Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail :: Tourism

Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail is an outstanding experience that you will never forget. The trail is located in a beautiful, small town in Virginia known as Damascus. This town provides many amenities such as lodging, dining and great outdoor entertainment. The town of Damascus is located about fifty miles northeast of the East Tennessee State University campus. From campus you will get onto US181 north for about twenty miles and then turn off onto the Bristol exit. This exit will then put you onto US81north. As you cross the Tennessee, Virginia line you will see signs to Damascus, Virginia. From the state line Damascus is only thirty-five miles away. After you exit to Damascus the signs are very explanatory. The Creeper Trail dates back to the early railroads in Abingdon, Virginia, in the 1880’s. Abingdon is a town outside of Damascus where a coal and iron railroad company was built. The railway traveled through Damascus and to the top of Whitetop Mountain. The railroad ran for many years but later on became damaged by floods and torrential rains. In 1977 the railway was finally torn down and the land was turned over to Abingdon and Damascus. The trail then became a biking, walking, and a horseback-riding trail. A great site to get historical information on the Virginia Creeper Trail is, (www.vacreepertrail.com/history/VACreeperHistory.htm) The town of Damascus is very charming with its beautiful Victorian houses along each road and the friendliness of the locals. While you drive into town you will come to a place called Adventure Damascus, where you can rent bikes and get a shuttle up to the top of Whitetop Mountain for only twenty dollars. The fee includes your bike rental, shuttle, and two bottles of water. The trip from downtown to the top of the mountain seems very long and dreadful but when you finally approach the top the view and ride is well worth it. The length of the trail from Whitetop to Damascus is around 20 miles long and should take four hours to make it down. People are allowed to ride up the mountain or ride down the mountain. To ride up the mountain the biker must be experienced and very well educated about the trail. As you start the trail you will hear the sounds of horses making their way up the mountain to meet you. Before you know it you will be gliding down from Whitetop Station into the forest canopy of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

Obesity Alters Gut Microbial Ecology Essay -- Biology

A common theme among the concerns of today’s American citizens is that of obesity. Obesity, identifiable by abnormal fat accumulation, can be defined in absolute terms by one who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30. It is estimated that over 30 percent of American adults are clinically obese. This number has shown a dramatic increase from the 15 percent of American adults suffering from obesity in 1980. Globally, 400 million adults are obese, while predictions place this number at 700 million by 2015. The major issue confronting this adiposity is the health conditions that accompany states of extreme obesity. These include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis among others. The escalating number of obese and the health effects connected to this condition have resulted in increased research and attention to the study of obesity. It is the common belief that the cause of obesity is solely due to an excessive consumption of food. However, recent studies have made a correlation between obesity and the diversity of microbiota in the gut. One project of focus (â€Å"Obesity alters gut microbial ecology†) measured the proportions of gut microbes in mice populations and hypothesized a relationship between this bacterial number and body mass. The significance of this field of study is vital to the issue of obesity. First, such a discovery would falsify the stereotype that obesity is exclusively a result of a disproportionate intake of calories. Instead, it would show that this condition is a genetic trait which maintains an acute relationship with the composition of microbes in the gut. More importantly, if the exact association between obesity and gut microbes can be discovered, it may be possible to alter or... ...05. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 21 Oct 2007. . * "Obesity." Wikipedia. 14 Nov 2007. . * "Obesity and Overweight." Media Centre. Sept 2006. World Health Organization. 1 Nov 2007. . * "Overweight and Obesity." Diseases and Conditions Index. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. 1 Nov 2007. . * Smith, Christopher M. "DNA Sequence and Structural Analysis." 17 Feb 2004. The Regents of the University of California. 21 Oct 2007. >. * University of Maryland. "Phylogenetic Analysis I." 2006. 21 Oct. 2007. .

Adopting Africans not the answer

In Adopting Africans not the answer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, argues against an appeal that Madonna has made on television: adopt an African child.Her opinion is summarized as, â€Å"Madonna could have urged others to help solve the problems by empowering, not failed leaders, but the people.†Adichie’s opinion can be categorized under both persuasion and deliberation. First, she expounds on what Madonna says on TV and then tries to persuade others to believe that Madonna, could have said something better.Therefore, her goal is to clarify what Madonna has said, and make a resolution as to what Madonna could have said. In the process of doing this, she also simultaneously presents to her readers the situation for children in Africa and how the public can help.As she narrates her African background and urges people to look more closely at Africa, and essentially, look far beyond what Madonna has said, she also deliberates on the better type of action between adopting a chi ld in Africa, or sending a donation to check to malaria-eradication organizations. Adichie wants her readers to believe that the better thing to do is send donation.My outlook on Adichie’s opinion is perhaps similar to her own opinion of Madonna – I wish Adichie could have focused on the fact that Africa needs donation, instead of going around in circles, telling a lot of things that could not strongly prove a point.Adichie’s article was full of herself. She starts with her childhood, goes on to tell what she feels, and ends the article with what she would think, which is only a poor anticipation of a scenario that do not give enough kick to support her arguments.Adichie could have been more straightforward, and started with what Madonna said on television. From there, she could have skipped some parts of her story and went straight to correct â€Å"the underlying notion that one helps Africa by adopting Africa's children.† Instead, she dragged on and too k Madonna’s adopted child’s biological father on the scene without empowering her opinion.Yet, when Adichie needed to expound, she failed. She wrote, â€Å"I wish she (Madonna) had added that Africa cannot depend on aid alone, that aid is like salted peanuts: The more failed leaders get, the more they want. I wish she had said she was setting up an organization run by locals to use donations as micro-credit.†Adichie could have directly compared the effects of helping a micro-credit and adopting a child in a bid to help Africa as a nation. But Adichie just carelessly went on without painting a clearer and crispier picture in the minds of her readers.Towards the end of her argument, she peppers her words with a lot of â€Å"I wonder,† which made her arguments a lot weaker and immature than what it should be. She may gotten the message across that Madonna could have said something better; but she did give a lot of depth to her explanation for that. So after a while, her reader forgets about what Madonna has said, and what she herself has said.It’s a shame because Adichie almost made a point – that Africa can be helped not just be adopting its children. But she merely touches on the â€Å"why† part of her article — where she was meant to strengthen her point and create an imprint in people’s minds — and clearly loses control of her argument. Overall, her article is doomed to be forgettable.SOURCE:CHIMAMANDA, N.A. (2006). Adopting Africans not the answer. News Day.  Retrieved November 15, 2006, fromhttp://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-padi144975329nov14,0,116074.story?coll=ny-vi

Describe the Influence of Two Contrasting Economic Environments

P5-Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation Within my selected organisation, Tesco, there are 2 important economic environments that have an influence on business activities. Both economic environments will have a different way on affecting Tesco. The economic environments are growth and recession. Economic growth occurs when more goods are being produced and consumed, and incomes are rising. A growth company tends to have very profitable reinvestment opportunities for its own retained earnings.Economic growth will affect Tesco as it would increase their profits due to more people wanting more products and wanting to spend their money. As people have more money to spend on luxuries instead of the essentials it means that the higher value products will be brought. For example the Andrex toilet rolls will be brought instead of Tesco value, because of this it means more money is being spent in the store which i s an advantage for Tesco. Recession occurs when people involved in business become more cautious and: * Customers cut back on spending, and start to save more Manufactures and sellers cut back on their orders, produce fewer goods and start to cut back costs in general, including by laying off workers. Because economic recessions will put Tesco’s customers under money worries they will only be purchasing from the store, instead of what they want; only what they need. Examples on what Tesco customers would want include: chocolate, ice cream, sweats, and walker’s crisps instead of Tesco value, the luxuries. Examples on what Tesco customers need include: toothpaste, milk, bread and more, just the essentials.P6-Describe how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of the selected organisations and their stakeholders A PESTLE analysis for Tesco must consider all the important external factors impacting on the company. These factors may h ave political, economic, sociological, technological, legal or environmental dimensions. The political analysis must include the impact of local and national government, and the international situation. The Economic analysis needs to investigate the influences of the stock market and tax increases, amongst many other monetary matters.Sociological factors are difficult to suss out. We swim in the â€Å"water† of our culture without recognising it as an important determining factor. And sociological analysis is all about analysing the background culture. Technological factors are usually easier to spot, because new technologies involve change, and change is always noticed. For instance, online shopping has had a major impact on Tesco's recent success. The change created by technological advances often lead to legal problems, which is why legal analysis is always an important part of a PESTLE analysis.Tesco's operations obviously have a significant environmental impact, from fos sil fuel use to packaging issues. Reducing the demand on the planet is a challenge for any big company. A PESTLE Analysis for Tesco must look at all the six factors we have mentioned. Here they are again, with examples of each: * Political: an increase in unemployment due to a downward turn in the world economy. * Economic: impact on sales of the credit crunch. * Sociological: an increase in immigration from Eastern Europe resulting in a demand for new goods. * Technological: how can Tesco take full advantage of the World Wide Web? Legal: how can Tesco avoid legal opposition to expanding into new high streets? * Environmental: – climate change is affecting supply and transport, how can Tesco adapt? In summary, any PESTLE Analysis for Tesco must consider all external factors if it has any hope of capturing the essence of the company. Political- Marketing decisions are strongly influenced by changes in the political environment. Changes such as new legislations put forward by c ouncils and governments, not just in the UK but also in the other thirteen countries that Tesco operates in.One legislation that affects Tesco rather predominantly is planning permission; a law heavily regulated in the UK, and as Tesco has approximately 2. 75 million meters of shop space (including car parks and stock rooms). Owning so much space and with so many large superstores can make this factor a very difficult one to overcome. Legal- The economy is different worldwide and fluctuates constantly, which makes this factor so complex for large multi-nationals like Tesco to tackle.To maintain maximum profitability overall, Tesco needs to raise its prices in accordance with inflation rates. If however prices are raised higher than the rate of inflation, customers may be urged to go somewhere else or spend less, and if the prices aren't raised high enough, they may not compensate with the rate of inflation and decrease the products profit margin. As there are people on different bud gets, Tesco tries to accommodate for everyone, which is why over recent years they have introduced many different price-based ranges. Social-Social attitudes of today’s society have changed the way people live, people now are working longer hours to sustain the financial demand that is needed in-order to keep up a higher standard of living, â€Å"One quarter of working men and 11% of working women in the UK now work more than 50 hours per week† . This is a social problem because it encourages people to eat ‘fast food’ type products such as pasties, sausage rolls, pre-packaged sandwiches and microwavable take-away items such as burgers ; hot dogs etc, which all have high percentages of saturated fats, sugars and salts.These ‘fast foods’ are eaten because of their convenience and due to time shortages from working longer hours these food are the easy option. This implicates less healthy diets and obesity in the UK population. M2-Compare the chal lenges to selected business activities within a selected organisation, in two different economic environments [IE] Tesco delivered a 10% increase in profits to a mighty ? 3. 4bn and chief executive Sir Terry Leahy declared the retailer â€Å"stronger than it was before the recession†.There is no single secret to Tesco's success, but at the heart of the company is its focus on customers. Its mantra is to look after them, and everything else will look after itself. It sounds simple, but few companies are as focused. Size also matters. Selling more means better buying terms – and that equals lower prices and/or higher profit margins. Lower prices then bring in bigger sales volumes. Tesco, like so few of its high street rivals, has succeeded in making itself largely classless, with price ranges designed to cater across the board.Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has called on the Bank of England to cut interest rates on, despite the fact the supermarket giant has yet to see any impact of the slowdown in the economy after reporting an increase in like-for-like sales. Overall the business in the UK was making good progress, and that Tesco Direct and tesco. com had both delivered â€Å"very strong† growth. The international business was rapidly expanding and that Asia had performed particularly well with a 29pc increase in sales. Tesco is on track to open new stores in the international business which will provide more than 7m sq ft of new trading floor space this year.Tesco have maintained pleasing progress, overall sales growth has strengthened in the period, with International delivering a particularly strong performance, and the UK has again done well, with good growth in our core food categories. M3-Analyse how political, legal and social factors have impacted on the two contrasting organisations Tesco will experience many issues when it comes to political, legal and social factors. All businesses will experience similar problems even one tha t is in a different market, for example Apple would experience similar, however not the exact same problems as Tesco.One political factor that will impact Tesco is the Consumer Protection Act 1987. This is a set of laws and regulations that were designed to protect consumers from faulty and/or unsatisfactory goods bought. As an example – you buy a stereo from Tesco and within 2 days, the sound distorts and crackles, this is not fit for purpose as the stereo was designed to allow you (the consumer) to listen to your music, which you cannot do satisfactorily. You are therefore entitled to return the item for a replacement or refund but only within a set time i. e. 0 days, if the item became faulty after 30 days, the store you bought it from are entitled to send it for repair. This could impact Tesco because just say they had a poor supplier then they would have many a customer returning demanding refunds or repairs which therefore will cause Tesco to lose out and it could cause them to lose customers as it’ll give them bad customer satisfaction. Apple could definitely relate to this as they sell many electrical products which could go faulty at any time, an example could be if they sold an iPhone and the consumer could not make calls on it or connect it to iTunes.Although they are a huge company who promise that there will be no faultiness in their products and offer warranties, it is not one hundred per cent certain that their products will work efficiently. There will be the odd product that will be faulty. For employment legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs (working in the stores) to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (working in, probably London, being a part of a department.An example would be working for the the Tesco marketing team). Also to meet the demand from population categories such as students, working parents and se nior citizens. Tesco understands that retailing has a great impact on jobs and people factors (new store developments are often seen as destroying other jobs in the retail sector as traditional stores go out of business or are forced to cut costs to compete), being an inherently local and labor-intensive sector.Tesco employs large numbers of; student, disabled and elderly workers, often paying them lower rates. In an industry with a typically high staff turnover, these workers offer a higher level of loyalty and therefore represent desirable employees. Apple D2-Evaluate how future changes in economic political, legal and social factors, may impact on the strategy of a specified organisation

Great Gatsby Narrative Voice Essay

The narrator’s influence plays a fundamental role in a novel that every reader takes into account when getting involved in the story . In Francis S. Fitzgerald’s literary work ‘’The Great Gasby ‘’ the function of Carraway’s narrative voice brought up several controversies among readers and critics for it deals with 3 different attitudes from the part of the narrator through whom ‘’Fitzgerald is able to achieve the aesthetic distance ‘’. (76 Donaldson) The purpose of the essay is to try to pin down those attitudes in view of Carraway’s eliability , awareness and detachment in the novel. In ‘’The Great Gatsby ‘’ Carraway presents the main character as an unique individual who has an ‘’extraordinary gift for hope , a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which is not likely i shall ever find again ‘’(2). His fascination and aknowledgement of Gatsby’s idealism promps the reader to reflect on the promise and the hope the future holds for such an individual and for the tragism of his existence. Carraway becomes reliable as a visionary for he is able to rise above the particular events epicted in the story , revealing a universal and tragic meaning in Gastby’s fate ; that of America itself for the hero personifies th seeker of ‘’ his personal Grail ‘’ in the same way Americans pursue their ideals in their quest for national identity. But as the story unfolds the attitude of the narrator becomes more and more ambivalent ‘’ I was within and without simultaneausly enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life’’ . Carraway sees both the sordidness and superficiality of the New York rich class and its thrill and excitement. In this respect he becomes a mediator between the wealthy , rootless society within which the Buchanans assert themselves and the world of Gastby’s romantic imagination and illusion that transcends the novel . Fitzgerald manages to create 2 essential polarities that go to make up the human mind (103 , Mizener). From an allegorical point of view Nick symbolizes ‘’reason , experience , waking, reality and history while Gastby is imagination , innocence, sleeping , dream and eternity. ’’ (103) The former’s consciousness includes the latter’s developpment in the novel for ‘’not only oes he mediate between the world of Gastby and the Buchanans but also between the text and Fitzgerald’s use of him as a narrator. ‘’(98, Mizener) Altough Nick Carraway seems to understand the hero’s fate because he was taught by his father not to judge the people around him as not all of them partook of ‘’the advantages he had’’ the reader perceives a sense of unrealibility and detachment from his part. Nick’s perspective on Gatsby changes all along while he gets more involved in his life and that of the other characters. Nick listens to confessions since’’ he is a little afraid of missing something ‘’(1) but ‘’he judges and condemns practically everything and everyone he meets in the course of the novel. ’’(132,Donaldson) such as Tom Buchanan’s looks and behaviour , Jordan’s shallowness , Daisy and Gastby’s inconsistencies of character , adding an ironic tone to his observations . Another situation relevant to Nick being unreliable is given by the fact that he doesn’t try to pay justice to Gatsby , telling Tom the truth about Myrtle’s accident. He keeps himself at a certain distance creating the impression that sometimes he knows more than what is really happening and other times exhibiting less than what is actually required. Concerning this aspect the ending becomes even more paradoxical when Carraway decides to retreat home while making a nostalgic connection between his childhood and the West. His departure ‘’parallels Gastby’s desire to buy back the past as well as reaffirm the last words of the novel – that American destiny to ‘’beat on boats against the current borne back easeleslly into the past. (182 ) ‘’(106, Lehan) Taking into consideration the challenging aspects of the narrator’s voice the reader is stimulated to determine Nick’s role in the novel and notice the complexity of Fitzgerald’s character while maintaining a certain degree of partiality . In coming to this conclusion I incline to say that however credible Gatsby’s story may be , the reader is free to grasp a larger significance that is implied in the novel which accounts for the growth and decline of the 20th century American nation.

Art Sarcophagus

Art is a symbol for ancient history, religion and people. The only thing that we have from our past ancestors is their art that they left behind. For example the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus is a type of art the ancient Rome left for us by like around the 260 – 270 a. d. which was made by an anonymous roman artist that made it of marble. The Sarcophagus is a very well preserve piece of funerary art that is being preserve at the moment in the Metropolitan Museum for public display. Every detail about this art including the people and the animals are part of their life that they are used to draw then and for then that was a very big deal. The Season Sarcophagus is a well representation of the Roman funeral art. The marble that is was made off it is said that it comes from the eastern Mediterranean and then it was send to Rome where it was used to create the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus. There were only a handful of people that were able to purchase this sarcophagus, which it was most likely for for someone with social standards maybe like one of the member of the aristocratic families that were very important on Rome. Also there maybe another sarcophagus that is very similar or almost same in the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel, Germany that has almost the same structure or composition of the Dionysos in the sarcophagus but also the treatment and the way it was cut the figure is very different. There are not a lot of sarcophagus left from the ancient Rome have survive this those qualities, which is the reason why it is so valuable and interesting.

A Feeling of Accomplishment

I’ve always been a not so active person and didn’t like big changes. But this time I couldn’t do anything about it, I was going to high school. The first thing I noticed was that the school was very small and in a huge building. I had so many different teachers and they all asked for different stuff, but everything was normal. A new year, a new starting point in my life, and I had to become active. It took me a couple of months to realize that I had to try something new.There was an old man around his 50’s always walking around the hallway. His name was Mr. Rey .He use to wear formal clothes, brown dressing pants with a blue Civil Air Patrol shirt, and some black shoes. He seemed nice but I didn’t dare talking to him. Until one day, he came to my History class and gave us a speech about flight. It was just like a sleeping pill almost half of the class felt asleep and I was trying my best to stay awake. It was around two months later when some friends convinced me to join the flight program after school. The first few week I was absolutely lost, and plus I had to hear him tell me the same thing over and over again. Every day after class he told me about all the opportunities, activities and trips we had, and about how I was supposed to try my best. All this made me feel like I needed to understand what he was talking about during class, but it was harder then what it seemed like. I hated being the outsider, I felt dumb and the worst part was that I wanted to learn, but like they say â€Å"Everything is hard until you learn it, then it becomes easy†. Time passed by fast, I already had about five months in the program and it was time to try the real thing. After class Mr. Rey told me I was flying on the upcoming Saturday, all this made me feel nauseous. I just glanced at him and wanted to say no, but words didn’t come out my mouth. On my way home I asked myself how I had gone so far, why didn’t I quit when I felt dumb. Two days until Saturday and I was already freaking out. Everyone seemed happy about the news, and I just didn’t want to think about it. Friday night was awful, I couldn’t stop feeling the anxiety and my eyes just wouldn’t close.Unfortunately for me it was Saturday, and at 8:00am we arrived at Republic Air Port in Farmingdale. My hands could stop sweating and it all got worst when Mr. Rey said that girls go first. I packed my stuff ready and got into the piper. My hands suddenly stopped sweating, it was a strange feeling I never felt before. I took off and landed all by myself and actually did pretty good. When I was in the ground I couldn’t believe what I’ve done. I asked myself what had happened to the old me. Where was the shy and afraid to change girl? That’s when I realize Mr. Rey had changed me he always used to push me just a little further and further each time. That’s when I realized I was definitely not the same girl.Sometimes we think people have nothing to do with what we turn out to be, but I can truthfully tell you Mr. Rey changed my life. I fell more confident and am sure that if I set my mind to something at the end ill taste the sweet feeling of accomplishment.