A religious or moral issue Essay Example for Free

A religious or moral issue Essay Analyse and explain the way in which a religious or moral issue of concern to Christians has been dealt with in a television soap opera The moral issue that I have chosen to follow is adultery, which is when a married person has voluntary sexual intercourse with other married or not married people, rather than his or her spouse. The reason I have chosen this moral issue is because it is part of everyday life, many people are doing it and are not taking notice of the hurt and pain they are causing. I have chosen Eastenders for my soap opera, because it is a popular soap and the moral issue adultery is shown, through Natalie and Rickys affair. Christians have a strong view on adultery, they believe that you should keep sexual intercourse for marriage because it makes it part of a religious or spiritual contact and it makes it dependant on a commitment to spend the rest of your life with someone, also Do not commit adultery is one of the ten commandments, so Christians are totally against adultery. The main characters involved were Ricky, Natalie, Pat and Barry. The storyline begins with, Ricky and his son Liam coming back to the square after a few years away. After a few weeks Ricky is starting to settle down and he is renting a flat with Sam Mitchell his ex-wife, Natalie and Ricky are friends at this point. After a while Natalie realizes she still loves Ricky, her first love, and starts meeting up with him secretly and has sexual intercourse with him. Natalie makes up excuses saying that shes working overtime and during her lunch breaks when shes really meeting up with Ricky. One night Pat sees Ricky picking up Natalie from round the corner from their house. The next morning Pat confronts Natalie about what she saw and tells her to end it but Natalie starts crying and says that she still loves Ricky, but Pat tells Natalie about her own love life and that she would be making a big mistake by seeing Ricky. Natalie is still confused and not sure whom she wants to be with. On Rickys birthday Natalie stays home and looks after Jack and Liam, Rickys son. So Barry, Pat and Roy can go to Rickys party soon after they arrive Barry persuades Roy and Pat to go home and baby-sit so Natalie can come to the party. When Natalie arrives she gives Ricky his card and on the back of the envelope Natalie wrote meet me outside the back where she tells him that she is going to leave Barry. Pat and Natalie talk again and Pat shows Natalie the secret tape, which Barry has recorded for Natalies birthday it is a really special tape because Barry says how much he loves her, how important she is to him and how happy she makes him feel, after seeing the video Natalie realises that she is doing wrong and tells Ricky its over. Natalie realises she cant forget Ricky and soon their affair is back on and they plan to move away from the square and start afresh. They plan to leave on Natalies birthday, Natalie doesnt even care about the preparations that Barry made for her birthday party in the Vic. They are ready to head off but Rickys car has broken down so they have to take the car that Barry bought for Natalie. Barry is still in the Vic waiting for the guest of honour to arrive but Janine knows about Ricky and Natalie and tells Barry. Barry runs outside and sees Natalie driving off but he stops them. Natalie then tells Barry shes leaving him, Barry takes her into the Vic and shows her what he has organised for her, Natalie runs off to the toilets Barry runs after her and tries o make her change her mind but her minds already made up. Natalie is ready to leave but then Janine tells Natalie that Ricky slept with Sam, Natalie leaves the square only taking her son with her. Barry is left heartbroken, he then finds out that Pat knew about Ricky and Natalie, Pat and Roy end up having an argument about it, Roy has a heart attack and dies. The issue seen was dealt sensitively because the different characters feelings were expressed, although it was Natalie who was having the affair, you could see that not only was it the innocent partner that was confused but the partner which was committing adultery was even more confused, Natalie wasnt sure who she wanted to be with at some points and was getting very upset over it. Pat tried to help her make the right decision but Natalie didnt care. This soap opera made the moral issue less appealing, I think that it made people think more about what they are doing is totally wrong. The reason it did not make it more appealing is because it showed all the different circumstances people were left in, Natalie ended it with Ricky because he slept with Sam, Barry was left with no son and no wife, the baby was left with no father, Pat was left as the enemy and homeless because Roy dies and leaves the house to Barry, so the issue was shown well balanced because all the main characters feelings and circumstances were shown, many of the characters were feeling hurt. Overall I think this soap opera has shown adultery to be unpleasant because it shows just how many peoples lives are ruined not just the adultery committers, but people who try to help them understand what they are doing is wrong, but are then given the evil for not telling the truthful partner. So this teaches most viewers that adultery is not a good thing. I dont think that soap operas might affect peoples behaviour because mostly they deal with issues to express the circumstances of good and bad. This issue would not cause offence because although it is an issue, which is happening in everyday life it is not based on particular people.

The NFL Strikes of 1982 and 1987 Essay Example for Free

The NFL Strikes of 1982 and 1987 Essay Introduction The National Football League (NFL) strikes of 1982 and 1987 were considered groundbreaking events in the NFL but not because it succeeded in its aims. On the contrary, they can justifiably be called abysmal failures. In its failures, the two events gained notoriety and a place in history as: the shortest season in the history of football; the first time replacements were used in a professional football game; and focused on the issue of free agency among football players. This paper will provide an overview of the actual events and discuss the how it went wrong. Background In order to understand the NFL strikes of 1982 and 1987, it would be important to give a background on the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). The union formed with the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns agreed to join up in 1956 to demand minimum wage and other benefits of NFL players. They were helped in getting the rest of the players of the 28 teams in the NFL sign in by Don Shula (Baltimore Colts), Frank Gifford and Sam Gifford (New York Giants) and Norm Van Brocklin (Los Angeles Rams). (â€Å"National Football League Players Association,† 2007) The NFLPA was not blessed with much influence with the owners of the league, and were pretty much ineffective in pushing their aims and goals through. An attempt to strike prior to the start of the 1956 season did not even get off the ground. Prior to 1982, players operated under a very loose arrangement with team owners; signing bonuses were unheard of and often there were no contracts. The pay scale was far from standard; rookies could be earning more than players of several years standing, unbeknownst to either player. Usually, it was no big deal, until players found out about, usually during shower conversations. (Forbes, 2001) Players also had the most rudimentary of health insurance and training support in terms of finances from the team owners. It was not a given that player uniforms were paid for by the team owners and that they were paid even when injured and unable to play. Because team owners refused to take the calls of the NFLPA for meetings seriously, declining even to show up, the union leaders threatened to file an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, emboldened by the a recent ruling the Supreme Court in which it denied immunity of the NFL from antitrust laws. The union milked this for all it was worth in the ensuing years, succeeding in winning small victories such as pension and health plans. However, it was not until 1968, twelve years after it was first formed that it became recognized as the official labor union of the NFL. Players went on strike duriong training led by the Cleveland Brown’s Bernie Parrish at the instigation of a major labor union, and the team owners retaliated by locking down the training camps. Afyet a brief interval, a compromise was rached the the NFLPA gained its union contract, such as it was (â€Å"National Football League Players Association,† 2007). The contract was one-sided at best, leaving players with very little leverage during subsequent strikes in 1970, 1974 and 1975 and they were plagued by players crossing the picket line, breaking up the solidarity (Staudohar, 1988). III. The strike of ‘82 The impetus for the 1982 strike was a combination of several factors. After the aborted 1974 strike, lawyer Edward Garvey took over a executive director of the NFLPA. Formerly from the firm representing the NFLPA, Garvey was not new to collective bargaining, and he was determined that the players would get the concessions they have been asking for. It was also at this time that the news spread about an agreement with a television station would almost tripled the owners’ television revenues compared to the previous year. Moreover, the United States Football League (USFL) was slated to start in 1983, effectively breaking the monopoly of the NFL and giving football players more bargaining leverage. All these factors led to the declaration of a strike by the NFLPA on September 19, 1982 and it would last 57 days until November 16 of the same year. The union demanded that players get 55% of the gross revenues of the league. (â€Å"National Football League Players Association,† 2007) Despite the solid front displayed by the players, the NFL refused to give in, opting to shave 7 games off the 16-game season, which was the period in which the strike was ongoing. In the meantime, union leaders organized several â€Å"all-star games† but these did not fare well with the fans nor did it generate sufficient interest for television coverage. In the end, with the networks failing to support the players and the NFL standing fast, the strike ended without the players getting their 55%. When the USFL started in 1983, players were able to bargain for better terms or leave the league. (Staudohar, 1988) The 1987 strike In the interim between the 1982 and 1987 strike, developments in the professional sport led to the demands for better pay as well as the right to free agency. The contract between the NFL and the union was set to expire on August 31, 1987. In 1986, the USFL ceased to operate, emboldening the NFL to allow the strike to happen without fear of the players going to the USFL. The NFLPA had also managed to publish the first NFLPA Base Salary Directory, which provided the basis for salary negotiations for players. (Forbes, 2001) The actual strike was again triggered by a television contract, this time increasing the NFL owners’ revenues to $17,000,000. This time, the union negotiators, Jack Donlan and football player Gene Upshaw have had experience in collective bargaining prior to the strike, and worked well with each other. However, the negotiators had bosses, and the there were a lot of dissenting voices. This is not surprising considering that there was one representative from each of the 28 teams, forming them union’s labor policy making team called the Management Council led by executive director Jack Donlan and another six delegates to form the Council Executive Committee. It was Donlan’s responsibility to promote cohesion in the demands of the union as well as ensure that negotiations keep to limits set by the Council members. Some of the union demands were as follows: minimum salaries severance pay right to free agency elimination of artificial turf (Staudohar, 1988) A football player’s professional life is short, less than four years before becoming too injured to continue playing. Therefore, it is logical that they try to get as much money as they are able to during their productive seasons. However, the 1987 strike did not really emphasize this. What was emphasized by the players who were interviewed and in the subsequent negotiations of union leaders was the right to free agency. Free agency is about a professional player’s right to negotiate with any number of teams for the sale of their services once their contract expires provided they had fulfilled some conditions of tenure. There are five categories of free agency: unrestricted (UFA); restricted (RFA); exclusive-rights (EFA); franchise (FFA); and transitional (TFA). In UFA, a player with at least four years under his belt can change teams without restrictions. RFA dictates that a player of at least three years standing can negotiate for his transfer to another team, but his previous team has the right to match the other team’s offer and retain rights to the player if they do so. If the previous team declines to match the offer, the new team will have to give compensation to the previous team in the form of draft picks. EFA players have less than three years with the league and his team will have to make an offer before the NFL deadline or the player becomes a UFA player. A player designated as FFA is a UFA player for whom a new team, if the previous team declines to match the offer, must remit compensation to the previous team. The TFA player receive an offer from the previous team for minimum higher amount based on last salary i.e. 120% of salary and the previous team has seven days to make the offer. If the offer is not made, the player can sign on with the new team which does not need to compensate the previous team. (â€Å"Free agency definitions explanations,† 2004) The strike was announced on September 22, 1987 and almost immediately, things started to go awry. Because Upshaw as one of the union negotiators was not always present during the bargaining for the new contract, NFL officials complained to the National Labor Relations Board that this was a deliberate ploy to justify a strike due to non-progression in the talks, and claimed bad faith. This strengthened the position of the team owners, and they decided to outface the strikers by bringing in replacement players to play in their stead. The season’s games continued as planned. Replacement players, also referred to as â€Å"scabs† are usually former college football players, or those players who got cut during the draft. This was an unprecedented move by the NFL team owners and was considered a â€Å"dirty† trick. (Farsnworth, 2002) However, the public relations of the NFL got busy in representing the NFL as being in the right, and the fact that by the first week of the strike major players crossed the picket line seemed to reinforce this impression. The break in solidarity, and the failure of union leaders to get the team owners to comply with their terms, led to the ending of the strike on October 15, 1987. The same day, the NFLPA filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL team owners, an arena in which they have been more successful before, much more than on the picket line. Eventually, though the 1987 suit was dismissed, another lawsuit filed in 1989 which was more successful and the courts ruled in favor of the players. After going back to negotiations, the team owners agreed to permit free agency with certain conditions based on a player’s tenure on a particular team. (â€Å"National Football League Players Association,† 2007) Discussion The NFL strikes of 1982 and 1987 were interesting because it illustrated how a weak union can do as much damage or even more than no union at all. The NFL owners understood this, which is why they maintained the NFLPA as the official representation of the NFL players even after numerous attempts at strikes and antitrust lawsuits. (Staudohar, 1988) From the beginning, the NFLPA was considered of no account by the team owners, who did not even bother to show up for meetings in the early days. The only recourse that seemed to work was to enlist the help of the judicial system in the form of antitrust lawsuits. The aim of the 1982 strike was primarily to get a piece of the television revenues, and the union leaders believed they were in a position of strength with the USFL soon to provide competition to the NFL. Apparently, they overestimated their strength as the NFL stonewalled them and simply cut the season to nine games until the NFLPA ended the strike. In the end, their desire for higher salaries for the players was realized through the normal course of events and as a result of market forces. There was no real rhyme or reason for the 1982 strike. It was ultimately the players who suffered, who went 57 days without pay or health coverage. Moreover, the failure of the NFLPA to produce results only hurt their prestige and credibility as effective negotiators in the eyes of the team owners as well as the union members. The incredible thing is history repeated itself in 1987. The same kind of circumstances prevailed, perhaps slightly different in details but the same in context, with one important exception. What were the same? The aim was to get a piece of the television revenues. The union leaders thought they were in a position of strength with the recent arbitration decision against baseball team owners who were accused of collusion to control player salaries by halting all signing of free agents filed by the Major League Baseball Players Association. This is even shakier ground than the USFL scenario. At the very least, the USFL was a reasonable proposition because it is based on market forces. The collusion decision against baseball team owners could not reasonably be used against football team owners because free agent signing is so infrequent that collusion would be difficult to prove. The team leaders had nothing to lose in stonewalling the players’ union. As in 1982, the union failed to adequately prepare for the 1987 strike in terms of financial support for the players. Players were once again bereft of their pay and benefits, and the union had no Striker’s funds to dip into for emergencies. It is no wonder that the former solidarity in 1982 melted in the first week of the 1987 strike. The players, at least, had learned the first time around. One important difference is the supposed main aim of the strike: the granting of free agency to players. The tragic thing about this is that as early as 1975, it could have been theirs for the asking with no need to go on a strike at all. At the time of the 1987 strike, the standard in the NFL for player exchange was based on the Rozelle Rule on free agency, named after NFL Commissioner Peter Rozelle. The rule allowed the NFL commissioner to dictate what kind of compensation the new team of a newly-transferred player would have to award the player’s new team. This put acquiring teams at a disadvantage and only four players were traded prior to 1987. The Rozelle Rule was deemed unreasonable restraint under the Sherman Antitrust Act when the Baltimore Colts’ John Mackey filed a complaint   to the Federal courts. This was a golden opportunity for players to become free agents at the end of their contracts because the constraints to trading had been lifted. Incredibly, however, the NFLPA signed away this advantage by signing an agreement with the NFL team owners in 1977 which stipulated compensation payments for signing free agents. This provision was not challenged in the 1982 contract and remained intact. The whole point of the 1987 strike was supposedly to gain the right to free agency which had already been signed away by the union 10 years ago. It is the epitome of irony that even with the strike they failed to regain that which they had foolishly lost themselves. Worse yet, public opinion during the 1987 strike tended to favor the side of the owners, perhaps because the players themselves seemed unhappy about the whole idea themselves. The television stations also signified disapproval by covering the replacement games, which had come to be known as Replacement Sunday, as if they were the regular games. A consequence of the 1987 strike that is still a matter of interest is the use of replacements in the three weeks of the strike. By most accounts from players who were there, no real animosity was directed at the replacement players, or â€Å"scabs† themselves, but it was still considered â€Å"unthinkable† of the team owners to make use of the tactic to undermine the striking players. Some players recall how they were pulled out from construction jobs and stockbroker interviews in â€Å"scavenger hunts† to fill the positions in the 22-player game. For many, it was an opportunity to play professional football that was too good to be missed. Some stayed on even after the strike ended, and in the case of former college football player Tim Burnham, who played left tackle on the Seahawks replacement team, he was invited to train for the summer. For the â€Å"real† players, all rancor ended when the picket line was pulled down (Farsnworth, 2002). Conclusion From a historical perspective, it seems clear that both strikes should not have happened. The pros and cons were not properly evaluated and it appeared that the NFLPA made a habit of going off half-cocked when it came to striking. The tragedy of such miscalculations is that it is the players who suffer, both immediately i.e. loss of income during strikes and in the long term i.e. loss of collective bargaining advantage. Today, football players get impressive salaries and have the right to free agency. They have sign-up bonuses, health benefits and insurance, and all the trappings of fame and glory. Undeniably, some concessions can be directly linked to union efforts on behalf of the players. The strikes of 1982 and 1987, however, were not among the NFLPA’s most shining moments. References Farnsworth, C. (2002, October 4) NFL crossed the line on Replacement Sunday. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 8, 2007 from   http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/89817_replace04.shtml Forbes, G. (2001, June 8) ’82 strike changed salary dealings forever. USA Today.   Retrieved July 8, 2007 from http://www.usatoday.com/sports/comment/forbes/2001-06-08-forbes.htm Free agency definitions and explanations (2004, March 1) Detroit Lions. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from   Ã‚  http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=332893 National Football League Players Association. (2007, June 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:16, July 8, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Football_League_Players_Associationoldid=139999742 Staudohar, P. (1988, August) The football strike of 1987: the question of free agency. Monthly Labor Review Online,   vol 111, no. 8. Retrieved July 8, 2007 from http://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1988/08/rpt1full.pdf

Change Blindness and Visual Memory: Research and Theories

Change Blindness and Visual Memory: Research and Theories What is change blindness and what can it tell us about attention? Recent research on visual memory has shown that people have great difficulty in detecting obvious changes to an object, such as colour and size, if the change occurs simultaneously with a distraction. The term change blindness is used to describe this phenomenon and much research has been carried out to further our understanding of the condition. Research on change blindness has also produced valuable information about how our visual attention is involved in the encoding process. A variety of tests have been developed to test the prevalence of change blindness and the results show that it is a robust phenomenon. Although change blindness was studied many decades ago it is only in the last decade that research in this area has increased dramatically. Earlier research relied on using shapes or novel objects to induce change blindness and therefore some argued that the condition was caused by artificial stimuli. However, Grimes (1996) showed that more natural images could be used to induce change blindness. Using a computer screen he showed observers photographic images of natural scenes and asked the observers to remember as much of the photograph as possible for a later memory test. However, during a saccade (when observers were visually scanning one object to another in the image) the image was altered. The observers were then asked if they noticed if anything had changed to the image. Invariably, observers were oblivious to the changes even when they were ma jor ones, such as two people exchanging heads. Although previous experiments had shown the existence of change blindness, Grimes 1996 study was the first to show that individuals can fail to detect major alterations to images. Moreover, Grimes used everyday natural images thereby bringing demonstrations of change blindness closer to everyday perceptual experience. Other similar studies also showed that different distracters could be used to induce change blindness. For example, during eye blinking (O’Regan et al 2000) or by applying mudsplats in the surrounding area of the objects that were changed (O’Regan et al 1999). The fact that distractions are needed to induce change blindness suggests that attention is needed for change perception. Without distracters it is very easy for an observer to notice any change that has taken place. This led researchers to investigate the role of attention in change blindness and now there is mounting evidence that attention plays a pivotal role in the condition. For example, in change blindness tasks it has been found that attention to objects can vary depending on the objects location and this can influence whether the change is detected. This has been demonstrated by studies such as Rensink et al (1997). They developed the flicker task which involves using an original and altered image that is repeatedly shown to the observer with the two images separated by a blank screen for a fraction of a second. As with other distracters the observers demonstrated change blindness by invariably taking a long time before they noticed the change to the original image (average being 40 repeats). Another interesting finding of this study is that the observers found it easier to detect changes to objects that were the centre of interest of a scene than objects that were of marginal interest even when the changes were of equal physical salience. This has also been found in other change blindness studies. Levin Simons, (1997), for example, found the same effect when they changed movie objects during a film cut. One theory to explain this finding is that focused attention is required to detect change. This makes sense as a change of any object is always accompanied by a motion signal and therefore attracts attention to the site of change. This allows the change to be observed. However, if the signal is too weak (e.g., because of distracters such as saccades or blanking) it will fail to draw attention to the location of the change which will result in change blindness (Rensink et al 1997). Change blindness can also be demonstrated in real-life situations. Simons and Levin (1998) carried out an experiment in which members of the public were approached by an experimenter who asked for directions. During their conversation two actors carrying a large occluder would walk between the experimenter and subject. At this point the experimenter would swap places with a colleague who would continue the conversation with the subject. The findings showed that some individuals failed to notice that the experimenter had swapped places with another person even though the differences between the two were obvious, such as size and different clothes. This study was important because it showed that change blindness could occur using complex stimuli usually found in the real world. Therefore, finding change blindness can occur in more naturalistic settings counteracted some claims that it was only caused by artificial disruptions, such as the blanking-out distracter in the flicker paradigm (Simons Rensink 2005). There are several theories that attempt to explain change blindness in relation to the interaction between attention and visual perception. For example, Rensink (2000, 2001) developed his coherence theory. This theory is based on several assumptions. First, prior to focussed attention there is an initial stage of processing across the visual field of view. This processing produces representations of several objects in the field of view, but the representations are not stable and therefore are quickly replaced by new stimuli at their location. Second, focused attention produces a very detailed and longer-lasting representation of the object. This allows the representation of the object to be more stable which can withstand brief interruption. Therefore, a change in a focused object will be easily detectable. Third, removing focussed attention will result in the representation of the object disintegrating and returning to the unstable state it was prior to focussed attention. From the above assumptions it follows that only changes made to objects that are the focus of attention will be detected. This can explain why change blindness is a common phenomenon, because any changes to an unattended object will not be detected. The assumption that attentional processes are crucial in underlying change blindness is a common one. For example, Hollingworth and Henderson (2002) agree with the assumption. However, they propose an alternative theory of the relationship between attention and object perception. They argue that detailed perceptions are formed when we look at objects which are the focus of attention. These representations are then incorporated into a mental map and information about these visual representations is then stored in the long-term memory. Therefore, multiple fixations of a scene will result in information accumulating in the long-term memory about local objects from both the attended and previously attended areas, and this forms a detailed representation of the scene as a whole (Hollingworth and Henderson 2002). There are several differences between Hollingworth and Hendersons theory and the coherence theory that have implications about understanding the role of attention in change blindness. First, if objects change, (e.g., disappear or move) sometime after they were attended to, according to Hollingworth and Henderson they would still be mentally visible for some time after the change. Therefore, any change has a good chance of being noticed. Whereas the coherence theory predicts that when attention is withdrawn from objects the mental representation of such objects disintegrate rapidly and therefore any change will result in change blindness. Second, unlike the coherence theory, Hollingworth and Henderson assume that detailed representations of most scenes are stored in the long-term memory. Therefore, any changes made to objects should be detected several minutes later. Finally, in the coherence theory it assumed that focusing attention on an object produces a very detailed image that ca n withstand a brief interruption, such as a saccade. In contrast, Hollingworth and Henderson believe that less detailed visual representations are made when the object is the focus of attention. To date, research has not provided clear evidence to support either Hollingworth and Hendersons theory or the coherence theory (see Simons Rensink 2005 for an overview). Therefore, further investigations are required to better understand the interaction between attention and change blindness. Change blindness is a robust phenomenon that has been demonstrated in many different laboratory and naturalistic studies. The overall assumption of the findings of change-blindness experiments is that attention seems to play a major role in determining the extent of the condition. The importance of attention in change blindness appears to arise because we do not maintain a detailed representation of what we have just seen. Otherwise individuals would have little problem noticing the obvious changes that occur between images. Change blindness studies have proved a useful tool in providing information about the processing mechanisms of attention, such as we direct attention more to objects of interest within a scene. However, although studies on change blindness have increased our understanding of attention there is much debate about the exact role of attention in change blindness. Further research is therefore required to fully understand the relationship between attention and change blindness and what other factors are involved in the condition. References Grimes J. (1996). On the failure to detect changes in scenes across sac-cades. In K. Akins (Ed.), Perception (Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science, Vol. 5. (89-110). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hollingworth A. Henderson J. M. (2002). Accurate visual memory for previously attended objects in natural scenes. Journal of  Experimental Psychology: Human Perception Performance, 28,  113-136 Levin D.T. Simons D.J. (1997). Failure to detect changes to attended objects in motion pictures. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 4, 501-506 Mark T. Keane Eysenck W. (2005) Cognitive Psychology: A Students Handbook Psychology Press UK pages 133-136 O’Regan J.K., Rensink R.A., Clark J.J. (1999). Change-blindness as a result of mudsplashes Nature 398, 34 ORegan J.K, Deubel, H., Clark J.J., Rensink R.A. (2000). Picture changes during blinks: Looking without seeing and seeing without looking. Visual Cognition, 7, 191-211 Proctor R. Johnson W (2004) Attention: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications inc pages 212-214 Rensink R. A (2001) Change Blindness: Implications for the Nature of Visual Attention. In Vision Attention. M. Jenkin L. Harris, eds. New York: Springer. 2001. 169-188 Rensink R.A., O’Regan J.K., Clark, J.J. (1997) To see or not to see: The need for attention to perceive changes in scenes. Psychol. S 8, 368–373 Simons D.J. and Levin D.T. (1997) Change blindness. Trends Cogn Sci. 1, 261–267 Simons D.J. and Levin D.T. (1998) Failure to detect changes to people in a real-world interaction. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 5, 644–649 Simons D.J. Rensink R.A (2005) Change blindness: Past, present, and future. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Vol.9 No.1 16

A Look Into Kingston :: essays papers

A Look Into Kingston Kingston has been the home to many famous reggae artists. Why do so many artists come from Kingston? Does it say something about the message of the music and or the conditions in Kingston that also encompasses trench town? Background of Kingston Kingston is located on the southern side of the island of Jamaica and is protected from the strong northeast trade winds by the vast Blue Mountain ranges. The city of Kingston stretches for more than 50 mi including 10-mi long harbor. This makes for a diverse community of fisherman as well as street vendors and many unemployed people. Kingston is the largest and one of the most diverse cities in the English-speaking Caribbean. More than half a million people populate Kingston of different decent ranging from African, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern roots. The city's tremendous growth during the 20th century has produced severe overcrowding, persistent unemployment, and violent crime. Poverty has devastated Jamaica's black majority and nowhere is this more apparent than in the ghettos of Kingston. European colonialism set up a society of racial stratification and current residents of Kingston have to deal with historic tensions between the city's black and brown residents. Kingston of today is a direct result of the organized racial and cultural segregation that began more than 300 years ago, when Jamaica was a British colony. Many of the social and political changes that have swept Jamaica since 1692 have occurred first in Kingston, often in reaction to organized political protests. The history of Kingston itself represents the legacy of slavery and the efforts by black and brown Jamaicans to find freedom and equality in a nation haunted by what's left of colonialism. Kingston was founded in the summer of 1692, after a large earthquake destroyed the coastal city of Port Royal. From the beginning Kingston was run by Jamaica's white elite, mostly sugar planters from England. The city was created to serve the social and economic interests of white planters. Residential segregation in the form of a color-class system, beginning in 1692, served to reinforce cultural separation. (Henriques, 32) During the first half of the 18th century Kingston saw an influx of Jewish merchants, white sugar planters, African slaves, and a small amount of free blacks in the colored community. Kingston served as a trading post for the Transatlantic Slave Trade and this was one of their main trades.

The Future of Management Essay -- essays research papers

Abstract Management development strategies of many organizations seemed to converge in the nineties. We thought the world would stay on a standstill when the millennium loomed. The new word on the street was â€Å"Y2K.† So what are the concerns for the current state of management development, and what we expect for the future to hold? This paper will tackle such issue. The Future of Management Companies are geared into increase in efficiency and productivity, better choice of goods, more competitive prices, faster execution and better resource allocation. What was true then, will still hold true in the future, except it just may double up. Obviously, ideas like these contributed to the call for far better business management. Method Changes in Technology This has the most impact on any businesses out there and even the ones who has not yet embraced the Internet phenomena due to accelerating the speed of change, increasing competition, and the shifting structure of relationships. According to Dessler (2003), â€Å"the managerial uses of the Internet can in a sense, get a free ride on the Internet, they can substantially reduce their communications costs by building their management systems around the Internet.† Companies who see the Internet for all its glory will not hesitate to spend to be in gear with the latest trend because in the long run, it will save them money. Take into consideration the Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). This particular technology is helping organizations of all sizes enhance customer service, improve employee productivity, increase revenue, lower costs and develop new customers and markets. Organizational Development Management and the Four Functions of Management. Management will have to keep the competitive edge through employee performance and retention. Management will gear more towards an open-minded sense of management. Management in the future does not mean a complete overhaul of what we are accustomed to now. As Antony Jay said, â€Å"management is not a new basic institution at all. On the contrary, it is a very ancient art. The new science of management is in fact only a continuation of the old art of government." In this line of thinking, I doubt that management styles and the four functions of management will completely change. It will simply evolve into somethin... ...ust. For companies to keep employees, the need to embrace effective leadership and good management style. The organizational culture needs to be value driven, empowering employees to have the entrepreneurial spirit. Line managers, top managers and executives need to be able to manage change in a continuous learning environment while creating and maintaining the appropriate working culture. References ZDNet. (2002). Linksys readies fast Wi-Fi alternative. Retrieved February 18, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.80211-news.com/publications/page275- 424191.html. Kirby, D. (2003). Optimizing Call Center Agent Schedules Through Automation. CRM Marketplace. Retrieved March 4, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.crmmarketplace.com/content/news/article.asp?docid={db2c0da5- ee20-4b6d-83e6-9c5806c7cad7}&VNETCOOKIE=NO Unknown. (2003). ACD Software and Phone Systems. Database Systems Corp website. Retrieved March 4, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.databasesystemscorp.com Lutz, E. (date unknown). The Principles of Management. Retrieved March 4, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.arts.ilstu.edu/theatre/class/guither/am1a.html

GLUT 4 in Muscle Cells Essay -- Biology

Hypothesis During muscle contractions cytosolic calcium and adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels increase. Exercise also increases GLUT 4 production, which allows more glucose to be metabolized in the muscle cell. The purpose of this study was to determine whether calcium and AMPK cause the increases in GLUT 4 production in the cell. The hypothesis regarding GLUT 4 being tested in this research article stems from related research, which showed that GLUT 4 and mitochondria increase due to repeated bouts of muscle contraction. Since raising calcium levels in the cytosol of the cell increases mitochondria, GLUT 4 is may increase as well. The hypothesis that is being tested with this research was that GLUT 4 will be increased in skeletal muscle cells due to induced increases in the cytosolic calcium levels. These calcium levels are increased in cells naturally due to exercise. Since exercise also increases activity of AMPK, the study tested the effects of increasing AMPK on GLUT 4 levels in skeletal muscle. Methodology GLUT 4 levels were determined after exposing muscle cells to the various stimuli. In order to test whether the various stimuli increased GLUT 4 muscle cells were either exposed to a single stimulus, a stimulus with an inhibitor specific of the stimulus, or no stimulus (control). Then the GLUT 4 protein levels in each set of cells could be tested in order to determine the effects of each stimulus. Various chemicals that are known to be produced in a muscle cell during normal exercise were used as stimuli. Caffeine, which produces increased cytosolic calcium, was used to simulate the normal increase in calcium in a cell during exercise. An... ... activity effect GLUT 4 protein. The results of this study show that during exercise GLUT 4 in muscle cells was increased by increases in cytosolic calcium levels as well as the activation of AMPK. The transcription factors that are responsible for "making" GLUT 4 are also increased by these two chemicals. The increases were found to be regulated by CAMK an inhibitor of calcium. This is important for muscle metabolism and effects on diabetes. The capacity for metabolism in muscle cells is enhanced with training because greater amount of GLUT 4 in the muscle cell is important to respond to stimuli. Consequently more glucose is transported into the cell to be metabolized. This GLUT 4 increase is an adaptive response to the body's greater need for energy. Ultimately this results in more glucose, which means more energy for the cell to use.

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Concepts of State and Government State – is a community of persons more or less numerous permanently occupying a definite portion of territory and a government. Elements of State 1. People – this refers to the mass of population living within the state. 2. Territory – it includes not only the land over which the jurisdiction of the state extends; but also the rivers and lakes therein. 116 square miles or 300,440 square kilometers 3. Government – it refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated expressed and carried out. 4.Sovereignty – the term may be defined as the supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction. a) Internal – or the power of the state to rule within its territory b) External – or the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection to or control by other states. Origin of state theories 1. Divine Right Theory †“ it holds that the state is of divine creation and the ruler is ordained by god to govern the people. 2. Necessity or Force Theory – it maintains that state must have been created through force. . Paternalistic Policy – it attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of the family which remained under the authority of the father or mother. 4. Social Contract Theory – it asserts that the early states must have been formed by deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form society and organize government for their common good. Forms of Government a) Monarchy – or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of this election or the nature or duration of his tenure.Monarchies are further classified into 1. Absolute monarchy – or one in which the ruler rules by divine right 2. Limited Monarchy – or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution. b) Aristocracy – or one in which political power is exercised by a few privileged class which is known as an aristocracy or oligarchy. c) Democracy – or one in which political power exercised by a majority of the people. Democratic governments is further classified into; 1. Direct or pure democracy – or one which the will of the state is ormulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting. 2. Indirect Representative – or republican democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government a) Unitary Government – or one in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised b) Federal Government – – or one in which the powers of government are divided between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs.Relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government a) Parl iamentary Government – or one in which the state confers upon the legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office of the real executive. b) Presidential Government – or one in which the state makes the executive constitutionally independent of the legislature. Other forms of Government a) Civil Government – one in which the affairs of the state are administrated and directed by the citizens or their representatives. ) Military Government – established and administered by a belligerent in the territory c) Constitutional Government – one in which the powers of those who rule are defined and limited in their exercised d) Despotic Government – one in which the powers of those who rule are not defined and limited in their exercised by a constitution e) Elective Government – one in which the state confers powers upon a person, or organization composed of persons chosen by qualified voters f) Hereditary Government – the state confers the powers of government upon a person in a certain family g) Coordinate Government – government according to their nature among separate departments or bodies. h) Consolidated Government – the state confides all government powers to a single body i) De jure Government – founded on existing constitutional laws of the state and has the general support of the people j) De facto Government – existing constitutional law of the state and is maintained against the rightful authority of an established and lawful government. ) Revolutionary Government – installed whether by force or otherwise, not in accordance with the procedure prescribed in an existing constitution. Source of Constitution authority 1. The Filipino People 2. A Sovereign People 3. Belief in God Article 1 – National Territory The Terrestial, Fluvial and Aerial domains of the Philippines 1. The territorial sea – it is that part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles (1 19 kms. ) from the low-water mark. 2. The sea bed – this refers to the land that holds the sea, lying beyond the seashore, including mineral and natural resources. 3. The sub-oil – this includes everything beneath the surface soil – including mineral and natural resources. 4.Insular shelves – they are the submerged portions of a continent or offshore island. 5. Other submarine areas – they refer to all areas under the territorial sea. Three fold division of navigable waters 1. Inland or internal waters – they are the parts of the sea within the land territory. 2. Territorial sea – it is belt of water outside and parallel to the coastline or to the outer limits of the inland or internal waters. 3. High or open seas – they are waters that lie seaward of the territorial sea. Article 2 – Declaration of principles and state policies Republican government – is a democratic government by representatives chosen by the peo ple at large Sovereignty – implies the supreme authority to govern.