Father Damien essays

Father Damien essays January 3, 1840, Josef de Veuster is born in Tremeloo, Belgium. Only nineteen years later Josef de Veuster joins the Picpus Fathers of Louvain as a novice. (A novice is a member of a religious order who has not taken any final vows.) Shortly after joining Picpus Fathers, Joseph se Veusters name is changed to, as we know him, Father Damien. October 30, 1863 Damien starts his four-month voyage to the Hawaiian Islands. He arrives in March of 1864. The ship takes him to the city of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. Honolulu was a city with a busy port and many buildings. A few years later Father Damien moves to Kalaupapa Peninsula to start the bulk of his missionary work. The first night Damien spent the night under a pandanus tree. (A pandanus tree is sometimes called the screw pine, has long roots which raise the trunk three or four feet above the ground level. It forms a cave like shelter beneath the tree.) There was a little chapel in the middle of all the huts they called the village. The chapel seemed abandoned so the first thing that Damien did was to clean the chapel. One of the hardest things about working in the leprocy colony was the smell. The smell from the huts, people, and the graveyard. So wherever Damien went, he smoked his pipe so that a cloud of strong smelling tobacco would surround him. There was so much to be done that Damien didnt know where to start. He needed medicines, bandages, and medical instruments. Damien had no medicines to treat the leprocy. So Damien flooded the government in Hololulu with letters asking for things he needed. Damien got the healthier men to clear patches of land and plant crops. It gave them something to do, and it added to the food supply. But every day people were dying. The people would try their best to burry them, but they could only make shallow graves. That meant that wild pigs would dig up the bodies and scatter their bones. S...

An Assessment of Heroism in the Characters of Gawain and Beowulf

An Assessment of Heroism in the Characters of Gawain and Beowulf Who is more heroic: Gawain or Beowulf? Hero (n): a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities (Merriam-Webster.com). While deciphering the true meaning of heroism for a few minutes something stopped me. In general opinion, most readers would consider Beowulf more heroic. And, according to the pattern of literature, film, and storytelling Beowulf is more heroic. But truly, it depends on which context you are viewing this upon. If we were to read the two stories in the Anglo-Saxon era, of which took place from 410 – 1066 AD, we could all agree Beowulf is the true hero. He fought off two monsters and a dragon among other beasts. When he fought Grendel he proclaimed, â€Å"it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield to mow him down, easily as I might†¦ He has no idea of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, although he does possess a wild strength† (Greenblatt, 55). He acknowledges the pure strength of Grendel, and declares he will fight him without weapons because that is the just thing to do. He wants to be fair and square. A cowardly or even just average person would use any advantage to best the monster, but Beowulf has a true inner-courage, incomparable to anyone else in existence. He won battles nobody else could. Gawain had one battle to fight. He only volunteered because nobody else would except for his king, and he kept the â€Å"magical girdle† instead of show ing up as he promised to (giving the green knight a fair blow to his neck). He was fearful, where Beowulf was not. Beowulf fought bare-handedly when he didn’t even have to. So, physically or externally Beowulf was the true hero. In parallel the two stories yield a different answer, when viewing them from the eyes of a person alive in the 21st century. The true hero comes from within today. For example, someone who can lift three cars has less of a place in society than someone who can travel to third world countries and give food and shelter to those who are unfortunate. Gawain has more inner strength than Beowulf does. For example, in the days leading up to the meeting with the Green Knight, he is tested by temptations. One of those temptations is sex, and yet, despite the Green Knight’s wife’s strong sex appeal, he turns her away in the nicest way possible. The Green Knight was testing Gawain up until the moment he struck him with the axe. Gawain, fearful, kept the girdle that the Green Knight’s wife gave him because he believed it’s magical powers would save him. Therefore, he broke his promise. He was supposed to bear his neck, no shield, no protection. He lost his â€Å"tr oth† or his word by wearing that girdle. When he finds out that the Green Knight was testing him in his ability to keep his troth he was furious. He admitted, â€Å" Dread of the death blow and cowardly doubts meant I gave into greed, and in doing so forgot the freedom and fidelity every knight knows to follow† (Greenblatt, 235). After that the Green Knight forgives him because, like the readers, he sees Gawain’s strength in admitting his downfall and being truthful and regretful in the end. Beowulf is the opposite. He is egotistical and arrogant. Yes, he is significantly strong, but it is never enough. He always wants more. He always wants the fame, as when he left his men behind to take on the dragon, alone, despite his old age. Beowulf’s fault led him to his death, whereas Gawain’s humility saved his life. In today’s world all of us are faced with numerous different amounts of temptation. It speaks a lot to ones character to avoid them, and to speak for themselves in regret when they falter in their ability to deny those temptations. Gawain does this, when Beowulf is blind to his own faults. Today, Gawain would be the true hero. This is why when reading and interpreting the texts we must always consider context. Gawain is the real â€Å"person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities† (Merriam-Webster). Gawain is the indisputable hero.

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International marketing - Essay Example Similarly, the increase in the competitiveness nature of international markets calls for improved quality and advancement in the production techniques (Ronkainen, 2005, p.97-8). The entry strategies in an international category involves making decisions on the goals and objectives of the firm, choice of the products/services, market penetration modes, and performance monitoring and control systems which are deemed appropriate for the market. After evaluating its potential, strengths, capacities, and limitations, a corporation then figures going multinational. Exploring an international market with more promising potential involves market screening of all the potential markets. The screening exercise is conducted based on economic, cultural, and political factors which have the potential of affecting operations of the firm in the foreign market (Keegan, & Schlegelmilch, 2011, p.37). Besides, geographical factors and demographic variables must be given close attention. These include lo cation, composition of the potential target consumers (based on gender, age, income, culture, and family structures), political and economic environment (covering from legal regulations, duties and taxes, to consumer protection standards), and market characteristics. Being the fundamental factors under investigation, size, level of competition, and distribution agents with the marketing environment must be valued (Root, 2009, p.56). Otherwise, if these factors are not considered, then the firm will not succeed in the foreign market as it will fail to command the much needed market share. The selection of an overseas market is conducted in five stages. The first stage entails conducting an investigation on the domestic market regulations and management preferences. The second stage involves conducting an initial entry assessment programs. The third and the fourth steps are conducting a survey on the competitiveness and market responses respectively. The final step in exploring foreig n market entails a detailed analysis of international trade-off possibilities (Wolfgang, 2008, p.67). After the completion of market selection, a firm then plans her entry strategy. A number of entry strategy options are made available for firms to choose from. Firms may either choose for enter the foreign market through distributors or agents or through direct methods such as partnerships, alliances, direct sales promotion, or agreements (Johansson, 2007, p.75). The method of market entry adopted by the foreign firm venturing in a new market significantly affects the outcome and success of the firm. These entry strategies may be undertaken in form of licensing, joint venture, exporting, and direct investments. However, independent of the entry strategy chosen by a firm, their access to the market is limited. Though using intermediaries and agents results into a fasters and greater command of the market, it is relatively costly and very bureaucratic (Pan, & Tse, 2007, p.87). This im plies that the venturing/investing firm has no direct control of the market and neither has any direct link with the customers/consumers. On the other hand, direct entry methods are better in building personalized market understanding, it is limited with the fact that the foreign firm will not have any control of the ma

Does organic pollution affect E.Coli growth Essay

Does organic pollution affect E.Coli growth - Essay Example The paper tells that biological analysis of water to detect and quantify water pollution is a non-sensitive process. Microbes such as E.coli, which is a fecal contaminant, are able to survive the effects of water pollution through genetic adaptation. The changes in cellular metabolism that take place during this adaptation can be detected at a sensitive level, such as the quantity of E.coli in the water, or the amount of stress proteins being synthesized by the bacteria. Therefore, E.coli can act as a bio-indicator of water pollution. My research question and experiments were designed to study what effects take place on the growth and protein synthesis of E.coli when the bacteria is exposed to environmental stress. The growth of E.coli from lakewater was also compared with that of genetically engineered E.coli DH-5, to determine whether plasmid-mediated mutations assist in the survival of lakewater E.coli under environmental stress. My results showed that DH-5 was inhibited by the po llutant benzene and by high and low pH and temperatures. E.coli from lakewater survived in a greater quantity under these stressors compared t the genetically engineered strain DH-5. Also, the growth of E.coli from lakewater was inhibited to a small extent by the stress of temperature and pH change until a limit. Beyond these limits in the conditions, E.coli could not grow at all. Thus, the adaptation of E.coli to pollution is a characteristic with limitations. In conclusion, the changes in the growth and protein synthesis of E.coli under stress makes it suitable as a bio-indicator of water pollution. Further studies are needed to examine the usefulness of detecting synthesis of specific stress proteins by E.coli as sensitive bio-markers of water pollution. Table of Contents Interest in Topic 5 Introduction 6 Methods 8 Results 12 Discussion, Conclusions and Limitations 13, 14 Images 15 Bibliography 21 Interest in Topic My selection of my research topic is based on my interest in con ducting biological research, my concerns regarding environmental pollution, and my ambition to reduce the consequences of pollution through the results of my research work. I have been highly concerned regarding the many severely polluted water sources in my environment that I have observed. Various unchecked and unregulated commercial and industrial activities near rivers and lakes have released harmful substances into the water, destroying the ecology of these areas. I learned that to prevent and correct these changes, monitoring of the water quality and changes taking place in the aquatic environment are necessary. I have always been fascinated by the science of how some microorganisms work to solve the problem of pollution by producing signals and changes. I was also interested in learning how biological studies are used to derive information and understanding of the many mechanisms happening in our surroundings. After background reading, I developed an interest towards solving the problem of effective biological water analysis, which would

Grapes of Wrath :: essays papers

Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath: The Purpose of the Interchapters Initially, I found the interchapters to be annoying, interruptions to the story. It was only when I realized the point in having the interchapters that I understood that not only did they not interrupt the story, but they added to it tremendously. The interchapters provide indirect comments or general situations which suggest something about the personal tragedies of the main characters. These comments and situations help give the reader an understanding of what the characters are going through by either showing metaphorically their present or future triumphs and struggles or explaining the history of the period that they lived in. Chapter three is an interchapter. It describes a concrete highway that a land turtle struggled to cross. The turtle was finally almost there when it was hit by a truck and its shell was chipped and it was thrown on its back. The turtle had to struggle even hard but it did get going again. This chapter represented the continual struggle of that the Joads would have to face throughout the entire story. Throughout the novel the Joads meet many hardships. They are forced to leave their home, lose family members such as the grandparents and Noah, work for low wages, and suffer from hunger floods and cruel prejudices in California. But, just as the turtle refused to be swayed from his purpose so will the Joads. Chapter five is an interchapter that discusses a tractors hired by banks or a corporations that would come to the land and plow through it, destroying everything in its path. The chapter is an abstract conflict between the tenant farmer and the banks and shows the pain of a tenant farmer upon leaving the land that was settled by their grandfather. The tenant farmer was so upset that he threatened to shoot the driver . Another chapter describes a tenant farmer who has to leave and is cheated into paying to much for a car. Chapter nine describes the generalized families who must sell their sentimental goods at absurdly low prices. These chapters present the situations which the Joads come across very soon. The Joads have to leave their land and sell all their things.

Advantages of Group Decision-Making Essay

Firstly, group decision making from experts in different areas is beneficial to solve complicate problems. For instance, in a small company, boss often makes suggestions by himself; the result of his behavior relies on the ability of the boss. So there are cases when he can’t make things right, which may be serious fault to the operation of a company. However, people with different backgrounds consider the problems more carefully and comprehensively, as a result, running the company will be in less risk. Secondly, people making decisions in groups are eager to bear more risks individually. Decisions come with risks. People who make the wrong decision will take the responsibility. A contradiction rises up when they attempt to avoid being wrong and at the same time, solve problems correctly. As a result, people will somewhat not dare to make the final decision. Nevertheless, group decision makers can share the risks because each of them has responsibility for the suggestions to the problem. Moreover, individual risks are decreased when some others rectify the suggestion for him or her. 2.Disadvantages of group decision-making Firstly, low efficiency in decision-making, everyone has his own opinions and under certain circumstances such as brainstorming, it costs more time to decide what to do by group decision-making than by personal decision-making. If things go well, the results will come out quickly. But if each of them in a group can’t comprise in the end, nothing will be achieved. For example, there is news from CCTV about the 2012 DOHA Climate Change Conference, †Nearly 200 countries haggling over how to stop climate change – and how to pay for it – failed to reach a deal on schedule Friday. That sets the stage for the wrangling to continue late into the night.† Things like these are usually occurred when a large number of people attend. Finally, the conference extended until they arrive at an agreement. Secondly, group decision-making will lose effectiveness when people are not likely to put up with suggestions out of some reasons. In such cases, the leader of the group will be the only one who does decision-making, which has no diffidence with personal decision-making. All the members of the group should have equal opportunities and are willing to speak out. Then, group decision-making functions better in dealing with problems.

Egg and Soda Dental Experiments

If you have a hard time getting your child to brush his teeth, it might be time to try the egg and soda experiment to explore the concept of dental health. In theory, a hard-boiled egg’s shell works similarly to the enamel on a child’s tooth. It’s there to protect the soft inside, or dentin, from damage. Unfortunately, some of our eating and drinking habits make it difficult for the enamel to protect our teeth from damage, and the egg and soda experiment demonstrates how our dietary choices can impact our bodies. What You Will Need This simple experiment doesnt need a lot of expensive supplies. In fact, they are affordable and youll likely have most of them already in your home. If not, you can easily find them at your local grocery store. 3 white-shelled hard-boiled eggssodadiet sodawatera toothbrush and toothpaste3 clear plastic cups Before the Egg and Soda Experiment Start by talking to your child about good dental hygiene practices and how important it is to brush their teeth every day, making sure to explain how certain foods, drinks, and activities can stain and damage teeth. You might also want to discuss how drinking a lot of acidic beverages can erode the outside of teeth. Ask your child to come up with a few types of drinks that might hurt their teeth. They might have answers like soda, coffee, or juice because of sugar and acid. You might also want to ask your child to think of drinks that might be better for their teeth. Most likely, theyll come up with something like milk and water. You can also ask your child if they think brushing after drinking some of the drinks that could hurt their teeth could reduce the risk of damage. Explain the Experiment Tell your child you have a way to find out what might happen if he left those drinks on his teeth overnight. Show him a hard-boiled egg and ask him how it reminds him of his teeth (a hard but thin outer shell and a soft inside). Take some time to ask your child what might happen to the egg if you leave it soaking in soda overnight, as compared to water. You might also consider different types of soda and if dark sodas, like colas, might have different effects on teeth than clear sodas, like lemon-lime sodas. Perform the Experiment Boil the eggs, making sure to have a few extra in case some of them crack while you boil them. A cracked shell will change the results of the experiment.Help your child fill each of the plastic cups, one with regular soda, one with diet soda, and one with water.Once the eggs have cooled, have your child put one in each cup and leave it overnight.Ask your child to check the eggs the next day. You may need to pour the liquid out of the cup to see how each egg has been affected. Most likely, the eggs in the cola have been stained by the liquid overnight.Discuss the changes you see in each egg and ask your child what they think happened. Then ask what they think you can do to â€Å"help† the eggs that have been immersed in soda get back to their original state (no stains).Give your child a toothbrush and some toothpaste to see if he can brush the stains off the eggshell. As a variation, you might also want to boil a few extra eggs and add cups with clear soda, orange juice, and coffee for comparison. Conclusions There are two main things you and your child can take away from this experiment. The first is that, as reported in the journal General Dentistry, the citric and phosphoric acid contained in soda has enormous potential to erode tooth enamel. In fact, one study reported that soda is 10 times more erosive than fruit juice in the first few minutes after drinking it. The second takeaway, and easier for your child to see, is that it takes more than just a couple of quick swipes of the toothbrush to get teeth clean. Try helping your child time to see how long it takes to brush the majority of the egg stains.