Saturday, November 9, 2019
Making Moral Decisions: George Orwell and Claire McCarthy Essay
When an incident occurs, people would like to deal with it in the way they prefer. However, there always are some situations that force people to make decisions that are opposite to their own will since people live in society and they need to consider otherââ¬â¢s opinions. No matter if people realize or not, it is hard to make decisions totally in terms of if they like it or not, because there are many factors which need to take into consideration like moral and ethics and the effect exerted on whole society and other peopleââ¬â¢s opinion. Both George Orwell and Claire McCarthy faced the dilemma of making a choice between their feelings and other peopleââ¬â¢s thoughts. In Orwellââ¬â¢s article ââ¬Å"Shooting an Elephantâ⬠, he describes a poor elephant that destroyed peopleââ¬â¢s homes and kills a man. The people in town wanted him, as sub-divisional police officer, to kill that elephant. Orwell in fact did not want to kill the elephant but he did because other peo ple wanted him to do and pressured him to make that choice. Claire McCarthy met a similar problem in her article ââ¬Å"Dog Labâ⬠. She knew dog lab was an efficient way for students like her to learn knowledge but she was feeling terrible and uncomfortable with killing dogs even though there were some values to do so. People in society approve of dog lab as the way to learn and they have not yet found other methods to substitute it. However, McCarthy believed in terms of morals and ethics she cannot kill an innocent dog. These two authors have no choice because they have to shoulder their responsibility. Orwell killed the elephant because he represented those people who dominate Burma and he needed to satisfy the masses in order to behave like the people in charge. McCarthy killed a dog during the experiment because she needed to well prepared for future operation on her patients. Making a decision is never easy especially when people faced with moral or ethical decisions, because those hard choices that could affect peopleââ¬â¢s lives always carried with obligations which people need toà shoulder. Choice is usually accompanied with conflicts since the one option people gain from choice is always at the cost of giving up another option. There are not always a way to obtain benefits from two o ptions just like that it is hard to satisfy two sides of people who hold different viewpoint. Orwell experienced a conflict and he wrote, ââ¬Å"To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heelsâ⬠¦The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white manââ¬â¢s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laugh at. But I did not want to shoot the elephant.â⬠(461) Orwell as a white man, especially as a sub-divisional police, is one of the people who implement imperialism on Burma. He needed to behave like the way he should be and need to take his position and show his ability. All above point out a way for him that was to kill the elephant. However, he did not want to kill the elephant at all, because he believed the elephant was innocent and did not deserve death penalty. These two sides of thought cause a conflict. McCarthy agreed with Orwellââ¬â¢s feeling when she met the similar situation, which is the conflict between innocent animals and her own benefits. She stated, ââ¬Å"I didnââ¬â¢t like the idea of doing the lab; it felt wrong. Yet for some reason I was embarrassed that I felt that way, and the lab seemed so important. The more I thought about it the more confused I became.â⬠(482) McCarthy in terms of ethics felt uncomfortable with dog lab. It was not fair to take othersââ¬â¢ life if they did nothing wrong. However, this is efficient way to learn knowledge as a medical student and she did not want to lose this chance. Both Orwell and McCarthy needed to make a choice between killing animal or not. This decision would be struggle since it related to morals and ethics and caused a conflict between peopleââ¬â¢s inner voice and what others want them to do. Following peopleââ¬â¢s inner feeling did not mean self-interest, because when conflicts occur peopleââ¬â¢s inner voice was more likely to be moral one rather than obeying othersââ¬â¢ opinion. If people make a decision of conflicts, no matter which side they chose they have to accept the consequence their decision caused. It is not always right for a person to do most people want him to do but it is a safe way since most people stand in his side and the consequence may be better than the result of his own thought. At this point, when conflicts occurred both Orwell and McCarthy followed the way which most of people chose or wante d them to do since theà better consequence would caused. Orwell stated, ââ¬Å" And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistiblyâ⬠¦that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white manââ¬â¢s dominion in the East.â⬠(461) Even though Orwell did not want to kill the elephant, he still did because he tried to make this incident to be simple and push it into a normal way. If Orwell kills the elephant, it will be reasonable and acceptable not only because the legal law but because satisfied Burmese desire as well, they got elephant meat as food. If Orwell did not kill the elephant the only result was Burmese would be more resentful to White men and may be cause further negative influence which would cause unstable of the society under imperialism. Compared with the consequence of two options, it should be better to choose to kill the elephant. Similarly, McCarthy chose to do dog lab after serious consideration and believe it should be better to do experiment. She stat ed ââ¬Å"I was quiet during these discussions. I did not want to kill a dog, but I certainly wanted to take advantage of every learning opportunity offered meâ⬠¦Doing well had become so important that I was afraid to trust anyone; doing well had become more important than anything.â⬠(481) Although McCarthy felt uncomfortable to kill the dog, she wanted to learn knowledge. If she did not come to experiment, others students would learn more knowledge than she did so that they can do much better in following study. In another aspect, she thought kill the innocent dog was not good but actually she did not experience dog lab before so that can not just deny the value of this experiment. She need to have a try to help her confirm what she real want to do in the future. Both authors take the consequence of their action into account and then make the better choice, because moral decision are not simply end by making the choice and it always followed by responsibility. Each decision people make will cause corresponding results which means people need to take responsibility when they are making decisions. However, shouldering responsibility not only happened when people are making decisions but happened after making choice as well. In Orwellââ¬â¢s article, he stated, à ¢â¬Å"I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart mustà be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not dieâ⬠¦. I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise.â⬠(463) When Orwell decided to kill the elephant and took his duty as police officer, he also needed to take responsibility for this elephantââ¬â¢s life. Based on morals and ethics, after shooting the elephant Orwell wanted end its life soon and did not make elephant suffering from pain. Even though he can not change others thoughts and save the elephant, he tried to shoulder responsibility for the elephantââ¬â¢s life after making decision. At this point, McCarthy behaved like what Orwell did after she decided to kill the dog. She said, ââ¬Å"Helping with the anesthesia, I thought, would be taking full responsibility for what I was doning, something that was very important to me. I was going to face what I was doingâ⬠¦ Maybe in part I thought of it as my penance.â⬠(482) McCarthy really struggled for choosing to kill the dogs or not. However, after making the decision, McCarthy insisted on helping with the anesthesia because she knew she needed to take charge of dogsââ¬â¢ lives. When she decided to kill the dog, it carried with responsibility which means to start an incident from the beginning to the ending and treat every part seriously. After this experience, McCarthy firmly thought dog lab was really wrong for her and she made a decision to make some changes which also can be regarded as the way to shoulder responsibility. It is not difficult to find the common point that both authors choose to take their responsibility after making the choice in terms of morals and ethics. As the member of society, people need to realize the significant of taking the responsibility after making decisions. In modern society, there are always conflicts occur between what a person want to do and what others or the society what him to do about moral problems. However, it is not hard to make the decision because when people compared with the consequence which two options would caused, they can always find the better choice for the situation. After making decisions, people need to think about their responsibility. Both George Orwell and Claire McCarthy show the good quality after making decision which is not only shoulder their responsibility but also try to make change when they feel their decision are not good at all. At beginning of Orwellââ¬â¢s article, it was easy to tell his resentful for imperialism and implied he would leave his job and sought for change one day. Similarly, at the ending of McCarthy, she suggested afterà her experiment she realized doing dog lab was not the method she wanted to learn and she would like to change the other way to go. Accordingly, when people faced moral decisions, as the member of modern society, they need to choose they way which they can obtain better consequence and have ability to take the responsibility. These are peopleââ¬â¢s basic obligations to deal with moral conflicts.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Madagascar
Madagascar Free Online Research Papers Madagascar was found by accident in the 1500s by Diego Dias Madagascar is located in Indian Ocean off the south-east of Africa. Also Madagascar is one of the largest is lands in the world, it takes up 587 thousand sq. km. and it has 18.6 million inhabitants. In Madagascar a total of 73% of the population is living in rural areas. The country was a former French colony, and got its independence in June 26, 1960. In the 1960s, Madagascar was one of the better-off African countries as far as income and living standards. After that Madagascar lost this position because of seven decades of economic mismanagement. Madagascar is one of worldââ¬â¢s poorest countries. According to the 2005 household survey, more than two-thirds of the population 68.7% lives below the poverty line. The poverty rate in rural areas much higher than it is in urban areas. Since the current government took over in 2002, it has transformed and has better improvements in social, economic. Also the economy grew at an average of 5 percent each year and poverty has gone down to 69% from when it was 80 percent in 2002. These good developments and the smooth presidential elections in December 2006, Marc Ravalomanana who won was re-elected offer hopeful signs that Madagascar has stepped onto a path to sustained development, breaking with the history of economic mismanagement and periodic crises that impoverished the people. But Madagascar still has a long way to go some of the challenges are population growth, now 2.7 percent a year, putting big demands on the government and the economy they first have to educate people, then to make more income opportunities for them. Furthermore, Madagascar faces the challenge keeping its unique environment and biodiversity which are of global significance. In 2006 Madagascar continued to make good progress in bettering its poverty reduction strategy with good progress in the bettering of the roads program, education for all, nutrition, and health. Economic growth is about at 4.9 percent in 2006, it has gotten there by strong tertiary sector growth, but agricultural growth was not good it was lower than in 2005, with production impacted negatively by shortfalls in rain and low world prices for key export such as vanilla. The tertiary sector grew strongly by 8.9 percent, with public works, tourism and transport, banking and the telecommunications sectors as the key growth sectors. So to sum everything up Madagascar is doing better and growing in population. Also the government is coming up with more plans to better Madagascar. A lot of people come to Madagascar to see, Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve comprises karstic landscapes and limestone uplands cut into impressive tsingy peaks and a forest of limestone needles, the spectacular canyon of the Manambolo river, rolling hills and high peaks. The undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are the habitat for rare and endangered lemurs and birds. Also people like to visit the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga consists of a royal city and burial site, and an ensemble of sacred places. It is associated with strong feelings of national identity, and has maintained its spiritual and sacred character both in ritual practice and the popular imagination for the past 500 years. It remains a place of worship to which pilgrims come from Madagascar and elsewhere. Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique Map Reference: Africa Area Comparative: Slightly less than twice the size of Arizona Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 4,828km Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center Natural resources: graphite, chromites, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower Land use: Arable land: 4.99%, Permanent crops: 1.03%, other: 93.98% (2000 EST.) Natural Hazards: periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation Environment current issues: soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered Environment international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Geography note: worlds fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel Population: 17,501,871 (July 2004 EST.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.9% (male 3,935,523; female 3,922,077) 15-64 years: 52% (male 4,509,877; female 4,596,662) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 245,168; female 292,564) (2004 EST.) Median age: total: 17.4 Years, male: 17.2 Years, female: 17.7 years (2004 EST.) Population growth rate3.03% (2004 EST.): Birth rate: 41.91 births/1,000 population (2004 EST.) Death rate: 11.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 EST.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 populations (2004 EST.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female, under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female, 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female, 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female, total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 EST.) Infant mortality rate: total: 78.52 deaths/1,000 live births, female: 69.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.), male: 86.84 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.54 years, male: 54.19 years, female: 58.96 years (2004 EST.) Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (2004 EST.) HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 EST. HIV/AIDS people living with HIV/AIDS: 22,000 (2001 EST.) HIV/AIDS deaths: 870 (2001 EST.) Nationality: noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy Ethnic groups: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% Languages: French (official), Malagasy (official) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write, total population: 68.9%, male: 75.5%, female: 62.5% (2003 EST.) Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar, conventional short form: Madagascar, local short form: Madagascar, former: Malagasy Republic, local long form: Republique de Madagascar Government type: republic Capital: Antananarivo Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side Mahajanga There are many more tourist attractions in Madagascar despite the many problems. Music: plays a big part in Malagasy people lives. One Malagasy proverb said if you if do your work with music, it will be completed in a flash. So they always mingle music with everything they do, In Madagascar cab drivers play music all the time in their cabs. Kids who play frolic in the backyard habitually sing and dance together, men and women in the rice field used to finish their labor with songs, people who work in the office listen regularly to music while working, so on and so fourth. Music is everywhere. You can always catch a mixed bag of joyful music in the very heart of Antananarivo as well as in the midst of Horombe desert, thanks to thousands of exuberant rhythms that exist all over the Island. In general, musicââ¬â¢s from provinces other than Antananarivo have fast rhythms, whereas the ones from the capital are relatively cool. Research Papers on MadagascarPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductDefinition of Export QuotasQuebec and CanadaTwilight of the UAWThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBringing Democracy to AfricaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Learning the Alphabet in German
Learning the Alphabet in German German has often been viewed by non-Germans as a harsh sounding language. That may be due in part to the more guttural pronunciation of certain German alphabet sounds and diphthongs and perhaps even a still lingering effect of old WWII movie stereotypes. Once non-German speakers familiarize themselves with Germanââ¬â¢s different sounds, however, another kind of poetic beauty will unfold before them that has been revered worldwide in the works of many German greats, such as Goetheà and Schiller through prose and song. Unique Characteristics of the German Alphabet More than 26 letters in the alphabet - German has a so-called extended Latin alphabetThe extra letters are , à ¶, à ¼ and ßThe pronunciation of some of these letters do not exist in the English languageSeveral letters are pronounced more from the back of the throat: g, ch, r (though in Austria the r is trilled).The W in German sounds like the V in EnglishThe V in German sounds like the F in EnglishMost of the time the S in German sounds like Z in English when placed at the beginning of a word followed by a vowel.The letter ß will never appear at the beginning of a word. Das Deutsche Alphabet (The German Alphabet) Click on the following letters to hear them pronounced. (Audio saved as .wav files.) Buchstabe/ Letter Aussprache des Buchstabenamens/ Pronunciation of letter name Aussprache des Buchstaben - wie in/ Sound of Letter - as in Beispiele/ Examples A a ah astronaut der Adler (eagle), Januar (January) B b approximate: bay baby der Bruder (brother), aber (but) C c approximate: tsay creative, Celcius (soft c sound in German sounds like ts) der Chor, der Christkindlmarkt (south German term for der Weihnachtsmarkt/ Christmas market), Celcius D d approximate: day dollar Dienstag (Tuesday), oder (or) E e approximate: ay elegant essen (to eat), zuerst (first) F f eff effort der Freund (friend), offen (open) G g approximate: gay gorgeous gut (good), gemein (mean) H h haa hammer der Hammer, dieMà ¼hle (mill) I i eeh Igor der Igel (porcupine), der Imbiss (snack), sieben (seven) J j yot yellow das Jahr (year), jeder (each) K k kah camel das Kamel, der Kuchen (cake) L l ell love die Leute (people), das Land (land) M m em man der Mann, die Ameise N n en nice nicht (not), die Mà ¼nze (coin) O o oh oven Ostern (Easter),rot (red) P p approximate: pay party die Polizei (police), der Apfel Q q koo coral das Quadrat (square), die Quelle (source)Note: All German words start with qu (kw - sound) R r approximate: er rich der Rà ¼cken (the back), der Stern (star) S s es zoo, shine, mouse summen (to hum), schà ¶n (pretty, nice), die Maus T t approximate: tay tyrant der Tyrann, acht (eight) U u ooh ou sound in you die Universitt (university), der Mund (mouth) V v fow father der Vogel (bird), die Nerven (nerves) W w approximate: vay van die Wange (cheek), das Schwein (pig, wieviel (how much) X x ix sounds like kz das Xylofon/ Xylophon, die Hexe (witch)Note: There are hardly any German words that start with X Y y uep-si-lohn yellow die Yucca, der YetiNote: There are hardly any German words that start with Y. Z z tset sounds like ts die Zeitung (newspaper), der Zigeuner (gypsy) Umlaut ß Aussprache des Buchstaben/ Pronunciation of Letter Beispiele/ Examples sounds similar to the e in melon hnlich (similar), ghnen (to yawn) à ¶ sounds similar to the i in girl Ãâ"sterreich (Austria), der Là ¶we (lion) à ¼ no equivalent nor approximate sound in English à ¼ber (over),mà ¼de (tired) ß (esszet) double s sound heiß (hot),die Straße (street)
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Marketing strategy and management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Marketing strategy and management - Coursework Example However the pricing strategy based on the experience curve effect of the production process should not be infinite. This means that the pricing strategy should not be based on the maximum production level. This is mainly because at the maximum level of production, the company will not be able to increase its output. Price should thus be set on a production capacity that is reasonable, for example 70 or 80%. There are very many reasons why a company would chose to use the experience curve effect for its market pricing strategy. This is because of the various implications it has on such strategies. The experience effect helps a company to attain a larger market share and this enables the development of a cost advantage. By using this curve to develop a marketing strategy, the company sets a price that it deems fit to the product and that will offer competition to other products in the market .The use of this curve also forces a company to improve its efficiency and effectiveness so as to reach the production level from which the experience effect has been calculated. There are however few discrepancies that are associated with the use of the experience curve. For example, the curve effects apply to real costs and prices only. This means that in situations where this curve is used, an index or notation must be formulated. This particular index renders prices and costs exhibited at different time periods on a platform or a basis that is comparable. The consequence of this is that the index may consume a significant portion of the profits accumulated after production and in the process; the experience effect is washed out. The second argument against the use of the cumulative curves is that it does not apply to calendar time but only to the cumulative experience. The company should therefore take into consideration all these factors when determining whether to use the experience curve effect in its
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Flex Time Initiative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Flex Time Initiative - Assignment Example Some professions like doctors and lawyers spend a lot of their time in their work and sometimes their social life or marriage life might be interfered. Looking from both angles, one is required to perform at both places, and failure to do so always leads to great repercussions. A person who concentrates more in his or her workplace than his or her home, sometimes have familial issue. A person who concentrates more on his family than on his or her job often have job problem. Hence finding a way to balance between the two components is vital in maintaining these two places in harmony (Ralston, 2006). In modern life, it is quite challenging to achieve a balanced professional and personal life. Times are really changing and people are trying to squeeze time to do other stuffs (Ralston, 2006). Some people do have passions they would like to achieve, studies they would like to pursue, secret affairs they would like to establish, management between personal life and work life can be essenti al. A person who draws a line between these two places and manages them well is a happy person since he or she is able to experience the thrill of all places at the right time and place. One way of one achieving such balance between work life and personal life is by achieving flexibility. This is a concept where one plans on how to be flexible between the two areas. One way one can accomplish this in busy situation is by job sharing. Flexibility is usually an added advantage to a person in terms of establishing a balance between job life and personal life. A person whose work is more involving till he does not get time to go home, can arrange with his or her co worker to carry some of his or her on agreed dates. One would also do the same for them in other times (Shallenbarger, 2010). Flex time, a concept that implies having flexible work arrangements can also be beneficial to some people in balancing between person al life and job work. Flex time could be represented by letting wor kers work where they would want to work. This practice is becoming more popular in many institutions like the legal departments and law firms (Ralston, 2006). This flex time initiative, also allows workers who work full-time to enjoy some time off at certain times of the year. The notion of flex time could include hours, workdays, weekends, holidays and other work arrangements. In this case, one is given some time outside the normal work place to straighten to establish a rapport with his or her personal life. In some jobs, people tend to work until they lose their head, but with flex times, at least one is relieved of his or her duties on some days. By so doing, flex time helps workers meet the demands of their personal lives (Ralston, 2006). As an initiative established in high risk or involving jobs, flex time is an initiative that relieves someone of work stress and increasing productivity by establishing a balance between personal life and work place. According to studies carri ed out on the relationship between working at work place and personal life, researchers found out that the two are related. When a person has work problems, he or she has a tendency of extending it into his or her personal life, the same when he or she has a problem in his or her personal life. Hence maintaining a balance between the two aspects is healthy in providing a good working environment (Lee, 2010). Another flex time initiat
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Science in an Educational Context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words
Science in an Educational Context - Essay Example Apart from discussing the philosophy of science, this paper would reveal the true extent to which national framework over the years has matched the aims of the science subject. It would discuss how far it has been capable of evolving scientific philosophy into the curriculum while improving the youth. Of course, the paper would analyse scientific philosophical implementations into modern day curriculum and the analysis of the depth as to how far the curriculum has addressed scientific theories and practical on different levels. After all, according to White (2003) it is through the anticipation of school subjects that young minds are able to achieve certain end points (White, 2003, p. 1). It would be better to discuss first the philosophy of education and the role it has played in developing National curriculum. Education not only demonstrates societal values but reflects the true morals of any society, therefore reshaping education standards elucidate the kind of society one want to be. Science in this context plays a vital role in recognising a set of common values and applying those values in the school curriculum so that the upcoming generation produces scientists and philosophers rather than producing simple graduates. Resolving the debate about the role science plays in education, most authors believe in the notion that among school subjects, science is usually the best subject which serves as a guide to nourish the minds by providing them the opportunity to observe future behavior of things, for example comets, bridges and power plants. Modern day example also includes different levels of technology. Philosophy of science has enabled our schools as well as students to seek around the most reliable means for predicting scientific explanations and various discoveries about science that occur in the world around us. It is through the contributions of scientific philosophy that new curriculum 2000 has added subjects like 'scientific literacy' as compulsory science education (SIS, 2009a). The same awareness in the longer run leads to diversify subjects like genetics and brain science that offer students to analyse the prospect of a physical science of human beings and their behaviour. It is through the miracles of science that philosophers have aided us with such entities that are hypothesized by modern science, such as genes, viruses, atoms, black holes, and most forms of electromagnetic radiation that remain unobservable. So, whatsoever the scientific method is adopted to equip our generation and however the subject is justified, teachers ought to believe in the practical and theoretical approach that the curriculum tells us about scientific reality beyond the appearances of things (Ladyman, 2002, p. 129). National Curriculum in the context of Historical development In the pages of educational history, the Foster Act 1970 set a foundation of a national school system but was still unable to fill in the gaps left by religious institutes. Foster's 1870 Education Act, though provided an edge to a growing economy but on a political basis where the main aim was to educate laborers. This way children aged 5 to 12 started getting education with an intention of acquiring a least standard of education for everyone. Since the main aim was to provide industrial efficiency to the state under the umbrella of political diplomacy, therefore British government lagged behind
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Effect of Colours on Blood Pressure
Effect of Colours on Blood Pressure ABSTRACT This project was designed to determine the effect of different colours on blood pressure. A total of 24 subjects were required to look at specific colour for 2 minutes. Their respective blood pressure was measured respectively before and after each experiment. Time interval of 3 minutes after each measurement was set up to ensure blood pressure falls back to normal value before the next colour exposure. Friedman test was carried out to test the data and this led to the rejection of null hypothesis. To conclude, there was sufficient evidence from the statistical testing to suggest that different colours in our daily life can affect our blood pressure. RESEARCH AND RATIONALE Colour is perceived by human eyes when different wavelengths composing white light are selectively interfered by matter.1c Humans can see colours due to the cones present mainly in the middle of our retina and a few on the periphery.1a Each eye contains six million cones with pigment that is sensitive to either red, green or blue.1b Sensation of light and visual sharpness are created through transmission of high levels of light intensity.1a Colour with wavelengths between that of primary colours stimulates a combination of cones. As a result, all colours can be detected in the visible spectrum which is about 400 to 700 nanometers.1b,1c One interesting fact about our eyes is that they can perceive more variations in warmer colours than cooler ones as almost two-third of the cones process the longer light wavelength.1a The picture below shows the respective wavelength each cone is sensitive to. Both scientific and psychological effects of colour are suggested by many top scientists or researchers. The study of psychological effect of colour is defined as chromology.1d Maryland study by University of Loyola stated that colour increases brand recognition up to 80 percent.1g Improvement of readership, learning and comprehension with the help of colours is also noted.3a,3b Another interesting observation is recorded by Paul E. Boccumini, director of clinical services of San Bernardino County Probation Department in California. Children under detention are observed to cool down within 10 minutes after they are put in a room of bubble gum pink.4a Meanwhile, scientific application of colour in medical field is the usage of lights in full spectrum to cure depression for Seasonal Affective Disorder especially during winter months when the people are deprived of light.1e,2a Hence, the ancient and once dishonoured field of chromotherapy is regenerated. Red is used to stimulate the body and increase circulation while yellow is thought to play a role in body purification. Blue soothes illness.1f This experiment was carried out to investigate the true effect of colours on blood pressure and whether different colours affect us differently. If colours are found to really affect our body differently, then more attention should be put into colour consideration in fields such as marketing, education, art, and medicine. A person of high blood pressure should be more aware of the colour of their living and working environment. Colour surrounds us all the time. If we can fully understand and use it, it will undoubtedly influence and change our everyday life. Statistical analysis showed that there is a significant difference in the effect of different colours on blood pressure. Red and yellow increases blood pressure, blue decreases blood pressure while green and black have fluctuated stabilising effect. This proved that it the effects of colours are biological and not merely due to psychological effect or experimental error. From the table we could conclude that yellow showed greater increase in blood pressure with a higher mean and median of 11.54 and 10.50 respectively. However, it had results over a big range of data from minimum increase of +4 to a maximum increase of +29 and a highest standard deviation of 5.93 compared to other colour, which limited the creditability of the data. By plotting a box plot, we could determine that +29 is an outlier. Psychological effects that have been suggested for this colour are anger provoking and activeness. Nevertheless, compared to yellow colour, a significant increase was also noted for red colour. But, red colour recorded shown a smaller range of data, and hence, smaller value of standard deviation, which made the data more reliable than the yellow colour. Furthermore, it was also interesting to note that the box plot of red colour was positively skewed with more people showing greater increase than the median. Red colour is more commonly associated with excitement and awareness of danger. Blue colour, which is always linked to sadness and calmness, showed a neutral box plot with no skewing of data on the other hand. It was more concentrated with most people showed decrease between -3.00 and -7.00. Therefore, it could be concluded that blue decreases our blood pressure. The range of data is also smaller than that of yellow colour. Green colour, a colour of stability, showed a positively screwed data of a mean of -0.17. Therefore, the effect of green is hard to be explained and might have slightly opposing effects under different circumstances. The differences and fluctuations of data could be due to cultural association and personal experience as well. Some fluctuation could be due to experimental error. Last but not the least, three outliers were calculated for black colour. Though having a very small inter-quartile range, black colour portrayed the second largest standard deviation (5.52). Black is suggested to be a neutral colour. Yet, a few subjects displayed a very high increase of blood pressure when exposed to black colour. It could be due to sleepiness, or fear of dark environment. Although the real scientific mechanisms of colours on our body are still undefined, but effects of colour are not directly psychological. This opinion was also voiced by Mr. Birren, an expert of colour. Alexander Schauss, a CEO and Senior Director of Natural and Medicinal Products Research at AIBMR Life Sciences, found interaction of colours in some unknown way with pituitary and pineal glands and hypothalamus deep in the brain which controls basic body functions and emotional responses. One or more brain neurotransmitter are affected by minute amount of electromagnetic energy according to Professor Harold Wahlfarth, president of Colour Science in German Academy and photo-biologist at the University of Alberta.4a Exposure to pure red light has been shown to stimulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Pure blue light, on the other hand, lowers the heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure with special effect on the parasympathetic branch.2aÃâà In conclusion, colours can affect our blood pressure and different colours affect blood pressure differently. EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENT Limitation Firstly, the subjects were of different cultural backgrounds and could have different life experiences that lead to change of mood and blood pressure when subjected to a certain colour which links to their past. Results obtained could be due to personal psychological effect instead of the pure biological effect of colour. Furthermore, digital blood pressure monitor was used. Small fluctuations of data could occur and might be assumed to be change of blood pressure. Besides, the subjects involved in this investigation were of small sample and involved merely college-aged students. It was not an exact representative of the true population of general-aged students. Limited availability of participants also occurred as the students tested were only from one college. Moreover, a humans feelings are not controllable. Subjects might feel nervous or bored throughout the whole experiment even though a briefing was given beforehand. Sources of error and ways to improve The blood pressure might not be measured at exactly 2nd minute as there could be slight delay or increase of reaction time. In order to increase the validity and reliability of the result, reaction time is trained before the experiment. Second data cannot be taken as this will influence the time of measuring and also time of exposure to colours. Blood pressure of normal humans also varied slightly throughout the day due to hunger, sleepiness and also a full meal. Therefore, all the experiments should be carried out within the period of 2p.m. to 5p.m. to prevent fluctuations of data. Besides, the colour intensity exposed to the subjects might have varied a little bit due to the surrounding light although clothes were used. The environment could have changed throughout the experiments as not all the subjects data are collected in one day. Fluctuating weather, sunlight intensity, temperature and humidity all might influence the mood and feeling of subjects which indirectly affect the reliability of the experiment. Human are complex subjects. The experiment should be carried out in a constant air conditioned room with the same fluorescent light so that minimum changes of colour intensity can be achieved. Further research Study can also be done on the effect of colour on mood, stress, work performance and memory. As colour can affect our blood pressure, it might affect our daily mood and performance. Therefore, a good choice of colour in our surroundings can be made in order to achieve greater and better performance. A comparison between effects of colour on different gender can also be made as males and females have different anatomy. Hence, there could be interesting findings. CONCLUSION There is significant difference between the effects of different colours on blood pressure. Red colour and yellow colour increase blood pressure while blue colour decreases blood pressure. Green colour and black colour have fluctuating effects. Experimental hypothesis was accepted. EVALUATION OF SOURCES Sources 1 (b), (e), and (g) are all operated by educated professors. Source 1(e) is operated by Judie C. Snelson who is a Holistic Health Practitioner with a Masters Degree in Behavioural Science and a PHD in Religion. Source 1(g) is operated by Professor Jill Morton who gives seminars about colour and marketing, colour theory and everything that colour impacts. Lastly, Source 1(b) is established in 1997 by Professional Colour Therapist and Colour consultant- Valerie Logan-Clarke. Therefore, all the information of these sources is highly reliable. On the other hand, Source 1(a), (c), (d), (f) and (h) are supported by big company and are very experienced. Source 1(a) is established by Pantone LLC, world-renowned authority on colour and provider of colour systems. It is a leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of colour across a variety of industries. Source 1(c) is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education. Source 1(d) is based in UK and has been practising for over 10 years. Source 1(f) is a part of New York Times Company. Source 1(h) offers clear understanding of statistics basic learning. It is new with copyright 2010. All of this sites and companies are awarded and are ranked trustworthy. Besides, newspapers, journals and books are all published. Therefore, they are definitely valid as sources of references. The authors are knowledgeable and are well-regarded. The newspapers and journals are peer-reviewed and have been cited by other people. Therefore, I feel that they are strongly valid as a choice of references.
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