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

Swimming - Essay Example In addition, a literature review allows for the experience of swimming to be further examined and then related back to the interviews in order to provide more context for the act of swimming laps. Introduction and Literature Review The sport of swimming is defined by the luxury of water as it creates sensations of pleasure through the defined experiences of the physical exertion of swimming. In addition, there is a social component as public swimming areas provide a temporary, but somewhat closed system of society in which a natural hierarchy is experienced. The following literature review provides context for the exploration of the topic of pleasure as it relates to the event of swimming through primary research that has been done from interviews with two female swimmers who participate in the event of swimming on a regular basis. The discovery of pleasure centers in the brain give some meaning to the experience of pleasure as it is felt within biological creatures. Pleasure and sen sation are not the same thing because pleasure is a definition of a type of sensation. The philosophy of pleasure is tied to the physiology of sensation, but sensation is not always required for pleasure. Puccetti (1969) conducted experiments trying to define the pleasure centers and concluded that pleasure was within the brain and could be located. Despite the fact that he also found the center of punishment, and that a monkey would deteriorate quickly if the punishment center was stimulated repeated over the course of hours, indicates that there is more to punishment and pleasure through physical understanding of the event than can be found in philosophical discourse. Without the development of a way to understand how and why something creates pleasure, the idea that a physical component is involved is almost moot. Pleasure is a discourse as much as an experience (Puccetti 1969). It is the framing of ideas that result in something that extends into the social and cultural experien ce. For the purposes of this study, understanding that the physiological concept of pleasure is less important than the philosophical informed the research on the meaning of the experience over the sensation. The researcher could discern the difference between understanding why it create a feeling in contrast to what is involved in creating the sensation of pleasure in reference to the event. According to Busch (2007), the Hudson River is a place of deep history. In the late 1990s a team of scientists decided to create a sonar map of the river bed floor in order to investigate data relevant to marine life habitation. However, what they discovered was more than 200 wrecks that catalogued centuries of history from the time of the American Revolution, through the subsequent river tragedies. In addition, a 3000 year old wall that had been built at a time when the river was at a lower level was also found. In placing oneself into the water, leaving one’s own DNA trailing behind as one cuts a path through the water, a connection is made to the past and to the future. Each side of the river can be defined through space and time. The bank that one leaves is gone as the body moves through the water, reaching and striving for the other side in order to make a statement that

Collaborative working between primary and secondary care in community Essay

Collaborative working between primary and secondary care in community mental health - Essay Example The National Service Framework acknowledges the growing mental health needs of the adult population in the community and the alarming rise of mental health problems in the population. The commonest problems have been recognised to be anxiety and depression; however, psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic depression are also not uncommon. Although there had been a service provision for these individuals for specialist mental health care units, unfortunately that did not serve well, and most these patients would be cared by the general practitioner or the primary care team, since most of these patients prefer care by the primary care team. If a specialist care team provides support to these patients while the care continued to be provided by the GPs and the primary team, it was contemplated, given the proportions of referrals to the specialist services, that an integrated care provision involving collaboration between care teams would best serve the purpose. However, it was soon evident that the problem of mental health care was not just specialist or primary treatment alone. It has social service implications since during the psychiatric or medical ca re, these patients needed support in terms of housing, employment, and training. There were problems with medication compliance, immediate crisis management facilities, continuous follow-up and earliest interventions, social support, and dual diagnosis. These problems would need the involvement of specialist community team including social care, but they cannot function effectively without the help from the primary care teams. While this paints the ideal picture, the reality must be different, since reviews still indicate that there are gaps in care provision in the mental health sector. Therefore, only evidence from literature can indicate the areas of the gaps, their reasons, and ways to avoid them so this framework can work most

Migration In Malaysia and Economic Impact

Migration In Malaysia and Economic Impact Throughout human history, migration of human beings is a pre-requisite of human progress and development. Without migration, human being would be doomed to an existence worse than that of the animals. Even animals migrate to seek a better life. The first humans migrated out of Southern Africa thousands of years ago and spread throughout the world and people have been moving about since then. People also migrate because of factors like wars, poverty, discrimination, and for political or even religious reasons. In modern times, people often migrate for security, work and even for education opportunities. Organised immigrant labour migration and free immigration in Malaysia took place under the British colonial administration in the 19th century. During this period, the British required immigrant labour from China, India and Indonesia to help them in the exploitation of natural resources of the colonised countries establishing plantations and building infrastructure. It is mainly because of immigrant labour provide a steady, adequate and cheap supply of workers at a time when the locals labour was either deemed unsuitable or was not interested in working under the same harsh conditions as migrant labour. This period of free movement into Malaya saw large numbers arriving to work as well as returning home. However, because of free immigration and economic difficulties in the countries of origin, many immigrant workers decide to settle down in Malaya permanently. Malaysias rapid economic development since independence has relied on Malaysian workers moving from rural-to-rural and rural-to-urban areas and immigrant workers, especially from Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other Asian countries. In the case of movement from rural-to-rural areas, rapid migration was swift mainly by government intervention in rural development and agriculture. Rural-to-urban migration accelerated after government intervention in urban and industrial development was stepped up, especially after the second Malaysia Plan. The push and pull factors at the international level in the region also caused workers to migrate to Malaysia for employment. The accelerated economic development programmes and the sustained high economic growth rates in Malaysia over approximately three decades caused the influx of immigrant workers to meet the increasing demand in the Malaysian labour market. WHY PEOPLE MIGRATE There are many theories that attempt to explain why people migrate. Among others is the need and stress theory  [30]  . This theory holds that every individual has got his own needs to be fulfilled. These needs take various forms including economic, social, psychological and cultural. The higher the chances that an individuals needs will not able to be fulfilled, the higher the stress he suffers from. If this stress grows beyond tolerable limits, the individual will force himself to move to a different area, which seems to promise possible fulfilment of his needs. The migration of people from one country to another country is not a new phenomena. Since early days of colonialism, the colonial powers travelled around the world in search for raw material and new territory. Some of them moved to seek for freedom of worship and some even moved because of the instability of the government. The migration of Muslims from British India to form an Islamic state of Pakistan is one of the biggest voluntary migrations in history  [31]  . Wars and conflicts are another reason for mass movements of people and this kind of movement is categorized as refuges. Because of the situation are so serious, the international consciences were moved and many voluntary organisations were formed to assist these refugees. The Vietnamese Boat People is a good example of the mass movement of people of this nature. Today, we still can see refugees fleeing their country because of war and a good example is the latest situation in Liberia and Sudan. These people who enter another country through unofficial channels are known as illegal immigrants who later, may create problem to the host country. In modern days, seeking for a better life and a stable economy become the main factors that influences migration. Sociologist have long analysed migration in terms of the push-pull model  [32]  . This model differentiates between push factors that drive people to leave home from pull factors that attract migrants to a new location. Push factors occurs within sending states, that is, those that send migrants abroad, while the pull factors occur within receiving states, that is states that received migrants from abroad. Push factors are negative aspects of the sending country, while pull factors are positive aspects of the receiving country  [33]  . In fact, these differentiating factors are really two sides of the same coin. In moving migrants must not only see a lack of benefits at home but also a surplus of benefits abroad. There are also more ambiguous factors, called network factors that can either facilitate or deter migration. Generally, the network factors are the networks of friends and relatives already settled in destination countries that serve as sources of information and anchor communities for newcomers  [34]  . The network factors also include, cost of travel, the ease of communication and international business trend. These factors are not related to a specific country, but still have a profound effect on international migration. The Pull Factor Generally, there are two factors attracting migrants to receiving countries. First, the higher standards of living and higher wages; economic provide the both biggest push and pull factors for potential migrants  [35]  . Second, Labour Demand; almost all developed countries have found that they need immigrant labour. Rich economies create millions of jobs that domestic workers refuse to fill but immigrant workers will cross borders to take  [36]  . In the case of Malaysia, a wave of labour migration began in the early 70s where shortage of labour became critical especially in the plantation sectors. In mid 80s, the labour shortage becomes acute and this has attracted more immigrant workers into the country. The Push Factor Generally, there are several reasons driving people to emigrate from their home country. First, lack of jobs/poverty; economic provides the main reason behind migration  [37]  . In some countries jobs simply do not exist for a great deal of the population. In others, the gap between the rewards of labour in the sending and receiving country are great enough so as to warrant a move. Second, civil strife, war, political and religious persecution; some migrants are impelled to cross national borders by war or persecution at home  [38]  . Some of these migrants end up in receiving countries as refugees or asylum seekers. Third, environmental problems  [39]  ; environmental problems and natural disasters often cause the loss of money, homes and jobs. The Networking The demand-pull of jobs is linked to the supply push of low wages and joblessness by migration networks. Migration network encompasses everything that enables people to learn about opportunities abroad and take advantage of them. Others are motivated to go abroad by family members who are working or settled down in the host country, contractors, labour brokers and other often-shadowy middlemen or tekong who promise the migrants better deals. WHY MALAYSIA BECOME MIGRANT DESTINATION The theory of migration occurs because of the sending and receiving factors mainly due to the push-pull and supply-demand forces. The influx of immigrant workers to Malaysia is not a recent phenomena. Malaysia replicates the complexity of international migration that exercises both of imports and exports of labour. Better economic growth and Malaysias geographical location that shares common borders with it neighbouring countries has become a pull-factor for migration to Malaysia. In contrast, the economic disparity, inequality and poverty in the country of origin serve as the push-factor for them to migrate, looking for jobs and better living. Generally, there are many other reasons why these immigrant workers choose Malaysia as their destination. First, Malaysia geographical location, second, the stable and sound government, third, labours shortage, fourth, higher wages and finally, the employer attitudes. Geographical Location Malaysia geographical location, which is in the centre of South East Asia is easily accessible either by land or sea. In addition, the easy access and the shortage of enforcing agencies along the extended shores and entry points into Malaysia have caused the entry of many illegal immigrants undetected. Stable and Sound Government Since independence, Malaysia has been governed by a stable government and with sound economic growth. This political and economical stability has become the main attraction for migration. Comparatively, Malaysia has been seen as the most stable nation in this region in comparison to her neighbours. As such, others have regarded this country as an oasis in the region. Labour Shortage Malaysia has been experiencing a very high level of industrial development and it has developed further to be classified as a newly industrialized country. Therefore, from the human assets perspective the country has generated a huge demand of the work force especially unskilled workers for immediate employment in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The labour shortage in Malaysia has become an important issues and employing immigrant workers is considered to be the most viable short-term solution. Higher Wages Generally, the immigrant workers in Malaysia can be regarded as an economic migrant. Comparatively, Malaysian employers pay higher wages to the immigrant workers for a similar job back home. This situation is made even worse, where the wages offered is considered low for the local workers. Thus, it opens the job opportunities to the immigrant workers. The Employer Attitude The Malaysian employers attitude is also another pulling factors that attracted foreign workers. Beside that, it is suspected that there has been a simultaneous entry of huge number of illegal workers as well. Similar to the legal workers, the illegal workers were also employed in the construction, manufacturing and service sectors at a very low wage rate. It is a known fact that employers prefer this arrangement for various reasons such as a lower overhead cost and preventing them from registering to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Social Security Organization (SOCSO), medical and social benefits. For the illegal immigrants, because of their unlawful status, they become less demanding in terms of salary and other privileges. As for the employers, in order to boost their production, the illegal immigrant workers can be easily employed to work extra hours with minimum wages. THE MIGRANT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Most of the immigrant workers in Malaysia came from her neighbouring countries; Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand  [40]  . However, in early 90s, immigrant workers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and few other countries started to dominate the Malaysias labour workforce. Therefore, it is only realistic to identify the country of origin of the immigrant workers and examine the push factors that make them migrate to this country. Indonesia Being the largest country in this region with 1.9 million sq km, Indonesia is facing administrative problems in trying to govern the nations vast regions equally. To develop the whole country, it requires massive effort and resources and this have created a gap between the provinces. Some parts of the country enjoy multi multi-fold development while others are still left far behind  [41]  . The problems of socio-economy seem to have centred on its big population, since Indonesia is the fourth most populous country with approximately 225 million. The Indonesian economy is dependence on oil and gas, plywood, textiles, rubber and palm oil. However, the limited resources and infrastructure available were not adequate to accommodate the demands of growing population  [42]  . This among other factors has caused poverty, which is estimated 24% of its population. Beside that, unprecedented turmoil in recent years, first the Asian financial crisis, followed by the fall of President Suharto, the first free election since 1960, the loss of East Timor, independence demands from restive provinces, bloody inter-ethnic and religious conflict and devastating tsunami had worsen the economic situation, increased the inflation and unemployment rates. Thailand Like Indonesia, Thailand is also facing the problem of poverty, where 80% of the population lives in the rural areas and most of them are poor farmers. The reason is simple; the Thai government is concentrating more on defence rather than the socio-economy development of the country. Philippines The Philippines, which consist of 3,666 islands, is facing almost similar problem like Indonesia in terms of administration and developments of the provinces. Beside that, religious conflict between Islam and Christian has imposed serious threat to the country. This is coupled with the uneven development between the provinces, which has created a disparity situation amongst the citizen while the armed revolution by the militant groups in Southern Philippines post a major threat to its internal security. Bangladesh This small country with a large population is facing many problems. The high rates of poverty and political instability of the country has influenced the citizen to look for better opportunities in other countries. The country also constantly experiences natural disaster such as floods and drought, which made the situation worst. Myanmar The close policy of Myanmar to the outside world is one of the reasons for the backwardness of the country. The poverty rates is very high amongst the population of 85% Buddhist. Being a poor country, Myanmar faces the same socio-economy problem and political instability, which hinder the development of the country. Nepal With its ancient culture and the Himalaya as a backdrop, the landlocked Kingdom of Nepal has for many years been the destination of choice for foreign travellers in search of adventure. The country with an area of 147,181 sq km and 26.3 million people is one of the poorest countries in the world where more than 40% of its population is estimated to live in poverty. Being a landlocked country with limited agriculture and other industries, Nepal economy relies mainly on tourist industries. However, the current political turmoil and the growing Maoist guerrilla insurgency movement that keeps the tourist away are now undermining the Nepal economies. Maoist rebels have been waging a campaign against the constitutional monarchy in a conflict that has left more than 11,000 people dead since it started in 1996. Based on the UN reports, it is indicated that, the rebellion has displaced more than 100,000 people  [43]  . Nepal also has been at odds with neighbouring Bhutan over the repatriation of thousands of refugees living in camps in Nepal. The refugees, Bhutanese of Nepalese descent fled violence in their homeland in early 1990s. With these ongoing problems, worsen economy and political situation has drive away the people to look for a better living in other countries. Other Countries Other than the countries mentioned, there are also immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, China, Middle East and even African countries. These countries are also facing the same socio-economy problem and political instability. However, the numbers is not as high as the other immigrants from the Malaysias neighbouring countries. Some enter the country legally but had extended their stay although their visa had expired. Their main reason in doing so is to earn a better living in this country. SUMMARY In summary, Malaysia needs the immigrant workers for the development, but their presence should not dominate the labour work force because they will definitely pose some positive and negative impact as well as threat to the national security. The positive and negative impact of their presence varies. From the economic perspective, their employment helped the continuous development and economic growth of the country by filling the gap of the acute labour shortages. On contrary, their presence and employment depress wages and this has reduced the competitiveness of local workers and frustrates attempt made by the trade unions to improve their working terms and conditions. A productive and competitive workforce is crucial for Malaysia in order to develop a knowledge-based economy and to achieve its aspiration of becoming a fully developed nation. However, most of the immigrant workers are unskilled or semi skilled labours with lower academic background. Therefore, the government has to formulate a comprehensive policy governing this requirement, which will definitely incur extra cost and procedures to the employer. As a result of this bureaucracy, the employer often blamed the process of importing workers as being lengthy and tedious process. Therefore, they recruited illegal workers who are readily available for employment. Socially, being less educated, poor and lower social class, these immigrants workers seem to be un-stabled economically, physically and mentally. As a result, negative competitions for a better living can emerged from these situations. For example; their incursion into non-designated jobs like petty trading imposes unnecessary competition to the local traders. They also compete with the locals for cheaper housing especially in the urban areas, which resulted the rise in rental and short supply of houses. Some of them are even move into developing new illegal squatters and this has impose strain on the basic amenities in the areas. Any slightest conflicts resulted from this competition might turn into social clashes between the immigrants and the locals. Immigrant workers have also been seen as a threat to security and political stability. This stems from their ignorance of the countrys law. This can be seen from various activities such as, illegal entry, involve in criminal activities, over staying, opening government land illegally, and many others. These activities will definitely have serious implication on security. Illegal entry for examples, implies that Malaysias has porous borders and was unable protect the borders, allowing not only economic migrants to come through but also any subversive elements. Illegal entry will also enables those with contagious diseases to filter through and spread it to the population.

The Price System :: essays research papers

The Price System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The price system is a means of organizing economic activity. It does this by coordinating the decisions of consumers, producers, and owners of productive resources. Millions of economic agents who have no direct communication with each other are led by the price system to supply each other's wants. Every economic system has three functions. In a decentralized usually private enterprise economic system, the price mechanism is the instrument by which these functions are performed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prices are an expression of the consensus on the values of different things, and every society that permits exchanges among consumers has prices. Because prices are expressed in terms of a widely acceptable commodity, they permit a comparison of the comparative values of various commodities--if shoes are $15 per pair and bread 30 cents per loaf, a pair of shoes is worth 50 loaves of bread. The price of anything is its value in exchange for a commodity of wide acceptability, money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A system of prices exists because individual prices are related to each other. If, for example, metal rods cost 40 cents a pound and the process of drawing a rod into wire costs 25 cents a pound, then, if the price of wire exceeds 65 cents, it will be profitable to produce wire; and if the price of wire falls below 65 cents, it will be ruinous to produce wire. Competition, therefore, will hold the price of wire about 25 cents per pound above that of rods. A variety of such economic forces ties the entire structure of prices together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One function of the price system is to determine what is to be produced and in what quantity. Even an ancient economy must choose between food and shelter, weapons and tools, priests and hunters. In a modern economy the potential variety of goods and services that may be produced is immense. Consider simply the 10,000 new book titles that are published each year or the hundreds of colors of paint or the thousands o f styles of clothing that are produced--each of these actual collections being much smaller than modern technology permits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second function of the price system an economy must perform is to decide how the desired goods are to be produced. There is more than one way not only to skin a cow but also to grow wheat, train lawyers, refine petroleum, and transport baggage. The efficient production of goods requires that certain obvious rules be followed: no resource should be used in producing one thing when it could be producing something more valuable elsewhere; and each product should be made with the smallest possible amount of resources.

English speeches Essay

Reading selectively or extensively Honorable judges, good morning/afternoon .I am glad to stand here and give you a short speech .Today my topic is reading selectively or extensively .I deeply hope you will like it. As we all know, reading is a tradition inherited from ancient society which has a long history. Whether to read selectively or extensively has been a common question discussed by people from very ancient time. Some people tend to choose to read selectively. Having received a book they waited for a long time, they will get started reading this book with a devout heart. What they commonly do is to dead between the lines. Of course this has its own advantages. A selective reading can contribute to a better understanding of the whole book. Furthermore, when you analyze the passage, chances are that you may have the same sympathetic visage with the author, that is, you are going into the scene that the author endeavoring to describe to all readers, which is quite a sense of achievement. On the contrary, other people prefer to read extensively rather than selectively. They are not satisfied to read just several books due to what they want is a substantial number of various books. Opinion they hold is that extensive reading is beneficial to broaden the horizons. After reading a large quantity of books, their experiences are enriched, their thoughts are more specific, their minds are more mature. So to speak, extensive reading plays a vital important role in their growth. There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Owing to different people all have their different characteristics, people’s choices are made differently. Choosing to read selectively or extensively doesn’t mean you are true or false, what matters is whether you have chosen the choice which just properly fits yourself. That’s all. Thank you for listening. On trying to renew knowledge Honorable judges, good morning/afternoon .I am glad to stand here and give you a short speech .Today my topic is on trying to renew knowledge. I deeply hope you will like it. As the famous saying goes:† Knowledge is power.†, knowledge existed and it is inherited up till now from very ancient time. So to speak, when human beings came into being, knowledge came into being. However, at the same time, between knowledge there are both essence as well as dross. That means what we need to do now is trying to renew knowledge.  From my point of view, this process can be a complicated one. First of all, it’s of vital importance for us to sharpen our eyes to distinguish the essence and dross in knowledge, which plays a significant role in the process. Second, it matters that we ought to do it neither reluctantly nor with a special purpose. That is, on trying to renew knowledge, we should take it in accordance with its natural tendency following the development of the whole society. Last but not least, receiving enough knowledge and keeping pace with the development of culture and civilization is the final step of the process. Renewing knowledge is not a realistic process but should be done in the practical way. On trying to renew knowledge, we may undergo troubles from work and life, misunderstanding from family and friends, difficulties and frustrations from the process its own. However, never giving in to it is just the right choice. Difficult and complicated as it may be, if we don’t realize the importance of renewing knowledge, we may never do a proper job on trying to renew knowledge. That’s all. Thank you for your listening. Online shopping Honorable judges, good morning/afternoon .I am glad to stand here and give you a short speech .Today my topic is online shopping. I deeply hope you will like it. With the development of science and technology, online shopping is becoming more and more popular between young people. Because of its convenience and efficiency as well as high qualities bargains, young people tend to conduct online shopping more instead of shopping in practical malls. Having chosen commodities they want to buy and do some clicks randomly, what they need is just to wait at home and the express delivery companies will bring it to your house. Online shopping is just a symbol of social progress , which shows the development of people’s living standard secondhand. On the contrary, online shopping certainly has its disadvantages. For instance, all processes are completed on the Internet while we couldn’t see the exact commodity on our eyes, which may result in counterfeit articles. What’s worse, owing to the uncertainty of the Internet, there may be a substantial number of hoaxes you can’t even realize waiting for you, making you break the bank for the worst result. In brief, it’s of vital importance for us to improve our security awareness and take  some protective measures in the meantime when conducing online shopping. After this specific analysis, we can draw the conclusion that when it comes to online shopping, we must take its merits as well as demerits into consideration. Advantages and disadvantages as it may have, if we only treat this problem from one hand, the result we get might not impartial. Indeed, online shopping is of great benefit to our life if we can use it properly and consequently it can lead to our society becoming more harmonious, that is, online shopping can a thrust to the progress of the whole human society. That’s all. Thank you for your listening. Advantages and disadvantages of the cell phone Honorable judges, good morning/afternoon .I am glad to stand here and give you a short speech .Today my topic is advantages and disadvantages of the cell phone. I deeply hope you will like it. With the development of science and technology and the remarkable improvement of people’s living standard, cell phone is a common commodity appearing in people’s life. In the meantime, cell phone also brings some unexpected advantages and disadvantages. When it come to cell phone’s advantages, we can list as follows. It’s obvious that it can provide us with plenty of convenience and efficiency, which disposes many troubles caused by distance. Thanks to cell phone, nowadays we just contact with family and friends at anytime and anywhere we like. Furthermore, activities such as surfing the Internet, listening to music, watching TV dramas and so on are conducted portably on the cell phone instead of the computer. Recently, many cell phones are used as wallets owing to advanced information technology. However, from another perspective, every coin has its two sides, cell phone also has its inevitably disadvantages. For instance, the ring of cell pone may have a bad effect on others, which makes them distracted and disturbed. What’s worse, over using your cell phone means wasting your time, contributing to a negative and pessimistic attitude. Last but not least, you may tend to decrease your time for exercising and taking part in various activities so as to play on your cell phone, which not only is bad for your health, but also does great harm to your work and study. In conclusion, cell phone and even everything have their own advantages and disadvantages. What we should do is to take an impartial attitude towards it. Never shut the door against  it nor extremely indulge in it. Only when we truly follow this can we make a full use of it. That’s all. Thank you for your listening. No man is rich enough to buy back his past Honorable judges, good morning/afternoon .I am glad to stand here and give you a short speech .Today my topic is no man is rich enough to buy back his past. I deeply hope you will like it. When we were children, we were told that when we had done something wrong we should never regret it because no man is rich enough to buy back his past. As I am growing more mature , I gradually understand the true meaning of this saying. As the famous saying goes: where there is a will, there is a way. That is, if you can spare no effort to achieve your original goal, no matter whether you can reach it, you will get a sense of achievement because of your effort. It’s the process that you are making effort rather than the final result that really matters. Consequently, there is no need for you to regret an it’s just a waste of time to do that. In our lifelong time, we can’t avoid facing difficulties and frustrations, which are once coped with improperly only resulting in because you can never buy back the past and experience once again. What you can do is merely to cherish every moment you are undergoing and make the most of them. Eating, sleeping, studying, exercising, these unimpressive daily events just consist of our daily life. Only after earnestly going though every step of life can you never need to buy back your past. From another perspective, if you only indulge in regretting what you‘ve done, you may gradually lose heart and interest to live happily. What’s worse, your body is unhealthy, your mind is distracted, your life is irregular. It not only does harm to you physically, but also has a negative impact on your psychology. Life is not plain sailing all the time, we have to deal with numerous troubles. Meanwhile, we will undergo feelings as happy as well as angry, but never regret because no man is rich enough to buy back his past. That’s all. Thank you for your listening.

The Moldau

Connie Ju| [The Moldau] Smetana | Year 11 Music 2 Musicology Essay| | Smetana’s Moldau is a musical portrayal of the main river which runs through the countryside of Bohemia (present day Czech Republic). The piece begins with a sweet one bar theme that is played by two solo flutes, representing the trickle of a small creek. The soft melody played in piano and â€Å"lusingando†, which means to be played in a coaxing style, convey the delicate and smoothness of the water.The ascending semi-quavers accompanied with a slight crescendo at the beginning of the phrase as well as a two quaver rests at the end of the bar create a rippling effect, symbolising the slight waves of a stream. Furthermore, the lone plucked pizzicato quavers by the strings add small splashes of colour to decorate the continuously flowing melody of the airy flutes. The light, fluttering tone colour of the solo flutes and the thin texture portray the clear appearance of the water as it makes its way acro ss the land.Bar 1 -2 (solo flutes) Bar 1 -2 (accompanying strings) The first bar theme is repeated to become the basis of this extract, however there are also variations of the theme were the starting note is changed to indicate a different scenery or perhaps some animals, such as small fishes, that are swimming through the water that make the river full of life. Bar 5 (repeat of the theme)Bar 8 (variation of theme) Bar 10 (variation of theme)The texture of this work begins as very thin as there are only solo flutes that play the melody that portray the simple and tiny stream accompanied with light pizzicato of strings that add to the tone colour. This means that the start of this piece is played in a thin homophonic texture. Bar 1 -4 (homophony) However, when the texture at bar 16 is compared to the first four bars, it is thicker as there is the addition of clarinets that play an alternate melody. This new melody is in a contrary motion to the existing flute melody and plucking st rings which represent widening of the tiny creek so the water is moving a bit more wildly.The polyphonic texture consists of two major layers and the randomly placed pizzicato chords which are a reminder of water’s unpredictable motions. Bar 16 (flutes, clarinets, strings – polyphonic texture) The two small rivers that make up the larger Moldau meets at bar 28 where the clarinets stop for a bar and the violas begin their melody. This short bar acts as a bridge, the connection where the bodies of water finally merge to create a great river. The bigger river in bar 29 is conveyed by the three different layers, flutes, clarinets, and violas.Continuous semi-quavers that rise and fall in pitch still represent the fluidity and continuity of the water but now the extra layer means that the river is wilder with bigger waves and other movements. Bar 28 (melodies played by flutes and strings) Bar 29-30 (flutes, clarinets, viola) Bar 36 sees even more layers as the strings begin to play the flowing melody of the river. The start of the larger body of water is indicated by a strong perfect cadence by the lower strings (bar 36). At the widest point of the river, bar 40, the whole orchestra plays.All the instruments playing together expresses the notion that this is the climax of the river and it is wildest at this point. The wind instruments, however, play a slower melody of slurred crochets and quavers with a drawn out crescendo and the instruction of â€Å"dolce†. The new melody presents the idea that the river is experiencing different landscapes, such as quiet, peaceful pastoral lands or rolling hills in the distance. This polyphonic texture continues until the end of the excerpt. These additional tone colours further build upon the majestic nature of the river as well as its more powerful movements.Bar 36-37 (increased layers) Bar 40 (different melodies, thick texture) The dynamics of this piece correspondingly represent the growth of the river. I n both bars 1 and 2, there is a lone crescendo plus an accent, this is the river just starting out so it is not very dramatic compared to bar 20 and 21 where there is a crescendo and a decrescendo within one bar. Moreover, in bars 41-42, not only are there crescendos and decrescendos but the additional sforzando sign.The â€Å"p† for piano in the bar directly after (bar 43) simply adds to the tempestuous nature of the water as there are more dramatic things happening in a faster-flowing large river. Bar 1 (slight crescendo, â€Å"lusingando†, accent, â€Å"p†) Bar 20-21 (crescendo and descrendo) Bars 41-43 (dramatic dynamics) The tone colour of the instruments also changes as the river grows. The solo flutes at the beginning create a sweet, airy, light sound of a stream but the orchestral playing altogether from bar 40 onwards makes a stormy sound much like the torrents of a wild river.Having the lower strings playing the melody instead of the winds depicts the strength of the matured river compared to the higher pitched flutes that represented the fragility and daintiness of a stream. Bar 40 (full orchestra playing – polyphonic texture and extra tone colour) This musical program by Smetana artistically conveys the development of the iconic Moldau River through the use of various techniques such as texture, structure, rhythm, tone colour, and dynamics. He is able to represent all the aspects of the constantly moving river, beginning with a delicate stream and finishing with a majestic river. Word Count: 940