Describe the symptoms and treatment of asthma

Unfortunately asthma can be inherited and in many children asthma is diagnosed after having a cold or fever. Studies shows that a high percentage of these children, during their lifetime will have a higher chance of getting rid of the disease. On the other hand if asthma is inherited, most likely the patient will be diagnosed during his or her lifetime. According to statistics, asthma is one of the most common physiological disorders and it can affect all ages. Nowadays, we have specific treatments to control the disease but unfortunately, till now, there is no cure. One of the most important functions of the respiratory system is to breathe. Air is inhaled through the mouth or nose, it then moves through the pharynx, larynx and trachea into the lungs. After that process, the air is exhaled through the same pathway. During normal inhalation the external intercostal muscles and diaphragm contract and as a result of this the rib cage elevates. Due to this the volume of the lungs increases, air pressure drops so air rushes in. On the other hand during normal exhalation the muscles relax, lungs become smaller, air pressure rises and air is expelled. Asthma is a lung disease which narrows and inflames the air ways, we have tubes which they carry air into our lungs. When a person is diagnosed with asthma these tubes are inflamed. This inflammation makes the airways terribly swollen and sensitive. Due to this the inflammation starts reacting to certain substances that enter the airway. Once the airway starts reacting to these substances our muscles tighten up, as a result of this the airways are narrowed so less air enters to the lungs. Asthma has an impact on other body systems, these are the immune system, the nervous system and the respiratory system. Starting off with the first system, the respiratory system of a person with asthma is more sensitive to environmental irritants than of a normal person. When there is contact with an environmental irritant, automatically the airway narrows making it more difficult to breathe. Second system, the immune system, our immune system helps our body to fight germs. When a person is diagnosed with asthma, his immune system is more sensitive to substances that are not harmful to those who do not have asthma. The last system that I am going to explain is the nervous system. According to John Hopkins University â€Å"research indicates that asthma affects your nervous system, a nerve growth factor a nervous system protein, has been found to increase sensitivity to irritants among people suffering from asthma and allergies†. (Apryl Bevelery: 2014) In this paragraph I am going to mention and explain some asthma symptoms starting off with the first symptom wheezing. Wheezing is one of the most common symptoms, wheezing is a squeaky noise which is normally heard while the person is sleeping. Wheezing can be heard more during this period because the airway normally narrows during respiration. Wheezing happens because there is a narrowing or obstruction from the level of the larynx to the small bronchi. According to studies, wheezing is said to happen by oscillations and vibrations of the airway walls. This sound is formed when air passes through a narrowed portion of the airway, then air passes with high velocity producing a decrease in gas pressure which later on it is flown in the constricted region. Once it arrives in the internal airway the pressure begins to increase which will be barely able to reopen the airway lumen. A second symptom coughing, a person diagnosed with asthma can suffer from coughs during an asthmatic attack, one can think that coughs are painful but it is a natural reflex which protects our lungs. This happens by clearing foreign substances that our body does not want. This process starts by, when an unwanted substance enters, our nerves sends an electric impulse to the brain to tell our muscles in our chest and abdomen to contract against these substances. When the nerve endings of our airways become irritated coughs usually occurs. After this contraction it will release large amounts of air and high amount of strength to eject these substances. There are different types of coughs namely chronic and acute. Chronic cough means that the cough will stay longer, most probably this is due to a medical condition. While acute cough means that the cough happens only at that moment. The last symptom that I am going to mention is chest tightness and shortness of breath, these are also common symptoms. A patient who is not diagnosed with asthma has a clear bronchiole wall, this wall will be relaxed and provides an open airway. On the other hand a patient with asthma will be very sensitive to irritants, as a result of this when an irritant occurs most probably it will inflame this wall. A list of these irritants can be smoke, stress, dust mites, infections and many more. Due to these problems such as releasing leukotrienes, result of this an inflammation may occur which unfortunately will lead to overproduction of mucus. Overproduction of the mucus will result in constriction in the bronchiole making it difficult for air to move in the lungs. As a result of this an asthmatic attack can occur. There are specific factors which may result in triggering asthma, starting off with the first factor which is environmental. Nowadays we live in an environment which has a high amount of pollutants such as, flower scents, mould, pests, dust mites, tobacco, animal dander, car pollution, extreme weather and many more. There are certain factors that we can control especially those that we can find indoors. Those that are found indoors can be controlled in order to avoid asthma triggers, an example of this can be cleaning weekly, keeping pets out of rooms, removing carpets, servicing the air conditioners and vacuuming. Second factor can be allergies, unfortunately an allergic reaction can be similar or the same in order to trigger an asthma attack. According to studies being overweight will result in more chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, which means that the patient will suffer from inflammation throughout the body. Last factor that I am going to explain is smoking, this can affect an asthmatic person because when a person inhales tobacco, irritations substances will lay out in the moist lining on the airways. These irritants can trigger an asthma attack. Nowadays thanks to scientists we are developing more and more tests in order to be able to diagnose diseases in their early stages. Starting off with the first test spirometry, this test is often used to assess the patient’s lungs. The procedure of this test is to take deep breathes and exhaling it as fast as they can through a mouthpiece attached to this equipment. This test consists of two measurements, these are the volume of air breathed in and the volume of air breathed out. Normally this test is done many times to get accurate results. Second test peak expiratory flow test, this test is done by a device called peak flow meter. This is a very easy test, it measures how fast the patient can blow air out of his/her lungs in only one breathe. Most of the time this test occurs over weeks, in fact the patient needs to take this device home so she/he can record daily measurements. The patient needs to take this device with him or her because asthma can be vary due to changes in our lungs throughout the day. Third test airway responsiveness, this is a difficult test in fact this test occurs only if there are no clear symptoms of asthma. The airway responsiveness test measures how the airway reacts when it is contacted with a trigger. During this test the patient is asked to breathe in medication, which will eventually irritate the airways and possibly trigger a mild asthma attack. Another test that can be done is testing airway inflammation, this test can be done by two different methods. The first method is to take a phlegm sample and the second method is while the patient is breathing out, the level of the nitric oxide is measured. An allergy test can also be done in order to confirm if the person’s asthma is associated with any allergies. Imaging tests are also an alternative, these can be a CT-scan or a chest x-ray of the patient nose cavities and lungs. With these scans they can identify any abnormalities related to asthma. The last test that I am going to mention is the sputum eosinophils, the main role of this test is to look for white blood cells while the patient is coughing. The white blood cells are present when symptoms occurs which later on are visible when they are stained with eosin. Fortunately there are certain treatments that help prevent and control asthma, starting off with the first treatment inhaled corticosteroids are preferred methods for long-term control of asthma. The main function of this treatment is to relieve inflammation and swelling, reducing inflammation helps to prevent asthma attacks. Another treatment which is given during an asthma attack is cromolyn, this medicine is given when the patient is using the nebulizer. Once the patient breathes in, the nebulizer will send medicine to the lungs to prevent airway inflammation. Omalizumab is a medicine given as an injection one or two times a month, this medicine helps to prevent our body from reacting to asthma triggers. Inhaled long-acting beta2-agonist and theophylline are all medicines that open the airways. The leukotriene modifiers are a medicine take orally, this helps to prevent increase of inflammation. Then there is the quick-relief medicine these are called inhaled short-acting beta2-agonisits these act quickly in order to relax tight muscle, this allows to open airways so air can flow through them. A patient who is diagnosed with asthma needs to have frequent check-ups, it is also very important to remove any items which can trigger asthma such as rugs or animals. It is also recommended to record your symptoms in a diary to see how well the treatment is controlling your asthma. Good control of asthma will prevent coughing and shortness of breath, reduce the use of quick relief medicine, help to maintain good lung function, prevent asthma attacks and let the person maintain the normal activity of sleeping throughout the night. It is also very important to use proper asthma medications as like with other medications they have side effects. When a person starts having these symptoms it is very important to do a check-up or talk to someone else because if these signs are not treated asthma triggers can worsen which even in some cases can be fatal.

Gym Management System Essay

Introduction It is known that exercise is important. Exercise has a great impact in the body as it has all sorts of benefits. Physical activities are very helpful not only on making people fit but also on improving one’s personality. If they have a healthy body, they can be productive in daily life. Exercise increases the energy level. Through it delivers oxygen and nutrients to the whole body helping it to work more efficiently and boost endurance. It is also proven that regular exercise decreases the risk of health problems. Exercise can be fun. Physical activity releases chemicals in our brain called endorphins that are known to make you feel happier and relaxed. A thirty minute workout help improved moods and relieve stress. Doing physical activities are often great opportunity to socialize. Focus and motivation can be achieved to pursue goal which helps by going to the recreation center like going to gym to interacts and communicate with others. (http://primarychildrenshospitalblog.org/2012/06/12/10-reasons-why-exercise-is-important/). Fitness gym is one of the places they should visit to perform physical activities. This place has a facilities and equipments that you will use in our training session. There are trainers that give exercise programs and help you to become fit and strong. Every person in the world would like to have a perfect body. In order to have a healthy and a strong body, people would need to consider going to a gym to work out. What do such people expect of a gym? Certainly, patrons would expect a wide selection of equipment available in a gym. Patrons would enjoy well-educated staffs who know everything people want to know about working out. To provide a good quality of service to people, fitness gym should have an organized management system that will provide convenience to their staff to perform their work more efficiently.   The proposed system will give the list of exercises and it will keep records of gym members, attendance of gym employees, inventory and the payment of bills of the customers. This will help in monitoring daily activities in the gym. This proposed system will be helpful to customers because it will guide them in doing proper exercise and improve the productivity of business of gym owners that will provide an excellent service. http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/5886.html Statement of the Problem The main problem is how to create, design and develop a Gym Management System that will automate the manual process of registration, manual setting of workouts and training programs, manual transaction, manual encoding of attendance, Manual inventory of equipment’s and lastly the generation of reports. Specific Problem: How do the respondents asses the affectivity of the proposed system. 1.1 Functionality 1.2 Reliability 1.3 Usability 1.4 Maintainability 1.5 Portability Conceptual Framework Figure 1 Paradigm of the Study The conceptual framework the proposed Gym Management system starts in the automation of the manual process from registration and membership, manual setting of workouts and training programs, inventory and transactions and lastly is the generation of reports. The proposed system automates the  manual process to come up with the efficient and reliable system that will lessen the manual process. Scope and Delimitation of the Study The proposed system serves as the automated Gym Management System that systematize/manage the old process of registration, inventory and transactions of the Gym. This helps to speed up transaction and give more efficient and reliable data. The Gym Management system is designed in providing productivity in the gym and helps in keeping all the records of daily activity and transactions. This will be developed in Microsoft Visual basic 2010 and Sql Server as the database. Significance of the Study The proposed Gym Management System provides a significant improvement to the owner and its employee above the manual process of registration of new member, payment and inventory. The proposed system will help the following recipients: Gym Owners – The system will provide convenience. Because it keep the record of transactions to their clients, gym equipments and the attendance of employees working in the gym and it will be helpful in monitoring their business. Gym Staff/Personnel – Using an automated system will lessen the effort and avoid hassle in keeping the records. Clients – It will provide privacy on their personal information. They will not be confused on what workout they will do. The system will provide guidelines in performing exercises. Proponents – This system will give them ideas that they can use in their research related to this topic. Definition of Terms For better understanding of the study, the following terms were defined: Administrator – a person responsible for running a business, organization,etc (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=4DIVPbxDqHH8gffmoCIBg&gws_rd=ssl#q=administrator+definition). Exercise – activity requiring physical effort, carried out especially to sustain or improve health and fitness (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=fE5_VKqECuOJ8QfHgYGQDw&gws_rd=ssl#q=meaning+of+exercise). Fitness Gym – it’s a place which houses the equipment  for the used in physical exercise. It is also the main purpose to create an automated Gym Management System. (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=fE5_VKqECuOJ8QfHgYGQDw&gws_rd=ssl#q=meaning+of+Fitness+gym). Inventory – it’s a complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building. This is also the key goal to automate this manual process. (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=85eDVJb8MYeK8Qfn24Aw&gws_rd=ssl#q=inventory+definition). SQL Server – SQL Server is Microsoft’s relational database management system (RDBMS). It is a full-featured database primarily designed to compete against competitors. This is the database used in developing the proposed study. http://www.techopedia.com/definition/1243/sql-server CHAPTER II This chapter presents a summary of related literature and studies which were reviewed and evaluate by the researcher for the conceptualization of the study. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES GYM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ACADEMIC It gives us great pleasure to present the project on â€Å"Gym Management† prepared sincerely, punctually and with utmost efforts. The contents of this book are presented into many chapters, in order to ease reading. The project has been illustrated with precise data elucidated with neat System Flowchart, dataflow diagram, Entity-Relationship diagram and Use Case diagram that simplify in understanding the software. The project includes the software development tools like c#, crystal reports to present the software very precisely. Meticulous care has been taken to make this project perfect and useful in every respect. ABOUT EXISTING SYSTEM The present system is totally depending on manual data management for different activities such as maintaining details of customer, supplier, Students etc. They maintain Different registers for various activities such as storing and searching data which is tedious and time consuming task. In present system all transactions are done manually with pen and paper so the frequent updating is not possible. Also generating reports, bills accurately  is not possible with current system. There are various other problems for instance, if customer come for the inquiry of particular Parcel and if that Parcel is not available then it is difficult to remember about it. In short system is lacking facilities such as searching, deleting, and adding data efficiently and effectively. DRAWBACKS OF EXISTING SYSTEM It utilizes a large amount of space for customer and supplier transaction information in paper files, Sometime manual calculation may be incorrect thus, leading to the incorrect information A large amount of data cannot be viewed at a glance No reminder for customer and Purchaser. Sometime the calculation has to be done manually so it requires a lot of work. Updating is not performed that efficiently and may lead complications. No security as data can be misplaced or damaged. Lastly, it was not offers a user friendly work environment NEED FOR NEW SYSTEM Working with current system is quite tedious, complicated and time consuming task. It may lead errors .certain operations such as surfing searching, adding, removing, entries cannot be done efficiently. Maintaining different registers for various activities such as storing and searching data which is tedious and time consuming task. Generating reports, bills are much tedious task with new system. Hence the organization needs new system with enhanced features. Features such as automatic report generation, bill generation, computing complicated calculations, performing operations such as adding, deleting, updating and searching etc. System should be user friendly. PROPOSED SYSTEM We hereby are grateful to present our software project through this report.Our proposed system is compute based. Which provide various User interfaces (Forms) for various operations and hence interactive. The system is able to generate calculations , bills ,reports automatically. Operations such as adding, removing, searching customers, suppliers and employees can be done efficiently and effectively by proposed system. Adding Parcels category and unit wise is possible with the help of this system. System can  efficiently perform various transactions such as sales, purchase and maintain data after each transaction. In short proposed system is user-friendly. FEATURES OF NEW SYSTEM GUI : The proposed system provides better graphical user interface Search : Searching details about customer, supplier, employee, Parcel is comparatively easy Increase Work Speed : Due to automation of some part of system work speed would increase Less Paperwork : For the proposed system less paperwork is required Reduces Error : Due to computerization there are less possibilities of error Economical : Due to minimal errors and work delay proposed system can be economically beneficial to the company http://www.projectcorner.in/gym-management-system-academic-project-c-net-synopsis/ Gym Management System Project Gym management system project is a standalone user friendly software application developed in asp.net using C# programming language and MS access database. Main objective: Main idea behind developing this project is to manage different types of data in fitness center, gym. Using this software we can manage employee attendance details, members payments, daily attendance, present and absent days of employees and members. Along with these details gym equipment and payments details are also managed. Gym Management System Project Modules Description: Equipment module: In this module we can add, delete, modify gym equipment details like when it is purchased, license , expiry date..etc. Instructor Module: This is also called as employee module where instructor profile details, experience, present and absent details for every day are updated. We can add , modify and delete these details, Member Module: Details of members who are joined are maintained through this application. Members salary, present and absent days details, payment , due information are managed through this module. Billing: Billing module helps in generating bills for members, employees for every month and provide due  payment details and we can generate reports for monthly billing. http://projectseminar.org/asp-net/asp-net-c/gym-management-system-project/554/ CHAPTER III Methodology of the Study The proponent choose the System Development Life Cycle as the methodology to fasten up the software development process. Method of Study To guide the researchers in developing the study, the proponent use SDLC (System Development Life Cycle) to meet user requirements in their business goals. SDLC is a series of steps and phases for the development of software. The phases of SDLC used are: (1) Data Gathering; (2) Analysis (3) Design; (4) Coding; (5) Testing and Evaluation. Data Gathering Phase is a collection of information that will be use to develop the system. The proponent studied the data needed by observing and conducting an interview. And in Analysis Phase is a process of collecting factual data, understand the processes involved, identifying problems and recommending feasible suggestions for improving the system functioning. This involves studying the business processes, gathering operational data, understand the information flow, finding out bottlenecks and evolving solutions for overcoming the weaknesses of the system so as to achieve the organizational goals. (http://oer.nios.ac.in/wiki/index.php/Phases_of_S ystem_Development_Life_Cycle). In Design Phase is based on the user requirements and the detailed analysis of a new system, the new system must be designed. This is the phase of system designing.   The logical design produced during the analysis is turned into a physical design – a detailed description of what is needed to solve original problem (http://oer.nios.ac.in/wiki/index.php/Phases_of_System_Development_Life_Cycle). In Coding phase is a system design needs to be implemented to make it a workable system. This is also called the programming phase in which the programmer converts the program specifications into computer instructions, which we refer to as programs. It is an important stage where the defined procedures are transformed into control specifications by the help of a computer language  (http://oer.nios.ac.in/wiki/index.php/Phases_of_System_Development_Life_Cycle). In Testing and Evaluation Phase is actually implementing the new system into operations, a test run of the system is done removing all the bugs, if any. It is an important phase of a successful system. After codifying the whole programs of the system, a test plan should be developed and run on a given set of test data. The output of the test run should match the expected results (http://oer.nios.ac.in/wiki/index.php/Phases_of_System_Development_Life_Cycle). Models Used in Developing the Software Used Case Diagram – It will show the role of each user of the system. In this diagram, we will learn the significance of each respondent on the flow of the system. Activity Diagram – Activity diagrams are graphical representations of workflows of stepwise activities and actions with support for choice, iteration and concurrency. In the Unified Modeling Language, activity diagrams are intended to model both computational and organisational processes (i.e. workflows) (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=WBSEVMWnKyK8Qfkt4GwDg&gws_rd=ssl#q=activity+diagram+meaning). Database Schema – structure described in a formal language supported by the database management system (DBMS) and refers to the organization of data as a blueprint of how a database is constructed, divided into database tables in the case of Relational Databases (https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=WBSEVMWnKyK8Qfkt4GwDg&gws_rd=ssl#q=database+schema). Tools Used in Developing the Software Adobe Photoshop – it is a photo editing tool created by Adobe Systems Inc. The proponent used this software to enhance photos for the design of the Graphical User Interface of the system. Visual Basic 2010 – programming language created by Microsoft Company, the software that will be use to develop the proposed system. My SQL – is the world’s most popular open source database, enabling the cost-effective delivery of reliable, high-performance and scalable Web-based and embedded database applications (http://www.oracle.com/us/products/mysql/overview/index.html). Respondents of the Study The respondents of the study were IT specialist, Gym owners and clients who assessed the effectiveness of the product based on a set of criteria. The IT experts who will evaluate the system are IT people that have deep technical knowledge on the subject of this research. The Instrument A set of questionnaire was used in assessing the Gym Management system. Description The instrument called the Gym Management Assessment form is an assessment questionnaire. The items were categorized into the two factors: convenience and efficiency factors. Convenience factors were assessed based on three criteria: portability, security and maintainability. Efficiency factors, likewise, were assessed based on the three criteria of reliability, functionality and usability. Each criterion under each factor had 5 questions. Response Mode -Responses were categorized using a 5-point Liker Scale. Scale Description 5 -Strongly Agree 4 -Agree 3 -Moderately Agree 2 -Disagree 1 -Strongly Disagree Chapter IV Results and Discussion This chapter discussed the presentation, analysis and interpretation of all the data collected from the survey of the respondents as clearly stated in chapter 3. After reviewing, the method in this study, this chapter presented, analyzed and interpreted the data gathered from the survey questionnaire on UPHSD  Automated Clearance. Figure 1 illustrates the step-by-step development process that the proponent undertakes in developing the proposed system. Figure 2 Proposed System Development Flow These are the phases of system development strategy where both users and proponent engaged in the evaluation, design, and implementation. During the requirements planning and design phase, the proponents identify the objectives of the system and the information requirements arising from those objectives. These phase focused on reaching the project goals. During the first phase, the proponent is working with users intensely during the workshop to design the business or non-technical aspects of the system. As soon as these aspects are agreed upon and the systems are built and refined, a new system or part of the system are tested and then introduced to the Gym management. Use Case Diagram Use case diagrams are used to present a graphical overview of the functionality of a system.it is a type of static structure diagram that represents the user interactions with a system. This diagram portrays the different types of users and the various ways they interact with the system. In UML, the user is called actorand he can be human or an external system. The links between an actor and a use case are called associations. Use cases can be generalized, extended and included. Figure below contains the relationships and actors that illustrates and discussed the different set of structures of actions. Figure 3 Use Case Diagram Activity Diagram Figure Below exhibits thorough avctivity of registration of Gym Members and requires details to creat new account. Only the administrator can validate and verify the registration. Upon verification and approval new account is created. Figure 4 Activity Diagram Figure 5 Activity Diagram of User This figure shows the process flow of the User or the Gym Members. Once the user successfully logged on the system he/she can view the registration form, view of training programs, workouts, prices. He/she can also view his/her attendance. Figure 6 Activity Diagram for Administrator This figure illustrates the administrator different accessibility on the system. He/she plays a major role in this proposed system. He/ she will be the one who can access the registration of new members, viewing of the Attendance, work outs, trainings, transactions and also the generation of reports for this proposed system. Database Schema The figure below illustrates the database design and its entity relationship diagram of the different tables used in the database system. The diagram illustrates the one to one relationships among the table customers and customer transactions. The diagram demonstrates the relationship from one table to another. Figure 7 DataBase Schema Hardware Requirements This table below discussed the requirements of proposed system upon implementation. Category Specifications Architecture Dual Core Processor Processor Speed 1.10 GHz RAM 1gb Hard Drive 80 to 500 Gb sata Ethernet Adapter only supported ethernet adapter installed on computer Modem 56k Baud Rate Monitor Any Graphics Card Any Keyboard Any Mouse any Printer Any Chapter V Recommendations General recommendations The proponent brings up the significance of the proposed system along with the value of recommendations. The Gym Management System has attained its objectives. Thus the proponents recommend that the software must be implemented and can be adopted by any Gym or fitness business in reasons of it will allow the automation of manual process of membership registration, setting of workouts and training programs, viewing of attendance, transactions, inventory and generations of reports. This will speed up the manual process and gives effective, convenient and more reliable Gym Management System. The proponent chose the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology to expedite the software development process. The SDLC provides structured  system development methodologies that guide the systems development effort toward quality systems that meet the user requirements and are delivered within time and budget. The traditional waterfall model has morphed into different methodologies that attempt to overcome some inherent weaknesses of this traditional model and other older models developed after the waterfall, which will be examined in the section below. This continued adaptation of the SDLC to meet current challenges in information systems development is expected to continue and is the crux of the validation of its continued relevance in information systems development. Some of these newer models include Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM), Rapid Application Development (RAD) Extreme Programming (XP) Spiral, Fountain, rapid prototyping, incremental, and synchronize and stabilize. http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/computer-sciences/an-essay-on-the-sdlc-model.php The proponents used the descriptive narrative survey method to gather data. Statistical research describes data and characteristics about population or phenomenon being studied. Descriptive research answer the question who, what, where, when, now. The proponent selected 20 Gym members to serves as respondents of the proposed system. Performance will be acceptable to the end users requirements and delivering the system fully functional.  The study used the following statistical treatment; the distribution shows the number of responses obtained for each statement or item in the questionnaire. Conclusion The proponents came up with the following conclusion based on the findings: Based on the surveys and questionnaire the respondents came up that the Gym Management System is more effective and convenient to use. Registration, the response of the respondents is very effective with the weighted mean of 4.31; Log In, the response of the respondents is very effective with the weighted mean of 3.97; User Friendly Features, the response of the respondents is very effective with the weighted mean of 3.97; Inventory of Items, the response of the respondents is very effective with the weighted mean of 3.97; Generation of reports, the response of the respondents is very effective with the weighted mean of 3.97;

Crime and Dye Lab Essay

Light is usually viewed as a result of the heating of a substance. The higher the temperature at which the substance is heated, the greater the vibrations that lead to certain light intensity given off by the molecule. It is this same theory that suggests why steel glows red hot when heated to high enough temperatures. The process of light emissions can also be induces through other means. 1 One of such means termed fluorescence occurs when a substance can be induced into giving off light is through absorption of a photon through light or other means of radiations. During this process, electrons are excited from their standard state. The electrons jump from their highest unoccupied orbital (HUMO) into a certain level of the unoccupied orbital (LUMO). As the electrons loose energy, they fall back to a lower orbital, thus emitting light. 1, 2 During the process leading to fluorescence, a certain change could occur during the excitation of the electron, changing the spin of the electron as it gets excited. This change has to be undone as the electron goes back to its standard state. The emitting of light in this process is known as phosphorescence. The process of fluorescence is much faster than phosphorescence. This is due to the fact that in phosphorescence, the electron has to undergo an extra step of undoing its current spin. This process is thermodynamically unfavorable compared to fluorescence. 1, 2 The last means by which light could be generated is through chemiluminescence. In such a case a chemical reaction occurs, causing an excitation of the product. As this product decays into its standard state, light is emitted. This form of luminescent is different from the previous two in the sense that no absorption of light is required to induce the glow. The glow results from the product of the chemical reaction having to be in an exited state or of higher energy. 1 The process of photon absorption and emission is certain a phenomenon that plays a vital role in our society. Such importance is expressed during rescue operations, where victims can be easily found due to waving of a fluorescent material at night. It is evident that fluorescence becomes important when a thermally induced light emission is deemed impossible. 1, 2 Separation techniques were concepts that were important in the course of this experiment. One of such is through the means of UV Vis Spectrophotometer. The constituents of ink dyes can be determined using a spectrophotometer. By placing the dyes in the spec, various wavelength peaks will be obtained. These peaks can be used to find out the constituent colors making up the dye. Another important form of separation used during this experiment is chromatography. Chromatography utilizes the differences in polarity of substances as means of separation. Such is the case of a crime lab involving the finding of a pen used in writing on a piece of paper. If a pen out of four is used to write a note, the particular pen can be detected using chromatography. The dyes of all four inks and the unknown ink can be obtained. This ink can be run through a chromatograph column, allowing a solvent to run above the ink dyes, carrying them along. After a certain point the RF values of all the inks can be used to detect the particular ink. The RF value is the distance the ink travels divided by the distance travelled by the solvent. The ink with the same RF value as the unknown is the same ink used. Chromatography has a wide range of use. It use can be stretched from this as it can also be used to indicate the component amino acids found in various proteins. The protein can be run through the column, resulting in the various amino acids that make the protein, to be separated. 1, 2 Materials and Methods (Summarized from Lab Manual) 1 Procedure * Phosphorescence Two different polyaromatic acids, 1- naphthoic acid and 4-biphenylcarboxylic acid, were obtained and drops were added unto two filter paper. The solvents heated to dryness for 11 minutes using a hot plate on low heat. The filter papers were then placed under long and short wavelength ultraviolet lamps. Observation of the intensity and duration of glow were recorded. * Fluorescence Tonic water was poured into a beaker. Long and short wavelength UV lamp was shined above the beaker. Observations were recorded. Now, a beaker of water was taking to the UV lamp and was shined at the beaker. Observations were recorded. After, 3 drops of concentrated fluorescein solution was added into the beaker. The UV lamp was shined above the beaker and observations were recorded. * Chemiluminescence 2 mL of Tekrakis-(dimethylaminoethylene) was added into a small test tube. This test tube was taken to the UV lamp and shined at. Observations about the intensity and duration of glow were recorded. After, 1 mL of luminol in DMSO was added into five test tubes. Now, in each test tube fluorescein, rhodamine, rubrene and perylene solutions were added in 4 four of the five test tubes. Observation of the color of each solution was recorded. At this point, 1M NaOH was added into each test tube and was then shined with a UV lamp. Further observations were recorded. Finally 1 g of Al2O3 was added into four 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask. This was mixed with 1 mL of 3% H2O2. In each flask, perylene, tetracene (2,3-benanthracene), 9,10-Dipehenylanthracene, and rubrene were added respectively. Now, 1 mL of oxalic chloride was added in each flask and swirled. Observations were then recorded. * Crime Lab A water bath was heated and maintained at 650C. Now, scribbles were made on papers from each of the four pens. The paper with each scribble was cut into small pieces and placed into a marked test tube. Also, a scribble of an unknown pen was obtained. The paper was also cut into small pieces and placed in a test tube. 2 mL of methanol was added into each test tube and was placed in the hot bath for 5 minutes. The test tubes were allowed to cool, the color of the inks were recorded and poured into five cuvettes. Using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, the wavelength peaks and absorbance of each ink solution were recorded. Four of the five dyes were then poured into new marked test tubes. The solutions were then boiled for 14 minutes until the there were less than 1 mL. The solutions were allowed to cool. Now, a 250 mL beaker was obtained. In it was added a small amount of methanol (less than half a centimeter in height). A filter paper was then obtained and cut towards the end (B.1). This was placed at the side of the beaker. Finally, an alumna plate was cut in the dimension of 8 x 4 cm. A line was drawn at a 1 cm height using a pencil. In this line, drops of the four inks were spotted. This plate was then leaned inside the end of the beaker (B.2). The plate was left in the solvent until it reached  ¾ of the way up. The height the inks and solvent reached up the plate was recorded.

First day in college Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

First day in college - Essay Example The beginning of college meant the initiation of a different social environment where I would have to settle with my class fellows. When I entered college, my levels of anxiety raised and I walked in quietly towards the seminar room where there was a welcome address for the new students. I was very conscious because of the fear of being bullied. But my experience in the seminar room was not bad as I had expected it to be. This is because I came across many friendly people who like me were trying to settle in the new environment. I started a conversation with two of my class fellows and by the end of the session, we were all pretty comfortable. After the welcome address we moved to our classrooms and I started pondering on who would be teaching us and whether we would be having good teachers or not. I took a seat in my new class and our class teacher entered. She was a sweet lady who understood that most of us were stressed. She calmed us down and interacted with us prior to starting her teaching session. She proved to be not only very friendly but an extremely skilled teacher who was perfect at what she was teaching us. This was a relief as it was a good beginning of the day. When college ended and I was leaving the premises, I was happy that I had taken the decision to join this college. My anxiety had gone and I knew it that I was at the right place. It was a well disciplined place with high quality teaching and a perfect learning environment. I was also glad that I was in a class where the students were positive and optimistic about learning. My first day at college proved the nightmares that I had imagined with regard to it to be wrong. It was a good beginning of a new chapter of my life as I saved many precious memories from my college. Following the first day, I looked forward to going to college as the

Mental health psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mental health psychology - Essay Example 7). And until today, the question as to what defines normality from abnormality, remains debatable. But it was also in defining and categorically classifying mental disorders that psychiatry – which was under a decade severe attack in the 70’s – won its bid for professional legitimacy and authority in this field, as brought about by the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostically based Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, commonly referred to as DSM-III (Mayes & Horwitz, 2005, p. 249; Kirk & Kutchins, 1994, p. 71). As Robert Spitzer, the primary force in the development of DSM-III, stated â€Å"[W]hether we like it or not, the issue of defining the boundaries of mental and medical disorder cannot be ignored. Increasingly there is pressure for the medical profession and psychiatry in particular to define its area of prime responsibility† (cited in Healy, 1997, p. 233). However, although DSM-III had given so much influence to psychiatry, it did not actually resolve old-age questions regarding mental health, especially so that â€Å"Psychiatric diagnosis provides the fundamental rubric for discourse about mental illness† (Kirk & Kutchins, 1992, p.10). Additionally, although it is now widely used as a biblical text not only by psychiatrists but even by lawyers, federal agents, insurance agents, pharmaceuticals, it is on the other hand criticised in different fronts, which when analysed, such criticisms essentially attack DSM’s integrity as to its true intention, as to its scientific claims, and as to its usefulness. Whether such criticisms hold water could be scrutinised from critically evaluating DSMs origin and contemporary role. The development of DSM from its very beginning to its latest version has consistently compromised with other political and financial interests shrouding its validity as a scientific, diagnostic instrument for

Of Mice and Men- Emotion not reason motivates Leni and George Essay

Of Mice and Men- Emotion not reason motivates Leni and George - Essay Example For instance, Lennie and George are emotionally bound in spite of the fact that they are opposites. The emotional sufferings and feeling of isolation binds both men more than a rational decision to buy a farm: â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us† (Steinbeck 1993, 23). The varieties of this emotional impact are extensive: they may be a record of emotional struggles and experiences of both men. Steinbeck seeks consciously or unconsciously to give their readers the sort of emotional "en ­joyment; he flatters his readers that the possession of feelings of whatever kind is in itself a good thing, and they account it laudable to be able to move readers. The dream to own piece of land is influenced by emotions rather than a rational choice. George idealizes farming and its benefits which represents the American dream. â€Å"I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land† (Steinbeck 1993, 34). The American dream means opportunities for everyone to become rich and prosperous in spite of his background and origin. Lennie and George are motivated by desire to earn enough for living. They see the road as the only possible place to realize their dreams. The farm and land symbolize life experience of a particular person, and it brings message to everyone to think over next step in his life. It implies not only wisdom, but also the whole life of Lennie and George. The killing of Lennie

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Macroeconomics - Essay Example hen the economy falls into recession or deflation, Fed normally cuts the interest rates and takes suitable policies to maintain the low interest rates. The intention is to give incentive to people and businesses to borrow and spend more and thus to sustain the economy. But when the economy shows the signs of inflation and fast economic growth, Fed will raise the interest rates and keep high interest rates. This will cause the borrowing become costlier and lead to slow spending and economic growth. Here the situation needs special attention of policy makers as the economy shows the signs of deflation in some districts and inflationary trends in other districts. The states of New York and San Francisco districts shows the trends of price deflation while all other districts believe that inflation may be at hand. The groups of policy makers as well as media who fear the future outbreak of inflation believe that the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates near zero and pump the economy with credits will lead to the spread of inflation in the near future. But among the policy makers of Fed, a substantial wing believes that the already low rate of inflation will again be slow due to the unsolved real estate problems in majority of the districts. It can be pointed out that dwindling rate of inflation is an evidence of the excess capacity and need to sustain the economy with lower interest rates. The inflation is always danger, but deflation is more danger. Hence, Fed’s decision whether to keep the lower interest rate so as to widen the spending or to increase the interest rate in order to tighten the economy, is a crucial question at this stage. Though there are some trends of inflation Fed will decide to keep the lower interest and loosen the monetary policy. Hence in this present situation it is better to keep the lower interest rate and raise the short-term interest rate whenever the situation arises. At present inflation cannot be seen as an immediate

Activity Based Costing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Activity Based Costing - Research Paper Example The total customer and distribution cost allocated to the various customers is as follows: Departmental stores=400+400+800=1600 Mid size specialty stores=3600+15600+19200=38400 Small gift shops=36000+64000+40000=140000 Total customer support and distribution cost =180000 Contribution margin less customer support and distribution cost will be as follows using the two approaches. Revenue approach Description Department store Specialty shops Gift shops Contribution margin 0.5*150000=75000 0.75*100000=75000 0.8*250000=200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 54000 36000 90000 21000 39000 11000 ABC approach Description Department store Specialty shop Gift shop Contribution margin 75000 75000 200000 Less: Customer and distribution cost 1600 38400 140000 73400 36600 60000 The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization (Bhimani, Horngren, Datar & Foster, 2008). In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attractive compared to the other customers. The gift...Activity costing being one of the methods of cost allocation. There are four major steps in cost allocation using this method. First is the determination of the major activities of the business that result in cost increases. The cost centers of the activities are then determined. The third stage is the determination of the co st drivers i.e. the factors responsible for the increase in cost in the various cost centers (Horngren, 2009). The costs are then charged to the various cost centers considering the driving factors. The main core of a profit making company is to increase its returns and reduce costs. Management and cost accountants have to put up measures that reduce costs and ensure profit maximization. In the above case, the customer who should be preferred is that whose contribution margin less Customer and distribution cost is high. It must be noted that fixed cost is not used in making decisions since the company has no control on the fixed cost. Considering the revenue approach of cost allocation, the company will prefer specialty shop because of the high return of 39000. The department’s stores with the return of 21000 and lastly the gift shop with a return of 11000 would then follow this. In the case of activity based costing allocation method, the department store will be more attrac tive compared to the other customers. The gift shop will be second while the specialty shop will be the least attractive.

Childhood eating disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childhood eating disorders - Essay Example The key points found within this research, in regards to this underlying problem, details other causative factors such as socialization, educational, depressive states, personality traits, and a myriad of other complex, and hidden causes perpetuating upon the main problem, which is the eating disorder itself. The point of this research was to try and bring more concise facts into the reasons this disorder has become a growing concern in the medical field today. The ways in which it could be prevented and controlled are all touched upon as well. The ultimate point that was clarified in concluding this research was the fact that more attention to the signs and characteristics of eating disorders among children needed to be focused on, in order to ensure youths have an emotionally balanced and productive life in the best way possible. Childhood Eating Disorders do not appear out of thin air. There is always an underlying cause for this type of disorder among children and it could be from any number of things. Many doctors believe that there are multideterminants to diagnosing an eating disorder among children. As has been mentioned, there are a number of causative factors that can be held responsible. One of these happens to be the occurrence of sexual abuse. Oddly enough, this type of traumatic episode can lead children to turning to food as an escape. The only thing this does is mask the much larger problem, as well as leading to health complications (Petrie, Tripp 2001). What has been pinpointed in the correlation between sexual abuse and the development of an eating disorder is the fact that when children are sexually abused they develop a self-perception that is filled with negativities. They perceive their body image as a negative thing, their self-esteem lowers, and more than anything else they become embarrassed and ashamed of their own bodies. Food is simply a comforting experience for them and they use it to conceal their other emotions away from their peers, family, and the doctors treating them. Periods of severe domestic violence harshly impact a child's chance at a normal life, especially in their control over their eating habits. As with sexual abuse, children who are beaten are statistically shown to use foods as a type of sheltering avoidance of their circumstances (Salisbury & Wichman 2004). Children between the ages of 6-12 struggle constantly with anxiety, mood swings, and eating disorders. They get headaches, stomachaches, can't co ncentrate, and develop a very passive characteristic about their life in general (Salisbury & Wichmann 2004). Food is their reprieve, their escape away from reality. Early intervention into situations such as these can prevent these occurrences from happening. Nevertheless, these are not the sole causal factors of the development and progression of an eating disorder among young people. Some of the other possibilities that lead to this particular disorder are, social, cultural, developmental, psychological, and physical/physiological causative reasoning (Petrie, Tripp 2001). In a social context the problem is centered basically around the concept of thin is beautiful, and this especially impacts young girls. They go on crazy diets, some to the point of starvation just to

Transantional Media Essay Example for Free

Transantional Media Essay Introduction The media has played a very crucial role in the transformation of people, their culture and lifestyles world over. The media itself has been on constant revolution with some growing to become big multinational or transnational corporations. This growth and evolution has been necessitated by a few factors among them being: The shifting business environment The changes in communication technology The changes taking place in terms of politics Emergence of global business and the emergence of common markets like Free-Trade agreements such as NAFTA and Easy export and import of business culture and business interests Take an example of the Snow White and the seven dwarfs in the early 1930’s and the Disney world in the early 30’s. The Disneyland of today for example is a whole world of wonders consisting of: Movies Museum Mobile Arks Shop Television Radio Satellite Records Music On Ice Music on Broadway Cruises Resorts and Amusement This means that the effect created by such a transnational media would not only be felt in the mother country but world over as well. To this end however, it would not be wise to downplay the role the media corporations play without critically looking into the effects the very existence and expansion of such corporations have on the society in general. This is because the society of today values information significantly as a vital product in the market, Gershon R. A. – (2000) The other issue is that these media corporations are traversing a world with different cultures and lifestyles yet they themselves have a central origin with a particular culture. Therefore it would be good to know if they could influence others by such cultures and ultimately change their ways of living. What would be the reaction of the locals? Would they resist such external influence? How would they try to resist and would such resistance be effective or successful? These are some of the questions this article will examine and the main reason is because the world comprises people of different preferences, tastes, fashion and who live on diverse culture divides. What one culture might resist as not worth taking another culture may find no difficulty in its daily course of events and society’s mode of life. It may be even a serious challenge where such different cultures exist in such a way that they are mingled up and it is difficult to isolate or selectively come up with a particular group and claim to placed   it in a particular culture. It is also good to remember that the world, due to such technological developments such as the advent of the computer era and transnational media, has become such a small village in such a manner that people in the US, UK, Africa and Far East share or live on similar divide. Discussion The media imperialism thesis has for long argued against the expansion of Western media. It has maintained that such an expansion especially creating roots into the developing world has had great consequences resulting in the supremacy over the developing countries’ national media environments. The consequences of such domination would be to destroy the indigenous media production of the developing countries, (Kalyani Chadha, 2000). However, according to history, societies which live under despotic regimes created by superimposing media have constantly come up with alternative forms of communication as instruments of subversion. Most common forms include the use of underground newspapers though the issue is even completed further with the fact that the there are more sophisticated communication technologies in the modern world. These new communication technologies have made it possible for transnational media and the citizen to participate amicably with great empowerment. It should be realized that the transnational media has also been of great help in helping the citizens to creatively exploit new media to resist state propaganda roiled out through the mainstream media, (Moyo, D. 2007). Critical scholars time and again view media concentration as an expression of corporate free enterprise: that is, influential media owned and sustained by wealthy private interests. In liberal democracies, the media exerts its power and ability to influence the lifestyles of people through performance of three main duties. They act as watchdogs on governments provide conduits for the two-way flow of information between the people and their government, and lastly they act as source of information for the professed free bazaar of ideas, (Mowlana, H. (1996). Global communication in transition: The end of diversity. London: Sage). Critical mass in media industries is what this article is all about with empirical tenability being a critical point of examination. Great emphasis lies on emerging production centers like the Hollywood and the manner in which such media productions penetrate their businesses into other frontier market like East Asia and Africa. In order to understand the issue much better it is good to examine the growth models used by emerging media economies. More specifically, the framework critiques approaches that argue that global integration is normatively disadvantageous to peripheral industries and societies. These growth models are: De-territorialization Media,(low-cost outsourcing); Isomorphism (cloning culture); Cultural technology transfer (co-productions and franchise agreements); Niche markets (breakthroughs); and Cultural or industrial milieu (local clusters).   Culture Society  © 2006 SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi), Economic and organizational factors are the major lead forces causing cultural globalization. Yet this cultural globalization must have an organizational infrastructure. A form of such globalization comes about   as   a   product   of   the   actions   of   media   and   entertainment   organizations   based   in advanced countries and whose production and distribution of film, television, and popular music creates a certain global dominance which basically depends on the economic standing of the media mother country rather than the cultural factors. And that’s why American firms in particular have   profited   from   the   size   of   their   national   market   and   the fact that funds   for investment are available. Thus a minute number of media corporations, based in a few Western countries, control the production and global distribution of television, film, book publishing and popular music. Due to deregulation of national media industries and emergence of new technologies, global media market has developed. In this oligopolistic market the level of investment required to enter the market is so high, due to high costs of production and distribution. Developing countries are locked out in a competition by the developed ones thus it makes it easy for those vertically integrated corporations to make huge profits by selling very similar product in   different media thereby influencing the people in all areas: books, films, theater movies, cable television, CD- rom and others. The films which are expensively produced capitalize on technical effects that are much concerned with action, stunt and violence rather than character and emotion. This is because action films have a greater impact since they are simple to understand in diversity considering the diversity of languages spoken across the globe. Hindrances and Local Resistance Before looking at the effect and extend of local resistance, we should keenly look at some of the forces that have hindered the development and influence of the transnational media in the different parts of the world. As we had seen earlier, the transnational media corporations we have today have undergone several stages of development through a series of obstacles. Thus in a world of competition we expect some to prosper and others to flop. This is the reason as to why there are those that have grown while others have not. Those that grew are the ones that withstood the challenges. In the beginning of the desire to expand their influence, the media had a lot of trouble due to technical impediments that existed between the developed and the yet to develop nations. This meant that the influence could not penetrate easily to the required level. For example the fact that some nations had developed satellite while others depended on the cable for communication. And in fact communication in some countries was still very underdeveloped and therefore installation had to take place before further penetration- Richeri (1994) Another hindrance was the fact that there was a great divide caused by linguistic obstacle.   Considering this, you find that there was a great difference in the time of news broadcast, type and structure of news especially given that the same reporter cannot present all the news. Thirdly, there were financial obstacles which were as a result of the difficulty with which advertisement could be put into one platform to satisfy a wide range of audience with different needs. Lastly we meet the cultural obstacle. People have varied cultures which they want to preserve at all costs and would try to resist any force which may intend to change their culture.   This local resistance still meets various challenges especially which are political and technological. Most governments have deregulated their broadcasting and this has had the following consequences: A shift from public to private media Normative goals have shifted to commercial goals A movement from political system to the market model A shift from national media to transnational operators The above points imply that the media has become more liberal, now having owners, administrators and advertisers and the fact that political influence is not uncommon. Therefore local resistance becomes a difficult task to accomplish. However, transnational media’s political aspects have remained a thing of the past or completely failed or have survived precariously as a preserve of the business or political elite.   Ã‚  Collins (1996) However, some argue that the success of transnational media in influencing the culture of the world will fail automatically given the cultural diversity. It is argued further that due to vast dissimilar languages, diverse cultures, political practices and even trends in media usage attempts by the transnational media to influence the world culture would fail even if there were no attempts to interrupt such an influence. This is because for it to succeed effectively, it would require an existence of uniform political world, a world with one language, the one with homogeneous cultures or lifestyle. Yet creation of such a society is not nearly possible as consensus would not be probable. Although there are those who hold that the emergence of a global public sphere is already imminent and as such, they maintain, it is possible that a uniform cultured world is achievable or already being achieved. For example, based on this argument, they say that the public, its opinion and the world political system is already under a strong influence of the global communication rather than a particular political state or system.   (Volkmer, 1999: 119) Skeptics have their view.   Political economic tradition criticism maintains that global media corporations play an increasingly imperative role in that they in reality control media industries all over the world. These changes are primarily caused by commercial and industrial momentum thus both culture and communication becomes more profit-oriented and product-driven. (Schiller, 1993 also Spark, 1998).   Another faction of the skeptics holds that based on cultural and institutional analysis of the current processes which lead to development of the transnational media, transnational media does not have a wide reach but rather regional such that even within its primary reach it is yet to make a universal penetration, (e.g. Collins, 1994, 1996 1998; Schlesinger, 1993 1999). In addition, you find that in most countries the usage of transnational media channels is restricted only to the well educated cadres and the business or political elites and mostly only applicable as a back-up to the national news channels viewed by a majority. According to this view it means that international media corporations cannot play a worthwhile role in formation or creation of a world public sphere or global culture. But there is still a point to consider in our argument. Technological development led to globalization especially invention of satellite which contributed to the development of mass media and more so electronic media which rather created a global village. Therefore people interacted and lived on a global scale since space and time barriers in human communication were collapsed. For example as mentioned in the introductory part, Disney culture can be found in many countries today in the world due to the Globalization of Culture different audiences can be brought different cultural experiences. Thus people in Japan, China and other far Eastern countries have learnt about Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day much from mass media making such events more popular in those parts of the world. Today, Disney is among the largest media and most popular entertainment corporations known in the world. Yet this Disney has been part of America’s cultural identity. This shows an example of how transnational media has influenced culture across the globe. Disney Theme Parks for example are found in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris showing a transfer of this culture from the original cradle to other countries despite it being commercialized. On the other hand, Internet incites a globalization of both public sphere and news media. It enables more interactive passage of information via its bidirectional communicative Technology, that is, Online Chat, e-mail and etc- C. Barker, (1999). Conclusion The hindrances that earlier on faced the expansion and influence of the transnational media corporations are no longer effective as the world becomes more liberal in handling of its affairs. Hence, as media companies of today grow persistently and continuously keep expanding, the challenges of staying competitive globally become all the time more difficult but the corporations use strategic planning to deal with environmental dynamics that affect their business. This means that penetration of other cultures in a region is not as difficult as it used to be earlier on when it had just started making in roots. Linguistic obstacle that used to be is no longer a problem since people are able to understand gestures, picture motions and other physical aspects of communication even if language is not availed: – audio- visual effects of today’s communication C. Barker, (1999). This therefore implies that local resistance would not be sufficient to counter the effects and impact of multinational media corporations in influencing cultural aspects of the world we live in today. Information is a major product on high demand and the way this information is channeled to the end user will have a significant impact on the behavior of the user after reception of the information. Thus so far, as we acknowledge the role played by the media in reducing the global geographical distance between societies, individuals and cultural spheres, we need to also accept that it will be impossible to curtail it from creating a global sphere. Hence continued dominance of the transnational media corporations in the world media market is a sure threat to the cultural diversity that exists at present yet local resistance has been made impossible unless political interventions are signed out, which are also prone failure- Akwule, R. Global (1992). References: Platon and M. Deuze Indymedia Journalism: A Radical Way of Making, Selecting and Sharing News? Journalism, August  1,  2003; 4(3): 336 355. Gershon A. R. Communication Department, Western Michigan University.Publication Journal of Media Economics, April 2000; 13 (2): 81 – 101 Abshire, D. M. International broadcasting: Western diplomacy’s new dimension of. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. (1976). Akwule, R. Global telecommunications: The technology, politics, and administration. Boston: Focal Press. (1992). Goff, H. D. A. B. Albarran, (Eds.). Understanding the Web: Social, economic, and political dimensions of the Internet. Ames, Iowa: ISU Press. (2000). Alexander, A. et al. (Eds.). Media economics: Theory and practice (2nd). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, (1998). Megamedia A.D.: Dominance of Giant Corporations in Mass Media, How competition is distorted and democracy endangered. Lanham, MD: Rowman Litlefield(1998). Miller A. D. International communication and international power, New York: St. Martins Press. (1995). Bagdikian, H. B. The monopoly of the media (5th ed.). NY: Beacon Press. (1997). Barker, (1999). Television, globalization and cultural identities. London: Open University Press. Schlesinger B, E. The Media and Conglomerates. New York: New Press. (1998). Spark, The global village: Dead or alive? Ohio: BGP Press, (1998).

The Types Of Pasta

The Types Of Pasta Delicious, healthy, quick to cook and, above all, economical pasta really is the ultimate convenience food. Whether simply tossed with a sauce, fresh vegetables or salad ingredients, or combined as a dish and baked in the oven, pasta can be used as the base of countless fabulous meals. And because there are so many different types of pasta fresh or dried, long or short, stuffed or flat and so many ways of combining them, from the ultra-simple to the impressively sophisticated, there really is a pasta dish for every occasion. Of the many, many different types of pasta available, they can be divided into four main categories: long, short, flat and stuffed. In turn, these many be fresh or dried, with wholemeal varieties available in some shapes, and made of durum wheat flour and water, or with additional egg. They may also be coloured and flavoured with spinach (green), tomato (red), beetroot (pink), saffron (yellow), squid ink (black) and herbs. Fresh pasta is delicious, although not necessarily better than dried pasta and many Italians will choose dried pasta over fresh for specific dishes. As a rule of thumb, buy the best pasta you can afford, as it will make all the difference to the final flavour and texture of the dish. LONG PASTA Most types of long pasta are sold dried, and some are also available fresh. They vary in length and may be sold in straight lengths, pressed into waves or coiled into nests. They are usually made from plain durum wheat. Those made with delicate egg pasta are usually sold coiled into nests. Most long pastas suit smooth, creamy and clinging sauces. Common varieties include: à ¢-  Bucatini Resembling thick spaghetti, each strand is hollow. There is a thicker version known as bucatoni. à ¢-  Capelli dangelo Also called angel hair pasta, this very long, thin pasta is like delicate vermicelli and is sold in nests. It is usually served with sauce, or in soup. Figure 2.2 Capelli dangelo à ¢-  Fettuccine Long, flat ribbons sold in nests. It may be plain, with egg or with spinach. It can be used interchangeably with tagliatelle. Figure 2.3 Fettuccine à ¢-  Linguine Resembling thin, flat spaghetti and used in the same way. Figure 2.4 Linguine à ¢-  Pappardelle Broad, flat noodles, often with a wavy edge. It often made with egg pasta and is tranditionally served with meat and game sauces. Figure 2.5 Pappardelle à ¢-  Spaghetti Probably the best known of all long pastas, these long, thin strings are good with ant sauce. Spaghettini has thinner strands. Figure 2.6 Spaghetti à ¢-  Tagliatelle Flat ribbon noodles sold in nests. It may be plain or with egg or spinach. Figure 2.7 Tagliatelle à ¢-  Vermicelli Fine pasta strands, sold coiled into nests. It may be plain or with egg and is good with light sauces. Figure 2.8 Vermicelli SHORT PASTA There are even more varieties of short pasta than there are long. They are widely available fresh and dried and may be plain, with egg, or flavorued and coloured. They are favoured by many for their versatility suiting most sauces and being great in salads and baked dishes. Common varieties include: à ¢-  Conchiglie Shell-shaped and available in many different sizes from large ones for stuffing, medium ones for tossing with sauce and tiny ones for soup. Figure 3.1 Conchiglie à ¢-  Farfalle Little pasta bows, plain or flavoured with spinach or tomato. Figure 3.2 Farfalle à ¢-  Fiorelli Pretty pasta tubes with a lacy edge. Figure 3.3 Fiorelli à ¢-  Fusilli Spirals resembling tight springs, formed by wrapping dough around a thin rod. Figure 3.4 Fusilli à ¢-  Macaroni Thick, slightly curved tubes of pasta. It is particularly popular served with thick, creamy sauces and in baked dishes. Figure 3.5 Macaroni à ¢-  Pastina Tiny pasta shapes for soup. They come in a fabulous array of shapes for soup. They come in a fabulous array of shapes including stars, letters, tubes, shells, bows, rings and squares. Larger ones are good for chunky soups such as minestrone, while the tiniest are ideal for light broths. Figure 3.6 Pastina à ¢-  Penne Tubular pasta shapes with angled ends, resembling a quill. Figure 3.7 Penne à ¢-  Rigatoni Ridged, chunky tubes used in the same way as macaroni. Figure 3.8 Rigatoni à ¢-  Rotelle Shaped like tiny cartwheels, these are very popular with children. Figure 3.9 Rotelle FLAT PASTA There are many flat pasta ribbons (see long pasta, above), but there is really only one type of flat pasta sheet. à ¢-  Lasagne Usually plain or flavoured with spinach, and available dried or fresh. The most commonly available varieties require no pre-cooking. The flat or ridged sheets may be layered with sauce and baked to make classic lasagna, or cooked then rolled around a filling and baked to make cannelloni. Figure 4 Lasagne STUFFED PASTA Usually available fresh, but also dried, stuffed pasta is good served simply, tossed with butter or oil, or with smooth sauces. Common varieties include: à ¢-  Cannelloni Dried pasta tubes for stuffing yourself, then covering in sauce and baking. Figure 5.1 Cannelloni à ¢-  Cappelletti Little hat-shaped pasta shapes made from a square of pasta dough that has been filled, folded into a triangle, and the ends wrapped round to make a brim. Traditionally eaten at Christmas in broth, but also good tossed with butter or sauce. Figure 5.2 Cappelletti à ¢-  Ravioli Usually square, these stuffed cushions of pasta may be large or small. Fillings may vary, to, with meat, fish, shellfish, cheese and vegetables all being popular. Figure 5.3 Ravioli à ¢-  Tortellini Similar to cappelletti in appearance, although larger and made with dough rounds rather than squares. Like ravioli, fillings are many and varied. Figure 5.4 Tortellini COOKING PASTA Pasta, whether fresh or dried, is incredibly simple to cook as long as you follow there simple rules. 1. Always use a big pan with plenty of water. The pasta needs enough room to cook without sticking together. Allow about 5 litres of water for every 500g of pasta. If youre cooking less pasta, you should still use at least 2.75 litres of water. 2. Add enough salt to the water: pasta cooked in unsalted water will give tasteless results. Allow 1 2 tablespoons of salt for every 500g of pasta. *Dont worry if this sounds like a lot of salt; most of it will be thrown away with the cooking water. 3. Add a little oil to the water to prevent the pasta sticking together. In the case of lasagna sheets, up to a tablespoonful of oil may be needed. Bring the cooking water to a fast rolling boil before adding the pasta otherwise the pasta can become stodgy. 4. Add the pasta in one go so that it all has the same cooking time. Long pasta such as spaghetti should be placed in the boiling water, then gently pressed into the water as it softens to ensure even cooking. 5. Give the pasta a quick stir to prevent it sticking together, then quickly return the water to a roiling boil. 6. Reduce the heat to medium-high so that the water remains at a brisk boil, stirring now and again to prevent the pasta sticking. 7. The pasta is ready when it is al dente that is tender, yet still with a bite when bitten. The easiest way to check this is to remove a piece of pasta from the pan and give it a bite. If you overcook pasta, you will get soft, stodgy results. 8. As soon as the pasta is al dente, drain it well, shaking the colander or sieve to remove any excess water. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons of cooking water in case you need to loosen the pasta sauce when you combine it with the pasta. *If the pasta is to be served cold, rinse it under cold water in the colander, then set aside. 9. Serve immediately with the sauce of your choice, or add ingredients ready for baking. HOW MUCH PASTA? The quantity of pasta required per person is a slightly moveable feast, depending on appetite, whether the sauce is light or substantial, and whether youre serving the dish as an appetizer or main course. However, you can use the following dry weight as a general guide: à ¢-  for an appetizer, allow 50g (2oz) per person à ¢-  for a main meal, allow 75-125g (3-4oz) per person COOKING TIMES Accurate timing is essential for perfect pasta, and cooking times can vary according to the variety, brand and type of pasta. Always check the packet for timing, or, if youre making your own, follow the timing given in the recipe. Start timing as soon as the water returns to the boil after adding the pasta. As a general guide, use the following times: à ¢-  thin, fresh noodles 1-2 minutes à ¢-  thicker fresh noodles and pasta shapes 2-3 minutes à ¢-  stuffed fresh pasta 3-4 minutes à ¢-  dried pasta 8-12 minutes (though wholemeal may take longer). WHICH PASTA? WHAT SAUCE? Another secret to success when serving pasta is pairing the right pasta with the right sauce -synchronizing your timing so that theyre both ready at the same time. *Most sauces can stand a little waiting while the pasta finishes cooking, but pasta is best served as soon as it is cooked, so try to make sure your sauce is ready in time. Although some sauces are traditionally served with specific pastas for example fettuccine all Alfredo, bucatini all Amatriciana, and penne all Arrabiata common sense usually prevails when pairing pasta and sauces. Heavy, chunky sauces are best served with short pasta shapes, such as penne, conchiglie and rigatoni, or wide noodles, such as pappardelle and tagliatelle. The sauce doesnt slide off these pastas in the way that it would a fine, delicate pasta such as capelli dangelo. Long, thin pastas, such as spaghetti and linguine, go better with smooth sauces that cling to their length, such as tomato or creamy sauces. And delicate pastas such as vermicelli go well with light sauces, such as seafood ones. There are also classic Italian regional pairings. For example, olive oil sauces made with tomatoes and seafood, which are popular in the south, are usually served with the plain durum wheat pasta, such as spaghetti and vermicelli, that is popular in the area. In the north, however, sauces are frequently made with butter and cream, and these go very well with the egg pasta that is made there. STORAGE Fresh pasta is best eaten on the day that it is made, although it can be refrigerated for 24 hours, or frozen for up to 3 months. Ready-made, vacuum-packed varieties may be stored in the refrigerator for slightly longer, so check the advice on the packet. Once opened, dried pasta should be stored in an airtight container and used within 9 months. Figure 6 Cooking pasta steps HISTORY OF PASTA Although pasta is associated with Italian food, but researchers claim pasta to be a Chinese invention that was brought by Venetian merchant Marco Polo to Italy after his famous trip to the Middle Kingdom in the 13th century.The idea that Marco Polo brought pasta from China to Italy is as similar to Italians as the idea that the hamburger came from Germany is to Americans. No one argue that the Chinese have made pasta, from many more kinds of flour than Europeans have, since at least 1100 B.C. Italians insist as a point of national pride that they invented pasta in their part of the world, despite considerable evidence that they did not. They cite as proof a set of reliefs on an Etruscan tomb dating from the fourth century BC, which carved a knife, a board with a raised edge that resembles a modern pasta board, a flour sack, and a pin that they say was made of iron and used for shaping tubular pasta. The Museum of the History of Spaghetti, owned by Agnesi (a pasta manufacturer near Tu rin) makes much of these reliefs, as do most histories of pasta-including the standard one, Anna del Contes Portrait of Pasta. The reliefs do not persuade the American historian Charles Perry, who has written several articles on the origins of pasta. There are plenty of things to do with a pin besides shape pasta, he says. In fact, Perry says, no sure Roman reference to a noodle of any kind, tubular or flat, has turned up, and that makes the Etruscan theory even more unlikely, given that the Romans dominated Italy soon after the Etruscans did. The first clear Western reference to boiled noodles, Perry says, is in the Jerusalem Talmud of the fifth century A.D., written in Aramaic. The authors debated whether or not noodles violated Jewish dietary laws. (Today only noodles made of matzoh meal are kosher for Passover.) They used the word itriyah, thought by some scholars to derive from the Greek itrion, which referred to a kind of flatbread used in religious ceremonies. By the tenth century, it appears, itriyah in many Arabic sources referred to dried noodles bought from a vendor, as opposed to fresh ones made at home. Other Arabic sources of the time refer to fresh noodles as lakhsha, a Persian word that was the basis for words in Russian, Hungarian, and Yiddish. (By comparison with these words, noodle, which dates from sixteenth-century German, originated yesterday.) In the twelfth century an Arab geographer, commissioned by the Norman king of Sicily to write a sort of travel book about the island, reported seeing pasta bei ng made. The geographer called it itriyah, from which seems to have come trii, which is still the word for spaghetti in some parts of Sicily and is also current in the name for a dish made all over Italy-ciceri e trii, pasta and chick-pea soup. The soup reflects the original use for pasta, which was as an extender in soups and sometimes desserts. Serving pasta as a dish in itself with a bit of sauce does seem to be an Italian rather than a Greek, Persian, or Arab invention. (Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews, a wonderful book by EddaServiMachlin, has delicious pasta recipes that show some of the many influences that the Arab world had on Italian food.) The Marco Polo myth has refused to die. Italians accuse Americans of promulgating it, beginning with an influential article in a 1929 issue of Macaroni Journal (now Pasta Journal), an American trade magazine, which has inspired countless advertisements, restaurant placemats, cookbooks, and even movies. (From 1919 on, Macaroni Journal occasionally published articles purporting to give the history of pasta, usually-though not always-labeling the less plausible ones as lore. The 1929 story began, Legend has it . . .) In the 1938 film The Adventures of Marco Polo, Gary Cooper points to a bowl of noodles and asks a Chinese man what he calls them. In our language, the man replies, we call them spa get. In the centuries after Marco Polos voyage pasta continued to be a luxury in Italy. By 1400 it was being produced commercially, in shops that retained night watchmen to protect the goods. The vermicelli, as dried pasta was known, was kneaded by foot: men trod on dough to make it malleable enough to roll out. The treading could last for a day. The dough then had to be extruded through pierced dies under great pressure, a task accomplished by a large screw press powered by two men or one horse. This somewhat gamy procedure was not used for other kinds of dough, but commercial pasta dough has never been normal dough. The flour used to make it-semolina-is granular, like sugar, and has a warm golden color. Semolina makes a straw-colored dough that must be kneaded for a long time, which is why it has always been far more common in commercial than in homemade pasta. Semolina is milled from durum wheat (Triticum durum; durum means hard), a much harder grain than common wheat (Triticumvulgarum), which is used to make ordinary flour. (The harder the grain, the more energy required to mill it.) All durum makes firmer cooked pasta than common flour does, but not all durum is alike in hardness or quality. The kind of durum milled into semolina and how a manufacturer makes and dries the dough determine the firmness of the pasta when it is cooked. Durum wheat was suited to the soil and weather of Sicily and Campania, the region around Naples, and so the pasta industry developed there, in the eighteenth century, and led Italian production into this century. Naples had a perfect climate for drying pasta. The alternation of mild sea breezes and hot winds from Mount Vesuvius ensured that the pasta would not dry too slowly, and thus become moldy, or too fast, and thus crack or break. The number of pasta shops in Naples went from sixty to 280 between the years 1700 and 1785. Young English aristocrats making the grand tour in the eighteenth century were shown the city where pasta hung everywhere to dry-in the streets, on balconies, on roofs. Neapolitan street vendors sold cooked spaghetti from stalls with charcoal-fired stoves, working with bowls of grated Romano cheese beside them. Customers would follow the example of the barkers, who lifted the long strands high and dropped them into their mouths. The grand tourists assumed that t he fork hadnt yet caught on in Italy, whereas it was the Venetians who in the sixteenth century had introduced the fork to Europe. EVOLUTION OF PASTA As we look into the history of Italian pasta cooking, we will see that the food used as a basic type of food in the Italian diet has not always been so. While till the 1500s, macaroni (the term used for any dried pasta) was considered an exotic food, cooking pasta in an Italian household was considered very expensive chiefly due to the high costs and the time-intensive labor required for making pasta and was reserved only for the upper class. However, after the 17th century, the variation of the pasta industry saw a sea-change along with rapid industrialization and technological advances, finally making Italian pasta cooking a hot favorite among all classes. For this reason, Italians embraced pasta as an essential part of their daily diet. Eventually, the diversity, distinctive flavors and unique specialty dishes originating from Italian pasta made Italian cuisine a hot favorite among the whole of Europe and America. Italian pasta of course rules the roost, being the most important o f food culture throughout all of Italy. Through the course of time, the role of Italian pasta has changed greatly throughout Italys culinary history. Once enjoyed by Italys elite as a handmade specialty, today cooking pasta is made the foundation of Italian cuisine all over the globe. Today, a large amount of Italian pasta products available in the market consist of both fresh and dried pasta and range in size from tiny soup pasta to large sheets of lasagna noodles. Furthermore, there are shaped Italian pasta available in many different sizes and specific shapes. While the basic cooking method used for cooking pasta is boiling, a few other methods are also used to cook specific types of pasta, including baking, stir-frying, and deep-frying. Accomplished with a minimal amount of equipment like a large pot, a large spoon, and a colander, Italian pasta meals are known for their flavor and paired with healthy ingredients like tomato sauce, fresh vegetables, olive oil and fish. The meal is low in fat and contains nutrients and antioxidants to nurture body as your palate. Human diet on pasta PASTA IS A MEAL Generally, pasta is a simple dish, but comes in large varieties because it is a versatile food item. Some pasta dishes are served as an appertizer in Italy because the portion sizes are small and simple. The servings are usually accompanied by a side of meat. Pasta is also can be prepared as main course, such as salads or large portion sizes for dinner. HOW DO ITALIANS EAT PASTA? They serve pasta in warm, shallow and wide bowls instead of on dinner plates. In Italy, they call this a piatto fondo or deep dish. The rims of the bowl should be just enough to spin the fork against. They dont have to use the spoon. They put smaller portions of spaghetti on their fork before start to twirl. Then, twirl the pasta with a fork keeping the fork tip in contact with the plate. By doing so, they avoid the need to slurp and the need for a bib. DO ITALIANS EAT PASTA EVERYDAY? Yes, they eat pasta every day. In Italy, pasta is the most dishes that are dressed really simple and with few ingredients. They always use fresh and natural ingredients, dress lightly and most of all dont overcook. This is because overcooked pasta sends blood sugar higher than pasta cooked al dente. Italians believe that overcooked pasta is harder to digest and doesnt leave them feeling sluggish. When pasta is overcooked, it means it has absorbed its maximum amount of liquid. On the other hand, pasta cooked al dente can still absorb more during the digestive process and therefore digests more easily. PASTA SERVING SIZE Portion size of pasta is different depending on the ways that they eat pasta: Two to four ounces dry spaghetti as an appetizer Four to six ounces for a main course WHY EAT PASTA WITH SAUCE? Pasta sauces vary in taste, color and texture. Different types of pasta are served with different types of sauce according to the general rule that must be observed. For example, simple sauces like pesto are ideal for long and thin strands of pasta while tomato sauce combines well with thicker pastas. Thicker and chunkier sauces have the better ability to cling onto the holes and cuts of short, tubular, twisted pastas. Sauce should be served equally with its pasta. It is important that the sauce does not overflow the pasta. The extra sauce is left on the plate after all of the pasta is eaten. WHY PASTA POPULAR IN ITALY? Pasta is a traditional food in Italy and it is popular because it can be made into lots of shapes and pasta dishes. People can create lots of different dishes with it. It tastes delicious and its filling. Now, it became modern cooks because it is easy to prepare and convenient. Its also has a long shelf life Commercialization of Pasta Commercialization enables manufacturers to take the right product into the right place, at the right time, to satisfy end-consumers. In fact, the commercialization of pasta could only have developed in a strongly urbanized society. Due to its ease of preparation, low cost, versatility, palatability, long shelf life, and nutritional value, pasta is a popular commercial food product. Pasta products are commonly produced by extrusion, and their main ingredients are durum wheat semolina and water. Celiac disease is an immune-mediated disease triggered by the ingestion of the protein composite gluten. The only treatment for celiac disease is the permanent exclusion of sources of gluten (wheat, rye, and barley products) from the diet. It is important that high-quality cereal products made from alternative grains are available to this segment of the population. Recently, research on the improvement and development of gluten-free pasta has enahnced. Meanwhile, the number of gluten-free pasta products available on the market has increased dramatically. Preparation of Pasta BLT PASTA SALAD (BLT Bacon, Lettuce, Tomatoes) Ingredients 250gm any spiral/corkscrew pasta (Riccioli)  ½ cup milk 200gm bacon, sliced small 200gm cherry tomatoes, halved 1 clove garlic, finely minced 1 head of cos lettuce or 5 heads of baby romaine, torn to small pieces (basicallycos lettuce or romaine is the same thing) 100gm mayonnaise 70gm natural set plain yogurt 4 tbsp chopped spring onions salt black pepper Methods 1. Cook the pasta as per instructions on packaging until al dente. Drain and mix with milk. Set aside. (toss it from time to time to distribute the milk) 2. Fry bacon in pan (no oil) until crispy and the bacon oil oozes out. Tilt pan and let the oil drain off the bacon. Dish up bacon. Set aside. 3. Pour away most of the oil in pan, leaving behind about 2-3 tbsp of it. On medium heat, sautà © garlic until fragrant and pour in the halved cherry tomatoes. Just spread in pan but dont toss them. Let it cook until the garlic is golden. Tilt pan, push tomatoes to the higher side and let the oil collect at the lower side. Dish up tomatoes and as much garlic as you can. Set aside. (the tomatoes should not be mushy, but just cooked) 4. Prepare salad dressing, mix everything together and sprinkled the final 1 tbsp of spring onion as garnish. BAKED PASTA Ingredients 400gm pasta (shell pasta) 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp oil 1 large onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 400gm beef, minced 4 tbspchilli Paste 1 large carrot, diced 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1  ½ c peas 4 eggs, beaten 1 c cheddar, grated A handful of fried scallions A handful of parsley, chopped Salt sugar for seasoning Method 1. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water until 2/3 cooked. Season with salt. Drain and set aside. 2. Then, heat wok with oil and butter. 3. Cook onion until soft and slightly caramelized. 4. Add in garlic. 5. Add the beef and cook until slightly brown. 6. Add chili paste and cook until the oil starts to bubble on the surface. 7. Add in carrot and stir well until slightly soft. 8. Add in tomatoes and let it cook until soft. Then mix in the pasta. 9. Switch the heat off, add parsley and season well with salt and sugar. 10. Make a well in the center of the wok and pour in beaten eggs. Let it scramble and stir to mix. 11. Combine the ingredients well. 12. Put the combined ingredients in a casserole dish. 13. Sprinkle the cheese and fried scallions evenly over the top of the mixture and bake at 150oC for 20-25 mins. GREEK MEAT PASTA Ingredients 1 package rotini pasta (16 ounce) 3 tbsp olive oil, divided 1 pound ground beef 6 tomatoes, grated 1 sweet yellow onion, grated  ½cup water 3 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp ground cinnamon  ½tsp white sugar  ½tsp cayenne pepper Salt ground black pepper to taste 4 cups shredded Mizithra cheese 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Method 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ground beef until browned, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion, water, tomato paste, cinnamon, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. Simmer meat sauce over medium-low heat until flavors combine, 20 minutes. 3. Preheat oven to 350 o F (175 oC). 4. Pour meat sauce over rotini; mix well. Pour half the pasta mixture into a casserole dish; sprinkle with half the Mizithra cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle remaining Mizithra cheese and mozzarella cheese. 5. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 40 minutes. SEAFOOD PASTA Ingredients Spaghetti 10 medium-sized prawns, peeled and deveined 2 handful of clams 4 pcs of frozen fish cocktail 1 can of tomato pasta sauce 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 50ml water 3 tbsp olive oil Method 1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti exactly according to the packet instruction. Drain and set aside. 2. Oven-baked the fish cocktail as per the packaging instruction. Cook and set aside. 3. Heat some olive oil in a sauce pan. Sautà © the garlic till fragrant. Add the clams and prawns to stir-fry for 1 minute. 4. Pour in the pasta sauce and water. Cook and stirring for 2 minutes. 5. Toss with spaghetti and serve with baked fish cocktails. MUSHROOM PASTA WITH TRUFFLE OIL (vegetarian) Ingredients 200g pasta (I prefer to use spaghetti or angel hair pasta) 100g grey oyster mushrooms, sliced thinly A handful of cep mushrooms, soaked and chopped roughly (optional) 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper Fresh parsley, finely chopped Truffle oil Egg (optional) Method 1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to pack instructions (al dente should take about 8-10 minutes). Remove from heat and drain, run under cold water to stop from cooking further. 2. Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes until golden brown, then add the mushrooms and fry for 1-2 minutes until cooked. 3. Finally add the pasta, parsley and mix thoroughly, and then season with salt and pepper. 4. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Add a dash of truffle oil to finish. Significance of Pasta