The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif

Mazari has been through all sorts of conflict throughout his lifetime from where he was a young boy minding sheep in Afghanistan to opening an authentic rug store in Australia. He first had a major loss happen to him when he was a young boy and his father was killed. This was a traumatic time for his family and there was a conflict within his family. When his father died, Najaf was forced to take on new responsibilities within the family and everyone had to do their part. When he was a young teenager his house was hit by a rocket causing major damage to his leg. His leg took over 6 months to heal properly and he was finding it difficult to cope in this time as he saw himself as a burden on his family which was a personal conflict. He has faced various conflicts during his time at Woomera detention centre, one of which was a religious conflict. Certain people could not talk to other people because of their religion. This made a somewhat difficult experience in his life even more difficult as he was continuously having trouble with other people because they believed in different gods. Finally when he was released and working freely in Australia he had conflicts at his work places. One of which was when he worked for a lady who was too demanding on him and he could not work to her expectations with him. This was a cultural conflict as he was not used to working under her conditions.

How Poor Education, Dropouting Of School And The Environment Can Lead To Deviant Behavior

Deviant behavior can be described as unaccepted behavior devoid of moral values. These values and norms that a deviant (person with deviant behavior) possesses can either be acquired formally through the learning process. They can also be determined by environmental factors such as peer pressure, media, mentors, etc. Poor education denies a growing person the opportunity to make life out of learning. It therefore gives the persons an alternative of earning a living through criminal activities.When a poorly educated person meets with a harsh environment coupled with unemployment and other social-economical factors, their behaviors start to deviate from normal. HOW POOR EDUCATION AND NOT FINISHING SCHOOL COMBINED WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN PUT CHILDREN AT A HIGHER RISK FOR DEVIANT BEHAVIOR Deviant behavior is first brought by lack of family values . A family plays a very significant role in reforming a person’s character. Institutions of learning also play a role in teaching peo ple what is good and what is bad; what ought to be done and what ought not be done etc.Incorporated in the syllabi of most education systems are theological studies. These gives out a lot of biblical teachings which if followed by an individual he/she would be unlikely to develop deviant behaviors. For instance, in the Biblical teaching, we learn that murder is morally wrong. When Cain killed Abel, he got a punishment from God. Also learnt is the fact that patience pays the same way Job was patient after suffering from a long time of sickness. The teaching here is that if one is suffering and does not have any hope, chances are that he might develop a deviant behavior.This then brings out the need to finish school and be able to get such biblical teachings. Teachers in schools are not only trained on how to disseminate education but also on how to mould the behavior of a child. A person’s behavior is for instance, greatly determined by the kind of teaching both from parents a nd teachers at a tender age. If one did not attend school or got inadequate education, their chances of growing defiantly get enhanced. He would not be able to co-operate and work well with others because these values can only be learnt in schools.Teachers in schools administer punishment against deviant behaviors, a factor that can discourage a child against misbehaving. Schooling also enables one to socialize freely with peers/people. This socialization is important as it inculcates self personality in a person. They realize the need consult when in problems. One with poor education or has just dropped out of college will miss this opportunity of freely mixing with others. As they grow they would tend to do things independently. Any piece of advice directed to them is likely to be welcomed by deviance.Without the acquisition of full knowledge, there are quite a number of values that a person may not learn. And lack of these norms lead a person into deviance. These are norms like c ommunication skills, thinking positively and ability to solve problems amicably. A person who has dropped out of school may employ mediocre methods to solve problems. In most cases, they do not adhere to the laid down rules and principles. They instead use force and physical confrontations to drive their points home. With the environmental challenges that they meet as a result early school drop outs, such people grow defiantly.This is because they missed the element of positive thinking learnt in schools. Poor education also makes one fall short of appreciating self as well as reality of the environment. This in the end frustrates and stresses them to the extent that they resort to drug abuse and alcoholism to relieve the stress and frustration. All these happen because school drop-outs do not have self efficacy. This is a scenario whereby one does not recognize / appreciate his worthness/ usefulness. As a result, they are not always happy people. They tend to dislike those who have better jobs and who are better placed in society.By doing so, they violate the societal norms and values. What children learn from their surrounding environment has a very strong correlation to the behavior they develop. A family especially the parents, play a pivotal role in determining what their offsprings would be like. If they solve their problems amicably and soberly, then the children would grow in the same way. They would in future tend to listen and accommodate the views of their colleagues, elders, their own spouses as well as their own children. But consider a family where the only solution to problems is divorce, separation i. e.there is no time for conflict resolution, so will the child develop a deviant behavior. Growing persons meet all sorts of environmental factors which will determine their behaviors in one way or the other. One of these factors is neglect. Neglect refers to that condition where children usually suffer as result of their parent’s actions. W ithin this definition of neglect are elements like sexual abuse, injuries (physical) and also abandonment. Statistics show that in America for instance, one million youths are abused every year. The ratio of boys sexually abused is one boy for every ten. For girls, it is one for every three.Sexual abuses can lead to such deviant behaviors such as stress, aggressiveness and low esteem. They become aggressive because they see everybody as the cause of their problems. They have a low self esteem because they see themselves as being different from others . Another environmental factor that can lead to deviant behavior is peer influence. An individual person is not born a criminal or with any other form of deviant behavior . These are moulded with the people one associates with as birds of the same feathers flock together. His/her surrounding environment is full of peers (people of almost equal age).Peers entice their colleagues behave in the same way as them. Peers incite into the viola tion of social values and breed behaviors like drug addiction and alcoholism. According to Edwin H. Sutherland in his book of Differential Association Theory, when individuals interact, they learn so much from each other. They communicate in ideas as well as symbols. When these ideas and symbols become favorable to an individual, certain defiance behavior would be inculcated in e. g. criminology peer pressure also makes the deviants to justify their deviant behaviors by not being guilty.They tend to deny any injury caused to a victim by alleging no one can be hurt through crime. They also deny the victim as they believe that the victim was not injured, rather he obtained the rightful force. Peer groups also make the deviants not to recognise the laws of the land. Instead, they would tell you to appeal to a higher power. But whether a person would be influenced by peers will greatly depend on his / her level of education. Unlike the educated, the uneducated stand as the more vulnerab le group to be indulged to these deviant behaviors.The media is another social agent that can favorably or unfavorably determine one’s behavior. The television for instance, presents different programs with different messages. But these should not be emulated unless they rhyme with moral values and norms. Some of these programs are just comedies. If one was poorly educated, he/ she may interpret these comedies to be reality shows. Some behaviors may be shown in these programs like aggressiveness of the actors, pride and dressing provocatively. Too much media can therefore make one easily acquire these deviant behaviors. Through the media again, companies advertise their products.The mode of advertisement characterized by cultural memes can significantly contribute to deviant behavior. This is because cultural memes tend to deteriorate societal norms and values. When one has not finished School, he/she is left with a lot of idle time ahead of him/her. This is the time the pers on starts engaging himself/herself in certain social evils that are unacceptable in society. Deviant behavior refers to any behavior that is not generally acceptable within the values of a given people and society. It is due to idleness that people take drugs, alcohol and involve themselves with all forms of promiscuity.Learning institutions also offer important behavior building programs through discussions on behaviors like drug usage/abuse . Here, important information on the dangers of such drugs that normally culminates into deviant behaviors by experts in the field. These workshops are used even to the highest educational levels like colleges and universities. They have greatly contributed in the relaxation / stagnation of deviant behavior. It is therefore inevitable for one to reach these high levels of education if reduction of deviant behavior is anything to go by. Poor education makes one not to appreciate his rights.He would not even know when his rights have been infring ed /violated. The environment is full of numerous agents of rights violations. It comprises of sadists and opportunists. There are people who like mis (using) / exploiting others for their own self interests. Majority of these are the politicians who incite the youth and entice them with money to engage in social injustices like violence. This in actual sense amounts to deviance as these are social conflicts not compatible with the values and norms of any modern society. CONCLUSION Institutions of learning mould behavior through education.And it is only through education that one can get to learn good moral values and norms. It is through education that one can also learn on how to live with society. Poor education therefore deprives one a lot of moral teachings and the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful co- existence with the rest in society. It does also not allow one to appreciate the environmental needs and challenges that greatly determine one’s behavior. Because of inadequ ate education, the environment becomes a harsh place to live in. One then resorts to alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual immorality and other sorts of deviant behavior in order to relieve the pressure.

Political Socialization Essay

Have you ever thought about why you have the political beliefs and values you do? Where did they come from? Are they simply your own ideas and experiences or have you been influenced by others in your thinking? This process by which individuals acquire their political beliefs and attitudes is called political socialization. In another words, Political socialization is a concept where the study of the developmental processes by which children and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes and behaviors. What people think and how they come to think it is of critical importance to the stability of the government. The beliefs and values of the people are the basis for a society’s political culture and that culture defines the parameters of political life and governments? action. There are many agents that influence in one degree or another individual’s political socialization. Factors such as: family, friends, teachers, media, religion, race, gender, age and geography all influence us in one way or another during our childhood years. By now you should know that most political opinions are formed during childhood and many political ideas are passed down from parents to their children through them expressing their beliefs. When I was growing up I formed many opinions and attitudes due to the fact my parents were feeling that way. Growing up during in early/mid 1990? s in Bosnia wasn? t easy. With a country in a full scale war people were looking for help. A country that just few years earlier hosted and showed the world a great Winter Olympic Games was in need of help, but no one answered. People started forming their own opinions and theories about the world that has turned their back on them, including my parents. There was very limited access of what was happening in the world available to the people. I can clearly remember trying to figure out what is happening on my own and listening to my parents and trying to form something out of it. I lived in Sarajevo, where it was impossible to get in or out the city for the first year or so. Even with the United Nations present in the city I always asked myself why don? t they end this? To this day, questions always reappear in my mind about the international polices and innerving in a war when so many people are dying. How many lives does it take before the world powers and the most honored world governments sit down and a peace treaty is signed? For me this experience made me establish my own opinions about government and political views. With my parents constantly debating about who started the war, why aren? t the Americans coming, where is the humanitarian aid and many other questions concerning government policies, made me favor what my parents were saying and agree with them. By 1995, most of the fighting has stopped and siege was over and school back in session. Now, more views were formed to enforce what I been hearing at home, but as well some made me look at things in a different as well. I started to develop my own thoughts that have been flooded with so much hate during my childhood. Schools played a really influential agent, after the family, due to the extended exposure to a variety of political beliefs. My friends and teachers, both respected sources of information in one way or another made me look at the world in a different way. I always to this date keep asking myself some of the same questions my parents debated about. I just can? t let it go. Why did so many people get shot, murdered, raped and killed in Srebrenica? In a U. N safe zone, but it still happened. School thought us the history and not to forget. With school back in session, so was the television, newspaper and other sources of mass media. Media took over and attempted to reshape what we all have experienced in the previews five years for the benefit of their own profit. Foreign investors came in and took advantage of others need at a very cheap cost. I remember, first commercial on the national television was about the new mall what was to replace the shelled down Olympic village and the new president was going to be at ceremony. New lottery game was advertised everywhere with faces of political party members. It like nothing has happening the year before. Another factors started to surface with me. Did a religion cause this terrible war? With so much talk about genocide and ethnic cleansing, religion was being though in school. At that time it was unbelievably hard to form your own opinions with so much information being fed to you by the mass media and government policies. Today, I look back to everything that has happened and how did I come to the thoughts and opinions I have about politics. Family was a primary influence in the development of my political orientation, mainly due to constant relationship between my parents and I. Schools became a source to enforce what I been hearing at home. Then Mass Media took over and tried to paint a picture of functions as a political information-giver to adolescents and young children. With placing political figures in everyday life and association with political parties, I can only imagine what their goal was. The earliest socialization I believed is the deepest one because i favored with what parents have been going along with. Their political party favor and mine today however now that I am old enough and been influenced by a different culture I am beginning to rethink many views on our world today.

Coke Star Musical Group Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coke Star Musical Group - Coursework Example Stressing upon the importance of user specific design Lazar (2001) states â€Å"A website is a type of information system and as such needs to be designed to meet the needs of the user. It must offer contents that users want and be designed so that users can easily access it in order for the website to be a success.† Keeping in view this heavy reliance of success on web design and user acceptability three users from major users groups were selected for an interview. These include the online viewer, online customer and future concert or musical show booking. The online viewer wants to have an explicit and systematic listing of all the performances by the group along with thumbnails and details like date of performance, venue, and length etc. The website is required to offer plug-ins required to play the selected performance, all related audio video controls, the fastest streaming and switching between performances. Online customer would like to have preview of what they have ordered and multiple easy payment options. The online customer may be required to select a delivery method or service. The third user has emphasized the need of a calendar of Coke Star future engagements in order to plan and reserve a date with the group. The user would like to receive an email confirmation of the booking along with other details. The exact requirement for the booking should be collect in a carefully designed web form. 3. Wire Frames 4. Target Users The Coke Star Musical Group website will be used by a number of user groups, each of these groups have their specific requirements, interests and goals. Ensuring the fulfillment of users’ expectations is a key to the successful web design and to clearly outline the user requirements following three personas are developed based on direct interview with the users; a) Online Viewer i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 12-32 ii. The goal of the user is to find and listen his favorite music online iii. The interest of the user in to listen pop music and hit songs iv. The user will visit the site just to listen online free music v. The user may also visit to review the upcoming music albums and to learn about Coke Star upcoming performances. b) Online Customer i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 12-32 ii. The goal of the user is to purchase CDs and DVDs of his choice iii. The interest of the user in to listen pop music and hit songs iv. The user will visit the site to buy music albums online v. The user may also visit to review the upcoming music albums and to learn about Coke Star upcoming performances. c) Event Manager i. May be in any age bracket but mostly between 22-45 ii. The goal of the user is to contact and confirm availability of Coke Star for a concert or musical show. iii. The user has business motivations and the nature of interaction is serious and straight forward. iv. The user will visit the site to confirm the availability of Coke Star v. To show his interest in a performance and to make a business contract. 5. Evaluation of Wire Frames I have selected the walk through technique to conduct a user centred evaluation of the Coke Star Website. Walkthrough evaluation is a simple and effective technique which can b e carried out with the help of a single user. The user is presented with an interface and is asked to perform a set of instructions on the interface. The same evaluation can be conducted on the wireframe sketches where user gives his feedback on what he can gather from the sketch. This user understanding can be collected

Fundamentals of Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fundamentals of Reporting - Essay Example To my family, it keeps them together while apart, and for my friends it provides an opportunity to know the world beyond. The common denominator is that it can serve just as many purposes as those served by search engines. Social media and social connectivity have been interlinked at a personal level. Individuals across the world are using it for socialization purposes. Most importantly, constant communication is in that line. Information sending and receiving time has been brought down to seconds or even milliseconds, and users regard this as automated communication. Using social media for socialization has linked global societies, making them a single unit of global interaction and communication. Social media have timely been integrated into business practices. Friends, relatives, and the society at large market and make sales through social media. Players in the business environment have fundamentally used social media as a strategic business tool, ranging from product marketing to sales. This follows the fact that the social media fraternity is rapidly growing every minute, making it a rich ground where customers can be captured. In her response Stephanie Santana highlighted that messaging, voice communication and viewing of videos are the key variables that define the use of social media for whatever purpose. Information flow through social media is a rich ground for accessing and obtaining information. Students and colleagues more often than not want to log into their respective accounts to post questions, seek opinion or recommendations for school or work-related projects. Laque, a friend, noted, ‘search engines as sources of information are continually being replaced by social media’. Users of social media can individually or collectively obtain and/or access vast information that relate to any particular detail from anywhere around the world. Advice and recommendations available from other users make it effective

My Writing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My Writing Skills - Essay Example I am well aware that attaining higher education requires a lot of writing. Although I never experienced writing before in a higher level other than those required in school, such requirement does not present itself to me as something I have to far but a challenge that I must face. I may not be very good with my communication skills both orally or in the written form but I believe that such is the very thing I need for me to improve my communication skills. I have always feared having written reports because I know I am not good in articulating the things I really want to express but then I now see the mistakes I have committed. Running away from such responsibilities are not helping me at all. I refused to learn by doing the things I needed to do so now I would like to do my own papers so I could improve on my writing skills. I believe there is a wide room for me to improve myself so I am changing my way of thinking and my attitude towards writing. I think writing, like any other tas k is perfected only by practicing it though I must admit that I would need to work harder than my fellow students. One of the things I think would help me in my writing is to read a lot and listen intently to native speakers on how they express themselves through words so that I would be able to increase my vocabulary as well.

Measuring Team Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Measuring Team Performance - Essay Example Reaching the goals means identifying some of the strategies, formal or informal’ (McNamara, 2007b). Therefore, it is apparent that the four major management functions namely planning, leading organizing and controlling are interdependent with a failure/success in one determining the fate of the others. The performance standards that are to be met by the employees are set in the planning process. It is important for the management to understand that all the activities to be performed win the organization need to have their predefined standards (Erven, n.d). It is thus the role of the management to ensure that the employees are conforming to the laid down standards. McNamara (2007b) observed that the evaluation and review of performance ‘provides an opportunity for the supervisors and the employees to regularly communicate about goals’. The managers need to understand that ‘lowering the standards to what has been attained is not a solution to performance problems. On the other hand, a manager does need to the standards when they are fund to be unattainable due to resource limitation and factors external to the business’ (Erven, n.d). As such, the controlling process helps to identify the possible problems that may arise to deter the organization’s pr ogress. Since the controlling process is aimed at identifying how employees conform to the standards, the required steps are taken depending on the outcome. If the performance by the employees is established to be substandard, ‘then preventive action must be taken to ensure that the problem does not recur. If performance is greater than or equal to standards, [then] it is useful to reinforce behaviors that led to the acceptable standards’ (Erven, n.d). Thus, controlling, as a management function is analogous to quality control in a production company. As McNamara (2007b) described, quality control involves ‘specifying a performance standard, monitoring

Media comparative analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media comparative analysis - Essay Example A media comparative analysis has a vital role in comprehending the various essential elements of the changing nature of the media. Such a media comparative analysis deals with the social aspects, the assumptions and logics, the industrial, the commercial contexts, the primary functions, etc of a particular media form, technology, process, or event in relation to the explicit or implied research methods, the critical framework and assumptions, the theories and logics, the methods and worldviews etc of a specific reading on media and media function. This media comparative analysis paper focuses on a comparative discussion of Megan Boler's "Introduction" to Digital Media and Democracy: Tactic in Hard Times in connection to a particular media form, i.e. an internet radio station. This paper deals with a comparative study of the explicit or implied assumptions about the nature, scope and role of media forms in each of the media discussions, and attempts to bring together the assumptions o f both the media reading and the media form. Megan Boler's main concern in the article is to bring about the connection between media and power and to contribute to the debates about media and democracy within the digital media landscape and the discussions about the internet radio station can help one realize the underlying elements of the media form. As an introduction to the vital assumptions of the discussion, Megan Boler presents his exchange with Tim Russert as illustrative of how the media in the contemporary world functions in terms of truth and power. From the platform of this account, the author goes on to make his significant assumptions about media and power as well as the debates about media and democracy within the digital media landscape. "The story of my exchange with Tim Russert highlights two key challenges about media and power: (1) how to alter the axes of domination so that those with little or no power have a seat at the table, and (2) how to conceive of media (whether dominant, grassroots, or tactical) with the capacity to intervene at the level of public perception, and that can challenge the perverse manipulation of 'facts' about something like global warming." (Boler 2008, 171). According to the author, there is an essential connection between media and power and there is a very scarce chance to gain reali ty through the power of media. Power in media tries to overtake realities about facts and there is fierce competition to accumulate power in media. The author is essentially forceful about the influence of power in media in the contemporary digital era of media where there is fierce competition and the raw material is no longer in short supply. In this background, realizing reality through digital media is much more complex. There have been significant opinions by experts in the field that media is more powerful than any bomb in the contemporary background and this can be realized on the basis of the famous maxim the 'pen is mightier than the sword'. The powerful influence of media over the lives of several modern human beings can be understood in this background. The major focus of the work by Boler is to

Hit or Misled Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hit or Misled - Essay Example There are vague areas in the law and the requirements can vary widely, especially when marketing in other countries. To further complicate the process, states may have state laws that may restrict certain brand names. Petty points this out by noting that "[] roughly half the U.S. states" recognize the right of a celebrity to control their name and likeness when used in product promotion (47). The legal requirements for branding and promoting a product often lie in the ability of the consumer to discern fact from fiction. The example of Bermuda shorts is an instance where no reasonable consumer would believe they are actually from Bermuda (46). However, the term Idaho potato may have less legal foundation as consumers may reasonably assume they are from Idaho. Processes that have become more generically accepted into the market, such as Swiss cheese, may be allowed by the courts. Adding to the complicated process of using endorsements is the legal requirement that any claims by a celebrity of expert must be factual. The expert must have the credentials to make the claim and the celebrity can only testify to their actual experience. This places the marketer in a position where they must carefully weigh what a court might consider truthful.

Compare, Contrast, and Evaluate Plato and Aristotle on human Well-being Essay Example for Free

Compare, Contrast, and Evaluate Plato and Aristotle on human Well-being Essay Platos ethics concerning well-being arise from the end of the discussion on justice where Thrasymachus articulates that justice is in fact merely a social contract whereby people agree not to inflict harm on others in return for not being harmed. Out of this rises the question well if this is all justice is, if it is only desirable for its consequences, In this case the avoidance of harm, then why shouldnt I cheat? If I can get away with it why wouldnt one cheat? Now follows the Gyges story, Glaucon puts it to Plato that if two men, one whom leads a life of virtue and one who doesnt, acquired a ring that could turn you invisible, even the virtuous man would not be able to resist acting immorally so therefore people are not actually virtuous, more just scared of the consequences of not being so. This is making the point that no man is so virtuous that he could resist the temptation of being able to steal at will by the rings power of invisibility. In modern terms, Glaucon still argues that morality is a social construction, whose source is the desire to up hold ones reputation for virtue and honesty; when that sanction is removed, the moral character would evaporate. However Plato disagrees, he thinks the truly virtuous man would act morally and be happy and at peace with himself, even when the outcome may not be seen as in their best interests e.g. loss of reputation; when sentenced to death Socrates had the chance to escape and go and live in another place but he refused to because it would be wrong to obey the laws of the land only when they suited you, so he stayed and was killed. For Plato this is not only the right thing to do but he would go as far to say that he would be happier dying virtuous than living having broken the law. Although I think this should not be taken as he enjoyed his actual death rather there was a certain content dignified air about it, as through living a virtuous life he had reached eudemonia because for Plato virtue is sufficient for human well being. Then to illustrate the extreme of what Plato is saying a second ring is added, and it is put to Plato that if both men had a ring, one just and one unjust, and the unjust man carries out his unjust activities but is clever enough to disguise it and up holds his reputation for being a moral citizen so therefore gets away un punished however conversely the just man whom has been virtuous in all his actions is misunderstood and crucified for being unjust and his reputation soiled. Is Plato saying even in this case it is still better to be the just man? Plato explicitly maintains that yes it is, and uses this example to show that if it is the most beneficial and right thing to do in this situation then I must follow that it is the most beneficial and right thing to do in all situations. But why is it the most beneficial? Why should people be just, Plato believes that it is down to the tri-partite nature of the soul; if things are not in the right balance then it becomes a matter of damaging your mental health. Plato believes that justice is gratifying in itself not merely because of its consequences. The purpose of human life is to live virtuously. The end that all virtuous beings should aim at; to be in union with the form of the good, this is the way of achieving the highest form of human well-being. In order to live virtuously one must have justice in the soul. Justice in the soul can only be present when the tripartite elements are in accurate harmony; when reason is ruling over spirit and spirit is controlling desires or appetites; wisdom can be seen to represent the rational part of the soul and courage parallels the spirited part of the soul with discipline existing in controlling desires. When the soul is in balance only then can virtue be exercised and human well-being achieved. Plato states that it is impossible for one to be happy if justice is not present in the soul and put forward this argument to illustrate why the unjust mans life leads to misery. Plato believes that the tyrant is the most unhappy of people because he is in a position of slavery and has no real freedom, he is ruled and governed by passion and surrounded by enemies. Due to being dominated by passion his main aim is to seek pleasure. Plato argues that each of the three parts of the soul corresponds to a different type of pleasure Rational- Gains pleasure in seeking the truth. Spirited- Gains pleasure out of achievement and honour. Appetitive- Gains pleasure through the empirical senses, e.g. sex/drink/food. The tyrant thinks that his pleasure is the best type, this can also be said for the oligarch and the philosopher, however Plato claims that only the philosophers assertion can be the real truth for he has experienced all types of pleasure and is therefore in the best position to decide. when the whole mind accepts the leadership of the philosophical part, and there is no internal conflict, then each part can do its job and be moral in everything it does, and in particular it can enjoy its own pleasures and thus reaps as much benefit from pleasure as is possible (586) But if the mind is controlled by either the spirited or appetitive elements it is not possible for it to attain its own correct pleasure and begins to coerces the other two elements to engage in false happiness, so far as that appetitive desires are farthest removed from reason and therefore law and order, and the tyrant is then farthest removed from mans true and proper pleasure so therefore cannot achieve well being and leads to the most of unhappy lives. So because justice is now desirable in itself and for its consequences its not a case of why should I do it, for Plato you act justly for its own sake. So how would the just man know what actions are virtuous and which are not; This is where the theory of the forms can be introduced, according to Plato we live in a world of appearances of which we cognise through perception, appearances are temporary, changing, fallible and subject to doubt. Although Plato also believed that there is an infallible, eternal, unchanging realm; the realm of the forms. The forms are independent of the mind metaphysical entities as real as anything we cognise through are empirical senses. So in order for one to posses any true knowledge then one must have access to the forms. In order to know what courage is one must know the form of courage so that when deciding if a particular act is courageous you can compare the form with the act and see if they have anything in common. Upon gathering this information you are now and only after consulting the form, in a position to obtain an objectively correct answer. Does this mean that those whom dont have access to the forms of the virtues cannot be virtuous and in turn not achieve well-being? So in summary one must have the soul in the correct balance; this is the necessary and sufficient clause for well being and why is this the case because of the tri-partite nature of the soul. Aristotles ethics are very similar to that of Platos, sharing distinct similarities but also some differences. For Aristotle human-well being can also be translated as Eudemonia (flourishing). In book one Aristotle states that that every art, every investigation and similarly every action and pursuit is aimed at some good and that happiness is an activity of the soul according to virtue. As an early virtue theorist Aristotle believes a person should be judged on their character and not their actions. According to Aristotle virtue is something learned through constant practice beginning at a young age. To further understand this we should fully translate arà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½te-this is the word translated into virtue in most English translations however the word more generally translates into excellence, so for example a musician will exhibit arà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½te in performing without any moral connotations. It logically follows that excellence in music cannot be reached simply by reading about it, it requires systematic practice and practical implementation. For Aristotle there is not necessarily an essential distinction between being virtuous and exercising a learned skill like playing an instrument, he believes that virtue is also a learned excellence (the highest learned excellence). So to be virtuous one must practice at it; human well being for Aristotle involves living well and exercising virtue is a necessary condition of this. Aristotelian virtue ethics are more specific than Platos, he talks of virtue in a more systematic sense. This is highlighted by the doctrine of the mean; his theory that virtue exists between the vicious extremes of excess and deficiency. For example the virtuous mean of courage lies between the vices of recklessness and cowardice, which represent excess and deficiency respectively. In order to achieve well being one must attempt to find the golden mean of all the virtues in the 36 name table, however Aristotle does clearly remind us that there are no exact laws in political sciences rather we need to approach each case individually informed by calculated virtues and some practical wisdom. Virtue for Aristotle is A posteriori; learning through experience, what is the mean path relative to us? Like Plato, for Aristotle we cannot pick and choose our virtues, we cannot decide to display courage and patience but not truthfulness and modesty, nor can people be virtuous if they do not demonstrate all the virtues. One of the most crucial points Aristotle makes is that although virtue is necessary for well-being it is in fact not sufficient. In order to be truly happy one must have three things. 1. A good character. 2. One must be active in living virtuously 3. One must have external goods. Happiness according to Aristotle is a public not a private affair, so whom you share this happiness with is of great importance. The city-states of ancient Greece were tightly knit communities. In politics Aristotle says we cannot fully realize our potential as humans outside the bonds of a Greek city-state so therefore well being cannot be achieved in the life of a hermit. This is not the only external good that is required, Aristotle also believes that in order to achieve well-being wealth is required, although I feel it should be made clear that he is not saying one needs to be rich to happy, rather that there needs to be a absence of extreme poverty; the view that it is hard to be happy when starving. This is in direct contradiction with Platos teachings and is blatantly outlined in the story of the ring of Gyges. Another fundamental difference between Aristotle and Platos teachings on well being is that the whole of Platos metaphysics is underpinned by the forms. To be fully virtuous one must have access to the forms but Aristotle completely rejects the forms as having no tangible foundation for believing them. Aristotle thinks that the problem solved by the forms can in fact be answered empirically; he presents us with the function argument: this explains that the function of a harpist is to play the harp well. A human also just like the eye has a set purpose or function and the function of a good man is to live well or achieve well-being. But Plato believes that people who reject the forms for empirical verification are sophist whose beliefs have no basis. It seems that both Aristotle and Plato believe that in order for humans to achieve well being they must fulfil their function, so in order to identify the real difference of their views on well being we must understand their views on what our function is. Platos view on this is outlined in Book One of The Republic; Socrates is trying to prove to Thrasymachus that it is better to be just than unjust. He starts by determining that all things have their own definite function, and that that function is that which one can do only with it or best with it (Republic I 352e). For example, the function of eyes is to see, and since a pruning knife is better suited to pruning than a butchers knife, its function is to prune. Having established this, Socrates goes on to argue that everything also has a measured virtue that corresponds to the implementation of its function. The virtues of our ears are hearing and the virtue of the knife would be its sharpness. An object that is deficient in its virtue is said to be incapable of performing its function well (a dull knife would not be able to cut properly). Having demonstrated this, Socrates now looks at the human soul and its function. Is there some function of a soul that you couldnt perform with anything else, for example, taking care of things, ruling, deliberating? Is there anything other than a soul to which you could rightly assign these, and say that they are its peculiar function? What of living? Isnt that a function of the soul? (Republic I 353d) Thrasymachus agrees to Socrates definition of the souls function and they go on to examine what the virtue of the soul is, that allows it to perform its function. From his previous argument regarding the importance of virtue in the performance of ones function, Socrates infers that a non-virtuous soul would do a poor job of ruling etc, while a virtuous soul would do a good job. Then going back to where he and Thrasymachus had agreed that justice was the virtue of the soul, and injustice its vice. This enables Socrates to conclude that a just soul and a just man will achieve human well being and flourish, while an unjust man will not achieve well being and be unhappy. Aristotle agrees with Plato that the good for anything that has a function relies on the implementing of that function. So it follows that Aristotle tries to work out if human beings have a function (the function argument). Then do the carpenter and the leatherworker have their functions and actions, while a human being has none, and is by nature idle, without any function? Or, just as eye, hand, foot and, in general, every part apparently has its functions, may we likewise ascribe to a human being some function besides all theirs? (Nicomachean Ethics Book I Chapter 7 29-33). So assuming that there is a function specific to humans Aristotle discounts sense perceptions because they are not only human traits. He concludes that the human function is to exhibit reason. The function of the excellent man to equal the function of any man the only difference is that the excellent man exhibits his function well. So For Aristotle, the human good seems to be synonymous with human well being. Th us, in order for a human being to be happy, he or she must live a life that successfully expresses reason. Here we see that both agree that to achieve well being, humans must fulfil their function but do they disagree on what that function is? Plato believing that it is living a just life and Aristotle that it is excellent reasoning, I think not, isnt being virtuous having reason ruling over the soul, surely this is the same as exhibiting excellent reason.

Application of Non-ionising Radiation Based Enzyme

Application of Non-ionising Radiation Based Enzyme APPLICATION OF NON-IONISING RADIATION BASED ENZYME INACTIVATION OF BITTER GOURD (Mordica charania L.): A COMPARATIVE STUDY Nalawade S. A, Akanksha, H.Umesh Hebbar Introduction Although many processing technologies could be used to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, the commonly used ones in current food industry are blanching and dehydration. Blanching is a pre-processing operation carried out before drying of fruits and vegetables. The main purpose of blanching is to inactivate enzymes such as peroxidase, polyphenoloxidases and phenolase which cause many adverse changes of a product (Fellows, 1990; Hiranvarachat, Devahastin, Chiewchan, 2011; Vishwanathan, Giwari, Hebbar, 2013). Conventional blanching involves processing with hotwater, steamand acid. The conventional blanching has many drawbacks such as loss of water soluble nutrients (Lavelli, Zanoni, Zaniboni, 2007), quality deterioration (Gornicki Kaleta, 2007) and environmental problems (Bomben, 1977). Bitter gourd is known for its medicinal properties and has been used in various Asian and African herbal medicine systems from a long time Grover and Yadav (2004), Beloin et al., (2005), Ananya Paul and Sarmistha Sen Raychaudhuri (2010). It has antidiabetic, antitumorous, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and cholesterol lowering capacity Ahmed et al., (2001), Grover and Yadav (2004) and Taylor (2002).The compound responsible for anti-diabetic property in bitter gourd is Charantin, a hypoglycemic compound which is a mixture of two compounds (1:1) sitosteryl glucoside (C35H60O6) and stigmasteryl glucoside (C35H58O6) that has been isolated from the seeds, leaves and fruit of Momordica charantia (Raman and Lau, 1996). Storage of raw bitter gourd is difficult because of presence of some enzymes which deteriorate the product quality. Hence, Blanching is carried out before drying operation. Primary purpose of blanching is to inactivate enzymes such as Peroxidase (POD), Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) allowing stabilization and minimize the degradation of other quality attributes (Canet, 1989). Peroxide (POD) is considered as enzymatic indicator for blanching (Gunes and Bayindirli, 1993, Sheu and Chen, 1991 and Zhu and Pan, 2009) which is one of the most heat resistant enzymes, therefore when POD is inactivated most of other enzymes present might not survive (Halpin Lee, 1987). 90% reduction in POD activity was considered as the end point, since persistence of 3-10% is considered sufficient for drying purpose (Gunes and Bayindirli, 1993). Conventional blanching method includes processing the sample with hot water and steam. The advantages of electromagnetic radiation (MW and IR) employed blanching over conventional blanching methods (water or steam) are rapid inactivation of enzyme complexes that cause quality degradation and minimal/no leaching of vitamins, flavor, pigments, carbohydrates and other water soluble components (De Ancos et al. 1999).These methods have drawbacks such as quality deterioration (Gornicki Kaleta, 2007) and loss of water soluble nutrients (Lavelli, Zanoni, Zaniboni, 2007). The application of microwave radiation for blanc hing or enzyme inactivation (Ramaswamy and Fakhouri, 1998; Ponne, Baysal, Yuksel, 1994; Begum and Brewer, 2001; Brewer and Begum, 2003; Roberts et al., 2004; Lin and Brewer, 2005; Zhu Pan, 2009; Lin and Ramaswamy, 2011; G.C. Jeevitha et.al ,2013 ;Vishwanathan et al., 2013 ) showing its effectiveness and suitability. From the results of Ramaswamy and Fakhouri (1998), Ramesh et al. (2002), G.C. Jeevitha et.al ,2013 and Bengang Wu et al.,2014 it is possible to observe that vegetable tissue blanched with microwave and infrared radiation retained better nutritional value. G.C. Jeevitha et.al,2013 reported better retention of water-soluble nutrients during dry blanching of red bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) slices using infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) radiations and its performance compared with conventional methods. There are a few reports on MW blanching (Chung et al. 1981; Ramesh et al. 2002; Brewer and Begum 2003) and IR blanching (Ponne et al. 1994) indicating their benefits in terms of nutrient retention over steam or water blanching. The objectives of present study were to: evaluate kinetics of Bitter gourd peroxidase (POD) polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inactivation and determine adequacy of both conventional (water and steam) and Dry blanching (IR and MW); to evaluate effect on product quality in terms of moisture, ascorbic acid, chlorophyll and charantin. Materials and Methods Bitter gourd dark green (moisture content 92  ± 1.2%w.b) were purchased from a local market. All the fruits were washed with running water under tap to remove adhering dust and reduce the surface micro-flora and stored at 4  ± 1 °C until further use. The bitter gourd fruits were procured from a single source and almost the same degree of maturity was maintained in order to minimize variation in raw material quality. Sample preparation Bitter gourd fruits were washed thoroughly with tap water and sliced using Robot coupe slicer of dimension 5 mm. seeds were removed manually and used for the study. Blanching Systems Water Blanching Bitter gourd slices (100 g) were immersed in hot water (1:3) maintained at 90  ± 2 °C for 2 min. The blanched samples were immediately cooled to room temperature (25 °C) by dipping in water for 5 min. Surface excess moisture of slices was removed using filter paper and subjected for analysis. Steam Blanching Bitter gourd slices (30 g) were subjected to steam blanching by exposing the slices to steam in an autoclave (100C and 1atm) for 3 min. The steam blanched Bitter gourd slices were immediately cooled to room temperature by dipping in water for 5 min. Samples was subjected for analysis after removing the surface moisture. IR Blanching. About 100 g of bitter gourd slices spread uniformly on the stainless steel (AISI 304) conveyor of IR heater developed (Hebbar and Ramesh 2006) at the authors institute and exposed to IR radiation at a chamber air temperature 200 °C for 8 min. The IR heater, fitted with near IR heat sources (1.1 THz; 0.26 kW/m2) on top and bottom sides of the wire mesh conveyor, was used for the study. IR heat was applied intermittently to control blanching temperature. The chamber was preheated to the required temperature before blanching. The blanched slices were cooled rapidly to room temperature by blowing air. MW Blanching MW blanching was carried out in a domestic microwave oven (BPL, 2,450 MHz) at an intensity of 5.57, 7.36 and 8.8 W/g. For all the runs, the position of the bitter gourd slices were maintained the same on the turntable to minimize variation. Crude extract preparation Slices were homogenized with 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer of pH 7 in the ratio of 1:3. Homogenate was filtered through muslin cloth and centrifuged at 5,100 g for 20 min at 4 ° C. Supernatant was collected and used for the assay. Enzyme analysis. POD Assay The substrate solution was composed of 1.0 mL of phosphate buffer of pH 6, 1.0 mL of 15 mM guaiacol and 1 mL of 3 mM H2O2. To the substrate solution, 50  µL of enzymatic extract were added and the increase in OD was recorded at 470 nm for 5 min using ultraviolet (UV) visible spectrophotometer (UV- 160A, Shimadzu, Japan). Enzyme activity was determined from the slope of the linear portion of the graph relating absorbance with time and expressed as ΔAbs470/min.g sample (Fujita et al. 1997). PPO Assay A spectrophotometric assay at 411 nm using 0.1 M catechol as substrate was used to quantify PPO activity (Weemaes et al. 1997). Moisture content Moisture content of raw and blanched bitter gourd was analyzed using the AOAC method. Values reported are the average of triplicate determinations Estimation of Ascorbic acid The ascorbic acid was determined by 2,6-dichlorophenol- indophenol visual titration methods,(Ranganna 1986) given as follows: Standardization of dye Ascorbic acid (100 mg of l-ascorbic acid) was dissolved in 3% HPO3 and volume made up to 100mL. Further, 10 ml of this solution was diluted to 100mL with HPO3. From this, 5mL was transferred to Erlenmeyer flasks containing 5mL of metaphosphoric acid (3%). A burette was filled with the dye, prepared from dissolution of 50 mg of the sodium salt of 2, 6-dichlorophenol in hot distilled water (150 mL) containing 42 mg of NaHCO3, which was made up to 200mL with distilled water. Then, the ascorbic acid solution was titrated against the standard indophenol solution to a rose pink color, which persisted for around 15 s. The dye factor was determined as milligram of ascorbic acid per milliliter of the dye, using the formula: Sample preparation and assay, the sample (10 g) was macerated with metaphosphoric acid (3%) in a pestle and mortar, filtered, and made up to 100 ml. The filtrate (5 mL) was taken and titrated against the standard dye to a pink end point, which persisted for at least 15 s. The vitamin C content was calculated as: Percentage retention of ascorbic acid was calculated by, Where A= amount of ascorbic acid present after processing A0= amount of ascorbic acid present in fresh bitter gourd Both values taken dry basis Estimation of Chlorophyll Estimation of chlorophyll was carried out according to the procedure of Ranganna.[25] bitter gourd slices (1 g) were macerated with 80% acetone in a pestle and mortar. The supernatant layer was decanted and the extraction was repeated until the residue was colorless. Then the extracts were pooled, filtered, and made up to 100mL in a volumetric flask. The absorbance measured at 645nm and 663nm using spectrophotometer (Schemadzu UV-1800) The amount of chlorophyll present in the extract mg chlorophyll per g tissue was calculated using the following equation Where, A=absorbance at specific wavelength V= final volume of chlorophyll extracted in 80% acetone W= weight of tissue extracted The results were expressed as % on dry basis. Percentage retention of ascorbic acid was calculated by, Where A= amount of chlorophyll present after processing A0= amount of chlorophyll present in fresh bitter gourd Both values taken dry basis Estimation of Charantin Soxhlet extraction About 1.0 g of bitter melon fruit powder was extracted with 200 ml of ethanol for 150 min. Charantin remained in the sample residue was extracted repeatedly in 30 ml volumes of methanol using ultrasonication. The extract was filtered and evaporated to obtain viscous crude extract and purified prior to the analysis with HPLC. Sample purification To purify the crude extract, the protocol as described in Chanchai (2002) was carried out. Briefly, 5 ml of 50:50 (v/v) methanol–water was added to the crude extract. The mixture was then sonicated for 15 min and centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 15 min to separate the supernatant from the precipitate. The precipitate was then added with 5 ml of 70:30 (v/v) methanol–water, and the mixture was again sonicated and centrifuged. The precipitate from this step was added with 3 ml of hexane, and the step was repeated. The precipitate from this step was re-dissolved in 200  µl of 1:1 (v/v) chloroform–methanol mixture, and then adjusted to volume with methanol to 2 ml volume for that obtained with Soxhlet extraction. The purified solution was filtered through a 0.45 µm nylon membrane filter (Millipore, USA) before being analyzed by an HPLC. Analysis HPLC analysis was carried out for the quantification of Charantin present in the sample with C-18 Ascentis column (5 µm particle, 4.6 mm Ãâ€" 250mm ID). The mobile phase used was 100:2 (v/v) methanol-water and flow rate was maintained at 1mL/min. The UV detector was set at the wavelength of 204nm and the sample injection volume was 20 µL. Percentage retention of charantin was calculated by, Where A= amount of charantin present after processing A0= amount of charantin present in fresh bitter gourd Both values taken dry basis Kinetics of enzyme inactivation The reaction rate constant was determined using first order equation Where A is the peroxidase or polyphenol oxidase activity at time t; A0 is the initial enzyme activity; t is the blanching time (s); k is the reaction rate constant (s-1) at given temperature. Decimal reduction time (D) of enzyme is the time required for one log10 reduction in activity of the enzyme (Cigdem and Zerrin 2005), was determined using the following equation: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Enzyme Inactivation The activity of POD and PPO in fresh samples were found POD 4Ãâ€"103 U/g and PPO- 322 U/g (fresh weight), respectively. The blanching was continued till the POD activity was reduced to 10% of the initial activity. The slices were blanched in water maintained at 95 °C (fig. a) and exposed to steam (fig. b) for different time intervals (15 to 180 sec). The time taken for water and steam blanching was 120 and 180 sec, respectively. The inactivation of PPO was also significant during this period. The bitter gourd slices were blanched using IR radiation at 200 °C chamber temperature for different time intervals. The time required for blanching was 8 min (fig. c). PPO inactivation trend was similar to that of POD, with marginally quicker inactivation. The initial content of ascorbic acid was 666.7 ± 2.3 mg ascorbic acid/100 g dry weight .Ascorbic acid is considered as a relevant nutritional quality index of food during blanching and drying because of its low stability during thermal treatments and its water solubility. Ascorbic acid is significantly lost (20– 70%) during water and steam blanching and one of the advantages of dry blanching is the higher retention of this water soluble micronutrient. IR blanching at 200 °C retained higher ascorbic acid (∠¼ 93%) compared with other two conditions.(table.1) The results showed that that the duration–temperature combination decided the retention of ascorbic acid, rather than temperature or duration alone. IR blanching removed nearly 10% moisture, which could be a favorable factor, if drying is the subsequent step. Acknowledgement The Author would like to thank UGC for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (RGNF). Authors wish to thanks Director, CFTRI for extending infrastructure other facilities for carrying out this work.