Case assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Case 2 - Assignment Example Zelman, M.J.M.N.D.G. 2009). When talking about the extrinsic rewards than the name of Performance management or Appraisal comes in the mind instantaneously (William N. Zelman, M.J.M.N.D.G. 2009). The subject of Performance management is quite common nowadays and we can find a huge amount of researches and literature on this mounting issue (Dag & Von, 2007). Organizations nowadays become extremely eager as far as facilitating their employees is concerned because of number of reasons. As the turnover of the employees increases as so the strategies to retain them also increase. We have selected the job role of a sales representative for this analysis. Sales representative is the person who is in direct contact with the customers of the company in terms of giving feedback to them (William N. Zelman, M.J.M.N.D.G. 2009). The performance management that should be impose is 360 degree. Performance usually has two different dimensions which predominantly are, achieving the business result and developed individual competencies. The topic of performance appraisal is now seen as a bureaucratic paper work which does not take seriously because it has minimal effect and impact on the development of employees (William N. Zelman, M.J.M.N.D.G. 2009). Performance Appraisal never asked the questions regarding the development and career advancement of an employee but competent mapping 360 degree would focus on how and why performance can be measured and developed. By utilizing the same a company could easily judge the performance of an employee and gives all sort of benefits to them (William N. Zelman, M.J.M.N.D.G. 2009) Motivational theory based on cognitive psychology. It proposes that people are motivated by their conscious expectations of what will happen if they do certain things, and are more productive when they believe their expectations

Blood composition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Blood composition - Essay Example The latter are responsible for giving rise to the blood cells. The mixed myeloid progenitor cells differentiate into the colony forming units (CFU), which ultimately give rise to a particular type of the blood cell. Erythroid cells form the red blood cells which are responsible for carrying hemoglobin and transport oxygen. The white blood cells include monocytes and granulocytes. Monocytes circulate in the blood for some time and then migrate to the tissues to take part in the inflammatory reactions. Three types of granulocytes circulate in the blood, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils. Neutrophils are the most common among the three. They serve to protect against the infections as they recognize and destroy the foreign antigens. Eosinophils account for 1-6% of the circulating WBCs and are responsible for eliciting allergic reactions and also fight against Platyhelminthes and protozoa. Basophils are involved in hypersensitivity reactions by interacting with IgE antibody. Platelet s arise from megakaryocytes and after activation form fibrin plugs to control abnormal

Encouraging more Respect for the Dutch Culture Essay Example for Free

Encouraging more Respect for the Dutch Culture Essay Introduction For my personal project I have decided to write a book (appendix 1) about the Dutch culture and habits. I was inspired to do this project, because a lot of people think that everyone in Holland smoked marihuana at least once a day, walks on clogs all the time and has a garden full of tulips. When I first joined ISS I noticed that everyone assumed that I loved cheese and they still do. This inspired me to do write this book, because I want people to know more about Holland and gain more respect for the country. This is important to me, because I want everyone to not always stereotype the Netherlands. My Area of Interaction for this project will be Community and Service. I chose this Area of Interaction, because I am writing a book for the community to read. I want to inspire the community to see Holland through a different view. I want people to have more respect for the Dutch  culture and its habits after reading my book. By doing this I not only help the school community, but also the Dutch community by encouraging more respect for their culture. Since I am doing this for free it is a service. I think that giving out a book for free is going to make the book more successful. More people would want to read it and so more people will be encouraged to have more respect for Holland. That is why my AOI is Community and Service. My goal of writing this book is that people will start to have more respect for the Dutch culture. I do not want everyone to just assume that I wear clogs at home, eat cheese everyday and especially that I smoke marihuana. I also want to get more non-fiction writing experience and skill by writing this book. This will help me for writing essays and other informative writing tasks. I will measure my goal by seeing if the attitude of people improves after reading my book. What I mean to say by this is that: if they lessened the stereotypical comments, than I believe that their respect has increased. I have designed an 11-point plan for my Personal Project. Make a survey and ask the questions to people in Holland to get their opinion. Buy and read books about the Dutch culture, so I can use these in my project. Find websites on the Internet about clogs, Dutch cheese, drug consumption in the Netherlands etc. I will keep researching. Ask the questions of the survey to people in ISS. Plan out my book. I will plan out what I want chapters to be about and in what order I will put them. Write an introduction for the book. Writing an introduction is important, because it introduces the reader to the book and shows what the reader can expect. I will start on writing the book and finish at least 1/3 of it before the progress fair, so I can present this on the progress fair. I will finish my book around January. This will not be the completed version. I will ask some people to read the rough draft. I will use the feedback I get to improve and finish the book. When finished I will make a table of contents and a cover page. Then I put everything together in a folder and hand it in on the due date. Description of the process Research and Planning First, I had to plan out the whole entire process. As shown in the introduction I had an eleven-point plan to finish my personal project. That was just a rough draft of all the things I was going to do, but now I will describe the whole process in detail. I started my project a little bit before the summer break. I started researching on how to write a non-fiction book. This was very critical to my project, because I have never written a book before and it was very likely to take longer if I did not use these websites. (Stephanie Chandeler, 2009) (Bobbi Linkemer, 2010) After this I thought of the survey questions I was going to ask people about Holland. The week after I planned this, my family and me went to the Netherlands and I planned to do the survey there. I asked the survey questions to as many family members and friends as I could, until we went home. I had about 25 persons interviewed and I was convinced that this was going to help me during the project. I put all the answers of the survey into an Excel document. (appendix 2) After the all this research I realized that I did not have a plan. I quickly made a 11-point plan to write my book. I was very stupid of me to write the plan so late. I will discuss this further in the conclusion. Two weeks after school started I asked the survey questions to the whole entire tenth grade class. Some of these surveys were very useful and actually helped me writing my book. But many of them were not taken seriously and I thought this was very disappointing, because I expected a little better of my classmates. Writing the first half and rewriting first half After all of this research I started writing the book. Three weeks after the school started I wrote my introduction to the book (word from the Author). This was very important to the book, because in this introduction I had to introduce the whole entire book and as I said before I have difficulties starting a writing task. But once I get into writing, then I can keep on writing for maybe 15 minutes straight. After that I wrote chapter one of my book. It was not very hard on deciding what my first chapter should be on, because almost every non-fiction book starts out with a basic overview of the topic that will be discussed. So my first chapter was about the geographical facts about Holland, like its area, population, religion  percentage and other basic facts about The Netherlands. The second chapter was about the provinces of Holland. I believed that this was important to explain, because every province is different and I wanted to show that not everything in Holland is the same a s some people think. It is like the states in the U.S., people in Georgia are completely different from people in Texas. Then I started on the third chapter, which was about the water in Holland. I talked about the lakes, rivers, seas and polders in Holland. The fourth chapter was the last chapter I wrote before the progress fair. It was about the history of Holland. I discussed important wars and events that effected Holland on what it is today. Three days later I presented what I had written so far at the progress fair. Not a lot of people were interested in my project and only about 5 kids stopped to look and ask questions about my project. A week later the biggest problem happened throughout the whole project. I lost all my progress so far on what I have written. For some reason my laptop deleted nearly everything that I had written so far. The only thing that wasn’t gone was my introduction. This was a very big problem and I should have had a back up. The next school week and one and a half week of the break I spend rewriting my whole entire first half of the book. This wasted a lot of my time I could have actually spent starting my second half of the book. I believe that the second version of my book was slightly different than the first version, but only small improvements were made. It could even be that I may have left some things out and have added some things, so my first version could have been better or worse. Writing the second half of the book The second half of the book was a little more difficult. I had covered all of the basic things, like geography and history. Now I needed all the things that people were stereotyping and making fun of, because my goal was to encourage more respect for the Dutch community by writing the actual truth instead of writing. I first decided to make a chapter on significant and famous Dutch people before talking about stereotypes. In the appendix chapter 5 of my book is shown and as you can see I talk about famous Dutch people in the past (like Vincent Van Gogh), and famous Dutch people in the present (like Johan Cruijff). I thought that this was also important to put into my book, because some people did not know any famous Dutch people and I  thought it was a good idea to also include this in my book. I finally started writing about some typical Dutch things. My sixth chapter was about Dutch holidays and traditions. I included holidays in them like the Dutch carnaval and Sinterklaas, because those are two very popular and well-known holidays all over Holland. This chapter is also included in the appendix. My seventh chapter was about Dutch eating habits and I talked about food like Dutch cheese and its stereotypes and liquorice. I hoped that I made a lot of things clear about Dutch people and cheese in this chapter. The eighth chapter of my book was about tolerance in the Netherlands. Here I hope I made a lot of things clear about the red light district, drug legalization in Holland and legalized prostitution in Holland. My final chapter was about typical Dutch things like windmills and tulips. I explained that not everyone grows tulips in their garden and not everyone in Holland lives in a windmill! After I finished all of my chapters I let my mother and father read it through for some feedback. Using the feedback I got, I improved my book. Afterwards I wrote my afterword and bibliography. In the afterword I thanked all the people that helped me write the book and summarize the conclusion of the book. At last I put the book together and made a table of contents. So, finally after 6 months of hard work, problems and bad time management I finished my book and handed it in. I hope everyone who will read the book will gain more respect for the people of The Netherlands and will think twice before concluding anything about Holland and its culture. Analysis Useful resources and the AOI linked to it My project was a project that was based on and dependent on a lot of research. So the research changed my personal project a lot. As I told in the process description, I did some research on how to write a book and I also did a survey with a lot of people. This survey affected my personal project a lot, because this showed me what people of different ages were thinking about Holland internationally. I used this survey in a lot of chapters in my book, so I could see what people were thinking about Holland. As I mentioned before my project was dependent on research. I used a lot of websites and most other websites were useful in the same way. I found websites about cheese, traditions, polders and many other things. There were  only two parts of my research that were more important than all the information sources. These were the survey and the websites on how to write a book. These helped me reach my goal better. The survey helped, because this showed me what a lot of people were thinking and so I could decide what I should write several of my chapters about. The websites on how to write book helped, because it is always very difficult for me to start an essay or any other writing task. These websites helped me start out and guided me throughout the whole writing process. Another very useful website that helped me finish my longest chapter, chapter 2, was a website called tripadvisor.com (Tripadvisor, 2000) I used a lot of sources I used and it would be a miracle if I remembered all of them word by word. Some of which I remember do relate to the AOI. The source that links the most to the AOI is my survey results. Asking people from two different communities questions about their personal opinions created this survey. One was the Dutch community who all gave similar answers and mostly answers that make sense to me. The other was an international community who also gave similar answers, but made less sense. Some people did not take this survey seriously and some people gave stupid answers. One example is that some people just wrote weed next to every answer. These were the survey that did not help me at all and I just threw them away. By seeing this I could conclude that not a lot of foreigners knew about the Dutch people and their culture. Changes in the plan I changed a lot of things in the plan. At the very beginning I said that I would create the survey first. What I actually did first was research on how to write a book. This was an important change in the plan, because if I didn’t than probably my book would have been less organized, I probably forgot the table of contents and my introduction would take maybe three days. Another change I made in one of the points in the plan was that I did not interview people from the I was planning in doing so, but than I decided not to. I am a very shy person when it comes to asking a stranger a bunch of questions. I was afraid that they might be startled and most of them just say no, because they don’t have time. I was also afraid that people think I am some crazy kid asking them some stupid questions about their own country. Another change in the plan was that I switched point 4 and 5 around. Now, I  first planned out the book and then I surveyed the tenth grade. I did this, because I saw that some people were still getting used to their homework pattern in tenth grade and would probably forget one â€Å"unimportant† survey and that would leave me with maybe 15 completed surveys in my hands. So I first planned out the book and later when most people were less stressed I asked the survey questions. The biggest change is probably that I would have had the book finished in January. I had to change this, because of the problem that occurred I explained about in the description process. Almost all of my work got deleted. Due to this I could not work on my second half of the project in the Christmas break. I finished up my rough draft in the February break and had two days to use feedback from my mother and father to improve my book. This change also had effect on nearly all of my last points, because of the little time that was left after the deletion of my project. Techniques used in the project and time management I did not use a lot of different techniques in my project. Since my project is writing a book not as many techniques are used as in making a movie or sporting. The technique I used most was research and write. For a non-fiction book this is obvious, because the information in the book does require a lot of research. There are also other techniques I used, like the interview. The interview was, as I explained before, critical to my project. This interview was very effective to my project, because it is always good to not only have second hand sources. To have a first hand source can come in really handy, because one cannot always believe what is on the Internet. My time management could have been better. First of all it would have been better if I had finished everything up until my book introduction in the summer break, because than I could have entirely focused on writing my book for the rest of the year. The other big thing that interfered with my time schedule was the deletion of my project. As I explained before I had to rewrite all over again during the Christmas break. And the last thing that is again completely my fault, is that I let the final chapter of my book all come down to one holiday. I worked everyday on the project in the holiday and was really stressed throughout the whole ‘holiday’. I should have spread it out over the last three weeks, but I admit I was too lazy and thought that I wasted half of my Christmas break on my project that I won’t do a lot  in the weeks to come. This is a thought that I will not ever think again after what happened. Has my understanding of my AOI grown during the project? My understanding of the AOI has definitely improved over the course of the year. My understanding about why one should respect another culture has grown a lot. I have realized more than ever that I have to respect other cultures more and stop making stereotypical jokes in order to gain respect from other people for my culture. I also understand more how my book could contribute and has contributed to a community. By reading my book some people have gained respect for Holland and its culture as I mentioned before. Now maybe 10 people read the book and maybe 5 of these have gained respect for the Dutch culture. This benefitted the small Dutch community in our school. But let us say that half of Germany reads my book. I think that around 40%/50% of these people would actually understand and respect the Dutch culture more. If such a thing happened than it could have contributed to the whole Dutch community. Understanding and quality of the product I understand many more things now about writing a book. The main thing that I have learned is to have a back up for every chapter you make. I have learned this the hard way. Another major thing that I understand now is that writing a book is not as easy as I expected it to be. It requires a lot of research, creativity and especially time. If you do not plan you time well then writing a book can take a really long time. I wrote a book double-spaced, size 14 and 6800 words in 46 pages in about 6 months. A writer that does single-spaced, size 12 and around 500 pages would maybe take 30 years over one book if he/she wrote in my tempo. And if I wrote in their tempo than I would be done with the project in maybe a month or so. So my understanding is that writing a book is mostly about planning and a lot of dedication to one’s work. I am quite proud on what I produced. I never thought myself capable of writing a book. Compared to the work of a professional writer my book is very short. I compared my work to a book called â€Å"The Dutch, I presume?†(Martijn de Rooj, April 2009) and another book called â€Å"Holland† (Herman Van Amsterdam, 2009) and saw that mine was way shorter. These man also has more experience when it comes to writing a book. they designed it really clever and also had other professionals working with them; like  professional photographers and artists. The Difficulty of the project Overall I would not consider my project as a difficult project. I also don’t think it is easy. Writing a book is not as easy as people think it is, because it requires a lot of planning and a bit of creativity. But it is also not extremely difficult, because if you planned everything than you just let your mind and hands do the work and just keep on writing until you cannot write anymore. I think writing a non-fiction book is more for people who are looking for a challenge. Conclusion Have I met my Goal? I believe that I have met my goal to a certain extent. The first part of my goal was to encourage more respect for the Dutch culture. This point is not very clear yet, because only one foreigner has read the book until now. But I believe that the book will have some impact on the respect people have for Holland. I told some of my classmates some facts about the Netherlands and they stopped making fun of the things I told them are not even close to the truth. My other goal was to get more informative writing skills. I believe that I really have achieved this goal, because I find it easier to write more on one-world essays or history essays now, because I wrote this book. This project also helped me a lot with researching skills. Before I only used to look on the Internet, but now I will start using other sources like books and first hand sources to research. By doing this I can get more information about a subject and this will, hopefully, get me better grades. Things that I would do differently if I could start over There are a lot of things I would do differently next time. The first one is to have a back up for everything I write. This was the biggest problem I had throughout the whole project. Due to this I wasted a whole break rewriting all the things I did not back up. If I do this differently if I could start over than I would probably have way more time to do the rest of my book. This brings me to the other thing I would do differently if I could start over: time management. I should have planned my time better throughout the 6 months I had. Because I did not plan my time well in the ending I had to  finish the second half of my project in one and a half week. Another thing that I could improve is that I should let more than just 2 people give me feedback on my book. Both of the people that gave me feedback were Dutch and I should have let someone with a different nationality look at it. This would have been an advantage, because than I would have gotten another cultures point of view. The benefit of another culture’s point of view is that all the things that think could be appropriate in Holland could be inappropriate in other cultures. Because I might have put one or two jokes in my book that could be seen as inappropriate, but I left them in there due to that the two people giving feedback were ok with it. Personal lesson I learned from doing this project I have learned a lot by doing this project. The main thing is that I learned to organize better. I was always terrible at organizing my work, so I got in time trouble a lot of time. By doing this project along with all the essays and tests we got I had to learn organizing the hard way. Another thing I learned and I kept mentioning throughout the whole report is that I HAVE to make a back up for all the important work I have done. If I do not do this something like what happened in December might happen and completely ruin days of works. I also learned that if I really put myself into something I could write about a lot of information quickly. Another important thing that I realized while writing my book was that if I want people to respect my culture and stop stereotyping, I also have to do the same thing. I realized this while talking to a couple of my friends about respect for one’s country. I realized that in order for me to achieve my goal of people respecting my culture, I had to do the same thing. I have learned a lot by doing this project and I hope that other people have learned a lot too by reading my book. Bibliography Chandler, Stephanie. How to Write Your Non-Fiction Book in 60 Days: 8 Steps Get Your Book Out of Your Head and on to Paper. Scribd. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. http://www.scribd.com/doc/13835154/How-to-Write-Your-NonFiction-Book-in-60-Days-8-Steps-Get-Your-Book-Out-of-Your-Head-and-on-to-Paper. Linkemer,

The enhancing effects of music on happiness

The enhancing effects of music on happiness This thesis examines the enhancing effects of music on happiness.Music is the purest form of art. It can be said that it has an impact on almost everyone. Certain pieces of music have a relaxing effect, while others stimulate us to act, and some cause change in or emphasize our mood. This work specifically concentrates on how listening to different kinds of music can increase the level of happiness and the factors associated with it. Defining Music The word music basically comes from the Greek word mousike meaning art of the muses.As generally percieved, music is one of the fine arts which is concerned with the combinition of sounds with beauty of form and the expression of thought or feeling.It can be defined as vocal or instrumental sounds having some degree of rhythm, melody and harmony. According to the Australian Oxford dictionary (2004), music is the art of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form,harmony and expression of emotion. The Collins dictionary (2000) relates music as an art form consisting of sequences of sounds in time, especially tones of definite pitch organized melodically, harmonically,rhythmically and according to color. Music is also known as, the art of combining sounds so as to please the ear (Chambers dictionary,1987) . Music is also viewed as an art that is difficult to tie down . According to Wikipedia , the definition of music varies according to culture and social context. The artists may view music as a performing art, a fine art, and an auditory art .William Sheakspeare has defined it as as the food of soul.Humanistic psychologists view music as a means of self fulfillment,integration and self actualiztion.For existentialists it is another department of choice and freedom. Music in any form has a universal appeal, like an international language,it is understood and spoken everywhere,and its charm and penetrating power cannot be denied.(Malik, M.S., 1983). Components of Music According to a physicists point of view, music consists of a set of a set of sounds with particular frequencies, amplitudes, and timbres which are organized into highly predictable patterns. The social and cultural meanings by people turn these sounds into music (Hargreaves, D. J and North, A. C., 2000).The components of music are, Musical note is a single sound of definite pitch and duration which can be identified in writing. Rhythm, is the arrangement of sounds in time, this arrangement is a complex arrangement of notes into a mixture of short and long durations within a single bar or a series of bars. Regular pulse groupings are called bars or measures. Rhythm is one of the most central features of many styles of music, especially jazz and hip-hop (Lerdahl Jackendoff, 1983). Scale, is a progression of notes in an ascending or descending order. Melody or tune assembles a series of notes into recognizable musical shapes. The notes of a melody are created with respect to pitch systems such as scales. A melody usually though not necessarily possesses rhythm. The rhythm of a melody is often based on the tones of language, the physical rhythms of dance or just periodic beatings. (Narveson, 1984). The beat of a piece of music is its regular pulse, determined by the bar lines by which music are metrically determined. Pitch, is the height or depth of a note in relation to other notes or in relation to an absolute pitch. The absolute pitch has internationally been set at A=400 Hz that is, the A above the middle c has a frequency of 440 cycles or vibrations per second. Pitch is determined by the sounds frequency of vibration. The process of assigning note names to pitches is called tuning. The difference in frequency between two pitches is called an interval. The interval indicates either the doubling or halving of the base frequency. (Machlis Kristine, 2007) Harmony is the study of vertical sonorities in music. A vertical sonority refers to considering the relationship between pitches that are together. Harmony can also be implied by melodies that outline a harmonic structure. A larger structure involving multiple pitches is called a chord (Darmschroder Williams, 1990).Harmony in music can be analyzed through Roman numeral system. A system of chord symbols is used in popular and jazz music. (Friberg, 1991). Musical texture is the overall sound of a piece of music .It is described as the number of parts or lines and their relationship. The perceived texture of a musical piece can be affected by the interval between each musical line, the timbre of instruments or the number of instruments used. Monophony, homophony and polyphone include musical textures. Monophony is the texture of a melody. The texture of homophony is achieved when a melody is accompanied by chords. The melody in homophony is usually voiced in high notes. Polyphony consists of several simultaneous melodies of equal importance (Temperly, 2001). Form, is a feature of musical theory that explores the concept of musical syntax, on a local and global level. The syntax is often explained in terms of phrases and periods or sections or genre respectively. (Juslin, 2003). 1.1.2 Musical Instruments The earliest and largest collection of prehistoric musical instruments was found in China and dates back to between 7000 and 6600 BC. (Wikipedia).People of different cultures have developed musical instruments of their own distictive fashion,the sounds of these instruments thus,affect different prople differently.Some distict musical instruments are, Sitar, it has been the king of indian court music since 14th century. It is the modification of an earlier instrument,the Keena.The sitar is made of teak,jackwood and a seasoned gourd.Its neck towers above the players head while it is played.It mainly has six or seven playing strings running above the feet and below them, a dozen or so sympathetic strings,that set up a steady running echo.The sitar is played with a wireplectrum worn on the right finger of the sitarist.The sitar music is a world in itself.Learning to play the instrument with proficiency needs ten or twelve years of intensive study(Bhattacharya, McDonald Carter,2008). Rebab, is the name for various Arabic bow string instruments found in Islamic countries. They occur usually with three strings in various shapes like elongated boats, trapezoid rectangles etc. The Rebab was both carried eastwards and westwards with the spread of Islam (Kartomi, 1990). Guitar is a string instrument, originally brought to Spain by the moors in the middle ages. It has a flat back. The modern instrument has six strings. The guitar is a popular instrument used to provide a simple choral accomplishment to a dance or a song. Flute, is a cylindrical tube closed at the upper end where these is a side hole, though which the player bows air and makes the internal air column vibrate. The modern flute was largely developed by T.Bohm, he made it possible to pierce finger-holes in correct positions. The flute did not come into general use in chamber and orchestral music until 18th century (Taylor, 1992). Saxophones are classified as members of the single reed family. Saxophone was invented in about 1840 by Adolph Sax, a Belgian instrument maker. Saxophones are regular members of dance bands military bands and are also used to play distinctive solo in orchestral work. The sound of the saxophone is extremely variable. Its timbre being intermediate between wood and brass, it passes from the softness of flute over the broad, mellow tone of cells to the metallic strength of the coronet (Ingham, 1998). Drum, is the generic name for instruments consisting of skin stretched over a frame or vessel and struck with the hands or a sticks. The drum was introduced in the western world through Greece (Kinnear, 1985). Tabla, is a type of an oriental drum. It exists in different forms. The Indian table is a single headed drum resembling a small tympano, having a similar sound. The Arabic tabla is beaten by the hands and the tone is much drier than that of the Indian instrument (Holroyde, 1972). Xylophone is a set of tuned wooden bars beaten with sticks. The bars usually rest in a frame and are arranged in order of pitch. Most xylophones are provided with resonators, either in the form of a cradle shaped box under the bars, or in the form of a separate gourd for each bar gourd for each bar. When playing the xylophone, the player uses mallets of various weights and hardness according to the quality of tone required.( Nettl Bruno ,1956). Piano, Classicism is the greatest and the best known period of piano music. The pianist uses a flexible system of levers connected by four joints, knuckles, wrist, elbow and shoulders. It can also be played by placing the finger on the key and raising the arm slightly in a relaxed action. Piano is a mechanical instrument through which the notes are produced by the strike of keys (Krumhansl, 1997). Violin is the most important of the stringed instruments in the orchestra as well as in chamber and solo music. Its main parts are the, body consisting of label sound board, back and ribs (sidewalks), the finger board, string holder, the bridge. The violin provides expressiveness ranging from soft lyricism to extreme dramatic excitement and a sensitive timbre (Cremer, 1984). Harmonium is a keyboard instrument that sounds by means of thin metal tongues being set in vibration by a steady current of air which is provided by a pair of pedal operated bellows. The metal tongues act as free reeds. Modern harmonium can produce expressive graduations of sounds by means of the expression stop. The harmonium was developed in the 19th century from a number of experimental instruments (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica (11th Ed.), 1911). Types of Music The aim of all music is to touch the core of the heart and thus music can be called an expression of our hearts sayings. Different types of music help in soothing ones disturbed soul, in the growth of concentration and also cheer us up to live life to the fullest. There are various types of music as people have different tastes i.e., classical music, rock, hip-hop, folk, opera, mystical etc. The objective behind listening to music remains the same. Classical music is a complex form of music as it requires high musical skills like learning the ragas and ability to coordinate with other musicians .The one who wants to learn, he/she has to go through proper training in this field of music (Bhattacharyya, 2008). Rock music, originated in the rock n roll era of 1950s. The singers are accompanied by a guitar, bass and drum. Certain rock groups use pianos, saxophones, flute, mandolin and sitar for a deeper effect. This type of music has several subtypes such as hard rock, progressive rock and metal rock. All these types of rock music are popular to date.(Warren , Romanowski Parles ,2001). Hip-hop (Pop-Music) music always includes the use of instruments such as guitar, violin, fiddle, piano, bass and drums. In these types of music, the bass is the main instrument. This can be used in different intensities to emote feelings of anger, pride and others. This type of music is the result of hip-hop culture and is known as hip-hop music. This music shows a heavy influence of Jamaican music. The roots of the music are found in African American and West African music. (Light, 1999). Folk music is a kind of traditional music that is handed down from generations in every culture. Folk music shows the social upheaval that lies among various classes of people. This also portrays their struggle for survival and their culture (Bhattacharyya, 2008).The term can be applied to music that has been evolved from rudimentary beginnings by a community uninfluenced by popular and art music and it can likewise be applied to music which has originated with an individual composer and has subsequently been absorbed into the unwritten living tradition of a community. It is the re-fashioning and re-creation of the music by the community that gives it a folk character (Lloyd, 1975). Opera music first emerged in Italy in the 17th century. This genre of music a remarkable combination of theatrical art and musical inventions and is specifically played in theatres. This has greater demand for its amusing orchestral supplements. The introduction and interval of this music set the tone for the action on stage. (Grout Williams, 2003). Mystical music Music is an outburst of the soul  .Mystic music includes spacious, contemplative, heartfelt, trance inducing and psychedelic sounds in such genres as space music, electronic, ambient, visionary, acoustic, world fusion, classical, neo-classical, and even some progressive rock; a mix of entrancing drones, structures, and rhythms. Mystic music extends from Bach to rock. Mystic music is that kind of sonorous sound experience that lifts and awakens you above normal consciousness, even if only for a few moments. If you listen sensitively, it puts you in touch with your most special memories and forgotten dreams. It is relaxing and good for your plants (and your body too; not to mention your mind, heart and soul). Mystic music remains true to the original purpose of music: to help us contact the spiritual dimensions of life and reveal the secret to us; and to, keep the spirit alive (Nasr, 1997) 1.1.4 Effects of Music Music holds a very significant position in our lives since the beginning.From the early beginning to the present day,interest in music with reference to healing and therapeautic experiece has sustained (Bartlett ,1996) The qualities of music were known even in earliest times. Evidence suggests that dance and song preceded speech. Researchers have found that about two-thirds of the inner ears cilia resonate only at the higher frequencies that are commonly found in music (3,000 20,000 Hz). This seems to indicate that primitive humans communicated primarily through song or tone.India has one of the oldest musical traditions in the world, references to Indian classical music (marga) can be found in the ancient scriptures of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas (Wikipedia). There are references to the divine alliance of music and medicine in classical antiquity and the healing function of much among primitive people (Schullian and Schoen,1948). Recent work on music has confirmed the effectiveness of music too. This is of the fact that music can trigger Endorphins in human body that help the mind in creating sound images,allowing people to escape into a painless worlds sheltered by their imaginations. Music can speed up or slow,regularize or disturb our heart beat,relax or tense the nerves,can affect digestion,respiration and blood pressure(Tame,1984) Ansdell(1995) says that we make and experience music because or body is made up of cells,organs,and muscles that have pulses and tones,tensions and resolutions of the tensions.Emotions share with music the qualities of speed force attack and intensity.It has also been suggested that music could be a powerful tool to use within neuro-disability and the structure of music can help organize and retrieve information. (Taylor, 1992). In many instances it has been found that people with brain related problems were able to function in better ways while being exposed to music. (Erdonmez, 1993; Nordoff Robbins, 1997). Mc Carty (1999) described how music could reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions in healthy as well as clinically ill people. In the words of Janet Towell(2000), Music can soothe the soul, excite the emotions and provide a sense of cultural identity. Music can decrease pain and depression while increasing mood and self esteem. A study showed that tempo affected arousal while mode of the music affected the mood (Husain, Thompson Schelenburg, 2002). Well ness is a product of healthy body, mind, spirit interactions, and, as a result music can an important asset in creating the appropriate environment for persons healing (Stewart, 1990).Musics appeal to us is primarily emotional and psychological. Music has been noted for its ability to enhance peoples moods, move them to tears, make them want to rejoice or just move them emotionally in both negative and positive ways (Goldstein, A, 1980). Radocy and Boyle(1979) suggest that there are eight types of affective responses to music.Some of these relate to an innate sensory perception of the sound while others are associted with images,experiences and emotional context of these experiences.These responses may include simple feelings;negative and positive organic feelins;moral religious feelings and emotions and tempraments.Because of this entity,music often can help people in confronting issues which they have not dealt earlier in their lives.This is because of the association between the events of our past with the particular piece of music (Bright ,1993;Levine , 1999;Ortiz ,1997). Stewart(1990) believes that music is an affective therapeutic agent under the right circumstances as it can allign patterns of emotion,structures of conciousness and /or psychic energy (P.62).It does not appeal to logic and rarely meets with intellectual resistence to iniciate its actions(Guzzetta , 1995).Music can help us to initiate psychological movement by modifying our mental states and cuing us towards more positive affirmations such as sad to cheerfull,discouraged to hopefull,or plain to peaceful.Music has an essential ability to create another world of virtual time(Blaking,1990).Menuhin(1972) reveals furthur that Music creates order out of chaos, for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent ,melody imposes continuity among the disjointed,and harmony imposes compatibility among the incongruous.Listening to music can create and expand out internal space where we can retreat from the norms and the reality of the world.This is achieved by creating an internal imaginative world of sound which is rich in symbolism and personal meaning,and allowing us to revisit the emotional context of particular memories(Bunt,1996). According to Sloboda(1989) ,the reason most of us take part in musical activities is that music is capable of arousing in us deep and significant emotions.These emotions range from the aeshetic delight in sound construction,through emtions such as joy or sorrow which music sometimes enhances to simple relief from boredom of depression.The music itself cannot have extra musical meaning unless the experience to which it refers already exists in the mind of the listener.When music has similar connections with human life,then it can make people more aware of feelings they experienced by intensifying the emotions.Particular music can help in moving painful memories or the unresolved issues in life .Stor(1992) also refers this arousal as being a condition of heightned alertness,awareness,interest and excitement.He also believes that apart from the relations between seeing an emotional arousal,the relation between hearing and emotional arousal is stronger. Campball(1992), observed that when we communcate with the emotional centres of our being such as through the use of music,we can better reduce stress and achieve a sense of welbeing.Music can also help in achieving peace and relaxation (Ortiz ,1997). Diamond (1979) suggests that music can be an important part of primary preventative health care at a psychosocial level. Bunt(1996) shows that how music can be used to assist people in realizing their feelings, going beyond their everyday experiences, resolving hurts and pain and appraising significant live events. Music can also evoke memories of the emotional context of past events and times and aid people to explore issues for a different angle and retrieving events and emotions. Music evokes not only the memories of past time but also the emotional context of those times(Bunt,1997).It has been reported that music is an activity that the healthy impaired talented and interested enjoy, because it provides them with a relief from their stress ,anxiety, depression and mourning(Blacking,1995).Music coupled with personal attention and care of other people, can provide gratification and restore a sense of worth to people who may be experiencing depression or low self-esteem (Crystal, Grober Masur,1989). According to Spingte (1998), music is the most intense means of emotional communication. In view of Hallan, S Price, J. (1998), calming music led to better participant performance on arithmetic and memory tasks. Music can align patterns of emotions, structures of consciousness and / or psychic energy (Stewart, 1990). Thus, music has great influences on a listener. It can take the mind and body to do spontaneous things whether they are good or bad. Depending on the type of music and the inner message it has, music can influence a person and his/her actions (Cassidy, 2008). Happiness There has been a surge of interest in Positive Psychology during the last quarter of this century. There has been a huge amount of interest and research on happiness, wellbeing and satisfaction among all positive fields (Diener 1995).The classic definition of happiness by Jeremy Bentham(1800s) is that happiness is the sum of pleasures and pains. Happiness  is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or  joy.It is a positive emotional state that is defined by every person on a subjective level. The term subjective well-being is used as a synonym for happiness. Happiness is defined as an overall appraisal of life, where the good and the bad is balanced (Diener Scolon, 2003). Happiness in this older sense was used to translate the Greek Eudemonia, and is still used in virtue ethics.(Wikipedia). Happiness is a belief about yourself and the outside world. You can be doing something you normally experience as pleasurable but not be happy. Pleasure is born from the external world; happiness is born from the internal workings of our own minds. Martin Seligman,( 2002) one of the founders of positive psychology, describes happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities. He categorizes emotions related to the past, present and future. Positive emotions relating to the past include satisfaction, contentment, pride and serenity. Positive emotions relating to the future include optimism, hope and trust. Veenhoven (1997) has defined happiness or subjective well-being as the degree to which one judges the quality of his life favorably. According to Schwartz and Strack (1999), even very minor incidents in life can affect the level of happiness. The findings of a Pakistani research have shown that number of happy people is more than that of unhappy people and that the eastern people have higher levels of happiness than western people. Work satisfaction, social support, religious affiliation, social class, income level, and marital status and satisfaction were found to be predictors of happiness (Suhail, Chaudary, 2004).Individual differences in the levels of happiness also have significance. Theories of happiness The theories of happiness have been divided into three types, Need/goal satisfaction theories, Process/activity theories, Genetic/personality predisposition theories (Diener et al, 2002). Psychoanalytic and humanistic theorists believed that reduction in tension and satisfaction of needs lead to the achievement of happiness. It was theorized that people were happy as they had achieved their goals. (Compton, 2005). According to the process/activity theorists, participating in activities generates happiness. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) proposed that people who indulge in interesting and challenging activities, and thus experience the feelings of flow, are happier. Emmons (1986) has also emphasized how pursuing goals generates happiness. The genetic/personality theorists view happiness as a stable construct. A Research by Costa and McCrae (1986) proved that happiness is based on personality and genetics. Lucas (1996) also found in a research that personality traits were closely related to happiness. Keyes and Lopez (1995) presented another model of happiness. They defined happiness as a complete state of mental health while combining many principles of pleasure. They defined emotional happiness as the presence of positive affect and life satisfaction with the absence of negative affect. Social happiness was achieved by incorporating acceptance, actualization, contribution, coherence and integration. However, self acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy and positive relations with others were the components of achieving psychological well-being, Most of recent researches agree with idea of happiness being a combination of psychological, emotional, and physical well-being. Causes of Happiness Sex: No significant differences have been seen between the levels of happiness of men and women (Nolen-Hoeksema Rusting, 1999).In a study by Wood,Rhodes Whelan (1989), it was found that women report slightly higher levels of happiness. Fujita, Diener Sandvick (1991) also reported that women showed greater capacity for joy. Shayam and Yadev (2006) found that elderly men scored higher on well-being as compared to elderly women. However the impact of gender accounts for only 1 percent of variability in happiness in people. Finances: Financial status is related to happiness, however with an increase the effect diminishes (Diener, 1997).Diener (1995) found that positive correlations existed between the GDP and subjective well being of fifty five nations. According to Keely,(2000) increase in income does not lead to increase in happiness.Most people are happy regardless of their material wealth(Diener , 1996). Marital status: Research has shown that married people are happier as compared to unmarried, divorced, separated or widowed people. Shields Wooden (2003) found that married women and men were consistently happier than unmarried men and women. Education: Education has greater affect on the happiness levels of people with lower incomes (Campbell, 1976).Education appears to have only small direct influence on happiness. Culture: Diener Lucas (1999) found that some nations appear to be more emotional than other nations. It was found that people in individualistic cultures had higher subjective well-being as compared to collectivistic cultures. (Ball, 2001). Health: Physical health is strongly related to levels of happiness. If one is physically healthy he/she would have higher levels of happiness as compared to a person who is sick. According to physicians, Brief, Butcher, George Link (1993) a strong correlation exists between subjective well-being and health. Religion: Many researches support that people who are religious tend to be happier. Studies have found that engagement in religious activities is significantly related to higher well-being (Donahue Benson, 1995).James Peacock and Margret Poloma (1999) found that ones perceived closeness to God was a very strong predictor of happiness. Life Events: The number of positive events correlate with positive affect at .33 in people whereas, the average intensity of positive affect when subjects were feeling happy correlated with happiness at .25 (Schimmack, Diener Oishi 2002).Happiness correlate with a number of friends and the relationships with them (Diener Lucas, 1999).Peak experiences however have been found to be due to religion music or other intense activities. Thus, immense research has been done on the effects of music on physical as well as mental health which has shown promising results.

The Impact of Different Life Crises :: Crises Crisis Death Life Essays

The Impact of Different Life Crises Stress and everyday annoyances are not crises. Situations that interfere with normal activity, inspire feelings of panic or defeat, and bring about deep emotional reactions are crises. A crisis is a 'turning point'; or a crucial time that will make a difference for better or worse. The Chinese word for 'crisis'; is made up of two characters -- one means despair and the other means opportunity. When a person experiences crisis, there will either be a negative outcome or a positive one. The direction of the outcome depends on a number of factors such as -- physical and emotional health of the individual, support from others, childhood upbringing, past experience with similar situations, and the duration of the crisis situation. I propose to focus specifically on the life crises with which the elderly population faces, notably the loss of a spouse or companion, retirement, and contending with a terminal illness. Through examining the latter crises and their potential to influence the he alth of an elderly individual, I expect to learn of means by which the elderly may give way to in order not to become overwhelmed with the changes. Different life crises have different impacts. In many cases, however, it may be possible to anticipate crises and prepare for them. It may also be useful to recognize the impact of crises that have occurred so that one can take account of them appropriately. Holmes and Rahe with the Social Readjustment Scale have done some very interesting work in this area. This allocates a number of 'Life Crisis Units'; to different events, so that one can evaluate them and take action accordingly (Niven 99). While this approach is obviously a simplification of complex situations, using LCUs can give one a useful start in adjusting to life crises. With regards to the elderly population, namely the events 'death of a spouse';, 'personal illness or injury';, and 'retirement'; rate 100, 53, and 45 LCUs respectively. One of the most powerful stressors in one's life, particularly in the elderly population, is the loss of a loved one or a close relationship through the death of a spouse or companion . In the two years following bereavement, widowed people are more susceptible to illness and physical ailments, and their mortality rate is higher than expected. Bereaved people may be vulnerable to illness in part because, feeling unhappy, they do not sleep well, they stop eating properly, and they consume more drugs and cigarettes.

Malcolm X Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley was published in 1965. It is national best seller about the life and times of Malcolm X. On May 19, 1925 Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a preacher who spoke out about the unity of black people. This caused several white racists to strike out against Malcolm’s father and his family violently. His family moved to Lansing, Michigan where Malcolm, his parents, brothers, and sisters were shot at, burned out of their home, harassed, and threatened. When Malcolm was 6 years old, his father was murdered by a white man. After his father’s death his mother had a nervous breakdown and the family got split up by welfare agencies. Malcolm was placed in a lot of different schools and boardinghouses. He was a good student and wanted to be a lawyer someday, but a teacher told him that because he was black he should take up carpentry instead. At age 15 he dropped out of school and moved to Boston to live with his half sister Ella. He quickly sees the fast pace life of Detroit. To get money he shined shoes, worked at a soda fountain, worked at a restaurant and on a railroad kitchen crew. Later he moved to the black Harlem section of New York City where he sold drugs, became a thief, and was involved with a lot of hoodlums and pimps. He moved back to Boston and got arrested for burglary. While he was in prison he learned about the Nation of Islam and later joined the Islamic religion. He was released from prison in 1952 and went to be with his brother in Detroit where he replaced his last name, Little, with X to symbolize his lost true African family name. The Islamic religion taught that white people were devils so Malcolm went around speaking out against whites at universities and other places. He returned to New York and became minister of the Harlem temple. For 12 years he preached that the white man was the devil and Muhammad was God’s messenger. In 1964 he left the Nation of Islam and said "I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else’s control. I feel what I’m thinking and saying now is for myself. Before, it w as for and by guidance of another, now I think with my own mind."(Haley 312) He was 38 years old when he left the Islamic religion and started his own group, Organization of Afro-American Unity. He went to Mecca, known as the Hajj, and this is a religious... ...t of drug addiction, self-hatred and poverty. He restored a sense of pride in our African heritage to millions of black Americans. He offered his own view of civil rights issues, and it was totally different from the views held by other leaders, who were thought to be more moderate. If he had lived, many people think that he would have become one of the most powerful political figures this nation has known. At the end of the book Malcolm said, "I know that societies often have killed the people who have helped to change those societies. And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America then all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine." Book Report: The Autobiography of Malcolm X Chidima Keke April 13, 2004 African American History II Professor Lewis Works Cited Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Ballantine Books: New York.1965 D.Hine, W.C. Hine, Harrold Stanley. The African American Odyssey. 2nd edition. Vol.2.Perason Education, Inc: New Jersey. 2003

‘Deadly Unna?’ By Phillip Gwynne Essay

‘Deadly Unna?’ was the first novel of the famous Australian author, Phillip Gwynne, published in 1998. The fascinating drama novel expresses the inter-racial friendship between two teenage boys, Gary â€Å"Blacky† Black and â€Å"Dumby† Red. The book focuses on many complications the adolescence face, for example racism, favouritism, relationships, families, exclusion and more. ‘Deadly Unna?’ is set in the Port and Peninsula of South Australia, the ‘Goonyas’ (white Australians) are based in the Port and the ‘Nungas’ (the Aboriginals) are located on the Peninsula. The reason for this separation is to emphasise the racial tension between the white Australians and the Aboriginals that the author is trying to present. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, ‘Blacky’. As the story is being told by a white Australian you would be led to believe that it is going to be a very biased story but in this case it is quite the opposite situation. Gary Black is one of the few, if not the only, characters from the Port that truly understands the similarity that the two races acquire which enables the readr to see Aboriginals in a different light from the generalised/sterotypical image common in Australia. Gary â€Å"Blacky† Black is the major character in this novel, as the basis of the book revolves around him and his experiences and complications he faces in his youthful life. Blacky is more academic then he is sport orientated, though saying this he does play football. Blacky has a rather large family consisting of eight children, a stay-at-home mother and a hindering father. Blacky gets along with his siblings though they do have the occasional conflict, he is proud of his mother but unfortunately has a weak relationship with his father because of a previous controversy. Though Dumby Red did not physically appear very often throughout the book,  one particular incident involving Dumby Red arose great racial contention. Dumby Red was a very enthusiastic, optimistic and extremely self-assertive character. He was responsible for Blacky’s change of mind towards the Aboriginals, he was the one the made Blacky see the Aboriginals for who they really are, not who they are said to be. ‘Pickles’ is Blacky’s best friend, he in highly intolerable with his disgusting habits and his lack of general hygiene and know one will ever know why Blacky’s relationship with him is so strong. ‘Arks’ is Blacky’s over enthusiastic and encouraging football coach, he was a great influence on Blacky’s football performance in the grand final. Clarence is Dumby Red’s sister, at one point in the novel Blacky was rather fond of her though he was warned by Darcy that he must be careful who he associates himself with. Darcy is Blackys next door neighbour, the elderly man is very king to young Blacky and is always full of good advice, Blacky enjoys spending time with him and hearing about his fascinating life. The book is separated into two sections, winter and summer. Winter being the football season and summer the off season. The beginning of the novel focuses on football and Blacky’s attempt to be the hero of his team. It briefly touches on relationship and racial difficulties though the real complications reach their climax towards summer. Horrific crimes occur making the plot very interesting, people are being blamed, hearts are being broken and choices are having to be made. The Port’s football team make the grand final, disaster occurs on a boat, family relationships are tested, there is dispute at the football awards, the death of a well loved character provokes outrage throughout the community, true friendship is being questioned and Blacky follows his heart to do what is right. The purpose/aim of ‘Deadly Unna?’ is to highlight the seriousness of racism that takes place in the country we live in, as well as focusing on many concerns that adolescences face today. This is very effective as the book is intended for young adults meaning they are able to relate and compare their  lives to the ones created in the book. The use of Australian ‘slang’ (for example youse, ya and g’day) in the novel was also very powerful as it strengthened the realism of the characters. Many people nowadays do speak with ‘slang’ and it is the stereotypical way the true Australians communicate. A definite strength of the book is that it is written in first person, the use of Blacky’s thoughts and feelings throughout allows insight into the life he lives during the dramas that occur. The fact that Blacky was not bias in his feeling towards the Aborigines also assisted in allowing the reader to understand both sides of the racial conflict. The only minor weaknesses in the novel were the friendship between Blacky and Dumby Red. Though is does discus how good of ‘mates’ they were, it did not go into great detail of the complexities they face because of their inter-racial relationship. The other flaw in the novel was the misleading blurb, the blurb deceives the reader to think that the story line will be revolved around Blacky and Dumby Red facing the community whereas it focus on the much broader community facing the truth about the Aborigines. Overall the book was thoroughly enjoyable and should be recommended to other teenagers. The humour the novel possesses mixed in with the moving theme of racism made the book a worthwhile read. As James Bryce, a diplomat, historian and politician, said â€Å"The worth of the book is measured by what you can carry away from it†.