Music assignments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Music assignments - Assignment Example By rigid vocal orchestration it is meant the seconds and thirds are 3rd (Me i.e., 3rd note from the root note) and 5th (So i.e., 5th note from the root note) derivatives. Instead the vocal harmony is created by the creative blending of different note progressions altogether. This kind of vocal symphony is more predominant in instrumental presentations for example a violin line playing on the background while a main instrument or voice is reciting the main composition. This secular motet is in many ways different from the sacred chants that we have listened to in the past. It has a polyphonic texture and also a varying duple, triple meter. Rather it doesn’t strictly follow a particular meter just sticking to a metronome rather. It has complex harmony sections giving rise to minor 7ths and minor augmented chords. It is also rich in melody and has a shifting root note, which means that not one root chord or root note can be identified, that stays as the reference throughout the song. It is less structured and more melodic having complex phrases, grace notes and touch notes. It easily falls under the category of sacred choir music rather than periodic and rhythmic chanting. The timbre is also quite different through the synthesis of multiple voices forming the instrumental base and giving the composition a reverberating and continuously flowing tonal background. The composition also has chromatic note progressions and chromatic tonic change of chords. Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is a Symphony Concerto involving the narration of a story musically through the drama and conversation of instruments created by different notes. Climax is brought out through the high pitched and rhythmic progressions of violins. The quick succession of notes or straight-through notes brings the effect of a drama and a peak of emotion. Smetana’s The Moldau on the other hand is a Symphonic Poem meant for

Thought and Language

Thought and Language In the field of linguistic theory, the relation between thought and language is still an emerging topic of discussion. Different linguists and psychologists stand on different views and continued their argument to define this relation whether they are interdependent or independent. Broad categories of views are present and converging theories are yet to be gained. The two extreme thought school concerning the relationship between language and thought are commonly referred to as Mould theories and Cloak theories. According to the mould theory, language constructs our thought and they are interwoven in such a way that all people are equally being affected by the confines of their language. People can be considered as mental prisoners as they are unable to think in any other way which the language he speaks does not support. The cloak theory casts a different view and described language as a cloak conforming to the customary categories of though of its speaker. In this theory, language considered only as a media to express our thoughts just like the way we can use our physical movement to represent what we are feeling. Language do not control our way of perceiving things and we imagine our world in the way we like to. There is also a middle stand between this two which also popular in the linguistic theory. Without following the extreme, this view explains that language and thought is related but a flexible sense. Sometimes language drives our thought process and again sometime we construct the language with our thoughts. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, named after the American linguist Edward Sapir and Bejamin Lee Whorf is classified as mould theory of language. In 1929, Sapir presented his belief that the possible range of human behavior is controlled by the language he speaks. It is totally dependent on the vocabulary exist in the specific language we are part of. This hypothesis is known as the strong form of Sapirs Hypothesis. It also mentioned that as different languages have different structures, barrier free communication between cross-cultural groups is impossible as they will never able to think in the same way as they are bounded by different language. After reviewing the two extreme theories of linguistic reality, I stand somewhere between the two .I think, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis cannot be totally denied but cannot be accepted fully. There are numerous arguments which support Sapir and also cross out the hypothesis. With a deep analysis of the different views and considering the examples from real world around me, I came to the conclusion that the relation between the language and thought is a continued process. Language instructs our thought and we often directed by the way our language constructs perceive the world. For example, in our country when we say the word Pohela Boishakh, it automatically spells a magic of festivity in everyones mind. It is the Bengali New Year and now this language construct evolved in such a way that it is now motivating the thought process of the people of our country. We are getting bound to think by this word. But it is also true in the other way around. The creative minds come out with thousan ds of innovative ideas and directing the language evolution. People growing up in the same surrounding and speaking the same language can possess different thoughts and communicate different ideas which contradict with Sapirs Hypothesis. So, I am more influenced by the theory that language and speech can be though of as two intersecting circles. In their overlapping parts, thought and speech coincide to produce what is called verbal thought. Verbal thought, however, does not by any means include all forms of thought or all forms of speech. There is a vast area of thought that has no direct relation to speech. The thinking manifested in the use of tools belongs in this area, as does practical intellect in general. Furthermore, investigations by psychologists of the Wrzburg School have demonstrated that thought can function without any word images or speech movements detectable through self-observation. While discussing about the topic with my group mates Dana Satriya and Sharad, I encountered different fabrics of thought in them. Dana came from Indonesia and Sharad from India. In Danas opinion thought is an act of verbal. He seems to support Sapirs Hypothesis and mentioned that we the media informatics students came from different parts of the world. Though in Germany, we can be considered as a community but we have distinct thought process and it will eventually act as a barrier while we communicate with each other. And this distinct thoughts are somewhat influenced by the different language constructs we belong to. In some stage, I will not be able to express my inner feelings to Dana in a full sense as his language construct does allow him to think and follow my thoughts. Sharad being as an Indian got an opportunity to experience wide range of cultures and community in his country. He also agreed that language has some influence over the people as he has seen different concepts and views among the people using different language. In my opinion, it is necessary to take into account the close relationship which exists between language and thinking. Most commonly accepted idea about language and speech is that they are the way of expressing the internal thought process of an individual. People express what they feel with the means of language and speech. However, the construction of language is not evolved in a uniform way among all the people. Living in different context makes people from different parts of the world to perceive reality in different manner. The social and environmental context influence their way of living and thought. Due to perceiving the context in different ways, their use of words depends on that particular context. From generation to generation, the language is evolved while keeping the relation with social reality. As an example, in my country, Bangladesh, the landscape is flat and people live on farming. Therefore, large part of the thought process is based on the agricultural activitie s and have special part of language constructs generated to explain this process. Eventually, the new generations grow up with the special language constructs related to agriculture which influence their thought process according to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, describing the process of language influencing the thought process. However, I think it is not in that strong way according the hypothesis that language constructs the thought. It is clearly evident that Sapir-Whorf hypothesis was built on a partially viewed concept. Whorf analyzed several examples of Native American Language, Hopi, to support his hypothesis, which state that thought is strongly based on language. According to Whorf, the Hopi language does not contain any words, grammatical constructions, or expressions that refer to the English concept of time. He goes on to explain that it is possible in the Hopi language to express the world or reality in ways other than what many languages refer to as time. The Hopi view of reality is specific to the language and can only be best expressed if one is familiar with the language. In this example where Whorf feels language strongly influences thought, he is often criticized with circularity because he infers cognitive differences between two speakers from an examination of their respective languages, (Hopi and English). His proof of cognitive differences is only based on reiteration of the linguistic differ ences. But several other studies were done which supports the hypothesis including the research on perception of color in English compared with a small tribe from Papua New Guinea called Berinmo. However, I personally contradict to some extent with the basic idea of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. It is not entirely ignorable that language has some influence on the thought process, although it is not the only mean which drive our thoughts. It can only be considered a little part of a much bigger paradigm. As an example, we can consider the example of infants, who is yet to talk. However, it is widely accepted that children go through thought process before they even learn to talk. According to Piaget, every child has two different thought processes which are directed and undirected. Piaget says, Directed thought is conscious, i.e., it pursues an aim which is present to the mind of the thinker; it is intelligent, which means that it is adapted to reality and tries to influence it; it admits of being true or false (empirically or logically true), and it can be communicated by language. Autistic thought is subconscious, which means that the aims it pursues and the problems it tries to solve are not present in consciousness; it is not adapted to reality, but creates for itself a dream world of imagination; it tends, not to establish truths, but to satisfy desires, and it remains strictly individual and incommunicable as such by means of language. On the contrary, it works chiefly by images, and in order to express itself, has recourse to indirect methods, evoking by means of symbols and myths the feeling by which it is led. Therefore, this autistic thought is not influenced by languages and is evolved separately by the complex mental process. Same inference can be drawn for the physically retarded groups who can not speak and hear, but have their own thought process development of which is not blocked by any linguistic constructs. Language is not the driver of thoughts but thought can eventually result in language. Poets and laureates often enrich us with new and innovative language constructs to materialize their thoughts. So, in this case they are generating language with their thoughts. But there is always the other side of the coin. Language often acts as the catalyst for thought. If someone says a bitter word in a language which I dont know, it will not affect me. But if I am familiar with the word, it will certainly scatter some effect on my thought process and I will react over it. So, there are obviously many thought processes in individual which can only be motivated and initiated by the linguistic reality and not in any other way. In this context we can refer to George Lakoffs argument that language is often used metaphorically and that different languages use different cultural metaphors that reveal something about how speakers of that language think. For example English employs metaphors linkening time with money, whereas other languages may not talk about time in that fashion.So absence of language construct inhibiting the way of their thinking about time in the same way as English people do. So, the basic idea we infer from the above discussion that language and thought continuously move back and forth from thought to language and language to thought. Language helps us to think with a specific point of view and thought again develop the language. And thought is not only being expressed in words, it also comes into existence through them. Every thought relates one object to another and it moves, grows and develops, executes function and solves problem. This flow of thought occurs as inner movement which can be based on language and can also be without language. Bibliography Lev Vygotsky (1986) Thought and Language (newly revised and edited by Alex Kozulin) Ekkehart Malotki (1983) Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs 20 Hopi Time Thomas Tsoi The Relation between Language and Thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/language/whorf.html http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/whorf.html http://www.angelfire.com/journal/worldtour99/sapirwhorf.html http://www.usingenglish.com/speaking-out/language-thought-sapirwhorf.html http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm !Content ends here!>

Aime Cesaires A Tempest Clarifies Shakespeares The Tempest Essay exam

Cesaire's A Tempest Clarifies Shakespeare's The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚   "Negritude, originally a literary and ideological movement of French-speaking black intellectuals, reflects an important and comprehensive reaction to the colonial situation of European colonization" (Carlberg).   This movement, which influenced Africans as well as blacks around the world, specifically rejects the political, social, and moral domination of the West.  Ã‚   Leopold Senghor, Leon Damas, and Aime Cesaire are the three pioneers of the revolution.   The founder who expresses his ideas more broadly, though, is Cesaire, who uses literary works to express his viewpoint on colonization.   An excellent example of such a tactic is his play, A Tempest, which is a revision of William Shakespeare's The Tempest.   Both Shakespeare and Cesaire accentuate the greed of Europeans in their plays.   However, Cesaire is more obvious in his approach to exposing it.   A comparison of the two plays demonstrates that Cesaire's version, written in the late 1960's, is written as a confrontation of Shakespeare's play.   He is attempting to comment on the corruption of Colonialism and the European domination of the New World through such strategies as making seemingly minor changes, switching the main character role, and altering the storyline itself.    Incorporating alterations such as ethical changes, using different language, and the change in title may seem ineffective initially, but close reading proves that Cesaire uses these strategies as his reaction to European colonialism.   Because it was written in the 1600's, a time when European domination of the East was present and blacks were nothing more than servants, William Shakespeare's play does not include, nor mention black... ... Theories of Colonialism & Postcolonialism", Brown Univ. 1993 Available: http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/poldiscourse/negritude.html   Cesaire, Aime. A Tempest. Trans. Richard Miller. New York: UBU, 1992. Davis, Gregson.   Aime Cesaire.   United Kingdom : Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997. Dayan, Joan. "Playing Caliban; Cesaireà ­s Tempest." Arizona Ouarterly. 48.4 (1942): 125-145. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Frank Kermode. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958.    Works Consulted Breitman, George. The Bible. Malcolm X Speaks; Selected Speeches and Statements. New York: Pathfinder, 1989. Neilson, Francis. Shakespeare and The Tempest. New Hampshire: Richard C. Smith Inc., 1956. West, Cornel. Race Matters. New York: Vintage, 1992. Wood, Joe, ed. Malcolm X: In Our Own Image. New York: St. Martins, 1992.         

The obstacles challenges and opportunities

IntroductionConflict is a fact of life. It surrounds us and is every bit natural as dawn and sunset harmonizing to Warner ( 1997 ) . Conflict exists at all degrees of society in all kinds of state of affairss. Conflict frequently occurs because of a deficiency of regard for one another ‘s demands and positions. It can supply an chance for new societal and political systems to be established and can assist to determine the hereafter.Structure of essayThis essay will get down to depict what the obstructions, challenges and chances confronting pedagogues are when working in societies in struggle and post-conflict state of affairss with mention to Sri Lanka as a chief instance survey and literature associating to instructions responses to conflict.Background of instance survey: Sri LankaThe civil war in Sri Lanka began because of the cultural tensenesss between the bulk Sinhalese and the Tamil minority in the nor'-east. After more than twenty five old ages of force, the struggle ap peared to be at an terminal in May 2009 when authorities forces seized the last country controlled by Tamil Tiger Rebels. It is now clip for Sri Lanka to acquire back to normal with respect to reconstructing the authorities, substructure and instruction. Since investing in cosmopolitan primary instruction, Sri Lanka has gained high rates of registration ( 98.2 % , UNICEF ) and literacy ( 92 % , UNICEF ) . Sri Lanka has one of the most literate populations amongst developing states. This figure is farther being invested in within the Millennium Development Goals with the purpose of holding all primary school aged kids in instruction by 2015.ChallengesTeaching of HistoryThe instruction of the history within the course of study can be a challenge for pedagogues. It was noted by Davis ( 2005 ) that merely ‘some ‘ instructors seize the chance to undertake current events whilst the others lacked assurance or were uneasy in covering with the issues of history, war or terrorist act. Research carried out by Davis ( 2005 ) found that instructors agreed in the chief that pupils wanted and needed to cognize about their states history and their engagement in the war. There was consensus that a complex attack was needed that war ‘is n't about victors and also-rans ‘ , but both sides should be presented and that options to war should be discussed. Although this is ideal for learning history in the course of study, some states and even pedagogues disagree with this attack. In some history or societal scientific discipline text editions, the enemy is described in in writing and minimizing footings and one ‘s ain state is portrayed in epic 1s. Textbooks in Sri Lanka in 1970 ‘s and 1980 ‘s declared the Tamils were the historical enemy of the Sinhalese and stylised the Buddhist Sinhalese, in denial of the historical facts, as the lone legitimate inheritors of the history of Sri Lanka. Although it was stated by Davis ( 2005 ) that both sid es of the struggle should be taught, it is clear that in Sri Lanka there is one sided instruction. Educators in Sri Lanka teach what they believe to be true and it is clear that Tamil and Sinhalese are being taught two different history lessons. For this to better, pedagogues need to experience comfy and besides learn the facts of the struggle themselves before it is taught to the kids. Having lived through the war it is indispensable that kids learn the grounds behind it. By showing kids with both sides, it gives them their ain ideas on the affair. This in bend could take to traverse community undertakings with the two different schools. With the aid and encouragement for pedagogues who teach, alteration can be seen get downing to organize in the future coevals ‘s lives. Other illustrations of the challenge of learning history are in Bosnia and Rwanda. Textbooks in Bosnia in each of the three ‘nations ‘ had portraitures of attackers and victims were ‘not helpful for peace edifice and rapprochement ‘ ( Stabback 2004:60 ) . In Rwanda, the history books portrayed the Tutsi as rich, foreign and oppressive ; kids were indoctrinated to believe in unreal differences. Mitter ( 2001 ) points out for cardinal and Eastern Europe that ‘Teachers have had to undertake exigency state of affairss in their mundane pattern ; in some states this has non yet come to an terminal at all. In all the states it started with call offing certain course of study and withdrawing, or at least choosing application of hitherto valid text editions†¦ in many schools old text editions are still used, with violative documents or transitions eliminated ‘ ( p155 ) . An illustration of where this has been the instance is in Bosnia and Herzegovina w here names and maps have been taken out in black felt tip pen.Gender inequalityOne other challenge pedagogues face is gender inequality. While school registration has increased for kids in most states, the gender spread still persists. In most low-income states, parents are more likely to direct their boies to school. If they do go to, misss are frequently obliged to drop out early. Less than one one-fourth of misss in developing states attend secondary school. It is the civilization of Sri Lanka that the kids follow in the footfalls of their parents. Yemen is an illustration of a state with the lowest female pupils go toing secondary school ( 20 % ) . Many international understandings such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ( 1979 ) and the Millennium Development Goals ( 2000 ) have highlighted the demand for states to take action against prejudiced patterns. The increased focal point on adult females and misss since the International Year for Women ( 1975 ) has led to many betterments in the lives of adult females and misss. In Sri Lanka it was found that most pedagogues are female. This is interesting to observe as it is common for misss to drop out of school before university degree. It is a challenge for pedagogues to seek and maintain misss in school. Although most misss do non go to school in distant rural countries, they do still hold the chance for instruction. As Sri Lanka is now a post-conflict state, it is now clip for all kids to derive some instruction so they can alter the lives of future coevalss. Not merely does gender inequality exist in Sri Lanka, it is really common throughout the universe. There is an old Arab Proverb which says ‘a adult male loves foremost his boy, so his camel and so his married woman. ‘ As portion of the forenoon supplication of an Orthodox Jew, it states ‘Lord, I thank thee that I was non born a adult female. ‘ Another quotation mark from Confucius, China ‘It is the jurisprudence of nature that adult females should non be allowed any will of her ain. ‘ From these three quotation marks from around the universe, it is clear to see gender inequality is non uncommon. Although these quotation marks do non straight associate to instruction, it is utile to hold some background information and what other states think or perceive of adult females. For adult females to derive something in life, for illustration a good calling, it takes a batch of difficult work and finding to go something other people do n't believe is possib le.ObstaclesResources availableAn obstruction for pedagogues in struggle state of affairss is the sum of resources there are available. In Sri Lanka in 2004 there was a lay waste toing tsunami which hit the state. This alone left 1000s of kids and instructors in danger and wholly destroyed school edifices and everything in them including books, kids ‘s work and pupil records. Apart from the tsunami there is still a deficiency of resources available for pedagogues to utilize. In schoolrooms in Sri Lanka there is small proviso for Information Communication Technology ( ICT ) . The chief instruction methods pedagogues use is a chalkboard, pen and paper. This is an obstruction that needs to be addressed. It is clear that school registration has non reached 100 % yet so initiatives need to be taken to acquire kids more involved in the school community and promoting them to fall in. If pedagogues overcome this obstruction so the authorities reference this issue, greater proviso for ICT can be made. An enterprise like this one is already being put in topographic point. This will be discussed further in the chances subdivision.Child soldiersEducators besides face the obstruction of kid soldiers. Child soldiers are deprived of their childhood, normal societal interaction and educational chances. The injury they experience frequently leave them with long-run guilt, shame, low self-pride, incubuss and depression. Sudan is recognised as holding one of the worst records of kid soldiers, forcibly enrolling many 1000s every bit immature as 12 old ages old. One-third of kid soldiers in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda are misss. So are 30-40 % of kid battlers in Angola and Sierra Leone. In Sri Lanka, immature Tamil misss, frequently orphans have been consistently conscripted by Tamil Tiger resistance combatants since the mid 1980 ‘s. Their most recent enlisting thrusts in schools have focused on misss. In February 2002 the Optional Protocol to the UN Conv ention on the Rights of the Child in armed struggle came into force. The pact rose the age of mandatory engagement in armed struggles from 15 to eighteen. This represents a important progress in the protection of kids ‘s rights. Child soldiers are a challenge for pedagogues. New enterprises are now put in topographic point in Sri Lanka which attempt and convey back the kids to instruction. Once they are back in school, it is so the pedagogue ‘s occupation to pull off them in a category. As already stated they experience traumas and this has an consequence on their behavior and their attitude towards their equals. Educators need farther preparation on how to get by, promote and manage kids who have gone through injury. This is one obstruction that the Sri Lanka instruction system needs to turn to.OpportunitiesAfter violent struggle, it is frequently hard to see chances for a better hereafter due to widespread devastation of substructures, instruction and supports.Developi ng the course of study for a positive acquisition environmentAn chance that can come from states in struggle or states that are coming out of struggle is the development of the course of study for a positive acquisition environment. This in bend can hold a positive impact on schools, authoritiess, kids and pedagogues themselves for the hereafter. Having contacted a worker in Sri Lanka it was found that ‘Civic Education ‘ has late been introduced to the school course of study. This new enterprise has been provided by the authorities with financess for developing the instruction course of study. Educators now have the chance for heighten their ain personal experiences for reconstructing the hereafter with the aid of the authorities. While implementing new enterprises it gives pedagogues the chance to affect kids in the schoolroom which provides a sense of ownership in their acquisition. It is easier to maintain most kids engaged in a lesson when they are actively a portion of it through treatment, undertakings and other pupil centred activities. Once engaged, kids so begin to make their ain regard for the remainder of the kids in the category. Respect is something which is a possible influence to convey into any schoolroom but particularly of import to convey into a schoolroom where kids have been involved in struggle or are populating in conflict countries. Andrew ( 2008 ) quoted ‘A schoolroom environment that promotes respect starts with pupil engagement, clear outlooks and asperity. ‘ What a great chance for Sri Lankan instructors to acquire involved in. Northern Ireland can be said to hold created a positive acquisition environment in the schoolroom. Educators here have taken the Northern Ireland Revised Curriculum and implemented it into their mundane instruction where interaction is the chief focal point in the kids ‘s development and acquisition. Like Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland provides the chance to learn regard to kids in all Key Stages. In the course of study it states that in Personal Development and Mutual Understanding ( PDMU ) helps kids to go cognizant of the universe beyond their immediate environment and to larn about others from a footing of tolerance, regard and open-mindedness. As stated in the Northern Ireland Revised Curriculum, communicating is besides a focal point in deriving this regard ‘Communication is cardinal to the whole course of study. Students should be able to pass on in order to develop as persons, to show themselves socially, emotionally and physically to prosecute with others and to len d as members of society. Students should be given chances to prosecute with and show the accomplishment of communicating and to reassign their cognition about communicating constructs and accomplishments to existent life and meaningful contexts across the course of study. ‘New engineerings for pedagogues and kidsNot merely are pedagogues implementing new enterprises, the World Bank is besides conveying in new chances which pedagogues can utilize to assist maintain kids interested and focused on their instruction. A new engineering which has been introduced in Northern Ireland over the last five old ages is the Synergistic Whiteboard. Sri Lanka has been donated ten of these Interactive Whiteboards by SMART Technologies in Canada. This is a great chance for farther develop pedagogues and kids ‘s potency. Sri Lanka ‘s pedagogues have been trained to utilize the Interactive Whiteboards by Indian pedagogues who have late implemented this new manner of larning in their s choolroom. Not merely does this supply new engineerings for pedagogues and kids but besides links in India. The World Bank provided the bulk of the support for the One Laptop Per Child Initiative. In December 2009, the Sri Lankan President launched the pilot programme. This programme benefited over four 100 primary schools. The mission of this programme is to guarantee that all school-aged kids are able to prosecute efficaciously with their ain personal laptop networked to the universe. It has been found that these laptops have given kids the chance to larn, accomplish and transform their communities. It has besides been found that wherever the laptop goes, school attending additions dramatically as the kids begin to open their heads and research their ain potency. This is a great chance in which pedagogues can promote kids and immature people to pass on with other communities. Cross-community undertakings can be a portion of this. Educators can construct relationships with other sc hools and gives the chance for larning about other communities in a impersonal environment.DecisionFrom discoursing challenges, obstructions and chances, it is clear that instruction has a cardinal function in the development of kids ‘s personality. The nexus between instruction and struggle is now forthrightly on the Education for All ( EFA ) docket of international educationalists ( Tawil et al, 2004 ) . The EFA motion is a planetary committedness to supply quality basic instruction for all kids, young person and grownups. The motion was launched at the World Conference on EFA in 1990 by UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank. Participants endorsed an ‘expanded vision of larning ‘ and pledged to universalize primary instruction and massively cut down illiteracy by the terminal of the decennary. It is through EFA and aid from other administrations that pedagogues can get down learning kids in struggle and post-conflict state of affairss. Finally, ‘Ed ucation is the most powerful arm which you can utilize to alter the universe ‘ , Nelson Mandela.

The Importance of Organ Donating

Speaking from my own experience, it is not easy to make a decision to donate a loved one’s organs, however, my sisters and I knew that our mother wanted to be an anatomical donor. She had filled out an advance directive stating that upon her passing, she wanted to donate any viable organs for transplant purposes. We donated her eyes, and now someone out in this wonderful world we live in has her eyes. This person can now see the beauty around them, maybe even their grandchildren for the first time. We made the decision to give this wonderful gift of renewed life and we agree that this was the right thing to do. We are thankful everyday that someone has our mother’s eyes and now has the gift of sight. There is one important fact that every person in this world can agree on: At some point in our lives, we are all going to face the reality of death. Death is imminent to everyone, and the prospect of death is generally very tragic for most people. It is the unknown that can instill the fear of dying in a person or a family. Tragic accidents and terminal diseases are often the source of many deaths, and invariably in those instances we are unable to control the inevitable outcome, which is death. However, in the course of life and death, we have the ability to control certain situations. We have the ability to control the outcome of someone else’s life. This person may be a stranger or a family member, but we can give them a very precious gift. We have a choice. We can offer the greatest gift we can give, the gift of life to another person through organ donation. Life is spared for many people through organ donation. Organ donation is truly a gift that saves hundreds of lives each day. However, even greater than the number of lives saved is the number of deaths that occur each day as people on an organ transplant waiting list continue to wait. Organ donation and transplants must become a reality and readily available to all people in need of transplants. According to the Mayo Clinic, in ancient mythology and the bible, heart transplants are referenced a number of times. Additionally, at the beginning of the 20th century Alex Carrel became a pioneer in making organ transplants a realistic possibility. Estimates reveal that in New York City alone, there are maybe three-hundred fifty people who are organ donors, however, there are at least 7,000 people in this city who are currently awaiting organ transplants. One single organ donor has the ability to save up to eight lives by donating their heart, lungs, liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestines. There are no restrictions on who can become an anatomical donor. (NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases) According to the information found on the web site organdonation. om, family consent is required for organ donation. Requesting people to become anatomical donors is never easy, especially when they are faced with the loss of a loved one, or their own imminent demise. First, consider the wishes of a loved one. Secondly, remember you are giving the gift of life to someone. Organ transplanting and organ donating can and has saved many lives. Dr. Dan Fischer writes in his article titled, â€Å"The Gift of Organ Donation† how becoming an anatomical donor will bestow the distinction of giving a lifesaving gift to a person who needs a healthy organ. This is an opportunity for everyone to give the gift of life to another human being during our lives or after we have passed. I agree with Dr. Fischer that we desperately need organ donors in this country, and everyone should consider themselves a potential donor. (Fischer) Statistics on organ donor’s . html show that well over tens of thousands of people are on waiting lists each year for transplants. Approximately 10-20% of these people will die before they can receive a viable organ that is a match for them. There are many factors to consider when looking at current problems associated with the lack of organ donation and transplants. One of great importance is demographics. Many people in the Eastern portion of the United States do not believe in organ donation for a variety of reasons. For some it is cultural, for others it is religion. Many people are just not comfortable with donating their organs or a loved one’s organs after they have passed on. One possibility may be just the fact that being an organ donor has never been brought to their attention. One way to become an organ donor is to request to be an anatomical donor on your driver’s license or state issued identification. This will show as a restriction and alert medical personnel as to your request. People can also state in their advance directives that they wish to be organ donors. When someone who has died, and has previously given permission for their organs to be donated to another human being, they are giving a gift so precious it cannot be measured by dollars, only by love. For people who cannot survive without a transplant, a donated organ can give them back their lives.