Parasites And Their Virulence Essays - Biology, Parasitology

Parasites And Their Virulence ABSTRACT Why do some parasites kill the host they depend upon while others coexist with their host? Two prime factors determine parasitic virulence: the manner in which the parasite is transmitted, and the evolutionary history of the parasite and its host. Parasites which have colonized a new host species tend to be more virulent than parasites which have coevolved with their hosts. Parasites which are transmitted horizontally tend to be more virulent than those transmitted vertically. It has been assumed that parasite-host interactions inevitably evolve toward lower virulence. This is contradicted by studies in which virulence is conserved or increases over time. A model which encompasses the variability of parasite-host interactions by synthesizing spatial (transmission) and temporal (evolutionary) factors is examined. Lenski and May (1994) and Antia et al. (1993) predict the modulation of virulence in parasite-host systems by integrating evolutionary and transmissibility factors. INTRODUCTION Why do certain parasites exhibit high levels of virulence within their host populations while others exhibit low virulence? The two prime factors most frequently cited (Esch and Fernandez 1993, Toft et al. 1991) are evolutionary history and mode of transmission. Incongruently evolved parasite-host associations are characterized by high virulence, while congruent evolution may result in reduced virulence (Toft et al. 1991). Parasites transmitted vertically (from parent to offspring) tend to be less virulent than parasites transmitted horizontally (between unrelated individuals of the same or different species). Studies in which virulence is shown to increase during parasite-host interaction, as in Ebert's (1994) experiment with Daphnia magna, necessitate a synthesis of traditionally discrete factors to predict a coevolutionary outcome. Authors prone to habitually use the word decrease before the word virulence are encouraged to replace the former with modulate, which emphasizes the need for an inclusive, predictive paradigm for parasite-host interaction. Evolutionary history and mode of transmission will first be considered separately, then integrated using an equation discussed by Antia et al. (1993) and a model proposed by Lenski and May (1994). Transmission is a spatial factor, defined by host density and specific qualities of host-parasite interaction, which gives direction to the modulation of virulence. Evolution is a temporal factor which determines the extent of the modulation. The selective pressures of the transmission mode act on parasite populations over evolutionary time, favoring an equilibrium level of virulence (Lenski and May 1994). DOES COEVOLUTION DETERMINE VIRULENCE? Incongruent evolution is the colonization of a new host species by a parasite. It is widely reported that such colonizations, when successful, feature high virulence due to the lack of both evolved host defenses and parasitic self-regulation (Esch and Fernandez 1993, Toft et al. 1991). Unsuccessful colonizations must frequently occur when parasites encounter hosts with adequate defenses. In Africa, indigenous ruminants experience low virulence from Trypanosoma brucei infection, while introduced ruminants suffer fatal infections (Esch and Fernandez 1993). There has been no time for the new host to develop immunity, or for the parasite to self-regulate. Virulent colonizations may occur regularly in epizootic-enzootic cycles. Sin Nombre virus, a hemmorhagic fever virus, was epizootic in 1993 after the population of its primary enzootic host, Peromyscus maniculatus, had exploded, increasing the likelihood of transmission to humans (Childs et al. 1995). Sin Nombre exhibited unusually high mortality in human populations (Childs et al. 1995), which were being colonized by the parasite. It is assumed that coevolution of parasite and host will result in decreased virulence (Esch and Fernandez 1993, Toft et al. 1991). Sin Nombre virus was found to infect 30.4 % of the P. maniculatus population, exhibiting little or no virulence in the mice (Childs et al. 1995). Similar low levels of virulence have been found in the enzootic rodent hosts of Yersinia pestis (Gage et al. 1995). In Australia, decreased grades of virulence of myxoma virus have been observed in rabbit populations since the virus was introduced in 1951 (Krebs C. J. 1994). Many of the most widespread parasites exhibit low virulence, suggesting that success in parasite suprapopulation range and abundance may be the result of reduction in virulence over time. Hookworms are present in the small intestines of one-fifth of the world's human population and rarely induce mortality directly (Hotez 1995). Evolution toward a higher level of virulence has been regarded as an unexplainable anomaly. Parasites which do less

Forest transpiration is an element in the water cycle

Forest transpiration is an element in the water cycle Transpiration From Forest Woody Plants Transpiration is a term used for the release and evaporation of water from all plants including trees that is released out and into the Earths atmosphere. Nearly 90% of this water exits the tree in the form of vapor through small pores called  stomata  on leaves. The leaf cuticle covering located on the surface of leaves and corky lenticels located on the surface of stems also provide some moisture. The stomata are also specially designed to allow carbon dioxide gas to exchange from air to assist in  photosynthesis  that then creates the fuel for growth. The forest woody plant locks up carbon-based cellular tissue growth while releasing residual oxygen. Forests surrender large volumes  of water into the earths atmosphere from all vascular plant leaves and stem.   Leaf transpiration  is the main source of evapotranspiration from forests and, at some cost during dry years, give up much of its valuable water to the Earths atmosphere.   Here are the three major tree structures that aid in forest transpiration: Leaf stomata  -   microscopic openings on the surfaces of plant leaves that allow for the easy passage of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. Leaf cuticle  - a protecting film covering the  epidermis or skin of  leaves, young shoots, and other aerial plant organs. Lenticels  -  a small cork pore, or narrow line, on the surface of woody plant stems. In addition to cooling forests and the organisms within them, transpiration also helps to cause a massive flow of mineral nutrients and water from the roots to the shoots. This movement of water is caused by a decrease in hydrostatic (water) pressure throughout a forests canopy. This pressure difference is mainly caused by water endlessly evaporating from the tree leaf stomata into the atmosphere. Transpiration from forest  trees is essentially the evaporation of water vapors from plant leaves and stems. Evapotranspiration is another important part of the  water cycle of which forests play a major role. Evapotranspiration is the collective evaporation of plant transpiration from the Earths land and sea surface into the atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbodies.   (Note: An element (such as a forest of trees) that contributes to evapotranspiration can be called an   evapotranspirator.) Transpiration also includes a process called guttation, which is the loss of water dripping off uninjured leaf margins of the plant but plays a minor role in transpiration. The combination of plant transpiration (10%) and the evaporation from all bodies of water to include the oceans (90%) is responsible for all of the earths atmospheric moisture. The Water Cycle The interchange of water between air, land and the sea, and between organisms living in their environment is accomplished through the water cycle. Since the Earths water cycle is a loop of occurring events, there can be no starting or ending point. So, we can start learning about the process by beginning where most water exists - with the  sea. The driving mechanism of the water cycle is ever-present solar heat (from the sun) which warms the waters of the world. This spontaneous cycle of naturally occurring events creates an effect that can be diagrammed as a spinning loop. The process involves evaporation, transpiration, cloud formation, precipitation, surface water runoff, and the percolation of water into the soil. Water at the seas surface evaporates as vapor into the atmosphere on rising air currents where the resulting cooler temperatures cause it to  condense  into clouds. Air currents then move clouds and particulate materials which collide continuing to grow and eventually falling out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation in the form of snow can accumulate in polar regions, stored as frozen water and locked up for long periods. Annual snowfall in temperate regions will usually thaw and melt as spring returns and that water returns to fill rivers, lakes or soaks into the soil. Most precipitation falling onto land will, due to gravity, either percolate into the soil or will flow over the ground as  surface runoff. As with snow-melt, surface runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape with  streamflow  moving water towards the oceans. There is also groundwater  seepage that will  accumulate and is  stored as freshwater  in aquifers. The series of precipitation and evaporation continually repeats itself and becomes a closed system. Sources:     Ecology and Field Biology, R.L. Smith (buy from Amazon)         Transpiration and the Water Cycle, USGS

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Warming - Essay Example Accordingly, this brief essay will attempt to briefly analyze this monolithic problem and propose a middle path to a debate that has been raging and consuming valuable time in the process. Furthermore, a determination will be sought to be made with regards to the question of whether human action or natural causes best explain the climate fluctuations that planet earth has recently been chronicling. Lastly, as a function of the previous points of discussion and analysis, the author will attempt to proscribe a reasonable and performable set of steps and solutions which both the scientific community and the world at large could and should seek to employ as a function of ameliorating the stress on planet earth and the issues at hand. Firstly, there is the point of view that strongly believes that the swings in climate change are the direct result of the presence of high amounts of human CO2 in the atmosphere that is causing a greenhouse effect on the planet and thereby causing world temp eratures to rise. Prima fascia of this argument is the belief that human CO2 emissions are responsible for the changes to the global climate. It follows therefore that those which ascribe to this point of view are the most vehement that drastic and immediate changes to the manner in which human beings interact with planet earth and seek to use her resources in order to achieve a high standard of living be re-assessed as a function of whether such practices are best for the future health and longevity of the planet (Gan et al 6555). However, the biggest drawback to this particular line of reasoning is the fact that the overall extent to which human CO2 factors into the percentage of total CO2 generated by planet earth on a yearly basis is so miniscule as to be laughable. Indeed, numerous studies have convincingly noted that human CO2 emissions only account for around 4% of total earth CO2 release in any given calendar year. Although this by no means relieves humans of their responsib ility towards the planet, it does however help put into perspective the precise scope of this problem and the means by which it should be sought to be rectified. The problem with this point of view is of course the fact that the main causal factors for global climate change with respect to the recent changes in temperature patterns have not been considered. For instance, there is a preponderance of evidence that the size and heat the sun generates is of course non-uniform and varies depending on the level of solar flares and solar storm activity (Powledge 9). As such, scientists have noted that beyond CO2 concentrations, the suns actual energy output has increased slightly over the exact same period in which the global climate change has been most powerfully noted (Ferrara 46). Of course the purpose of this brief essay is not to convince the reader regarding what the true culprit of global climate change truly is; rather, it is merely meant to acquaint the reader with the various ca usal mechanisms that likely influence the way in which the planet’s climate is regulated and changes as both a function of solar activity, human actions, and overall concentration of a number of other factors. Yet another issue with the global warming as a result of CO2 emission side of the argument is the fact that it is scientifically proven that global temperature is determined not only by CO2

The Disappearing Data Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Disappearing Data Center - Essay Example In addition, the system should have adequate authentication, access control and administration. The company should therefore examine the authentication options that are available, for instance, whether the system has trusted proxy, good security measures and so on. Comparatively, should access whether the technology and hosting are fit for purpose and is scalable. The company should determine whether the hardware is modern, reliable, the development cycle of the system, its ease in integrating with other systems and so on. Therefore, in a nut shell, when deciding where to host their system, the companies should evaluate the system’s navigation and interface, content production and workflow, authentication, access control and administration, and the fitness level of the technology and hosting. Other considerations could comprise of whether the operating system, scripting software and server software meet the purpose of the company. Many small businesses are moving towards cloud computing as a way of saving their costs and attaining sophisticated and powerful hardware (Plant 2009). However, there are several issues surrounding moving a company’s data center to the cloud computing. Some of the issues facing companies that have opted for cloud computing include the following;- First, cloud computing brings with it issues to deal with the security of the company’s data transfer. This is because all the information that travels between the company network and the cloud passes through the and therefore there is a chance that hackers could distort it. Due to this, the management should ensure that their systems are well secured through the use of internet security measures such as encryption, proxy, industry standard protocols and so on. Equally important, the use of software interfaces could be a major issue affecting cloud computing. The use of a weak set of software interface could expose the company to various

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Information Systems - Essay Example The spare capacity if available can be used for different purposes. The remote hosting at the third-party facilities as well leads the company to the curtailing of the costs while maintaining the internal control over hardware, software and communications and keeping its established relationship with the third party. Hosting at the Surebridge’s facilities, on the other hand, has the advantage of sparing the customer worry about establishing and maintaining its own IS infrastructure, investing into hardware etc. Moreover, customer receives over-the-clock access to the monitoring tools and gets a dedicated manager who is well aware of the company’s specifics and recent history. To make a sound choice, more information about both the options and the company’s particular needs is desirable in order to successfully match one with another. On the Surebridge’s side, additional required information would include price, total cost of ownership, connectivity and speed of connection, security standards with regards to transfer and processing of the commercial data, set-up time, reliability of the back-up system and assurance of operations continuity, additional services provided. On the company’s side, it would be necessary to know whether its operations and needs are quite similar to those of other companies in the industry, or does it need the customized solutions and treatment. It is also important to know if the company already has a modern IS infrastructure and some trained personnel, or an agreement on hosting with a third party in place. Moreover, the required speed and volume of processing stemming out of the scope of the company’s operations and necessity of the computers and IT infrastructure to be deployed for other purposes should also be considered. A possibility to visit Sharebridge’s facilities would be an exciting experience. I would like to start by looking at the

The Long Process Of European Decolonization English Language Essay

The Long Process Of European Decolonization English Language Essay According to Helen Tiffin, Decolonization is a process, not arrival it has been the project of post-colonial writing to interrogate European discourses and discursive strategies from a privileged position within (and between) two worlds (Tiffin 95). At the moment of decolonization there are two kinds of responses to the imposition of imperial language: post colonial writers either choose rejection or subversion of the imposed tongue and the empire by writing back in a European language. As part of this the Indian English writers thrive hard to project the hybridity of post colonial realities and the use of English as a linguistic expression of that hybridity must be accepted. Writers including Raja Rao, Rushdie and Roy were aware of the fact that the subversion of English is the only strategy that recognizes the influence of the colonial experience while, at the same time, dismantling its supporting biases. Therefore nativizing and acculturating it (Kachru 294) is the device these po st colonial writers adopted, thus transforming standard English into many englishes as are the diverse post colonial realities.(Ashcroft 8) These englishes allow the post colonial writer to voice his particular experience while exploiting the advantages of using an international language. Salman Rushdie comments on how working in new englishes can be therapeutic. In the essay Imaginary Homelands, he explicates that, the English language is not something that can simply be overlooked and disregarded, but is the site where writers should try to sort out the problems that challenge emerging or recently independent colonies. He believes that by conquering English we can conclude the process of making ourselves emancipated. What we find in the writings of these novelists is a resistance to the dominant language-culture which is facilitated through a naturalization of it and stretching it to contain some authentic Indian expressions. Thereby they are invested with a power to appropriate and dismantle metropolitan discourses and to assert post colonial difference from Europe. The linguistic hybridization which results from the manipulation of English as the normative linguistic code by the emerging post-colonial voices as an act of subversion and a necessary step in the direction of cultural liberation, becomes the source for new strategies of writing which have generated some of the most exciting and innovative literatures of the modern period (Ashcroft 8). These hybrid linguistic practices are a reliable sign of an authentic articulation of indigenous voices. Linguistic hybridization results in syntactic flexibility and rapid enrichment of vocabulary. The Indian English writer challenges and redefines m any accepted notions of language and indulges in creating different versions or constructing a new language in our multilingual contexts. These are the in between languages which occupy a space in between and seeks to decolonize themselves from the Western ex-colonizer and subverts hierarchies and brings together the dominant and the under-developed. The Caliban- Prospero paradigm can be seen as an illustration of resistance enacted by postcolonial Indian writers where Caliban practices what he calls the language of the torturer mastered by the victim. His appropriation of Prosperos language rather than his rejection of it, is an appropriation that extends and enriches the possibilities of the English language in ways that are, perhaps, no longer possible for the English themselves. As Graham Huggan suggests, Indian writing (especially in English) is to a large extent a transnational, diasporic phenomenon, the product of complex collisions/collusions between East and West (66). Therefore, the term postcolonial nowadays has a wider definition and it denotes an index of resistance, a perceived imperative to rewrite the social context of continuing imperial dominance (Huggan ix). Post colonial Indian writing showcases a number of linguistic tensions and any interrogation of the experiences involves a simultaneous interrogation of language also. Indian English liberates itself from the parent language and tries to be on its own surpassing its hyphenated status. The deformations, deviations and irregularities found in Indian English is part of an attempt by the writer to master the texture of the original while amending and altering it considerably to suit the local conditions leading to the birth of a brand new English. In its reinstatement as Indian English, it certainly shakes off its colour and becomes heteroglossic, true to what Bakthin opined as anothers speech in anothers language. English turns into playful manipulation in the hands of these writers. As a form of self-assertion Indian writers playfully manipulate the language and relates them to the roots and culture of ones own and introduces circumstances for their self-expression. R.K. Narayan advocates writing in a genuinely Indian way without being self-conscious about it; English has proved that if a language has flexibility, any experience can be communicated through it, even if it has to be paraphrased sometimes rather than conveyed, and even if the factual detail à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is partially understood à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ All that I am able to confirm merely after thirty years of writing, is that it has served my purpose admirably, on conveying unambiguously the thoughts and acts of a set of personalities, who flourish in a small town located in a corner of South India. (Press 123) The Indian writers communicate the Indian sensibility and consciousness to dissociate themselves from the subtle nuances of the language and its flexible idiom in an instinctive and effortless manner through narrative structures associated with the ones prevalent in Indian oral and epic traditions to vindicate the spirit of India and its quintessential unity. According to Rushdie, the moment the Indian writer tries to shed the insular mentality of exclusion and to use English as his own without any anxiety or self-consciousness the language of the other becomes his property on which its first user will have no substantial claim. This approach invests the Indian writer with a freedom to articulate which they aimed to achieve it. Indian English can be seen as a distinct variety whose body is correct English usage, but whose soul, thought and imagery is Indian in colour, and an Indian idiom which is representative of the unique quality of Indian mind while in compliance with the exactne ss of the English usage. Linguist Braj Kachru argues, using a non-native language in native context, to portray new themes and characters and situations is like redefining the semantic and semiotic potential of a language, making language mean something which is not part of its traditional meaning. It is an attempt to give a new African or Asian identity, and thus an extra dimension of meaning. A part of that dimension perhaps remains obscure or mysterious to the Western reader. The process of creating new meanings in English, for those who write in two languages is a process of transcreation (Kachru 48).The creation of new meanings accompanies the creation of new identities. Meenakshi Mukherjee claims that; The Indo- Anglian writer should be allowed the freedom to experiment with the language for his own artistic needs rather than be heaved into a system of linguistics in search of that elusive medium; a standard Indian English (214). Indian English literature is replete with experimental language which includes forging new words, new idioms, new turns of expressions, new syntactic structures and new rhythms, Indianisms, violating the syntax and grammar of English to echo the regional speech and to recreate an Indian consciousness and also to induce better linguistic results. R.K. Narayan comments that the presence of Indianisms are unavoidable in their situation as all writers are experimentalists, not attempting to write Anglo-Saxon English. The English language, through, sheer resilience and mobility, is now undergoing a process of Indianisation in the same manner as it adopted U.S. citizenship over a century ago. The process of transmutation is to be viewed as an enrichment of the English language or a debasement of it. These writers, says Mulk Raj Anand, aim at consciously reorienting the language and synthesizing Indian and European values in contemporary India.(20) Indians have found a sense of peculiar int imacy with the English language, making it a second natural voice for the Indian mind and sensibility. He sees realized in it the power of Indian inheritance, the complexity of Indian experience, and the uniqueness of Indian voice.( Walsh 65, 71) Indianisms can be accepted as permissible violations of the English language if they are introduced for the sake of reflecting cultural overtones and undertones.(Verghese 181) Shaking off the traces of foreign acquisition, the language is moulded today as anew idiom. The language has to be broken to it, as it were, and made new. (Kantak 223) The process of adaptation has been gradual and pervasive. Kantak rightly points out; Everything depends, of course, on the intimacy of the adoption, the level reached in the process of naturalization. (224) Most linguistic innovations are purposive and have an authentic ring about them. And it is not mere reproduction; the transformation of language takes place at a high artistic pressure.(235) Commenti ng upon the contextualization of English on India, Kachru observes: Indian English has ramifications in Indian culture(which includes languages) and is used in India towards maintaining appropriate Indian patterns of life, culture and education. This, in short, we may call the Indianess of Indian English, in the same way as we speak of the Englishness of British English. (Kachru 282) He again remarks; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the distance between the natively used varieties of English and Indian English cannot be explained only by comparative studies of phonology and grammar. The deviations are an outcome of the Indianisation of English which has, gradually, made Indian English culture-bound in the socio-cultural setting of India. The phonological and grammatical deviations are only a part of this process of Indianisation.(85-86) The appropriation of English language by Indian English writers results in innovations that enrich English. They also use the text to construct a world of difference, separation, and absence from the metropolitan norms which arose from the experience of colonization and a compulsive necessity to write in response to the imperial powers by asserting their differences from the assumptions of the imperial centers. The writers resort to many strategies or specific postcolonial literary techniques like fragmentation, plurality, and language to subvert Western-colonial constructs of identity and culture. It is also projected as a retelling of individual experience as against the colonial representations of history, language, and textuality. True to what Salman Rushdie famously remarked, that in post-colonial culture, the Empire writes back to the centre, these writings create a challenging discourse as against the dominant Eurocentric discourse facilitating a re-imagining and restructuring of it through breaking down certain colonial assumptions and grand narratives. Indian fiction in English can be read as a counter-discourse, as a response, in part, to earlier universalizing Western texts of English colonial writers. The Indian writers write using English vocabulary but indigenous structures and rhythms which goes in line with Chantal Zabuss theory of relexifcation Those who utilize this technique use English to simulate another language and therefore are not merely using English but also modifying it. In this process the expressions of the postcolonial are functioning as an interlanguage, mimicking neither the European target language or the indigenous source language (Zabus 315). To personalize and to correspond to a particular national or regional identity, Indian writers parade their mastery over language to nativize and indigenize English. Diverse ways of nationalizing English is used as an effective tool to demarginalize the postcolonial experience. This takes many forms and the most prominent of which is linguistic demarginalisation whic h leads to what Brathwaite calls a nation language, a need felt by a host of post-colonial writers. At the moment of decolonization, the imperial language which was an instance of the cultural baggage that restrained and smothered the natives was destabilized. The Indian writers uses the English medium to convey hitherto unknown and unfamiliar roles like a whole new set of customs, social objects, and relationships, universal responsiveness, which goes into the creation of a new culture. This represents the conversion of the weapon of the colonizer as a linguistic blade where it is redirected back at the colonizer thereby liberating the enslaving medium into a revolutionary weapon with Indian message. It helps the writer to indulge in self-reflexive narrative as a counter-discursive strategy to strike against the totalizing colonialist literature and also to erase the dominant universalist canon of Europe and endorse the marginalized canons of various local cultures. An expression o f culture-specific experiences and sensibilities through English, undermine the totalizing notion of one standard literary English language that can include all human experiences. As a result, Indian English cease to be regarded as postcolonial, but rather as an expression of uniquely Indian identity. The contemporary Bengali writer and critic Amit Chaudhuri, in his seminal anthology of 2001 The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature, comments on the way English is used in India. Though used by a small but substantial group, English is now an Indian language, English is not an Indian language in the way it is an American language; nor is it an Indian language in the way that Bengali or Urdu. English is not an Indian language, but it has served so many useful and essential purposes of a developing society, this for so long that it has now become a kind of linguistic habit with us and cannot be easily discarded without a proper substitute. Writers like Vikram Seth, Rohinton Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Anita Desai and more recently Kiran Desai, Shashi Tharoor, Pankaj Mishra and Amit Chaudhuri get gushing reviews and are the propagators and ambassadors of Indian writing in English. The following comments of Gokak present the recent assessment of Indian English writers ; Indo-Anglian writing is direct and spontaneous- like creative writing in any other language. It is conditioned in many ways by the peculiar circumstances of its birth and growth. (162) The use of English in India for almost two hundred years has naturally nativized the English language and it has also caused the entry of new words into the language which truly represent our culture and traditions and which is also used in non-Indian settings. The Indian linguistic and cultural context is flourishing everyday with new set of lexical items and typical Indian collocations. Srinivasa Iyengar is of the opinion that Indian writing in English is but one of the voices in which India speaks. It is a new voice, no doubt, but it is as much Indian as others (3) Indian writing in English has come a long way from that teething stage, developing a diversity of themes, a variety of forms and techniques, and, not the least, an authenticity and idiomatic expressiveness. (S.N.Sridhar 292) In the process of Indianisation and thereby to decolonize English, writers express every modes of feeling and thinking peculiar to the cultural milieu through words which are culture bound to describe everyday objects and convey the Indian sentiment. Strategies like vernacular transcription, loan words, syntactic fusion and use of rhythmic patterns and social conventions of Indian languages helps to bridge the cultural gaps and makes the use of the alien medium more acceptable to the non-native speakers themselves (Sridhar 298). English has been re-built to reflect the clarity of thought and shades of feeling to the extent they can realize within their own ecosystems. The Indian novelists in English have accelerated the process of desired linguistic deviation and according to Kachru, the process of Indianisation of English is a linguistic and cultural characteristics transferred to an adopted alien language.(19) In an attempt to disengage language from its socio-cultural roots and to make it conducive to the new user, the Indian writer liberates English from the precision and accuracy of its usage and disintegrates the stereotypical language functions to accommodate the native feel of the life. This leaves the language with a better freedom for the writer to exploit. Only a gradual and wider usage of the language to contain the burden of our local context and experience can lead to a complete decolonization of the language rather than a deliberate attempt to Indianise it. According to Gokak Indian English should represent the evolution of a distinct standard- a standard the body of which is the correct English usage, but whose soul is Indian in colour, thought and imagery.(3) As from all these illustrations we can conclude that the reappropriation of the ex-colonisers language, within a postcolonial frame of mind is a crucial thrust in terms of style for postcolonial writers. The writers I have chosen illustrate how one can authentically represent their native culture through Indian English which, at the same time, abrogates the Standard English as well as appropriates it for local discourses, thereby re-structuring deconstructing and decolonizing the English language to liberate it from within and to remould it for the purpose of dismantling the power structures of English grammar which are symbolic of the hegemonic controls implemented. The English used by these novelists, is a distinct English which is idiomatic, using a colloquial register that will certainly be familiar to a British reader but which contains an unmistakably Indian reference. It represents the new varities of englishes that are relocated, resettled and reincarnated language and indige nized to perform culture-specific functions. Rao has tried in his novels to conform the English language to Indian literary style and rhythm, and to make it express local myths and ideas. These writers are of the opinion that the subversion of English is the only strategy that recognizes the influence of the colonial experience while, at the same time, dismantling its supporting biases. Thus, on the Indian continent the English language was put to a revolutionary use by Rao, Rushdie and Roy. There works are clear illustrations of their efforts to completely relinquish the habitual linguistic practice and the formulation of an innovative, unrefined, critical and radical syntax. Another way of decolonization ably achieved by Indian writers like Raja Rao, Rushdie and Roy are through the Indianisation and acculturation of English language. Hence they are capable of formulating a new english which defies the western canons of power and controls and one which suits their requirements and which opens up spaces for creativity in Indian English. All these approaches are for redefining the medium, and contextualizing English in yet other socio-cultural and linguistic framework. Raja Raos Kanthapura, Rushdies Midnights Children and Shame and Arundhati Roys The God of Small Things where the writers uses a multiplicity of indigenizations, is an exemplary illustration of the trend, which has plenty of language rooted in local Indian culture. The Indian narrative of resistance begins with Raja Rao whose nativization of English is the best approach to avoid confined by Standard English structures and usage. He expressed his resistance to the language of the dominant discourse by rewriting its given structures. Writers like Raja Rao, Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy are involved in a process of indigenizing English. Language in its decontextualised way serves to denaturalize and decolonise thus subverting, diverting and twisting into new shapes and transformed into an alien material in order to express new realities. These writers exhibit a more intentional and calculated linguistic experimentation at several levels the outcome of which will lead to a decolonizati on of English. This decolonization of the language goes hand in hand with a desire to make it a more penetrating tool of artistic exploration. Post colonial writers like Raja Rao, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy have contributed to the discourse of hybridity through their works of dissent, challenge or subversion. It can be efficiently wrapped up that the practitioners of Indo- Anglian literature wield a decolonising pen (Rushdie). Rushdies prediction that Indians were in a position to conquer English literature seems justified.

Reader Response Essay - Joyce Carol Oatess Where Are You Going, Where

Reader Response Essay - Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? As I began reading â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been?† by Joyce Carol Oates I found myself relating the experiences of Connie, the girl in the story, to my own personal experiences. She spoke of going to a friend’s house and having her friend’s father drive them to the shopping mall so that they could walk around and socialize or go see a movie. I found that this related very closely with my own experiences of being fifteen years old because it was always someone else’s parents driving my friends and I to the movies or to the mall. However, as I continued to read the story I began to wonder if maybe Connie’s life was not in any way parallel to my own. I have a younger sister where she has an older sister, but that is where the similarities end. Her mother is always telling her that she should be more like June, her older sister. It seemed to me that June living with her parents at her age was unusual, but the fact that she seemed to enjoy this and was always doing things to h...

It205 – Hardware Replacement Project

Hardware Replacement Project IT/205 – Management of Information systems June 24, 2012 Cristina Oliver Hardware Replacement Project The IT department is implementing a new CRM solution in its corporate offices. The hardware currently in use is out of date and will not support the CRM application. The hardware must be replaced prior to deployment. Resource: Ch. 11 of Essentials of Management Information Systems Write a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper that addresses the following: How do the five major variables of project management—scope, time, cost, quality, and risk—relate to this scenario?What considerations must be applied when selecting projects that deliver the best business value? What factors that influence project risk? What strategies would you recommend for minimizing this project’s risks? * The Information Technology department is implementing a new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution in its corporate offices but what we found is that the current hardware is out-of-data and will not support the new CRM application, so to implement the new CRM solution we must upgrade all the hardware prior to deployment of the CRM application.The assessment of scope, time, cost, quality and risk are the five variables needed to consider when planning out this project of the hardware replacement for the CRM application. â€Å"Project management refers to the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to achieve specific targets within specific budgets† (Laudon & Laudon, 2011, P. 397). The project managers’ position is to align the project to meet the necessary target in which they must estimate resources required for the work (materials and people), plan the work, assign and direct the work, report progress, analyze the results, acquire materials, and assesses the risk.In implementing the CRM project we see that the project scope is to have all hardware replaced. Hardware that would be replaced are desktops , servers and possibly handheld devices. Prior to installation of hardware to the corporate offices there will be installation of the software which includes operating systems, standard company applications and the new CRM application, testing of the applications and hardware in the test environment prior to testing on the production network and just before replace of the hardware to the offices there will be education training and then a small department rollout to verify and finalize any risks.We need to figure a realistic time to achieve our target on the CRM project as time. What will be needed is to break down each component into separate tasks and activities so each team has time to accomplish their tasks. Remember that each task given is dependent for the next task to succeed. This give a schedule of when the project may be completed. â€Å"Costs are based on the time to complete a project multiplied by the daily cost of human resources required to complete the project† (Laudon & Laudon, 2011, P. 399). Costs also include the hardware, software and real estate of where someone sits when doing the work.The project manager is responsible for developing the budget as well as monitoring the expenses of the ongoing project attempting not to go over their projected budget. Quality is the indication of how well the project is going and also how well the end result satisfies the objects requested by management. Quality defines the workmanship, accuracy and the timelines of the information produced by the new system being implemented. Quality grants a more positive outcome within the project team as well as management. Risk are something that happens with all projects as they are potential problems that threaten the success of a project.The problems that could arise can prevent a project from meeting it’s timelines by increasing time and costs, lowering the quality of the output or possibly preventing the project altogether. When given the project t imeline it is normally given some of the risks involved with each tasks and within the project there is the attempt to give buffer time should those risks appear. Considerations that must be applied when selecting projects that deliver the best business value are benefits and costs. In the long or possibly short are the benefits that can regain costs and possibly or will increase financial gains for the business.The company needs to realize the CRM application; if it will indeed benefit from this application and that the application covers all aspects of what the required objectives. Obviously if the company purchases the CRM application and doesn’t meet the requirements then the project will not reap the benefits or costs. Other considerations are training and maintenance of the hardware, software and application. Without training of the application how would one know how to use it to its full potential? Training is planned and designed for the various users and departments. With the CRM application each department will have their specific requirements as to what they will use it for and what they can and cannot access. The IT group will be trained on how to support the application and how to maintain and upgrade when needed. This leads into maintenance which is never cost effective but normally mandatory for reasons of fixing application bugs or hardware upgrades and even operating system updates. Factors or levels that may influence project risk are size of the project, structure of the project and the level of technical expertise (SME – Subject Matter Experts) of the IT staff and project team.Other considerations are consultants if the IT staff is does not have the technical expertise although proper training or shadowing will need to be involved of the consultant to an IT staff. Other factors such as not clear or straightforward requirements or even new technology that the project team does not know the technology can influence the project ri sk. Even user acceptance of the application is a major factor as some don’t like change or fear new products. There are many factors that can influence the risk of the project.Strategies that I would use to minimize the project risk would be to recruit people whom are SME with products that we are looking to implement, recruit project managers that are expertise in information technology and use the correct tools to manage the project and the deliverables. Implement the proper changes management in advance to have the changes documented in case need to revert back and make sure everything is tested in a test environment prior to placing into a production environment. Train the staff and end-users to make sure everyone is comfortable with the new system.People fear change and to have an in-depth training program will allow the end-users more comfort with the product and in themselves. The number strategy I would use to minimize project risk is communication. Making sure that e veryone is on the same page with the deadlines and deliverables. Understanding the timeframe and what need to be done to accomplish the project. The project team needs to see the possible risks that are involved and how they could avoid these risks and make sure they are all documented.I believe that the best practices for managing this project are hiring project managers that have managed successful project in the IT field and have them communicate with the leads of the IT teams to set realistic timeframes to measure the progress of the tasks to overall meet the deliverables and the end date of the project. Communication to the company executives to make sure they understand the timeframe of the project and the implantation of each task and what dates they will be accomplished as well as verifying what are the requirements of management for the project.With regards to all this the project manager will put a project plan with timeframes and risks to hand out to all the project team and management so everyone understands what is involved and what deadlines each team needs to make. Make such dates will show quality to management and the company allowing a much smoother transition to the new CRM application and hardware. Reference Laudon, K. P. , & Laudon, J. P. (2011). Essentials of MIS (9th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Life Has a Hopeful Undertone

McCarthy follows a father and son who are struggling to survive after some global apocalypse. The father struggles to keep his faith and â€Å"carry the fire,† he starts to question his faith in humanity him believe to have hope in the most difficult of times. Despite civilization falling apart, in the novel The Road by Coral McCarthy hope is revealed to be a major theme by symbolism in the fire and the boy. The man and boy often find themselves in difficult situations.The boy considers that e would be better off dead because his loss of hope. He says he would be better off with his â€Å"mom† (55), who is dead. The man tells him that he has to â€Å"carry the Although it is not directly said in the novel, the fire is implied to be related to hope and goodness. The father and son are some of the few survivors who refused to exploit human beings, because they have not given up and lost faith in their morals. Hope helps them find alternatives from cannibalism. Even when they were â€Å"starving†(129). They still refuse to eat any human flesh.In the novel, the cannibals represent a fallen society that a man and boy have to live through. The boy is a symbol hope and is one of the â€Å"good guys†(77). Those who carry the fire have not given up hope and need to preserve the faith and sake of humanity, because If the two characters decide to eat a charred human Infant (198), everyone on Earth would be killing each other and ending humanity; there would be no hope or love left, there would be nothing or no one left to live for. The man and boy both believe â€Å"nothing ad is going to happen† (83), to them because they are carrying the fire.Ultimately at the end of the novel the man ends up dying, but hope continues to live on In the boy, who meets a new family that Is â€Å"carrying the fire† as well (284). This shows that even In hard times you can still have hope that things will get better. When his son was born the man s ays that the boy was â€Å"beyond the window Just gathering cold, the fires on the horizon† (59). The man found hope when his son was born, and found another reason to live. The mother states â€Å"the boy was all that stood between him and death†(29).The child was an embodiment of hope and salvation; he was a light In the darkness. The man thought of his son as God; he asked Ely noon thought he was an angel? What If I said he was God? â€Å"(172). The man saw his son as a symbol of hope Is a place where hope was no longer relevant. Overall, hope In a ruined society can begin the dullness, but The Road by Coral McCarthy shows that hope can still remain. Hope when a salvation Lies In ruins can easily be forgotten between the fight with death and the desperation to live, but It remains as the only thing that can begin to rebuild humanity again.Life Has a Hopeful Undertone By liable given up hope and need to preserve the faith and sake of humanity, because if the two cha racters decide to eat a charred human infant (198), everyone on Earth would the end of the novel the man ends up dying, but hope continues to live on in the boy, who meets a new family that is â€Å"carrying the fire† as well (284). This shows that even in hard times you can still have hope that things will get better. When his son was death†(29). The child was an embodiment of hope and salvation; he was a light in the darkness.The man thought of his son as God; he asked Ely muff thought he was an angel? What if I said he was The man saw his son as a symbol of hope is a place where hope was no longer relevant. Overall, hope in a ruined society can begin the diminish, but The Road by Coral McCarthy shows that hope can still remain. Hope when a civilization lies in ruins can easily be forgotten between the fight with death and the desperation to live, but it remains as the only thing that can begin to

communist china essays

communist china essays Communism in an Economically Developing China The future of communism in China is unknown, as the world economy becomes more international. Communism has been in China since 1949 and is still present in the countrys activities. Presently China is undergoing incredible economic growth and promises to be a dominant power early in the next century. Chinas social tradition has come under heavy pressure from forces of modernization generated in a large part by the sustained contact with the West that began in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Western incursion, not only refined China militarily but brought in its course new ideas- nationalism, science and technology, and innovations in politics, philosophy, and art. Chinese leaders have sought to preserve the nations cultural uniqueness by promoting specifically Chinese blends of tradition and modernity. China has undergone several major political transformations from a feudal-like system in early historical times, to a centralize d bureaucratic empire that lasted through many unpredictable changes till 1911, to a republic with a communist form of government in the mainland since 1949. Economic geography and population pressure help account for the traditionally controlling role of the state in China. The constant indispensability for state interference, whether for great public works programs or simply to keep such a large society together, brought up an authoritarian political system. The family prevailed as the fundamental social, economic, and religious unit. Interdependence was very prominent in family relations while generation, age, sex and immediacy of kinship strictly governed relations within the family. Family rather than nation usually created the greatest allegiances with the result that nationalism as known to the West came late to the Chinese. In principle, the elite in the authoritarian political system achieved their positions through merit rather t...

Communication with My Father Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Communication with My Father - Essay Example My communication with my father is also characterized by kindness. I have a feeling that my father favors me over my siblings. Thus, he is often kind and gentle to me than to my brothers and sisters. I feel this is unfair and should be changed so that my siblings will enjoy the same privileges I enjoy. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my father for showing me kindness each day. He has been very supportive of me since I was a child. We spend time doing a lot of things and telling stories. We enjoy each other’s company and often while away time with stories to tell. He is like a best friend to me whom I can count on in times of disappointments. However, unlike a friend who expects something in return, he does not pressure me to comply with his expectations. This is so because I know what he wants for me and I usually do what I think would please him. I do not ever want to disappoint him because he is my role model. If I fail to be good, I know that he will be disappointed. Thus, t o avoid disappointing him, I study hard and limit the time I spend with my friends. In return, he is very kind to me and supports me in every endeavor. Love is also an important factor in our communication. The love of my father serves as my fountain of gladness. It gives me the motivation to strive hard and succeed in my dream, express hope and compassion towards others, and deal with other people with respect. I can feel the love of my father as he communicates with me. He is always to my benefit.

The lack of cultural awareness in the average American Soldier served Essay

The lack of cultural awareness in the average American Soldier served as a detriment during the early phases of the Iraqi War - Essay Example Firstly, culture is not a static entity. Rather, it`s a dynamic and an ever changing concept. Since people are the driving force behind a culture, it keeps evolving and changing according to the change in circumstances. Secondly, culture is not inherited, i.e. it can`t be transferred via genes to the next generation. In fact, it is transmitted through socialization from one generation to another. Culture can also be multi-faceted, which implies that one person might be exposed to various cultures at the same time, which incarnates values and beliefs in an individual which are a blend of various other cultures. Fourthly, there are various means of transmitting a culture, including our family, friends, school, religion, media and any other modes of communication we experience. Thus, acquiring a culture is a continuous process which goes on through our entire lives. Lastly, culture is expressed though various means, which is reflected in the way our beliefs are carved, the way we dress up, talk, eat, our work habits etc (Colbert). Thus, culture is a very important entity which leaves an impact on almost all aspects of the lives of an individual, who is a member of a community or a nation. Since shared cultures and meanings are an important part of an individual`s identity socialized via various modes, it is important to understand the culture of a region to understand the dynamics of that area. For this reason, the lack of cultural awareness in American soldiers acted as a detriment during the Iraqi war. To analyze the situation closely, it is important to study the geography and the history of the military conflict in detail, the weather analysis of the region, and the ASCOPE (areas, structures, capabilities, organizations, people and events) of the region of interest. To understand the culture, however, it is important to