Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a type of a mental disease characterized by prolonged personality function failure, variability and disturbance of moods. Ultimately, it leads one to unstable and chaotic interpersonal relationships, behavior, identity, and self image. The proceeding results are periods of dissociation and isolation. When one is disturbed this way, he or she may develop pervasive negativity within the facets of life psychologically. Difficult in developing and maintaining work, social settings and home relationships are experienced.When the victims are not given the effective therapy and proper care, complete or attempted suicides are possible outcomes (Kantor, 1993, pp. 135). Current research on this disorder has revealed the specific symptoms that can help one establish early signs of the disease. The first recognitive experience of this disease is a turmoil relationship that takes a hate-love track as time goes by. After perceived slight misunderstandings, victims of this disorder furiously and immediately drop their friends.The victims have a general difficult in agreeing on gray areas with the other people they interact with (Lachkar, 2004, pp. 23). Current research from Britain encyclopedia has come up with a wide range of the factors that may lead to this disorder. The causes are said to be complex and diverse. They include child sexual abuse or childhood trauma, brain abnormalities, environmental factors, neurobiological factors and genetic predisposition. The disease itself is mental but the repercussions mostly rest and affect social behavior of the concerned.The affected spends most of the time mentally alternating between extremes of devaluation and idealization. The perceived identity disturbance is generated because of the psychological unrest in evaluating ones sense of self and self image. In the process of finding a solution to these encounters, impulsive thought that are far much self damaging come in mind. They may inc lude reckless driving, substance abuse, binge eating, eating disorders, promiscuous and unprotected sex (Lubbe, 2000, pp. 450). At individual level, suicidal threats, gestures and behavior are experienced.This may also be coupled with behaviors that are self mutilating including excoriation or interfering with body scars that may be healing, cutting or picking at oneself. Due to affective instability, moods can be marked by high reactivity such as irritability, dysphoria, and intense episodic or sometimes high anxiety. Chronic feelings such as worthlessness and emptiness, frequent displays of recurrent physical fights, constant anger and temper, dissociate symptoms, delusions, paranoid ideation and transient stress are symptoms that indicate prevalence of Borderline Personality Disorder (Lachkar, 2004, pp.24). The Chinese society of psychiatry has carried out an extensive study on the diagnostic paths in handling this mental illness. The diagnosisitnvolves the so called mood swings. Mood swings describes reactivity of mood and marked liability which can be defined as emotional dysregulation. It is a reaction of the victim to external intrapsychic and psychosocial stressors which is believed to subside or arise with time. The above medical research body has come up with several areas of concentration in the attempts to curb the prevalence of the disease globally (Muller, 1994, pp. 87).The approach in treating the disorder has ranged from socialization programs to medication programs. The medical section has given a prior attention to hospitalization, medications and psychotherapy interventions. After carrying out the research, the core treatment of the disorder is psychotherapy. The two mainly used and effective disorders are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It is an approach that applies high skills in teaching the regulation techniques of ones relationships, emotions and tolerating distress. It can be a face to face or phone counseling which can be done at individual level or through a group consultation.The second type of psychotherapy is the Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP). This kind of approach concentrates on the relationship between the victim of emotions and the therapist. It helps in understanding the challenges that may come along with social interactions and how to deal with the difficulties. These researchers have identified that medications can not adequately cure this disorder. They can only treat the problems that are associated with the disorder. It can approach and counter situations like anxiety, impulsitivity and depression.These medications include anti anxiety medications, antipsychotic and antidepressant. The hospitalization program is usually designed to keep the victim safe from self injury. Consultation of mental health providers gives the directions and precautions to undertake in containing the disease (Muller, 1994. pp. 87). The world health organization has also involved itself in the search for co ntingency measures in handling of the above disorder. It has proposed and enhanced group based psychological services. These programs motivate people to engage, participate and encourage group and solitary activities.It has thus developed therapeutic communities in Europe, that have led the campaigns towards treatment or lowering of the severity associated with this personality disorder. These communities focus on future prevention of the disease, handle the current victims and extend their material assistance to these individuals. The mission of these research organizations is to provide improved psychiatric rehabilitation services. The rehabilitation is achieved through encouraging engagement in meaningful activities and avoiding of social exclusion and stigmatic endeavors.The world organization also provides mutual support and promotes co-counseling groups all over the world to prevent unexpected and harmful spread of the disorder. The victim can get involved in alternative medic inal techniques. Doing exercises and ensuring physical fitness can be improved by including team sports and occupational therapy techniques. Engaging in a sort of employment encourages the spirit of self efficacy, competence and having a social role and obligation to perform in the society. This in turn promotes self esteem (McCallum, 2001, pp.234). This body has also provided antidepressants called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor that has been presented in randomized and controlled trials around the world. It has been reported to improve attendant symptoms related to depression, anxiety, hostility and anger. A higher dose of the above depressant is required in the treatment of mood disorders in comparison with depression. The benefits of this depressant are realized within a period of three months in treating mood disorders and a period of six weeks if it is made to treat depression.Mentalization based treatments assumes that victims of this disorder experience attachment di sturbance because of parent child relations in the early childhood stages. Lack of enough early child attunement and mirroring by parents can result to the child’s mentalization deficiency. This lowers the capacity of such child to attach some kind of correlation between the mental state and the potential causing action. Under normal conditions, there must exist some kind of relatedness between the driving force towards an action and the state of the mind.Studies have attached the perceived mental failure in this disorder to problematic impulse control and instability in moods (Acocella, 1999, pp. 108). Mentalization oriented treatments highly and frequently employ psycho dynamically informed multimodal treatment criterion in the process of ensuring a sustained capacity of self regulation of the patient. This criterion goes ahead to incorporate both individual psychotherapy and group psychotherapy in an outpatient context, partial hospitalization or therapeutic community.Comb ination of these medical and non medical elements helps to reduce the emotional states which are closely associated with Borderline Personality Disorder. The categories of the disorders include feelings of victimization, feeling of lack of identity or fragmentation, feeling of self destructiveness and extreme need for isolation. When these people are completely attacked by the disorder they become hyper alert to signals of rejection, less or no valuation, insecurity, ambivalence, avoidance and demonstration of fearful preoccupation in relationship patterns.All these issues are encountered in the process of novelty seeking or intimacy seeking of the patients (Livesley, 2003, pp. 90). Cultural, age and gender considerations of the disorder Several studies upon the relatedness of this disorder to gender aspects or differences have been done. It is an area that has raised a lot of controversies and critics in the attempt of justifying the perspective that this disorder dominates in fema le gender as compared to the males.It has thus received a very high feministic criticism. A group of scholars believe that patients of this disorder have a history of abuse in lines to do with sex during their early childhood. This ideology argues that girls are more exposed to the danger of sexual abuse compared to boys, definitely and inevitably justifying that the disease is common among ladies. On the other hand, women who have survived childhood sexual abuse perceive traumatization when interacting with abusive mental health services.This happens because of the fact that Borderline Personality Disorder is a diagnosis full of traumatization and thus it evokes negative or abusive responses and answers from mental health providers. To acknowledge the abuse of sex inflicted on these women, several feminist thinkers have suggested that it is better to use diagnosis of post traumatic disorder for this class of women. This medication is however made to medicalize the disorder but it d oes not handle the root cause of the problem within the society (Acocella, 1999, pp.180). Clinical officers respond differently to similar complains or symptoms, depending on whether it originates from a woman or a man. For example if both sexes report cases of angriness and other promiscuous behaviors a man is likely to be diagnosed by use of Antisocial Personality Disorder whereas a woman will be diagnosed with Borderline Personal Disorder. If a woman portrays manhood characteristics such as hostility, success or sexual activity, she is entitled to a diagnosis of personality disorder.If on the other hand the woman shows psychiatric symptoms that conform not to the sick role considered traditionally passive, she is likely to be labeled and considered as a difficult patient. This situation leads to the patient receiving the stigmatizing diagnosis of the borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder seemingly is associated with urban settings and low economic and s ocial status. Diagnosis of this disease may at times be applied to the wrong group of persons or individuals.In some areas engagement in some behaviors is perceived as a protective approach or a presumed survival strategy. In making diagnosis analysis, it is of great importance for the clinician involved to consider the economic and social context in which the perceived emotional difficult occurred. Diagnosis of this disorder should not be performed before the age of eighteen years. This is because some observations made at early ages are associated with childhood. After this age, any symptoms can be diagnosed because every sense of maturity s assumed upon an individual (McCallum, 2001, pp. 234).Many sample based studies in the world have shown that the prevalence of this disorder in males is 1% and 3% in females. The origin of the individuals used in the sample has also contributed to variations in the study’s results, depending on the surrounding social and economic scenari os. Urban settings have indicated a percentage of 30% prevalence compared to 3% found in rural areas. This state has prevailed in many nations because urban settings are subjected to many social evils and crimes that highly contribute to emotional reactions. Substance abuses are believed to be highest in towns and cities.This disorder does not have a well defined course in ones life. It is however believed through experimentations and research activities that it disappears as one gets older and older. It has been observed to disappear in the fourth decade of life cycle. The remission of this disorder is not however automatic but depends on the frequency of engaging in criminal activities or activities that can interfere negatively with ones psychological and emotional state. There is a natural impact that forces one to reduce the spectrum of behaviors such as substance abuse (McCallum, 2001, pp.234). Future considerations of the disorder The future diagnosis of this disorder require s an improvement and a further consideration of emotional difficulties to avoid misconceptions. This is because many reports have been produced where this disorder is persistently misdiagnosed. If this problem is not properly handled, it may lead to marked distress. This also promotes impairment in occupational, role functional and social obligations of the patients. When diagnostic results are released, the patient simply believes in the results without any doubt.Any diagnosis whether true or not is very much impactive on the emotional state of the patient. The patient will therefore adapt the living styles of fellow partners who are suffering from the disorder. Any further research on this work should be in position to offer updated synthesis which concretely incorporates rational clinical attention and current scientific knowledge. It should comprehensively reconstruct the minds of patients for it to serve as a vital caveat utilizing the treatment recommendations with appreciatio ns and not view them as limiting to their ambitions in life.The nature of supportive advance should determine the treatment recommendations. These recommendations should be keyed with respect to confidence level provided by coded evidence (Acocella, 1999, pp. 108). In the future, researchers should not only concentrate on the medication issues but also pay attention to the socialization programs that can be adopted to prevent and at the same time help to cure who are suffering from the disorder. Emotional complications can not occur when the social atmosphere is not disturbed.Borderline disorder is sensitive to the environmental state. It is just a psychological response or reaction towards an emotional embarrassment from a certain source. If sexual abuse among children at early childhood is minimized or stopped, the rate at which the disorder is spreading can be cut down to lower ends. Therefore, programs should be launched to encourage the public through sensitization programs to take a personal initiative, aimed at a collective goal, a counter reaction towards Borderline Personality Disorder (Livesley, 2003, pp. 90). Reference: Acocella Joan, 1999. Creating Hysteria: Women and Multiple Personality Disorder. London, Jossey-Bass publishers, pp. 108. Kantor Martin, 1993. A Guide to Avoidance and Avoidant Personality Disorder. Mahwah, NJ, Praeger publishers, pp. 135. Lachkar Joan, 2004. The Narcissistic/ Borderline Couple: New Approaches to Marital Therapy. London, Brunner-Routledge, pp. 23, 25. Livesley John, 2003. Practical Management of Personality Disorder. London, Guilford Press, pp. 90. Lubbe Trevor, 2000. The Borderline Psychotic Child: A Selective Integration. London, Routledge, pp. 450. McCallum David, 2001. Personality and Dangerousness: Genealogies of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Cambridge University Press, pp. 234. Muller Ryse, 1994. Anatomy of a Splitting Borderline: Description and Analysis of a case History, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 87.

Enzymes in food production

Enzymes in food production BY csw29 Explain the use of enzymes in food production by means of examples. You must include the example of lactase. Enzymes are proteins that speed up the rate of chemical reactions (up to a million times) in living organisms. Acting as catalysts they are not consumed nor altered in the process of converting the specific set of reactants into specific products. In food production, enzymes are greatly appreciated by their accelerated effect in biochemical processes and are mostly used in what we know as fermentation.Humans have been using the process of fermentation for centuries. Fermentation consists of a chemical breakdown of any substance by the means of bacteria, yeast or other microorganisms. It has the added benefit of preserving our food longer. Here are a few well-known examples of fermentation processes. The Rennet is a natural enzyme mixture (found in calves' fourth stomach), in which the enzyme chymosin destroys the kappa casein protein.This al lows the milk to coagulate and to form the curd (solid separated from liquid). Another very old example of fermentation is the use of enzymes to transform grape Juice into wine. Preparations of enzymes (there are many such as: pectinase, cellulase, glucanase and glycosidase) are used in wine making to decompose grape pulp, break down skin cells and amplify and improve the fermentation process in general.Using enzymes also allows extracting more Juice out of the grapes as they destroy the pectin (present in the walls of grape cells). Pectinase (a structural heteropolysaccharide) is what prevents wine makers to get the full potential of must quality. Biotechnology is really Just inventing new ways to ameliorate these old processes of ermentation, by genetically modifying and optimizing microorganisms for the production of enzymes. Furthermore, this allows us to eliminate the reliance on livestock for these enzymes.However, while the microorganisms are genetically modified, the enzymes produced are identical to those found in nature. Enzymes are then utilized in order to make fermentation more efficient in making improvements to the quality of our food. For instance, enzymes are used in the manufacture of fruit juice, corn syrup, beer, cheese, yogurt, sausage and many other foods and drinks. As a matter of fact food producers use over 55 different enzymes to manufacture many finished foods present in our daily diets.

Maria Gaetana Agnesi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maria Gaetana Agnesi - Research Paper Example The mathematic books of Agnesi contain deeper explanations and numerous examples. The books contain various methods of tackling a problem and numerous examples of the same kind question. However, the language in use is simple for learners to understand the mathematical concepts easily and encourage love of mathematics in general. Most of the textbooks currently only have few examples and a formula to solve a problem in a particular topic. This serves as a great disadvantage to students as mathematics as a subject requires numerous examples as well as different ways of solving a question (Cupillari) Agnesi had the knowledge of different languages and therefore, coming up with a simpler mathematical language was easy for her. She simplifies her books into easy language containing important details explaining the derivation of a particular mathematical formula and most importantly how to use the formula to solve a mathematical problem in the specific topic providing better option to other textbooks. Textbooks of Agnesi contain many examples in each topic providing adequate self-assessment questions for the students. The best textbooks should contain numerous examples on how to make use of a mathematical formula to solve a question. Students using Agnes i’s textbooks acquire higher grades due to the many examples in provision comparing to students using other textbooks. Numerous alternative methods are in provision in Agnesi mathematics textbooks in comparison to other mathematics textbooks. It provides choices to students on which method to master depending on the understanding of the question and the knowledge of the concept to use. This provides the opportunity of choosing a particular way of doing a question, which is rare in other textbooks (Baltimore) A cubic curve refers to an algebraic curve with the specific curve order 3. The form of shows a cubic function a cubic function is clearly shown by a polynomial function of degree 3. If

Information Security Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Information Security Plan - Essay Example The organisation is housed in a detached, multi-storeyed building located in the central business district of an Australian city. The company owns several assets that may at risk (Hall 2012, 273). The company’s physical holdings include the tables, chairs, computers, cabinets, calculators, printers, fax machine, scanner, delivery equipment, production equipment, inventories, and air conditions. The company’s employees use the tables, calculators, and chairs to process their daily activities like recording business transactions. The business transactions include selling the company’s goods and services. Further, the company’s employees also use the chairs to accomplish their daily responsibilities of processing the sales and purchase of inventory items (Brigham 2010, 105). In addition, the employees use the chairs whenever they prepare their monthly reports. The employees use the chairs because it would be too taxing for the employees to stand up the whole day while encoding the company’s business transactions. Management assigns one chair t each employee. ... In addition, the company’s employees file their printed records in the cabinet (Schlesinger 2007, 2). The cabinet contains confidential printed records of the company’s daily transactions. The transaction records include the number of items bought by the company’s current and prospective customers. The transaction records include the amount and quantity bough from the current and prospective suppliers. Likewise, the company uses the printers to print the required hard copy reports (Stickney 2009, 366). The company also uses the printers to print sales letters that are submitted to the company’s current and prospective customers. The company uses the printers to submit purchase requisitions to the company’s current and prospective suppliers. The employees use the printers to prepare their monthly reports or presentations. In addition, the company uses the fax machines and scanners to send information to entities outside the company’s premises (Hussey 2010, 11). The fax machines and scanners hasten the transfer of printed copies. The use of the fax machines and scanners eliminate the process of sending confidential data through the post office, snail mail. Normally, the fax machines can be used as telephones. In the same manner, the company uses delivery equipments (Hussey 2010, 11). The delivery equipments include trucks, cars, and other delivery vehicles. The company uses the delivery equipments to deliver the sold products to the company’s current and prospective customers. In addition, the company harnesses the delivery equipments to retrieve the purchased products from the company’s current and prospective suppliers. Further, the company owns inventories (Mendell 2006, 21). The inventories

Big Bend Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Big Bend - Term Paper Example uctural features that have been through various episodes of tectonic deformation, which is exactly the situation that is being dealt with in this case study since there is evidence of influence of Ouachita Orogeny, Laramide Orogeny and Basin and Range deformations in the overall regional structures (Bobbitt, 1994). The rocks available at big bend are Boquillas (Kbo), Buda(Kbu), Del Rio (Kdr), Old alluvium (Qoal), Regular alluvium (Qal) on the stream, and Santa Elena (Kse) (museum). The images obtained are as follows. Dagger Mountain is mainly composed of sedimentary rocks, with presence of intrusive sills. The sedimentary units are mainly carbonaceous and rich in fossils. It involves three major limestone formations, Boquillas, Buda and Sta. Elena formations and the fossils present are gastropods, echinoids, corals, bivalves, inoceramus and molusca. Foraminifera are single celled protists that sometimes construct calcareous shell. In fact, a lot of the Calcium carbonate in limestone and similar rocks comes from the shells of Foraminifera. This species is that found almost exclusively in the Del Rio Clay(Carsey 1926). Texigryphaea is a common genus of oyster found in Texas and New Mexico that lived during the Cretaceous period 105-99 million years ago. Those pictured above are from the Austin Chalk but those in The Santa Elena are practically identical. The gastropods are steinkerns that were found in the Austin chalk. Similar such fossils can be found in the area in between the Santa Elena and Buda formations and could come from either formation. The size of such fossils can vary greatly. Dagger Mountain is loaded with fossil allover. The most well-known fossils might be gastropods, bivalves and pacton-scalope. Other not so bounteous fossils like echinoid, coral, molusca, plant stems, inoceramus, ammonites and spatangoids. As notice, the range is exceptionally rich in marine creature skeletons, which straightforwardly suggests a marine the earth. For a

Discuss the arguments for and against international fair wage and Essay

Discuss the arguments for and against international fair wage and employment standards codes (i.e., anti-sweatshop rules) - Essay Example When workers develop the perception that the compensation received in exchange to the effort rendered in performing the job is insufficient, it hinders their morale towards the organization and their motivation as well. This is quite likely to adversely affect the productivity and ultimately affect the performance of the organization causing ethical issues in the working environment in relation to human rights. It has been with this concern that the concept of â€Å"Fair wage† was developed (Grossman and Helpman, â€Å"Fair Wages and Foreign Sourcing†). This particular developed in the working environment can be well-described with reference to the occurrence of sweatshop movement during the 19th century (Miller, â€Å"Why Economists Are Wrong about Sweatshops and the Anti-Sweatshop Movement†). ... Following the findings in this regard, the discussion will also precise certain specific recommendations to mitigate the limitations and facilitate the positive of implementing the international â€Å"fair wage† and employment standard codes. Argument for International â€Å"Fair Wage† and Employments Standard Codes in Relation to Anti-Sweatshop Rules Researchers have often assumed that employers are always ethically appreciative to pay fair wages to the employees whenever possible, in order to keep them motivated and satisfied. However, in the practical scenario, the working environment situations have repeatedly been witnessed to depict the authoritarian power led malpractices conducted by employers in terms of employee exploitation. A best example to this context has been the anti-sweatshop movement which resulted in the establishment of certain rules in terms of international â€Å"fair wages’ and employment standards with the intention to protect the human rights and welfare of employees along with rendering due significance towards employers’ interests (Miller, â€Å"Why Economists Are Wrong about Sweatshops and the Anti-Sweatshop Movement†). The anti-sweatshop rules illustrate that the global pay system is based on three fundamental principles which include paying for the job, paying in accordance with the skills and competencies of the employees or workers and paying in context of the market value. Based on these principles, the concept of international â€Å"fair wage† was derived which renders due significance towards the ethical business conduct and also towards the transparency in employer-employee relationship. Fair wages can be illustrated as the wage rate which is above the minimum wages offered in a particular region for a

Risk management and insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Risk management and insurance - Essay Example Medicare enrollees have in the recent past started purchasing gap-filing coverage, with the enrollees involved constituting up to 70 percent of the total covered population. Medicare provides healthcare coverage in four different parts, namely part A, B, C, and D (King, 2010). Part A and B are the primary parts of the program, providing health insurance for hospital and medical needs. The other two are complementary parts, primarily addressing program flexibility and drug prescriptions. The four primary parts that constitute the Medicare program do not fully address all-round health coverage, meaning that there are some hospital and medical aspects that are not covered by the program. The inadequacies realized in Medicare necessitate the purchase of gap-filling coverage to supplement the Medicare coverage. This gap-filling coverage is necessary in accounting for health risks that Medicare does not provide for. Although Medicare covers the elderly and the disabled populations, only a certain level of their healthcare needs is provided for. As a result, an insurance cover that addresses health care aspects that Medicare does not provide for becomes necessary. MediGap plans serve as a common example of gap-filling

Artist Statement (Describe all the photos with the following Essay

Artist Statement (Describe all the photos with the following sugestion) - Essay Example Natural or not, they still share the same colors. The imagery conveys the themes quite clearly since when the images are laid next to one another the colors can easily be seen and compared. Blues and silvers are similar throughout each photo. The framing and composition does not have any affects on the work. Each photo regardless of how the photo is framed contains similar theme since each photo represents life in some way. The photos are very straight forward and do not have too much going on. Each photo is simple and easily portrays the photographed object without having to guess what the object is. The photos are clear and easy to see, which makes the themes easy to figure out. The colors in the photos have many cool earth tones. There are few hot colors. The color creates a soothing affect in the imagery that makes the viewer feel relaxed. Some of the images are very sharp. The images that are taken from a further distance are sharper then images taken close up. The photographer can adjust the lens according to distance to improve the sharpness of the

HIST up to 1877 DB6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HIST up to 1877 DB6 - Essay Example Lincoln believed that slavery should be completely eradicated. Thus, Douglas and Lincoln differed on their stance on slavery. The two political gladiators at that time were on opposing sides on the issue of slavery. Thus, it could be said that while Stephen Douglas supported slavery, Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery (Donald 89-92). While Abraham Lincoln was concerned with the moral effects of slavery, Stephen Douglas was not in any way concerned with the morality threat that the institution of slavery brought with it. Douglas believed that the sovereignty of the people should be considered on the issue of slavery, this is the reason that he argued that slavery should be made to stand if the inhabitants of the region supported it. Lincoln believed that this was not an issue of popular sovereignty, but concerted efforts should be made to totally eradicate slavery. Thus, Lincoln differed from Douglas on the issue of slavery in the sense that, Lincoln opposed slavery, while Douglas lent a hand of support to the institutionalization of slavery in some states. Work Cited Donald, David Herbert. Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print

What are the historical causes of racial inequality in the United Essay

What are the historical causes of racial inequality in the United States - Essay Example that the white race was superior of the black, which grew at the end of the 1800s, played a big role in validating suppression and the demolishing of the traditional cultures, societies and civilizations of the native peoples of different races and ethnic groups particularly the African slaves who were sold by the Europeans to the Americans during the 19th century and who later became African-Americans. In addition, this set of beliefs and ideas also became a catalyst for regarding or considering enslavement and submission as a humanitarian responsibility or duty. â€Å"In its modern form, racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world, and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered, fought, and ultimately subdued, theories about â€Å"race† began to develop, and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races.† (Wolf 97) Enslavement was the chief cause of the ever-increasing political conflict and opposition around the 1850s in the United States as people started to oppose and contravene racism. This open opposition and the American democracy that made speech and opinion more open was the stepping-stone for the road from slavery to the civil rights movement and later on, towards the ethnic and racial equality around the nation. In retort to an anti-slavery Republican as the winner of the Presidential election, nearly a dozen Southern slave states in America affirmed their separation and breakaway from the United States. Together, they formed the Confederate States of America, also known as the Confederacy. The remaining twenty-five states supported the federal administration called the Union. Began in 1861, the Civil War lasted a total of four years. The reasons and grounds were complicated, and ever since this battle began, its causes have been heated with a lot of controversial

Ethical Problems associated to Information Technology Essay Example for Free

Ethical Problems associated to Information Technology Essay Information technology has been continuously booming with new technological products that create a more diverse information environment. There have been dramatic changes associated with the IT, and these changes create ethical problems and upheavals that usually have something to do with ethics. True, there has been technological development in the arena—one that occurs â€Å"when either the technological paradigm is elaborated in terms of improved concepts, theories, and methods, or in instances of the paradigm are improved† (Moor, 2008, p. 27), such as in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, and safety. This creates an enormous social impact, and it has led to a technological revolution that considerably takes time and is difficult to predict. Information technology has gone over the introduction stage and the permeation stage. We are on the power stage wherein the technology is readily available, affecting people directly and indirectly. This creates an impact that is superbly enormous; yet, there are always the ethical problems that springs forth in the arena. Ethical problems that surround the self-identity, anonymity, and privacy of a person are always attached when it comes to IT. The technological revolution has a large-scale effect that transforms the society, while affecting the manner in which the society functions (Moor, 2008, p. 29). It is evident that open technological revolutions in open societies still need some enhancements, so that the ethical problems would be controlled and maximized. Main Body There are a number of important issues that surround the technological paradigm of IT, especially in relation to ethics. Some of these are in the form of self-identity, anonymity, as well as privacy. There are also other unethical issues (e. g. , cheating, hacking, wardriving) that are attached to the technological paradigm of IT. Ethical problems in self-identity The self-identity is being constructed according to how the individual interacts with the society and with himself or herself. In the social landscape of modernity, there are numerous major changes in the external social environment that affects the individual during this social transformation. In the age of the IT, people get to have the capacity to reconstruct the universe through the everyday realities and circumstances that take place in their specific worlds. It is a continuous state of affairs that largely creates the self-identity and the personal feelings attached to this paradigm. This new sense of identity are being formed with the intrusion of the IT in a person’s life, and people get to have personal relationship even with people who are unknown to them—people who suddenly pop out in their computer’s screens, with names that may or may not be factual. Personal relationships help form the self-identity, offering opportunities for self-expression and the self-renewal. According to Giddens (1991), The modern world is a ‘runaway world’: not only is the pace of social change much faster than in any prior system, so also is its scope, and the profoundness with which it affects pre-existing social practices and modes of behavior. (Giddens, 1991, p. 16) With this, it is apparent that the IT becomes an active component in the continuous transformation of a person’s identity, as it creates and affects the social practices and the modes of a person’s behavior. Thus, problems that affect the personal life of the individual could affect not only the self-identity, but the social practices and the environment as a whole. Ethical problems in terms of anonymity and privacy, for example, can lead to an identity that is blemished because of unethical conduct. Despite the fact that people always carry discursive interpretations of their behavior, this practical consciousness drives the person into creating or destroying the ontological security of human activity in a culture. As an effect, people tend to write comments anonymously while hiding their true identities. Ethical problems in anonymity According to the article that Richard Perez-Pena (2010) wrote entitled ‘News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments’, it says that Internet users usually make use of the digital disguise, revealing their power and their sentiments without acknowledging their true identities to the viewers. This constitutes a sort of freedom for the digital users, and this is most typical in news sites, wherein the viewers are allowed to post comments without indicating their true identities, keeping their privacy in a world that is being presented in public. As indicated in the article, â€Å"Anyone could weigh in and remain anonymous† (Perez-Pena, 2010, p. 1), and this leads to the question on whether or not viewers of Internet sites should be allowed to remain anonymous when dictating their comments and suggestions. This is a very significant ethical problem associated to IT, since it has been ethically accepted that any type of idea or sentiment should be associated to the respectful person who has formed the idea. According to Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, Anonymity is just the way things are done. It’s an accepted part of the Internet, but there’s no question that people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments. (Perez-Pena, 2010, p. 1) It has, therefore, been advised that viewers should indicate their factual names, especially when making a significant commentary about the society. They should use their real names, and this may be done by requiring people to register first before posting their commentaries. Ethical problems in privacy According to the article that Scott Rosenberg (2010) wrote entitled ‘Online Comments Need Moderation, Not Real Names’, there is also the statement that defines how newspaper website managers have been reacting in terms of anonymity and privacy keeping. As stated, â€Å"If only they could make people sign their real names, surely the atmosphere would improve† (Rosenberg, 2010, p. 1). Online conversation spaces make media outlets turn the common software on and then leave them as it is, as if the discussions would â€Å"magically take care of themselves† (Rosenberg, 2010, p. 1). The problem, however, is that the commenters should not be faceless and should carry identities that are open for the other viewers. This problem is in the identity system, with the Web having no identity system that would ethically reconnect the idea to the person who has declared it. As stated in the article, The Web has no identity system, and though the FBI can track you down if the provocation is dire enough, and if you get editors mad enough they can track you down, too, most media companies aren’t going to waste the time and money. (Rosenberg, 2010, p. 1) Ethical privacy problems can also be in the form of ‘hacking’ or â€Å"using unauthorized access to an information system† (Floridi, 2008, p. 43). This indulges privacy and confidentiality. Conclusion There are other ethical problems associated with the IT of the modern social world, such as using the new technology in order to cheat one’s taxes, or deviating the user from his or her true name or identity. It can also be in the form of wardriving wherein people try to connect wirelessly to other people’s networks (Moor, 2008, p. 33). All these unethical conducts can create an enormous social impact that leads to technological revolution that can contract IT in its power stage. With proper management, it can develop the IT into something that is more powerful and enormous, without the ethical problems that have large-scale effects on the society. It is evident, therefore, that open societies through the IT still need some enhancements, so that the ethical problems would be controlled and maximized. References Floridi, L. (2008). Information ethics: its nature and scope. In Eds. Jeroen van den Hoven and John Weckert’s Information technology and moral philosophy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: self and society in the late modern age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Moor, J. (2008). Why we need better ethics for emerging technologies. In Eds. Jeroen van den Hoven and John Weckert’s Information technology and moral philosophy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Perez-Pena, R. (2010, April 11). News sites rethink anonymous online comments. Retrieved May 7, 2010, from The New York Times Company database: http://www. nytimes. com/2010/04/12/technology/12comments. html. Rosenberg, S. (2010, April 13). Online comments need moderation, not real names. Retrieved May 7, 2010, from Salon Media Group, Inc. database: http://www. salon. com/news/feature/2010/04/13/newspaper_online_comments_moderation_open2010.

Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry

Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry Introduction The business news headlines of ethical meltdowns of global companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, which now have become synonymous with greed, serve as a key reminder to the companies and individuals in business to practice ethical behaviour (Doran, 2004). One of the most frequently reported unethical practices in business is bribery, described as: â€Å"the offering of some good, service or money to an appropriate person for the purpose of securing a privileged and favourable consideration (or purchase) of ones product or corporate project† (Almeder and Humber, 1983, cited in Johnson, 1991: 327). Building professionals have gain integrity and respectability through professional bodies such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), and Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM), which reflects the professionals of construction industry. These professional standards and ethics are embodied in codes of practice, which define the roles and obligations professionals (Harris et al., 1995) and are the cornerstone of any ethics programme (Calhoun and Wolitzer, 2001). Ethics and Professionalism The Oxford English Dictionary defines ethics as the moral principles that govern or influence a persons conduct. Ethics, as defined by Doran (2004), is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad about moral duty and obligation; a set of accepted moral principles and values about what ought to be; a theory or system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group; and a code of morality. Doran points out that â€Å"ethics is something that the industry needs to talk more about, agree on, and put into wider practice† (2004: 4). Hinman (1997) distinguishes morals and ethics by regarding morals as first order beliefs, and practices about what is good and bad which guide behaviour; while ethics as second order, reflective consideration of moral beliefs and practices. Martin (2000), defines professionalism as setting aside personal values, feelings, and benefits in order to fulfill the obligations inhered in professional roles. Ethical behaviour, in construction context, is determined by the level of trustworthiness and integrity with which organizations and individuals perform their business (Mason, 2009). In a survey by Vee Skitmore (2003), it was agreed by 93% of the respondents that â€Å"business ethics† should be driven or governed by â€Å"personal ethics†, where there is a need to maintain the balance of both the requirements of the client and the impact on the public. Greenhalgh (1997), describes the core of professionalism as the self-reliant control of a group of experts possessing honorific status. Ethics have a role to play in general business practice despite the term â€Å"business ethics† being called an oxymoron (Ferguson, 1994). The applicability of general concepts of ethics to business is now realized after the recent appearance of greater consensus on this issue. This has been explained on the grounds that business exists not solely to accommodate certain individuals, but also to serve the society and, conforms to collective and social needs (Cohen and Grace, 1998) and environment in general (Fleddermann, 1999). Put differently, the spirit of a ny literal profession cannot be attained without an ethics element (Bowie, 1991). Professional Ethics in Construction Industry Professional ethics as defined by Martin (2000), consists of moral requirements attached to a profession and imposed on its members, together with ethical dilemmas created when there is a conflict of interest or the requirements are too vague to give guidance. Bayles (1988) describes professional ethics as a system of behavioural norms. Such norms ensure that professional does not take advantage over the client due to the knowledge differential the application of customer protection through self-regulation. Construction professionals, for instance, engineers, architects, project managers, surveyors and contractors, have the fundamental right of professional conscience (Martins and Schinzinger, 1996, cited in Fleddermann, 1999, p.87). Another important feature of ethics in the construction industry is â€Å"personal ethics† often interpreted by construction professionals as just treating others with the same point of honesty that they would want to be treated (Badger and Gay, 1996). Yet, it has been suggested that professionals in general tend to believe that their responsibilities to the client far outweigh the public (Johnson, 1991). An Australian study by Vee Skitmore (2003), demonstrates that most organizations subscribed to a professional code of ethics (90%), and many (45%) had an ethical code of conduct in their employing organizations. Reeck (1982) notes that ethical codes provide guidance for professionals in determining proper action. A South African study based on the work done in Australia shows that a new suite of professional Acts promulgated in 2000 in South Africa had boosted the profile of ethics (Vee Skitmore, 2003). However, Henry (1995) cautions that ethical codes do not solve moral dilemmas but do help to raise the levels of awareness and so encourage ethical practice. Professional Misconduct and its Impact to the Construction Industry The renowned cases of corporate malfeasance such as Enron reflect the unethical business practices that resulted in companies rapidly lose their reputations; shareholders revolt, unemployment, besides causing the whole industries to come under suspicion (Doran, 2004). Dorans research has shown that unethical behaviour affects the publics perception of the industry (61%), and more significantly, it affects the level of trust between clients and contractors (74%), and between contractors and design professionals (60%). As a matter of fact, codes of practice alone are insufficient to ensure ethical conduct in the construction industry. Ethical misconducts continue to happen in the construction industry, for instance, collusive tendering that results in apparently competitive bids, price fixing, or market distribution strategies that prohibit the spirit of free competition and defraud clients (Zarkada-Fraser, 2000), bid-cutting (May et al., 2001), bid-shopping, cover pricing, hidden fees and commissions and compensation for unsuccessful tenderers (Ray et al., 1999; Zarkada-Fraser and Skitmore, 2000), together with â€Å"withdrawal† ( Zarkada, 1998: 36) where a tenderer withdraws their bid after consultation with other tenderers. Other frequently reported unethical practices are related to fraud, breach of confidence and negligence. Deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, by which it is sought to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage, is the description of the unethical practice of fraud (Bolgna et al., 1996: 9). A common breach of confidentiality is whistle blowing, described as the act of an employee of informing the public or higher management of unethical or illegal behaviour by an employer or supervisor (Johnson, 1991: 32). Negligence is the â€Å"failure to exercise that degree of care which, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of those interests of other persons which may be injuriously affected by the need of such care†. (Delbridge et al., 2000). The main sources of negligence are design negligence, design defect, production defect or a combination of these factors (Thorpe and Middendorf, 1980: 75). Barriers that Limit Professional and Ethical Behaviour Brien (1998), states that the cause of ethical failure in an organization can often be traced to its organizational culture and also the failure of the leader to encourage ethical practices among the members. In spite of the fact that personal ethics that constitute to perception of beliefs, values, personality and background, any tendency of an individual towards ethical conduct is strongly influenced by the value systems reflected by the employing organization (Mason, 2009). According to one study by Pearl et al. (2007), the extent to which ethical internal control is exercised within an organization will influence the difficulty facing any professional community. When the participants of the construction industry get caught in a compromising situation, the temptation for them to be unethical can be almost irresistible which is particularly true at the contractor level. The pressure on contractors are emphasized by Stansbury (2005), Chairman of Transparency International (UK) that, the majority of contractors engaged in corruption are forced by the way the industry and the political environment operate. Furthermore, there is no consensus on precisely what constitutes unethical behaviour and what should be done to improve it (Mason, 2009). Improving Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry There are contravening opinions as to whether or not the adoption of ethical codes has enriched ethical standards in the construction industry. Indeed, some commentators have even suggested that an ethical code is nothing more than public relations â€Å"window dressing† (Starr, 1983). Mason (2009), in his research describes that a single-wide code can contribute to the development of ethical standards within the construction industry as â€Å"the first line of defense against corruption† (Uff, 2003). The Code was intended to apply to all professionals of construction industry regardless of their qualification or affiliation. The principles are set out as accepted behaviour benchmark and regroup into seven qualities as honesty, fairness, fair reward, reliability, integrity, objectivity and accountability. Even so, Mason indicates that the change for a better ethical standards of conduct in the industry can only be achieved by reducing the chances for construction partic ipants to consider it a need to draw advantage at someone elses expense. He points out that other measures such as longer term relationships and collaborative working in the industry also play an equally substantial role in ethical improvement. Mason (2009), suggests that one way to improve ethical standards is simply by enforcing the law where unethical conduct is also a breach of the criminal law. This can be illustrated by the enforcement activity in the UK by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT 2007). The OFT aim is to ensure a fair competition during tender bid stages, which regards collusion as a contravention of competition, and the OFT has continues to conduct investigation to battle corruption. Dorans research (2004) has implied that the construction industry should get more training on professional ethics, where 97% thought that ethics training should begin at the collegiate level. Despite the trend towards increased training in the construction industry continues to grow, the initiatives to offer training on ethics is seldom heard. Doran suggests that companies should adopt ethical codes before increasing the training on ethics so that training will be more goal-orientated. References: Bowie, N. (1991). Business ethics as an academic discipline, in Freeman, R.E. (Eds). Business Ethics: The State of the Art. Oxford University Press: New York. Brien, A. (1998). Professional ethics and the culture of trust.Journal of Business Studies, 17, pp.391-409. Doran, D. (2004),FMI/CMAA Survey of Construction Industry Ethical Practices, FMI Corporation, Raleigh, NC. Retrieved October 8, 2009 from www.acce-hq.org/documents/ethics_survey.pdf Fellows, R. (2003). Professionalism in Construction: Culture and Ethics. CIB TG23 International Conference, October 2009, Hong Kong. Ferguson, W.C. (1994). Building a solid ethical foundation in business.The Executive Speaker, 9(1), pp.33-39. Fleddermann, C.B. (1999), Engineering Ethics. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Greenhalgh, B. (1997).Practice Management for Land, Construction and Property Professionals. Chapman and Hall: New York. Hinman, L. M. (1997) Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Johnson, D.G. (1991), Ethical Issues in Engineering. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Martin, M.W., Schinzinger, R. (1996), Ethics in Engineering, 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill: New York. Mason, J. (2009). Ethics in the construction industry: the prospects for a single professional code. International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, 10(3), 192-204. Retrieved October 5, 2009, doi: 10.1108/17561450911001252 Office of Fair Trading (2007). OFT makes ‘fast track offer in biggest error UK cartel investigation, Retrieved October 19, 2009, from www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2007/49-07 Pearl, R., Bowen, P., Makanjee, N., Akintoye, A., Evans, K. (2007). Professional ethics in the South African construction industry a pilot study. Journal of Construction Management and Economics, 25(6), pp.631-648. Reeck, D. (1982). Ethics for Professioans: A Christian Perspective, Augsbury: Minneapolis. Stansbury, N. (2005).Construction Environment is Prone to Corruption, Retrieved October 18, 2009, from www.buildingtalk.com/news/tch/tch193.html Starr, W. (1983). Codes of ethics: towards a rule-utilitarian justification.Journal of Business Ethics, 2, pp.99-106. Uff, J. (2003).Duties at the Legal Fringe: Ethics in Construction Law, Fourth Michael Brown Foundation Lecture. Vee, C. and Skitmore, R.M. (2003) Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry, Engineering Construction and Architectural Management 10(2), 117-127. Retrieved August, 28, 2009, doi: 10.1108/09699980310466596

Production Management Of Movies

Production Management Of Movies Producers have overall control on every aspect of a films production, bringing together the Screenwriters, Director, cast, finances and production team. Their primary responsibility is to foster an environment in which the creative talents of the cast and crew can flourish Producers are therefore ultimately accountable for the success of the finished film. Producers many responsibilities span all four phases of production: Â · Development Producers are often responsible for coming up with the underlying premise of a production, or for selecting the screenplay. Producers secure the necessary rights, select the screenwriter and story editing team, raise the development financing, and supervise the development process. Â · Pre-production Producers typically bring together the key members of the creative team, including the Director, Cinematographer and principal cast. They assist the Executive Producers to raise finance for the production. Once this is in place, they select other key personnel, such as the Line Producer, Associate Producer and Production Manager, as well as the remaining Heads of Departments, such as Production Designer, Editor and Composer. Producers also participate in location scouting, and approve the final shooting script, production schedule and budget. Â · Production Producers are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the producing team, though many practical functions are delegated to the Line Producer and any Associate Producers. Producers are also in constant communication and consultation with the Director, and with other key creative personnel, on and off set. Producers approve all script changes and cost reports, and continue to serve as the primary point of contact for all production partners, investors and Distributors. Â · Post-production and marketing Producers are expected to liaise personally with post-production personnel, including the Editor, Composer, and Visual Effects staff. They then consult with all creative and financial personnel on the production of the answer (or final) print, and they are usually involved with the financial and distribution entities in planning the marketing and distribution of the finished film. It is rare to find one Producer who has the expertise and vision to exercise personal decision-making authority across all four phases of production. Producers normally delegate some of these functions to Executive Producers, Co-producers, Line Producers and Associate Producers. However, the Producer is responsible for the majority of the producing functions throughout all the processes of the film. Executive Producer The traditional role of the Executive Producer is to supervise the work of the Producer on behalf of the studio, the financiers or the distributors, and to ensure that the film is completed on time, and within budget, to agreed artistic and technical standards. The term often applies to a producer who has raised a significant proportion of a films finance, or who has secured the underlying rights to the project. Typically, Executive Producers are not involved in the technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but have played a crucial financial or creative role in ensuring that the project goes into production. Responsibilities As there may be several Executive Producers on a film, it is difficult to define their exact responsibilities. However, they usually fall into one or more of the following categories: Â · Development the Executive Producer secures the rights to a story and develops the screenplay, but then hands over to the lead Producer, and has no direct involvement in the physical production of the film. Â · Packaging the Executive Producer authorises and supervises the packaging of the film. Â · Financing the Executive Producer raises a significant proportion of funding for the film, assists with presales, or helps to secure distribution agreements. On smaller independent films, a well-known Producer, Director or star may also be accorded this title because their association with the project helps to facilitate contacts with financiers and Distributors. Â · Production the Executive Producer acts as a mentor to the Producer and supervises production for the financiers. This type of Executive Producer is almost always involved in short film production schemes, where they typically co-ordinate the films production from initial financing through to final distribution. Associate Producer or Assistant Producer Associate Producers carry out significant functions in the production or post-production process, which would otherwise be performed by the Producer, Executive Producer or Co-Producer. These responsibilities may range from helping to raise production finance at the beginning of the production process, to supervising the final stages of post-production. Associate Producers in Film are usually individuals within production companies who have played a particularly significant role in the development of the script or screenplay, or in the packaging process, or who have contributed important creative ideas to the production. They may be another producer; or a senior Script Editor who helps to shape the direction of the final drafts of the screenplay, and without whom the film may not be financed; or the Producers Assistant who supervises development or post production for the Producer in their absence. The term Associate Producer is also sometimes used to describe a Producer from a smalle r production company which is co-producing the film, who has typically raised a small amount of funding for the project, but not enough to warrant an Executive Producer or Co-Producer credit. Responsibilities Associate Producers contribute significantly to the production process, as they are responsible for specific elements delegated to them by the Producer. This diverse role may encompass development, packaging, raising production finance, supervising the production design team (sets, costumes, etc.), supervising post-production, or co-ordinating the work of the various visual effects companies. In fact, they may carry out any production work that the Producer is too busy to supervise personally, and which is not covered by one of the other production roles (e.g. Executive Producer, Co-producer, Line Producer). Whatever their exact role, Associate Producers must be able to troubleshoot any production difficulties or problems that come within their area of responsibility. Line Producer The Line Producer is one of the first people to be employed on a films production by the Producer and Executive Producers. Line Producers are rarely involved in the development of the project, but often play a crucial role in costing the production in order to provide investors with the confidence to invest in the project. As soon as the finance has been raised, the Line Producer supervises the preparation of the films budget, and the day-to-day planning and running of the production. Line Producers are usually employed on a freelance basis. They must expect to work long hours, though the role can be financially very rewarding. Career advancement is based on their experience and reputation. Where a Line Producer has a creative input to the production, he or she is often credited as a Co-producer. Responsibilities Line Producers are in charge of all the business aspects of the physical production of films. They are called Line Producers because they cannot start work until they know what the line is between the above-the-line costs, which relate to writers, producers, directors and cast, and the below-the-line costs which include everything else, e.g., crew salaries, equipment rentals, development costs, locations, set design and construction, insurance, etc. Line Producers are usually recruited onto the production team during the later stages of development. They are given the script and asked to assess the likely below the line cost of the production which involves breaking down the screenplay into a schedule a timetable for the film shoot that shows how long it will take to shoot each scene. From this schedule the Line Producer can accurately estimate the cost of each days shooting, and produce a provisional budget estimating the total amount of funding required. Once the Producer and Exec utive Producers have raised the required finance, the film can go into pre-production. During pre-production, Line Producers work closely with the Director, Production Manager, First Assistant Director, Art Director and other Heads of Department to prepare the production schedule and budget, and to set the shoot date. Line Producers oversee all other pre-production activities, including hiring the production team, setting up the production office, location scouting, ensuring compliance with regulations and codes of practice, sourcing equipment and suppliers, selecting crew, engaging supporting artistes and contributors, and monitoring the progress of the art department and other production departments. During production, Line Producers hand over control of the final budget to the Production Accountant, and delegate the day-to-day operation of the production office to the Production Manager and Production Co-ordinator. However, Line Producers are ultimately responsible for overseeing all activities, and for ensuring that the production is completed on time and within budget. This requires setting up and implementing financial monitoring systems, controlling production expenditure, controlling production materials, and monitoring and controlling the progress of productions. Line Producers usually allow a 10% contingency in the budget to cater for unforeseen circumstances, and spend much of their time juggling figures and resources. Line Producers are responsible for certain Health and Safety procedures, and for sorting out any insurance claims. At the end of the shoot, the Line Producer oversees the wrap, or winding down, of the production. Assistant Production Co-ordinator The Assistant Production Co-ordinator acts as a general assistant to the Production Co-ordinator, performing duties relating to the preparation, distribution and filing of paperwork, both within the production office and on set. Assistant Production Co-ordinators are almost always self-employed, and must be prepared to work long hours, particularly during the final week of pre-production. Most UK films employ one Assistant Production Co-ordinator; however, larger productions may employ two or more. Responsibilities Assistant Production Co-ordinators work under the direct supervision of a Production Co-ordinator. Their duties vary according to the production phase, and the daily requirements of the production office. Responsibilities may be spread across a number of related areas, including: Â · Production Office setting up, maintaining and closing down the Production Office, for example, ordering furniture, equipment and supplies. Â · Travel Accommodation helping to co-ordinate travel, accommodation, work permits, visas, medical examinations and any immunisations for principal crew and cast to conform with insurance and foreign travel requirements. Â · General production duties including typing, filing, answering the telephone, and other related office duties. Â · Transportation helping to organise the pick-up and delivery of equipment and personnel by the Unit Drivers. Â · Production paperwork assisting the Production Co-ordinator to prepare and distribute shooting schedules, crew and cast lists, call sheets, production reports, movement orders, scripts and script revisions. Production Runner or Production Assistant Production Runners are the foot soldiers of the production team, performing small but important tasks in the office, around the set and on location. Their duties may involve anything from office administration to crowd control, and from public relations to cleaning up locations. Production Runners are usually employed on a freelance basis, are not very well paid, and their hours are long and irregular. However, the work is usually extremely varied and provides a good entry-level role into the film industry. What is the job? Production Runners are deployed by the Producer and by other production staff, such as the Production Co-ordinator, to assist wherever they are needed on productions. Their responsibilities vary considerably depending on where Production Runners are assigned. In the Production Office duties typically include: assisting with answering telephones, filing paperwork and data entry, arranging lunches, dinners, and transportation reservations, photocopying, general office administration, and distributing production paperwork. On-set duties typically include: acting as a courier, helping to keep the set clean and tidy and distributing call sheets, Health and Safety notices, and other paperwork. On location shoots, Production Runners may also be required to help to co-ordinate the extras, and to perform crowd control duties, except where this work is dangerous, or performed by police officers or other official personnel. Co-producer A Co-producer is typically a Line Producer who has also performed a substantial portion of the creative producing function. Alternatively, they may be the lead Producer from another production company that is co-producing the film, or a partner or corporate officer from the production entity producing the film. In rare cases, a Co-producer may also be the person who optioned, developed or packaged the project. In all instances, Co-producers are subordinate to the Producer. Occasionally, the title Co-producer is accorded to a producer who finds, options, develops, or packages the project, but does not own the rights, and who plays a less significant role in the physical production of the film. For example, Co-producers may be relatively new Producers who need to work with a more senior Producer in order to package, finance and deliver the finished film. It should be noted that if a project has more than one Producer, it does not mean that these individuals are Co-producers in the tech nical sense of the term. Responsibilities Co-producers responsibilities vary enormously depending on which type of Co-producer they are. However, they always have less responsibility than the Producer for the completion of the film. Â · Where the Co-producer is also the Line Producer, he or she is responsible for all the business and logistical aspects during the main phase of film production. The key difference between this type of Co-producer and the Line Producer is that he or she also performs a significant part of the creative producing function, whether it be helping with casting, recruiting the Director, or hiring other key Heads of Department. Â · Where the Co-producer is a partner or corporate officer of the production entity producing the film, he or she plays a key role in the development of the film project, assists with the physical production, or supervises post-production to enable the Producer to move on to another production. Â · Where the Co-producer is the lead Producer from another production entity that is producing the film as part of an international co-production, he or she will usually raise a significant portion of the budget for the film, but have less creative input than the lead Producer. In some cases Co-producers choose to be credited as Co-producer rather than as Executive Producer, in order to indicate that they played an important part in the physical production of the film.

How Cahokia Was Mighty :: essays research papers

North of Mexico, the pre-Colombian settlement of Cahokia was the most influential and intricate Native American community in North America. A society of mound builders, which endured from about 9500 B.C. to 1400 A.D., they set up a massive trading center complete with their own types of governing bodies, architecture, religion, sophisticated farming, and local specialties. In one way or another, the Cahokian culture touched even the far reaches of the present day United States, â€Å" from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, from the Atlantic coast to Oklahoma†, all from its central location in the Mississippi region. It is for these reasons that Cahokia was a superior power in the New World before the Europeans came, and even now, can be considered important and mighty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first factor that indicates the might of the Cahokian culture is the great structures of earth that they created for public buildings, residences of the nobility, religious purposes, and as burial ground. These mounds, 120 in number, were built on an area exceeding five square miles, and usually were between six and twelve feet in height. The largest mound however, named Monks mound for the colony of Trappist monks who later tried colonize atop the construction, covers today 14 acres at the base and rises 100 feet in height. What is even mightier about this mound, which happens to be the â€Å"largest pre-historic earthen structure in the New World†, is that it took over 19 million hours of labor to complete, and that it was done all by hand. The 22 million cubic feet of dirt it took to form the mound, was deposited in stages from about 900 to 1200 A.D.. The greatness that is Monks mound was probably used for governing, ceremonies, and for the Cahokian leaders’ living spaces and burial plots. Another remarkable mound in Cahokia, simply called Mound 72, was designed by the Cahokians so that one end of it faced the rising sun of the winter solstice, and the opposite end faced toward the setting sun of the summer solstice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An additional type of architecture in the Cahokia realm that fascinated the excavators who found it’s remnants, are â€Å"wood henges†. Labeled for a likeness to England’s Stone-henge, the wood henges are several circles with different diameters of hundreds of feet and are made up of posts at regular intervals. What is so amazing about them is that the number of posts in each circle are in multiples of 12 (24, 36, 48, 60, and 72). It is believed that the posts marked lunar

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus :: essays research papers

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. His Christian name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. His father Leopold Mozart educated him and was a violinist, author, and composer. He began composing minuets at the age of five. When Mozart was six, he was successful at the clavier, violin, and organ. Mozart started composing symphonies at nine years of age. In 1762 his father brought him to many concerts through Europe. Europeans ignored Mozart when he was 21 in his search for more spirited and pleasing career. He traveled to Mannheim, then he went to the musical center of Europe, because of its famous orchestra and fell in love with Aloysia Weber. His father promptly told his son and wife to come to Paris. His mother died in Paris, on July 1778. he was rejected by Weber and the neglect from his girlfriends made Mozart's trip in Paris the most miserable moments in his life. The success of Mozart's opera, "Idomeneo re di Creta," influenced the archbishop of Salzburg to invite Mozart to his palace at Vienna. His exploitation to the people of the court forced Mozart to leave ­! In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber, Aloysia's sister. Poverty and illness endangered the family until Mozart's death. While Mozart was working on the "Magic Flute" in 1791 an emissary requested a requiem mass written by Mozart but he never got to finish this because he died. He supposedly died of typhoid fever, in Vienna on December 5, 1791. His funeral was attended by a few friends. Mozart died young and had an unsuccessful career, but he ranks as one of the greatest composer of all time. With more than six hundred works it shows that even as a child he had a feel of the resources of musical composition as well as an original

Comparing Stanley Kowalski in Williams A Streetcar and Iago of Shakespeares Othello :: comparison compare contrast essays

Iago and Stanley of Othello and A Street Car Named Desire In these two pieces of literature, both Iago and Stanley plan a tragic scheme to draw the main characters, Othello and Blanche to their "downfall". Iago is absolutely inhuman being while Stanley showed his little conscience. They are both the master and are brilliant. Nevertheless Iago seem to be much smarter than Stanley in comparison. Iago and Stanley plan a tragic scheme to draw Othello and Blanche to their downfall because Othello promotes Cassio to lieutenancy, a position that he wants and it causes him to plan a tragic plan. Othello has supposed affair to Emilia who is Iago's wife. Thus, Iago constructs a plan to revenge. Stanley hates Blanche because she destroys the good relationship between him and his wife, Stella. He thinks that she has sold the Belle Reve which he thinks it's a part of partly him, but she does not give him any money. The most important one, he "assumes" that Blanche describes him as "common" and bestial. Thus, he plots a plan to revenge. In all, both Iago and Stanley start tragic plan their hatred. Iago is absolutely inhuman while Stanley has little consciences in his heart. In order to achieve the target, Iago does everything that will benefit himself even killing others. He kills Roderigo who helps him a lot in his plan. He persuades Othello to kill his Desdemona. Furthermore he kills his wife at the end. Stanley has not yet totally lost his humanity. Although he has raped Blanche, he does not kill her or other people. Moreover, at the end of the play he settles her into an asylum, but he does not just forsakes her. This reveals that someone will look after her in the future, and she will not be living alone. In short, Stanley still has little emotions of love in her heart, but Iago is absolutely inhuman, these two villains have a different level at different period. As the villains in their plays, Iago and Stanley are both brilliant, but Iago's tragic plan is almost perfect. He is able to use other character's "flaw" in his well-constructed plan. The smartest thing he does is that able to hide his identify from others. He appears to be "noble" to others, but in fact, he is evil "under worth". Thus, he can gain other character’s trust.

Katy Perry One of the Boys and Tomb Raider Under World texts Analysis

I will be analysing two different texts, â€Å"Katy Perry – One of the Boys† and â€Å"Tomb Raider – Under World†. I will consider three different things; Visual codes, mode of address language and layout design. Firstly I will be looking at â€Å"Katy Perry – One of the Boys†. Katy Perry releases mostly pop music, she is also known widely around the world. The scenery in this text is a complete juxtaposition against the title ‘One of the Boys', there is a lot of feminine colour, the stand out one being candy pink. Stereotypically boys are not associated with such feminine colours. This shows the text to be unconventional. Also unconventional could be seen in the fact that Katy Perry is the dominant figure in this picture, this is very unusual when an extreme long shot is used. When using the word pop artist usually the words perfection come to mind, however the text suggest imperfection, this could be seen with use of the cloud its covering the beautiful clear blue sky. This could be linked back to the title â€Å"one of the Boys† suggesting boys are allowed to show imperfection and this can hint towards the direction of the lyrics in this song. Katy Perry also draws further attention to herself by looking directly at the camera, she is addressing the audience directly. The fact they haven't used a real bird, suggest the need to look perfect in the pop industry and enhance the fake side and the fact everything is put together and has its place. Secondly I will be annotating â€Å"Tomb Raider – Under World†. Tomb Raider is generally based around a female in very revealing clothing completing very daring mission. The scenery of the text consists of different shades of green and yellow. The Yellow shades look similar to the colour that is create when the is a massive explosion and the models pose looks very unshaken, this can show her to have a very high shock level. The green shades are typical camouflage colours which are usually associated with the army, this can suggest that the game consist of violence and unexpected action. However the game has a user's age of 12+. This tells the audience that the game won't consist of extreme violence, because a 12 year is able to play it. This devalues what the game looks like it is all about, violence. This can demotivate older audience member such as 18 year olds from buying the game. There is some sex appeal from the costume she is wearing. The models eyes are cut out of the picture which suggests secrecy. This can also enhance the sex appeal of the cover, a mysterious woman. This game can be played on the Wii console which is generally advertised as a family console, this is very far from their usual games they choose to release I have analysed both text and in conclusion, â€Å"Katy Perry – One of the Boys† is unconventional, this is shown through the scenery and camera angles. It also suggests imperfection through the scenery and use of text. This text is goes against the normal. This is probably to engage the audience. â€Å"Tomb Raider – Under World† sends out mixed signals because of the age that is allowed to play this game and the violence that is suggested is in this game because of props and scenery. Also the fact it is playable on the Wii console would usually mean it is a family game. Both texts are unusual in different ways, but this in fact makes them stand out more.

Differences Between The Impacts Of Hurricane Katrina And Cyclone Nargis

Tropical revolving storms have a marked influence on the areas they consume. Whether it’s at the point of striking (our primary effects) or the secondary factors days/months/years afterwards: they impact on the social, environmental and economic stature of an area. This is evident when comparing two of the most notable tropical revolving storms in the last decade. Hurricane Katrina hit the MEDC coast of Louisiana and the Mississippi in the form of a category 5 storm and the category 4 cyclone Nargis hit the LEDC nation, Burma, particularly the Irrawaddy delta.Despite similar magnitudes the impacts of these two tropical revolving storms varied- so how and why was this? A telling factor of the impacts is the initial effect on the people in the event of the storms. Significantly hurricane Katrina had its most serious effect on the densely populated area of New Orleans. The storm burst the banks of the Mississippi with gusts of wind up to 345km/h and caused widespread flooding par ticularly to the vulnerable low lying regions of the lower 9nth ward, this quickly became the major cause of death with up to 90% of initial deaths as a result of drowning with powerful current s sweeping people away.In total with the combined force of floods and wind up to 1 million people became homeless and 1,833 died. When looking at the same factors in the Irrawaddy delta, Nargis caused almost 10x the amount of death: 138,000 lost their lives with 2. 4million immediately homeless as a result of again strong 220km/h winds and flooding. Immediately then we can see a profound difference on a relatively similar impact region. This is where the infrastructure of an MEDC comes into place.To reduce the initial impacts 50% of the New Orleans population evacuated using their private cars or school buses after being warned by advanced early warning systems in place across the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally many buildings around New Orleans many of the buildings were high-rise brick/concret e constructions therefore escaped the effects of flooding, so not as many homes were completely destroyed. Alternatively in a LEDC (Burma) the area has little infrastructure or no means of evacuation: helicopters, cars, buses were not available.Buildings too did not meet the same building regulations in the USA so strong winds destroyed many homes. So how did these initial social impacts conspire to the coming days/months/years? What were the secondary effects on the people? There is evidence that shows political influences of both the USA and Burma actually worsened the social impact on the people. In Burma the state is controlled by the military or ‘Junta’ and to preserve national pride (amongst other reasons) they did not initially allow for emergency aid. This resulted in a weak slow response leaving over 2. 4 million people with no shelter, water or food, and basic sanitation.Finally 7 days later the Junta allowed the most basic supplies from the UN and other East Asian countries. Added with the poor infrastructure of an LEDC by this time thousands more had died from starvation as well as outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera so in terms of long term social affects those who had survived grew weaker by the day. Moving further in the future it’s believed more than 7% of the current Burmese population are living permanently in plastic shelters as a result of low GDP per capita, characterising LEDCs as a whole, the secondary social impacts were large also.How about the MEDC then? In the event of hurricane Katrina we can see how the USA’s- despite the world’s largest economy (at the time) – government influences slowed the relief effort which in result impacted the social impact. Firstly the federal government’s relief budget could not be accessed immediately due to no emergency congress occurring before the storm hit. The Louisiana state government too were criticised for reacting slowly as well as t he overall amount of relief workers was reduced by up to 60% as a result of the war in Afghanistan.So similarly with Burma the areas with up to 90% destruction faced shelter, water, food and sanitary issues. However with the economic power of USA and improved infrastructure and advanced emergency services including the US coast guard and fire services many people homeless initially took refuge in emergency shelters and even the New Orleans super dome meant over 100,000 found the basic needs quickly- reducing the death and disease characteristic in cyclone Nargis. Although with MEDC’s capacity of wealthy property: crime and looting was a real problem in New Orleans especially after one of the main prisons being evacuated.Something that was less prominent Burma. Socially then, both long and short term, for the basic needs cyclone Nargis had a more profound impact on the people as New Orleans suffered differently as a result of different economic stature in the USA. From the soc ial effects then, we can clearly see that many homes in both the Irrawaddy delta and New Orleans were destroyed to leave so many homeless, yet the impact of both Katrina and Nargis had a wider spread effect on the environment.The US geological survey has estimated 217 square miles of land was transformed by flooding caused by Katrina- and within this many communities, businesses, and public services were destroyed, with 80% of all dwellings damaged in some way. Other significant effects include 20% of all local marshes being permanently damaged, 16 national wildlife refuges damaged and 7 million gallons of oil being leaked into water systems.Drawing in the social effects again we can see how the effect on the initial environment impacts made up to 1 million people homeless however when we start to look at the secondary factors I believe the impacts where minor. Once the people were evacuated and received emergency aid the main environmental impact in the coming weeks/years (evidence d above) was on the wildlife or the economy- despite this being important (as I will elaborate later) it did not have any immediate danger to the people long term.In stark contrast the vast flat environment of the Irrawaddy delta is the life support system that feeds, cleans and pays the people of south Burma. The 3 main environmental factors were impacted on hugely by cyclone Nargis: the shrimp industry was 100% damaged immediately with the destruction of boats and shallow delta waters, over 200,000 livestock were killed which were used for meat or milk or as crop harvesters, and 80-90% of all rice crops were destroyed by sea waters.This then immediately meant people died so the primary environmental impacts were huge. Unlike Katrina in the USA the environmental impact then worsened in the secondary stages. With no boats the shrimp industry has still not returned to full strength to this day and the rice paddies damaged could not be used up to 12 months afterwards with no full harv est till the following year- today many of the paddies have been completely destroyed and there was a large shortage of livestock in the years following Nargis.So then the impact on the environment for the people of Burma was far more detrimental than the environmental impacts of Katrina again enhanced by the LEDC status, but we can see how these effects transpired into the social effects we saw before and indeed economic impacts. Economic impacts always tend to be a secondary issue but both Katrina and Nargis were given an estimated figure for the scale of damage on the economy- and this is certainly telling when looking at the differences in impacts of the two tropical storms. Cyclone nargis was estimated to cost $10 billion –Katrina: $150 billion.This is a clear difference and in many ways, unlike the social and environmental impacts, the LEDC is far better off. AS I mentioned before LEDCs have less infrastructure therefore when cyclone Nargis hit Burma there was far less in terms of economic value to destroy, eventually to replace. Whereas in the USA the sustained infrastructure (distinctive in a MEDC) means there is far more to destroy: so there’s more to replace. Even 8 years after Katrina both on and an individual basis and internationally the USA are still paying for Katrina.The richer people were forced to use savings and insurance to rebuild homes, whereas federal run development programmes, such as the reconstruction of the lower 9nth ward are still taking place putting a huge burden on the federal and state governments. Smaller businesses have gone bust and even public services, like fire stations or forensic labs have shortfalls of millions of dollars to once again become operational. Nationally the economic impact is thought to have also influenced the prolonging of USA’s national recession to, which in turn has affected other trading national like the UK.On the other side in the LEDC of Burma despite similar shortfalls of mo ney to restore the nation to former ‘glory’ the process has more simple. International aid has eventually covered a much higher percentage of the damage costs because of this simplicity and overall cheaper cost- therefore with this aid money pledged by the UN and the Junta it has been a much easier process for the nation and individually. so we can see how long term these economic impacts are actually more ‘manageable’ for Burma after Nargis than those for the USA after Katrina.Concluding then, we can clearly highlight the differences in impacts as a result of hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis: socially, environmentally, and economically- both primarily and secondarily. I have noticed a difference in impacts based on the previous economic state of a country, when looking at these two tropical storms. Socially the impacts of Nargis far superseded that of Katrina both primarily and secondarily and I do not think this would have differed removing the poor p olitical influence both nations had.Whereas environmentally despite the initial impacts seeming worse in New Orleans as a result of Katrina, we can see that in Burma as with many LEDC’s the effect on the environment is far more detrimental in the years/months to come. I think this is because of the pure economic power of an MEDC like USA, it has the money to rebuild the environment in a matter of years- nevertheless this is the downfall of MEDC’s as we saw when looking at the superior economic impacts of Katrina compared to Nargis’s. Thus the severity of impact of these two tropical storms differs, not because of the magnitude, but because of the economic state.

Example of Argumentative Essay Essay

History shows reiteratively throughout the recorded times that the mark set for students will be predominately that which they aim for and mostly stop therein. If students are not shown any higher level of knowledge the students should at no time be expected to aim for that which they did not perceive. Students will indeed float to the mark you set. History has shown us many valuable illustrations; one of them would be the vast comparison between students during the Ottoman empire and students in the reign of the Spartan empire, the Spartans were taught that knowledge is crucial, if it helps you to fight, whilst the Ottomans were taught that knowledge was imperative if it was beneficial in any way. Because Spartan pupils were finite to knowledge that did not pertain to warfare, they were infinitesimally limited in any other area, and to no degree were able to match the heights of knowledge of the Ottoman student body, the mark for these learners had been set considerably inferior tha n that for the under-graduates of the Ottoman empire, and so the students attained the mark that was set and were prescribed no reason to surpass it. Therefore it is clear to recognize that the objective a teacher sets for their pupil is all that their pupil will ever feel the demand to accomplish. Students are comparable to a kayak in the sea trying to reach an island to anchor on, and the teacher is the equivalent of the current, the stronger they push to try to reach and help the students, the closer they get to the island. Because students are reliant on their instructors to provide them with an objective to grasp, the supervisors specified a mark, and the students float to the mark that was decided. Therefore the students need only fulfill that which their instructor has itemized for them, and that would be the mark that was stipulated. Since pupils will only feel the need to do what was required in distinction to them, they will inevitably isolate themselves to the mark that was set before them.

Golkonda Fort Essay

The 13th century Golconda Fort was built by the Kakatiya kings. In the 16th century, Golkonda was the capital and fortress city of the Qutb Shahi kingdom, near Hyderabad. The city was home to one of the most powerful Muslim sultanates in the region and was the center of a flourishing diamond trade. Golkonda was located 11 km west of the city of Hyderabad. According to a legend, the fort derives its name from Golla Konda, which is a Telugu word for Shepherd’s Hill. It is believed that a shepherdboy came across an idol on the hill. This led to the construction of a mud fort by the then Kakatiya dynasty ruler of the kingdom around the site. The city and fortress are built on a granite hill that is 120 meters (400 ft) high and is surrounded by massive crenelated ramparts. The beginnings of the fort date to 1143, when the Hindu Kakatiya dynasty ruled the area. The Kakatiya dynasty were followed by the state ofWarangal, which was later conquered by the Islamic Bahmani Sultanat. The fort became the capital of a major province in the Sultanate and after its collapse the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings. The fort finally fell into ruins after a siege and its fall to Mughal emperor Aurangazeb. After the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanat, Golkonda rose to prominence as the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty around 1507. Over a period of 62 years the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite, extending around 5 km incircumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 7 km outer wall enclosed the city. The state became a focal point for Shia Islam in India, for instance in the 17th century Bahraini clerics, Sheikh Ja`far bin Kamal al-Din and Sheikh Salih Al-Karzakani both emigrated to Golkonda.[4] The Qutb Shahi sultanate lasted until its conquest by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1687. The fortress held out against Aurangzeb for nine months, falling to the Mughals through treachery. Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as Bhaktha Ramadaasu, a devout Hindu who constructed Bhadrachalm temple without informing the sultan at that time Tana Shah, was kept in a jail located inside the fort. Golkonda consists of four distinct forts with a 10 km long outer wall with 87 semicircular bastions (some still mounted with cannons), eight gateways, and four drawbridges, with a number of royal apartments & halls, temples, mosques, magazines, stables, etc. inside. The lowest of these is the outermost enclosure into which we enter by the â€Å"Fateh Darwaza† studded with giant iron spikes near the south-eastern corner. At Fateh Darwaza can be experienced a fantastic acoustic effect, characteristic of he engineering marvels at Golkonda. A hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the ‘Bala Hisar’ pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometre away. This worked as a warning note to the royals in case of an attack. The whole of the Golconda Fort complex and its surrounding spreads across 11 km of total area, and discovering its every nook is an arduous task. A visit to the fort reveals the architectural beauty in many of the pavilions, gates, entrances and domes. Divided into four district forts, the architectural valour still gleams in each of the apartments, halls, temples, mosques, and even stables. The graceful gardens of the fort may have lost their fragrance, for which they were known 400 years ago Bala Hissar Gate is the main entrance to the fort located on the eastern side. It has a pointed arch bordered by rows of scroll work. The spandrels have yalis and decorated roundels. The area above the door has peacocks with ornate tails flanking an ornamental arched niche. The granite block lintel below has sculpted yalis flanking a disc. The design of peacocks and lions is a blend of Hindu – Muslim architecture. Toli Masjid, situated at Karwan, about 2 km from the Golkonda fort, was built in 1671 by Mir Musa Khan Mahaldar, royal architect of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The facade consists of five arches, each with lotus medallions in the spandrels. The central arch is slightly wider and more ornate. The mosque inside is divided into two halls, a transverse outer hall and an inner hall entered through triple arches. Much thought went in to building this gate. A few feet in front of the gate is a large wall. This prevented elephants and soldiers (during enemy attacks) from having a proper ramp to run and break the gate. The fort of Golconda is known for its magical acoustic system. The highest point of the fort is the â€Å"Bala Hissar†, which is located a kilometer away. The palaces, factories, water supply system and the famous â€Å"Rahban† cannon, within the fort are some of the major attractions. It is believed that there is a secret underground tunnel that leads from the â€Å"Durbar Hall† and ends in one of the palaces at the foot of the hill. The fort also contains the tombs of the Qutub Shahi kings. These tombs have Islamic architecture and are located about 1 km north of the outer wall of Golconda. They are encircled by beautiful gardens and numerous exquisitely carved stones. It is also believed that there was a secret tunnel to Charminar. The two individual pavilions on the outer side of Golconda are also major attractions of the fort. It is built on a point which is quite rocky. The â€Å"Kala Mandir† is also located in the fort. It can be seen from the king’s durbar (king’s court) which was on top of the Golconda Fort. The wonderful acoustic system of Golconda fort speaks volumes about the architecture of the fort. This majestic structure has beautiful palaces and an ingenious water supply system. Sadly, the unique architecture of the fort is now losing its charm. The ventilation of the fort is absolutely fabulous having exotic designs. They were so intricately designed that cool breeze could reach the interiors of the fort, providing a respite from the heat of summer.