poor Southern African-Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harlem provided a source of entertainment for many people. With its Jazz Clubs and poetry readings it was the â€Å"hip† place to be. This was a shock to many African-American’s, who had never before had the opportunity to perform in such affluent surroundings. Oftentimes funding for these clubs or programs was provided by White Americans. This in itself was not a problem. However, the Harlem Renaissance became so dependant on the funding that when it stopped coming, there was no means by which to keep any of the clubs or literary cafes open. Some clubs in Harlem even discriminated against Black audience members. The popular Cotton Club, which featured solely Black performers, even went so far as to ban African-Americans’ from its audience entirely. Even in the Mecca of supposed racial equality, these sorts of discrimination were still prevalent. Advertisements for products produced by African-Americans were also skewed. Para... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Harlem Renaissance was a time of growth and development in for African-Americans. They wrote novels, performed in clubs, and created the genre of Jazz. However, the Renaissance was imprisoned by its flaws. Rather then celebrating the unique culture of African-American’s, it oftentimes catered to what the White Americans would want to see and hear. Although racism seemed to be lower in Harlem and the Northern states, for many Blacks racism was at all time high. The Ku Klux Klan reached membership of astronomical proportions. They marched on Washington DC and handed out membership cards bashing minorities. Less educated Blacks, or those who couldn’t make it to Harlem, were often deemed ignorant. There was a barrier built between those Blacks with an education, and those without. And when the Great Depression hit, African Americans lost their jobs at a rate almost triple that of White Americans. Where was the equality Harlem had fought so hard f or? The Harlem Renaissance, although it did achieve some remarkable things, did not redefine African American expression. That ideal, would take many more years of strife, struggle, and segregation to achieve.

lots of words :: essays research papers

Why should we build up a Start-up vocabulary quickly? Draft v1.1. August 4, 2002 Rob Waring This page is at http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~waring/vocab/principles/early.htm ?@ Abstract This article will examine the reasons why it is important both linguistically and psychologically to build a vocabulary quickly when learning a foreign language. The article asserts that very little can be achieved or learned in a foreign language with a small vocabulary and that by building a sizable vocabulary quite quickly one can soon be able to function adequately. You may also wish to look at http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/95/feb/meara.html ?@ Introduction ?@ It is obvious that in order to learn a foreign language one needs to learn many many words. But how many? Educated English native speakers have a vocabulary of about 20,000-25,000 word families (A 'word family' refers to a group of words that share the same basic meaning e.g. create, creation, creating, created, creative etc), foreign learners of English need far fewer[1].The speaking vocabulary is usually said to be half of the reading and writing vocabulary. Foreign learners of English only need about 3000-5000 word families to be quite competent in speaking and listening to English. This is great news for learners of English because their task is much easier than that of native speakers! ?@ One of the reasons for this seemingly small number is the nature of words and the frequency with which they appear in a language. Not all words are equal because some words such as time, the, come, make, and so on are very common whereas others such as parasol, bombastic and edifice are relatively rare and not met everyday. It therefore seems clear that these frequent words should be among the first words to learn because they will be met most often and will be needed frequently in speech or writing. Thus the pay off for learning them is higher than for an average rare word. These words are often called a General Service Vocabulary because these words are found in many kinds of situations and domains. This is a vocabulary of about 2000 word families. The best list (although it is a bit dated is Michael West's 1954 list called the General Service Word List.) These General Service words are found a very very wide range of contexts such as in the medical world, in novels, in scientific reports, on web pages, in daily conversation, in politics and so on. Because these words appear in so many contexts they are extremely useful to almost all learners.

Good Governance in Pakistan

Good Governance in Pakistan. OUTLINES: 1. Introduction 2. Definition of Governance 3. Governance in Pakistan. 4. Failures of Governance in Pakistan 5. Causes of failures: 1. Political commotion 2. No democratic setup 3. Military intrusion 4. Feudal indulgence 5. Massive Corruption 6. Constitutional crises 7. Institutional clashes 8. Mismanagement of resources 9. Lack of Accountability 10. Over Exploitation of funds 11. Restrictions on media 12. Ethnic conflicts 13. Secterianism 14. Extremism 6 Essentials of Good Governance 1. Public Participation 2. National Integration 3. Political stability 4.Constitutional supremacy 5. Institutional supremacy 6. Unrestricted media 7. No military intervention 8. Socio economic development 9. Independent judiciary 7. Good governance and Islam 8. Distinction between Good governance and bad Governance 9 Parameter of good governance .Responsibility .Accountability .Rule of law Legitimacy .open administrative system Good relationship between ruler and r uled Definition of bad governance .Arbitrary policies of ruler .Irresponsible attitude No rule of law Unjust legal system Closed administrative system 10. Impacts of good Governance Individual Life Social lifePolitical life Economic life 11. Good Governance and democracy 12. Conclusion. ESSAY: Good Governance in Pakistan Good governance has got great importance in our state as the problems of corruption, red tapism and inefficiency crept in the internal structure of our country. Today good governance not only occupies central place in our state but also regarded as crucial element in building nation. Nation cannot flourish in the absence of good governance. It is the need of an hour. Without the presence of good governance, no country can play pivotal role in the orb. It is regarded as the soul of country.Governance is very pertinent in every sphere of life, whether it is house or office, good governance is needed to perform effectively. It provides strong foundation for the develop mental process. Governance is more than mere management. It is not only about decision making, policy formulating, priority settings but also implementation or results. Good governance has been defined as, â€Å"Good Governance related to effective management†. It is anchored on legitimacy and creditability. According to World Bank Report of 1989, A public service that is efficient, a judicial system that is reliable, and administration that is accountable to public†.Similarly another report was presented by World Bank in 1992, According to this report; good governance includes public sector management, accountability, legal framework, information and transparency. Pakistan as an independent state got recognition on 14 august 1947. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the dynamic personality who came forward for the cause of Muslims. Muslims were deprived of their due rights. This mighty man had burnt the midnight oil and converted the dream of Allama Iqbal into reality . Praiseworthy performance of Quaid-e-azam laid the foundation of Pakistan.Unfortunately, Pakistan suffered badly in the early years of establishment. It faced millions of problems. These issues are summarized as follows; Political disturbance, No democratic setup, military intrusion, massive corruption, feudal dispensation, institutional clashes, constitutional crises, escalating inflation, mismanagement of resources, lack of accountability, no rule of law, deteriorating law and order condition, over exploitation of funds, secreterism, ethnic conflict, extremism and international conspiracies. All these issues are the main reason of failure of Governance in Pakistan.These issues are so interconnected that it is very difficult to eliminate them. They are eating the roots of Pakistan. Now let’s have a cursory look on the details of the above mentioned causes which are spreading like cankerous inside Pakistan. Political commotion plays very negative role in every state. No coun try in this orb, can survive easily in political turmoil. Political instability is the root cause of all evils. Since Independence, Pakistan has been facing the threat of political hubbub. It created a big gap in the economic development and progress. It gives platform for several others problems.The condition of Pakistan is not commendable. It faces bundles of threats because of political instability. Governement should play effective role to curb this menace. Several miscreants are taking benefits from this self created political instability. For the survival of their own existence, politicians are trapping in the nets of trouble makers. Good governance cannot establish in the presence of political commotion. Politicians have become power greedy. Lust for power has tightly closed the curtain of brain. They cannot have the potentials to comprehend the shrewdness of trouble makers.They are habitual of perks, privileges and power. No democratic set is present in Pakistan. It further aggravated the deteriorating condition. It has created unstable environment around the whole country. No one is satisfied and happy since independence. Absence of democratic setup gives birth to multitudes of problems. This gigantic problem is creating turmoil. Constitutional catastrophe was the biggest problem of Pakistan. After independence Pakistan took long seven years to draft constitution. It also laid barriers in the path of governance. Constitution provides framework for policies.Decisions have been taken in order to view constitutional boundaries. No decision has been taken outside the framework of constition. Violation of constitution is considered as crime. Violator would be granted severe punishment. Military intrusion is also considered disastrous for the democratic set up. It puts adverse impact on the decision making process. It negated the image of Pakistan. In the initial years of Pakistan establishment, corrupt politicians usurped the right of innocent people. This paved the way for military to rule the newly born state.Constant four military rules devastated the democratic set up. Feudal dispensation in the early years of establishment created a big gap in the development process. Massive corruption had been viewed. Wealthy feudal class joined hand with politicians. They started eating the treasure of people. Corrupt bureaucrats were also engaged in cleaning the wealth of people. This is the reason of failure of governance in Pakistan. In the presence of institutional clashes, governance cannot establish its foothold. Recent clash between executive and judiciary has created disturbance around the whole country.Negative image has portrayed around the whole orb. Good governance needs a pleasant environment to establish its foundation Mismanagement of resources is another mighty problem for good governance. Governemnet should formulate effective measures to solve this gigantic issue. Lack of accountability has been creating tension since indepe ndence. Improper usage of funds is increasing the rate of inflation. Pakistan is also under debt trap. It is all happening due to absence of accountability. Corruption can easily be removed with proper channel of accountability.Check and balance is very essential for the maintenance of funds. Over exploitation of resources and funds is creating havoc. It gives birth to food insecurity and dissatisfaction among the masses. Deteriorating law and order condition of Pakistan are adding fuel to fire. It creates an environment of fear and insecurity. Sectarianism, extremism and ethnic rivalry all are against the norms of good governance. These curses should be removed from Pakistan. International conspiracies have become the norm of the day. Presences of Pakistan in these conspiracies have become the fashion.It also put worse impact on good governance. Now let’s have a glance on the essentials of good governance. Good governance can easily flourish in the presence of followings; Pu blic participation, national cohesion, national integration, constitutional supremacy, institutional supremacy, strong foundation, independent judiciary, free media ,socioeconomic development, and so on. Presence of public participation plays very effective role in the establishment of good governance. It revolves around decision making process. Public support and cooperation possesses great importance in good governance.It paves the way for good governance. National cohesion and integration is very necessary for the establishment of good governance. When people joined hands together no power can defeat them. So in this regard national integration is very pertinent. Constitutional supremacy is very important in this regard. It provides framework for policy makers. On the same lines institutional supremacy is also very much important. This clash is erupted in the absence of mutual consensus. Negotiation is a better way to curb this clash. Socio economic development provides strong fo undation to governance.It includes the followings; controlled population, massive employment opportunities, proper education system, Effective rule of law, improved law and order condition, powerful system of accountability, removal of corruption and so on. Now let’s have look on the concept of good governance by Islam. Islam is the religion of peace and prosperity. For the sake of prosperity and peace, it gives the message of equality, justice, responsibility, proper check and balance and so on. Now the question arises here, what is the difference between good governance and bad governance? The answer clearly reflects the distinction.Good governance totally revolves around legitimacy, responsibility, rule of law, and opens administrative system whereas bad governance indicates towards arbitrary policy making, no rule of law, irresponsibility, unjust legal system, restrained relation between ruler and ruled. Here another question arises, what are the impacts of good governanc e? It puts positive impacts on individual life, social life, political life, and economic life. It spreads the environment of peace and prosperity. Individual feels secure, when all his/her basic necessities of life would be fulfilled.It removes the feeling of self deprivation and insecurity. When individuals feel secure, ultimately, whole society feels secure. Society is made up of groups and groups are formed from individuals. Groups formed nation. When nation is satisfied, it ultimately brings gratification around the whole country. All are interconnected and intertwinted. It ultimately brings satisfaction in political and economic spheres. Now let’s have cursory look on good governance and democracy. Both democracy and good governance are interconnected. According to Abraham Lincoln; democracy is for the people by the people and through the people.Active participation of people have been required in the decision making process. Thus, good governance is regarded as the hea rt of every country. It brings management . It is essential for the process of functioning. It boosts the development process. It gives foam to socio economic foundation. It creates an environment of perfection. Necessities of people are fulfilled in an organized manner. According to Etounge Manguella, â€Å"Good Governance implies presence of rule of law, safeguard of human right, existence of honest government, accountability, transparency, predictability and openness†

Parental Control: Toddlers and Tiaras Abuse Essay

The TV show Toddlers and Tiaras encourages child abuse. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary abuse is: â€Å"improper or excessive use or treatment.† Toddlers and Tiaras is a show based on mothers using their children and treating them like dolls instead of humans. The tiny tots on this show have become famous for their scandalous outfits and routines. We cannot blame the children as many of them are too young to understand the negative responses. From a young age these children are being exposed to an overly sexualized media and then encouraged to participate in it. These girls spend each weekend and most of every day either preparing for or competing in competitions that they may not want to be a part of. They don’t have a say in whether or not they want to compete and often times their mother are the ones pushing them into pageants. The show starts with an introduction to the families that are chosen for this particular week. Each family is filmed in their own home and they take the viewer through their pageant routine. This episode starts with a mother saying, â€Å"I didn’t get to do this stuff when I was little so I think I am living my dreams through my daughter.† The daughter then says, â€Å"I like pageants because my mamma says so.† The mother is taking away her daughter’s freedom of choosing an activity that she enjoys. For a show titled about the children, the mothers get most of the attention. After home tours the families show off their pageant attire. One family even showed the dress fitting for their newest gown. Some of the most disturbing parts of Toddlers and Tiaras are the promiscuous costumes, which include: a mother dressing her daughter, Maddy, as Dolly Parton, complete with fake â€Å"assets,† or two-year-old Mia complete with Madonna’s cone bra, and finally three-year-old Paisley as the prostitute Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Paisley wore kne e-high black leather boots and a revealing top and skirt and pranced around the stage as people simultaneously clapped and looked on in horror. Spray tan and fake eyelashes are one thing but once you dress your kid as an iconic prostitute even Julia Roberts would be appalled. These children don’t know who most of the people that they are portraying are. Their mothers on the other hand know exactly who they are and how people will react to a certain costume. They are setting their children up to have a bad reputation. At three years old these innocent girls are being brought into the spot light by their selfish mothers. However, it is eight-year-old Britney who takes the cake when it comes to being â€Å"over-sexualized.†She receives regular Botox injections from her mother before pageants. Are these parents really worried about wrinkles on the face of a girl that doesn’t even have acne yet? When did it become socially acceptable for toddlers to look and act like a twenty, thirty or even forty-year-old woman? Most every little girl wants to feel like a princess, but I doubt any of them want to be a prosti tute, nor do they know what a prostitute is. Even when the outfits are age appropriate, the children never have a say in choosing their attire. A contestant locked herself in the bathroom because she refused to wear a certain dress. These parents spend hundreds of dollars on these dresses; the children should at least enjoy wearing them. Children should be playing with dolls not being one. These children have no say in what they are doing. They are being led by parents that force them into costumes and parade them on stage for their own enjoyment. These parents are in it to win it, whether or not their child wants to compete is another story. They are so focused on using their children to accomplish their own goals that they often end up forcing their child to compete. Along with showing their glamorous wardrobe the families bring the viewer along to the salon for the next step in preparing for a pageant. In preparation for these sleazy outfits, the children are put through a grooming ritual many adults have never braved. This includes spray tanning, buying fake teeth, known as flippers in the pageant world, hair extensions, manicures, waxing and pounds of makeup. One mom went as far as forcing her screaming five year old into getting her eyebrows waxed. This was not her first experience with waxing; she had her skin ripped off during a previous session. This mother saw beauty as being more important than her own daughters comfort. Two pageant moms admitted that they make their daughters follow strict diets of 1600 calories per day. Forcing children into diets when they are already at a healthy weight can cause those children to turn to eating disorders later in life. â€Å"You don’t get as good of a score if your dress doesn’t fit good,† says the mother of 8-year-old contestant, Ever Rose. It is one thing to teach your child healthy eating but when the sole reason is to fit into a certain size dress it has gone too far. Children are growing and as they age they will need larger clothing. Another mom decided to dye her daughter’s eyelashes. Even after her daughter begged her to stop because her eyes were burning the mother insisted on continuing the process. She gave her daughter a chemical burn that could have blinded her but she looked past that just to make sure her child was beautiful. When appearance comes second to safety there is a real issue. Most grown women don’t dye their eyelashes so why would you dye a 9-year-olds? This same mom also bleached her children’s teeth. The worst part is that the dyeing and bleaching of children is all done under the same roof as the book â€Å"7 Worst things a Parent Can Do.† Clearly that book has never been opened. The pain that these children are put through for fifteen minutes on stage is just disgusting. They are being transformed into Barbie’s for their mothers to play with. These mother’s practically ruin their kids childhood, and for what, approval of their child’s beauty from three random people? The families are seen at the start of their pageant day with tired children’s hair in hot rollers and many tears on their faces. Parents like to call their children’s tantrums â€Å"Diva Moments.† These children are tired and are in no mood to sit still in a chair for an hour to get their hair pulled and their faces pressed wi th makeup. The children are sent into hair and make-up that can take up to three hours. â€Å"For children as young as the age of one to be forced to sit still for such great lengths borders on child abuse as parents do not take into account the welfare of their children†(Nussbaum). A significant part of their day is spent on preparation. After each outfit they must change their hair style and touch up make-up which is another hour at least. After their competition routines are finished they change back into their formal gowns, which also includes a hair change and yet another round of make-up for crowning. These children are on stage for all of fifteen minutes the whole day but endure hours of hair pulling and make-up application. During pageants, these kids are still just kids and their parent should realize this. In return to their children’s tantrums these parents scold their kids. A child who is crying because she is tired gets yelled at for being uncooperative. A child acting out because they are exhausted and uncomfortable is a natural instinct, so why would it be any different when they are in a pageant? The most appalling part is that the tantrums don’t just stem from tired tots. The mothers can be added into the mix. One mother threw her daughter’s crown across the room after she won princess. She cursed and said it was a joke; being princess was equivalent to losing. Rather than supporting her daughter and showing her how proud she was, she stole her daughter’s prize and gave her a lesson on how not to behave. I can’t think of any worse punishment then telling your child they weren’t good enough after they just completed something they didn’t even want to do. To avoid these meltdowns during the pageant, the mothers have resorted to giving their children â€Å"go go juice† and â€Å"pageant crack.† Go go juice is anything from soda to energy drinks such as Red Bull and pageant crack is pure sugar. â€Å"Additional calories from energy-drink consumption may increase blood pressure, blood glucose levels, BMI, calcium deficiency, dental problems, depression, and low self-esteem. Sugar and caffeine may also synergistically increase postprandial hyperglycemia, which is of concern for children with diabetes† (Gamble). These children that are already being judged on appearance are being given a substance that may cause depression and low self-esteem. Talk about adding fuel to the flame. Many moms use pixie sticks to boost their child’s energy level during competition. Everyone gets tired but is filling your child with sugar really the best way to get them to perform? They have their worst moments televised for the world to see. What mother would allow such embarrassment for their child? Even if the child was just having an off day, all the viewers see the child as a spoiled brat. Their reputation is tarnished by their parents, and they are too young to even realize it. Over the course of the pageant, many phrases such as, â€Å"don’t you dare embarrass me,† can be heard. As contestants and parents wait in the wings the children are reminded of how they should perform. When a child starts to cause a scene backstage the parents become more concerned with their own embarrassment instead of the child’s needs. The child is told to do well for their mamma, and then they are pushed onstage to compete. They are not only vying for the judge’s approval but also for their parents’. Once onstage, the children do their routines while their families stands in front of the stage showing them what their next move is. The routine is more about how well they can copy their mother instead of showing off their own talents. Once again, the mothers are using their children so that they can stand out. Most parents feel that their child is a reflection of themselves, but when they do everything in your power to create a reflection it has gone too far. They have crossed the line of shaping your child into a respectful and kind human being and turned them into clones. These mothers mold their children so that everyone will see their child as a replica of them. As crowning starts tensions are high. Mothers sit anxiously in the audience while their children wait stone faced. Once onstage, the confusion begins. For the first round the goal is not to get called, meaning you are eligible for a higher title. If the child is not called, then the waiting game starts again. The parents stare at the stage waiting for their child’s name to be called so that they can collect the trophy that they have worked so hard for. The children seem delighted with their prize, but the parents are almost disappointed that they didn’t win the top title. Why can’t these parents be content that their child is happy rather than be upset that they didn’t get the award that they wanted? These mothers are using their children so that they can feel like they accomplished something. They do pageants for themselves and are unable of focusing on their child’s enjoyment. When the child loses the parents vow to spend more money on coaching and better dresses. They keep trying to push a square peg in a round hole instead of finding an activity their child can excel at. They refuse to let their child be who they want to be, which is damaging to the child and may cause issues as the child ages. They have no appreciation for anything other than physical beauty and have a false sense of identity. The need for the child to win this particular competition is incredible. Why don’t the parents just spend more time with their child? Let the child find out what they enjoy instead of sculpting them into something they will never be. This would be more affective than simply finding a new activity, because it would allow the child to explore and feel in control of their life. After the pageant is over what happens? Many children will face psychological problems which may grow into disorders as they age. In a study done by Anna Wonderlich, it was discovered that there was, â€Å"a significant association between childhood beauty pageant participation and increased body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increase feelings of ineffectiveness† (Wnderlich,296). These children grow up in an atmosphere where superficial is the new normal. They add so many fake items to make themselves acceptable for a pageant that it may lead to fake items being used to create a false identity. They make a connection between beauty and winning. There is a sense that beauty is how you get what you want. There is so much pressure put on these children to perform that they equate performance to how they should act all of the time. The line between role playing and identity becomes blurred and the pageant reputation wins out when choosing how to behave. They are constantly around competitive mothers and adopt a judgmental attitude towards the other competitors and towards people in general. Since they compete for most beautiful they may judge other people on their beauty. The winners of these competitions often feel superior in comparison to other people and this feeling of power over others can lead to bullying. These young girls contract self-esteem issues from the constant battle of trying to be the best. They are constantly reminded that they need to be the best and that they need to be better than the other girls to win. They may also feel inferior from not winning and think they cannot succeed in life because they can’t win a competition. Another problem is physically- based concept of beauty which has the possibility of turning girls to eating disorders to uphold that physical beauty. Depression may also arise because of the need to feel beautiful and not being able to fulfill that need. These pageants teach the competitors that there is only one mold of what is beautiful and that individuality is frowned upon. A unique sense of style or an odd talent is wrong. The girls are expected to conform to what is mainstream so that they can win. On top of the many mental games this competition puts children through they also form a dependency on others to make decisions for them. Since their mothers usually make all of the choices when they are younger they may grow up to be passive and submissive. This passiveness is not only for decision-making but they also look to their mothers to measure their worth as the judges do during pageants. These mothers are raising their children to have a hard time fitting into society. By not allowing these children to figure out how to do things for themselves they are enabling them and showing them that they don’t need to work out their own problems. Using the definition of abuse from Merriam Webster dictionary: â€Å"improper or excessive use or treatment,† it is clear Toddlers and Tiaras does encourage abuse. The parents on this show use their children to satisfy their own childhood dreams. They are pushing their children into a competition they are not capable of understanding and take away the crucial developmental stage of making friends and sharing toys. The children are so busy trying to beat out the other girls in their division that there is no way to develop a friendship. The children’s meltdowns are aired to the public and the parents are instilling a false sense of identity in their children. These children are being set up to fail because they missed out on most, if not all, of the key moments in childhood. Toddlers and Tiaras Captures the worst moments of the pageant world and highlights the most outrageous competitors and families. Nussbaum, Kareen. â€Å"Children and Beauty Pageants.† Children and Beauty Pageants. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. . Wonderlich, Anna. â€Å"Childhood Beauty Pageant Contestants: Associations with Adult Disordered Eating and Mental Health.† Eating Disorders 13.3 (2005): 291-301. Gamble, Kate. â€Å"Red Bull Gives Kids More than Wings.† Red Bull Gives Kids More than Wings. HCP Live, 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. . TLC: Toddlers and Tiaras