Creative Critical Response to King Lear

Creative Critical Response King Lear- 2011 Production- Lyceum Theatre As the lights of the theatre dimmed and the stage was lit up, a roar of applause broke out over the audience. The stage production of Shakespeare’s King Lear has been long awaited by many critics and Ian McKellan’s performance does not disappoint. The opening scenes reflect the opposite of what was due to come further in the play, coming from warm, homely and loving acting on stage to pure cruelty and terror.When Lear viciously banishes his loyalties, such a stir is caused by all actors on stage, that even the 21st century audience are shocked, despite it probably being a lot more shocking in 19th Century. Ian McKellan and his â€Å"tigers for daughters† make this play come alive. The audience focused only on them, feeling like being in another world. The vivid scenes of the play, such as the blinding of Gloucester, brought terror to the faces of the audience.The screams of Gloucester rebounded off the walls of the theatre, even hours after the end of the play. Without the incredible acting from these characters, the audience would not have had the same experience of the theatre. Ian McKellan gives the performance of his life, showing the downfall of King Lear convincingly and powerfully, despite his usual acting being for the camera rather than a live audience. McKellan is successful in the main aim of most stage actors; leaving the audience thinking and talking about it even after the end.He is not only successful in convincing the audience of pure dementia but also managing to do it without causing himself dementia. During the three hour long play, not a single eye was taken off the stage, in case any action or even word was missed by the engrossed audience. There were many a jump from the audience however when Lear lets out an incredible scream as if the realisation of his actions have hit him, before calmly and unobtrusively repeating the words â€Å"I shall go madà ¢â‚¬ .This point of the play marks his realisation and more importantly irreversibility of his actions. The heart-rending final scene, in which Lear brings the dead Cordelia in his arms to the audience’s view, is one of the best yet, Lear’s pure distraught over her death is shown by his piercing cries. Which not even a heart of stone could resist. Another brilliant performance was given by Jonathon Hyde, in his portrayal of Kent. The usual loyalty of Kent is shown with xtras, as Hyde goes undercover after being banished. Kent’s brilliant ideas and wittiness in this production make him one of the most entrancing actors on stage. Especially at points such as the dismissal of Oswald, Goneril’s devoted servant. Overall, this production of King Lear is highly convincing and leave the audience feeling dazed, deeply moved and oddly uplifted , which as some would describe as the feelings left after a truly horrific tragedy.

Two Ultimate Decisions

In the next few years, I would have finished college and would soon need to earn a living to support myself and maybe the family I intend to have. Given this scenario, I will be deciding between two options: whether I would be maintaining my own business or if I would rather be employed by a big company. Having my own business sounds appealing. I would be working at my own hours and at my own pace. I have full control of my time. I can do whatever I would like to do. Nobody can tell me what I should accomplish first and what should I do last. All I have to do is to keep committed in making my business grow and expand. Whatever I do and however I do it, it will all be up to me. I decide if I wanted to start the day early, or if I should stay up late working. I determine my own hours. I pay my own wage. Maintaining a business is going to be a very challenging feat for me. I would be using my intellectual strength and my innate marketing talents to succeed. I can establish my own success. I will thrive because of my own hard work and nobody else’s. My achievements will be because I did so well and I made the right decisions. I will be responsible for whatever happens, and I only have myself to account for. Managing my own business means I could also be helping others. I will have the ability to employ people; and as my business gets bigger, more people will be needed so more people will be hired. I will be able to make a lot of people’s lives better, and I can undoubtedly contribute to the economy at that. Indeed, starting a business proposes to be a good decision at this point. However, the call of being a part of a much bigger company is deafening as well. If I decide to get a job with a corporation bigwig, I can be able to earn easily through the monthly wage they will be paying me. I would be able to utilize all my learning and my stuck knowledge. I will be a part of an institution and would carry its pride as well. I will be able to meet big and influential people; and even become friends with each of them. I will start as a normal employee aiming toward the top position of the company, and this sure mean a real test of wits and endurance. I will be engaging in a friendly and worthwhile competition with my fellow co-workers who are also aspiring to be a top-notch executive like me. And with proper strength and staying power, I believe I will be able to reach it. If I do my job well enough, I will be promoted in just a matter of several months. I will then be the head of my own department. I will be enjoying my job as I enjoy the company of my colleagues which are also my comrades. I can also become a mentor, thus I will be able to share and transfer my knowledge to my apprentices. As I leave my position to one of my subordinates, I will be going up the ladder into the executive world. I will have the ability to become one of the most respected people in the company; and I can do it the shortest time possible. Furthermore, I will make critical company decisions which could change the whole company. I will be instrumental in the company’s failure or success, and that is because I will become the best executive, a senior manager whose opinion is always sought and is well-considered. I will be a very powerful person both in and out of the corporate world. And because I have this ability to become powerful, being rich and famous will soon follow. I will become rich because I will be fully compensated by the company I belong to. And I will become famous because as I become the company’s leader, I would need to attend business conferences as well as business lunches and parties. Right now, working for a top company seems to be a good decision for me too. Considering each of these points, it is equally advantageous holding down a job and managing a business. Although it is possible to do both, I would still need to make a decision, as to which of the two should be my primary career path. Given the points and my own personality, I believe that I will be more productive if I start off as a regular employee in a regular position, and then slowly take myself towards the top, through diligence, perseverance, and hard work. The time that is going to be required to achieve this is going to be less in a company setup. A few years should be enough to hoist myself up the corporate ladder. Being in a part of a corporation does not require that much capital either. I would only need to invest in myself, and that is not going to be too much. The risks involved in a business are also unpredictable. A business is like a gamble, you win some and you lose some. You really cannot accurately forecast the feasibility of your business decision unless the market is virtually stable, and that doesn’t really happen. The market does change, and in a volatile manner at that. If one is in a corporate setup, on the other hand, things are more constant. One knows what he is up against, and being so, one can easily devise strategies as to how to overcome it. The corporate world may have its own share of politics, but that is part of the game. I am considering that just as one of the risks that come with any of my choices. At this point, I believe that my decision will be to work for the corporate bigwigs. Its benefits weigh far too heavy than the benefits of being in the business world.

Although the foetus has no right to life, its interests are adequately protected by English law.

There is currently no direct right to life that is provided to a foetus, yet the law in the UK does make some attempt to protect its interests. This essay will focus on the interests that are provided to foetus’ in order to consider whether adequate protection is in place. In doing so, it will be examined whether every woman should have a right to abortion on demand or whether the interests of the foetus should be given due consideration. Accordingly, it will be shown that because there are arguments for and against the interests of the foetus, it is necessary for the law to strike a balance between the two competing interests. This does appear to have been achieved to a certain degree since the interests of the mother are being preserved, whilst also providing some protection to the foetus. The right to life The right to life is provided to all individuals under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) 1951, as incorporated by the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998. Whether or not a foetus has a right to life, however, is a highly contested topic because although the foetus does not have a right to life per se, it appears as though its interests are still being protected by the law to a certain extent.[1] On the one hand, it is believed that all women should have the right to do as they wish with their own bodies and that they should therefore have a right to abortion, yet on the other it is believed that the interests of a foetus should be provided with adequate protection.[2] The law in England does seem to have attempted to strike a balance between these two competing interests by permitting abortion, whilst at the same time imposing some restrictions. Under English law (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990) abortion is permitted until the 24th week of a pregnancy. Whilst this provides women with the right to choose what to do with their own bodies, it prevents them from having abortions in the later stages of pregnancy. Because abortion is not legally available at the request of the woman, it has been argued by the Abortion Rights Campaign that; â€Å"women’s access to abortion can be and is still threatened.†[3] This is because, once a woman has decided that she wants to have an abortion, she will first be required to persuade two doctors to agree to her decision taking into consideration certain restrictive legal criteria.[4] Therefore, even though women are capable of having an abortion up until the 24th week of pregnancy, it will be the doctors that make the final decision. And, if they do not agree that the relevant criterion has been satisfied, they will not have to carry out the abortion. This protection is in place to enable the rights of the unborn child to be ascertained in circumstances which would render an abortion unlawful. However, the extent to which such rights are being adequately protected is in fact arguable. Confliction continues to arise in this area because of the difficultly in striking a balance between the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother. It cannot be said that this balance is currently being achieved as there remains strong opposition of both viewpoints. As pointed out by Mason and Laurie; â€Å"attitudes to abortion depend almost entirely on where the holder stands in respect of, on the one hand, the foetal interests in life and, on the other, a woman’s right to control her own body.†[5] Consequently, because the difference in opinions is based upon moral values rather than empirical facts, it is unlikely that such confliction will ever be resolved.[6] In effect, it is unlikely that a solid understanding of the rights in this area will ever be made as the controversy surrounding abortion will continue to exist. The Foetus’ Right to Life It is believed that the Abortion Act 1967 violates Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the basis that a child’s rights are not being adequately protected if women are able end their pregnancy if they so wish.[7] Section 1 of the 1967 Act provides that; â€Å"a person shall not be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner.† In effect, women will not be found guilty of an offence is they decide to have an abortion. Whilst this section does appear to undermine the rights of the foetus, the fact that the termination must be conducted by a registered medical practitioner acting in good faith suggests that some form of protection will still be in place. Furthermore, as put by Herring; â€Å"for an abortion to be lawful, the abortion must comply with the requirements of the 1967 Abortion Act.†[8] Section 1 will therefore only apply if certain provisions can also be sa tisfied. Nevertheless, because abortions are rarely ever refused, it could be said that the provisions under Article 2 are being undermined and that the interests of the foetus are not, in reality, being adequately protected. In view of this, it has therefore been argued by Foster that the 1967 Act is not being used in the way that Parliament intended and that abortion are instead being used as another form of contraception.[9] This demonstrates how abortion is easily accessible to women, which limits the protection that is currently being provided to the foetus. It is likely that doctors will only refuse to conduct an abortion if the woman’s pregnancy has gone past the 24 week threshold or if the circumstances are exceptional. This signifies how the rights of unborn children are not being preserved, yet it is debatable whether further protections ought to be in place. The right to life is an extremely sensitive subject since it basically provides a right to every human being not be killed.[10] However, much complexity exists when considering the right to life in the context of unborn children. It is difficult to determine whether the mother’s rights should prevail over the rights of the unborn child or vice versa. However, it has been said that the right to life is a human right that is â€Å"inviolable and must be protected at all costs.†[11] If this statement was to be taken strictly, every abortion would be considered a violation of one’s human rights and would not be permitted. However, in order to ensure that the rights of the mother are also being protected it is necessary that abortions are permitted in certain circumstances. This would ensure that a balance is attained between the two competing interests by allowing abortions to take place only if it is deemed necessary. Consequently, abortions should not be used carelessly as another form of contraception and this would means that the rights of the mother are being given greater consideration than the rights of the foetus. Abortions should therefore not be as accessible as they currently are and should only be permitted in limited situations. It is unclear what extent the interests of the foetus are actually being considered and it seems as though the right to life is being violated by the abortion process and so further protections may need to be provided to the foetus so that the rights of unborn children are given the same considerations as the mother. At present, it appears as though the rights of the mother prevail over the rights of the foetus, despite the restrictions that are in place. In order to ensure that the foetus right to life is being protected, it is necessary to impose further restrictions upon the mother’s ability to have an abortion. At present, a mother is capable of aborting a foetus for various reasons including the fact that the child will suffer from a disability. Many people do not agree that this should be a reason to end the life of a foetus, though it is legal in the UK for a woman to abort a baby on grounds of disability up to birth. As a result of this many parents opt for an abortion if pre-natal screening reveals that their baby is suffering from a disability. Moreover, it has also been suggested that the parents are even put under pressure to do so.†[12] The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children strongly disagrees with this approach and believes that; â€Å"a person with a disab ility has the right to life along with every other member of society: aborting a baby because he or she has, or even might have, a disability, is the ultimate form of discrimination.†[13] It cannot be said that the foetus’ right to life is being upheld as a result of this since they can be terminated at any point if they are found to have a disability. Not only does this undermined their right to life but it also discriminates against them on the grounds of their disability. As such, the provisions under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are too not being complied with. In Vo v France,[14] however, it was made clear that Article 2 of the Convention is â€Å"silent as to the temporal limitations of the right to life, and in particular does not define ‘everyone’ whose life is protected by the Convention.† Effectively, it is clear that because Article 2 does not provide a definition as to who shall be protected, it is likely that the rights of the foetus will continue to be restricted. Jackson does not believe that the moral status of the foetus should be sufficiently wide enough to make abortion unlawful,[15] however, and it seems as though the European Court of Justice is also reluctant as identified in Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland.[16] Furthermore, in the case of X v United Kingdom[17] the ECJ also stated that the right to life would be subject to an implied limitation in order to respect the mother’s life even if this was at the expense of the foetus’ right to life under Article 2. Furthermore, it was also expressed in Paton v United Kingdom[18] that; â€Å"the life of the foetus is intimately connected with, and cannot be regarded in isolation from, the life of the pregnant woman.† This limited the rights of the foetus even further as it was demo nstrated that the right to life under Article 2 was not available even though the abortion was not considered necessary to protect the life of the mother. This was also identified in H v Norway,[19] which illustrates that even if an abortion occurred as a result of the mother’s choice and there lacked any specific reason for terminating the pregnancy, Article 2 will still not be capable of providing protection to a foetus if this is at the expense of the mothers rights. This seems to indicate that unborn children are not actually provided with any rights despite the fact that Article 2 initially seemed to protect such interests. The termination of a pregnancy will continue to be a morally and ethically complex issue, particularly if the reason for aborting relates to a foetal abnormality.[20] It has been pointed out that a clear legal framework is needed because of the complexities that exist in this area, though it was noted that this continues to prove extremely difficult to create.[21] The Rights of the Mother Whilst it is believed by many that the rights of the foetus should be given due consideration, it is equally argued that the rights of women should be considered foremost when deciding whether an abortion is lawful or not. This was shown in Roe v Wade[22] where it was made clear by the Court that a person has a right to abortion unless the foetus has become viable. This means that the foetus does not become a human being until it is capable of living outside the mother’s womb without any artificial aid.[23] Although this decision was made by a Court in the US, it sparked a significant amount of debate. It was argued on the one hand that a foetus becomes a child whilst it is still in the womb and that the decision whether or not to allow abortion to take effect should not be based upon whether a foetus has the capacity to enjoy life as a person.[24] It has been said that the decision in this case effectively allows an abortion on demand to take place.[25] On the other hand, how ever, it has been expressed by Loveland that; â€Å"the judgment neither produced abortion on demand nor allowed states to prevent late-stage terminations.†[26] The decision in Planned Parenthood v Casey[27] imposed further limitations on the rights of the mother when it was found that the viability period would be reduced from 24 weeks to 22 weeks. It is questionable whether this was sufficient in ensuring that the right to life of the foetus under Article 2 was being provided with greater protection since the rights of the mother will continue to prevail in the majority of situations. It could be said that it is necessary for the mother’s rights to be ascertained over the rights of the unborn child because women should be regarded as individuals as opposed to being merely containers for the foetus. In accordance with this, greater consideration should be given to the rights of the mother, though some protections should also be available for the unborn.[28] Arguably, it is important that both the rights of the mother and the unborn child shall be considered, though much more weight ought to be given to the mother’s interests as she is already considered a viable person. It has been contended by Herring that; â€Å"women who want an abortion should not be required to continue with the pregnancy.†[29] Therefore, although Article 2 expressly states that the right to life is to apply to â€Å"everyone†, the extent to which this applies to the foetus is arguable in view of the confliction that exists between the rights of the mother and the rights of the foetus. In A-G’s Reference (No 3 of 119)[30] it was noted that a foetus is not regarded as a â€Å"person† and will therefore not be directly protected by Article 2 of the Convention. It was further added that the only right to life in which a foetus has is implicitly limited by the mother’s rights and interests. This suggests that a foetus will only be provided with the right to life indirectly from the mothers right under Article 2. It is unclear whether this completely undermines a foetus’ right to life, though it seems likely given that that Article 2 will not be violated if a pregnancy is terminated. The Courts have expressed great reluctance to elucidate on this matter, by assessing whether Article 2 will provide rights to the foetus or not, because of the existing moral and ethical considerations. As a result, great complexity continues to exist within this area of the law and unless Article 2 is more clearly defined, complexity will continue to ensue. Yet, because of the moral issues that are prevalent throughout, it seems as though a single approach would not be workable. Therefore, the decision as to whether an abortion should be permitted or not will continue to be decided on a case by case basis. As such, it will depend primarily upon the circumstances of each case. This allows a certain degree of flexibility to exist which is necessary given that each case will differ from the next. However, it is likely that the rights of the mother will continue to be favoured over the rights of the unborn child. Nevertheless, because of the politics that surround abortion, the European Court of Human Rights has been said to be â€Å"wary of making a general rule concerning the legal status of the foetus, preferring to leave this question to the margin of appreciation.†[31] It cannot be said that this is acceptable given the ambiguity that arises within this area. But because there is no right or wrong answer as to whether the rights of the mother should prevail over the rights of the foetus the legal status of the foetus could not be defined by the Courts without attracting opposition. It could be said that the UK has made some attempt to identify the rights of the foetus despite the fact that no right to life exists, yet the extent to which these interests are being protected will be likely to remain debated. When the case of Vo was brought before the ECHR they appeared to focus more on the question as to when life begins as well the nature and characteristics of the foetus, as opposed to focusing on the relationship between the mother and her potential child and the others right to reproductive freedom and autonomy.[32] Therefore, the approach taken by the ECHR should have been based upon the recognition of foetal interests as well as the loss of a mother’s relationship. Whilst this would not have addressed all of the difficulties that arise in this area, it would have provided some recognition as to the interests of the foetus. Much more needs to be done if foetal interests are to be provided with greater protected, whilst at the same time maintaining the rights of the mother. The rights of the mother appear to be protected in favour of the rights of the foetus, yet it has been said that this ensure the human dignity of the mother is being preserved.[33] This is because if a mother was not provided with the choice to terminate a pregnancy, it is likely that their human dignity would be violated. Whilst this this may be at the expense of the rights enshrined in Article 2, it is deemed necessary in protecting the mother’s interests. Balancing the Rights It is doubtful that the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother are being balanced since the rights of the foetus continue to be undermined. Whilst there are some protections in place to preserve the interests of the foetus, these do not appear sufficient and so it seems as though tighter restrictions ought to be implemented to ensure that abortion is not easily accessible. This would allow for a more acceptable balance to be attained because at present it seems to be largely one-sided. If abortion was only permitted in extreme circumstances, it would not be capable of being used as another form of contraception and the interests of the foetus would be better recognised. On the contrary, it is argued that further limitations would limit the mothers freedom to choose and their own rights would be undermined if Article 2 was to provide express rights to unborn children. Therefore, whilst abortion should still be permitted, limitations should be imposed so that the rights of the foetus are given better protection. It is unclear whether judges should be left to make a decision on whether an abortion is lawful or not since opinions will differ significantly on this subject. Thus, it cannot be said that judges should be left to decide upon moral issues. Whilst one judge may agree with abortion, another judge may not as individuals have different perceptions on what is and what is not morally right. This is why the courts have been quite reluctant to use a single approach when deciding upon the interests of a foetus and it seems that the matter is better left undefined. This was identified by Sandel when it was argued that there are differences of opinions as to whether abortion is morally reprehensible and therefore worthy of prohibition, whilst many avoid passing judgment on the morality of these practices.[34] The ECHR appears to have adopted the latter approach, by failing to provide a decision on the legal status of foetus’. This lack of definition may actually be in the interests of the foetus since rights are capable of being provided that may not have been had a definition been in place. The determination as to whether abortion should be a mother’s choice or not will be capable of being assessed differently in all cases. This is necessary given the diverging opinions that exist since it will continue to be argued by many that Article 2 should provide a right to â€Å"anyone† including unborn children, whilst others will continue to be of the view that the decision should be left with the freedom of choice as protected u nder Article 13 of the Convention. The current practice that is being adopted in striking a balance between the two competing interests does appear to be the most plausible approach to take since each case will be determined by its facts. This could, however, lead to judicial activism occurring, which appears to have happened in the Roe case above which was described by Thielen as â€Å"an incredible reach of judicial activism.†[35] Judicial activism occurs when a ruling is said to be based upon political or personal considerations as opposed to being based upon existing law.[36] Therefore, if when Courts are provided with the ability to decide upon matters concerning abortion, judicial activism is likely to emerge which undermines social policy and, in some instances, human rights. Still, as put forward by Ewing and Gearty; â€Å"English judges have shown a powerful engagement with the rights of the unborn in the past,†[37] yet whether violations of one’s huma n rights are arising out of this is likely and it seems quite difficult for a balance to be achieved between the rights of the unborn with the rights of the mother. Conclusion This area is extremely controversial and because of this it is difficult for legislators as well as the judiciary to make a decision as to whether a foetus does have rights. Many people are of the view that every woman should have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, yet not all agree with this. Instead, it is argued that women are capable of using abortion as a form of contraception because of how easily accessible it is. Whilst there are some restraints in place to prevent this from happening, such as the requirement to obtain permission from two doctors, it cannot be said that such measures are effective. This is because it is highly unlikely that an abortion would be refused unless the stages of pregnancy have gone past the 24 week threshold. Furthermore, because women are permitted to have an abortion past this stage if the unborn child is suffering from a disability, the rights of the foetus are being undermined even further. It is therefore questionable whet her the current law is effective in preserving the interests of the foetus since the law has not made it difficult for abortions to be performed. Therefore, it could be said that further restrictions are needed so as to balance the rights of the mother with the rights of the unborn child. Conversely, because there is a limit on the number of weeks a person can abort a foetus, it could be said that their interests are being adequately protected to a certain degree. Whether this is sufficient, however, is likely to remain a contestable subject for many years to come as there will continue to be differing opinions as to whether abortion should be so easily available. In effect, there are both strengths and weaknesses for right to abortion, yet it is questionable whether the strengths do in fact outweigh the weaknesses. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cases: A-G’s Reference (No 3 of 119) [1998] AC 245 H v Norway (1992) 73 D R 155 Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland (1992) 14 EHRR 244 Paton v United Kingdom (1980) 3 EHRR 408 Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992) 404 U.S. 833 Roe v Wade (1973) 410 U.S. 113 Vo v France Judgement of 8 July 2004 40 EHRR 12 X v United Kingdom (1980) 19 D R 244 Legislation: Abortion Act 1967 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 European Convention of Human Rights 1951 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 Human Rights Act 1998 Textbooks: Herring, J. Law Express: Medical Law (Revision Guide), Longman, 2nd Edition, (2009). Herring, J. Medical Law and Ethics, OUP Oxford, 3rd Edition, (2010). Hope, T., Savulescu, J. and Hendrick, J. Medical Ethics and Law: The Core Curriculum, Churchill Livingstone, 2nd Edition, (2008). Kaczor, C., The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice, (Routledge: London, 2013). Kennedy, I., Grubb, A., Laing, J. and McHale, J. Principles of Medical Law, OUP Oxford, 3rd Edition, (2010). Jackson, E. Medical Law: Text, Cases and Materials (Text, Cases and Materials), OUP Oxford, 2nd Edition, (2009). Mason, K. and Laurie, G. Mason and McCall Smith’s Law and Medical Ethics, OUP Oxford, 8th Edition, (2010). Articles: Abortion Rights Campaign, Why women need a modern abortion, law and better services, Available [Online] at: http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/content/view/180/121/ BBC, Women’s Rights Arguments in Favour of Abortion, Ethics Guide, (1992), Available [Online] at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/mother/for_1.shtml K.D and Gearty. CA, Terminating Abortion RightsNew Law Journal, 142 NLJ 1969, Issue 6579, (04 December, 1992). C, Forty Years On, New Law Journal, 157 NLJ 1517, Issue 7295, (02 November, 2007). Frankenburg, G., ‘Human Rights and the Belief in a Just World’ International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 12, Issue 1. Holetzky, S. What is Judicial Activism(04 February, 2010), Available [Online] at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-judicial-activism.htm Human Rights, Right to Life: Not just an abortion issue, Available [Online] at: http://www.abouthumanrights.co.uk/right-life-not-just-abortion-issue.html I, A Vacancy in the Supreme Court, New Law Journal, 144 NLJ 537, Issue 6644, (22 April, 1994). McCrudden, C. Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights, European Journal of International Law, EJIL 2008 19 (655), Issue 4, (01 September, 2008). O’Donovan, K. Commentary, Medical Law Review, Med Law Rev 2006 14 (115), (01 March, 2006). Sandel, M. J. Symposium: Law, Community, and Moral Reasoning Moral Argument and Liberal Toleration: Abortion and Homosexuality, California Law Review, 77 Calif. L. Rev. 521, (May, 1989). The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, SPUC, Abortion and disability or eugenic abortion, Available [Online] at: http://www.spuc.org.uk/students/abortion/disability Thielen, D. Overturn Roe v Wade, Liberal and Loving It, (2005), Available [Online] at: http://www.davidthielen.info/politics/2005/08/overturn_roe_vs.html Wicks, E., Wyldes, M. and Kilby, M. Late Termination of Pregnancy for Foetal Abnormality: Medical and Legal Perspectives, Medical Law Review, Med Law Rev 2004.12 (285), (01 September, 2004). Although the foetus has no right to life, its interests are adequately protected by English law. There is currently no direct right to life that is provided to a foetus, yet the law in the UK does make some attempt to protect its interests. This essay will focus on the interests that are provided to foetus’ in order to consider whether adequate protection is in place. In doing so, it will be examined whether every woman should have a right to abortion on demand or whether the interests of the foetus should be given due consideration. Accordingly, it will be shown that because there are arguments for and against the interests of the foetus, it is necessary for the law to strike a balance between the two competing interests. This does appear to have been achieved to a certain degree since the interests of the mother are being preserved, whilst also providing some protection to the foetus. The right to life The right to life is provided to all individuals under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) 1951, as incorporated by the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998. Whether or not a foetus has a right to life, however, is a highly contested topic because although the foetus does not have a right to life per se, it appears as though its interests are still being protected by the law to a certain extent.[1] On the one hand, it is believed that all women should have the right to do as they wish with their own bodies and that they should therefore have a right to abortion, yet on the other it is believed that the interests of a foetus should be provided with adequate protection.[2] The law in England does seem to have attempted to strike a balance between these two competing interests by permitting abortion, whilst at the same time imposing some restrictions. Under English law (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990) abortion is permitted until the 24th week of a pregnancy. Whilst this provides women with the right to choose what to do with their own bodies, it prevents them from having abortions in the later stages of pregnancy. Because abortion is not legally available at the request of the woman, it has been argued by the Abortion Rights Campaign that; â€Å"women’s access to abortion can be and is still threatened.†[3] This is because, once a woman has decided that she wants to have an abortion, she will first be required to persuade two doctors to agree to her decision taking into consideration certain restrictive legal criteria.[4] Therefore, even though women are capable of having an abortion up until the 24th week of pregnancy, it will be the doctors that make the final decision. And, if they do not agree that the relevant criterion has been satisfied, they will not have to carry out the abortion. This protection is in place to enable the rights of the unborn child to be ascertained in circumstances which would render an abortion unlawful. However, the extent to which such rights are being adequately protected is in fact arguable. Confliction continues to arise in this area because of the difficultly in striking a balance between the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother. It cannot be said that this balance is currently being achieved as there remains strong opposition of both viewpoints. As pointed out by Mason and Laurie; â€Å"attitudes to abortion depend almost entirely on where the holder stands in respect of, on the one hand, the foetal interests in life and, on the other, a woman’s right to control her own body.†[5] Consequently, because the difference in opinions is based upon moral values rather than empirical facts, it is unlikely that such confliction will ever be resolved.[6] In effect, it is unlikely that a solid understanding of the rights in this area will ever be made as the controversy surrounding abortion will continue to exist. The Foetus’ Right to Life It is believed that the Abortion Act 1967 violates Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the basis that a child’s rights are not being adequately protected if women are able end their pregnancy if they so wish.[7] Section 1 of the 1967 Act provides that; â€Å"a person shall not be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner.† In effect, women will not be found guilty of an offence is they decide to have an abortion. Whilst this section does appear to undermine the rights of the foetus, the fact that the termination must be conducted by a registered medical practitioner acting in good faith suggests that some form of protection will still be in place. Furthermore, as put by Herring; â€Å"for an abortion to be lawful, the abortion must comply with the requirements of the 1967 Abortion Act.†[8] Section 1 will therefore only apply if certain provisions can also be sa tisfied. Nevertheless, because abortions are rarely ever refused, it could be said that the provisions under Article 2 are being undermined and that the interests of the foetus are not, in reality, being adequately protected. In view of this, it has therefore been argued by Foster that the 1967 Act is not being used in the way that Parliament intended and that abortion are instead being used as another form of contraception.[9] This demonstrates how abortion is easily accessible to women, which limits the protection that is currently being provided to the foetus. It is likely that doctors will only refuse to conduct an abortion if the woman’s pregnancy has gone past the 24 week threshold or if the circumstances are exceptional. This signifies how the rights of unborn children are not being preserved, yet it is debatable whether further protections ought to be in place. The right to life is an extremely sensitive subject since it basically provides a right to every human being not be killed.[10] However, much complexity exists when considering the right to life in the context of unborn children. It is difficult to determine whether the mother’s rights should prevail over the rights of the unborn child or vice versa. However, it has been said that the right to life is a human right that is â€Å"inviolable and must be protected at all costs.†[11] If this statement was to be taken strictly, every abortion would be considered a violation of one’s human rights and would not be permitted. However, in order to ensure that the rights of the mother are also being protected it is necessary that abortions are permitted in certain circumstances. This would ensure that a balance is attained between the two competing interests by allowing abortions to take place only if it is deemed necessary. Consequently, abortions should not be used carelessly as another form of contraception and this would means that the rights of the mother are being given greater consideration than the rights of the foetus. Abortions should therefore not be as accessible as they currently are and should only be permitted in limited situations. It is unclear what extent the interests of the foetus are actually being considered and it seems as though the right to life is being violated by the abortion process and so further protections may need to be provided to the foetus so that the rights of unborn children are given the same considerations as the mother. At present, it appears as though the rights of the mother prevail over the rights of the foetus, despite the restrictions that are in place. In order to ensure that the foetus right to life is being protected, it is necessary to impose further restrictions upon the mother’s ability to have an abortion. At present, a mother is capable of aborting a foetus for various reasons including the fact that the child will suffer from a disability. Many people do not agree that this should be a reason to end the life of a foetus, though it is legal in the UK for a woman to abort a baby on grounds of disability up to birth. As a result of this many parents opt for an abortion if pre-natal screening reveals that their baby is suffering from a disability. Moreover, it has also been suggested that the parents are even put under pressure to do so.†[12] The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children strongly disagrees with this approach and believes that; â€Å"a person with a disab ility has the right to life along with every other member of society: aborting a baby because he or she has, or even might have, a disability, is the ultimate form of discrimination.†[13] It cannot be said that the foetus’ right to life is being upheld as a result of this since they can be terminated at any point if they are found to have a disability. Not only does this undermined their right to life but it also discriminates against them on the grounds of their disability. As such, the provisions under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are too not being complied with. In Vo v France,[14] however, it was made clear that Article 2 of the Convention is â€Å"silent as to the temporal limitations of the right to life, and in particular does not define ‘everyone’ whose life is protected by the Convention.† Effectively, it is clear that because Article 2 does not provide a definition as to who shall be protected, it is likely that the rights of the foetus will continue to be restricted. Jackson does not believe that the moral status of the foetus should be sufficiently wide enough to make abortion unlawful,[15] however, and it seems as though the European Court of Justice is also reluctant as identified in Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland.[16] Furthermore, in the case of X v United Kingdom[17] the ECJ also stated that the right to life would be subject to an implied limitation in order to respect the mother’s life even if this was at the expense of the foetus’ right to life under Article 2. Furthermore, it was also expressed in Paton v United Kingdom[18] that; â€Å"the life of the foetus is intimately connected with, and cannot be regarded in isolation from, the life of the pregnant woman.† This limited the rights of the foetus even further as it was demo nstrated that the right to life under Article 2 was not available even though the abortion was not considered necessary to protect the life of the mother. This was also identified in H v Norway,[19] which illustrates that even if an abortion occurred as a result of the mother’s choice and there lacked any specific reason for terminating the pregnancy, Article 2 will still not be capable of providing protection to a foetus if this is at the expense of the mothers rights. This seems to indicate that unborn children are not actually provided with any rights despite the fact that Article 2 initially seemed to protect such interests. The termination of a pregnancy will continue to be a morally and ethically complex issue, particularly if the reason for aborting relates to a foetal abnormality.[20] It has been pointed out that a clear legal framework is needed because of the complexities that exist in this area, though it was noted that this continues to prove extremely difficult to create.[21] The Rights of the Mother Whilst it is believed by many that the rights of the foetus should be given due consideration, it is equally argued that the rights of women should be considered foremost when deciding whether an abortion is lawful or not. This was shown in Roe v Wade[22] where it was made clear by the Court that a person has a right to abortion unless the foetus has become viable. This means that the foetus does not become a human being until it is capable of living outside the mother’s womb without any artificial aid.[23] Although this decision was made by a Court in the US, it sparked a significant amount of debate. It was argued on the one hand that a foetus becomes a child whilst it is still in the womb and that the decision whether or not to allow abortion to take effect should not be based upon whether a foetus has the capacity to enjoy life as a person.[24] It has been said that the decision in this case effectively allows an abortion on demand to take place.[25] On the other hand, how ever, it has been expressed by Loveland that; â€Å"the judgment neither produced abortion on demand nor allowed states to prevent late-stage terminations.†[26] The decision in Planned Parenthood v Casey[27] imposed further limitations on the rights of the mother when it was found that the viability period would be reduced from 24 weeks to 22 weeks. It is questionable whether this was sufficient in ensuring that the right to life of the foetus under Article 2 was being provided with greater protection since the rights of the mother will continue to prevail in the majority of situations. It could be said that it is necessary for the mother’s rights to be ascertained over the rights of the unborn child because women should be regarded as individuals as opposed to being merely containers for the foetus. In accordance with this, greater consideration should be given to the rights of the mother, though some protections should also be available for the unborn.[28] Arguably, it is important that both the rights of the mother and the unborn child shall be considered, though much more weight ought to be given to the mother’s interests as she is already considered a viable person. It has been contended by Herring that; â€Å"women who want an abortion should not be required to continue with the pregnancy.†[29] Therefore, although Article 2 expressly states that the right to life is to apply to â€Å"everyone†, the extent to which this applies to the foetus is arguable in view of the confliction that exists between the rights of the mother and the rights of the foetus. In A-G’s Reference (No 3 of 119)[30] it was noted that a foetus is not regarded as a â€Å"person† and will therefore not be directly protected by Article 2 of the Convention. It was further added that the only right to life in which a foetus has is implicitly limited by the mother’s rights and interests. This suggests that a foetus will only be provided with the right to life indirectly from the mothers right under Article 2. It is unclear whether this completely undermines a foetus’ right to life, though it seems likely given that that Article 2 will not be violated if a pregnancy is terminated. The Courts have expressed great reluctance to elucidate on this matter, by assessing whether Article 2 will provide rights to the foetus or not, because of the existing moral and ethical considerations. As a result, great complexity continues to exist within this area of the law and unless Article 2 is more clearly defined, complexity will continue to ensue. Yet, because of the moral issues that are prevalent throughout, it seems as though a single approach would not be workable. Therefore, the decision as to whether an abortion should be permitted or not will continue to be decided on a case by case basis. As such, it will depend primarily upon the circumstances of each case. This allows a certain degree of flexibility to exist which is necessary given that each case will differ from the next. However, it is likely that the rights of the mother will continue to be favoured over the rights of the unborn child. Nevertheless, because of the politics that surround abortion, the European Court of Human Rights has been said to be â€Å"wary of making a general rule concerning the legal status of the foetus, preferring to leave this question to the margin of appreciation.†[31] It cannot be said that this is acceptable given the ambiguity that arises within this area. But because there is no right or wrong answer as to whether the rights of the mother should prevail over the rights of the foetus the legal status of the foetus could not be defined by the Courts without attracting opposition. It could be said that the UK has made some attempt to identify the rights of the foetus despite the fact that no right to life exists, yet the extent to which these interests are being protected will be likely to remain debated. When the case of Vo was brought before the ECHR they appeared to focus more on the question as to when life begins as well the nature and characteristics of the foetus, as opposed to focusing on the relationship between the mother and her potential child and the others right to reproductive freedom and autonomy.[32] Therefore, the approach taken by the ECHR should have been based upon the recognition of foetal interests as well as the loss of a mother’s relationship. Whilst this would not have addressed all of the difficulties that arise in this area, it would have provided some recognition as to the interests of the foetus. Much more needs to be done if foetal interests are to be provided with greater protected, whilst at the same time maintaining the rights of the mother. The rights of the mother appear to be protected in favour of the rights of the foetus, yet it has been said that this ensure the human dignity of the mother is being preserved.[33] This is because if a mother was not provided with the choice to terminate a pregnancy, it is likely that their human dignity would be violated. Whilst this this may be at the expense of the rights enshrined in Article 2, it is deemed necessary in protecting the mother’s interests. Balancing the Rights It is doubtful that the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother are being balanced since the rights of the foetus continue to be undermined. Whilst there are some protections in place to preserve the interests of the foetus, these do not appear sufficient and so it seems as though tighter restrictions ought to be implemented to ensure that abortion is not easily accessible. This would allow for a more acceptable balance to be attained because at present it seems to be largely one-sided. If abortion was only permitted in extreme circumstances, it would not be capable of being used as another form of contraception and the interests of the foetus would be better recognised. On the contrary, it is argued that further limitations would limit the mothers freedom to choose and their own rights would be undermined if Article 2 was to provide express rights to unborn children. Therefore, whilst abortion should still be permitted, limitations should be imposed so that the rights of the foetus are given better protection. It is unclear whether judges should be left to make a decision on whether an abortion is lawful or not since opinions will differ significantly on this subject. Thus, it cannot be said that judges should be left to decide upon moral issues. Whilst one judge may agree with abortion, another judge may not as individuals have different perceptions on what is and what is not morally right. This is why the courts have been quite reluctant to use a single approach when deciding upon the interests of a foetus and it seems that the matter is better left undefined. This was identified by Sandel when it was argued that there are differences of opinions as to whether abortion is morally reprehensible and therefore worthy of prohibition, whilst many avoid passing judgment on the morality of these practices.[34] The ECHR appears to have adopted the latter approach, by failing to provide a decision on the legal status of foetus’. This lack of definition may actually be in the interests of the foetus since rights are capable of being provided that may not have been had a definition been in place. The determination as to whether abortion should be a mother’s choice or not will be capable of being assessed differently in all cases. This is necessary given the diverging opinions that exist since it will continue to be argued by many that Article 2 should provide a right to â€Å"anyone† including unborn children, whilst others will continue to be of the view that the decision should be left with the freedom of choice as protected u nder Article 13 of the Convention. The current practice that is being adopted in striking a balance between the two competing interests does appear to be the most plausible approach to take since each case will be determined by its facts. This could, however, lead to judicial activism occurring, which appears to have happened in the Roe case above which was described by Thielen as â€Å"an incredible reach of judicial activism.†[35] Judicial activism occurs when a ruling is said to be based upon political or personal considerations as opposed to being based upon existing law.[36] Therefore, if when Courts are provided with the ability to decide upon matters concerning abortion, judicial activism is likely to emerge which undermines social policy and, in some instances, human rights. Still, as put forward by Ewing and Gearty; â€Å"English judges have shown a powerful engagement with the rights of the unborn in the past,†[37] yet whether violations of one’s huma n rights are arising out of this is likely and it seems quite difficult for a balance to be achieved between the rights of the unborn with the rights of the mother. Conclusion This area is extremely controversial and because of this it is difficult for legislators as well as the judiciary to make a decision as to whether a foetus does have rights. Many people are of the view that every woman should have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, yet not all agree with this. Instead, it is argued that women are capable of using abortion as a form of contraception because of how easily accessible it is. Whilst there are some restraints in place to prevent this from happening, such as the requirement to obtain permission from two doctors, it cannot be said that such measures are effective. This is because it is highly unlikely that an abortion would be refused unless the stages of pregnancy have gone past the 24 week threshold. Furthermore, because women are permitted to have an abortion past this stage if the unborn child is suffering from a disability, the rights of the foetus are being undermined even further. It is therefore questionable whet her the current law is effective in preserving the interests of the foetus since the law has not made it difficult for abortions to be performed. Therefore, it could be said that further restrictions are needed so as to balance the rights of the mother with the rights of the unborn child. Conversely, because there is a limit on the number of weeks a person can abort a foetus, it could be said that their interests are being adequately protected to a certain degree. Whether this is sufficient, however, is likely to remain a contestable subject for many years to come as there will continue to be differing opinions as to whether abortion should be so easily available. In effect, there are both strengths and weaknesses for right to abortion, yet it is questionable whether the strengths do in fact outweigh the weaknesses. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cases: A-G’s Reference (No 3 of 119) [1998] AC 245 H v Norway (1992) 73 D R 155 Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland (1992) 14 EHRR 244 Paton v United Kingdom (1980) 3 EHRR 408 Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992) 404 U.S. 833 Roe v Wade (1973) 410 U.S. 113 Vo v France Judgement of 8 July 2004 40 EHRR 12 X v United Kingdom (1980) 19 D R 244 Legislation: Abortion Act 1967 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 European Convention of Human Rights 1951 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 Human Rights Act 1998 Textbooks: Herring, J. Law Express: Medical Law (Revision Guide), Longman, 2nd Edition, (2009). Herring, J. Medical Law and Ethics, OUP Oxford, 3rd Edition, (2010). Hope, T., Savulescu, J. and Hendrick, J. Medical Ethics and Law: The Core Curriculum, Churchill Livingstone, 2nd Edition, (2008). Kaczor, C., The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice, (Routledge: London, 2013). Kennedy, I., Grubb, A., Laing, J. and McHale, J. Principles of Medical Law, OUP Oxford, 3rd Edition, (2010). Jackson, E. Medical Law: Text, Cases and Materials (Text, Cases and Materials), OUP Oxford, 2nd Edition, (2009). Mason, K. and Laurie, G. Mason and McCall Smith’s Law and Medical Ethics, OUP Oxford, 8th Edition, (2010). Articles: Abortion Rights Campaign, Why women need a modern abortion, law and better services, Available [Online] at: http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/content/view/180/121/ BBC, Women’s Rights Arguments in Favour of Abortion, Ethics Guide, (1992), Available [Online] at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/mother/for_1.shtml K.D and Gearty. CA, Terminating Abortion RightsNew Law Journal, 142 NLJ 1969, Issue 6579, (04 December, 1992). C, Forty Years On, New Law Journal, 157 NLJ 1517, Issue 7295, (02 November, 2007). Frankenburg, G., ‘Human Rights and the Belief in a Just World’ International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 12, Issue 1. Holetzky, S. What is Judicial Activism(04 February, 2010), Available [Online] at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-judicial-activism.htm Human Rights, Right to Life: Not just an abortion issue, Available [Online] at: http://www.abouthumanrights.co.uk/right-life-not-just-abortion-issue.html I, A Vacancy in the Supreme Court, New Law Journal, 144 NLJ 537, Issue 6644, (22 April, 1994). McCrudden, C. Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights, European Journal of International Law, EJIL 2008 19 (655), Issue 4, (01 September, 2008). O’Donovan, K. Commentary, Medical Law Review, Med Law Rev 2006 14 (115), (01 March, 2006). Sandel, M. J. Symposium: Law, Community, and Moral Reasoning Moral Argument and Liberal Toleration: Abortion and Homosexuality, California Law Review, 77 Calif. L. Rev. 521, (May, 1989). The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, SPUC, Abortion and disability or eugenic abortion, Available [Online] at: http://www.spuc.org.uk/students/abortion/disability Thielen, D. Overturn Roe v Wade, Liberal and Loving It, (2005), Available [Online] at: http://www.davidthielen.info/politics/2005/08/overturn_roe_vs.html Wicks, E., Wyldes, M. and Kilby, M. Late Termination of Pregnancy for Foetal Abnormality: Medical and Legal Perspectives, Medical Law Review, Med Law Rev 2004.12 (285), (01 September, 2004).

Communication Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communication Issues - Essay Example People from the different culture may have different rules of exchanging signals and therefore, there is inherent uncertainty in exchanging information. Expansion of our business to China means dealing with the Chinese Government, the local businesses, the distributors and various other important entities. All of these parties communicate using their own language, Chinese. They feel pride in speaking their own language and most of them do not know English. Basically, the culture affects the thinking process of human behavior. It affects the thinking pattern, values and therefore eventually influences the communication processes. Therefore, in coming paragraphs, I will be discussing the various differences between the culture of China and the U.K. and the possible hindrance that may occur due to these differences in the communication process while I will also mention the solution to these issues wherever possible. The main dissimilarity that I have found is the vast contextual difference between UK’s and China’s culture. China is a high-context culture while U.K. is relatively low context culture. In high context cultures, messages are less spelled out explicitly and communicated more implicitly or in indirect ways(Differences in Cultures, n.d.). However, in a low context culture, the emphasis is given to exchanging of information in an explicit manner. Many things are left unsaid in high context cultures which are expected to be implicitly understood(High and Low Context, n.d.). Due to this high-context culture, Chinese use a great deal of non-verbal communication during their work. Their facial expressions, postures, the tone of voice, gestures and other expressions show what they are feeling. However, I feel necessary here to mention that there is both positive and negative effect of adapting to a new culture. The positive outcomes include gains in language competence, self-esteem, awareness, self-confidence, good interpersonal relationships, the development of multicultural identities etc. The negative outcomes include psychological and psychosomatic concerns, emotional distress, dysfunctional communication, culture shock, depression and anxiety. In short, we need to understand the culture of China in order to make the communication process effective.

Political Discourse Analyzing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Political Discourse Analyzing - Essay Example I have a dream speech by Martin Luther King is one of the speeches that have stayed popular for a long time in the whole world. Taking an excerpt from the speech, â€Å"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood†. The connection is evident that sons in either case are son which is the bottom line. According to Goddard, (1998), and Hutcheon, (2000), stylistically the speech is a political treatise, or a work of poetry delivered masterfully like an improvised sermon. Former slave owners and former slaves are both able to bear sons and become like brothers. This connection is that former slave owners and former slaves are supposed to be like brothers. But Martin Luther King could see this in a dream that would come true (Morris, &, Hirst, 1991; Halliday, 1985). The bursting biblical language and imagery used especially in the first parts of the sp eech portrays a picture of seething American nightmare of racial segregation against the blacks. The former slave owners are the whites and the former slaves are the blacks. His use of the phrase, â€Å"now is the time†. For example, now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all God’s children. ... A greater part of King’s approach was more visionary and eloquence to the non violent movement against black segregation in America. The second part of the speech deals with the dream in a fairer future of racial harmony and integration (Halliday, 1978; Todorova, 1999). The part of the speech that says; I say to you today, my friends, that inspire of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. The repetition of this phrase continually emphasizes in driving home Martin Luther King’s inspirational concepts. Coherence Coherence serves as a quick way to analyze the overall form rather than the content of an argument in a speech. The coherence through parallel structure was highly applied by Martin Luther King in his speech. The reader or listener can easily predict what King is about to say. Looking at the speech, it presents a powerful rhetorical effect of using parallel structure to create refrai n. For example, I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. This sentence can easily be connected to the following: With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we be free one day. The linguistic features are powerful determinants of similarities and differences between registers. I have a dream today stretches cohesion to the inter clause, inter sentence and inter paragraph

DATA ANALYSIS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

DATA ANALYSIS - Case Study Example nal Median 4 Percentile 3; 6 28 Gender 20 Nominal Mode 1 - Table 2 shows the variables whose measures were changed as there were coding errors in them. The variable name is shown together with the question number, the correct measure and the change that was made. The reason for the change is also provided. Name Question # Measure Changes Reason for change Tvprogram 4 Nominal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘nominal’ Coding error Surfnet 7 Nominal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘nominal’ Coding error Location 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Distance 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Wine 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Chef 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Waitstaff 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding er ror Unique 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Local 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Attractive 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Music 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘scale’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Parking 10 Ordinal Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Birthyear 13 Scale (Ratio) Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘scale’ Coding error Income 19 Ordinal Changed from ‘nominal’ to ‘ordinal’ Coding error Question 2 Gender Differences in Monthly Lunch or Dinner Spending This study examines whether male and female differ in their monthly spending on lunch or dinner at restaurants. In order to achieve this, the following hypothesis was tested using Independent-Samples T-Test: H0: There are no significant differences by gender in monthly expenditures on lunch or dinner at restaurants. H1: There are significant differences by gender in monthly expenditures on lunch or dinner at restaurants The results show that female (M = $ 169.99, SD = $ 86.79) spent more than male (M = $ 148.34, SD = $ 93.27) on lunch or dinner at restaurants monthly. The Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances was statistically significant for average monthly expenditure (p < .05). Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favour of alternative hypothesis. These results support the claim by Chef Gatson that men and women are different in terms of the amount they spend, on a monthly basis, on lunch or dinner at restaurant. Therefore, female spend more than male on lunch and dinner in restaurants on a monthly basis. The study recommends that Chef Gaston should focus on having lunch and dinner packages that will attract more female clients to the restaurant. Since they spend more

Professional investment tear sheet for four companies (in my Essay

Professional investment tear sheet for four companies (in my dissertation) - Essay Example Being one of the biggest petrochemical companies in the world, the companty has done extremley well to be the most profitable company in the Middle East. It is also one of the leading suppliers of thermoplastics in the world. The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation is a pulic company headquartered in Riyadh. 70% of the company is owned by the government and 30% is owned by the public. The company has its operations spread over 40 countries and its main business segments are chemicals, plastics, fertilizers, metals and innovative plastic. The recommendation would be to buy the share of Dow Chemical. Even though the current price is $26.96, the targetted price is $42.35 and this is approxiamtely 60% more than the current price. Therefore it would be beneficial to buy the shares now. American based Dow Chemical is the biggest chemical corporation in the world. Dow Chemicals has a diverse range of products and services that include chemicals, plastic materials and agricultural products. With over 50,000 employees the company is operational in over 160 countries. The recommendation for DuPont shares would be to hold the shares. There is a slight difference (increase of 7%) from the current price to the targetted price. Therefore, it would make financial sense if the shares are held and not sold right now. America based, DuPont is a chemical company. With its operations spread over continenets: North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacifc, it has around 60,000 employees world over. It has wide range of diverse products and services wich include electronics and communications, nutrition, safety and protection, agriculture, home and construction, apparel and

Physical Activity Basketball Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Physical Activity Basketball - Essay Example One of the physical activities that I think is beneficial for keeping the balance between the mind and the body is basketball. It has a lot of advantages that I have learned myself personally when I became a member of a basketball team in high school. My experience as a member of the team has shaped me into the kind of person I am today. Physically and mentally, basketball made me become a stronger and healthier person since this game does not only require one to be endure the pains of running and keeping up with the other players, but the mental skills of calculating distances and strategies in order to win the game. It demands passion, team work, and trust in oneself as well as the other members of the team. I have been playing basketball for at least seven years now and I find it to be a unique sport. Through my experience over the years, I have found that my mind has become more mature and so have my skills. By participating in basketball matches since I was eleven, I have found that practice is not the only key to winning a game. By studying the other team’s strengths and identifying their weaknesses, we gain more advantage over winning the game. Although basketball requires learning several physical skills, players’ should also train and hone its mental skills since the game demands analytical skills as well. As Gladwell and Crawford argue, physical activities require imagination, creativity as well as  flexibility rather than blindly following textbook knowledge. Like any other amateur players, basketball superstars started as any other basketball enthusiast who simply loves the sport. The only difference is that these superstars were humble enough to admit their we aknesses that they used it on their advantage. They worked hard to further develop their strengths and worked even harder to overcome their weaknesses. In The Physical Genius, Malcolm Gladwell shares the secret of how   Michael Jordan, the lord of basketball

UK Construction Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UK Construction Industry - Essay Example Currently, this industry is faced with a shortage of skills as well as safety and health issues. The relationship between contractors and clients, together with the supply chains are very complex. Additionally, a number of firms are moving towards a modern manufacturing approach but others are still traditional. Among the main factors driving the construction sector is the government's Public Private Partnership (PPP) for main infrastructure projects. Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) have also been widely adopted. These projects include prisons, schools, and hospitals. The private sector then takes responsibility in running these projects. PPP and PFI have brought in the discipline of private sector management, ownership and financing. This has greatly improved efficiency and value in the public sector. There is an acute shortage of houses particularly in South East of England. It requires a big infrastructure and housing projects emphasising on brown field sites and high density houses. The UK construction industry will continue to grow. Its output is expected to rise to about 12.7 per cent by 2010. The construction industry in the UK is growing very fast. Experts expect construction to shift from the North to the South and East. This is driven by the strong growth in the housing sector including 36 billion pounds of big projects. East London is expected to undergo a high employment rate at about 18.6 per cent by 2010. London's will be 11 per cent while the South East will be at 14 per cent (Weaver, 2002). Growth in the North is expected to be slower. Construction employment in the North West is estimated to grow by 5 per cent from 2006 to 2010, Scotland by eight per cent, Humberside by six per cent, Yorkshire and Humberside by six per cent and the North East by 6 per cent. Northern Ireland and Wales will also experience strong growth. The construction sector employment in Wales is expected to increase by 12 per cent. This is attributed to the 3.2 billion pound Welsh Quality Standards Scheme. Northern Ireland's 13 per cent growth is associated mainly with the public investment programme planned for the next ten years. Generally, the future of the construction industry in the UK is expected to show the following characteristics: Private output growth will exceed publicly funded construction programmes Public housing is expected to experience the biggest growth since private and government housing developers will seek deliverance of affordable and key worker housing, specifically in the South East and London. The commercial sector is also expected to grow due to the continued recovery for offices market and also further increases in PPP/PFI education and health projects. Infrastructure output is expected surpass the industry average. This will be due to projects like widening of M1 and M25 among other projects. The problems The construction industry in the UK is currently faced with many problems. These problems are threatening to lead this industry into a crisis. Meeting the industry Challenges In spite of its drawbacks, the UK construction sector experiencing increased demand and growth. This offers good employment opportunities. However, the rapidly changing environment has placed a lot of challenges in its bid to deliver new developments. Skills Shortage The construction industry has forecasted that 348,000 more workers will be required by 2010 to

Role of Attitude in Organizational Behavior Essay

Role of Attitude in Organizational Behavior - Essay Example For example, the attitude of a person towards a friend can be examined in terms of cognitive component (â€Å"I think my friend is funny and pleasant†), affective component (â€Å"I feel nice when I am around this friend†) and behavioral component (â€Å"I try to spend time with this friend whenever I get an opportunity†). Attitudes of a person are influenced by both values and beliefs. Values reflect a general sense of right or wrong and do not require an identifiable object towards which it is directed (Cheek 2006). Values are therefore deeply rooted views that act as guiding principles for an individual. On the other hand beliefs are assumptions that one makes about oneself, about others and about how we expect things to be (Cheek 2006). Attitudes develop from past experiences or observations and have been found to guide future behavior. Behavior is the way one acts and includes the things that we say or do, like facial expressions, hand gestures, eye contact and choice of words (Standen n.d.). Behavior is usually an outward expression of one’s attitude. However, the two are not always related. Attitudes are only one of the determinants of behavior. It is the predisposition to behave in a particular way in a given situation. However, how one would actually behave in a given scenario, depends on many other factors like immediate consequences of the behavior, perception of others viewing the behavior, personal habits and other situational factors (Standen n.d.). A classic example to describe this is the study conducted by LaPiere (1934) where he went on a tour with a Chinese couple (at a time when Chinese were discriminated against) in the southwest. He asked the hotel proprietors if this couple could stay in their hotel and also if they could eat there.

3 Fators of Doom for Macbeth Essay Example for Free

3 Fators of Doom for Macbeth Essay In Macbeth there were a few factors that contributed to the degeneration of the Macbeth character. There were three factors that destroyed Macbeth. The main force that was predominately responsible for the downfall of Macbeth was his single flaw. Which was his own ambition. Even though his ambition brought him to his height of power, it was also what led him to his downfall. During the play Macbeths ambition brought him to achieve his goals but as the play evolves, it forced him to face his fate. Macbeth had become so obsessed with becoming King, and remaining powerful, that he became a completely different man. See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay His ambition led him to become greedy, violent, power hunger, and a murder. An example of his new character occurred when he killed King Duncan. After the first murder, killing seemed to be the only solution to keep his reign over the people of Scotland. It was because of these killings and his overbearing ambition that caused him to be overthrown and kill himself. Another force was the prophecies which were told by the witches. If it had not been for the witches telling Macbeth that he was going to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glanis, and King of Scotland, he would still be is ordinary self. After the witches shared these prophecies with Macbeth he started thinking of ways he could become king. The other influential factor that destroyed Macbeth was his wife Lady Macbeth. In the play Lady Macbeth was going to kill King Duncan, but she just could not do it. Although she then provided a scheme which caused Macbeth to kill King Duncan. After the first murder, Macbeth seemed to come to the solution that killing was the way. Therefore Lady Macbeth was the one who introduced the concept of murder to Macbeth, which was another reason why Macbeth was destroyed.

Reducing Racial Discrimination in the USA Essay Example for Free

Reducing Racial Discrimination in the USA Essay Between the periods of 1877-1981 there were many significant figures who contributed towards reducing racial discrimination in the USA. Although without events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, WWII or the actions of the NACCP to change attitudes towards African Americans, these individuals would have had little effect. The likes of Booker T Washington and Du Bois set the foundation for civil rights along with the Second World War; however other individuals such as Martin Luther King help to actively progress the movement. Along with this the government and various presidents more so in the latter of the period of 1877-1981 helped to change attitudes and enforce legislation which was vital in reducing racial discrimination in the USA. Booker T Washington began to provide the foundations to the civil rights movement in his actions. Although I believe that during this early period of the movement little was achieved, Washington was still able to provide education, and show African Americans that they had a future and it was at their own mercy. This helped to relieve some who were less fortunate. On the other hand Du Bois took a route which directly campaigned for civil rights for African Americans; alike to Washington he achieved little due to the already widespread racial situation in the USA. It is noticeable that these individuals had no short term meaningful effect on reducing racial discrimination, however much was achieved long term as they created the path for the civil rights movement in the future, this was also aided with the work from the NACCP, which raised awareness of the racial discrimination situation in America. Another individual which had little short term significance in reducing racial discrimination was Marcus Garvey, who unlike Du Bois and Washington believed that blacks and whites could not co-exist and they should be separate, he held the belief that African Americans had to start their own nation in order to advance. Whilst he failed to make much impact on the movement itself, alike to his predecessors Du Bois and Washington, his ideas were valued and widespread, they inspired many including future activists such as Malcolm X. Garvey gave African Americans at that time a sense of confidence that they would be able to advance as a race, and they need not be bound by the constraints of racial discrimination. This is why in the Long term Garvey was a valued activist, and his ideas were useful in progress in the movement towards equality. Also he gave confidence to other African Americans in campaigning against racial discrimination which could be seen in the likes of the Greensboro Sit Ins further into the civil rights movement. The likes of the NACCP helped to put an end to racial discrimination with the use of court cases and legal methods which were unlike the methods that the likes of Washington used with his attempts to educate. Examples of this were Brown Vs the board of education which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of reducing discrimination and segregation within schools. However the NACCP failed to diminish discrimination totally the organization still managed to do some good in the fight for equality. Furthermore, whilst the likes of Du Bois were unable to make a direct impact on reducing discrimination, he was able to work alongside the NACCP using other methods to succeed in his goals, and together this would reduce discrimination more. Therefore the NACCP played a more important role than early individuals in reducing racial discrimination towards African Americans through its early successes in successes in removing segregation, and although things to come would show to be more valuable to the civil rights movement, the NACCP was still a vital element in setting the foundation of the civil rights movement for the future. Although individuals had led the campaign for civil rights for African Americans throughout the early 20th century and towards the end of the 19th, as WWII commenced it would prove to be a key factor in aiding reduction of racial discrimination. It helped to change attitudes towards black Americans, as they went to war; they were portrayed to be worthy American citizens which changed many white Americans attitudes towards them. The war also created stepping stones for the likes of Martin Luther King to breach into the civil rights movement, therefore not only did it have an impact on black Americans, it also created some success for many civil rights activists. However the war did nothing to reduce discrimination towards other ethnic minorities, for example Japanese Americans received much racial discrimination due to Japans role in WWII. Although the war was bad for the civil rights of Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans received a better way of life, with more civil rights as America forged a great political relationship with China after the war due to their help during it. Therefore WWII was a great influence on reducing racial discrimination within the USA for only certain minorities, although for the likes of Japanese Americans way of life got worse as they were sent to camps until the war ended due to suspicions. The war was more important than earlier individuals as it had a direct impact on reducing racial discrimination, and further effect in the emergence of fresh civil rights activists who would later have a significant role in the movement. As the attitudes towards African Americans changed after the war in the 1940s many civil rights activists saw their time to join the civil rights movement. One of these activists was Martin Luther King who used methods of non-violence in order to gain sympathy from whites and in doing so change attitudes towards black Americans. Although his views were similar to those of Du Bois views, King had more effect on reducing racial discrimination. Particularly in attempts to eliminate desegregation. This was likely to be partly due to how far the civil rights movements had advanced by Kings time, in particularly down to WWII which changed attitudes. King gave confidence to Black Americans; he used television and media to convey his ideas through speeches which were very influential and very much a trait of his. King was often compared as similar to Washington and Du Bois, although he did much more to reduce discrimination. His direct actions in the likes of the Montgomery Bus boycott. This event was critical in reducing racial discrimination as it saw black Americans united as one to fight for their cause, its success showed that with the unity of African Americans civil rights could be achieved, and also proved that the likes of King needed events such as the boycott to achieve anything as an activist. This event was significant to him. Also significant to Kings civil rights success was the use of television. With the use of television violence towards African Americans could be shown to a wider audience across the USA, and could hange attitudes. Therefore although King was more significant than his predecessors Washington, Garvey and Du Bois as an activist, this was partly due to what King had to work with such as television. Further to this, the likes of civil rights activists such as Cesar Chavez who was in the fight for reducing discrimination within Mexican Americans followed Kings policies of non-violence, this showed King was not only having an effect on black Americans. Chavez led the first farm workers union in America which was successful to some extent, and led to the reduction of racial prejudice. Although this wasnt much compared to what the likes King had achieved with his use of speeches. In contrast to Kings policy of non-violence was the up and coming idea of Black Power during the 1960s. Originating from Garvey, violent civil rights activist Malcolm X worked to make the ideology more popular. The idea supported segregation, and blacks being supreme compared to white Americans, and again highlighted the ideas of African Americans starting their own nation. Xs beliefs of gaining equality by any means necessary contrasted with Kings beliefs of non-violence which made King and X much like enemies during the 1960s. However, Xs ideas had little or none effect on passing legislation and reducing discrimination. Although alike to Garvey X gave black Americans confidence, noticeably within the northern ghettos in highlighting important issues of violence within these areas. Therefore Xs views of violence were greatly frowned upon, which always put him in the shadow of King who was always more significant in reducing racial discrimination in the USA. In the early stages of the civil rights movement the government played little role in reducing racial discrimination. However presidents began to get involved in the movement as it persisted. Eisenhower had the first real involvement in the movement when he sent federal troops for assistance in Little Rock, and the government enforced the Supreme Court ruling of the Brown case in the town. Kennedy had planned to enforce a Civil Rights Bill, although this was later enforced via Johnson along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which gave black Americans the right to vote, and again reduced discrimination; this was a step in the right direction of equality. Further to this Nixon aimed to enforce desegregation in schools as well as helping the like of voting rights, employment discrimination and aid to the poor. Although Nixon was not as significant as Carter who later made attempts to get black Americans involved politically, appointing them in the judiciary. This enabled more blacks to have a say as well as improving their status in society. Therefore presidents played a key role as if they were for civil rights, then this could mean attitudes could be changed on a broader scale. This was important to the movement, and was more useful in reducing discrimination overall due to legislation passed which was showing that action was being taken against racial discrimination, unlike the role of previous activists such as Du Bois, Garvey, X and Washington who failed to have much impact on legislation. The most influential president was Johnson; he was able to pass legislation which made blacks equality to whites greater, such as the Voting Rights Act. Although the likes of King didnt have the power to do this, civil rights activists made government aware of the racial situation in the USA. Therefore they were more significant than presidents. In the 1970s and 1980s further action brought forward the civil rights movement. The introduction of the Quota System meant that employers and universities had to take on a certain percentage of African Americans, and the situation for black Americans began to rapidly improve. Although this had much more significance than many activists in this later period, it was still influenced because of activists in the early stages of the civil rights movement, which make the likes of King more significant. In conclusion, in the period of 1877-1981 individuals were the most significant in reducing racial discrimination. Early activists such as Washington and Du Bois had little opportunity to reduce discrimination due to the widespread discrimination and the likes of the KKK, however, events such as WWII enabled activists to emerge, as attitudes towards African Americans had began to change. Using the ideologies of previous activists the most important individual King was able to use events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the likes of television to share his speeches and views, helping to pass legislation, change attitudes and give black Americans the confidence to further the civil rights movement. King helped to convey the on-going discrimination problem in the USA towards the government, which enabled presidents to take action with the likes of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which brought about further equality for blacks. Although towards the latter stages of the movement the government had more effect on reducing racial discrimination by passing legislation.

Use of Enzymes for Clinical Diagnosis

Use of Enzymes for Clinical Diagnosis Clinical enzymology is branch off medical science deals with the usage of enzymes for diagnosis prognosis of various diseases. In general, each enzyme of clinical significance is found in many tissues of the body, and in healthy individuals, these enzyme exhibit very low levels in serum. In certain disease states or with cell injury, these intracellular enzymes are released into the blood and are indicative of the presence of a pathological condition. Quantification of enzyme levels in serum is useful in determining the presence of disease. Based on the individuals physical symptoms, several enzymes may be chosen for analysis to determine if a pattern develops that aids in identifying the tissue source of the enzyme elevation in the serum(2). The understanding of enzyme kinetics allows for laboratory measurement of plasma levels. Damaged or dying cells within organ can release enzymes into the circulation, these plasma enzyme levels can be used to develop a differential diagnosis of a patient with respect to specific organ disease and dysfunction(1). Like others analyte use for clinical chemistry analysis, specific pre-analytical influences have to be taken into consideration. Analysis of enzyme measurement would involve the process from the start to the end that comprises the pre-analytical factors, analytical and post analytical factors. Pre- analytical issues in the enzyme measurement include the types of specimens, the specific anticoagulants and preservative in the tubes and the specimen collection procedure. Table 2.0 describe the type of enzymes, the specimen of choice and the pre-analytical factors that can affect the enzyme measurement. Slight hemolysis can be accepted as there is no CK ain rbc, however severe or moderate hemolysis can cause enzymes and intermediates (adenylate kinase,ATP,glucose 6-phosphatea) liberated from the erytrocytes and may affect the lag phase and the side reactions occurring in the assay system(3) Lactate Dehydrogenase LDH Serum or heparanised plasma Plasma containing anticoagulant especially oxalate, should not be used. Haemolysed specimen 150 times LDH in rbc than serum(3) Alkaline Phosphatare ALP Serum or haparinized plasma ALP-, free hemolysis. Complexing anticoagulants such as citrate,oxalate, and edta must be avoided. Storage and doing test later than 4 hours can cause loss of activity EDTA concentration in the sample-reagent mixture, causing chelation of metallic cations, and this can affect the activity of the alkaline phosphatase Gamma Glutamyl Transferase GGT Serum free from hemolysis preferred. EDTA -plasma ( up to 1 mg/mL blood) can be used Heparin produces turbidity in the reaction mixture; citrate, oxalate and fluoride depress activity by 10 15 % The rate of disappearance of substrate or the rate of appearance of product had been utilized for enzyme measurement. Usually, measuring small increase in product it is much easier than to measure small decrease in a large amount of substrate. In some enzyme measurements, neither the product not the substrate of a chemical reaction can be measured conveniently. In such cases the enzymatic reaction can be coupled to another reaction that uses the product of the enzyme catalyzed reaction to produce an indicator substance (1). The rate of change in concentration of substrate or product is the principle of kinetic method for most of the enzyme measurement. The accuracy of Kinetic makes it easier to detect changes in reaction conditions and samples requiring dilution. In a kinetic reaction, the rate of reaction can be expressed as ΔP/ΔT, the change in amount of per unit time. The amount of enzyme in a sample is measured by the rate of reaction  catalyzed by the enzyme. This rate is directly proportioned to the amount of enzyme and is expressed in enzyme unit, IU/L (4). Substrate depletion phase is a period during an enzyme assay when the concentration of substrate is falling and the assay is not following zero-order kinetics(5). The amount of substrate must be present in sufficient quantity, so that the reaction rate is limited only by the amount of enzymes. In order to get optimal method of enzyme measurement, the substrate concentration is one of the important parameters. It is essential for the concentration of the substrate(s) is saturating during the measured period of the reaction(6). At saturating substrate concentrations, the reaction velocity is pseudo zero order with respect to the substrate and the velocity is proportional only to the enzyme concentration. Figure 1.0; describe the importance of substrate depletion in enzyme measurement. Enzyme activity High Moderate Low Substrate depletion Substrate depletion Lag phase Absorbance Time Figure 1.0 Enzyme activity can be calculated from a plot of absorbance versus time when monitoring an enzyme-catalysed reaction. When reagents and serum are mixed, there may initially be a period of a time when mixing and any preliminary reactions occur; this is termed the lag period. Following this phase, the reaction will proceed at zero-order kinetics (V max); at this point, the rate of appearance of product (as measured from the slope of the line, ΔA/ΔT) is directly proportional to the enzyme activity present. As the reaction proceeds and substrate is depleted, the rate of reaction will fall below V max and the plot is no longer linear. At this point, the reaction is no longer zero order with respect to substrate concentration; rate of reaction is now dependent on both amount of substrate (which is declining) and amount of enzyme present, making it difficult to calculate amount of enzyme present. (Adapted from Henrys Clinical Diagnostic and Management by Laboratory Metho ds) An organic component of enzymes is called coenzyme. Coenzymes participate in many of the enzyme analyses performed in the clinical laboratory. As the coenzyme make up a part of the active site, the role of this coenzyme in enzymatic transamination is crucial as an example the use of pyridoxal phosphate for expression of enzyme activity for aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase measurement(7). Table 3.0 describe the enzyme, the coenzyme and the clinical relevance of the enzyme measurement for laboratory diagnosis. In conclusion, the type of assay method, sample preparation, age and storage conditions are the variables that have to be taken into consideration in the determination of enzyme activity. Other important variables in determining enzyme activity include temperature, pH, concentration of substrate, concentration of cofactors of the assay, use of other enzyme reactions as indicators, and whether the forward or backward reaction is used to measure the enzyme. All of these variables can lead to significant differences in enzyme activity between methods (1). Enzyme Co-enzyme Clinical relevance Creatinine kinase (CK) Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide Elevations of total CK in serum are associated with cardiac disorders, such as AMI, and skeletal muscle disorder, such as muscular dystrophy. Occasionally,elevations are due to central nervous system, including seizures and cerebral vascular accidents. CK-MB values greater than 6 % of total CK are suggestive of AMI. When AMI is suspected, troponin is assayed in conjunction with CK-MB, and sometimes myoglobin is assayed. Following AMI, Ck-MB levels rise within 4-6 hrs,peak at 12-24 hours, and return to normal within 2-3 days(2). Aspartate aminotransferase pyridoxal phosphate AST is used to evaluate hepatocellular disorders (up to 100 times upper reference limit in infectious mononucleosis, and up to 4 times upper reference limit in cirrhosis), skeletal muscle disorders ( up to 8 times upper reference limit) and acute pancreatitis(8). In AMI, AST rises within 6-8 hours, peaks at 18-24 hours, and return to normal within 4-5 days. AST is not used to diagnose AMI, but awareness of the AST pattern may be useful when ruling out other disorders, including concurrent liver damage(2). Lactate dehydrogenase (LD) NAD Elevated in cardiac disorders (AMI), hepatic diseases (viral hepatitis,cirrhosis,infectious mononucleosis),skeletal muscle diseases, haemolytic and haematological disorders (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) In AMI, LD levels rise within 8-12 hours, peak at 24-48 hours, and return to normal in 7 10 days. Although LD and LD isoenzymes are not used to diagnose AMI, knowledge of their pattern may be useful when assessing concurrent liver damage(2).