Character Study of Gollum from Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers :: Papers

Character Study of Gollum from Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers He is a supporting character in the book who guides Frodo and Sam on their intrepid adventure, to Mordor and MountDoomto destroy the ring. Gollumrepresents the consequences induced by man's greed; he was once a human called Smeagol. He sought to use the ring's power for his own gain, but the ring's overwhelming and evil power poisonedGollum's mind and he became hideous and twisted. His only relation to the characters is his love for the ring; he is trying to remove it from Frodo's possession and make it his own again. He thinks Frodo stole the ring from him, and shows his resentment of him when speaking to himself: "Where iss it, where iss it: my Precious, my Precious? It's ours, it is, and we wants it. The thieves, the thieves, the filthy little thieves. Where are they with my Precious? Curse them! We hates them." The author, JRR Tolkien, created a particularly vivid representation of Gollum in several ways. The author uses "we" in Gollum's dialogue to show he is not one character but in effect two (smeagol, his good side and his evil alter ego). Smeagol is reluctant to bring harm or despair to Frodo, but his evil side convinces him to do otherwise. Sam, another character in the book describes Gollum as "sinister", "deceitful" and "mischievous". Gollum also has varied personalities and attributes. He himself is shown as being very distasteful of Sam, especially his cooking methods. For example when he catches rabbits and Sam Stews them with herbs, Gollum unpleasantly replies to this with "Stupid fat Hobbit!" [IMAGE] This image from the film interprets Gollum's expressions described in the book to the greatest detail "Gollum looked at Sam in dismay" Gollum is very similar to Boromir from the first book of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. They both had very noble intentions, but the ring drove them to insanity and forced them to pursue the ring at all costs.

Business :: essays research papers

â€Å"Website Comparison for Banking† There is a big difference in nice-looking websites and websites designed to market business effectively. The many similarities and differences when viewing websites help end users determine who to conduct business with. Some of these include the look and feel of each website, the user friendly options, the navigation and accessibility when searching for a particular category or business. In this paper, we have compared and analyzed three different banking websites Washington Mutual, Compass Bank and Bank of America in an effort to summarize their effectiveness and to determine which website in our opinion would draw consumer interests. Washington Mutual   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When evaluating Washington Mutual’s website, there was one feature that stood out more than the websites for Compass Bank and Bank of America; their advertisement for Free Online Banking. This is centrally located on the web page because it is in a bright color and is toward the top of the page which is eye catching to the viewer (WAMU, 2005). Many people today choose to do banking on-line to not only save money on checks and stamps, but it is also less time-consuming. By offering this service for free, Washington Mutual has more chances to gain new customers than other banks, which may currently charge for on-line banking. For those existing customers, the login screen to obtain account information is fairly accessible. It is located on the top right hand corner of the web page and also gives the chance for the user to inquire on the password in case they have forgotten it (WAMU, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though Washington Mutual does have a couple of features that stand out in comparison to the other two banks, we believe that their website could be more user friendly if there was not so much information crowded together which makes it harder to read. They do have access to pertinent information for those trying to locate specific information such as home loans or location information, but it does not stand out and it is not eye catching for the end user. This may deter someone from opening an account with Washington Mutual simply because of the setup of the web page. Pictures and icons are very important for websites because they can catch the viewer’s attention and it also makes their browsing experience a better one. People want to access their bank information or any other banking needs as fast as possible.

Aphasia :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Aphasia In this world, humans and animals alike have come to communicate by using various mechanisms. Humans have advanced themselves beyond other organisms by using language, or a set of codes and symbols, in order to express themselves to others. Language has brought about a means to create new thoughts, to explore, and to analyze our everyday surroundings. It has also enabled us to retain past memories and to look deep into the advances for the future. However, for some individuals, this tool for communication has been plagued by a language and speech disorders, such as aphasia. Aphasia is the loss of the ability to speak or understand speech or written language. It is often detected at an early age, and contributes to the general class of speech and language disorders affecting "5% of school aged children" (1) . Aphasia is classified into three categories. The main two are receptive or sensory aphasia and expressive or motor aphasia. Receptive aphasia affects the input side and "the abil ity to understand spoken or written language may be partially or totally lost" (1) . Those with expressive aphasia "can speak but not find certain words or names, or may be totally unable to communicate verbally or by writing" (1) . For a majority of affected individuals, there is a combination of the two. The third type is conduction aphasia. This "involves disruption of transmission between the sensory and motor ends of the circuit" (1) . Here, individuals are able to produce speech despite the lack of connections to the input side. It seems that the ability to speak has a lot to do with your surroundings and how much emphasis was placed on developing this skill during the first few years after birth. Afterall, it's known that the first few years are critical because this is the time when the brain is "plastic" and is rapidly changing and being molded. By the time that adolescence is reached, the brain has become "less plastic". In this paper, I would like to explore theories prop osed to try to understand the origins of this impairment. Ongoing research has tried to pinpoint exact reasons as to why there is speech impairment for those with aphasia and other language disorders. Most theories suggest genetic and environmental implications. Is the speech disability some sort of defect from within the brain, or does the disability develop as a result of influence from your surroundings and lack of nurture from others?

All human interaction Essay

â€Å"All human interaction is powerplay. How is powerplay represented in Antigone? † Powerplay involves the complex struggle and manipulation for authority and dominance between opposing ideologies. Several diverse forms of powerplay through human interaction are experienced, however power is a tortuous process to attain and retain due to its tangible and allusive nature. Sophocles’ Antigone delves into this convoluted interplay of powers through investigating the relationship between political and personal power. Not only does Antigone explore the consequences when divine power is challenged, but also when state law and male authority are challenged. Thus the text’s utilisation of powerplay through human interaction enhances its intricate nature. Antigone’s act of defiance to Creon’s edict is due to her belief that man-made laws are inferior to the unwritten laws of God, whereas Creon views that an enemy of state is not deserving of an honourable burial. This powerplay is primarily a conflict of point of view between Creon and Antigone arising directly from their differing values, perspectives and personalities. Creon, who values to establish his reign of power after an acrimonious battle between the two brothers vying for political control, depicts a politic and pragmatic attitude. He believes that he is restoring stability and peace to his kingdom by establishing such an inhumane law. He also reinforces his view to â€Å"not give equal honour to good and bad† which portrays Creon nature to reward the loyalty and punish the rebellion. Furthermore, Creon contends that he must appear to be a powerful and tenable leader of Thebes. He explains to Haemon that letting Antigone go with impunity for defying his laws would make him a traitor as stated in ‘How if I tolerate a traitor at home, shall I rule those abroad? â€Å". This is ironic as Creon himself develops into a traitor since he refuses to comply with divine law. Antigone however values to abide higher law as she has the â€Å"duty to the dead† to bury them, keeping with divine law. She believes that as a sister, she has the duty to bury her family members regardless of the laws that are implemented against it. The citizen’s of Thebes create powerplay in support of her perception that divine law overrules Creon’s decree. For example, Haemon expresses that Antigone’s action is noble in â€Å"Know how the people mourn this maiden doomed for noblest deeds to die the worst of deaths†. Antigone moreover yearns for a noble death to compensate her history of misfortunes as she alliterates in â€Å"The weird of Oedipus, a world of woes! â€Å". Her own initiative of a noble death is ironic as she is incapable of maintaining her composure and reveals her human frailties resulting in her suicidal. Through Creon’s and Antigone’s differing views on political power, their conflict of values and beliefs represents powerplay in the tragedy. Sophocles conveys in Antigone the inherently destructive nature to the wielders of power signifying that those who play with power will ultimately lose all power. Creon rules by trepidation in a despotic manner and also by pride in his power, which will not allow him to acquiesce resulting in dire consequences. He firmly believes that his actions are moral contradicting the divine laws of the gods who honour the dead. Teiresias points out that Creon commits an atrocious sin by condemning a living human being to death inside a grave, as he keeps a rotting boy in daylight. Creon’s actions against Antigone and Polyneices’ body demonstrate his attempts in inverting the order of nature, defying the gods through the assertion of his political power. Haemon challenges Creon’s parental power by confrontment on his rational decision of Antigone’s fate. He uses metaphoric language in â€Å"See how the trees beside a stream in flood sae, if they yield to force, each spray unharmed, but by resisting perish root and branch†, to compare Creon’s kingly authority to a tree representing how he governs his kingdom. Haemon advises that even though his decisions were for the good of the people, in the end his obstinate and unyielding nature towards Antigone will perish him. Creon’s ignorance to these confrontments is symbolic of his blindness to the catastrophic events he was creating, thus losing all power over controlling his fate. Antigone creates powerplay in her confrontation with Creon as she attempts to use her power to prevail over his male and kingly authorities. Her determination and courage derives from her belief that she did not commit a crime. She declares that the laws of the state are not binding as they have been laid down by a man and men are not infallible. Antigone’s statement is a direct challenge to male dominance and Creon’s political power, showing her critical involvement in the powerplay.

Marriage & Family

A sexual script consists of expectations of how to behave sexually as a female or male and as a heterosexual, lesbian, or gay male. (Cohen, DeVault, & Strong 2008 p. 191) We use sexual scripts to direct us on how to organize, interpret and react to different sexual situations and emotions significantly. Our original sexual scripts starts as traditional, they are formed by what we learn from our parents, other adolescents or through watching television.Our sexual identities form while learning to be sexual and this begins in our adolescence, progressively we will change our scripts as we continue to experience new situations. Depending on what we gained knowledge of and included into our sexual scripts our emotions will play through our learned interactions. Sexual behavior, what we consider as sexually normal, our social lives and gender roles all play a part in what makes our sexual scripts differ between males and females.The traditional sexual script identifies the male as sexuall y aggressive and views sex as more of a recreational pastime, where they are focused more on pleasuring themselves. Cohen, DeVault and Strong 2008 p. 191 describes a few assumptions regarding the male script by Therapist Bernie Zilbergeld; men should not have certain feelings, a man always want sex and is always ready for it, performance is what counts, and a man is in charge, all physical contact leads to sex, sex equals intercourse, sex always leads to orgasm.The traditional female scripts suggest that women focus on emotions more that sex. Assumptions were also made for women; sex is both good and bad, girls don’t want to know about their genitalia, sex is for men, men should know what women want, women should not talk about sex, women should look like beautiful models, women are nurturers, and there is only one right way to experience orgasm. In the society today sexual scripts are slightly altered because gender roles are slightly altered.Traditional sexual scripts are n ow being replaced with contemporary sexual scripts, some of the assumptions that are made regarding both sexes are sexual expression is good, sexual activities may be initial by either partner, both parents have a right to experience orgasm, non marital sex is acceptable within a relationship context. Our sexual scripts are called into play when dealing with sexual activity and other social interactions. These scripts are used when viewing ourselves or others. I believe sexual scripts are used in everyday situations, in how we speak to one another or allow other to speak to us.Sexual scripts can determine who we date or marry and how we interact with our significant others. I believe that an individual assume that everyone shares the same sexual script as themselves and in times we are shocked when we learn otherwise. We believe that we have the same beliefs and view the world through the same glasses. People assume that sexual scripts are simple such as boy like girl, girl likes bo y, boy works, girls cleans, boy wants sex girl gives sex, while in the new generation most are following a modern style of living with a contemporary style of sexual scripts.

Identify What Is Happening in the External Environment in Terms

There are three external factors that affect business: Political, Legal and Social. Political factors involve political stability, government support, taxation and direct support. Legal factor involves things such as employment laws, consumer laws, it also influence attitudes such as healthy eating. Social factor involves education, age, ethics, attitudes etc. Political factors An activity related to government policy and its administrative practices that can have an effect on something.Most business operators will keep a watchful eye on any political factor, such as new legislation or regulatory shifts, which could have a substantial impact on how their company operates and its bottom line. Political decisions involve making choices that affect large number of people and business. Government support for different types of organization- government supports different organizations in different ways. There are three types of organizations- private, public and nonprofit/voluntary.In pri vate sector, government tries to create an environment where business can compete. In the nonprofit/voluntary sector, government support business by giving various grants and tax reliefs. In the public sector the government covers the losses made by government owned organizations. Governments use taxation to encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. For example, reduction in taxable personal (or household) income by the amount paid as interest on home mortgage loans results in greater construction activity, and generates more jobs.Government also puts high taxes, for example they put high taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to discourage smoking and drinking, and high taxes on fuel to reduce pollution by discouraging people of driving cars so much. Government also tries enhancing the skills of the population. They enhance education and training help to increase skills of working population. They provide a range of training and creates the educational framework including differ ent types of qualifications, such as Apprenticeships and NVQs. Legal factors Business must operate within the framework of the law.There are three laws that affect business: Company law- how business set up and run, Contract law- contracts that business make with suppliers, employees and etc, and Competition law- how business are allowed to compare with each other. The Contract Law is a set of rules governing the relationship, content and validity of an agreement between two or more persons regarding the sale of goods, provision of services or exchange of interests or ownership. The reason for this is due to the big number of examples in which contracts can arise in everyday life.Contract law is law that governs oral and written agreements associated with exchange of goods and services, money, and properties. It includes consumer protection and employment law. Consumer protection involves: †¢Sales of Goods Act, this act means that the retailers have to sell goods as they are de scribed and satisfactory quality. It means that marketing should describe the product accurately. These laws are aimed at safeguarding consumers by ensuring that goods offered for sale are reasonably safe, and meet certain standards of quality to make them fit for their intended use. The consumer credit act this applies to business who sells goods on credit, or companies that lend money. Business need to be licensed by the Office of Fair Trading. This act wants business to give their customers updates on their account regularly. If the customer falls behind the repayments the FOS may extend the time for the customer to repay their debt. †¢Employment law means that employees are also protected at work. The contract of employment should include names of both parties, job title and description, hours of work, wages etc. Social factorsAre factors that influence individuals' personality, attitudes and lifestyle. Demographic issues, when a population of a country is growing, there is an increase in goods and services and people available to work. Changes in structure means aging population. When the number of older people increase fast the demand for some goods increase, for example wheel chairs, anti-aging creams, world cruises etc. Household and families, there are increasing number of single-person households in the uk. The average marriage age is increasing aswell and many people now live alone.Education- the level of education is very important nowadays. In almost all industries employers are expecting employees to have a good information about technology, and have good skills at the job they’re doing. Attitudes to work influence relationships between employers and employees. Britain has developed a long working hour’s culture compared to France and Italy. How external factors affect McDonalds in the UK and Lithuania McDonald’s is the world largest chain of fast food restaurants with more than 30000 restaurants serving 52 million custo mers in more than 100 countries each day.McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, french-fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. More recently, it has begun to offer salads, wraps and fruit. Each McDonald’s restaurant is operated by franchise, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald’s revenues grew 27% over the three years ending in 2007 to $22. 8 billion, and 9% growth in operating income to $ 3. billion. Within the UK there are approximately 1200 restaurants employing over 85,000 people. In Lithuania there are just 9 restaurants employing less than 200 people. Political factors In the UK McDonald's main competitors are Chippy Shops, Subway and KFC. McDonalds always needed to treat competitors carefully. That's way the factor related with competitor like competit ors product quality, service, price competition, market, sales, growth everything impacting McDonalds. In Lithuania the only competitor for McDonalds is Hesburger.There are not many fast food restaurants so there is not much competition going on. In both countries employees are impacting McDonalds because company is recruiting, training staff for company. It is not uncommon for McDonalds to be the employer of first resort for young people just entering the workforce, older workers desiring extra income, or for those planning on transferring from one corporation to another. So, employee is impacting McDonalds in this way. Legal factors In both counties McDonalds producing their product and they are serving those directly to customers.That's way the factor of product and service is impacting McDonalds. Product quality, product variety, quick and friendly service, every things are important for company. Those got an important impact on McDonalds. Employment law also affects McDonalds i n the UK and Lithuania. In the UK minim wage is: Apprentice- ? 2. 65, under 18- ? 3. 68, 18 to 20- ? 4. 98 , and over 21- ? 6. 19. In Lithuania, there are not hourly wages, but the minimum salary for everyone in Lithuania is 232 euro a month.People in England has more money to spend on fast food restaurants than Lithuanians due to a larger income, therefore McDonald restaurants make much bigger profits in the UK than in Lithuania. Social factors In the UK there are many more McDonald’s restaurants than in Lithuania, mainly because of people’s Lithuanian people are more keen on healthy eating than British people. Most of Lithuanian people grow their own vegetables and fruit; they also like to buy organic foods from the market, and stays away from fast food restaurants. McDonalds are not so popular in Lithuania as it is in the UK because of different coulture.

Benefits and Risks of 3D/4D Ultrasound Essay

Non-invasive method of producing pictures of parts of the body by exposing them to high-frequency sound waves is known as ultrasound imaging or sonography or ultrasound scanning. The images obtained thus are captured real-time, thus showing the movement, structure and blood flow of the internal organs. The equipment used for this purpose is known as ultrasound scanner which consists of a console, a video display screen and a transducer. The console contains a computer and electronics. High frequency, inaudible sound waves are sent into the parts of the body through the transducer in small pulses. These waves bounce off the tissues producing a change in the pitch and direction of the sound. This change is again picked up by the transducer and then based on these echoed waves, the shape, size and consistency of the part of the body is deducted and a real-time image is created on the monitor (radiology info, n. d. ). Until recently only the conventional 2 dimensional images were being produced. However recent advances have led to the development of 3-dimentional and 4-dimentional images too. Such images are very popular in obstetric scanning and are being used to view the baby in the pregnant mother. The 3D/4D images allow physicians and mothers to look at the features of the baby and also watch the baby move and grow (Wood, 2008). 3D pictures are produced by storing the echoed waves digitally and shading the life-like images of the baby. Adding element of movement to 3D pictures produces 4D pictures. However, the clarity and activity of the images depends on the gestational age and the position of the fetus at the time of scanning (Wood, 2008). Benefits of 3D/4D ultrasound The most relieving benefit of the modern 3D/4D ultrasound is that there is no preparation needed prior to scanning. The conventional 2D ultrasound demanded full-bladder causing discomfort to the patient. Also, certain parts of the body like the arms, face, legs, toes and fingers are seen more clearly in the 3D/4D. Thus conditions like cleft palate are more easily detected in the modern ultrasound. Various movements of the fetus like smiling, crying, yawning, blinking, and moving fingers can be seen with 4D ultrasound. Another benefit with this type of scanning is that the type of display is multiplanar allowing visual cut through of structures and organs in any plane. Thus even the fetal brain and its cavities can be studied (Wood, 2008). Studies have reported that 3D ultrasounds were much superior in determining fetal weight more appropriately. Also, 3D ultrasounds require lesser views, are easier to use, are more efficient and produce much clearer image when compared to 2D scanning (Wiseman and Kiehl, 2007). Thus, 3D ultrasounds are able to analyze fetal abnormality in a better way. 3D ultrasound is superior to 2D in nuchal cord identification at term (Wiseman and Kiehl, 2007). 3D ultrasound can identify women who have chances of delivering early by measuring cervical length. 3D is also superior in gender identification, even in the first trimester (Wiseman and Kiehl, 2007). There is lot of potential to study neurological behavior of the fetus using 4D ultrasound (Wiseman and Kiehl, 2007). On the whole, 3D/4D ultrasound gives an opportunity to expectant mothers to know and familiarize their babies much before they are born, thus creating bondage between mother and baby. The technology also allows visual confirmation of pregnancy and reassurance of well-being of the fetus. Risks of 3D/4D ultrasound Although no obvious risks have been identified with 3D/4D scanning as is the case with 2D scanning, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine warns against the possibility of biological effects of scanning which may be identified in future (Wood, 2008). Even the American College of Radiology and The United States Food and Drug Administration warn against casual exposure to ultrasound especially during pregnancy. This warning comes in the light of shooting baby photos in malls using scanning machines. There are also concerns about possible thermal and mechanical damage to the fetus caused by sound waves which has led to the ALARA principle of exposure, meaning, the sonologists expose the fetus to ‘As Low As Reasonably Achievable’ doses of sound waves (Wiseman and Kiehl, 2007). Conclusion 3D/4D ultrasound scanning is a wonder technology which is gaining lot of importance in obstetric medicine. This method of scanning allows better visualization of the fetus and its parts, early and proper identification of anomalies and establishment of bond with the baby much before the baby is born. However, though there are no reports of side effects of these non-invasive procedures, researchers warn against the possibility of thermal and mechanical damage to the fetus, thus discouraging unnecessary exposure during pregnancy. Research is warranted to discover the side effects of these wonder technologies. References RadiologyInfo. Obstetrical Ultrasound. Retrieved on 21st Feb. , 2009 from http://www. radiologyinfo. org/en/info. cfm? PG=obstetricus Wiseman, C. S. , and Kiehl, E. M. (2007). Picture Perfect: Benefits and Risk of Fetal 3D Ultrasound. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal and Child Nursing, 32(2), 102- 109. Wood, D. (2008). New Dimensions in Prenatal Ultrasound: 3D and 4D. Retrieved on 21st Feb. , 2009 from http://www. swedish. org/17337. cfm