A Profile in Composition

A profile is a  biographical essay, usually developed through a combination of anecdote, interview, incident, and description. James McGuinness, a staff member at  The New Yorker  magazine in the 1920s, suggested the term profile (from the Latin, to draw a line) to the magazines editor, Harold Ross. By the time the magazine got around to copyrighting the term, says David Remnick, it had entered the language of American journalism (Life Stories, 2000). Observations on Profiles A Profile is a short exercise in biography--a tight form in which interview, anecdote, observation, description, and analysis are brought to bear on the public and private self. The literary pedigree of the profile can be traced from Plutarch to Dr. Johnson to Strachey; its popular modern reinvention is owed to The New Yorker, which set up shop in 1925 and which encouraged its reporters to get beyond ballyhoo to something more probing and ironic. Since then, with the wacky proliferation of media, the genre has been debased; even the word itself has been hijacked for all kinds of shallow and intrusive journalistic endeavors.(John Lahr, Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles. University of California Press, 2002)In 1925, when [Harold] Ross launched the magazine he liked to call his comic weekly [The New Yorker], he wanted something different--something sidelong and ironical, a form that prized intimacy and wit over biographical completeness or, God forbid, unabashed hero worship.  Ross t old his writers and editors that, above all, he wanted to get away from what he was reading in other magazines--all the Horatio Alger stuff. . . .The New Yorker Profile has expanded in many ways since Rosss time. What had been conceived of as a form to describe Manhattan personalities now travels widely in the world and all along the emotional and occupational registers. . . . One quality that runs through nearly all the best Profiles . . . is a sense of obsession. So many of these pieces are about people who reveal an obsession with one corner of human experience or another.  Richard Prestons Chudnovsky brothers  are obsessed with the number pi and finding the pattern in randomness; Calvin Trillins Edna Buchanan is an obsessive crime reporter in Miami who visits the scenes of disaster four, five times a day; . . . Mark Singers Ricky Jay is obsessed with magic and the history of magic. In every great Profile, too, the writer is equally obsessed. Its often the case that a writer will take months, even years, to get to know a subject and bring him or her to life in prose.(David Remnick, Life Stories: Profiles From The New Yorker. Random House, 2000) The Parts of a Profile One major reason writers create profiles is to let others know more about the people who are important to them or who shape the world in which we live. . . . [T]he introduction  to a profile needs to show readers that the subject is someone they need to know more about--right now. . . . Writers also use the introduction of a profile to highlight some key feature of the subjects personality, character, or values . . ..The body of a profile . . . includes descriptive details that help readers visualize the subjects actions and hear the subjects words. . . .Writers also use the body of a profile to provide logical appeals in the form of numerous examples that show that the subject is indeed making a difference in the community. . . .Finally, the conclusion of a profile often contains one final quote or anecdote that nicely captures the essence of the individual.(Cheryl Glenn,  The Harbrace Guide to Writing, concise 2nd ed. Wadsworth, Cengage, 201) Expanding the Metaphor In the classic Profile under [St. Clair] McKelway, the edges were smoothed out, and all effects--the comic, the startling, the interesting, and occasionally, the poignant--were achieved by the choreography, in characteristically longer and longer (but never rambling) paragraphs filled with declarative sentences, of the extraordinary number of facts the writer had collected. The Profile metaphor, with its implicit acknowledgment of limited perspective, was no longer appropriate. Instead, it was as if the writer were continually circling around the subject, taking snapshots all the way, until finally emerging with a three-dimensional hologram.(Ben Yagoda, The New Yorker and the World It Made. Scribner, 2000)

Symptoms And Delusions Of Schizophrenia - 1738 Words

Schizophrenia is described by the National Institute of Mental Health as â€Å"a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history† (n.d.). The most recognizable symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations involve experiencing sensory stimulation (hearing, seeing, feeling, etc.) when there is no stimulus present. Delusions are false beliefs. Common types of delusions experienced by people with schizophrenia are delusions of persecution, delusions of grandeur, delusions of reference, and delusions of control (Smith Segal, 2014). Delusions of persecution involve the belief that a person or someone they love is in grave danger, or someone is out to get them. Delusions of grandeur are beliefs that someone is famous or highly important, or they possess unique powers. Delusions of reference are characterized by the belief that mundane occurrences such as a commercial or dogs barking carry a special message meant for them. Delusions of control are beliefs that a person’s thoughts or behavior are being controlled by outside sources. Other symptoms of schizophrenia include disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and a variety of negative symptoms (Smith Segal, 2014). Disorganized speech includes loose associations (each thought only slightly related to the next, if at all), neologisms (made-up words), clanging (unnecessary use of rhyming), and word salad (jumbled speech without an organizational pattern). SignsShow MoreRelatedTreatment Options For Schizophreni Symptoms And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia1479 Words   |  6 Pages scientists and doctors have created various treatment options for schizophrenia based off scientific theories in their time. At one point physicians would perform brain surgery to remove a portion of brain from an individual suffering with schizophrenia that was responsible for the hallucinations and delusions the individual would experience. Although the su rgery might have decreased the amount of hallucinations and delusions experienced by the individual, it led to cognitive and emotional deficitsRead MoreTaking a Look at Schizophrenia828 Words   |  3 PagesSchizophrenia â€Æ' Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it difficult for someone to establish what is real and what is not real. Schizophrenia also makes it hard to think clearly or to establish your emotions. Having this disorder affects how a person acts and sees the world. Over 2.2 million people suffer from this mental illness. There are many symptoms for Schizophrenia. Although there is no cure, proper treatment can control these symptoms. A person with schizophrenia may often seeRead MoreTaking a Look at Schizophrenia997 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"mind† respectively. However, the more common symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thought. This paper will discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatments of schizophrenia. Causes of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia can arise from biological and environmental factors. Genetics are thought to play a role in the development of schizophrenia. It is currently unknown which genes are specifically involved in causing schizophrenia, but the it has been observed that the moreRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia1176 Words   |  5 Pages Symptoms The symptoms of schizophrenia are wide and varied, typically falling into three main categories, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms. Each of these symptom types affect the patient in different ways, and in different degrees of severity. The symptoms may range from mildly irritating, to severe and debilitating. Positive symptoms are behaviors not normally seen in healthy people. Negative symptoms are behaviors that are usually exhibited in healthy people but areRead MoreBiological, Psychological, And Sociocultural Viewpoints1130 Words   |  5 PagesBiological, psychological, and sociocultural viewpoints have been developed in an attempt to explain schizophrenia. All three viewpoints point out various factors that may contribute to the development of the disorder. Biological theorists believe that individuals may have a genetic predisposition for the schizophrenia if a close family member has been diagnosed with the disorder. Stress during adolescent years seems to provoke the disorder among individuals who have a family history of the disorderRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia1430 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Schizophrenia is very complex and â€Å"startling disorder characterized by a broad range of cognitive and emotional dysfunctions† (Barlow Durand, 2015, p. 477). It can greatly impact a person’s life in a negative manner: affecting physical, emotional, relational, and occupational health. The National Institute of Mental Health defines schizophrenia as a â€Å"chronic and severe disorder that affects how a person, think, feels, and acts† (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d., para. 1).Read MoreAccording to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s1100 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from wha t is not. â€Å"Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.† Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes† (NAMI). As stated by NIHMRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia1049 Words   |  5 Pages The Effects of Schizophrenia Madison M. Sulak Dr. Linstrum PSYCH 2301 East Texas Baptist University Fall 2015 Pg. 1 A brain disorder can be triggered by multiple different things such as a stroke, abnormal growths, any type of viral infection, or cancer. There are countless types of brain disorders that people are diagnosed with daily. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, â€Å"Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected peopleRead MoreAnalysis of Movie a Beautiful Mind Essay1703 Words   |  7 Pagespsychological disorder – Schizophrenia. â€Å"Schizophrenia is a group of disorders characterized by severely impaired cognitive processes, personality disintegration, affective disturbances, and social withdrawal.†# Schizophrenia is the disease of the brain itself which interferes with function of the brain, which can trigger symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, thought, movement and speech disorganization, inappropriate affect, which are called positive symptoms. There are also negative symptoms that includeRead MoreSympto ms, And Treatment Of Schizophrenia1413 Words   |  6 PagesOverview, Symptoms, and Treatment for Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is affecting people’s lives every day. There isn’t a cure for this disorder and it is lifelong. Schizophrenia can affect a person’s thoughts, emotions, and actions. People with this disorder can have a hard time figuring out what is real and what isn’t real. A common side effect to schizophrenia is hallucinations and delusions. Another common side effect is social withdrawal, which means that they avoid social

Report On Philippine History Free Essays

In 1839, Apolinario de la Cruz went to Manila to pursue priestly vocation under the Dominican order. He was not accepted on the gro8und that he was an Indio for the reason of all religious orders was closed to indios. In June 1840, Apolinario, known as Hermano Pule returned to Lucban, Tayabas Province, and founded the Confradia de San Jose, a nationalist fellowship which fostered the praise of Christian virtues. We will write a custom essay sample on Report On Philippine History or any similar topic only for you Order Now On November 1, 1841, LT. Col. Joaquin Huet, launched a massive assault on Alitao, killing hundreds of defenseless old men and women and children. Hermano Pule was captured the following evening at Barrio Ibanga and was executed on November 4, 1841. 24. MUSLIM WARS (1578-1898) The Spaniards made attempts to subdue the inhabitants of Mindanao by deploying its military forces in the South. The Muslims on the other hand, valiantly resisted and repulsed the colonizers. They retaliated by raiding territories under Spanish rule with varying degrees of intensity. The war between the Muslim Filipinos and the Spaniards lasted for more than 300 years. The Muslim wars were brought about by the Spanish invasion of Mindanao and Sulu, preservation of Islam, and the love of adventure arising from the spoils of wars. In 1597, the Spanish colonizers tried to seize Jolo and force the sultanate into submission. The Governor ordered the pacification of the place and payment of tribute by inhabitants to the colonial government. 25. THE RISE OF FILIPINO NATIONALISM Nationalism was said to have rooted from a strong feeling among populace that they belong to the same race. Such sentiment has not yet existed in the Philippines prior to the 19th century. Although the cultural traits of the early Filipinos had striking similarities, their linguistic differences as well as the local autonomy of each political unit in the archipelago barely yielded to the development of this national sentiment. The absence of adequate means of transportation and communication made the situation even more dismal. The following have been regarded in history as factors that gave rise to Filipino Nationalism: 1. Spread of liberalism. When Spain exposed the Philippines to international commerce in the late 18th and 19th century, liberal ideas from Europe filtered in. the thoughts of political philosophers were made known through books and periodicals brought into the country by men from foreign ports. 2. Sentiment against the principales. There was a mounting dissatisfaction against the principales accommodated as intermediaries of the Spanish government from the inception of its colonial rule. 3. Racial prejudice. The Spaniards commonly regarded the Filipino natives as belonging to the inferior race and haughtily called them as indios. The preconceived notion of the Spanish colonizers that the natives could not rise beyond their limited intelligence instigated the enlightened Filipinos to struggle for equality. 4. Cultural changes. The educational reforms of 1863 dramatically improved the standards of education in the primary level. With the implementation of a new education system, qualified Filipinos were able to pursue higher education. 5. Secularization controversy. The mandatory provision of the council of Trent affirmed that secular priests be appointed to administer the parishes in the colony. Due to lack of secular priests, pope pius V issued in 1567, upon the request of King Philip II, the Exponi Nobis, which allowed the regular clergy to serve as parish priests without diocesan authorization and be exempted from bishops’ authority. 6. Cavite mutiny of 1872. In 1868, a revolution led by the liberals in Spain deposed Queen Isabella II and gave rise to the provisional republic of spain. With the victory of the Spanish revolution, many colonial officials with democratic iseals were sent to Manila, which included Governor General Carlos Maria de la Torre in 1869. La Solidaridad (solidarity) A purely Filipino organization Established in Barcelona on December 31,1888 Galiciano Apacible was the president and Graciano Lopez Jaena as vice-president. To make known of the objectives of their propaganda, Lopez Jaena founded a fortnightly newspaper, it was entitled la solidaridad. It was printed in Barcelona from February 15- October 31, 1889 then in Madrid, from November 15,1889 until its last issue on November 15, 1895. 27. THE KATIPUNAN Some of the men of la liga Filipina found out that peaceful agitation for reforms was not enough. So they opted for the country’s freedom more than anything else. Andres Bonifacio was one of them. This faction pledged to continue supporting the propaganda movement in Spain. One of the night of July 7, 1892, Bonifacio and his friends met secretly at deodato arellano’s house. They decided to form a secret revolutionary society, modeled in part on Masonic order called kataastaasang kagalang-galangang katipunan ng mga anak ng bayan otherwise known as K. K. K or katipunan, decided to national independence through armed revolution. How to cite Report On Philippine History, Papers

3 Years, 5 Months 2 Days In The Life Of free essay sample

A new rap group has hit the music stores and Billboard charts. Their name is Arrested Development. They are black Southerners of all ages, but their songs deal with issues important to all peoples. And, like other rap acts, the members have other names, though it is unclear whether their names are real or fake. The AD family is comprised of Speech, Headliner, Aerle Taree, Montsho Eshe, Rasa Don, and Baba Oje. The first song I heard of theirs on the radio was Tennessee which is about someone who dreams he retraces his forefathers footsteps toward some promised land, that of Tennessee. Each song deals with some aspect of life that should be changed, or at least brought to light. Mr. Wendel talks about someone who gives money and food to a bum on the street and learns a lot from the bum, but still doesnt listen to his words. We will write a custom essay sample on 3 Years, 5 Months 2 Days In The Life Of or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Fishin 4 Religion, the singer blames the Baptist churches for failing to nurture brothers and sisters in the revolution. In People Everyday, Speech (the writer and main vocalist) is sitting on a park bench with a girlfriend when a mob of gangsters start harassing them for no apparent reason. The song deals mainly with race relations and fights. The albums title 3 years, 5 months, 2 days in the life of refers to the amount of time it took for the group to write, sing, and produce the album. Arrested Development is here to stay, so go out and buy their album. They do not sing like Northern black rappers like Ice Cube and Ice T; their music sounds more like a cross between rap, reggae, and soul-funk. n

Mafia Subculture free essay sample

In todays lifetime, there are numerous different cultures that are continuing to develop. We look at culture as a way of expressing behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work. But with these ways, our cultures are being divided into countercultures, which are typically carried out by the younger generation with values or lifestyles in hostility to those of the established culture. A subculture social group within a world culture that has distinguishing pattern of behavior and beliefs. An example of a division of culture would be the Mafia, an organized crime family or business. The members in this group share and are committed to a common set of norms and values. The Mafias lifestyle principles are directly opposed to those of the dominant society. The meaning the Mob affiliates has a behavior that serves to unite them at the same time, which separates them from normal American culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Mafia Subculture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Many characteristic titles are given to the organized crime or mob. The people that construct these groups are viewed as killers. But our culture ends not to view the organized crime subculture for what it really is. An organized crime enterprise is a criminal group that provides unlawful goods or services on a regular basis. An example would be a narcotics wholesaler. Therefore it is a criminal firm, family or business organization. (Report p. 26) The mafias made membership in the United States in 1 963 was approximately 5,000. Twenty-five hundred of these were in five families in New York City; 300 or more were in Chicago, the other major city of widespread organized crime activity, under one family. Recognition of the moon ethnic tie of the members of the mafia is necessary to understanding its organization. (Machine p. 0) The mafia was a form of behavior and a kind of power. Members were known as soldiers or wise guys. The soldiers were the individuals, mainly young middle-aged men who, along with their nonmember associates, engaged in the illegal activities of organized crime. Gambling narcotics, loan-sharking, hijacking, labor racketeering, are just some of the illegal offenses. (Railcars pop) There were also those who engaged in the legal activities of organized crime: garbage espousal, restaurants and bars, vending machines, produce, trucking, and garment manufacturing. Wherever the mafia could get their hands on money, they were involved. They controlled the underground world in major cities. (Denned p. 40) A Don, who was insulated from actual operations by several layers of authority, ultimately controlled each family. According to accepted belief, the Dons closest and most trusted advisor was referred to as the consigliore. In reality, the consigliore was meant to be something of a hearing officer who was charged with intervening intra-family disputes. He also takes care of the economical side of the business. An under boss was likely as well. There were then a number of regimes with a varying number of soldiers who conducted actual operations.Each regime was headed by a chaperonage, who reported to the boss. When the boss made a decision, he never issued orders directly to the soldiers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the chain of command. In this way, the higher levels of the organization were effectively insulated from incrimination if a lower level ember should be captured by law enforcement. (Railcars p 82) A hit or assassination of a made man had to be approved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. King pop) Behavior patterns were different depending on whom you were doing business with and how well you knew the boss. Some men were aggressive and some were peaceful, there were all different characters in mob organizations but all had their priorities, which consisted of making money and making sure that the business grew With respect. Respect was one of the important factors on the street along with appearance. (Report p. 1 7) The look Of perfectly groomed businessman was an appearance Of faultlessly costumed men in public. (Machine p. 1) usually a mafia member would spend their mornings and nights mainly drinking and doing illegal gambling. (Report p. 1 8) Money came easy to the members in the group but with its benefits came its negatives. With becoming a made man in the mafia, a man didnt have much to worry about unless certain sanctions were violated, for example slipping undisclosed information out too the public or law enforcement about the mob. If you so much as whisper our secret to the trees, you will die! If you are arrested, you must not tell about me or you will die.But if you are in trouble we will help you with everything we have said Capons. When Capons man was caught and testified in court, a fellow mob member was in the court, he crooked the index finger, and gripped the bent finger between his teeth, then pulled the finger away and ran the fingertip around his collar. (King p. 55) It was the mafias sign of death and a dangerous organization to get involved with. Organized crime relationship with the dominant society was important. The business of the American mafia was fundamentally illegal, and its success also involved law enforcements failures.To a certain extent the mafia control was make easy by the long-established corrupt alliances between politicians, racketeers, and cops. But sometimes its anticrime strategies were flawed. (Denned p. 68) Around the 1 8805 on, New York police policies on Italian gang crimes shifted too let them kill each other. Because the mafias were mainly made up of Italians, the American society looked at the members as a unique group of super-criminals. To the society they were powerful, well-entrenched organized crime group. (Railcars p. 102) A description of the rise Of the American Mafia is more than just a crime story.It is a window into American society demonstrating the workings of political, governmental, and economic forces. It is a story that is often ignored in text on American government. But yet being in the Mafia shows how their bosses had a great deal to say about how America was governed. The reason for the American Mafia is an account of how groups of criminals, achieved, enhanced, and maintained their power, in large part because they were more skilled, better organized, and better managed than their rivals or the law enforcement agencies that opposed them.

Free Online Public Schools for Alabama Students, K-12

Free Online Public Schools for Alabama Students, K-12 Alabama offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Alabama. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Alabama Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Alabama ACCESS (off-site link) About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. (See also: 4 Types of Online High Schools). Choosing an Alabama Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny. For more suggestions on evaluating virtual schools see: How to Choose an Online High School.

Research a current wireless networking trend Paper

A current wireless networking trend - Research Paper Example IFIED as the latest in wireless networking technology suitable for small size enterprise presenting its advantages and weaknesses as well as its contribution to the wireless security. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED addresses the significant requirements of an enterprise that the previous wireless technologies did not cater for. Voice over-Wi-Fi, for instance, is a valuable and fundamental enterprise application. (Bertrand, 2012) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED as a wireless networking technology supports data and voice simultaneously as well as a more comprehensive coverage throughout the enterprise. The adoption of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED by an enterprise will ensure a high and unpredictable user density as compared to the previous low scale Wi-Fi technologies which are basically data oriented and support low user densities. As companies expand their wireless networks and embrace voice applications, the need for a more advanced Wi-Fi technology such as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED becomes a fundamental priority in order to keep up with the competition given its advantages over the previous wireless networking technologies. (Bertrand, 2012) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED eliminates the limited coverage presented by the previous wireless networking technology. The wide coverage presented by Wi-Fi CERTIFIED is sufficient for continuous connectivity required by the voice applications hence seamless mobility which allows users staying connected without the need of disconnection even when they are on the move. (Gast, 2005) In addition to improved coverage and capacity as discussed, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED also enables voice support that improves the quality of service, an enterprise requirement neglected by the previous Wi-Fi technologies. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED has the ability to distinguish between data traffic and voice traffic. It does this by not prioritizing voice packets over data packets, but equally transmitting the two packets at the same time ensuring that voice clients receive their medium when required. (Gast, 2005) Furthermore,

Standards Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Standards - Research Paper Example There is an explosion in the number of people accessing the internet on their mobile devices. As a result, there is a need for protocols to ensure sufficient infrastructure to support their work. The working group is focused on the establishment of standards for mobile broadband access. The IEEE 802 standard is made up of a family of networking standards that range from the Ethernet to wireless systems (Beylot & Labiod, 2013). The standards cover all their physical specifications. The IEEE is divided into 22 unique parts. The importance of the standards in a digital era cannot be stated in an effective manner. As human beings connect computers to networks, it is clear that they need a set of rules that will determine how data will move through the different networks. Furthermore, the IEEE standards have bestowed immense benefits on the consumer. The benefits include interoperability. The term denotes ability of computer users to use the different networks at their disposal without undermining the flow of data packets. Secondly, the standards result in low product costs. The feature saves the user a lot of money that they would have otherwise spent buying items that fit all the different network needs. Thirdly, the standards are easy to manage. Protocols are needed to determine the movement of data across different networks. Computer users are lucky that their options are limited to a few effective standards (Kuo & Zhu, 2012). There are three common standards including ISO, ANSI and IEEE. The three standards play an important role in the information and communication sector. However, it is important to determine the standard with the most impact. The International Standards Organization is the largest and most effective developer of standards that have a global impact. In addition, it is responsible for publishing them. The importance of ISO lies in the fact that it makes it possible for the developers to create products that would address international

Primate comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Primate comparison - Essay Example The diet of the animal includes sap, fruit, arthropods as well as nectar. The animal unlike other animals such as the Bengal Slow Loris does not in any way show forms of sexual dimorphism with an increase in weight. In fact, the vestigial tail that exists within the animal is often hidden beneath the fur and is reduced to what can be described as a stump. The primate has a toothcomb; this means that it has six teeth that are forward facing on the bottom of the jaw (Wiens, 2002). These teeth are mainly incisors and canine teeth. The structure of these teeth is often used to graze off gum when it comes to the process of foraging. The animal excretes a brawny smelling fluid from the glands used in communication. The Sunda Slow Loris often moves swiftly through trees with its four limbs. Callithrix pygmaea often known as the pygmy marmoset can be described as new world monkey species that is often native to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. Its range often stretches expansively over the Andrean foothills of the Southern Colombia to the Southeastern Peru (Townsend, 2001). The pygmy marmosets often live and thrive in a multistratal river edge forests at different and diverse lower evaluations. The pygmy marmosets are often described as the smallest extant monkeys, this is because they have an average body length of 13 cm. The animal has a coat of buff as well as grey fur that is marked with yellow, green as well as black ticking on the head. Infants initially have grey heads as well as yellow coats that are covered with black ticking and they exhibit the adult pattern with the first month life. Although the pygmy marmosets are not often considered as being sexually dimorphic, the females are often known to be slightly heavier than the males. Longer hair that exists around the face as well as the neck often gives the pygmy pygamae the facade of a lion like mane. The animal has hindlimbs are often

Funding for Arts Council in Ireland

Funding for Arts Council in Ireland Oskar van der Grijn   The hackers guide to Arts council funding Abstract This research paper will provide a thorough account of the different financial components comprising of the arts council of Ireland. An investigation will be held into how the arts council of Ireland is specifically funded and by what means it financially allocates to the arts itself. In addition, a detailed analysis of how the arts council manages its finance will be conducted, both in relation to its decision-making processes and also in relation to how finances are directed internally within the organisation. The research methodology of this paper will comprise of primary research in the form of an interview with past board member Jane Dillon Byrne which will run throughout the paper strengthening my research as well as secondary research in the form of collated broadsheet publications, the councils website and its annual financial statement report from 2016. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive account as to how all finance is administered under the arts councils c ontrol and to inform future applicants of the councils practises and procedures for applications in 2017. Introduction The Arts council of Ireland was first established in 1951 by the Irish government in order to encourage interest in Irish Art. In doing so it recognised that the arts have a central and distinctive contribution to make to Irelands evolving society. The primary goals of the organisation are to stimulate public interest in and to promote the knowledge, appreciation and practise of the arts. A vast range of practises such as visual art, music, performance, dance, film and literature as well as many others such as the recent inclusions of Circus and Architecture are all included in the organisations mission and strategy every year and all are largely funded. In order to successfully meet and finance their targets the Arts council established a voluntary body of 12 members and a chair that is appointed by the minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for a term of five years. In addition, a staff of 41 full-time professionals carry out the daily functions of the organisation and these individuals provide expertise and strategic advice on different aspects of the arts. (village magazine, 2016) The nature of this particular organisation is a company limited by guarantee, which means the council is not funded through share capital or shareholders. In order for each department of the arts organisation to run sufficiently it is funded by the Irish Exchequer as well as substantial income being received from the national lottery and additional sources such as disclosed trust funds which contribute to the councils annual budget. These large sums are annually allocated across the different creative sectors in the form of bursaries, grants, art schemes and development programmes in order to promote the development of Irish art. Arts council funding is also allocated abroad under specific programmes such as an Aosdanna in order to promote Ireland in both a traditional and contemporary manner over seas. Having revised the financial schemes and directives of this organisation through secondary research, combined with a thorough understanding of the internal mechanics obtained through an interview with Jane Dillon Byrne, I will conclude with a comprehensive evaluation of the organisations financial structure outlining all key areas of concern. 1. Funding schemes to the Arts The council supports a vast range of schemes and programmes across a widely diverse arts sector. In order to classify each and every segment of funding for 2017 the council has divided its allocations into three different sectors and five funding amounts. Jane Dillon Byrne stated that; This gives significant clarity to the enormous span of financial appropriation and provides a means of adequate accessibility to those who wish to make grant applications within their respected field for 2017 This section of the research paper will outline, using examples, a clear indication of some of the different areas in which funding is allocated in the form of schemes and programmes. The schemes/programmes are broken into three categories; these include (1) Art form, (2) Cross Art form practisesand (3) Strategic developments. The strategic development programme is a significant plan that comprises many elements including the funding of both previously stated art forms and cross art form practises, this plan is devised as part of the councils new 10 year strategy and will be assessed in detail in the later part of this section. In addition to these categories are the financial subcategories that are awarded to successful recipients; these are broken down into five funding allocations as seen below;  £1  £20,000  £20,000  £30,000,  £30,000  £50,000,  £50,000  £100,000  £100,000 + An awarded recipient(s) receives funding in the combined form of one of the three introductory categories and one adjoining subcategory sum. Examples are as follows; 1(a) = (1) Art form (a) Subcategory  £15,000. 2(b) (2) Cross art form practises (b) Subcategory  £20,000. 3(c) (3) Strategic Developments (c) Subcategory  £450,000 Applications are made to the arts council via its website where a body of panellists assigned to each particular category make a collective decision surrounding the award or refusal of financial aid. If approved, the panel assigned to that particular art form also dictate the amount awarded to each individual(s) within that categories specific budget for that calendar year. More information relating to the panellist, decision-making and budgeting process can be found in the management of funding section of this paper. The funding pool for specific awards varies in amounts from year to year as does the annual budget produced by the government along with other means of income such as trust funds and third party contributions from the national lottery. The larger the amount of funding the council receives each year the more types of awards it can then sanction. Likewise, with cut backs, where arts funding is reduced, so are the amount of awards available. 2016s budget amounted to  £60.1M (Mackin, 2016) Evidence of the annual rise and fall in funding can be made with regard to an online statement made by the council in 2015. For the first time in six years, the Arts Councils own Exchequer grant was maintained at 2014 levels ( £56.668 million), and, anticipating future increases in investment, the Council was mindful in its allocations to help position the arts to benefit from, and play a full part in, the national recovery (www.artscouncil.ie, 2015) 2. Categories (a) Art form The art form category is the most expansive category and covers a range of practises such as Visual art, Circus, Opera, Street and performance, Traditional, Theatre, Music, Film, Architecture, Literature and Dance. Within each of the practises are numerous awards, bursaries and grants. The many variations of awarded grants cannot all be listed within this concise paper. However, what is apparent are the large number of applications which are completed every year. As a result, the awarding system is broken down into Round 1 and Round 2. Below are examples of specific art form grant recipients for 2016, which are identified as bursaries, both in the form of Visual Arts and Dance. (www.artscouncil.ie, 2016) The purpose of the bursary award is to support professional artists to develop their art practice. It provides artists with the time and resources to think, research, reflect and critically engage with their art. The maximum amount awarded is  £15,000. Having thoroughly analysed all the granted bursary awards for 2016 from the arts councils website, I have collated the amount awarded to each recipient of each art form and used their data to develop a chart representing the distribution margins. See below for 2016s round 1 and round 2 distributions. Round 1. Round 2. The most evident representation of these graphs lead to the heavy percentage in favour of the visual arts. The combined % of both round bursary allocations amounts to just shy of 43% of the overall 2016 bursary budget. (280,392+204,750)/(739,353+397,005) x100= 42.6% In addition, the % of the total bursary allocations for 2016 as a % of 2016s entire budget of  £59.1 million was just shy of 2%. (739,353+397,005)/59,100,100100=1.92% (b) Cross Art form Practises The Cross Art form practises are the second category of funding provided. It entails a more complex awarding system when contrasted to the individual artists bursary award and usually grants higher sums due to the larger size of organisations involved. The areas recognised within this funding initiative are Venues, Touring, Local arts, Festivals and events, Arts Participation and Young people, children and education. This funding can be applied for under Group, individual, local authority or organisation type. The festival and events scheme is an example of a cross art form practise award with a maximum sum of  £20,000, it can only be applied for under an organisation application type. This means that the application type may be collaborative or singular but must be made in the name of the organisation at hand. An interesting financial factor surrounding this application type, which also applies to other categories within the art form practises category, are the two awarded strands of funding available. Strand 1 funding amounts to  £10,000 and strand 2 amounts to  £20,000. Selection of the correct strand during applications must be adhered to; an excerpt, 1.6, taken from the second strand application form can be seen below; these strands also apply to other schemes under the same guidelines across the cross art form practises category. The strands can be defined as follows Festivals previously funded by the Arts Council under this Scheme up to  £10,000 in their last funding offered must apply to Strand 1. Festivals previously funded by the Arts Council under this Scheme between  £10,001 and  £20,000 must apply to Strand 2.(www.artscouncil.ie, 2017) Section 1.6 of Strand application 2 This guideline of financial stranding is to help the council articulate who has been already funded previously and by what amount. This provides clarity not only financially but also provides an even playing field for emerging festivals who are easily overshadoweed by successful applicants from previous years. See examples of 2016 succesful reciepts and amounts awarded below: (www.artscouncil.ie, 2017) (c) Strategic Development The strategic development plan is a much broader funding scheme and runs in accordance with the arts councils new strategy first outlined in September 2015. The published strategy is called: Making Great Art Work: Leading the development of the arts in Ireland (2016-2025) Jane Dillon Byrne stated that: The strategy prioritises the artist and public engagement, and looks to develop the conditions, infrastructure and environment to enable artists and organisations to make great work and to encourage people to access and participate in that work. (Dillon-Byrne, 2017) The main elements of the councils investment of  £60.1m for 2016 are as follows:  £32m to 195 arts organisations.  £1.4m in Touring  £180k in a new Emerging Artist Bursary Scheme  £1.72m in regular funding to local authorities  £350,000 to establish a new local authority partnership scheme  £316,000 Ealain na Gaeltachta  £5.2m to Venues in every county throughout the country  £2.6m awarded to festivals  £2.24m awarded to literature organisations  £4m to visual arts with  £500,000 specifically assigned for bursaries  £6m awarded to Theatre  £1m to support multi-disciplinary projects Below are two tables I have conducted which represent 2016s data levels of expenditure. Table 1 represents the overall artistic fields and table 2 represents the individual organisations. Table 1. Arts organisations accounted for over half of 2016s total budget at 54.1% 32/59.1100=54.1% Table 2. In addition, regarding the most prolific individual organisations, the council have largely kept their funding similar if not the same to 2015s budget. The Druid Theatre Company saw its grant maintained at  £762,000, as did the Opera Theatre Company with  £680,000, Music Network at  £515,000 and Rough Magic at  £480,000. The Project Arts Centre was given a small rise as it celebrates its 50th year, its funding was increased by  £26,250 to  £675,250. (Mackin, 2016). 3. Tax exemption and appeals One of the most important advances, and one which undoubtedly receives attention in this paper, is how the artist tax exemption is currently being reviewed, and how it will continue to be reviewed in the future. Charles Haughey brought the guidelines for the artists exemption into place in 1973 to support local talent and to attract artists to settle in Ireland. They exempt artists from paying tax on the proceeds of original works. Likewise, all awards given in aid of artistic development from the council, similar to that of earnings, are also tax-free. Having conducted much research into the field of artist taxation some interesting findings have come to surface, the tax exemption may well be in line for future tweaking. The Irish Times states in a publication late last year that; In 2011, a cap of  £40,000 was placed on the amount of artists income exempt from tax every year. This was increased to  £50,000 from January 1st, 2015 and it is described in the report as a more targeted scheme, aimed at supporting artists on low incomes. (Hancock, 2016) Jane Dillon Byrne added The legislation allows the Revenue Commissioners to make determinations in respect of a range of artistic works, including a book or other writing, a play, a musical composition, a painting or a sculpture. It must be noted that the intervention of revenue in the artistic decision making process is a sensitive matter for the arts council (Dillon-Byrne, 2017)Further information regarding this can be found in theappeals section under this heading. Information published by the Irish Times, stated that in 2014, which is the most recent year for which data is currently available regarding artist taxation, states that; 2,640 artists availed of the exemption at a cost of  £5.8 million to the exchequer. Thats an average of just under  £2,200 each (Hancock, 2016) A review was undertaken for last years budget, with a recommendation from the Department of Finance to review the scheme, with a view to possibly introducing income averaging for artists. The budget document stated it recognises where the profit level is increasing, and that income averaging would reduce the amount of tax to be paid and improve cash flow in the short term, similar to that of farmers, who utilise from a current system, under the common agricultural policy (CAP). Having personally assessed the value of such a change I would have to argue as to what would happen if profit levels reduce and tax liability is increased when compared with the actual liability for that year alone. How will artists respond to this, as well as being thrown into the same pen as farmers. (Hancock, 2016) Appeals Arts council applicants can appeal against a funding decision on the basis of unfair application, alleged infringement or a deviation from the councils published procedures. Like all financial processes there is an application format that must be adhered to. Firstly applicants must show that they have reasons to believe that their application was dealt in an incompatible manner. Secondly the applicant must contact the head of the team or service dealt with previously. In the case of a second financial rejection, the applicant has an additional opportunity to appeal the decision; this must be made directly to the director of the arts council. Having spoken with Jane she made it apparent that in the past there has been controversy surrounding the appeals decisions and processes, particularly in the field of literature where taxation, or tax evasion has come into question. Disputes between revenue and the arts council, where the arts council has argued that the latter has undermined its role in the artistic assessment of works has come to surface in recent years. New correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed the level of exasperation within the Arts Council about both the number and type of non-fiction books that are granted the artists exemption. The revenue commissioners guidelines state that non-fiction books should be considered if they are on an artistic or cultural theme such as a biography or autobiography of a writer or painter. (See section 195 of taxes consolidation act in appendices) However a past publication from the Irish times states that: Sportspeople including Irish rugby out-half Ronan OGara, Kilkenny manager Brian Cody, GAA manager Mick ODwyer and pundit George Hook have also received the exemption, though the Arts Council does not believe sports books should qualify (www.irishtimes.com, 2013) In addition, the arts council advises the revenue commissioners on whether a book should be eligible. It claims to provide expert advice in the event of an appeal by an author, yet during my research I came across an additional excerpt from the Irish times which puts the credibility of its assessment further into question; Between 2004 and last year there were 46 appeals by writers who were judged to be ineligible for the tax exemption by the Arts Council and the majority (56 per cent) succeeded in their appeals (www.irishtimes.com, 2013) From this guideline, I would advise anyone who has applied in the literacy category and who has been refused in 2017 to appeal their decision. You have a 56% chance that you will be awarded your desired funding. In addition, literature is the second highest percentage bursary allocation. If we refer to my graphs in the art form section we can come to the conclusion that literature makes up (172,550+43,420)/(739,353+397,005) x100=18.9% of 2016s Bursary award. 5. Conclusion Having researched this topic thoroughly some very interesting conclusions can be drawn. First and foremost the annual budget presented by the department of Arts, Heritage and Culture is the deciding factor regarding allocation amounts to the different sectors of the arts. This budget rises and falls every year. A huge emphasis today is put on the strategic development plan titled creating good artwork (2016-2025). This plan holds the councils best interest at heart and this can be seen in its allocations last year of over  £31 million to organisations across the country totalling 54.1% of the overall budget. In addition the artists bursary is still a huge element of the councils funding and decision making process with 1.9% being allocated across the arts to individual artists. This is a significant sum considering the diversity of the councils awarding system. Visual arts still remains the primary area of funding regarding the bursary amounting to 42.6% with literature coming in as the second most popular at 18.9%. What are also very interesting are the examples of controversy surrounding revenues relationship with the arts council. When one considers the arts council they are led to believe that it is an organisation who are fully committed and effectively competent in performing their duties, and for the most part they are just that, however in the past instances such as Bertie Aherns tax exempt biography as well as many others show that there still can be elements of political will creeping through what appears to be a well run organisation. As long as the artists tax exemption exists under section 195 of the taxes consolidation act, I believe there will always be a clash of interest between the exchequer amounting pressure on the council and the council defending its position as the governing body for the arts. Appendices 1. Taxes consolidation act 1997 for the Artists Exemption Scheme. (www.revenue.ie, 1997) 2. Management of funding Having spoken to Jane Dillon Byrne, and in particular about her position as a past board member for the arts council from 2002-2007 I gained a valuable insight into how the management delegates funding within the organisation. The annual report gives evidence to where exactly past funding has been allocated, however, it does not give an account of the decision making process and the individuals involved who are responsible for the funding reaching its final destination. Jane described the organisational structure of the company and used this as a template to further expand on the financial decision making elements of the organisation. Similar to most businesses there is a director of the organisation, the director divides the council into a number of committees and each committee appoints an arts officer, 11 in total, one for each art form. There is an additional officer, the finance officer, who takes into consideration the expertise of the other 11 officers and essentially pushes the red button when the final financial decisions are made. Within these committees panellists are chosen for each art category and art form, there can be any number of panellists for each art form, which can include invited guests, however there generally is around 5 panellists. Jane went on to describe how the funding is then decided amongst the organisational structure. The annual budget which has been assigned by the department of Arts, Heritage and Culture is presented to the board, the board members along side the 11 arts officers, the finance officer and the director decide the sector allocations. From this point the panellists assigned to each art form then decide on the individual artist/organisation allocations. (Dillon-Byrne, 2017) In addition, Jane continued to talk about how the council currently employs 41 full time staff who are all paid via the exchequer. I went on to ask Jane were the board members, the arts officers and the director paid, Jane stated that Board members are not on salaries, however they do receive perks such as transport, accommodation, lunch, dinner, drinks and so forth, essentially board members are well looked after surrounding the dates that they are working within and for the council. The director however does receive a complementary fee of in around  £5,000-10,000 euros depending on the year (Dillon-Byrne, 2017) 3. Payment templates One of the conditions of being a successful applicant to council awards such as bursary awards, commissions awards and project awards is that the recipients must report on their award and supply receipts and other financial information regarding their expenditure to the council. If we take for example the artists bursary award, a recipient will receive two documents along with their letter of offer, which clearly outlines a payment guide and the terms and conditions of the arts councils funding. This process ensures that the council is fully up to date with how the artist manages their financial award and prevents misconduct on the behalf of the artist where the may use the finance for means not related to their work. The appendices section of this paper provides an example of an income and expenditure report. Similarities can be drawn between this income and expenditure form to the profit and loss balance sheets our class as arts management students have worked with over the last 4 years on excel. 3. Income and expenditure report Dillon-Byrne, J. (2017, February 19th). Arts council funding. (O. v. Grijn, Interviewer) Dublin, Leinster, Ireland. Hancock, C. (2016, October 13th). www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2017, from www.irishtimes.com: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/budget-2017/artists-tax-exemption-may-be-in-line-for-a-future-tweaking-1.2828887 Mackin, L. (2016, January 4th). www.irishtimes.com. (The Irish Times) Retrieved February 27th, 2017, from www.irishtimes.com: http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-council-announces-spending-for-2016-1.2484751 village magazine. (2016, December). www.villagemagazine.ie. Retrieved February 15th, 2017, from www.villagemagazine.ie: https://villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2015/03/our-top-heavy-arts-council/ www.artscouncil.com. (2016, January 04th). Retrieved February 27th, 2017, from www.artscouncil.com: http://www.artscouncil.ie/News/Arts-Council-announces-its-investment-strategy-for-2016-to-develop-the-arts-across-Ireland/ www.artscouncil.ie. (2015, January 8th). www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved February 25th, 2017, from www.artscouncil.ie: http://www.artscouncil.ie/news-details.aspx?id=15994 www.artscouncil.ie. (2016, December 11th). www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved February 23rd, 2017, from www.artscouncil.ie: http://www.artscouncil.ie/funding-decisions/ www.artscouncil.ie. (2016, December 19th). www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved March 2nd, 2017, from www.artscouncil.ie: http://www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/festivals-and-events-scheme/ www.artscouncil.ie. (2017, January 9th). www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved February 26th, 2017, from www.artscouncil.ie: http://www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/festivals-and-events-scheme/ www.irishtimes.com. (2013, January 3rd). www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved February 26th, 2017, from www.irishtimes.com: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/revenue-brought-to-book-on-exemption-scheme-1.953528

Information Management Essay -- essays research papers

Executive Summary The report aims to address the issue of information management within Lanway. Information, may feel is the most important resource any firm has, yet many firms have no appreciation of the cost, value or importance of the information they hold. By first outlining the steps and findings of an information audit carried out within the firm, conclusions are then drawn as to what measures should be taken in order to increase the effectiveness of Lanways information usage. The measures suggested are outlined in detail, with recommendations of both hardware and software. The report also establishes the need for information and for a company information strategy – highlighting the importance of aligning such a strategy with the overall business plan. Background Lanway Corporate Business Systems began trading in 1985 from a small market stall on Burnley market. Selling games only for the Spectrum range of computers (the most popular at that time) it began to build up a regular customer base. The firm continued in this way, until 1991 where the introduction of the personal computer led to a change in product and business activity. With the introduction of both new hardware and software, Lanway was now in a position to manufacture and sell its own PC’s. By moving into its own premises, the firm was now able to make substantial profit margins by building and pre-configuring a small range of machines. Lanway began to trade with other firms in 1994, at which point they were forced to expand both their existing premises and staff. They also began to diversify, moving into new areas such as networking technologies, the internet and more specialised hardware and software. Lanway currently has a turnover of approximately 5 million and over 40 staff, both of which are expected to continue in growth. They manufacture around 200 PC’s per week, each different in model, make and specification. The company classes itself in the batch manufacturing bracket. At present, the firm can be split into 5 departments. Sales, Accounts, Networking, Repairs and finally Production or Workshop. The firm is completely networked using a mixture of Microsoftâ„ ¢ and Novellâ„ ¢ technologies. Individual internet access and email is available to all employees. All hardware and software configuration work is carried out in-house. Because the firm has grown in the manner that it... ...use of the nature of the business and the products sold, it is vital that the information stored within the internal systems is accurate, relevant and accessible by all employees. By implementing the steps outlined above, many of these issues should be addressed. However it is up-to the company as how successfully they are implemented. Employees will need to be made aware how important the new systems and the new policies that have been introduced are. Only then will the firm begin to see benefits. The costs incurred in this project are minimal, simply because all work can be carried out in house and all products purchased at almost cost, although formal training is certainly recommended – something which will need to be outsourced. The new intranet should help to increase the distribution of information and the consistent manner in which employees are able to access the information should in the long term help the new systems to be used effectively. In order to ensure that Lanway obtains the required results, an information audit should be carried out on a yearly basis – thereby identifying any problems that have risen from implementation of were overlooked on previous audits.

Fauquier Gas Company Essay

Fauquier Gas Company, is one of the nation’s 440 gas companies, served an area where land use was changing from agricultural to residential and commercial. The company is beginning a new project that consist of having 3  ½ miles of lines ready to be hooked up by September. This is another one of the demands that Fauquier have on their hands not including the additional 10 lines that they plan on starting for next project. It takes great deal of engineers and contractors and constructions workers to meet this deadline, not to include precise planning. Mr. Clive Byers is the construction project manager, Mr. Charlie Buck is the design superintendent, Pat Wilson is design engineer, Sam Law is project engineer, and Mr. Bill Murphy is the manager of supply management. All of these individuals are under management of the vice president of operations for the company. These individuals play a huge role in meeting all requirements and specifications for this project. In order to meet all the deadlines into building this project all parties involved have to communicate effectively. Mr. Murphy is responsible for ensuring all the supplies that goes into ordering is placed and delivered in a timely manner. Mr. Murphy has ran into a road block, he is unable to retrieve the purchase request for the pipeline. Pat Wilson, the design engineer who is in charge of going through all the specifications has change the diameter of the pipe to 24 inches. Mr. Murphy asked why they change in the wall thickness and length. Wilson informed him that the operation of the line would be governed by less stringent specifications, making the wall thickness  ¾ inches and the length would be 57 feet. Pat was considering cost as a role in the project based on her design and that lead to the change in the specifications. As the specifications is getting sorted out by Pat Wilson, Mr. Murphy was getting concerned about the economic consequences and the schedule impact of the proposed changes in wall thickness and length of the pipe. Mr. Murphy is being faced with many logistical and supply problems due to not having the purchase request. Mr. Murphy has done projects before and understands the lead time that he needs to place orders in order to get supplies delivered. There is already a time line to break ground and start construction in June. Mr. Murphy last communication with Pat Wilson was on April 14 and without the specifications being worked out accordingly Mr. Murphy is unsuccessful with meeting his deadline with the companies who supply the pipeline and  wrappers. Mr. Murphy should just contact Mr. Buck the superintendent for the design department and try to figure out how the process can be expedited. If customers are expecting their gas pipelines to be hookup by a certain deadline then I feel that since Fauquier is trying to branch off and do commercial property then they need to meet all deadlines in order to have a good review. It seems although the team of people are not communicating and instead of keeping each other informed of the process that leaves Mr. Murphy reaching out to figure out what is the hold up with the design specifications. To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner. 1.What are the key facts? Mr. Murphy is responsible for the purchase of materials used in the gas distribution process such as fittings, pipes and meters. Mr. Murphy is also responsible for the procurement of furniture, stores management, materials forecasting and control, systems and forms. Fauquier Gas company has a deadline to have 3  ½ miles of lines ready for hookup by September. Mr. Murphy is concerned about being able to find a supplier who could deliver 3  ½ miles of large diameter pipe. 2.What is the problem? Mr. Murphy is unable to process the order for the project to receive the supplies in a timely manner for the construction to begin in June due to the design team and the superintendent Mr. Buck. 3.List and discuss three alternative solutions. Mr. Buck needs to have meetings in relation to the status of the project and  the specifications. He needs to set deadlines, due to a large number of workers that are involved in this project to ensure that everyone is meeting the requirements for the project to begin in June and be finish by September. 4.What is your recommended solution? To fix this issue I feel like the superintendent should have put deadlines on all the departments so that everyone would have adequate enough time to prepare and plan. Mr. Murphy has been asking for purchase request since over hearing a conversation at lunch that took place in January. There is no reason why he should still not have what he needs after speaking with Pat Wilson in April about the specifications. If deadlines are in place and meetings are being made every two weeks with updates then I feel like they would be able to break ground in June and the supplies would have already been on order and delivered in a timely manner.

Final Exam Essays - File Shortcut, Mouse Button, Special Folder

Final Exam Essays - File Shortcut, Mouse Button, Special Folder Final Exam Beginning Windows 98 Instructor: Zita Podany Final Exam 1. To format a high-density diskette to use on my PC, I would first click on My Computer, (which is located on the desktop) and insert your diskette, then right click on 3 floppy. Go to format, then make sure Quick or Full are checked, then click on the start button. 2. An Operating System is the basic instruction for your hardware and software so that the user can interface with them. An example of an operating system would be like Windows 98 or Windows 2000. 3. Word 2000 is not an operating system. Rather an application added to an operating system to allow the user to create written documents. 4. To make a folder called Inventory on my hard drive, I would first click on My Computer on the desktop, then click on C Drive, then go to file then new then folder and type in Inventory. 5. To create a shortcut to my new folder entitled Inventory, I would right click on it and then choose create shortcut then click on the Inventory folder, hold the mouse button down and drag it onto the desktop and let go. Its done! 6. I want to look for a document and all I know is that it started with Train. To find this I would click on the Start button on my tool bar, then go to Find, over to files and folders then type in the word Train *. *. Making sure that there's a check mark next to subfolders so that every possible place is searched. Then click on Find Now. When the possible files pop up, you can search for the one that you are looking for by just clicking on it until you find the right one. 7. To change my wallpaper all I have to do is right click anywhere on the desktop and a menu appears. Choose properties when the next screen appears, you can click on the down arrow to scroll through the different choices or you can create your own wallpaper by going to Paint or Word and creating what you want and then go to File and save it, then go to your saved file and open it. Go to File again and down to send as wallpaper and its done! 8. To check to see how much space is available on my hard drive, I would click on My Computer then right click on the C drive, go to properties and this will tell you two different ways to see how much space is available on the hard drive. At the top it tells you how much space has been used up and how much is free space in terms of bytes. At the bottom of the screen a pie diagram is shown to give you a visual. 9. To find the Solitaire game that originally came with your computer you would click on the start button on your tool bar, then go to Find and over to files and folders then type in Games and (make sure that include subfolders is checked) and click on Find Now. Then you can look for the folder by clicking on it until you find the one you are looking for. It also gives you the correct address of where it can be found. 10. A shortcut is just a much faster way of getting to a program that you use a lot by placing it on the desktop. You wont need to do the several steps necessary to retrieve that program now, unless you want to. Its very useful when you are busy and dont want to spend time searching for a program that you use all the time. With a shortcut, you just click on the icon that you have put on the desktop. B. You cant use the Screen Print button by itself on the newer computers because it was just too easy for someone to come along and hit that button to see what you were working on. So you need to do the following steps: Hit Alt button and Print Screen then open Paint or Word, go to Edit then Paste then you can resize if you need to, go to File and

Genital Herpes essays

Genital Herpes essays For my human sexuality research paper, I have chosen to write about sexual transmitted diseases. Sexual transmitted diseases, also called STDs, are a growing problem that America faces year after year. When people talk about STDs, the main kind that comes to mind is HIV and AIDS. However, there are many other STDs out there that are threatening the lives of millions. The sexual transmitted disease that I will be writing about is genital herpes. To make this research paper easier for people to understand the deadly disease, I have made this paper a question Herpes or herpes simplex is a common viral infection that often causes sores or blemishes on the skin, especially on the face or in the genital area. Genital herpes consist of Herpes Type I, which is transmitted by oral and respirator secretions, affects the skin and mucous membranes and commonly produces cold sores of fever blisters. Herpes Type II primarily affects the genital area and is transmitted by sexually contact. However, cross-infection may result from oral genital sex. I will discuss Herpes Type II. Genital herpes requires intimate body contact, either through intercourse or oral sex, that being genital-to-genital, rectal-to-rectal, and mouth-to-rectum. These variations in modes of body contact lead to the finding of Herpes I in the genital area and or Herpes II on the mouth, a function of oral sex. A first infection with genital herpes generally occurs three to seven days after sexual exposure. Often people do not notice this infection for the first time, while others have their worst outbreak. Symptoms vary from a slight fever to a group of blisters, which crust over and disappear. To determine whether the symptoms you have just experienced are in fact a herpes virus, you can have two separated blood tests f ...

Technologies coming true Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technologies coming true - Research Paper Example One of his assumptions is that he could, indeed, connect to the past and communicate with his dead father, or that he could link up with the future and connect with people trying to talk to him. According to the professor, time is flexible and it could be manipulated by twisting space. The documentary explains the possibility of using a circulating light beam to twist space and close time to a loop. The key challenge is to get laser power to twist space. The professor uses the principle of flexible time to send particles into the past. The documentary explores the link between energy, space, and time as developed by Albert Einstein. However, the professor acknowledges practical challenges that would make it impossible for the machine to connect to the past from the present moment. Various conditions have to be met in order for the professor to challenge the aspect of time as it appears in reality. It might be important to notice that some of the issues that connect to the questions a bout time are actually based on the acknowledgement of the bridge between the theoretical explanations and the practical difficulties involved. The acknowledgement of the difficulties involved in the practical possibilities of the time machine effectively distinguishes this documentary from many science fiction movies, which have always insisted on the possibility of uniting the past and the future through some technological implements born out of their own imaginations. The documentary separates the possible from the impossible by use of illustrations, theories, and explanations. It might be important to assess the similarities and contrasts between the grounds established in The World’s First Time Machine documentary and the imaginations that run through a science fiction film such as Back to the Future. Whereas the documentary attempts to provide facts about the workability of the time machine, the film begins from the imaginative point of view that already affirms such wo rkability and proceeds to explore the capacity of the machine to influence humanity and human destiny. The science fiction film, Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis, effectively expands on the growing fascination about the possibility of man moving back and forth in time. The film is centered on the exploits of Marty McFly who manages to reverse the misfortunes of his family and friends by accidentally using a time machine invented by his friend Emmet Brown, a renowned scientist. McFly’s travel into the past is made possible after some Libyan terrorists kill the doc for having stolen their plutonian, which he used to power the time machine. McFly eventually learns that he is displaced from the present moment of 1985 up to the distant past of 1955. At this point, he meets his parents before they have begun dating and ensures that they are together in order to ensure the sustainability of the family. He is also able to prevent some of the happenings in the past becau se he had prior knowledge of them when he left 1985 towards 1955. For instance, he is able to protect his future father from the accident, which had brought him and his mother in love at the first place. He also meets the young Doc and convinces him to make possible his travel back into the future. During their encounter in the past, he warns Doc in a letter about his future murder at the hands of the Libyan terrorists. Doc wears a bulletproof vests and he is able to avert death. The second dramatic

The Enlightenment Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Enlightenment Era - Essay Example This era condemned going with old, traditional ways of thinking only so that rational and carefully thought-of theories are formulated that are in time with the current events, of 18th century thereof. (E. Cassirer et al., 2007). Philosophy is a complete organism or system that is concerned with the human character and the world that exists. What this interaction basically is and how the human mind or the person itself interacts with the world he lives in. Philosophy is a question. It provokes mankind to answer questions and theories, and subjects a human to how life is lived and how is he living it, or how he is treating other people etc. This philosophy does not have some physical form, rather mostly through the expression in words. (Thomas, 2005) Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy. This is related to things like what reality is and what existence is defined as. And how do both of these function together. The enlightenment Era gave birth to this idea. Sometimes, this era is also known as the "age of criticism" and rightly said so because all formerly beliefs were questioned so that science and logic could follow through. Kant studied metaphysics closely and his knowledge of the functioning of society was based on metaphysics. He said that society has to retreat from what effect objects bring to the mind. He said that the new philosophy should be how the mind affects everything around it and those same objects. (Hunt, 2004). As far as the eighteenth century philosophers are concerned, they did some great work to bring this era to light. Some of these include Kant in Germany, the Encyclopedists in France, David Hume (1711-76) in Scotland and d'Holbach (1723-89). These philosophers became famous for their own different ideologies and concepts related to philosophy. There are many other popular and renowned names also that are worth mentioning like Plato, Ren Descartes, Aristotle etc. (Hunt, 2004). There have been many different philosophical ideas including rationalism, empiricism, the Encyclopedists, the analytic and synthetic, logic and also determinism. Philosophy is dependent on all of these. Other ideas that floated through this century are science, religion, morality, truth, reason, faith, belief, class, power, rationality etc. And all philosophers have written or shown their works through the expression of one of these or the other. The major philosophers of this age were Kant and Voltaire. Victor Hugo Voltaire is a huge name in the world of philosophy when we talk about the eighteenth century. Apart from Voltaire, Kant and John Locke have been great thinkers too. Locke defined empiricism and his works greatly relate to this field of philosophy. (Hunt, 2004). John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are some other names in the Enlightenment Era who have been said to create great works as thinkers in this period. The most famous of these works being "noble savage" and endorsement of the idea of free trade principle. The patron of these works was Rousseau. Because of this afore-mentioned work, relations pertaining to political and economic criteria were greatly affected. Many views changed and the association promoted this free trade concept. However, Roman Catholic views and theories were then

Least ost solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Least ost solution - Essay Example Analysis of the Supply Chain Project shows that transfer points is not necessary or justified. The major economic factor which influences the effect of distance on rates is the element of cost. In transportation, certain costs are incurred without regard to the actual movement per se.Products delivered by Canbide are classified as low-risk products. Carriers are required to provide connections and construct sidings for delivery of carload shipments to private sidings and to provide "team" tracks for loading and unloading. Switching service for these tracks must be provided on a reasonable basis. As a matter of practice, railroads often organize subsidiary switching and terminal companies, often on a joint basis, to perform these services. Since the firm is small and often closely held, it is not surprising that the organization of the motor carrier is the typically simple line type with a flow of authority from the owner downward through the organization. The flexibility of the truck s also accounts for another substantial advantage, speed. While there is little or no difference in the absolute speed potential of surface vehicles (i.e., the miles per hour capacity of trucks and locomotives are about the same), the motor truck generally provides the shipper with superior service in regard to elapsed time (transit time), which is the ultimate measure of time for the shipper. Transportation service, like many other services or products, is sometimes produced under conditions of common cost;

Magnesium calcium lithium, Sodium, and Potassium Essay Example for Free

Magnesium calcium lithium, Sodium, and Potassium Essay In this lab, six different metals were tested for their reactivity in water. From less reactive to most reactive, the metals were as follows: Aluminum, Magnesium, Calcium, Lithium, Sodium, and Potassium. A pattern found in the periodic table explaining the reactivity of metals is the further down in a family, and the further left in a period, the more reactive the metal will be. Aluminum and Magnesium were both the less reactive. Neither of the metals produced hydrogen, or not enough to have a positive test to prove it was there. Metals + H O H + Metal Hydroxide Calcium gave off a large amount of Hydrogen gas. Lighting a splint, placing it in the test tube, and hearing a loud pop proved this. When the calcium was placed in the water, it caused the temperature to rise to such a high level it was not possible to hold with bare hands. This could be because the electrons are moving so quickly that it causes the temperature to rise. The calcium formed a white, powder-like precipitate at the bottom of the test tube. Lithium, Sodium, and Potassium all had very violent reactions in water. Phenolphthalein was added to the beakers after the metals had reacted, and the water turned a pink/ purple color proving that these metals make bases, and therefore have a pH between eight and. Common reactions between metals were they all formed hydrogen gas, even if it was a very small amount. Lithium, Sodium, and Potassium all tested positive to be a base with phenolphthalein, and all had an oily surface. A pattern found in the periodic table explaining the reactivity of metals is the further down in a family, and the further left in a period, the more reactive the metal will be. This is because the elements in period I, Lithium, Sodium, and Potassium, only have one valence electron, and it is quite simple to lose it. Also, the further down the family, the more the ionization energy decreases because of the shielding effect (the inner electrons block the attraction of the nucleus for outer electrons) and atomic radius (the greater the distance between the nucleus and the outer electron). However, the further to the right of the periodic table, the more the ionization energy increase because of the nuclear charge, electron arrangement ( an electron in a full of a half full energy level requires additional energy to be removed), and atomic radius. This explains why Aluminum was the least reactive, and Potassium was the most reactive.

Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers

Patients With and Without Varicocele: Biochemical Markers Differences in Biochemical Markers and Body Mass Index Between Patients With and Without Varicocele Background: Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in bio- chemical markers and body mass index (BMI) between patients with and without varicocele. Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were evaluated. Ninety-five age-matched male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultrasonography. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, testosterone, serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium, lactic dehydrogenase, inorganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels were measured for all the subjects. Results: The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years in group B. Of the 102 patients in group A, 20 were grade 1 varicocele, 55 were grade 2 and 27 were grade 3. The BMI (mean  ± SD) of patients with varicocele (22.8  ± 3.2) was significantly lower than that of patients without varicocele (24.9  ± 4.1). Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele (176.5  ± 31.1 vs. 187.7  ± 42.1 mg/dL). There were no significant differences for the other biochemical markers between the groups. Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significant. No significant differences were found for the other biochemical markers among the patients with grade 1, 2 or 3 varicocele. Conclusion: Patients with varicocele had significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than those without varicocele. In addition, the prevalence of varicocele was higher in patients with a lower BMI. Our findings suggest that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phenomenon, which causes significant varicoceles. [J Chin Med Assoc 2010;73(4):194–198] Key Words: biochemical markers, body mass index, testosterone, varicocele Introduction Varicocele is characterized by abnormal tortuosity and dilatation of the veins of the pampiniform plexus within the spermatic cord and is one of the causes of male infertility. The prevalence of varicocele is approxi- mately 15–20% in the general population and 30–40% in infertile men.1 Furthermore, approximately 69–81% of men with secondary infertility have varicocele.2,3 Levinger et al proposed that varicocele prevalence is increased over time and the risk of incidence is approx- imately 10% for each decade of life.4 The definite eti- ology of varicocele is still unknown. Kumanov et al suggested that weight and body mass index (BMI) have a protective role, and height, penile length and penile circumference were negative factors in the *Correspondence to: Dr William J. Huang, Division of Urology, Depar tment of Surger y, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Section 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan, R.O.C. E-mail: [emailprotected] à ¢-  Received: October 16, 2009 à ¢-  Accepted: Januar y 21, 2010 194 J Chin Med Assoc †¢ April 2010 †¢ Vol 73 †¢ No 4  © 2010 Elsevier Taiwan LLC and the Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved. development of varicocele in 6,200 boys aged 0–19 years.5 Delaney et al demonstrated that patients with varicocele are significantly taller and heavier than age- matched controls.6 Nielsen et al reported that varico- celes are less likely to be diagnosed among obese men.7 The role of testosterone in the pathophysiology of varicocele is not established and testosterone might induce relaxation of the human internal spermatic vein.8 Sheriff showed that there was increased choles- terol and glyceride in the testes of patients with bilateral varicocele compared with those in controls.9 Odabas et al suggested that the levels of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were higher in the spermatic vein than those in the peripheral vein.10 Other than findings on age, BMI and testosterone levels, there is limited information about the correla- tion between biochemical markers and varicocele. Therefore, we conducted this prospective study to evaluate differences between patients with and with- out varicocele with regard to BMI, testosterone levels and serum biochemical markers including hemoglo- bin, alkaline phosphatase (Alk-p), calcium, LDH, inor- ganic phosphate, ÃŽ ³-glutamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, cholesterol (Cho), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotrans- ferase levels. We also wished to determine possible risk factors in the pathogenesis of varicocele. Methods Patients From January 2004 to June 2009, 102 patients with varicocele (Group A) were included for evaluation for this study. Ninety-five male patients who did not have varicocele were selected as controls (Group B). All of the 197 patients were normal, healthy young to middle-aged males. They were from the outpatient Department of Urology or had received a regular physi- cal check-up at the hospital. Varicocele was diagnosed by physical examination and confirmed by Doppler ultra- sonography. Varicocele grades were defined as: grade 1, palpable only with the Valsalva maneuver; grade 2, palpable without the Valsalva maneuver; and grade 3, visible from a distance.11 Patients with subclinical vari- cocele were excluded from the study. The range of ages was between 18 and 50 years old. BMI, and testos- terone, Alk-p, calcium, LDH, inorganic phosphate, glu- tamine transpeptidase, uric acid, albumin, iron, Cho, TG, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotrans- ferase and hemoglobin levels were mea sured in all of the patients (normal ranges: BMI testosterone, 241–827 ng/dL; Alk-p, 100–280 U/L; calcium, 8.1–10.7 mg/dL; LDH, 95–213 U/L; inor- ganic phosphate, 2.1–4.7 mg/dL; glutamine transpepti- dase, 8–60 U/L; uric acid, 2.5–7.2 mg/dL; albumin, 3.7– 5.3 g/dL; iron, 35–200 ÃŽ ¼g/dL; Cho, 125–240 mg/dL; TG, 20–200 mg/dL; alanine aminotransferase, 0–40 U/L; aspartate aminotransferase, 5–45 U/L; hemo- globin, 12–16 g/dL). Patients with poor control of diabetes mellitus, hypertension or other systemic dis- ease or BMI 40 were excluded from the study. Patients were examined in a warm room while standing up and the scrotum was inspected and pal- pated. All the patients received Doppler ultrasonogra- phy of the scrotum. All the patients signed informed consent, and the study was approved by the Institu- tional Review Board of Taipei City Hospital. Statistical analysis The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis, with p Results The mean age was 35.4 years in group A and 36.5 years old in group B. Data for age, BMI, testosterone levels and biochemical markers for patients in both groups, and different grades of varicocele are shown in Tables 1 and 2. There were no significant differences in age between the patients of groups A and B and among the patients with different grades of varicocele (grades 1, 2 and 3). Of the 102 patients in group A, 19.6% were grade 1, 53.9% were grade 2 and 26.5% were grade 3. The BMI of patients with varicocele was significantly lower (p = 0.03) than that in patients without varicocele (Table 1). Patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho, TG and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients without varicocele, but only Cho was significantly dif- ferent (p = 0.03, Table 1). There were no significant differences in the other biochemical markers between the patients of groups A and B (Table 1). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had a lower BMI than patients with grades 1 and 2 varicocele, but this was not significantly different (Table 2). Patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of Cho and testosterone and higher serum levels of LDH and Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele (grades 1 and 2), but this was not significant. There were no signifi- cant differences in any of the other biochemical markers among the patients with grades 1, 2, and 3 varicocele (Table 2). Table 1. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI in groups A and B* A (n = 102) B (n = 95) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Mann-Whitney U test. A = group A, with varicocele; B = group B, without varicocele; Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Table 2. Age, serum biochemical markers, testosterone and BMI according to different grades of varicocele* Grade 1 (n = 20) Grade 2 (n = 55) Grade 3 (n = 27) p†  *Data presented as mean  ± standard deviation; † statistical analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test. Alk-p = alkaline phosphatase; LDH = lactic dehydrogenase; IP = inorganic phosphate; g-GT = g-glutamine transpeptidase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; BMI = body mass index. Discussion Tsao et al showed that the prevalence and severity of varicoceles is inversely correlated with obesity, which indicates that obesity may result in a decreased nut- cracker effect.12 Handel et al reported that the preva- lence of varicocele decreases with increasing BMI, and the reason for this is that increased adipose tissue decreases compression of the left renal vein and pre- vents detection due to adipose tissue in the spermatic cord.13 In the present study, patients with varicocele had a lower BMI than normal age-matched controls, but patients with grade 3 varicocele did not have a sig- nificantly lower BMI than patients with lower-grade varicocele. The different etiology between our study and that of Tsao et al may be because patients in the previous study were young males serving in the army, which was different from our patients, but the etiol- ogy needs further evaluation. We found that obese or overweight (BMI ≠¥ 25) patients might have higher serum levels of Cho and TG than normal subjects (BMI Kumanov et al demonstrated that gynecomastia is negatively correlated with BMI.15 Low serum follicle- stimulating hormone and high testosterone are good prognostic factors for varicocelectomy.16 Ishikawa and Fujisawa showed that the vasodilatory effect of testosterone is decreased in high grade varicocele and they suggested that serum free testosterone will be in- creased after varicocele repair.17 Ghosh and York have reported that testosterone levels are lower and Alk-p levels are higher in the testis of varicocele-created rats.18 In our study, patients with varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients without varicocele. In addition, patients with grade 3 varicocele had lower serum levels of testosterone and higher serum levels of Alk-p than patients with low grade varicocele. Both parameters did not reach statistical significance, and the reason might be due to a large standard deviation for testo- sterone and Alk-p levels. Therefore, the role of testo- sterone and Alk-p in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation; however, we did not measure folli- cle-stimulating hormone in this study. Our previous study showed that more free radicals might be gener- ated in varicocele veins than in the corresponding peripheral veins in patients with varicocele, because 8-hydroxy-2 -deoxyguanosine levels of leukocyte DNA in spermatic veins are higher than in the correspond- ing peripheral veins in these patients.19 Yesilli et al showed that LDH and malondialdehyde levels are greater in the sperm of infertile men with varicocele, but the levels of LDH and malondialdehyde does not decrease after varicocelectomy.20 In the present study, serum levels of LDH were higher in patients with varic- ocele than in patients without varicocele. Further- more, higher serum levels of LDH were found in patients with high-grade varicocele than in patients with lower-grade varicocele. Neither of these findings was statistically significant. Therefore, the effect of LDH in patients with varicocele needs further evaluation. Our findings suggest that an increase in body fat might be associated with relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon of the superior mesenteric artery to the left renal vein. However, this study had some limitations. First, we did not compare the change in severity of varicocele in the same individual as BMI changed over time. Second, we did not use other imaging studies, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, to demonstrate the relationship between vis- ceral fat and the region of the superior mesenteric artery, left renal vein and aorta. Third, the case numbers were small from an epidemiological view, because all of the subjects needed to have data for biochemical mark- ers, which restricted the patient numbers. Therefore, we need to include more cases in future studies. In conclusion, patients with varicocele might have significantly lower serum levels of cholesterol than patients without varicocele. In addition, our findings support the hypothesis that patients with a greater BMI may have advantages in relieving the nutcracker phe- nomenon causing significant varicoceles, but further studies are required to clarify this issue. References 1. Jarrow JP. Effects of varicocele on male infertility. Hum Reprod Update 2001;7:59–64. 2. Witt MA, Lipshultz LI. Varicocele: a progressive or static lesion? Urology 1993;42:541–3. 3. Gorelick JI, Goldstein M. Loss of fertility in men with varicocele. Fertil Steril 1993;59:613–6. 4. Levinger U, Gornish M, Gat Y, Bachar GN. Is varicocele preva- lence increasing with age? Andrologia 2007;39:77–80. 5. Kumanov P, Robeva RN, Tomova A. Adolescent varicocele: who is at risk? Pediatrics 2008;121:53–7. 6. Delaney DP, Carr MC, Kolon TF, Snyder HM, Zderic SA. The physical characteristics of young males with varicocele. BJU Int 2004;94:624–6. 7. Nielsen ME, Zderic S, Freedland SJ, Jarrow JP. Insight on patho- genesis of varicocele: relationship of varicocele and body mass index. Urology 2006;68:392–6. 8. Irkilata HC, Yildiz O, Yildirim I, Seyrek M, Basal S, Dayanc M, Ulku C. The vasodilator effect of testosterone on the human internal spermatic vein and its relation to varicocele grade. J Urol 2008;180:772–6. 9. Sheriff DS. The lipid composition of human testis in patients with bilateral varicocele as cause of infertility. Andrologia 1982;14: 150–3. 10. Odabas O, Yilmaz Y, Atilla MK, Tarakcioglu M, Aydin S. Can LDH activity in spermatic vein indicate testicular damage? A preliminary report. Int Urol Nephrol 1998;30:599–601. 11. Dubin L, Amelar RD. Varicocelectomy: 986 cases in a twelve- year study. Urology 1977;10:446–9. 12. Tsao CW, Hsu CY, Chou YC, Wu ST, Sun GH, Yu DS, Fan PL, et al. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity in a young adult population. Int J Androl 2009;32:385–90. 13. Handel LN, Shetty R, Sigman M. The relationship between varicoceles and obesity. J Urol 2006;176:2138–40. 14. Sultan Sheriff D. Further studies on testicular lipids and glyco- gen in human patients with unilateral varicocele. Andrologia 1984;16:442–5. 15. Kumanov P, Deepinder F, Robeva R, Tomova A, Li J, Agarwal A. Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. J Adolesc Health 2007;41:126–31. 16. Kondo Y, Ishikawa T, Yamaguchi K, Fujisawa M. Predictors of improved seminal characteristics by varicocele repair. Andrologia 2009;41:20–3. 17. Ishikawa T, Fujisawa M. Varicocele ligation on free testosterone levels in infertile men with varicocele. Arch Androl 2004;50:443–8. 18. Ghosh PK, York JP. Changes in testicular testosterone and acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in testis and accessory sex organs after induction of varicocele in Noble rats. J Surg Res 1994;56:271–6. 19. Chen SS, Huang WJ, Chang LS, Wei YH. 8-Hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine in leukocyte DNA of spermatic vein as a bio- marker of oxidative stress in patients with varicocele. J Urol 2004;172:1418–21. 20. Yesilli C, Mungan G, Seckiner I, Akduman B, Acikgoz S, Altan K, Mungan A. Effect of varicocelectomy on sperm creatine kinase, HspA2 chaperone protein, LDH, LDH-X, and lipid peroxidation product levels in infertile men with varicocele. Urology 2005;66:610–5.