Summary, findings and opinions on the reading Essay

Summary, findings and opinions on the reading - Essay Example Each website an internet user visit during his or her browsing session usually facilitate to the achievement of some objectives that are beyond mere identification of independent visitors to the site (White and Kamal, 2012).This similarity amongst all websites makes it easy for any person to note their relations to each other. When different website are complementary like search engine and content website, then internet users willingness to visit the combination of these sites depend on the rate of advertisement of each site (White and Kamal, 2012).This means that the number of visitors each site get per a specified period depends on its advertisement policy and frequency. So each website should keenly develop its advertisement strategies in an effective manner to ensure it attract higher number of visitors. In scenarios where complementary sites act independently, then their total distraction from their advertising becomes too high thus discouraging many internet users from visiting these sites. This makes it hard for these sites to maximize their total profits from advertisements. Secondly when complementary sites decide to operate independently, they end up allocating inefficient demands to attract internet user’s attention. When there are two competing companies with constant marginal cost that provides customers with perfectly complementary components, then overall business gains can be maximized only when one of the companies decides to lower it price to equal it marginal cost and the other firm freely adopt optimal price (White and Kamal, 2012).However, this fact does not apply to website owners when they opt to distract internet user from using their site in their attempt to advertise their sponsors’ product. This means that forcing one of the complementary sites not to advertise does not necessarily maximize total profits of the complementary sites. In fact, it can lead to decline in total profits of the two complementary sites due to lac k of cooperation between them. While increased competition from a multiple complementary sites solves the problem of double marginalization, the competition, also leads to increased problem of mis'-marginalization. Effect of differentiation among content website To achieve greater efficiency, when the market is in equilibrium and all firms tend to behave non-cooperatively, and content website has relatively inefficient advertising technologies, then it is socially desirable that the website owners increase the number of content websites than the internet users induces to enter (White and Kamal, 2012). This is because an increase in the number of content websites shifts advertising away from the content websites to the more efficient search engine advertising technology. Effect of competition When two or more sellers who deals with complementary products engages in double marginalization, then to ensure that they all maximize profits, then they need to increase competition in all mar kets (White and Kamal, 2012).This is because if the market of one firm becomes perfectly competitive, then the other complementary firm can successfully charge a price that implements the optimum outcome of the industry as a whole. Otherwise if, a set of complementary websites, whose

Individual report of approximately 1,000 words Coursework

Individual report of approximately 1,000 words - Coursework Example nancial gain through gain in sales, reduced cost of operation, reduction in project overruns and reduction in the time taken to create strategic changes. The performance management objective also involves motivating the workforce by optimizing plans, improving employee engagement, creating transparency, and conducting professional development programs. For improved management control - a flexible, responsible management is required. The management should display data relationships, help audit and comply with the legislative requirements, simplify communications and provide documented system for communications. Spreadsheets are electronic tools similar to various other IT tools; however the code and underlying structure is unknown (MacMillan, 2000). The main advantage of using spreadsheet is that it is easy and simple to use. Moreover, no specific training is needed for using spreadsheets and employees can easily create, distribute, manipulate and access the data of spreadsheets. However, there exist risks of uncontrolled spreadsheet used, which should be analysed to reduce errors. Spreadsheets are used for countless business functions and accounting calculations. It can be used for tracking workflow, for creating accounting estimates and for key financial reporting. Spreadsheets provide instant snapshots of a situation, which can be used for driving critical decisions. The research is based on production and service data of a firm which has been used to calculate the total expense and derive the selling price of finished products. The allocated costs related to printing, finishing, quality control and material handling has been provided in columns along the labour hours and machine hours. The expense on employees, requisitions and maintenance is also given to get the calculations. The relocation cost of the admin department is derived from the formula - Allocated Costs per Employee x Employees without Administration (for printing). Excel sheet has been used

Brick and Mortar Business to an E-Business Essay Example for Free

Brick and Mortar Business to an E-Business Essay Company Background Sam Walton, who was convinced that the American consumers wanted something more than retail shops, opened his own discount and retail shop in Rogers, Arkansas. Walton realized he could do better by passing on the savings to his customers and earning his profits through volume. This insight would form a cornerstone of Waltons business strategy when he launched Wal-Mart in 1962. Cost-cutting was an obsession in the Wal-Mart culture, and Walton understood that a major requirement for keeping costs down was controlling the payroll. In 2012, Wal-Mart celebrated 50 years of helping people save money so they can live better. The company employs 2. 2 million associates worldwide and serves 200 million customers each week at more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries. Among the many business enterprises and organizations that changed the world, Wal-Mart holds a very important position. As compared to other genuine companies that changed a lot in the world of entrepreneurs, Wal-Mart has a short, yet highly-acclaimed story of success that is backed by brute force of efforts put in by many members and employees. Wal-Mart adopt E-business What business processes were changed? Possibly the single greatest success story of e-business and B2B implementation is that of the rise to dominance by Wal-Mart in the North American retail market. Wal-Mart has impressive growth in such a short time span and the single most important factor in this rise was their harnessing of the power of e-business. Wal-Mart built an inventory and supply chain management system that changed the face of business making it very competitive as an e-business. Like many companies, Wal-Mart started down the road to total integration by first linking its internal systems. Then the focus shifted toward an emphasis on integrating Wal-Mart’s systems with those of its suppliers. More recently, Wal-Mart has initiated efforts to bring processes and systems from the customer side of its business into the loop. What’s left is a customer-to-supplier architecture that allows Wal-Mart to follow its customer’s shopping habits so closely as to know their likes and dislikes and to parlay that information into pinpoint promotions. (Robinson ;amp; Kalakota, 2004) Wal-Mart has revolutionized supply chain management by using a pull model where customer demands drive the suppliers. Inventory control is finely honed and purchasing trends are available to suppliers, whom now must be able to quickly respond to the needs of millions of customers. The business decision to decentralize the procurement process means that front-line staff in every store can immediately order the appropriate stock electronically, which will in turn require rapid turnout of product from the suppliers. This rapid replenishment system, coupled with accurate purchasing forecasting, helps Wal-Mart reduce overall costs. While not always good for suppliers in general, Wal-Mart’s power as a giant in business has helped in establishing new standards for B2B e-commerce. Wal-Mart’s mindset of cutting costs at all costs resulted in them deploying EDI over the Internet to eliminate the costly VAN altogether. EDI over the Internet (EDI-INT) uses a new standard called AS2, a communication protocol that attempts to make EDI communications over the Internet both secure and reliable. By mandating their suppliers to use AS2, Wal-Mart leads the way in creating a demand for a new generation of EDI, and in turn drives the whole world of e-business forward. Early on, Wal-Mart saw the value of sharing that data with suppliers, and it eventually moved that information online on its Retail Link Web site. Opening its sales and inventory databases to suppliers is what made Wal-Mart the powerhouse it is today. Would the company survive without the E-Business aspect? Why or why not? Wal-Mart has so many great strengths to leverage throughout the global market, and Wal-Mart will survive without E-business. Some of those strengths are that Wal-Mart best-positioned global retail, and it has a strong price leadership. There is no doubt that Wal-Mart is the best-positioned global retailer to address the needs of customers around the world. Wal-Mart’s growth through new stores remains a priority, with supercenters the primary driver because they continue to offer the greatest returns and allow customers a one-stop shopping experience through more than 3,800 stores and over 617 million square feet of selling space. Wal-Mart reinvigorated their fundamental price promise of provide low prices day-in and day-out on the broadest assortment. Their price message, backed by the strongest ad match policy in the industry, ensures that we are driving price separation with competitors. The certainty of great values throughout the store such as best-positioned global retail and a strong price leadership has been fundamental to Wal-Mart for 50 years, and this company will to survive. Would the company survive without the Brick-and-Mortar aspect? Why or why not? Wal-Mart e-commerce websites is not going to replace bricks-and Mortar stores, because the key to Wal-Mart’s emerging e-commerce strategy is integrating store and online marketing. This strategy is product of ideas such as pick up at store. â€Å"Wal-Mart launched on Tuesday its Site to Store program, in which Walmart. com customers can opt for free shippingprovided they are willing to pick up their order at a Wal-Mart store instead of having it sent to their home. The items ordered are shipped within 7 to 10 business days to a Wal-Mart store, and then an e-mail is sent to the buyer that alerts him or her to pick up the order. † (McCarthy , 2007) Retailers say that tying online and in-store inventory together lets them sell more products to more customers. Nordstrom recently combined its inventory so that if the online stockroom is out of a jacket, a store that has it can ship it to the Web customer. Encouraging customers to retrieve items they have ordered online in a store increases visits to the stores, which usually increases sales. What were the unique advantages of this IT solution? Any noticeable drawbacks? Wal-Mart is strengthening their Global e-Commerce business by investing in new talent and technology such as Wal-Mart new iPhone application that allows

Chemical Equilibrium And Ph Biology Essay

Chemical Equilibrium And Ph Biology Essay In a chemical process, chemical is a state in which cocentration of reactants and the concentration of products does not change overtime i.e when the forward reaction proceeds at the same rate as backward reaction and it exists in dynamic equilibrium. The laws of chemical equilibrium define the direction in which a chemical reaction will proceed, as well as the quantities of reactants and products that will remain after the reaction comes to an end. An understanding of chemical equilibrium and how it can manipulated is essential for anyone involved in Chemistry and its applications. The fundamental equation provides the basis for understanding chemical equilibrium. pH is Quantitative measure of stength of acidity and alkalinity of solution. When the concentration of H+ and OH- ions in aqueous solution are frequently very small numbers and there fore inconvenient to work with, Soren Sorensen in 1909 proposed a more practical measure called pH. It is defined as the negative of the hydrogen ion concentration. pH= -log[H+]. Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe a chemical property chemicals. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out or neutralize their extreme effects. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic. HISTORY:- The concept of chemical equilibrium develop after Berthoket (1803) found that some chemical are reversible. For any reaction to be equilibrium, rate of forward reaction is equal rate of backward reaction, so at equilibrium nearly all the reactant are used up for to left it hardly any product formed from reactant. In 1864 Guldberg and waage showed experimentally that in chemical reactions an equillibrium is reached that can be approached from either direction. They were apparently the first to realize that there is a mathematical relation between the concentration of reactants and products at equillibrium. In 1877 van`t hoff suggested that in the equillibrium expressions the concentrationof each reactant should appear to the first power, corresponding with the stochiometric numbers in the balanced chemical equation. The concept of p[H] was first introduced by Soren Peder Lauritz Sorensen at the carlsberg laboratory in 1909 and revised to the modern pH in 1924 after it became apparent that electromotive force in cells depended on activity rather than concentration of hydrogen ions. TYPES OF EQUILLIBRIUM:- Physical equillibrium:- Equillibrium between two phases of the same substance is called Physical equillibrium because the changes that occur are physical processes. e.g; The vaporization of water in a closed container at a given temperature is an example of physical equilibrium. In this instance the number of H2O molecules leaving and the number of returning to the liquid phase are equal. H2O(l) = H2O(g) The study of physical equilibrium Yields useful information such as the equilibrium vapour pressure. If a reaction is:- aA + bB = cC + dD where a, b, c and d are the stoichiometric coefficients for the reacting species A, B, C , and D. For the reaction at a particular temperature K = (C)C (D)d (A)a (B)b where K is the equilibrium constant. This equation was formulated by cato Guldberg and Petr Wage in 1864. It is the mathematical expressions of their law of mass of action, which holds that for a reversible reaction at equilibrium and a constant temperature, a certain ratio of reactant and product concentration has a constant value K. and the equilibrium constant does depend on the volume, concentration, catalyst, pressure e.t.c. It only depends upon temperature. The equilibrium constant ,then, is defined by a quotient, the numerator of which is obtained by multiplying together the equilibrium concentration of the products, each raised to a power equal to its stoichiometric coefficient in the balanced equation denoted by Q. If Q If Q > K then reaction takes backward reaction. If Q = K then reaction is at equilibrium state. The magnitude of equilibrium constant tells whether the reaction favors the products or reactant. If K >> 1 , the equilibrium will lie to the right and favours the products. If K Homogeneous equillibrium:- The term homogeneous equilibrium applies to reactions in which all reacting species are in the same phase. E.g; An example of homogenous gas phase equilibrium is the dissociation of N2O4. N2O4 (g) = N2O4 (g) aA(g) = bB(g) then, Kc = (B)b/(A)a the concentrations of reactants and the products in gaseous reaction can also be expressed in terms of their partial pressures. At constant temperature the pressure P of gas is directly related to the concentrations in mol/ L of the gas. i.e; P =(n/V)RT. And the expressions can be given by Kp = PbB/PaA where Pa and P b are the partial pressure of A and B. After substiuting these relations in to the expressions, we get [Kp=Kc(RT)b-a] If b-a is equal to zero, then reaction is at equilibrium. If b-a > 0 , then backward reaction is favourable. If b-a Heterogeneous equilibrium:- A heterogeneous equilibrium results from a reversible reaction and products that are in different phases. e.g; when calcium carbonate is heated in a closed vessel, the following equilibrium is attained. CaCO3(S = CaO(S) + CO2 If a reaction aA(S) + bB(s) = cC(s) + dD(g), the concentration of a solid , like it`s density , is an intensive property and does not depend on how much of the substance is present. In thermodynamics , the activity of pure solid us 1. Thus yhe concentration terms for A,B and C are unity. So, Kc = [D]d Similarly , the activity of a pure liquid is also 1. Thus if a reactant or a product is a liquid, we can`t omit in the equilibrium constant expressions. Also we can express the equilibrium constant as Kp = P(D)d . Factor Affecting Equilibrium:- Chemical equilibrium represents a balance between forward and reverse reactions. In most cases, this balance is quit delicate. Change in experimental condition may disturb the balance and shift the equilibrium position so that variable can be controlled experimentally are concentration, pressure, volume and temperature. Effect of change of temperature:- A change in concentration, pressure, or volume may alter the equilibrium position , that is, the relative amounts of reactants and products but it dose not change the value of equilibrium constant .Only a change in temperature can alter the equilibrium constant. At equilibrium at a certain temperature, the heat effect is zero because there is no net reaction .If we treat heat as though it were a chemical reagent, than a rise in temperature adds heat to the system and a drop in a temperature removes heat from the system .As with a change in any other parameter ,(concentration, pressure, or volume), the system shift to reduce the effect of the change. Therefore, a temperature increase favours the endothermic direction (from left to right of the equilibrium equation ) and a temperature decrease favours the exothermic direction. In summary, a temperature increase favours an exothermic direction and a temperature decrease favours the exothermic reaction. The effect of changing temperature on an equilibrium constant is given by the van t Hoff equation d ln K/ d T = H/RT2 Thus, for exothermic reactions, (ΆH is negative) K decreases with an increase in temperature, but, for endothermic reactions, (ΆH is positive) K increases with an increase temperature. An alternative formulation is d ln K/ d(1/T) = H/R At first sight this appears to offer a means of obtaining the standard molar enthalpy of the reaction by studying the variation of K with temperature. Effect of change of pressure and volume:- Change in pressure ordinarily do not effect the concentration of the reacting species in condensed phases(say, in an aqueous solution) because liquids and solids are virtually in compressible. On the other hand, concentration of gases are greatly affected by change in pressure. The greater the pressure, the smaller the volume, and vice versa. Note, too, that the term (n/V) is the concentration of the gas in mol/L, and it varies directly with pressure. In general an increase in pressure (decrease in volume) favours the net reaction that decreases the total numbers of moles of gases (the reverse reaction, in this case), and a decrease in pressure (increase in volume) favours the net reaction that increases the total numbers of moles of gases(here the forward reaction).For reaction in which there is no change in the numbers of moles of gases, a pressure (or volume)change has no effect on the position of equilibrium. Effect of catalyst at equilibrium :- Catalyst does not affect the the equilibrium constant. And it can not shift the equilibrium positon. Catalyst only enhance the rate of reaction to reach the equilibrium position. Effect of concentration of reactant:- Effect of concentration change the position of equilibrium. If we increase the concentration of the products shifts the equilibrium to left, and decreasing the concentration of the product shifts the equilibrium to right. These results are just predicted by Le Chatelier principle. Le chatelier principle:- If an external stress is applied to a system at equilibrium, the system adjusts in such a way that the stress is partially off set as the system reaches a new equilibrium position. pH -A MEASURE OF ACIDITY. Because the concentrations of H+ and OH- in aqueous solution are frequently very small numbers and therefore inconvenient to work with, Soren Sorensen in 1909 proposed a more practical measure called pH. The pH of a solution is defined as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration in (mol/L): pH = -log [H3O+] or pH = -log [H+] The negative logarithm gives us a positive number for Ph, which otherwise would be negative due to small value of [H+]. Furthermore the term [H+] permits only to the numerical part of the expression for hydrogen ion concentration, for we cant take the logarithm of units. Thus, like the equilibrium constant, the pH of a solution is a dimensionless quantity. Acidic solutions: pH is less than 7.00. Basic solutions: pH is more than 7.00. Neutral solutions: pH is equal to 7.00. Notice that pH increases as [H+] decreases. For real solutions, activity usually differs from concentrations, sometimes appreciably. Knowing the solute concentration, there are reliable ways based on thermodynamics for estimating its activity, but the details are beyond the scope of text. Keep in mind, therefore, that the measured pH of a solution is usually mot same as that , because the concentration of the H+ ion in molarity is not numerically equal to its activity value. Although we will continue to use concentration in our discussion, it is important to know that this approach will give us only an approximation Of the chemical process that actually take place in solution phase. In the laboratory, pH of a solution is measured with a pH meter. List of some pH of a number of common fluid, the pH of a body fluid varies greatly, depending on location and function. The low pH (high acidity) of gastric juices facilitates digestion whereas a higher pH of blood is necessary for transport of oxygen. APPLICATION OF pH:- A pH indicator is substances that change colour around a particular pH. It is weak acid or weak base and the colour changes occur around 1pH unit either side of its acid dissociatian constant. For.ex. Naturaly occuring indicator litmus is red in acid solution and blue in alkaline solution. REFRENCES:- P.W. Atkins, Physical Chemistry, third edition, Oxford University Press, 1985. F.van Zeggeren and S.N Steery,the computation of chemical equilibrium,1920. W.R.Smith and R.W.Mission,chemical equilibrium Analysis. RAYMOND CHANG, Williams college.

Examination of Womens Friendships through an Analysis of Katherine Phi

Examination of Women's Friendships through an Analysis of Katherine Philips' Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia When readers reflect on the poetry of the seventeenth century, poets such as John Donne and the Metaphysicals, Jonson and the Cavaliers, and John Milton often come to mind. The poetry crosses over various boundaries of Neoplatonic, Ovidian, and Petrarchan forms, for example, often with many references to women filling the lines. Described as helpless creatures, seventeenth century women were often shut out from all possibilities of power, and they were generalized into four categories: virgins, women to be married, married, and widowed. In the state of marriage, women were forced to be the submissive, powerless objects of their husbands. Equality and balance within their marriages were of no concern to men of the seventeenth century. Out of the oppressive setting of the seventeenth century arose very few women poets; however, Katherine Philips not only became a poet, but she also displayed her will to survive by responding to the negativity that surrounded the lives of females, especially the oppression of women in marriages. By focusing on the importance of friendships between women Philips used her poetry, specifically "Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia," as an outlet to critique the misogyny and misrepresentations of marriages put forth by male poets, such as John Donne, and the oppressive social settings of the seventeenth century. In order to better understand Philip's critique of Donne within the lines of her poetry, a reading of twentieth century critic Adrienne Rich's essay "When We Dead Awaken: Writing for Re-Vision" ... ...Company, 2000. Donne, John. "The Canonization." Abrams 1240-1241. Donne, John. "The Relic." Abrams 1253-1254. Donne, John. "The Sun Rising." Abrams 1239. Hageman, Elizabeth H. "The Matchless Orinda: Katherine Philips." Women Writers of the Renaissance Reformation. Georgia, 1987. Mendelson, Sara and Patricia Crawford. Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Philips, Katherine. "Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia." Souers, Philips Webster. The Matchless Orinda. London: Oxford University Press, 1931. Rich, Adrienne. "When We Dead Awaken: Writing for Re-vision." On Lies, Secrets, and Silence. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1979. 33-49. Wiesner, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge, 1993. Norton Topics Online: www. wwnorton.com/nael Examination of Women's Friendships through an Analysis of Katherine Phi Examination of Women's Friendships through an Analysis of Katherine Philips' Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia When readers reflect on the poetry of the seventeenth century, poets such as John Donne and the Metaphysicals, Jonson and the Cavaliers, and John Milton often come to mind. The poetry crosses over various boundaries of Neoplatonic, Ovidian, and Petrarchan forms, for example, often with many references to women filling the lines. Described as helpless creatures, seventeenth century women were often shut out from all possibilities of power, and they were generalized into four categories: virgins, women to be married, married, and widowed. In the state of marriage, women were forced to be the submissive, powerless objects of their husbands. Equality and balance within their marriages were of no concern to men of the seventeenth century. Out of the oppressive setting of the seventeenth century arose very few women poets; however, Katherine Philips not only became a poet, but she also displayed her will to survive by responding to the negativity that surrounded the lives of females, especially the oppression of women in marriages. By focusing on the importance of friendships between women Philips used her poetry, specifically "Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia," as an outlet to critique the misogyny and misrepresentations of marriages put forth by male poets, such as John Donne, and the oppressive social settings of the seventeenth century. In order to better understand Philip's critique of Donne within the lines of her poetry, a reading of twentieth century critic Adrienne Rich's essay "When We Dead Awaken: Writing for Re-Vision" ... ...Company, 2000. Donne, John. "The Canonization." Abrams 1240-1241. Donne, John. "The Relic." Abrams 1253-1254. Donne, John. "The Sun Rising." Abrams 1239. Hageman, Elizabeth H. "The Matchless Orinda: Katherine Philips." Women Writers of the Renaissance Reformation. Georgia, 1987. Mendelson, Sara and Patricia Crawford. Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Philips, Katherine. "Friendship's Mystery: To My Dearest Lucasia." Souers, Philips Webster. The Matchless Orinda. London: Oxford University Press, 1931. Rich, Adrienne. "When We Dead Awaken: Writing for Re-vision." On Lies, Secrets, and Silence. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1979. 33-49. Wiesner, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge, 1993. Norton Topics Online: www. wwnorton.com/nael

LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Tomorrow marks thirty years since the Roe vs. Wade decision that gave women a reproductive choice in America. The occasion reminds me that women are continuously struggling to attain and maintain various levels of freedom. Elizabeth LeBlanc’s gender criticism of The Awakening---a novel published before women acquired suffrage---highlights one such freedom: the freedom to live on one’s own terms. The discussion delineates how Kate Chopin’s tale of one woman’s â€Å"choices, actions and attitudes may be construed as the attempts of a woman trapped in a sexually (in)different world to reconstitute herself as lesbian† (241). LeBlanc clarifies that Edna is a â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† who â€Å"creates a narrative or textual space in which she interrogates accepted norms of textuality and sexuality and constitutes herself as subject† (238). The use of the word â€Å"trapped† connotes a state of being cornered, with few choices and at the mercy of someone else. At first, Edna does seem trapped to a drone existence of bourgeois Creole society. But once she was â€Å"initiat[ed] into the world of female love and ritual,† (247) she began â€Å"seeking fulfillment and selfhood† outside of marriage and motherhood (244). Her gravitation toward a woman-centered existence, outside of culturally defined spaces, is an act of self-reconstruction. For example, at the risk of damaging her reputation, she rejects the obligation of her social class to host ‘callers.’ This is a figurative loosening of the ties that bound her to a tradition of waiting for life to happen. She defies that tradition and, in doing so, restructures her existence as a woman. Edna progressively moves away from all-things-traditional, or culturally predefined, into a space all her own. As a metaphorical lesbian, she â€Å"engages in a variety of woman-identified practices that suggest but stop short of sexual encounters.† One such practice is finding solace in a woman who already lives on the margins of society, Mademoiselle Reisz, who LeBlanc suggests is the actual lesbian in this narrative. Edna, LeBlanc writes, â€Å"is drawn to [her] whenever she falls into despondency and hopelessness† because Reisz’s â€Å"music penetrated [Edna’s] whole being like an effulgence, warming and brightening the dark places of her soul† (Chopin 103). It is she, who describes herself as â€Å"captivated† by Edna, who â€Å"fosters in Edna a sense of the possibilities for joy and fulfillment outside the realm of male tradition and meaningless codes† (252). Edna learns not to define herself in relation to her familial attachme nts, such as mother or wife.

Out of the Ashes: Schizophrenia

Nowadays, society sees schizophrenia seems like an outdated topic. A topic not many seem to care about. A topic that is not even taboo, because many do not even know about it. However, this topic is affecting so many on a day to day basis. Worldwide, about one percent of people are diagnosed with this mental illness. That is 1.5 million people. Even worse, sixty percent of everyone that suffers from schizophrenia makes at least one attempt to commit suicide (WebMD).That is 900,000 people. That is three cruise ships filled with people (Mental Health Schizophrenia). That is one full football stadium. Some may ask themselves, what is schizophrenia? Well according to the National Institute of Mental Illnesses â€Å"schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.† (NIMH). Schizophrenia is caused by genetics, biology and sometimes even viral infections. Schizophrenia has been misunderstood throughout the years; It is characterized by a shift in perception, disturbed sense of self and psychotic manifestations.A shift in perception can not only affect the patient's emotions, but it can also greatly impact their physical life. Schizophrenics suffer from various shifts in perceptions that makes them change the way they act, not only physically but also mentally. When you suffer from schizophrenia you develop many symptoms. Meanwhile, many were not discovered until the mid-1990s. However, Schizophrenia was discovered back in 1887 by Doctor Emile Kraepelin. Before Kraepelin however, many believed people with psychotic disorders were possessed. This caused the treatment to be electric shock therapy, exorcisms, lobotomy and even drilling a hole in the patient's eye socket which left patients with worse mental health than what they started with. This type of treatment started to be popularized with schizophrenia patients in the middle ages until the late 1880s. Schizophrenia and its treatments are one of the main reasons why society now know mental asylums as dark and scary places. When The Priory of Saint Mary of Bethlehem was founded to try to treat ‘mad men'. They believed this illness came from supernatural forces such as demons. By the patients seeing hallucinations and delusions was basically proof of a demonic possession. They were treated so badly, most of the ‘mad men' that attended the mental asylum ended up dying, either by experiments, failed treatments or suicide. Today Kraepelin was the first to differentiate between what he called dementia praecox and manic depression. According to Psychology Today â€Å"The oldest available description of an illness closely resembling schizophrenia can be found in the Ebers papyrus, which dates back to the Egypt of 1550 BC. And archaeological discoveries of Stone Age skulls with burr holes drilled into them (presumably to release ‘evil spirits') have led to speculation that schizophrenia is as old as mankind itself† (Burton, M.D.). The first doctor to coin the term Schizophrenia and notice the patients shift in perception was Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler back in 1911. Schizophrenia comes from Greek roots schizo (split) and phrene (mind) as a reference to showing how the patient's brain works. Schizophrenia brings you to a point where the patient has a disturbed sense of self. This has happened to not only to unknown patients but many well-known people and celebrities have suffered through forgetting who they are and why they are here. This list includes many people, for example, the ex-singer and founder of Pink Floyd. Syd Barrett's real name was Roger Barrett, and he used his real name for much of his life, which started in 1946 and ended in 2006 by pancreatic cancer. He was an English songwriter, singer and guitarist best known as a founding member and songwriter of the rock band Pink Floyd. Barrett's partnership with the band finished after failure to perform during concerts various times. These were speculated to be caused by delusions and hallucinations, two very common schizophrenia symptoms. He had been the main songwriter which greatly affected how the band worked after his resignation. Barrett withdrew from the public after that, but released two solo albums in 1970 called â€Å"The Madcap Laughs† and â€Å"Barrett† Pink Floyd went on to become massively popular and successful, their style evolving towards progressive rock since their songwriter left. Syd/Roger Barrett lived a simple and solitary life, receiving royalty payments from his ex-band. His access to spending money had been controlled by his family (Willis 143). There has been much speculation about why Barrett ceased to be a member of Pink Floyd, withdrew from the public eye, shunned his own fans, left behind the nickname that he had never himself used or liked. Syd/Roger was diagnosed with the mental illness after an apparent heavy usage of LSD. According to his family and close friends, he did LSD nearly every day for years. After his resignation of Pink Floyd, he did not just start having atrocious hallucinations daily but also he fell into clinical depression. This leads to another story of a maybe one of the most famous artists of all time. Vincent Van Gogh. He had an eccentric personality and unstable moods suffered from recurrent psychotic episodes during the last two years of his extraordinary life and committed suicide at the age of thirty-seven by a gunshot. (Blumer) According to PsychiatryOnline.org â€Å"One of Van Gogh's psychiatrists recognized the crucial role of alcohol in the manifestation of Van Gogh's major psychiatric symptoms. By his own confession, Van Gogh required â€Å"a glass too much† to numb his inner storms when they became too intense. The artist was not known to become intoxicated and may not have been drinking more than many of his contemporaries, but he was particularly vulnerable to the epileptogenic properties of absinthe, the favourite drink of the French artists of his time† (Blumer). The well-known part of Schizophrenia is the symptom of psychotic manifestations. According to Healthline.com â€Å"Psychosis is characterized by an impaired relationship with reality. And it is a symptom of serious mental disorders. People who are psychotic may have either hallucinations or delusions† (Carey, P.H.D.). Hallucinations are sensory manifestations, they occur mostly visually or auditory. For example, someone might hear someone yelling when nobody is there. Or maybe they see someone or something that isn't actually there. These for the patient seem real. They also experience delusions, which is for the person to have a contrary thought to actual evidence. For example, the patient thinking a stranger they just met wants to kill them. These symptoms are powerful and dangerous. Strangely, these symptoms are the most attacked by society. Many believe these delusions and hallucinations are made up and make up false beliefs about this. Some false ideas are: Schizophrenics have multiple personalities, them being possessed, the patients are faking it and even that it's not an illness. The first one is made up because as clearly stated before, the symptoms of schizophrenia have nothing to do with that. The illness in which the patient have multiple personalities is a psychiatric phenomenon called DID, which stands for dissociative identity disorder, which involves the patient has multiple personalities which each have their own voice, manners and characteristics. This illness can be seen perfectly in the movie Split (2016) by M. Night Shyamalan. This is not schizophrenia. Schizophrenics might hear voices but they only have one personality. The second hoax is the possession myth. This myth is mostly believed by Catholics. This myth comes back from middle ages as mentioned before.In conclusion, many schizophrenics are seen ever since the beginning of mental illnesses, many are affected by it and almost all society says about it is fake. All in all, if you or someone you know is suffering from schizophrenia, please get help immediately and know that no matter your illness â€Å"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.† (Philippians 4:13). Help is always there and never forget Jesus loves you. Schizophrenia has been underestimated to a point where society only knows it's characterized by a change in view, confused sense of self and psychotic ideals. Works Citedâ€Å"A Brief History of Schizophrenia.† Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201209/brief-history-schizophrenia.â€Å"Biological Basis of Schizophrenia.† Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/psychological-disorders/v/biological-basis-of-schizophrenia.â€Å"Divine Madness – a History of Schizophrenia.† History Cooperative, 19 Sept. 2016, historycooperative.org/divine-madness-a-history-of-schizophrenia/.â€Å"Famous People with Schizophrenia: 6 Schizophrenic Celebrities.† WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/ss/slideshow-schizophrenia-famous-names.Marlene, Lili. â€Å"Incorrect Pleasures.† The Interesting Case of Syd Barrett, 1 Jan. 1970, incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com.co/2009/11/interesting-case-of-syd-barrett-for.html.â€Å"Psychosis: Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors.† Healthline, Healthline Media, www.healthline.com/health/psychosis.Schiller, Lori, and Amanda Bennett. The Quiet Room: a Journey out of the Torment of Madness. Grand Central Publishing, 2011.†Schizophrenia.† Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/psychological-disorders/v/schizophrenia.â€Å"Schizophrenia.† Mental Health America, 29 Mar. 2017, http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/schizophrenia#symptoms.â€Å"Schizophrenia.† Mental Health America, 29 Mar. 2017, www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/schizophrenia.â€Å"Schizophrenia.† National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/.â€Å"Schizophrenia.† Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/schizophrenia.â€Å"Schizophrenia and Suicide.† WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-and-suicide.â€Å"Schizophrenia Symptoms, Patterns And Statistics And Patterns.† Mental Help Schizophrenia Symptoms Patterns and Statistics and Patterns Comments, https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/schizophrenia-symptoms-patterns-and-statistics-and-patterns/â€Å"The Illness of Vincent Van Gogh.† American Journal of Psychiatry, ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.4.519.The History of Schizophrenia, schizophrenia.com/history.htm#.Willis, Tim. Madcap: the Half-Life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's Lost Genius. Short Books, 2002.