Cant and Chant

Cant and Chant Cant and Chant Cant and Chant By Mark Nichol Cant is jargon or trite commentary, or singsong speech. A chant is a type of song. Is there a connection between the words? Yes, and many other words are more or less obviously related. They are both derived from the Latin verb canare, which means â€Å"sing.† Cant originally referred to the repetitive, practiced patter of beggars seeking attention (and alms) and, by extension, came to pertain to the jargon of the underworld and then to terminology promulgated by anyone one opposes or holds in contempt. Cant is also an unrelated term from Latin (possibly by way of an earlier Celtic word) meaning â€Å"angle† or â€Å"slope†; this is the source of canton (meaning â€Å"corner† and used in reference to regions, as in the divisions of Switzerland) and possibly cantilever, which refers to a projecting structural element anchored only at one end. Chant is a noun referring to a simple, repetitive form of singing and, by extension, rhythmic repetitive speaking, often spoken loudly and in groups, as in a protest or at an athletic competition; it is also a verb describing such performances. A chanter is one who chants; the feminine French form, chanteuse, was adopted into English to refer to a female singer, especially a nightclub entertainer. The variant cantor, from the Latin word referring to a vocal performer, is now used primarily to an official singer and prayer leader in a Jewish religious ceremony or service; precentor (â€Å"singer before†) is an equivalent term for a choirmaster in some other religious traditions. Other related terms include canto, an Italian word for song that now usually pertains to a section of a long poem; â€Å"bel canto† (in Italian, literally â€Å"beautiful singing†), a form of opera; cantata, which refers to a song, often religious in character, with voice and instruments and sung in several parts; canticle, meaning â€Å"little song† (with the same diminutive ending element as, for example, article and particle) and referring to a hymn; and canzone (Italian for â€Å"singing† or â€Å"song†), a word for a medieval sung poem. Descant, with a prefix that means â€Å"apart,† refers to a high melody sung distinct from the main melody of a song. Additional words include chanson, which is from an Old French word for â€Å"song† and refers to a cabaret-style song; chantey (with the variations chanty and shanty)- likely from chantez, the imperative form of chanter, a French word that means â€Å"song†- which refers to a sailor’s work song; and chanticleer, which derives from the character of a rooster in medieval verse narratives. Also descended from canere, we have recant, which means â€Å"renounce an opinion† and stems from requiring heretics to disavow their beliefs by chanting the renunciation. An incantation, meanwhile, is a chanted spell or other vocalization as part of a ritual, and enchantment, which originally pertained to being subject to a magic spell, by extension came to mean â€Å"charmed by beauty or another quality†; an enchantress is a woman who has this effect on others. (Charm itself, which pertains to the action of charming or to the quality of charm or to a magic amulet, is indirectly related as well.) More obscure relatives include accent, which refers to a particular pronunciation or emphasis, and incentive, which originally applied to that which stirs one’s mind or soul but in the mid-twentieth century acquired the mundane sense of â€Å"something that motivates.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?Between vs. In BetweenHow Verbs Become Adjectives

Free Essays on Human Values V. Ethics

about the legal issues of abortion. We all know that abortions were prohibited many years ago by various cultures and countries. Pregnant women, not having a choice, were forced to perform illegal abortions, sometimes done not by doctors but by herbalists. Without much of technology, they tried to induce the bleeding, scraping off the walls of the uterus in attempt to remove the fetus. As a result of internal and external bleeding, blood infection and other side effects, many women died. N... Free Essays on Human Values V. Ethics Free Essays on Human Values V. Ethics Human values and ethics vs. Philosophical ethics â€Å"They had discussed it, but not deeply, whether they wanted the baby she was now carrying. ‘I don’t know if I want it,’ she said, eyes filling with tears. She cried at anything now, and was often nauseous. That pregnant women cried easily and were nauseous seemed banal to her, and she resented banality† (p. 389 Alice Walker The Abortion). It could sound familiar to many of us. Either in personal life or while discussing and debating, whether during college courses or encircled by close friends, I am sure that each and everyone of us has come across with the issue of abortion, developing a distinct, individual opinion about that particular subject. What we think about abortion will be a function of what we think about sex, about reproduction, about the beginning of human life, about responsibility, about killing, about sexual equality, and about religion. Actually, there is little in life to which the issue of abortion is not in some way related. It i s not surprising, then, that there is so much disagreement about what abortion is and whether of not it is good, bad, or neither. At the root of the controversy is a basic value judgment about the human status of the fetus; does it have any rights, and should the fetus be considered a person. The question of abortion is compounded by a related issue the right of a woman to control her own body. The First, I would like to say a few words about the legal issues of abortion. We all know that abortions were prohibited many years ago by various cultures and countries. Pregnant women, not having a choice, were forced to perform illegal abortions, sometimes done not by doctors but by herbalists. Without much of technology, they tried to induce the bleeding, scraping off the walls of the uterus in attempt to remove the fetus. As a result of internal and external bleeding, blood infection and other side effects, many women died. N...

Best Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Best Workplace - Essay Example Similar to its name, Genentech, the company utilizes genetic human information to come up with the new medicine. This medicine is manufactured and sold to hospitals and other pharmaceuticals to help in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic ailments or medical conditions that generally, threaten an individual’s life. Why did Genentech emerge top six in the hundred? This question rings a bell every time someone visits the Fortune website. However, Genentech manages to emerge top six because of ninety- five percent employee rating in: challenges, atmosphere, rearwards, pride, communication, and bosses. Genentech is a company where workers enjoy team building through parties and similar events that bring all the workers together to celebrate in their success and work hard. This enables the entire staff to feel appreciated and to have increased motivation as well as willingness of working as a team (â€Å"Accel† n.d; â€Å"Fortune† 2014). In support of, George Homan’s theory of exchange, the company uses reward system, as a way of motivating their workers. This is by rewarding the employees with a six-week paid break for every six years an employee works for the company. Such benefits have enabled the employees to take pride in their job and help patients acquire the kind of treatment they deserve. Additionally, the employees are not discriminated because accountability is maintained among all employees. The managers at the company, promotes good communicating among workers where complaints can be voiced and problems solved soon before they advance into a crisis that causes risks in a working place. Patients that have been served by the company’s employees are living proof that the conducive environment provided for the employees is reciprocated by the good services and great commitment offered (â€Å"Fortune† 2014; Inc. staff 2014). Burns & McDonnell is located in Kansas City, founded in the year 1898.

Macronutrient Intake Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macronutrient Intake - Research Paper Example Types of fats consumed included saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. In addition, the patient supplemented daily fat requirement with linoleic acid, cholesterol and Omega 3 fats. Based on the daily nutrient reports, it is apparent that the patient’s daily intake of proteins and carbohydrates surpassed predetermined targets. The patient took 67g and 47g of protein on the first and third day respectively. In this case, daily protein intake exceeded target quantity, which lies at 46g. With respect to carbohydrates, the nutritional assessment project set a daily target of 130g, representing approximately 45-65% of total calories. Records indicate that the patient consumed carbohydrates in excess of daily requirements, thus supplementing daily calorie intake with an average of 52% starch. Despite the patient maintaining protein and carbohydrate intake within the target limits, fat intake for the assessment period indicates a slight imbalance in the different types o f fats. Targeted intake of alpha linoleic acid is 1.1g per day. However, the patient consumed only 0.1g of the same linoleic acid on the first day. Therefore, fat intake for that day falls under the clinically required levels. From a theoretical perspective, each of the three macronutrients plays a significant role in providing energy requirements of the body. Clinically, imbalanced intake macronutrient components results in disturbed body functions (Janos and Berdanier 45). Therefore, fat intake for that day falls under the clinically.

Hydrocarbon Fuels Essay Example for Free

Hydrocarbon Fuels Essay Fuels are substances that burn in reactions with oxygen on a large scale, with transfer of energy to the surroundings. Fossil fuels are the most common and widely used fuels around today. The essential reaction for any chemical fuel includes: Fuel + Oxygen Oxidation + Energy transfer products Fossil fuels are a non renewable source of fuels and include coal, oil and gas. These are raw materials that supply feedback for most of our chemical industry. These have been produced over millions of years and are being consumed rapidly. If we run out of fossil fuels they cannot be reproduced which is why it is important to use them efficiently. Crude oil and natural gas provide fuel for heating, electricity generation and transport. Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons with small molecules. These molecules are made of atoms of carbon and hydrogen. For example, natural gas used in the home is mainly methane, CH4. Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, with a varying composition depending on its source. The hydrocarbons in crude oil have different boiling points, according to the number of carbon atoms their molecules contain and how they are arranged. Fractional distillation uses the difference in boiling point to separate the hydrocarbons in crude oil. The fractionating column is cooler at the top than the bottom, so the vapours cool as they rise. Vapours condense onto a tray when they reach the part of the column which is cooler than their boiling point, they are therefore now separated. There is a greater demand for lighter short chain hydrocarbons such as petrol and naphtha and the demand for heavy long chain hydrocarbons is much less. E.g. bitumen Cracking is a form of thermal decomposition and is the process in which shorter more useful carbon chain hydrocarbons are produced from longer less useful chains by heating. This is done by breaking the carbon-carbon bonds which are very strongly attracted so the process of cracking has high activation energy. It is a free radical process and so it makes a mixture of products. Catalytic cracking is a Carbo Cation mechanism. It uses catalyst: zeolite at slight pressure- 4/5 atmospheres to make more fuels. It also makes aromatic hydrocarbons. Shape selectivity by a zeolite catalyst separation of isomers by a molecular sieve The advantages of using fossils is that very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply. Transporting oil and gas to the power stations is also very easy. Gas-fired power stations are very efficient and a fossil-fuelled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it. However there are many disadvantages the most common and serious being pollution. Spillage of fuels can cause great damage in streams and ponds resulting in immense loss of animal and plant life and an enormous cost of cleaning it up. Oxidation of carbon-based compounds produces vast amounts of carbon dioxide which contributes to the green house effect causing an increase in atmospheric temperatures which is then likely to cause changes in climate and weather patterns. A large variety of compounds, including carcinogens, appear in the smoke from burning coal and wood. Inefficient burning of carbon-based fuels in defective furnace and domestic gas fires produces poisonous gas carbon monoxide. This can cause problems in health as if it is breathed in it can take up the oxygen space in hemoglobin and react with the iron, this would mean that the body would not function properly and death will follow. Burning fuels also produces two other poisonous gases such as various nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides. The sulphur oxide comes from the sulphur impurities in the fossil fuels however the nitrogen oxides are produced by the reaction of nitrogen and oxygen in the air caused by the heat of the burning. When these gases mix with clouds they form dilute sulphuric acid and dilute nitric acid. This then falls as acid rain which kills fish, trees and limestone buildings. Mining coal can be difficult and dangerous. Strip mining destroys large areas of the landscape. This image shows dead Effects of acid on stone Fish as a result of pollution sculpture There are some alternatives to fossil fuels that may provide a better environment these include the following: * BIOMASS: plants can be used directly as fuels e.g wood or they can be grown for conversion into fuels e.g sugar from sugar cane Advantage: renewable, helps to reduce waste and used with simple technology Disadvantage: not large enough to replace fossil fuels at present rates of use. * METHANOL: this alcohol can be used in racing cars and it is made quite cheaply from methane Advantage: methanol does not produce a lot of carbon monoxide when burnt Disadvantage: mixture of methanol and petrol absorb water and may cause corrosion of car engines * NUCLEAR FUELS: when the nuclei of atoms of isotopes of uranium undergo fission (splitting) in a chain reaction very large amounts of energy is released Advantage: there are no carbon, nitrogen and sulphur produced. Disadvantage: Radioactive waste products are difficult to store and treat. * MOVING AIR: WIND The energy of moving air is transferred into the motion of windmills and wind turbines Advantage: no pollution is produced and it is renewable Disadvantage: can be expensive to generate electricity for a large scale. Is not very reliable as it needs wind which is not always available. * MOVING: WATER Stored water behind dams or from waterfalls can be released through turbines and generate electricity Advantage: can be used on large scale and is quite predictable Disadvantage: quite costly * SUNLIGHT: Solar panels are used to heat water and photovoltaic cells are used to convert light into electricity Advantage: pollution free with no waste products Disadvantage: the sun is not always available in countries like the UK and also there is no sun at night time. * GEOTHERMAL: Water is pumped into wells in the hot rock zone is heated and used to heat buildings Advantage: available in large quantities and no pollution is produced Disadvantage: expensive and has some technological problems * HYDROGEN: Hydrogen is extracted from water by electrolysis and used on transport systems Advantage: available in large quantities and causes no air pollution Disadvantage: regarded as too dangerously explosive and it is too difficult to store Bibliography * OCR text book: Chemistry 1 * AS and A level chemistry revision guide * GCSE double science chemistry revision guide * Google research * http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm

Soda bottle rocket :: essays research papers

Soda bottle rocket Purpose The students will investigate the effect of the rocket length upon the distance of flight. The students will also investigate the mass upon the distance flight. Background The students will proof Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's third law also applies to rockets. A rocket gets its lift from the gases pushing out of its tail. The force of the rocket pushing on these gases is the action force. The gases exert an equal but opposite force on the rocket, which forces the rocket up, this is called the reaction force. According to the original guide sheet, the two items NASA will be evaluating the rocket on will be distance flown and time aloft. A two liter bottle with a cone and fins. The time is measured by seconds that the bottle flays, starting when it lives from the launch pad until it rites the ground. The distance is how far it flew. The motion will be projectile. The average velocity will be the total distance of rocket sting measured. The average speed will be the total distance of rocket flight measured in meters and total amount of time aloft measured in seconds. The altitud e will be measured by an altimeter. The acceleration will speed up and change direction. The force can be the gravity. The kinetic energy will be the mass and velocity. The potential energy on the launch pad. Newton’s first law is about the state of motion of an object does not charge as long as the net force acting on the object is zero. His second law is about the acceleration of an object is equal to the net force acting on it divided by the object’s mass. Newton’s third law is whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first object. The momentum is mass Ãâ€" velocity. The kinetic energy is the mass Ãâ€" velocity. Momentum is a property of any moving object. For a slow moving object it is given by the mass times the velocity of the object. For an object moving at close to the speed of light this definition gets modified. The total momentum is a conserved quantity in any process. Weight is the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity.

Bartolomé de Las Casas.. Immanuel Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?” Response Essay

This reading is an account of the discovery of the Americas by Spanish Christians. It tells of the devastation of the many islands around Hispaniola and the mainland of what is now North America for forty-nine years. On the Spaniards arrival the Natives did no harm to them and believed them to be descended from the heavens. That was until the Spanish began to murder and torment them due to their greed for what the Natives had. The choices of converting to the Christian religion or dying were the Native’s only options and anyone showing any sign of resistance were killed. An estimated 12 million Native American souls were lost during those forty-nine years due to the devastation. The motives behind the Spanish’s taking over of the land was supposed to be religious but the killings, violence and theft showed no sign of religion at all. It was all about greed and the Native American’s were treated extremely unfairly. The Spaniards greed kept them from treating the Natives as anything more than beasts. It also makes me wonder how they would have treated the Chinese or Asians, since that is what they were originally looking for on their voyage west. Reading: 18-5 Immanuel Kant, â€Å"What Is Enlightenment? † This reading is an essay by Immanuel Kant going into detail about the lack of enlightenment, explain what enlightenment is and what the public needs in order to be enlightened. Kant explains what dependency is and how it is hard for someone to work themselves out of it and that enlightenment is a person’s emergence from their own dependency. He says that the public can only achieve enlightenment slowly. Freedom is required for enlightenment according to Kant, the freedom to use our own reason on issues. I think that this essay has a powerful message. Kant explains how important it is for individuals to be independent and free in order for the public as a whole to be enlightened. It would seem that these things are common sense to people, because they really are simple and things that we here every day but I have never really thought of it the way Kant explains it. Kant’s words are sort of a guide to what people should strive for in life.

Government Control and Subsidy of Energy vs. Private Sector Investment Essay

A subsidy is a payment from the government to a business to encourage the continual use or development of a technology or product that is considered to be useful or beneficial to the society. Most often, the money (or subsidies) is coming directly from taxpayers. This is where Milton Friedman’s signature phrase, â€Å"there’s no such thing as a free lunch† comes in to play. A unit of a product or service may be free for one person, someone or something is enduring an opportunity cost. Currently, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are being subsidized by roughly $24 billion a year because of the perceived environmental benefits that go along with â€Å"green† technologies. However, renewable energy companies such as Solyndra have gone bankrupt and the government has supported them to keep them running via subsidies. The argument for continuing these subsidies is that wind and solar are still in the start-up phase in the industrial world a nd have not yet reached large scale markets. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that these companies will ever be largely profitable because renewable energy, with a few exclusions, are unable to reach the profitable market margin that generating plants fueled by coal, natural gas or nuclear can. While the government tries to focus their support on said renewable energies, only providing limited tax breaks for the private oil companies, the US private sector has produced a substantial increase in oil. 2011 was the third consecutive year of higher domestic oil production and, at the same time, natural gas output reached an all-time high. Over the past five years, about two thousand new jobs have been created in the oil and gas industry while employment growth for renewable energies has been limited at best. With many of the recent failures of several renewable energy companies, employment has declined in this area during several periods. The renewable industry will also struggle to prosper because they rely too heavily on the government for support. The government has taken billions of dollars and will place it in this industry with little to no return for the enrichment of the economy and society. Friedman makes a rather sarcastic comment on activities like this by saying, â €Å"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand†. This is an example of rent-seeking. Rent-seeking is a term, used by economists, to describe actions that involve a political process of taking wealth of others and getting essentially a loss of wealth. Without the incentive to compete to raise and gain money, the renewable energy industry doesn’t feel the need to produce more efficient and cost effective products or services. On the flip side of that, since most companies in the oil industry are in the private sector, the profit alone is a large enough incentive to supply valued goods and services at reasonable prices. If private sector companies do not continually improve or develop, they will quickly be â€Å"weeded out†. Since the private markets are decidedly competitive, they are continually searching for the sweet spot in the market that assures a large and readily available supply of energy and the cleanest yet practicable balance of the usage of our limited resources, all at the lowest price possible. Despite the fact that for more than a decade, there has been a large amount direct taxpayer support, renewable energy still cannot meet the market demand and, therefore, the subsidies for these areas should be significantly reduced if not completely done away with. If politicians are truly concerned with cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a better allocation of federal spending would be to target subsidies and incentives towards natural gas and nuclear power plants. These clean-burning fuels can heat our homes, power our vehicles, and generate electricity for America’s households and industries a lot more cheaply and reliably than renewable energy can. If America is not careful, it will quickly fall into crony capitalism. Crony capitalism, in layman terms, is where private businesses focus on doing political favors rather than the consumer market because the government uses spending, regulations, and subsidies to benefit businesses that provide political support. Instead of trying to pick winners and losers, the government should create a competitive marketplace with fair rules, no subsidies, and allow the private sector to prosper. One great aspect of America is the freedom to continuously change business strategies and marketing to adapt to change. Like Milton Friedman said, â€Å"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.†

Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Example

Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Example Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Write a 1. 050-1. 400-word paper in which you analyze the organisational direction. disposal. and operational facets of patroling within patroling organisations. In your analysis. be certain to measure yesteryear. nowadays. and future tendencies refering to the go oning development and operation of the field of patroling and how these developments impact assorted patroling organisations ( local. province. federal ) . Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. You can larn tonss in college. It is non merely a great topographic point to acquire an academic instruction. but you can acquire a societal instruction. excessively. When you use the advice from this article. you can do your clip in college success and productive and the best clip of your life.

What is the “Prove It” Test

What is the â€Å"Prove It† Test You’ve been invited to take a Kenexa â€Å"Prove It† Test, which means it’s time to put your money where your mouth is in terms of your Microsoft Office skills. This test will help you demonstrate your abilities with programs like Word and Excel, as well as identifying any particular strengths or weaknesses. What’s on ItThe aim of this test is to â€Å"prove† that you have the skills and ability to use Microsoft Office at your new job without too much guidance or prep. Potential employers want to get a sense of what you know and whether or not you’ll be able to hit the ground running with administrative skills as soon as you start.For example, in the past, the Excel exam has tested the following skills:Opening a workbookInserting/deleting columns and rowsChanging font styles/sizesFormatting cells as currency/decimalsUsing the sum/average functionsAligning textSaving/printingAligning textCreating bordersRenaming a WorksheetChanging column widt hInserting a chart or worksheetWrapping textMerging cellsSorting by different valuesAdding headers/footersAs you can see, this is a basic overview of all the things you can do within the program. Make sure you have a good sense of all these basics, and more. The aim is not to be tentative about anything when you go in on test day- you want to be able to complete every request without much pause or confusion.How to PrepareIt can increase your confidence and help you practice. Even if you’re sure you know how to use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, you need to make sure you don’t panic and forget everything under the pressure of an official test of your skills.Use a site like JobTestPrep to prepare with free sample questions and tips for test-taking. Or opt for a Kenexa PrepPack in which you can take a variety of tests and assessments online- with timed tests and score reports and everything. The detailed answer explanations are particularly useful for cementing concepts tha t you might not yet quite fully understand.Finally, check out this collection of YouTube Microsoft tutorials for all areas of Office. Whatever you need, that page has you covered.The ExamOnce you get to the actual exam, know that you’ll have 14 days to take your assessments. The length of each varies- from 15-30 minutes for non-technical assessments, to 45-60 minutes for more technical ones. The assessments are not timed, but this is the average amount of time needed to take them.You can’t skip any questions or return to previous screens to change your answers. But you can take the assessment again- as many times as you wish. Employers will not have access to your results, though a staffing agency might ask you to take one of these tests to determine what you’re best at- which skills on your resume are provable, and where you might match best.Good luck on your test! May you get the job you seek and prove you have what it takes.

Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example -21 Security Limited with a view to recommending changes to supply chain strategies to resolve current problems. It will begin with an evaluation of the environment and the potential impact of this on the business, then present an analysis of the current supply chain, identifying problems requiring resolution in both the immediate and longer term. The problems will then be assessed against the key challenges facing the business to determine what direction the business needs to take to avoid future problems as well as resolve existing ones. Following a brief conclusion, a series of recommendations will be made relating to the supply chain that will reduce and/or remove the current problems and put the business in a better position to deal with the future. Environmental Analysis Worthington and Britton (2009, p.6) define the macro environment as â€Å"those ... factors ...which affect a wide variety of businesses and which can emanate not only from local and national sources but also from international and supranational developments†. Johnson et al (2011, p.50) identify the PESTEL framework as a means of analysing the environment. Following corporate scandals and the global 2007-2008 economic crisis, several commentators have added ethics to the analytical list. This approach will be used to analyse the macro-environment of Q-So!-21. The STEEPLE framework considers the Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal and Ethical factors that affect business and over which business has no control. Figure 1: Macro Environmental Analysis This brief analysis provides an indication of some key factors that will affect Q-So!-21. Many of them stem from the current UK (and world) economic situation. With the focus on austerity, the most recent figures indicate the UK either did not grow or contracted last quarter (Wintour 2011). As the government have stated their intention to continue with current economic policies, there is the real possi bility of another UK recession, with very little available for industry and individuals to cut, as most cuts were made following the 2007-2008 global economic crisis. As such, many businesses may find a second recession occurring so soon after the last one, with a higher tax burden this time (increases in VAT and both income tax and national insurance) results in their ceasing trading, exacerbating the effects of the cuts being made and intensifying the impact of the recession. Even without recession, the higher tax burden and public sector cuts being made are likely to cause many businesses to cease trading, either voluntarily or through insolvency. The market for all goods and services will become increasingly tight, with both business and personal consumers keeping purchases to the absolute essentials as everyone focuses on keeping their heads above water. The Bank of England may be forced to raise interest rates, which have been at an historically low 0.5% for some time, allowin g both businesses and individuals to mitigate to a certain extent, the lack of price/wage rises (although the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is well above the 2% target set by the government). The impact of any rise will depend on the amount of the rise. If rates rise to, say, 1.5%, then it is likely most people will be able to adjust their outgoings to compensate.

English - Genetically Modified Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

English - Genetically Modified Foods - Essay Example Yet, these developments are not purely benevolent. As the potential long-term effects of eating the resulting food is unknown, many consumers are afraid of future side effects and prefer foods that are naturally cultivated. Genetically modified plants and animals are, by definition, altered at their most fundamental levels, mutated in ways totally foreign to time-honored methods. One of the most significant debates presently occurring in the realm of genetically altered foods is over whether or not poultry produced via the developments of biotechnology create a healthy food supply. Although the full repercussions of consuming such meat over a lifetime will not be known for many years, I believe the prospects of better yields and stronger resistance to disease outweighs this. Genetically engineered poultry are the way of the future, and this future is to the greatest benefit to farmers, consumers and the poultry themselves. For thousands of years, mankind has domesticated fowl for eggs, meat and the breeding of subsequent generations of stock. Although using completely new methods and concepts, modern science is in fact advancing the practice of farming to achieve desired beneficial traits. Historical evidence suggests that humans have manipulated birds as required through purposeful breeding schemes and animal husbandry. Theoretically, genetic engineering is only a new potential avenue in this traditional art of bettering livestock populations. Combining the traits scientists wish to insert via biotechnology into the domesticated fowl is an ideal situation for farmers. Through this new tool in farming, consumers also benefit with lower prices, better tasting meat, and even meat which will microwave more effectively, thus answering to contemporary cooking instruments. People have always sought to enhance the desirable qualities of domesticated poultry. However, these processes may hot have anyways been humane or caring towards the animals. One such customary and fully legal practice in the United States is to starve hens for weeks at a time in order to manipulate egg production, despite the potential for serious health problems that might lead to premature death. Genetic engineering of the chickens can prevent further unethical acts towards these animals, which are regularly kept in mechanized environments and regularly mutilated, starved, forced to reproduce through artificial insemination, and left unprotected from widespread disease. Through the creation of chickens that are resistant to disease and able to mature quickly and stay in better health, the current ways of increasing the chicken growth rate can mercifully be abandoned. One of the worst negative effects of captivity is a dehabilitating leg weakness caused by tibial dyschondroplasia. In the natural environment, only 1.2 percent of chickens suffer from this condition, where 49 percent of domesticated chicken are plagued with these leg problems.1 The prospect of making chickens grow larger, leaner, and faster is very appealing to farmers, and as a biotech company president said, "I'm not sure that birds have preferences about their body shape." Genetic engineering can propagate a stock that is better suited for domestic conditions, insuring a better quality of life. Disease prevention among chickens is extremely important to both farmers and consumers,