Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fashion - Essay Example The statement by Quentin Tarantino is noteworthy. He says, ‘the mark of any good action movie is that when you get through seeing it, you want to dress like the character.’ In this respect cinema’s role is not just promoting but also regulating customer culture. and /or the star persona, how they quote or appropriate from earlier films, how they relate to haute couture, say or drag shows. Often, the cinema looses depth by not being better connected to what audience members were wearing or wanted to wear. Thus the book provides invaluable insights to the new theorizing of costume in cinema. While discussing on the role of costumes in cinema it is worth mentioning the essay in Invisible Fashions by Akbar Abbas, who talks about the way in which certain types of theory can themselves become fashionable. (Wollen). â€Å"Clothes can primarily be considered as bearers of social identity and weaving, an approach which originate in the post modern discursive field where cultural studies meet semiotics.† (Wollen). It is quite noteworthy that clothes are intimately related to wearers and their bodies of course, but they also have their own qualities and identity simply as clothes. In every day life, clothes are a crucial element in the self presentation of specific wearers, along with their gestures, deportment, language, lifestyle etc. When we encounter them in shops and when they are not being worn they are disembodied abstracted from specific use. Hence, clothes have to be granted a niche of their own, a right to be considered autonomously as well designed, original, i ngenious and even beautiful. To this fact, I could relate fashion that has emerged as a separate entity which has changed the whole direction of male fashion. Fashion, has its own history and its involvement of the interaction between designer and client or consumer has launched many a choice. Whether directly or indirectly, patterns

Why does witchcraft continue to intrigue successive generations of Essay

Why does witchcraft continue to intrigue successive generations of Anthropologists - Essay Example They have conducted numerous studies and largely described witchcraft as a psychosocial factor among that exists among societies such as American Indians, early modern Europeans and Africans. The findings have been applied to the study of witchcraft in practices in the earlier and in the contemporary societies. Remarkably, witchcraft plays a significant role in the society, as explained in numerous theories that have been developed by modern and earlier anthropologists. According to Detweiler (1975), numerous theories that have been established by different scholars generally demonstrate that witchcraft acts as a form of social control, serves as a way through which life misfortunes are explained and helps in releasing social tension. These three distinct functions are the reasons as to why witchcraft has intrigued anthropologists throughout since establishment of the discipline of anthropology. This paper looks at these functions of witchcraft in both the modern and in the early soc ieties, as explained by various anthropologists. Discussion Anthropologists have learnt that witchcraft serves as a way of explaining the causes of life misfortunes. Human beings in all societies find explanations for all misfortunes that occur in their lives. In some societies, there are no rational explanations to some disturbing events, using conventional ways. There is high possibility for people in such societies to attribute these events to witchcraft practices. Their thoughts regarding the alternative causes of these events give them logical, coherent explanations which fully or partially satisfy their beliefs. This approach was developed by Evans-Pritchard in his study of Azande witchcraft. Azande is an ethnic group of people that live in Central Africa where they practice agriculture (Evans-Pritchard , 1937). They are famous for their witchcraft called mangu, which plays a significant role in shaping their understanding of the world and occurrences. They believe that some i ndividuals are witches and posses the power of affecting others adversely. This power is believed to be inherited and acts at an unconscious level. The witch is believed to exercise this power physically without conscious intention and without speech or rite. The Azande people attribute most of the misfortunes that occur in their society to witchcraft. In case a misfortune is significant and leads to the suffering of a person, they look for a neighbour of the affected person who might be the source of unfortunate in order to find a resolution. In case they do not find out, they look for a ‘poison oracle’ in order to consults and determine the individual who might be the have caused the misfortune. The members of this society also consult the oracle before engaging in important ventures to determine whether misfortunes will occur. The poison oracle is a chicken which is fed with a particular quantity of poison known as benge. If the chicken or more than one chicken die, this is a sign of misfortune. After the aggressor or the witch is determined, he or she is approached by an intermediary and he or she responds by ‘blowing water’ over the dead chicken’s wing while asserting his or her good intentions towards the harmed person (Evans-Pritchard, 1937). Witchcraft appears in numerous aspects of the Azande and as Evans-Pritchard noted, it plays a role in determining their chances for luck or adversity. Generally, it plays a bog role in explaining particularity of events. Evans-Pritchard illustrates that when an experienced woodcarver splits wood perfectly during his work, the split is

DNA Fingerprinting How Accurate is it

DNA Fingerprinting How Accurate is it Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material that is contained within the cells of living organisms and it is considered to be the building blocks for a persons genetic makeup. Each cell in the human body that has a nucleus contains exactly the same DNA as all the other cells and each persons DNA is unique to that person, with the exception of identical twins. This means that the DNA that comes from a persons blood, skin cells, semen or saliva is all exactly the same. DNA fingerprinting, also known as DNA typing, is the process of taking DNA samples from a crime scene and attempting to match it to samples taken from possible suspects. The DNA that is collected can come from a variety of difference sources; it can come from blood, semen, skin cells, saliva, and a variety of other bodily fluids and tissues. DNA can be a powerful tool in forensic science because of the fact that it is unique to the person that it came from. However, when a sample is not handled carefully or results are not interpreted properly the same powerful tool can set guilty people free or condemn innocent people. The question that must be answered then is should DNA evidence be the backbone or merely the starting point of an investigation? The fact that DNA is now being used to solve so many crimes there became a need for a way to store the information from the samples collected from crime scenes and criminals. The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is the center of the national DNA database that has been established and funded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). CODIS allows laboratories from all over the country to share and compare DNA data collected from crime scenes and suspects in order to match criminals to their crimes. CODIS includes the National DNA Index System (NDIS), which contains the data for the entire country, the State DNA Index System (SDIS), which contains the data for each state, and the Local DNA Index System (LDIS), which contains information for a particular city. Uses of DNA in Court Cases Many people play a vital role in the collection and processing of DNA samples. It begins with the first responders to the crime scene, followed by the technicians who collect the samples and then concludes with the laboratory technicians that process and interpret the results. The first responders must every effort possible not to contaminate any possible sources of DNA before they can be collected. This requires that the technicians be familiar with where the DNA may exist at the crime scene therefore reducing the chance that this evidence becomes contaminated or damaged. The DNA that is collected from a crime scene must first be amplified so that a sufficient amount of DNA is available to test and analyze. The DNA must first be removed from the cells that it is contained in and this is done through a chemical process that lyses the cell and releases the DNA. Once the DNA has been released from the cell it can then be amplified which is done through a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). During PCR the DNA is heated to a temperature of 90-95Â °C which allows the strands of DNA to separate from each other and once the strands are separated they can then be duplicated creating two identical strands of DNA. This process is a chain reaction because each time it is repeated the amount of available DNA is doubled. Each cycles take anywhere from 2-5 minutes and when repeated 25-30 times can increase the amount of DNA over 1 million fold. This means that a very small amount of DNA collected from a sample can be tested. Once the samples have been amplified there are prepared for matching by using a test kit that can detect characteristics called alleles at different locations, called loci, on the genome. These alleles are present in what are called short tandem repeats (STRs). STRs are repeated portions of DNA that appear in close relation to each other. These repeating portions of DNA can allow differentiation of DNA from one person to another. Currently laboratories in the United States use kits that identify 13 loci that have been selected by the FBI for CODIS. Each locus can have a number of different alleles and the pair of alleles at one locus constitutes each persons genotype at the loci. Once each set of alleles is detected at each locus it is now called a DNA profile. This profile can then be used to match samples taken from the crime scene to the suspects or to CODIS in an attempt to find the perpetrator of the crime in question. Accuracy of DNA Fingerprinting There are many factors that come into play in the validity of the forensic DNA fingerprinting. These can include coincidental matches between DNA profiles, contamination of the DNA evidence through accidental transfer of cellular material, errors in labeling or classification of samples, misinterpretation of the results, either accidental or intentional, and planting of biological evidence. The coincidental matches can come from the fact that degradation of the DNA, limited quantities of DNA, or contamination of the samples can cause a result of incomplete or partial DNA profile. A full profile match would match all 13 of the loci where a partial match while a partial match would have fewer alleles. When a profile is incomplete or partial it can produce fewer markers to match it can be more likely produce a match by chance. That is, as the number of available markers goes down the probability of false positive increases. Another factor that can increase the likelihood of false positive is the relation of the people that the samples are taken from. What this means is that two people who are related to each other have a higher probability of producing a partial match and how closely they are related can increase this likelihood. The closer the family relation is the higher the probability of a partial match. The probabilities are as follows, 1 in 14 billion for a first co usin; 1 in 1.4 billion for a nephew, niece, aunt or uncle; 1 in 38 million for a parent or child and 1 in 81 thousand for a sibling. 7 A larger risk of a false positive is possible when the DNA sample used has an incomplete profile. When an incomplete profile is put through CODIS the probability of getting a match is increased which may result in an innocent person being accused of a crime they did not commit. This was the case in Chicago in 2004 when a 6 locus profile was run through the state database after a burglary. This partial profile returned a match to a Chicago woman. The woman was arrested but then had to be released when she provided an alibi, there was no way she could have committed the crime because she was in prison serving time for another crime. 7 Contamination of the samples is the most common factor that can affect the accuracy of the DNA profile. Contamination can come from many sources and can occur at different points along the sample collection and preparation timeline. The first time that contamination can occur is during the collection process. Carelessness during the sample collection can introduce unwanted DNA into the sample therefore making it impossible to distinguish the DNA from the unwanted source from the DNA evidence. If someone sneezes or coughs on the sample, if the person collecting the samples touches their face or other body part and then touches the area that might DNA to be tested it essentially ruins the sample. Other ways that the sample can become tainted is through the use of dirty or contaminated collection tools, using gloves that are not clean, or by putting the samples into plastic rather than paper bags. The second opportunity for sample contamination can occur in the laboratory where the sample processing takes place. In the laboratory the sample is susceptible to the same types of contamination as when the samples are being collected as evidence and great care must be taken by the laboratory technicians to prevent contamination from occurring in the laboratory. The only exception to this is that in the laboratory the samples can be mislabeled. If the laboratory technicians are careless and mislabel Recourse for a Wrongful Conviction There are, of course, some people that can be set free by the use of DNA testing. Before DNA fingerprinting became the widely used forensic technique cases relied heavily on eyewitness testimony and the testimony of the victims themselves. However witnesses can sometimes be so traumatized or the crimes can happen so quickly that the wrong person can be accused and the testimony can be so convincing that innocent people can be convicted of crimes. There is now a way that people who have been wrongfully convicted can prove their innocence. The Innocence Project is a non-profit organization that takes requests from inmates that believe that there may be a chance that DNA evidence would exist such that they can be exonerated for their crimes. To date the Innocence Project has been able to help get ***** innocent people freed from prison. While this new freedom is a joyous time for the wrongly accused and convicted it can be a very confusing time for the victims. Even though the victims have wrongly identified the perpetrators of their crimes they spend years believing that the person that was convicted was actually the person that committed the crime against them. It can be a very painful and confusing time for the victims and they sometimes have a hard time believing that they were responsible for an innocent person spending years, sometimes decades in prison. In other cases some victims have a very hard time believing that the person they have spent years believing committed this crime against them is not actually the person that committed the crime. Ethical Evaluations As for the Innocence Project to perform a utilitarian analysis you would have to weigh the good of freeing innocent people from a life behind bars to the pain and fear that the victims feel when learning that these people are set free. While no person should have to feel pain and fear, the good of freeing innocent people is far greater. Summary Conclusion Many people rely on the accuracy of the DNA evidence that is presented in court cases and expect this evidence to be infallible. The victims of the crimes are relying on this DNA to be able to find the persons responsible for the crimes so that they can be convicted. On the other hand the innocent people accused of crimes are relying on this DNA evidence to prove their innocence and set them free. But in both cases the people involved are relying on the fact that this evidence is accurate and does not contain any errors, errors that can introduced through human error or errors that are innate in the statics of DNA matches between the samples taken. The fact that these errors are present and may not be avoidable leads to the conclusion that DNA evidence should not be the only evidence that is used in cases but rather a starting point for an investigation.

Lift, Weight, Thrust And Drag :: essays research papers

One of the first things that is likely to be noticed during a visit to the local airport is thewide variety of airplane styles and designs. No matter what each looks like like they alldepend on the the same four factors which are lift, weight, thrust, and drag Lift is the upward force created by the effect of airflow as it passes over and under the wings. It supports the airplane in flight. Weight opposes lift. It is caused by the downward pull of gravity. Thrust is the forward force which propels the airplane through the air. It varies with the amount of engine power being used. Opposing thrust is drag, which is a backward, or retarding, force that limits the speed of the airplane.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lift is the key aerodynamic force. It is the force that opposes weight. In straight-and-level, unaccelerated flight, when weight and lift are equal, an airplane is in a state of equilibrium. If the other aerodynamic factors remain constant, that airplane neither gains nor loses altitude. When an airplane is stationary on the ramp, it is also in equilibrium, but the aerodynamic forces are not a factor. In calm wind conditions, the atmosphere exerts equal pressure on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing. Movement of air about the airplane, particularly the wing, is necessary before the aerodynamic force of lift becomes effective. During flight, however, pressures on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing are not the same. Although several factors contribute to this difference, the shape of the wing is the principal one. The wing is designed to divide the airflow into areas of high pressure below the wing and areas of comparatively lower pressure above the wing. This pressure differential, which is created by movement of air about the wing, is the primary source of lift.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The weight of the airplane is not a constant. It varies with the equipment installed, passengers, cargo, and fuel load. During the course of a flight, the total weight of the airplane decreases as fuel is consumed. Additional weight reduction may also occur during some specialized flight activities, such as crop dusting, fire fighting, or sky diving flights. The direction in which the force of weight acts is constant. It always acts straight down toward the center of the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thrust is the forward-acting force which opposes drag and propels the airplane. In most airplanes, this force is provided when the engine turns the propeller.

Continent & character Essay

â€Å"Every man has in himself a continent of undiscovered character. Happy is he who acts as Columbus to his own soul. † I have always lived by that principle. There is a vast untapped territory within us. All we need to do is to uncover the mysteries that are resting within the confines of our persona. We need to understand ourselves better so that we can easily accomplish the goals that we have set to achieve. The need to educate ourselves can never be outgrown. Learning is synonymous with life itself. While we are still breathing, we are learning. It remains with us until our last breath. I have always embraced challenges; they are wonderful occasions to educate myself and raise the awareness of my strengths and weaknesses. With a firm familiarity of my personal assets and liabilities I can make a distinction which areas of my life need to improve and which necessitate closure. I value optimism amidst adversity. I always try to discover the brighter side of life and think positive. I believe that things always happen for a reason. They are, in a way, interconnected to create the best that each one of can be. Challenges, problems, and difficulties are present in our lives to ultimately shape the best future for us. â€Å"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant. † I have a strong penchant towards sports. The values that one can get out of playing basketball, soccer, or golf are remarkable and priceless. Values like sportsmanship, perseverance, and self-control are extremely essential in the real world as well. You build a much stronger and noteworthy character. I begin to feel confident about my chances in other areas of my life. When I was in New Zealand, my homestay family owned a golf course. I had a great opportunity to play golf everyday. The sport taught me patience and self-discipline. It was enough to get me through six tournaments and propelled me to two victories. Winning two tournaments is quite a feat for my standards. In high school, I joined the basketball team. Like golf, the sport offered a whole inventory of merits and positive values. I have been playing as the starting forward since junior high school. Through countless ups and downs our team managed to keep our optimism and solid teamwork. There were times when taking the easy way out was unbelievably enticing but we fought with all we got to stay with the game. Hard work and determination tempered with faith in our abilities brought us out of our doubts. As a result, our high school team placed 9th in the national high school basketball level. Again, it was quite an accomplishment. Currently, I am a member of a soccer club here in America. I widely enjoyed playing the sport. Essentially, the values that I learned from the previous sports are the same but soccer provided me with additional values. The sport entails more discipline. It demands a more focused approach. Training and practice are extremely important to hone the basic skills necessary to successfully tackle the game. True enough, my team came in second place in the regional tournament. Practice truly makes perfect or as close to it as possible. Through soccer I met wonderful people that eventually became my best friends. A great friendship is a priceless investment. I see to it that I present the best of myself to people but not in a condescending way. I value my personal relationship with others. I am a very friendly person. I know its genuine meaning- true friends are going to be by your side through thick and thin. I discovered its true essence when I got ill and my best friend stayed with me and took care of me. Your friends will stand by you no matter what. They will praise your triumphs, overlook your failures, and point out your shortcomings. To fully become the person that you need to be, you must cultivate a sense of spirituality as well. You need to go beyond the superficialities of the physical and embrace the warmth and wisdom of the soul. I am a very religious person. I recognize the presence of a higher being that grants blessings and opportunities to everyone. I believe that ultimately everything will come to full circle and the spirit will triumph. Thus, I joined the praise team in my church. I know the essence of religion and how it helps shape true character. Each person is unique; everyone has something new to offer. I am a unique being and I have some good qualities that I can bring to the university. Words can only describe so much; actions speak louder. â€Å"Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart. † I want to show through concrete and substantial performance what I am truly capable of.

Boy in the Striped Pjs

â€Å"The boy in the striped pyjamas† by John Boyne is a book about a nine year old boy called Bruno who is growing up in Berlin during World War II. He lives a very comfortable life in a large house with his parents and his sister, not forgetting the maid and the cook. But this all changes very soon when his father who is a very high-ranking soldier is promoted to â€Å"Commandant† and to Bruno’s sadness the family have to move to a place which Bruno refers to as out-with. Bruno immediately becomes very homesick for many reasons.He misses his grandparents, his house, his three best friends for life and of course his adventures. Bruno is a very curious boy and while looking out of his window one day he noticed that there were other people, lots of people. It isn’t long before Bruno decides to ask his father about these people but his father tells him that they are not people at all. It turns out that it is the extermination camp Auschwitz and due to Brunoà ¢â‚¬â„¢s curiosity and boredom he decides to explore and it is here at the fence that he meets and befriends a young boy called Shmuel.Almost every day he meets Shmuel and they talk by the fence both on separate sides but they are both desperate to play with each other and conveniently Shmuel’s father goes missing and he needs Bruno’s help to find him. They make a gap in the fence just big enough for a small boy to fit through and Bruno goes into the camp with a pair of striped pyjamas and it is then that something unimaginable happens. In this essay my task is to describe how well John Boyne has involved the reader throughout his challenging novel to ensure our sympathies for Bruno.