Debate Topics for the High School Classroom

Debate Topics for the High School Classroom Debates are a great way for students to get involved in class. Students have to research topics, prepare for the debate with their team, and think on their feet as they practice public speaking. Learning how to debate does more than improve speaking skills; it also makes for better listeners. As a result, students are better prepared  for college and the diverse career world beyond.   Joseph Joubert â€Å"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.† (1896) The following list of 50 debate topics  is for use in high school classrooms. While some of these are specifically written for a particular part of the curriculum, others can be modified or used in a number of different classes. Each item is listed as a proposition that one side (student or team) argues to defend while the other side (student or team) argues to oppose. 1:53 Watch Now: Ideas for Great Classroom Debate Topics Science and Technology Human cloning  should be banned.Renewable forms of energy should be subsidized by the government.The U.S. government should fund a space mission to Mars.Social media comments should be protected by free speech.Parents should be allowed to choose their babys gender.Animal testing should be banned.The U.S. government should provide internet service for every citizen.Video games are too violent. Politics and Government America should be able to provide foreign aid to countries that kill  endangered animals.It is never appropriate for the government to restrict freedom of speech.Democracy is the best form of government.All citizens who do not vote should pay a fine.The right to bear arms is a necessary constitutional amendment.Progressive tax rates are unfair.The voting age should be lowered.The driving age should be raised.A border fence should be constructed between the U.S. and Mexico.America should not give foreign aid to other countries.Drone attacks against specific targets are a necessary part of modern warfare.Affirmative action should be abolished. Social Issues Partial-birth abortion should be illegal.All parents should be required to attend parenting classes before having a child.All people should be vegetarians.Mixed martial arts  should be banned.The  death penalty  should be abolished.Sports stars should be positive role models.People should be fined for not recycling.Performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports. Education All students should have an after-school job.Every student should be required to take a performing arts course.Homework should be banned.School uniforms should be required.Year-round education is not a good idea for student learning.Physical education should be required of all students throughout high school.All students should be required to perform one year of community service.Schools should block YouTube.Students should be able to leave school for lunch.Single-sex schools are better for students.Schools should punish cyberbullying that occurs outside of school.Teachers should not be allowed to contact students through social media.Public prayer should not be allowed in schools.High-stakes state testing should be abolished.Poetry should be removed from the curriculum.History (or another subject) is an important subject in school.Schools should not be allowed to track students by academic level.Students should be required to pass algebra to graduate.Students should not be graded on their handwriting. All students should take an online course.The theory of Intelligent design should be taught in science classes.

Thinkertoys Week 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thinkertoys Week 4 - Essay Example By dint of a comprehensive and thoughtful planning, the company jumped from seventh position to second position in the market. Michalko has defined steps to be applied by a company in order to turn out successful even at the most unfavorable situation. The same is being adopted by the researcher in the present research, which is as following: Since I tend to start my own consultancy, after completing my graduation in business administration, in order to provide the young people with counseling regarding career selection, I plan the following possible scenario for starting my career: I will start my consultancy at the heart of the city, where commercial activities are at boom; so that I could capture the attention of the visiting clients too along with the clientele out of my personal relationship. In case I find difficulty in finding out possible clientele, I will shift my office from commercial zone to the area adjacent to the colleges and universities, so that fresh graduates and students could discover a career counseling consultancy in their area. I will also examine the market scenario and will assess whether I am working under perfect competition or monopolistic competition. I will revise my business strategy time and again on the foundation of business environment. Since business administration degree provides its graduates with the opportunity of working in numerous fields, I may start working in the fields of real estate, advertising, marketing and others. Since I strongly believe in hard work and honesty, I will never escape from my duties and obligations towards others. I will work diligently for the promotion of my business as well as obtaining dexterity in my skills and abilities. I will not confined my thinking to myself alone; rather, I will consult the specialists, professionals and experts regarding my thoughts and

Closing the Output Gap in the United Kingdom Essay

Closing the Output Gap in the United Kingdom - Essay Example Of course, actual output is the recorded GDP of a given time that can be in nominal or real values. The nominal value refers to the prefers of the GDP synchronic to the prices or price reference of a given year while the real GDP can be valued in terms of a base or a reference prices of a reference year. Dornbush et al. (2008, p. 15) explained that the concept of an output gap provides a way of measuring the magnitude of the cyclical deviations of actual output from the potential output. The concept â€Å"potential output† is also interchangeable with the term â€Å"trend output† (Dornbusch et al. 2008, p. 15). From the economic perspective of Dornbusch et al., the output gap is negative during a recession and positive during an expansion (2008, p. 15). In a recession, resources are unemployed and actual output is below potential output. In contrast, during a positive gap or expansion, workers overtime and machineries are utilized more than the usual (Dornbusch 2008, p. 15). Positive gap or expansion is also known as an economic recovery (Dornbusch 2008, p. 15). For Mankiw (2006, p. 425), potential output or full employment output is more accurately the natural rate of output because â€Å"it shows what the economy produces when the unemployment is at its natural or normal rate†. At the same time, Mankiw pointed out that â€Å"the natural rate of output is the level of production toward which the economy gravitates in the long run† (2004, p. 425). According to classical viewpoint, the potential output or the natural rate of output depends on labour, capital, natural resources, and technological knowledge and, therefore, shifts in the potential output or natural rate of output depend on changes in the said variables (Mankiw 2004, p. 425). An output gap can promote price volatility.  

Streptozotocin (STZ) Induced Diabetes Experiment

Streptozotocin (STZ) Induced Diabetes Experiment MATERIALS AND METHODS 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1 Animal Selection and Care STZ induced diabetes are commonly performed in Male Wistar Kyoto rats. In these models, male Wistar rats at 8 weeks of age (200–300 g) are selected from animal supply facility of SGPGIMS Lucknow, and house in a 12-h light, 12-h dark cycle environment, temperature 25 °C, with standard rat diet and water in metabolic cages for one week prior to STZ treatments. The study had clearance from Institute animal ethics committee. 3.2 Study Design Wistar Rat (Preparation and Validation of animal model of DN) 50 mg/kg STZ induced Diabetic Rat (n=3) Normal Rat (n=3) After 8th week rat are sacrificed for validation of Diabetic nephropathy 3.3 Induction and Validation of Diabetes by Streptozotocin There is a lack of appropriate animal model that could spontaneously develop DN. It has been a significant limitation to find out specific factors that is underlying this disease and also the development of new therapeutic methods or strategies to prevent progressive renal disease in diabetes (Morcelo A. Nobrega et. al. 2004). Most Sprague-Dawley (SD), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats are used as model for performing STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy. Here, in these models, 8 weeks old male rats (200-250gm) are starved or kept on fasting for 18hrs and after that STZ was injected intraperitoneal (WKY-50mg/kg, SD-55mg/kg and SHR-45mg/kg) with sodium citrate buffer (1ml/kg) (Ma G et. al. 2004 and Cooper ME et. al. 1988). STZ given here intraperitoneally to the rats, however, it is a very less common procedure as intravenous injections are comparatively easy to perform in rats and give more reliable results. In addition to the STZ dosage required for inducing diabetes via an intraperitoneal route is relatively higher as compared to other route. After giving STZ, the rats should be given ample amount of drinking water with sucrose for 48 hrs (15g/L), to avoid early mortality of rats as stored insulin is released from damaged pancreatic Islets of Langerhans. After completion of 1 week of STZ induction, the rats must be assessed for hyperglycaemia and also those with fasting blood glucose of over 280 mg/dl (15 mmol/L), which is usually around 90%, and it should be included in the studies of diabetic nephropathy. In order to prevent subsequent development of ketone uria, subsequent injections of long-acting insulin (approx. 2-4 U/rat) should be given daily to maintain the blood glucose levels in a desirable range(300-600 mg/dl, 16-33 mmol/l) (Davis BJ et. al. 2003). Studies exploring the effects of treatment on the development of DN should not be underway until at least 3 weeks after STZ when the kidneys have improved from the acute mild nephrotoxic effects of STZ (Kraynak AR et . al. 1995) This drug i.e., STZ has been shown to induce a diabetic state in 72 hrs (3 days) as documented by examining tail blood samples using a Glucometer (Optimum Exceed) Diabetic animals and non-diabetic control group were kept in metabolic cages individually and separately and under feeding and metabolism control. Glucose in the blood of diabetic rats exceeded that of the non-diabetic control ones. Food consumption was measured in terms of (gm), water consumption was measured in terms of (ml) and urine volume was measured in terms of (ml) on a daily basis and glucose in blood serum were also measured, so that chemical diabetes was verified in rats injected with Streptozotocin. 3.4 Estimation of Creatinine Modified Jaffe’s method was used for colorimetric estimation of creatinine concentration in urine samples. Principle: Creatinine + picric acid Creatinine picrate (Yellow) (Orange) The resultant orange color is measured colorimetrically. However, the intensity of the resultant orange color is directly proportional to the concentration of creatinine in the sample. Method: Draw the Blood from a vein and then transferred into the vial. Centrifuge the blood for 10 minutes and Serum is obtained. Separate out the serum in different eppendrofs. The concentration of creatinine is calculated in the serum sample using the Jaffe’s method, as follows: In a clean dry test tube add 0.5 ml distilled water (blank) or serum (test), add 0.5 ml NaOH and then 0.5 ml picric acid. Mix all the contents of each tube. Left to stand for 15 minutes. The absorbance is measured at ÃŽ »max 500 nm. If a standard creatinine solution (0.55 mg/dl) has an absorbance value of 0.30, then the concentration of creatinine in the provided serum sample is calculated by using the following equation: Ctest = Cstd x 3.5 Estimation of Urinary Albumin Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of rat albumin in serum, plasma or urine. Other biological fluids that contain Rat Albumin, such as faeces or saliva, may be suitable samples. 3.5.1 Principle: The antigen present in urine sample are allowed to stick to a poly vinyl and then plate is washed to separate antigen and antibodies from remaining sample components. To this plate a corresponding second antibody is added to get fixed to the already adhered first antigen in the plate. To this added second antibody, an enzyme is also tagged is that, when a suitable substrate is added, the enzyme reacts with it to produce a colour. This colour produced is measurable as a function or quantity of antigen present in the urine sample and there by identified. 3.5.2 Chemical and material required: 96-well plate ELISA Coating Buffer ELISA Wash Solution ELISA Blocking Buffer Sample/Conjugate Diluent (ELISA Blocking Buffer + Tween 20) 10% Tween 20 Enzyme Substrate, TMB ELISA Stop Solution Additional Materials Required: Ultrapure water Precision pipettors, with disposable plastic tips Polypropylene, polyethylene or glass tubes to prepare standard and samples Containers to prepare buffers An aspiration device or an automated 96-well plate washer Disposable reagent reservoirs A standard microtiter plate reader for measuring absorbance at 450 nm 3.5.3 Procedure: Added 100  µl of diluted coating antibody to each well. Samples were run in duplicate. Incubated at room temperature (20-25 C) for 1 hour. Washed plate FIVE times. Added 200  µl of Blocking Solution to each well. Incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. Washed plate FIVE times. Added 100  µl of standard or sample to well. Incubated at room temperature for 1 hour. Washed plate FIVE times. Added 100  µl of diluted HRP detection antibody to each well. Incubated at room temperature for 1 hour. Washed plate FIVE times. Added 100  µl of TMB Substrate Solution to each well. Developed the plate in the dark at room temperature for 15 minutes. Reaction was stopped by adding 100  µl of Stop Solution to each well. Absorbance was measured on a plate reader at 450 nm. 3.5.4 Precautions: Store all reagents at 2-8 ºC. Do not freeze reagents. All reagents must be at room temperature (20-25  ºC) before use. Vigorous plate washing is essential. Use new disposable pipette tips for each transfer to avoid cross-contamination. Minimize lag time between wash steps to ensure the plate does not become Completely dry during the assay. Avoid microbial contamination of reagents and equipment. Automated plate Washers can easily become contaminated thereby causing assay variability. Take care not to contaminate the TMB Solution. Do not expose TMB Substrate solution to glass, foils, or metal. If the solution is blue before use, do not use it 3.6 Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Rats are fasted overnight (12-16 hours) before the test, sedated rats, will be given 50 % dextrose (3ml/kg body weight) intraperitoneally. Whole blood will be collected from the tail vein at 0, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 min after the administered of glucose for the measurement of glucose with a glucometer. 3.6.1 Material Required: Glucometer and glucose strips Dextrose Gauge needles Timer and Pen Table of mice for record keeping of glucose values 3.6.2 Preparations before the test: Weigh the animals before the test. The animals are fasted overnight (approximately 16 hours: 5 pm to 9 am). Place each of the animals in a separate fresh cage with no food, but make sure they have water bottles. Make sure that there is no activity in the animal room before and while you are performing the test. Prepare the glucose solution the night before the test. 3.6.3 Procedure: After the overnight fast, blood glucose was determined (time 0) in a drop of blood as following: Rats were placed on top of the cage (let it hold onto the grid). The tail tip was pricked with a needle, wiped off the tail tip with gauze, and the next drop of blood was used for the determination of glucose with a glucometer. Glucose solution was given orally. Blood glucose was determined at 10, 20, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after the administration of glucose. For the determination of glucose at each of these time points collected a drop of blood as following: wiped the cut end of the tail to break any blood clot that had formed and collected the next drop of blood. If the blood does not appear spontaneously â€Å"milk† the tail by holding the tail between your thumb and index finger and move along the tail from the base of the tail to the tip of the tail while applying gentle pressure. 3.7 Assessment of Renal Histopathological Injury 3.7.1 Tissue preparation for histology: After 8 weeks the rats were weighed, sacrificed out in accordance to the Institutional animal ethics committee by using suitable anaesthetic agent (Ketamine) and their kidneys were taken out. Left kidneys were perfusion fixed for Histopathological and IHC studies and right kidneys were freezed immediately for western blotting and RT-PCR. Preparation of paraffin blocks of kidney: Kidneys were preserved in Para- formaldehyde is taken out in a glass slab for sectioning. A two cross section of upper half of kidney was done with sterile blade for paraffin embedding. The whole process for preparation of paraffin blocks took two days. Day first: The Formalin fixed kidneys were picked up and place in plastic cassettes was sequentially dipped in alcohol for dehydration. The schedule is as followed: 50% Alcohol →1.5hrs 70%Alcohol →1 hrs. 80% Alcohol →1 hrs. 90% Alcohol →1hrs 100% Alcohol →1hrs (twice) The cassette containing the tissue was left overnight in 100% absolute alcohol. Day Second: On 2nd day we perform the following treatment to tissue containing cassette Cassette was removed from 100% alcohol and dipped for CHCl3 treatments Chloroform (A) 1.5 hours. Chloroform (B) 1.5 hours. Chloroform (C) 1.5 hours. The cassette was then kept in melted paraffin wax (at 58 °C 65 °C in water bath) following two changes of paraffin wax for proper blocking. The steel chocks are kept at the 65 °C electronic heater and the paraffin treated kidney in plastic cassettes are opened and place in pre-heated steel chocks together with melted paraffin wax and closed with cassette. Block was kept at room temperature to solidify the melted wax. The paraffin block containing tissue was sectioned with microtome. The block was fit properly in the Microtome machine 5 µ sections were cut. 3.8 Periodic Schiff’s Acid (PAS) Staining 3.8.1 Principle: PAS (Periodic Acid Schiff) is a method of staining used for the detection of polysaccharides i.e., glycogen and mucosubstances that is glycoprotein’s and glycolipids. PAS stain is a histochemical reaction. In the reaction, periodic acid oxidises vicinal diols in these sugar. It oxidized the aldehyde formed by carbon-carbon bonding that react with fuchsin-sulphurous acid and forms the magenta colour. This periodic acid exposes the glycogen to give a colouring product. The Schiff’s reagent is a very specific agent that only reacts with the carboxylic group compounds. Material required: Glass slides and cover slips Poly Lysine (Sigma Aldrich, USA) Xylene Graduated Alcohol (30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100%) Periodic acid Schiff Reagent Haematoxylin Acid alcohol (1% HCl in 70% alcohol) DPX mountant 3.8.3 Protocol for PAS Staining: Keep the Poly-Lysine coated slides on hot plate for 15-20 min. Dip in warm Xylene for 10 min twice. Pass the slide through graded alcohol 100% alcohol- (10 minutes) twice 90% alcohol (5 minutes) 70% alcohol (5 minutes) 50% alcohol (5 minutes) 30% alcohol (5 minutes) Dip in distilled water for 5 min. Place the slide containing section into 0.5 % Periodic acid for 5 minutes. Rinse with distilled water. Schiff Reagent was added for 10 min until deep magenta colour appear. Wash in running tap water for 5 min. Counter stain in haematoxylin Rinse with distilled water. If high stain come, then wash with acid alcohol (1% HCl+70% alcohol) Wash the slide in tap water. Dehydrate in alcohol, and dry the slides. After drying mount the slides by DPX mountant. Masson’s Trichrome Staining 3.9.1 Principle: MT Staining method is used to demonstrate the increase of collagen in diseases. This method of staining uses three dyes of contrasting colours for the selective staining of basic tissue components i.e., muscle, collagen fibers, fibrin, and erythrocytes. The general phenomenon of trichome staining is that smallest dye molecule colours or stains the less porous tissues. However, the penetration of dye of larger molecular size is depends on the expense of small molecules. Some others suggests that the acid dye firstly stained the tissue then the Biebrich Scarlet will binds with the acidophilic components of the tissue, after which when treated with the phosphor acids, the components that are less permeable will retain the red colour, because of the collagen this red colour is pulled out and at the same point of time causing a link with the collagen to bind with the aniline blue. . At the outset it must be made clear that the methods control how ionised acid dyes react with ionised basic tissues. 3.9.2 Material required: Bouin’s solution Xylene Graduated Alcohol (30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100%) Weigert’s iron hematoxylin solution Biebrich scarlet acid fusin phosphomolybedic-phosphotungustic acid solution Aniline blue solution 3.9.3 Protocol for MT Staining: Keep the Poly-Lysine coated slides on hot plate for 15-20 min. Dip in warm Xylene for 10 min twice. Pass the slide through graded alcohol 100% alcohol- (10 minutes) twice 90% alcohol (5 minutes) 70% alcohol (5 minutes) 50% alcohol (5 minutes) 30% alcohol (5 minutes) Dip in distilled water for 5 min. For formalin fixed tissue, re-fix in Bouin’s Solution for 30 minutes to 1 hr. at 56 ºC to improve the staining quality although this step is not necessary. Rinse in running tap water for 5-10 minutes to remove the yellow color. Stain in Weigert’s iron hematoxylin working solution for 10 minutes. Rinse in running warm tap water for 10 minutes. Wash in D/W Stain with Biebrich Scarlet Acid Fusin for 5 minutes. Differentiate in phosphophosphomolybedic-phosphotungustic acid solution for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the section directly (without rinse) to aniline blue solution and stain for 5-10 minutes. Rinse directly in D/W and differentiate in 1% Acetic acid solution for 2 minutes. Rinse slides, dehydrate through Alcohol Clean slides in xylene Mount with DPX mountant. NoteNuclei-Black, Muscle Fibre-Red, Collagen-Blue, Cytoplasm-Red Modified Immunohistochemistry 3.10.1 Principle: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is the process whereby antibodies are used to detect proteins (antigens) in cells within a tissue section (for instance liver, pancreas or the heart). Immunohistochemistry exploits the principle that in biological tissues antibody binds to the specific antigens. This tool is used to localize specific antigens in tissue sections with labelled antibodies based on antigen-antibody interactions. This antigen-antibody interaction can be visualized in number of ways i.e., the immune reactive products can be visualized by a marker including fluorescent dyes, enzymes in general; radioactive elements or colloidal gold. This IHC technique is widely used by the researcher in basic research for understanding the differentially expressed proteins and for the localization and distribution of biomarkers in different- different parts of biological tissues. 3.10.2 Material required: Poly-Lysine coated slide. Xylene 1X- PBS buffer.(Sigma Aldrich Inc., USA) Graduated Alcohol (30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100%) DPX mountant for microscopy Acid alcohol (1% HCl in 70% alcohol) citrate buffer Sodium Borohydrate Hydrogen Peroxide Blocking solution Primary antibody Secondary antibody Streptovidin HRP 3.10.3 Protocol for Modified Immunohistochemistry: Cut the section of 3 to 5  µm. Warm the slide on hot plate (55 °c) for 30’. Dip the slide in warm Xylene twice for 10 minutes. Wash the slides three times in TBS or PBS for 5 minutes each. Dehydration using 100% Alcohol twice for 10 minutes each and 90, 80, 40, 50 and 30 percent for 5’ each in coupling jar. Wash thrice in TBS or PBS for 5 minutes each. Antigen retrieval -10 minutes for 98 °c in citrate buffer pH-6 (Note: 0.294 gm in 100 ml MQ with pH=6, 1 10mm citrate buffer) Here we are using pressure cooker for Antigen retrieval Cool the citrate Buffer slides. Give the Sodium Borohydrate treatment in coupling jar (To remove Background). (Dark Condition) (Note:- 1% NaBH4) Wash slides thrice in TBS or PBS for 5 minute each. Hydrogen Peroxide Blocking (3% H2O2 in Methanol or water –Dip the slides in it and keep it for 30’). Wash thrice in TBS or PBS for 5 minutes each. Blocking solution[0.3% Triton X and 5% sheep serum in 1xPBS or 1xTBS] For 2ml (6 µl Triton, 100  µl sheep serum, 19 of 94  µl (1xPBS or 1xTBS)) 14. Blocking for 30minutes at 37 °c in lab (some time 1hour also) Wash the slides thrice in TBS or PBS for 5’ each. Primary antibody in TBS or PBS solution, left overnight at 4 °c (Note: 1:200 dilution for fibronectin 1:500 dilution of Collagen IV). Wash the slides thrice in 1xTBS or 1xPBS Secondary antibody added on slide and keep it for 30’ to 1hour. But parafilm on it. (Note: 1:200 dilution) Wash the slide thrice in 1xTBSor 1XPBS for 5 minutes. Streptovidin HRP (1:200) in 1xTBS or 1xPBS for 20 minutes at Room temperature. Three wash in 1xTBS 5 minutes each. DAB (Till color in Brown) (15 minutes) 23.1xPBS (5minutes) wash 24. Counterstain for 30 seconds with Hematoxylene (Directly put on slide) 25. 1xTBS or PBS immediate wash 26. Dehydrate and dry and mount

Analysis of the Gempei War Essay -- Gempei War Japanese History Essays

Analysis of the Gempei War In May 1180 Prince Mochihito, the son of Retired emperor Go-Shirakawa, issued a statement urging the Minamoto to rise against the Taira. While Mochihito would be killed in June and Minamoto Yorimasa crushed at the Battle of the Uji, a fire had been set. In September Minamoto Yoritomo, who had recieved Mochihito's call from Miyoshi Yasukiyo, set about raising an army in the Province of Izu, where he had been in exile. There was an irony in the preceeding events, as Taira Kiyomori had himself sown the seeds of the war, so the poetic tale goes. His great error, we are told, had been to spare the sons of Minamoto Yoshitomo in the wake of the Heiji disturbance, allowing these three boys - Yoritomo, Noriyori, and Yoshitsune - to mature and form the leadership of a new and dangerous threat. In fact, Yoritomo's own call to arms in the east was recieved cautiously at best. He did manage to kill the local Taira governor, but was defeated at the Battle of Ishibashiyama by Oba Kagechika. In the wake of this hard setback, however, Yoritomo did recieve the valuable additon of Kajiwara Kagetoki to his staff. Elsewhere in the Kanto, local families began to respond to Yoritomo in varying degrees and in Shimosa and elsewhere set about eliminating Kyoto-appointed officals. This often provoked inter-province and occasionally inter-clan civil war, a common and oft-overlooked element of the Gempei War. By the Spring of the following year, Yoritomo could count on at least the tacit support of most of the notable families in the Kanto, although the Chubu, though by now nominally Minamoto dominated, existed beyond his immediate control. Yoritomo's Kanto domain is occasionally referred to as the TÃ ´gaku, and rather then surge forward against the Taira, he contented himself for the time being with consolidating his hold locally. The Taira response to the violence was mixed and uncertain. Kiyomori dispatched his grandson Koremori with an army eastward, but he turned back at the Fuji River in Suruga Province. Closer to home, Taira Tomomori - who would prove the most able of the Taira - had defeated the combined forces of old Minamoto Yorimasa and the warrior monks of the Miidera at the Uji River in late June. To punish the monks for their involvement thus far in the fledgling conflict, Kiyomori ordered the Miidera burned and, a few months later, a nu... ...ted to a degree for the benefit of the audience. In a sense, the specifics of the Gempei War - the battles, armies, and tactics - were secondary to the political arena. The only truly decisive battle, from a 'war-winning' standpoint, was Kurikawa. The famous fights at Ichi no Tani, Yashima, and Dan no Ura were 'nails in the coffin', conducted while Yoritomo himself was busy consolidating his hold over Minamoto occupied Japan. One might even argue daringly that Dan no Ura, which looms so large in Japanese history, was essentially a 'mopping up' operation given legendary and almost Homeric (for lack of a better word) dimensions by the Heike Monogatari's prose. Any one of the three battles mentioned probably paled in significance to the 1184 Court-Minamoto agreement that, if nothing else, paved the way for the Kamakura Bakufu. In the final analysis, many of our questions about the Gempei War - and the years preceding it - will never be conclusively answered due to a simple lack of full historical documentation. At the same time, the 20th Century saw a long-overdue reevaluation of the events leading up to the foundation of the Kamakura Bakufu. Happily, this is an ongoing endeavor.

Old El Paso

What: Kurt, the associate marketing manager of Old El Paso, needs to develop a new marketing plan to increase its brand awareness and educate the public about the convenience of preparing Mexican meals. Why: Old El Paso has been the market leader in the Mexican food industry for many years. Now, General Mills wants Old El Paso to increase its sales by 5% while maintaining the same level of profitability.However, Mexican food industry is growing at a relatively slow growth rate of 3% per year, because Mexican food is not always on customers shopping list as there is a strong perception that Mexican food is inconvenient and difficult to prepare. That is why Kurt needs to develop a new marketing plan to raise brand awareness and educate the public in order to achieve the 5% goal. There is a misunderstanding in the communication process between Old El Paso and its customers.Old El Paso has been positioning itself as a â€Å"Family Fun Experience† product. Meanwhile, the customers are more concerned about the process of preparing Mexican food, ie. , while many factors, including time needed for preparation and simplicity of preparation contributed to consumer perception of convenience/ease of preparation, ingredient availability was found to be the most significant barrier to making Mexican meals more often. They also need to educate their customers about the benefits of cooking Mexican food.For example, according to their consumer research, 70% of decisions to purchase Mexican meal products are made before consumers ever arrive at the grocery store. Apply the fact to the AIDA model, it is important to raise its brand awareness and get consumers interested in its products in order to increase sales, because most of the purchase decisions are made before the customers see the actual product. With the fact that Old El Paso is the market leader and its brand equity, as soon as the brand awareness and interest is established, the sales will increase.The biggest c ompetitor in the Mexican food industry is private labels. Old Pl Paso has most of the market share in Mexican dinner kits (91. 2%) and Mexican components (70. 4%) category, while ranks number 3 in the Mexican salsa (15. 6%) category. Although both private labels and Old Pl Paso products are in high standards, Old Pl Paso is the only brand that offers a full product line in the Mexican food industry and is distributed in 98% of all grocery stores (with an average of 7. Old Pl Paso items on shelf). This means that Old Pl Paso is reachable to most of consumers while certain private label’s products are only available in certain grocery chains. How: Targeted results: Increase brand awareness while convince the public that it is easy to prepare Mexican food. 1) General public: Using kiosks to demonstrate the process of how to cook a Mexican meal with in-store ingredients. Reason: 80% of the population still do majority of their shopping at grocery stores.By using in-store ingredie nts, the general public will know that everything they need for cooking a Mexican meal is in the store, so it is easy to prepare a Mexican meal. 2) Regular Mexican food shoppers: Place Old Pl Paso products at cashier counters. Reason: Placing products at the check-out counters to remain regular Mexican food shoppers that they could use Mexican food as an option for tonight’s dinner. Although this tactic implies impulsive shopping behaviour of some consumers, it also constantly remains consumers that Mexican food is available in the market.

Critical Review - HIA for future development Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The chamber in the machine gets rid of grounded organic and inorganic particles from the wastewater source. After this, the tertiary process ensures that left-over substances in the secondary phase is totally swept off, either by filtration or through a specific membrane barrier (Environmental Protection Authority 2005, 9). The final stage of the treatment is optional, depending on the eventual use of the treated wastewater--either for human ingestion or use in various agricultural activities. There is an extensive disinfection guideline involved, such as the application of chemical materials and ozonation (UV) processes (Barcelo and Petrovic 2008, 3). The organized system of activity necessitates a treatment plant near the dam site. Such accessibility ensures speedy recharging of treated wastewater in the dam--increasing water supply in a shorter notice. Application of HIA Process in the Project Proposal The project proposal is developed as a tribute to the growing demand for alternative water sources. Evidently, the project requires the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in calculating its capability in protecting the public health aspect. Pursuant with this, several principles seem to make up the fundamental structure, including â€Å"screening, scoping, monitoring and evaluation† (â€Å"Module 4: The Value of Integrating Health† n. d.). We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Review - HIA for future development or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now By incorporating these sets of factors in the discussion, much of the project proposal can be explained in terms of society’s health and well being. Screening. With the process of the proposal briefly summarized, there is a general consensus on the exercise of HIA-- it is deemed appropriate to extract facts behind the whole operation of the proposal. As the end-product, treated wastewater can generate doubts from both health critics and local citizens, since the origin of the water supply is questionable. Therefore, there is a need to review the recharged dam’s wastewater treatment process for possible technical loopholes--strict scientific failures can result in several public health hazards and possible degradation of the environment. Scoping. As the project proposal takes shape, several environmental concerns have also risen. The determination of the project’s scope is highly esteemed for it specifically pinpoints issues that need to be discussed in full scale (â€Å"Module 5: The HIA Process† n. d.). By this, every avenue of the project must be examined for possible nuances. Both external and internal dimensions of the project must be taken into account--the people involved, impact to communities, effects to consumers, and who will be responsible for negative outcomes.