Saturday, August 31, 2019
Despotism: Political Philosophy and 14th Century Essay
The Renaissance developed a new and unique form of politics referred to as Despotism. Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. The single ruling entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. The great Renaissance historian John Addington Symonds refers to the 14th and 15th Centuries in Italy as the ââ¬Å"Age of the Despots. â⬠It was under the tyrannies, in the midst of all the wars and revolutions, that the Italians were given the chance to develop their peculiar individuality. This individuality determined the qualities of the Renaissance and affected Europe as a whole. Italy, due to their unique form of politics, was able to lead the way in the education of Western races, and was the first to distinguish Classical and Medieval life. The conditions that led to this new form of Political government were distinctive to Italian urban life. By the 14th Century, Italy was divided into many principalities surrounding city-States. The cities were an integral part of life in Italy due to commerce, and Italians were the first to reap the benefits of new and increasing trade due to their favorable geographic position in the Mediterranean Sea. Because there was a constant political and class struggle in the cities, Italy lacked a central authority of power. In cities such as Florence, Pisa, and Milan, the age-old rival between Pope and Emperor played itself out. The Guelph party supported the Pope, while the Ghibbiline party supported the Emperor. Civil wars were fought in the cities and ended with a despotism system of ruling, either with an oligarchy or an autocracy. The forming of these authorities was crucial, because peace is essential for trade, and the surplus wealth from commerce is what led to the growth or art and literature, which began the Renaissance. The despots, who were the powerful rulers during despotism, were not from traditional dynasties, and therefore they reached their positions of power in various other ways. Some were appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor to assert his rule, as was the case for the Visconti of Milan in the 14th Century. Other despots were hired soldiers, who later became rulers of the cities they were hired to protect, as was the case for the Sforzas in Milan in the 15th Century. Some despots were elected Mayor of their towns, some controlled their townââ¬â¢s elections- as the Medici family in Florence did, and some despots ruled solely because they were the sons and nephews of Popes. Due to their various ways of gaining power, the despot was usually not from a traditional dynasty, and therefore they did not have the traditional loyalty of the people. Each despot had to gain the loyalty of the people either through a winning personality, or by being clever in the political game. The Despotic court had to set its own rules, which were eventually written down in the Book of the Courtier, which became the guide book for the courts of Early Modern Europe. The most important and the most influential work dealing on Despotism is Machiavelliââ¬â¢s The Prince, and Machiavelli is considered by some to be the father of modern Power Politics. The Italian Renaissance was essentially a mind-set, a collection of powerful attitudes and beliefs. The development of despotism pacified the country from the chaos of their constant civil wars, and allowed them peace, which was essential for trade. As commerce reopened, people began traveling freely, and the level of education began to rise as well as the amount of books that were read. This soon led to an overwhelming growth of literature and art, of which the Renaissance is famous for.
A Summary of Past, Present, and Future Tense by Gregor Muir
A Summary of Past, Present, and Future Tense by Gregory Mir This article is a look at technology effect upon artist and the style or medium of art that can be developed and produced. Author Gregory Mir working with others hoped to create and exhibition that showcased the work of those artists who contributed to the advancement of ââ¬Å"digital practiceâ⬠, along with their attempts to identify the intricacies of the digital spectrum.I think this article for the most part explains how his selections of artist and their work, was mindful of establishing a past, present, and future artistic media theme collection. The author starts with a 1965 piece from artist Name June Pack a composer, who is credited with introducing others to the idea of using video as a way of expressing art. It should also be noted that the article made a case that the art of tomorrow is the art of the media, past and present. This particular art form is Just as much about visual image as much as music and pe rformance.It also incorporates the manipulation of hardware and includes software-concepts in equal measure. The article points out that what once could have been included under the heading of media art, has since moved into a variety of ewe artistic genres, or dissimilar forms whose definitions are instead more oriented on disciplines such as science and technology. The article also shows this development is being carried forward by individuals whose identity are often tied together by certain parameters such as artist, social worker, experienced designer and engineer.And whose actions come out of a clear understanding of technology as well as the associated social and cultural aspects, like those individuals that work in the open source medium, and who are masters of technological components. Those individuals who by their very nature ignore rules found in user manuals, and use technological devices and systems in ways that I am sure were unintended by those who created or markete d them to consumers the world over.I would point to the use of a magnet sitting on top of a TV as a way of creating abstract patterns of light. While simple in its design, the very idea of Magnet TV or the Web Stalker who strips away code to reveal the skeletal structure of a particular website is a tribute to the creative mind of the artist, and the use of available technology. I would say that in the world of media arts and animation, if you can imagine it you can create it as each of these selections shows.Overall, the author thought of combining elements from business, entertainment, communications, as well as artists and other professionals who may operate in a different space. The article concludes with a look at the history of digital art, as Mr.. Mir raises comparisons and dilemmas that allow those of us readers to question, reflect upon, and decide on the status of new media art. A Summary of Past, Present, and Future Tense by Gregory
Friday, August 30, 2019
Alternative Fuels
This assessment will focus primarily on the use of alternative fuel vehicles at Lotus Rental Carââ¬â¢s, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of alternative fuels and the impact it will have on the American public. With gas prices increasing daily, renting a vehicle is becoming a fast growing decision for families going on vacation and people who make their living traveling from place to place. Families can no longer afford to rent large RVs and pay outrageous prices for fuel. Salespersons and businessmen cannot either. Big companies are no longer willing to cover the whole cost of fuel, but rather a percentage which digs in the profit for these businessmen. Alternative Fuel Vehicles AFV,(alternative fuel vehicles), by design are intended to improve air quality by lowering ozone-depleting emissions and makes us less dependent on foreign oil products. The various types of AFVs, include hybrid and flexible fuel designs. Powered by electricity, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), propane, hydrogen, alcohol (in the form of methanol and denatured alcohol), and gasohol (which includes up to 85% alcohol), are the most common. Currently, only three types are readily available to the public; which are natural gas; flex fuel, and battery electric. Natural gas powers about 112,000 vehicles already in the United States and is a good choice for centrally fueled fleets that operate within a limited area. The domestic availability and widespread distribution infrastructure is a great advantage. Most NG vehicles use diesel for ignition and then natural gas for the rest. Hybrid vehicles use electricity which is drawn from an off board power source and then stored in batteries. There is also plug in vehicles that can be plugged directly into an electrical outlet when not in use. Flex fuel uses ethanol which is made from biomass material. It also requires no special fueling equipment and can be used in gasoline burning engines. Reasons to Incorporate AFVs Each vehicle emits more than 600 lbs. of pollutants per year, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide; which contributes to smog. This leads to many health issues. The inability for blood to carry oxygen to vital organs, bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory tract problems has been reported. These pollutants also affect our eye sight. Bacteria and other chemicals get into our eye tissue; causing damage to our retina and the eye pressure, which can lead to cataracts even blindness. The use of alternate fuels will not see an end to pollutants but will certainly have an impact on the amount of pollutants which is emitted from our vehicles.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Management - Honeywell International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Management - Honeywell International - Essay Example This is done by producing high quality products at an efficient rate. Although this is a challenge to many companies, there are a couple of strategies that are used in order to improve the quality and also the production of goods and services. Using the case of the Honeywell International, the "Honeywell operating system" (HOS) will be analyzed and used as one of the many examples of the strategies that companies and organizations that want an increase in both their quality of goods and productions level apply. Summary The article ââ¬Å"From Bitter to Sweetâ⬠is about the Honeywell International which is a factory in Lincolnshire that produces electronics. 8 years ago, it adopted a new production system which is commonly known as the "Honeywell operating system" (HOS) and was the reason for the transformation of the once known troubled giant into the successful company that it is known today (From Bitter to Sweet, 2012). HOS has proved fruitful from the results that have been w itnessed by the company. It is reported that there is an improvement in productivity. The sector has become more efficient. What they used to produce and deliver in 42days is now done within 10 days. Their sales have increased by 72% with a period of nine years and their profits have doubled over the years to $4 leading to an increase in revenue. The history of Howell dates back to 1999 where the original Honeywell was bought by a company known as Allied Signal and the joining of the two companies proved to be hard because of the different management structure. But when Mr. Cote took it over in 2002, he brought new cultures that included 12 behaviors and reshuffling of the portfolio and also introduced HOS. These improvements seemed remarkable. Today Honeywell is in a strong and stable position in the industry despite having many competitors like the Johnson Controls, United Technologies among others. Although there were some problems experienced in the implementation of the new str ategy like employees resistance to the changes, the companyââ¬â¢s share prices has far outperformed the S&P 500 and has even opened other branches both country wide and worldwide (From Bitter to Sweet, 2012). Analysis of the topic Improving the quality and production of a company is an important undertaking for organizations survival. Therefore organizations strive in order to be the best at what they do and to outdo their competitors and also to maintain their customers. From the case of the Honeywell International, we can see how the organization changed its operating system and became a very successful company. The HOS is known to be a system that assures quality and is based on the Six Sigma principle. Its core elements are made up of an improvement process that is continuous that is there should be the workforce involvement in operation processes and all the production processes are required to be in a way that is synchronized with the customer's needs. Another aspect of HOS is it emphasizes control geared production strictly to match customer requirements. This ensures that stocks are minimized hence provide an increases in productivity that is substantial (From Bitter to Sweet, 2012). Another name for this policy is the pull system. This system is market oriented and saves organizations the cost of forecasting and researching the market to see which products they can produce. Through fault minimization in the production area, the results will be that the company
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Operators of southampton port ABP Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Operators of southampton port ABP - Lab Report Example (Atkins, August 2011)Southampton port also handles a wide variety of dry bulk like cement, fertiliser, wheat and glass with around 1.7 million tonnes being transported in 2009. UK which is dependent on oil imports receives a large chunk of oil through the Esso and BP oil terminals at Fawley and Hamble. Although these are located close to the Southampton port, it does not fall under the ABP jurisdiction. Estimates suggest that around 28 million tonnes of oil products is handled every year. (Atkins, August 2011)The Port of Southampton has therefore become an important player in the governmentââ¬â¢s scheme of things not only because it generates such large revenues but also because it generates significant avenues for employment thus boosting the social sector. The Marchwood Sea Mounting is a Defence facility located in proximity to the Southampton port having both road and rail connectivity. (Atkins, August 2011)Apart from this it also has a significant draught of around 15m which is quite capable of handling cargo and container ships. To sustain the growth of the Southampton port one would need to expand its area of operations and this defence facility c ould provide an ideal foil for its expansion. There is however a host of factors that affects the setting up of a vehicle or container terminal. Converting a defence port that would handle limited amount of cargo and transport into a container terminal would require a significant amount of initial capital investment and one would need to study the pros and cons to ascertain the economic viability of this venture. Some of these external factors are as follows 1. With the increase in competition among hub ports and the tendency of carriers to introduce large vessels of the range of 8000 TEU, it has become essential for ports to expand its wharf capacity to cater to these ships. Malacca-Max range of ships of capacity 18000 TEU and large container ships (ULCS) of capacity 12500 TEU would
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
The Psychology Victimization of Miss Lonelyhearts Essay
The Psychology Victimization of Miss Lonelyhearts - Essay Example This paper analyzes the psychological victimization of Miss Lonelyhearts. It argues that Miss Lonelyhearts is a victim of his society, relationships, and his own spiritual and emotional disintegration, and his psychology has become too nihilistic that he could no longer feel his humanity and find meaning in his existence. Society has victimized Miss Lonelyhearts through the capitalist labor system that treat people as means to corporate ends. Capitalism has numbed Miss Lonelyhearts and made him incapable of acknowledging and responding to human suffering (Scheurich and Mullen 572). He receives many letters that range from the mundane to the terribly appalling. One letter is from a vain girl with no nose, while the other confides that his mentally-ill sister has been raped, and he does know what to do. These letters, however, are not trivial for they represent a ââ¬Å"great mass of sufferingâ⬠that have interrelated social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions (Scheurich and Mullen 573). Particularly recurrent is the demand for material goods and physical attraction. Correspondents are concerned of their physical appearance to institutions or individuals that they regard as important. People are also complaining of getting more money and not feeling that they have enough wealth to satisfy their needs, as well as others, and so life has become a means of pursuing materialist existence. Capitalism is represented in this pursuit of superficial happiness that spans physical and material needs (Bromige 4). In addition, capitalism exists in the labor markets and its dynamics. Workers like Miss Lonelyhearts are trapped in jobs that are monotonous and exploitative, but they cannot easily find new ones for lack of better job opportunities. Furthermore, their managers treat them as means to corporate ends. Shrike uses Miss Lonelyhearts as an emotional punching bag. He also demeans correspondents, because their plight is not truly important to him. Shrike fin ds joy in using people and ensuring readership for his newspaper. Different social relationships also oppress Miss Lonelyhearts. Miss Lonelyhearts is a victim of a bully at the workplace. Because of his emotionally and spiritually exhausting job, he often feels unwell and looks for means to alleviate his inner turmoil. One time, after being sick and staying in his room for three days, Betty nudges him to leave his job. Miss Lonelyhearts admits that he took the job as a joke, but the joke no longer means anything to him. Pleas for advice force him to examine his own values and conditions, and he, too, has turned into ââ¬Å"the victim of the jokeâ⬠(Bromige 3). Shrike breaks into the room and mocks him to live at the South Seas: ââ¬Å"I take your silence to mean that you have decided against the soil. I agree with you. Such a life is too dull and laborious. Let us now consider the South Seasâ⬠(West). The South Seas represent the expanse of opportunities that are paradoxic ally not available to Miss Lonelyhearts. He can only dream about his attempt to escape his world. Miss Lonelyhearts also victimizes his own identity by not resolving his inner conflicts. He uses Betty and other people to fill his emptiness. For instance, in a vacation, he spends time with Betty, but he does not feel better afterwards. The same feeling of
Monday, August 26, 2019
Economic history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Economic history - Essay Example setting up policies like maximizing the use of domestic resources, limiting wages, export subsidies, all aimed at accumulating monetary reserves (Brue & Randy 42). David Hume disagreed with mercantilism on their trade restrictions by stressing that trade restrictions are restriction of innovation, and so these opened avenues for uniform market competition. Physiocrats stressed the importance of agriculture in the economy; he proposed that agriculture is a vital organ in the development of any economy. He suggested an economic environment free of government restrictions when it comes to transactions between two private parties; the only regulations he proposed are those that protects property rights. Since individuals have a natural right to freedom, it should be understood that nature is a self-regulating system and harmonious so human control should never be factored in. Adam smith proposed the idea of artificial stimulation of manufacturing and trade; he made it clear that real wealth of a country not only consist of gold and silver, but also in its houses, lands and consumable goods of all different kinds (Brue & Randy 45). He fueled foreign trade by recognizing that it could explore the overseas markets and largely promote development of production capabilities of the nation and consequently lead to a rise in real wealth owned by a country. He also contributed to the idea of a free market by proposing to the government to reduce and abandon control over foreign trade, and he suggested for the implementation of free trade policies. David Ricardo shed light on the importance of agriculture, by analyzing the importance of diminishing returns. He postulated that a utility is mandatory for exchange values, but does not determine it. He promoted extreme industrial specialization by proposing that a nation should put more efforts on industries in which it is more internationally competitive. Ricardo suggested trade with other countries to obtain goods not produced
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Impact of SOPA and PIPA Bills Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Impact of SOPA and PIPA Bills - Research Paper Example The government, particularly from the computer software publishing and entertainment industries for years to invent and implement an effective mechanism for stopping the online piracy that allows the internet users to have copies of their products free of charge. Though, it seems certainly logical for the reason that no one wants to see something for which they have spent a lot of time and effort on to create be disrespected by people having access to it free of charge and without permission (Newman; Jamal). This paper will discuss the initiatives of the government trying to regulate the internet with SOPA and PIPA bills and how it would affect the internet service providers and the internet users. à An Overview of SOPA and PIPA These days, we can see the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the top headlines. In fact, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are getting a great deal more negative response from different organizations. In additio n, some of the major web-based businesses, for instance, Wikipedia have responded against these laws by protesting the bills with blackouts. Additionally, Google Corporation has also joined the movement, by placing a link on its homepage illustrating the reason why the organization opposes the legislation. Both the bills SOPA (presented in the U.S. House of Representatives) and PIPA (presented in the U.S. Senate) are intended for overseas websites that break copyrighted stuff. In addition, both the bills are generally linked with media piracy however can also be applied to counterfeit medication and consumer goods (Newman; Magid). In the beginning, both the SOPA and PIPA bills included two important ways to fight exclusive rights violation on overseas websites. In this scenario the first way allows the U.S. Department of Justice to ask for court orders and instructions forcing ISPs to shut down the domain names of the suspected websites. For instance, Comcast can stop its customers from accessing the contents of www.thepiratebay.org, even though the given IP address can be accessed and works properly. In this scenario, this ISP blocking terms was one of the key concerns among Internet security experts, at the same time as both PIPA and SOPA have ignored it. On the other hand, the other way allows rights owners to ask for court orders and instructions to force the advertisers, payment providers and search engines to stop carrying out business activities in cooperation with the suspected websites. In this scenario, rights owners would be allowed to demand that funds be charged from the suspected website and that investigate links to that site be detached. However, the suspected site would be given five days to appeal any action taken (Newman; Magid). In simple words, the basic purpose behind the implementation of these bills is to stop from connected to any sites that are dedicated to theà theftà of U.S. property. In addition, these bills would also stop the business organizations and individuals from putting on the sites and shut down payment processing companies such as MasterCard, Visa and PayPal from sending money to the site.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Asset Management Discussion Post 8 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Asset Management Discussion Post 8 - Coursework Example home insurance and auto insurance liability coverage, for example, against additional liability coverage of auto, homeowners as well as boat insurance policies (Fox Business, 2013). It is also crucial as it provides coverage for claims that exclude other liability policies such as false arrest, rental unitââ¬â¢s liability, slander and libel liabilities. The insurance protection has been designed to kick on in cases where the liability of the other policies is exhausted (Mathias, Shugrue, Marrinson & Struck 2006). Individuals should not consider their net worth or other auto and homeowners insurances that they may have to cover some of the situations. Rather, Umbrella insurance is crucial as it insurerââ¬â¢s them beyond and above the other policies limits and will cover against situations that are never covered in other types of policies (Daily Finance, 2013). According to Breuer (2005), most of the umbrella insurances are associated with car accidents but also offer protection against home accidents. An example is when an individual falls down the stairs and sues you for poor construction or when the balcony collapses during a house party causing injury. Individuals will opt for umbrella insurances as a result of such instances or because they have a pool or property that may cause harm to someone and fear the consequences that will result from the harm or
Friday, August 23, 2019
The Case of BBC and TV Licensing Fee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words
The Case of BBC and TV Licensing Fee - Essay Example People when faced with various alternatives have to decide based on various choices or options. The same thing happened in the case of BBC. In modern times, the existence of other independent televisions and live cable and satellites for free made it to a point that TV licensing became a controversial issue in the UK. There was fragmentation of political communications and even the rise of globalisation aggravates the said situation (Curran and Gurevitch, 2000, p.1; Curran, 2002, p.6). Before, in the absence of these alternatives a license fee should not come to be a controversial issue, but in the case of modern time and highly globalised world when people have various options to enjoy the media even for free, TV licensing seems to be an issue that needs amendment and critical assessment. There are two opposing sides regarding TV licensing as the prevailing system for funding the BBC. Those who stand against licensing fee point out that it is an iniquitous tax. This means it does no t quite have a logical approach that would make somebody realise that it is a fair thing to do. While other nations are enjoying media broadcast without fee, the UK according to TV licensing fee critics does not need to experience paying something or contents that at some point are not consumed. TV licensing fee according to its critics is just a way of forcing somebody to pay a hundred pounds to contents shown by a broadcaster that at some point could not be substantially consumed. At this point, the opponents of TV licensing fee advocates have a remarkable point. However, on the part of the advocates, they believe that BBC is the only broadcaster in Great Britain that is way beyond the control of vested interest. This particularly... In this essay, the proponent tries to elaborately discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the current system of funding the BBC and the reason why it is such a controversy today. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is one of the potential areas of concern in the United Kingdom because it includes the issue about significant funding that has to be shouldered by every household prior to sustaining its operation. A television license fee has to be charged to every British household, companies, or organizations prior to using equipment to record or receive live television broadcasts. This license allows somebody to have potential access to the BBC and its programs and to the current affairs that at some point may vary from those offered by commercial television and independent cable or satellites. The license fee is set by the British government and agreed by the parliament, which make everything about it controlled by the government, which could be determined as a form of cen sorship or capitalistic move. Today, the issue whether TV license that is associated with BBCââ¬â¢s funding is tenable or not is one of the potential concerns that require critical understanding. It is also concluded that the main reason why BBC remains a controversy nowadays is because of the presence of these highly commercialised pressures brought by independent and commercial broadcasting companies. This is actually the general essence of the whole point of the various advantages offered by TV licensing fee in funding BBC.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
CASE 4-Healthcare Financial Problems and Remedial Action Plans Research Paper
CASE 4-Healthcare Financial Problems and Remedial Action Plans - Research Paper Example a Hospital Medical Center puts the organization at the peril of not attaining its objectives aimed at providing medical and health services to the poor. The availability of resources to an organization exposes an organization to favorable opportunities. In the presence of adequate resources, an organization can avail the advantages of favorable opportunities (Swayne et al, 2008). Notably, presence of adequate resources will allow California Hospital Medical Center compensate its employees and cater for the large number of people who depend on the organization. Failure to pay employees may render the organization insolvent. The organizationââ¬â¢s employee remuneration is dependent on the availability of financial resources (Swayne et al, 2008). Poor employee compensation will in turn affect the employee motivation and cause the failure in attaining company goals. Businesses can at any time face contingencies and adverse changes, which impact their operations. Presence of adequate financial resources can assist the organization offset itself from such contingencies, such as a financial crisis and business oscillations emanating from heavy losses (Swayne et al, 2008). Availability of financial resources increases an organizationââ¬â¢s efficiency. Availability of financial resources in an organization is linked to the presence of adequate facilities which improve an organizationââ¬â¢s efficiency (Swayne et al, 2008). The unavailability of adequate financial resources affects California Hospital Medical Centerââ¬â¢s access to adequate medical facilities which hampers its ability to provide medical services to the people. The availability of financial resources to California Hospital Medical Center can assist the organization access facilities thus, improving its effectiveness. In this regard, California Hospital Medical Center may have to seek more sources of funds in order to support its operations. Organizations require adequate man power in their quest to attain their
Body armor Essay Example for Free
Body armor Essay Body armor and other protective equipment are vital components of with-in protection services because it shields the body from severe injury that may be associated with the nature of the job. Body armor and other protective equipment are generally designed to shelter the body from materials that come in with a particular velocity or force, such as bullets and knives. This man-made material is designed to prevent the entry that could result in the destruction of internal organs. The body armor prevents damage to the abdominal area of an individual, while the other protective equipment prevents injury to the extremities such as the arm and legs. When a material such as a bullet or a knife is introduced to a body with sheer force, the body armor prevents its entry yet the force still results in a form of shock to the body and this is technically called blunt trauma. There are two general types of body armor, namely soft and hard. Soft body armor is generally composed of one of two fibers, namely aramid and polyethylene that are configured in a particular weave. There are some brands that contain both types of fibers. Unfortunately, soft body armors can only protect an individual from the regular forces such as knives and bullets but are not sturdy enough to prevent bullets coming from machine guns. In this situation, hard body armors are employed for protection and these equipments are composed of plates made of ceramic material. Hard body armors are made of two plates that are positioned to cover the front and the back of an individual. Since ceramic plates are usually rigid, an individual may find this protective material heavy and movement may be restricted. DQ 2: The use of biological weapons has become an increased threat, and amplified since 911. What can we do to prepare for such an attack and or minimize the catastrophic aftermath? In order to be prepared for a possible terrorist attack that involves biological weapons, it is important that government agencies, especially those responsible for monitoring public health, to design contingency plans that would tackle incidents associated with the deliberate introduction of biological weapons to harm a specific population or even the general public. The contingency plan should also be a regular part of the health response system that also deals with pandemic outbreaks, large-scale accidents, as well as natural disasters. In 2002, the World Health Assembly of the United Nations adopted a technical support program that prepares each of the member states to prepare an action plan that would address any future catastrophes (WHO, 2004). For every city, it is important to create an initial response team that would take action whenever a terrorist attack occurs. This initial response team will determine the nature of the attack, on whether it is biological, industrial or bomb-based. The initial response team carries this exclusive responsibility because they are physically present in the city and it is very easy for them to go to the place that has been attacked in order to generate a first-hand account of the incident to higher authorities. Once the nature of the terrorist attack has been established, the initial response team will inform the state agency of the incident, which will in turn report to the national agency. This office will then report to the United Nations office for subsequent action, such as international assistance, in case that the country is incapable of dealing with the disaster, or if the attack is synchronized among several states, such as that depicted in September 11, 2001 in the United States. Biological attacks can also be minimized by vigilant screening of activities in every city and state around the country, including reporting any peculiar individuals that are spotted in strategic locations around the state. Reference World Health Organization. (2004). Public health response to biological and chemical weapons: WHO guidance, 2nd ed. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 92 4 154615 8. Downloaded from http://www. who. int/csr/delibepidemics/cover. pdf on June 17, 2009.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
History of Colonization
History of Colonization Revolts in French ruled countries as opposed to Britain ruled countries To understand the causes of consequences, it becomes binding to have an idea of the background before the matter in dwelled into as a larger picture. The scramble for Africa started at the end of nineteenth century. European powers wanted to establish separate dominances over varied parts of the continent. After the initial hindrance of the geographical location was taken care of, each European power had vested interest in particular areas. Thus, they redrew the boundaries and the structure of the countries in the continent was revised to an immeasurable extent. The already existing political institutions were not concentrated upon. It led to forced partitions and mergers of a majority of the African countries. The traditional groups and monarchies were forced to break down and share their territory with literally new people. Thus multiple independent groups with each having their own history, culture, language and tradition were now belonging to one territory which would be ruled by one or more powers. Each ruling power was only looking for their own benefit. After a mass re division of the land, some parts were traded between the ruling countries to satisfy their own goals. Any kind of resistance by the native Africans was severely oppressed and made to die down by various Treaty and Conquest tactics. Although the colonial rule was expected to go on for over a period of more than 100 years, the ruling powers lacked sufficient man power to take over administration, governance over the economic growth. Indirect rule was favored with African authorities and thus emerged a new class if intermediaries whose job was to make sure that the government orders were fully executed. The pattern of economic activity started changing with commercial agriculture at a good pace. The countries started fair exports of these commodities as well as minerals. In certain parts of the continent, a given holding of a territory was declared as White Land. The literacy and primary education introduced throughout Africa by the Christian Missionaries led to the elites espousing nationalist ambitions. But it didnââ¬â¢t result in anything at this point as the African countries had nothing among them which would or could hold them together against the colonizing powers. Africans were residing in mere geographical boundaries. With the second World War, the game changed in Africa. All the new infrastructural developments and the rapid increase in agricultural production as well as the manufacture of other items that took place were to ensure the sustainability of the ruling European nations in the war. When the African troops were deputed for war, they learnt to a great deal about the freedom movements and struggles in the other parts of the world. When the war came to an end, just like the rest of the world, there was a lot of restlessness and frustration in Africa. Those who had served in the army were hoping to be rewarded by some share in the government of their country. The standard of living by then was in complete shambles. No proper housing facilities, high prices, no jobs and the problems continued. In order to provide some relief which would benefit their own interest, the colonial powers carved a way to include some of the African people in the political game. But gradually, some African thinkers started to believe in the idea of ââ¬Ëself-governmentââ¬â¢ and demanded the same from the colonial power ruling that particular country. When this freedom was granted, the upcoming African political leaders were not trained and capable enough to run a country. Thus policies and decisions were not suitable for the development which led to increased corruption. Although no one really campaigned for independence, the political aspirations were centered on securing for the African population the same rights and privileges as those enjoyed by the fellow metropolitan people of the colonial power. But gradually, the march towards independence started in Africa. Like in any revolution, there were revolts across countries, against the governments. But there was a very obvious difference between the type and intensity of revolts in countries ruled by Britain and those ruled by the French. This is more of a comparative understanding rather than an analytical one. Here on, there is a sincere effort been made of following a timeline. When the continent of Africa was being divided by lines pre decided by the colonial invaders, some territories were swapped to satisfy their purposes. The British were primarily interested maintaining secure communication lines to India which led to initial interest in Egypt and South Africa. Then they intended to establish a Cape-Cairo railway. The control of Nile was also viewed as a strategic and commercial advantage. France had two motivations for its colonisation. Firstly, it wanted to establish markets, strategic bases for the French military and trading fleets around the world. Secondly, it wanted to exploit the natural resources and cheap labour of the colonies. Britain traded parts of northern Nigeria with France for fishing rights. France exchanged parts of Cameroon with Germany in return for German recognition of the French protectorate over Morocco. At the end of all the exchanges, the French claimed 3.75 million square miles while the British claimed 2 million square mil es. Early African reaction to European intrusion into Africa in the late 19th century was not uniform. A few groups that had suffered from long-term warfare or slave raiding (such as in parts of East Africa) gave an uncertain welcome to European presence in their regions in hope that there would be peace. Other groups strongly resisted the coming of European political control. However, many people had no initial reaction to colonialism. This was because the early yearââ¬â¢s colonialism had little impact on the lives of many rural African peoples. This situation changed as the impact of colonialism became more widespread and intense in the middle decades of the 20th century. Until after the Second World War almost all the Africans living in the colonies of France were not citizens of France. Rather, they were French Subjects, lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. Until after the Second World War almost all the Africans living in the colonies of France were not citizens of France. Rather, they were French Subjects, lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. But post WW2, France started regarding their colonies not as separate territories but as a part of ââ¬ËLa Plus Grande Franceââ¬â¢ But Britainââ¬â¢s strategy of pacifying all the nationalist ideas was different. They started by introducing new constituencies, providing for elections for a handful of members of the legislative councils. In the 1950ââ¬â¢s, violence broke out in Algeria as France refused to grant Independence. The Algerian war started with the insurrection organised by the National Liberation Front (FLN), on November 1st, 1954, and lasted until 1962 when Algeria became independent. During those eight years one million Algerians died. In 1954 there were 200,000 Algerians living in France. Of those 150,000 were working, the majority in the building or steel industries. Slowly but surely the FLN began to organise Algerians in France. It was Algerians in France that were to finance the war. Tunisia and Morocco were granted independence and the rest 14 territories that France had under its wing, remained loyal to them. In British West Africa, everyone who was politically conscious was deemed to be a nationalist. On the other hand in French West Africa, there are Catholics and anti- clericals, Communists and Gaullists, Socialists, Syndicalist and Existentialists. Là ©opold Sà ©dar Senghor was the first President of Senegal and the first African to be elected as a member of the French Academy. He wanted to not just stay in the French Union but the French Republic. Thus, he advocated political federation rather than independence between France and Africa. Post World War 2, the French Government bore a considerable amount of the administrative costs and provided subsidies for export crops. Until 1958, majority of the public investment and a sizeable amount of annual running costs plus vast sums of infrastructure were financed by France. When a new constitution was being drafted in the French ruled countries, except for Guinea, all other countries voted for a Franco-African community. But this did not last long and the African rulers demanded greater control. France then reached the conclusion that all territories under them would have to be launched as independent states. Meanwhile, in all the Britain ruled countries, the violence had been reaching a boiling point forcing England to jettison all long term plans of independence. Throughout the period of colonization, the French, no doubt ruthless colonisers, seem to have been more willing to consider the people of Africa a part of their culture and nation rather than believing in the principle of the ruler and the ruled upon as followed by Britain to a large extent. The French also wanted to see the fruits of their anti-slavery efforts in West Africa. Assimilation was one ideological basis of the French colonial policy. In contrast with British imperial policy, the French taught their subjects that, by adopting French language and culture, they could eventually become French. The famous Four Communes in Senegal can be seen as proof of this. And probably the only proof of the same. Here Africans were, in theory, afforded all the rights of French citizens. The French Assimilation concept was based on the idea of expanding French culture to the colonies outside of France in the 19th and 20th century. Natives of these colonies were considered French citizens as long as the culture and customs were adopted. This also meant they would have the rights and duties of French citizens. The French appeared to understand fully, even at an early stage, that assimilation of West Africans under tier control was not in the offing. Both the cost of implementing such a program and the tenacity of the indigenous populations prevented full-scale assimilation. Instead, the French sought to control the West African populations. By contrast, in the British colonies the approach was the opposite: they used local power holders rather than installing a whole new administration. Each system aimed to benefit the colonizers. The French were rather harsh in their administration and their attempts to increase their economic footholds, utilizing such means as forced labor and imprisonment to maintain and expand their interests. One of the most important aspects of the French colonization of West Africa was the requirement placed on the colony to pay its own way as a colony. The French administration sought to increase productivity and extract valuable resources. They fostered production of groundnuts and cotton where appropriate conditions were present and imposed taxation as a means of inducing participation in the cash economy. Where crops could not be grown, they encouraged migration to wage- earning areas. The French colonial encounter in West Africa was driven by commercial interests and, perhaps to a lesser degree, a civilizing mission. The political administration and the economic interests were fairly uniform throughout the colonial period. Little was done to improve the lives of West Africans, although attempts were made to provide minimal health and educational services. Whereas in the British areas of West Africa some portion of the economic gain accrued to an African middle class, no such dynami c occurred in the French context. Bibliography https://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/activity4.php http://www.historytoday.com/martin-evans/french-resistance-and-algerian-war http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-resistance.html http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=2920 file:///C:/Users/hp/Documents/africa/List%20of%20French%20possessions%20and%20colonies%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm file:///C:/Users/hp/Documents/africa/French%20West%20Africa%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm file:///C:/Users/hp/Documents/africa/Scramble%20for%20Africa%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-17_u-504_t-1362_c-5244/qld/sose/colonisation-resources-power-and-exploration/colonisation-history/france http://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/French_16178.html -Shalmali Ghaisas
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Leiningerââ¬â¢s Culture Care Theory of Nursing
Leiningerââ¬â¢s Culture Care Theory of Nursing Around the world Madeline Leininger is considered the founder of the theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and also for the discovery of the research method known as enthonursing or transcultural nursing. She was the first nurse to theorize about human care from a worldview rather than the usual medical view. She is a creative, innovative, and visionary editor and author of 22 books, 265 articles, and 40 chapters focused on transcultural nursing and human care phenomena (Cohen). Leininger is a United States-born anthropologist in which she incorporated her knowledge and expertise in anthropology to her practice in nursing to create an idea that would greatly influence the way in which nurses cared for their clients as well as develop a sense of self-awareness. In 1948, Leininger first received a diploma from St. Anthonys Hospital School of Nursing in Denver, Colorado which qualified her as a registered nurse. She quickly moved on to receive a bachelors degree in biological science and soon thereafter earned masters degree in psychiatric nursing. Finally, she was the first nurse in history to study at a doctorate level and receive a PhD in cultural and social anthropology. She applied her roots in anthropology to provide nursing with a way to study caring while taking into account peoples culture, beliefs, patterns, and values to provide culturally sensitive and congruent care to every patient (McCance, McKenna, Boore). By the 1950s, Leininger began to formulate writings on nursing practice with a primary focus on caring and transcultural awareness (Cohen). In the late 1980s, Leiningers writings on her theory of transcultural nursing and cultural care were published in her Journal of Transcultural Nursing in which Leininger defined caring as the essence and central domain of nursing practice(Cohen). The intention of this publication was to share scholarly work among nurses and others with an interest to incorporate transcultural nursing knowledge into their scope of practice. Her published theory states that caring is the central and unifying domain for the body of knowledge and practices in nursing (Leininger). Globally, she is considered one of nursings most prolific writers. Leiningers theory of transcultural care is significant and unique in the fact that it is the sole theory that focuses on cooperative care that takes into consideration all cultures around the world (Cohen). It is predicted by the U.S. Census Bureau, that by 2042, no single racial-ethnic group will hold a majority population position, and more than half of Americans will be members of a minority group (Varcarolis 2010). In a time when the world is growing smaller and our society is encompassing and adopting more and more diverse cultures, it is imperative that nurses are competent in the ability to give culturally congruent care to patients in all healthcare settings. According to an article on global leadership in transcultural practice, education, and research by Margaret Andrews, Leininger has identified three key historical phases in the process of her development of the transcultural theory of nursing, according to one of her articles called The Evolution of Transcultural nursing with Breakthroughs to Discipline Status (2007). These phases serve to outline the development of transcultural nursing. During the first phase (1955-1975): Establishing the Field of Transcultural Nursing, Leininger acknowledged the relationships between nursing and anthropology, but kept a focus on nursing and the benefits of having a theory (Andrews). During the second phase (1975-1983): Program and Research Expansion for Transcultural Nursing, increasing amounts of nurses became interested in the valuable contribution of transcultural nursing around the world. And lastly the third phase (1983-present): Establishing Transcultural Nursing Worldwide, is the period dur ing which transcultural nursings global agenda is the primary focus. It all began when Leininger was working as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist in a child guidance home in the 1950s when she experienced the unfamiliar feeling of culture shock. While at the guidance home she worked with children of various cultural backgrounds. She began to notice a lack of understanding amongst herself and the staff about how the childrens cultural backgrounds where influencing their behavior. From this, she came to the conclusion that caring is the central unit to nursing and being culturally competent is vital in order to deliver care to patients. She then began to develop strategies that would help the staff to incorporate congruent care to children with diverse cultures, patterns, and ways of life by developing a worldview and incorporating it into their technique. In the early 1960s, as a part of her doctoral studies in cultural anthropology at the University of Washington, Leininger decided to reside with the people of New Guinea, in which no one had any familiarity, in order to further study this new idea of culturally based interventions (Cohen). She established herself in Gadsup, New Guinea for two years in which she opened her eyes to the values, world views, and beliefs about the health and illness of the villages and how they were crucial in delivering appropriate healthcare. When Leininger arrived in Gadsup she was baffled at how completely different their world was from the one she left behind and she knew that the unfamiliarity would pose a tremendous challenge to her studies. However, Leiningers eagerness to study the meaning of healthcare to these people and how it influenced their wellbeing lead her to adapt and provide specific care that would be beneficial to people and families who were ill. Leininger believed that culture was universal framework to how people solve their problems. The experiences she encountered during her visit in Gadsup sprung the idea that beliefs about health and healthcare are imbedded in the values of the person or persons receiving the care and the understanding of these values and beliefs are critical for interventions to be successful in allowing the patient to heal and be cured. Transcultural nursing with a focus on caring must become the dominant focus of all areas of nursing. It is holistic and the most complete and creative way to help people (Leininger, 1981:5). A key factor that she derived from her experience was her newly discovered research method that she referred to as ethnonursing. The central idea of the enthnonurisng research method was to establish a naturalistic and largely emic method to study phenomena especially related to her culture care diversity and universality theory (Leininger McFarland). The terms Emic and Etic are used widely by anthropologists to re fer to the way in which observations are viewed. The term etic refers to the behavior or belief of the observer of the culture. The term emic refers to the view from the person within the culture and this view is has largest influence on Leiningers studies considering that her work was centered on the patients views in order to meet and understand concepts that were indigenous to them. Leininger applied ethnonursing for the study and analysis of the local or indigenous peoples viewpoints, beliefs, and practices about nursing care phenomena and the processes of designated cultures. She formulated this concept to take into account that nurses do not usually have the time to study the entity of peoples lifeways and interests, but that care is more geared toward the health patterns and phenomena. In an article written by McCance, McKenna, and Boore, a practical application of Leiningers theory was conducted by Barry Kronk in 1993. The purposed of this study was to gain knowledge of the culture of a group of Guatemalan refugees who fled to the United States due to political unrest, extreme poverty, and persecution. The refugees major barrier to congruent care was the language barrier that disabled the caregivers to provide culturally congruent care due to being unable to communicate the refugees cultural preferences. The knowledge that needed to be acquired of their culture included concept of health, health care beliefs, caring behaviors, and barriers to health care. In order to acquire these concepts the health care providers used methods of data collection such as observing, interviewing, life history, photography, and participating with the people in their own environment. When using these methods, Barry Kronk, were able to gather findings of the refugees such a kinship and social factors, educational factors, religious and political factors, traditional factors, belief factors, economic factors, and previous health care factors. When applying Leiningers transcultural care theory and diagnostic tools, Barry Kronk were able to provide a number of recommendations for the refugees in order to provide care. This study also conveys another concept that is unique to Leiningers theory in which the focus of caring may transcend the individual and focus on families, society, or communities as a client (Cohen 1992). Sometimes, culturally competent care cannot be focused on the person as central to nursing because in many cultures, such as those of Eastern or Indigenous cultures, the term person or self does not linguistically exist (Cohen 1992). In these cultures it is not uncommon to see that the concept of a clients health illness is due to a lack balance or harmony within their community or tribe. Madeleine Leiningers culture care theory suggested three modes in which to facilitate nursing actions, judgments, and interventions to meet the heathcare needs of their patients in a culturally sensitive and congruent manner. The three modes of care were: preservation/maintenance, accommodation/negotiation, and repatterning/restructuring. Cultural preservation or maintenance refers to nursing care interventions that help clients of particular cultures to retain and preserve cultural care values when providing healthcare. Cultural care accommodation or negotiation refers to creative and innovative nursing actions that help people of different cultures adapt or negotiate with others in order to attain a goal of optimal health outcomes suitable to the clients culture whether it be an individual, a family, or a community. Cultural care repatterning or restructuring refers to the therapeutic actions taken by the culturally competent nurse that enable the client to modify personal health b ehavior to achieve beneficial outcomes while respecting the cultural values of the client . These assumptions are the philosophical basis in which Leininger has used to add meaning, depth, and clarity to the overall focus of culturally competent care. Visual aid to her theory: sunrise It is amazing what some women and men dare to do with their ideas in many places in the world. Creative thinking and actions are what the world needs most. Transcultural nursing has been an example of these attributes. While taking new actions may be troublesome to some people, yet new actions and new ideas can lead to a wealth of new knowledge and new ways to serve people. Transcultural nurses have taken such actions and are transforming nursing and health care in many places in the world (Leininger).
Monday, August 19, 2019
Arrangment in Black and White Essay -- essays research papers
Dorothy Parkerââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Arrangement in Black and Whiteâ⬠is set during a dinner party for the hostââ¬â¢s friend, Walter Williams, an African American musician. Though the party is celebrated in his name, most of the conversation takes place between the host and the main character, the woman with pink velvet poppies. From the conversation, the audience can deduce that though this woman admires Walter Williamsââ¬â¢s musical talent, she is unable to let go of the racist sentiment against his African American heritage. The author adds a flavor of sophisticated cynicism as she makes this point clear by having the main characters ironically make frequent references concerning how ââ¬Å"untroubledâ⬠she is about the color of his skin. This argument is further emphasized when she greets Walter Williams; her body language and topic choice gives her predicament away. Through this story Parker implies that with the end of slavery did not entail the changing of the heart ââ¬â¢s and mindââ¬â¢s of its supporters, no matter how much one can deny it to oneself. à à à à à Dorothy Parker sets up her main character be in conflict with all her possessed qualities. For example, although her age is never stated, she seems young judging by her energetic and outspoken qualities, but old enough to be married and have set opinions toward other races. Also, though she comes across as a woman with a forward natureââ¬âshown as she grabs the hostââ¬â¢s arm to get her attentionââ¬âshe also is seen as a nervous character, bec...
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Section 377 :: History Historical 377 Essays
Section 377 On October 6, 1860, the Indian Law Commission, lorded over by Lord Macauly (Bhaskaran 15), took out a giant-sized Elmerââ¬â¢s glue-stick and applied quantities of super-sticky lines to the reverse of Section 377, a colonial antisodomy statute to be included in the Indian Penal code (15), which was on a massive slice of parchment perfectly India-shaped, before it was pastily placed over the subcontinent of Asia. Like a shimmering gem in a place setting carefully crafted by a jeweler for a crown worn by a foreign conqueror heading the globe, its broadcast with the seduction of TV: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section. Comment. This section is intended to punish the offence of sodomy, buggery and bestiality. The offense consists in a carnal knowledge committed against the order of nature by a person with a man, or in the same unnatural manner with a woman, or by a man or woman in any manner with an animal. (Bhaskaran 15) As the British soldiers stomped in quick-time across the surface, the Indians became stuck in the glue and it dried upon their skin leaving permanent marks molding them into the British Victorian 1800s, a feat of timespace travel, and the soldiers sang: Take up the White Manââ¬â¢s burden-- The savage wars of peace-- Fill full the mouth of famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to naught. Take up the White Manââ¬â¢s burden-- (Kipling qtd. in Halsall) In response to the effects of the glue, Macauly is quoted as having said, ââ¬Å"Our principle is simply this--uniformity when you can have it; diversity when you must have it; but, in all cases certainty â⬠(Bhaskaran 20). ââ¬Å"Where women are not imagined to have sexual agency at all, lesbian sex is not outlawed because it is not imagined to existâ⬠(Bacchetta 951). For this reason, women are not subject to Section 377 legally; however, women who love women are still threatened with it (Bhaskaran 26). Section 377 :: History Historical 377 Essays Section 377 On October 6, 1860, the Indian Law Commission, lorded over by Lord Macauly (Bhaskaran 15), took out a giant-sized Elmerââ¬â¢s glue-stick and applied quantities of super-sticky lines to the reverse of Section 377, a colonial antisodomy statute to be included in the Indian Penal code (15), which was on a massive slice of parchment perfectly India-shaped, before it was pastily placed over the subcontinent of Asia. Like a shimmering gem in a place setting carefully crafted by a jeweler for a crown worn by a foreign conqueror heading the globe, its broadcast with the seduction of TV: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section. Comment. This section is intended to punish the offence of sodomy, buggery and bestiality. The offense consists in a carnal knowledge committed against the order of nature by a person with a man, or in the same unnatural manner with a woman, or by a man or woman in any manner with an animal. (Bhaskaran 15) As the British soldiers stomped in quick-time across the surface, the Indians became stuck in the glue and it dried upon their skin leaving permanent marks molding them into the British Victorian 1800s, a feat of timespace travel, and the soldiers sang: Take up the White Manââ¬â¢s burden-- The savage wars of peace-- Fill full the mouth of famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to naught. Take up the White Manââ¬â¢s burden-- (Kipling qtd. in Halsall) In response to the effects of the glue, Macauly is quoted as having said, ââ¬Å"Our principle is simply this--uniformity when you can have it; diversity when you must have it; but, in all cases certainty â⬠(Bhaskaran 20). ââ¬Å"Where women are not imagined to have sexual agency at all, lesbian sex is not outlawed because it is not imagined to existâ⬠(Bacchetta 951). For this reason, women are not subject to Section 377 legally; however, women who love women are still threatened with it (Bhaskaran 26).
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Engineering Challenges: Provide Access to Clean Water
From the beginning of life, human beings have always faced challenges and difficulties in their lives. However, what is unique about humans is their ability to adapt and find solutions to these challenges. Engineering has always been the key and the most influential element to the survival of humanity in the face of the unending challenges.A committee of scientists and engineers from around the world have proposed the major 14th challenges in the 21 st century in a document entitled ââ¬Å"Grand Challenges for Engineering.â⬠They stated that it is very important to address these challenges to ensure a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle of the world's civilizations.One of the challenges addressed is the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. In fact, with the world's rapid population growth, the demand of clean water is increasingly becoming one of the most prominent issues in the world. I was astonished to know that thousands of people die because of the lack of cle an water. According to the document proposed, about 1 out of every 6 people living today is currently unable to gain access to fresh drinking water, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths from diseases due to poor water sources, i.e.; diarrhea.Water current situationWater is life. It is the crucial ingredient to the sustainability of civilizations and their prosperity. It is vital for domestic, agriculture and industrial purposes. We know that water on Earth should be sufficient to all its creations. Water is about 70% of Earth's surface. However, water is becoming one of the greatest challenges that may cause wars in the near future. Water is enough in some regions while in others there is a drought. The Earth's two poles have mountains of snow, oceans, rivers and inner water in the ground which is sufficient if it is used and divided equally. Many efforts to use this water has been made to develop technologies and to desalinate sea water.Most countries around the world suffer because of the lack of water sources or the lack of water quality which causes health diseases and consequently deaths. Moreover, this challenge is prominent in the developing world and is a rising problem in some modern countries. The old infrastructure in the developing world is one of the key reasons of water shortage. It has been designed since hundreds of years and much of it is of a poor quality which causes continuous leakage of water.This leakage may sometimes mix with polluted water and becomes a source of contaminated drinkingà water. Thus, more improvements and efforts need to take place to face this tremendous challenge. Corporation between the countries and with the successes of engineering in using these waters around the world will definitely lead to various solutions to this challenge.From my readings about this topic, I found that solutions to provide clean water are everywhere. Some are simple, while others are complicated. For instance, desalination, using sand or bicycle s to clean and generate water, recycling and many others. Actually we need all these solutions to be applied to solve this problem. In this essay I will focus on some suggested solutions that have already taken place and that should be done to start helping all people in our world to access clean, healthy water and prevent its severe consequences.DesalinationAs I stated earlier, oceans contain tremendous amounts of water. Over 97 percent of the earth's water contains salt. One of the current solutions to extract salt from seawater is desalination. This technology is already taking place in some countries like Saudi Arabia. This is a good solution to provide water for domestic and agricultural uses. It can provide clean water and enable such countries to depend on themselves and solve water shortage.However, this technology needs a big budget and qualified people to achieve it and not all countries have these two conditions. Improvements must be made to make it accessible to all coun tries. This technology can be one wayà to solve the problem of water shortage but still not a sufficient solution to this problem.Wendy Dewolf, in an article entitled ââ¬Å"Engineering Clean Waterâ⬠, 2011, writes about a new technology based in Boston for desalinating water by osmosis commercialized as Oasys Watera. This technology is cheaper and sustainable because, as she states, it requires ââ¬Å"70 to 85 percent less electrical energy than other seawater desalination systems.â⬠Thus, efforts of scientists and engineers are encouraging to have a clean and sustainable worldwide water supply.People's awareness and usage of waterAccording to a report published in 2004 by Nicole Abrashinsky, global consumption of water has increased twice as much as the population during the past 20 years. The United Nations has also warned that the demands for access for fresh water are unattainable to more than one billion people.One solution that I think will greatly help in solving this problem is encouraging people to realize the reality of how serious is the problem of water shortage and cleanness. Unfortunately, lots of people are still not realizing that this is a problem that causes thousands of people to die because they don't have access to clean water. And the other portion of people who know are still careless in using water, thinking that it is not their problem since it doesn't cause them any harm.Here comes the role of media and especially social media means which has become so influential in theà current time. We should educate people and make them aware of the reality of this problem and provide them with the facts and equipment necessary to help them consume water in a modest way. We hear of campaigns in social media to save water here and there, but I think they should be programmed and organized to make them effective.Some governments offer people with less water consumption a discount on the bell. Other governments finance farmers to dig we lls and water canals.à However, if everyone of us believes that it is our responsibility to save water, then we will observe ourselves when we use water and think that every drop of water counts.ââ¬Å"Smart Tunnelâ⬠Nature has the solution for most of our problems, even though we harmed it greatly. Every year we hear of floods and cities got drowned due to hurricanes or storms in almost every region around the world. If we develop technologies to utilize this lost water, these countries will have enough water that will solve part of the problem. One solution that I found amazing in using this lost water is ââ¬Å"smart tunnelâ⬠, i.e., the ââ¬Å"Stormwater Management And Road Tunnelâ⬠. It is a storm drainage and road structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a major national project in the country.This tunnel received the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for its innovative and unique management of storm water and peak hour traffic. It is the longest multi-purpose tu nnel in the world. It reduces the problem of traffic as well as the problem of flash floods. In case of floods, the motorway will be closed to all traffic and the tunnel's gates will open to allow water to pass through. This is excellent way to use the lost water in such conditions and use it for later needs.Perhaps this solution is difficult to apply because the infrastructure of most cities are difficult to be rebuild. However, in the developing countries the chance to use floods water is more applicable since most of them lack appropriate infrastructure and thus can be financed to store water.The solutions, as we see, are everywhere to face the challenge of providing access to clean water. For instance, the committee of the NAE has mentioned many other solutions like recycling, small decentralized distillation units, and strategies for reducing water use. However, the solutions should be sustainable and environmental. Professor Menachem Elimelech at Yale University explains that ââ¬Å"to address the global water problem for all regions in the world, we need sustainable technologies that consume less energy and chemicals and have lower impact on the environment.â⬠Some of these solutions may not end this problem, but creativity and determination will always enable people to solve problems. It is our nature to invent and challenge difficulties. Engineering has always empowered us with successes that no one could have imagined they will become a reality. It is our world; it is our life. I inviteà everyone reads this essay to save water and think of solutions to offer millions of people who lack it a healthy and clean water in their lives.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Knowing Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is some form of knowledge, belief or research that claims (or appears) to be scientific, but is not actually following a scientific method.à Peer review and independent research by others may fail to prove the claims.à Superficially, such claims may appear scientific to people. Some of the techniques mentioned in the article that are used by the website to sell their products include:- 1. The research findings or market findings provided by the pseudo-scientists appears to be unprofessional and sloppy.à They may often quote newspaper reports, media coverage, peopleââ¬â¢s gossip, ancient books, and other pseudoscience books. 2. Pseudoscientists provide facts that emotionally appeal to the audience and provide spectacular results to problems experienced by them.à They may even provide facts to support these results. 3. Pseudoscientists often make people indulge in an irrational form of thinking known as ââ¬Ëmagical thinkingââ¬â¢ which is an age-old human habit.à Scientific investigations conducted to prove such facts may be unsuccessful. 4.à Pseudoscientists provide evidence that is different from those provided by systematic studies.à Often a lot of importance is given to unverifiable testimony from people and eyewitnesses, stories, real-life experiences, rumors, gossips, anecdotes, etc.à Studies conducted by professionals are ignored, misinterpreted or even proven wrong. 5. The pseudo scientists do not give reference to previous systematic studies and investigations conducted.à The only give false facts directly, which often cannot be proven right.à They may not allow their claims to be put to a more meaningful test, but may instead suggest some unscientific crazy experiments. The website claims that the tapes can make the individual achieve ââ¬Ëanything and almost everythingââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËAs you grow, a series of events occur which build your personalityâ⬠¦.and your whole selfâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬â¢Ã The article says that pseudoscientist often make extraordinary claims that may be not scientifically true.à Repeated scientific experiments conducted independently by others fail to prove such clams. They also try to influence the individual by encouraging him/her into magical thinking (belief that oneââ¬â¢s thoughts, words or action will create results that will defy the laws of nature).à Magical thinking is an old human habit, and often unknowingly we tend to indulge in it.à Pseudoscience may begin by providing facts that emotionally apply to the audience, and provide spectacular results to peopleââ¬â¢s problems.à They may even provide evidence to support their results. The Websites claims appreciation from renowned organizations and references such as the Russian Government, CNN, Boston University, etc.à The Russian Government may not be able to monitor implementation of ââ¬ËSubliminal messagesââ¬â¢, as Private TV channels are free to broadcast what they want.à The website gives a positive comment by CNN. However, it did not give the exact person or the date on which these observations and comments were made.à The article says that pseudo-scientists often quote newspaper articles, press reports, collect rumors and gossips, and may even quote other books or organizations that are false or even non-existent.à The research done by the pseudo-scientists usually appears to be unprofessional and careless. The website gives testimonyââ¬â¢s of several ââ¬Ësatisfied customersââ¬â¢ (as claimed by the company) such as George Montgomery, Philadelphia; Joe Martin, Tampa, Florida; Carole Dallas, Portland; Paul Smiley, Richmond; Sherry Fusco, Bois; etc.à Often pseudo-scientists do not give importance to systematic studies provided by professionals and instead give undue importance to the views and testimonyââ¬â¢s from unverifiable customers.à They may not permit their products to be subjected to true scientific studies. The website also offers a one-year guarantee for their products.à The Website has not quoted any proven studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products.à Guarantee may be a method of compensating for this (to attract the customers into buying their products). References: Coker, R. (2001). Distinguishing Science and Pseudoscience. Retrieved December 17, 2006, from Quack Watch Web site: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/pseudo.html Subliminal Self-Improvement.com. (2006). Home. Retrieved December 17, 2006, from Subliminal Self-Improvement Web site: http://www.subliminal-tapes-self-improvement.com/index.html à Ã
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Disney Movies
The negative influence of Disney movies on children Disney movies have a target audience of young impressionable children. Although Disney movies on first glance are entertaining and educational for the young mind it actually has many hidden messages that children do not realize are negative and believe that what they see is what is true. Disney movies contain a negative representations that are racist towards ethnic groups, sexism towards the behaviour and treatment of women, and construct false realities which are destructive to the human dignity.Disney movies contain stereotypical ideologies related to ethnicity that construct a negative representation. In many different Disney movies different ethnic groups are represented in different shapes and forms, some positive, others very offensive. As young children watch these movies they are exposed to all it's content and belive that what they see is true. Disney does not directly display the racism but make it so that it is infered. Specifically, in a Disney movie the black community is shown as hyennas.The hyennas are represented as noisy, rude, and disruptive. For instance, when a boy was walking down the street with his mother a group of black children were playing in the park. The boy told his mother that the hyennas were behind them. The boy who watched the movie was made to believe that when he hears a noisy group it clicks in his mind that they are of the black community. The young boy does not know that it is wrong as he was exposed to the Disney movie that made him believe that racist stereotype.By the same token, in another Disney movie the mexican community are represented as little chihuahuas with an accent and negative stereotypes. Likewise the asian community is represented in one movie as siamese cats with slender eyes. As a consequence children who watch Disney movies are exposed to many racist stereotypical ideologies that construct negative representations. Secondly, Disney movies contains neg ative ideologies related to norms of behaviour for genders and age. How Disney portrays gender in their movies is in one of the most negative ways.Young boys and girls will watch the movies and will learn not only how to treat the other gender but also stereotypes on their own gender. Children will also learn that age is not just a number, it defines who you are as a person. Disney movies show older men as wise, smart know it alls which is all not that bad but not a truthful statement. It also shows that older women are mean, villeanous, evil, and rude which is also a false statement. Disney labels stereotypes on age groups that children believe and associate in real life.Similarly, Disney labels portrays negative ideologies of the norms of behaviour of both men and women. In fact in a very famous Disney, ââ¬Å"Beauty and the Beastâ⬠the stereotypes are very easily seen to an educated eye but to a childs eye it's just new information. In ââ¬Å"Beauty and the Beastâ⬠ther e are many ideologies presented, a very obvious one is how the Prince Adam the Beast treats Belle, how Belle believes she can change the Beast. In the movie Belle is treated with huge amount of disrespect, being locked in her room and told to starve, getting abused physically and verbally.Belle also thinks that even though the Beast is mean and cold hearted she can change him in to a prince charming. When a child is exposed to how Belle is treated, how the Beast is such a powerful man, and how Belle still believes she can change him, the child will start to think like it is portrayed in the movie that women do not need to be treated properly, men are the dominant, strong and brave gender, and even though women are mistreated they will keep coming back in hope to change them.As a result, Disney movies portray negative ideologies to children related to norms of genders and how they are treated and how age affects the intellectuallity and personality. Lastly, Disney movies construct a false reality of this generations culture. By implementing all the different ideologies of race, gender, age, and many others a young child is easily influenced into believing that what he sees in his/her favorite disney movie is a reality of every day life.When a child learns negative ideologies such as stereotypes of ethnicity (like the boy who referred to a group of black children has hyennas as he remembered from a movie the laughing and noise they made) they start to believe that what happens in the film is also happens in reality. Young girls especially are the most influenced as in Disney women are portrayed as always cooking, cleaning, getting verbally, physcially and emotionally abused and just taking it.Young girls start to believe that it is a reality and it is their job to do those chores and it is acceptable to be treated poorly. Disney through their movies construct a false reality of how today's generation works and destructs the human dignity. In closing, Disney movi es contain a negative representations that are racist towards ethnic groups, sexism towards the behaviour and treatment of women, and construct false realities which are destructive to the human dignity.As a result of all the the negative stereotypes, young children who do not know any better than what they see in their favorite Disney are made to think that negative ideologies such as racism and sexism are acceptable in today's reality. As a consequence children are given a propaganda by disney that they can not deconstruct since they are so young and construct a misrepresentation of society. In brief, Disney movies negatively influence children.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Japanese Internment During World War 2 Essay
Over the span of nine months 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes, stripped of their belongs and denied basic human rights (1). During World War 2, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Canadian government felt people of Japanese origin could be a threat to the Canadian war effort. Because of this, thousands of Japanese Canadian citizenââ¬â¢s were moved to internment camps in British Columbia. The internment of the Japanese Canadians was wrong because it was completely unjustified, most of the people put in the internment camps had a Canadian citizenship, were treated very poorly and there wasnââ¬â¢t any proof that they would do anything negatively effect Canada during the war. No human being should have ever been treated this way. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor Canadian racism towards Japanese citizens intensified. Although the Canadian military didnââ¬â¢t feel that the Japanese were a threat to them, the public believed that the Japanese citizens showed too much sympathy for Japan and were a threat to the countryââ¬â¢s security as they could be spies (2). This common belief led to the decision of the Japanese being moved to a ââ¬Å"safety zoneâ⬠in interior British Columbia. I feel that this was extremely wrong because the Japanese hadnââ¬â¢t done anything to deserve this. Many of the people who were interned had lived in Canada their whole lives and considered themselves to be loyal Canadian citizen. They felt just as afraid and threatened by the war as every other Canadian was. Shortly after the internment began, an RCMP officer wrote a secret letter to a government agent stating, ââ¬Å"We have had no evidence of espionage or sabotage among the Japanese in British Columbiaâ⬠(1). This helps to prove the Japanese were innocent and should not have been put in internment camps; they clearly hadnââ¬â¢t done anything wrong. After the Japanese were brutally ripped from their homes, humiliated, and had their belongings taken from them they were forced to live in internment camps. They were forced to do hard labor and their knew houses lacked the basic standards of living. This is another reason why what the Canadian government did was so terrible. People were crammed into small houses that may have had a stove (3). There was an enormous amount of people being shipped to the internment camps but there werenââ¬â¢t nearly enough houses, because of this people were forced to live in tents. When families did get to move from a house to a tent I wasnââ¬â¢t an upgrade; the houses were very poorly insulated and unsanitary. At times there were houses with ten families living in them. When the Japanese people left their homes their land was considered the governmentââ¬â¢s property and the original owners wouldnââ¬â¢t acquire anything when it was sold. The war had caused a large labor shortage for farmers so the Japanese were used to help fix this problem. Men were given the option to work on a farm and be with their families or work on the road as slaves. The Japanese had to live terrible lives because of a poor decisions made by the Canadian government. The Japanese had done nothing wrong, they were being punished for a crime that they did not commit (1). The only defense that Canada had for doing what they did was the Japanese werenââ¬â¢t white and they could potentially be spies. A main reason that the Canadians put the Japanese into internment camps was because of racism. The Japanese were discriminated against for the reason that they were new to the country and took jobs away from other Canadians. The Japanese were willing to work longer hours for less pay then the average Canadian worker, because of this Canadians feared they would lose their jobs to the knew immigrants (2). Canadians also began to blame things on the Japanese that couldnââ¬â¢t possibly be their fault. Things like a poor harvest or a flat tire would be blamed on the Japanese when they couldnââ¬â¢t possibly be at fault. The Canadian Government did what they did based on fear and racism, but not any facts and this I what made it so terrible. The choice the Canadian government made in interning the Japanese was without a doubt a terrible decision. It was so wrong because there werenââ¬â¢t any real reasons to intern the Japanese, they treated the Japanese terribly and Canadians didnââ¬â¢t have any evidence that the Japanese had done anything wrong. The fact that Canadians could do something so terrible to the Japanese or fellow humans in general based on fear is horrifying. Interning the Japanese was completely unnecessary and shouldnââ¬â¢t ever have happened.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
I do not know yet Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 14000 words
I do not know yet - Dissertation Example For instance, the qualitative research approach has been used to investigate the impact of the Chinese exchange rate policy on South East Asian Economies, as this requires a qualitative evaluation of the policy being followed by the Chinese government over the years. On the other hand, the quantitative research approach has been considered as justified in the evaluation of factors which influence the changes in the exchange rate of the Chinese Yuan and the US Dollar. The study has revealed that there has been a significant impact of the Chinese exchange rate policies on the ASEAN membersââ¬â¢ preference for the Chinese Yuan as a currency for international settlements. In addition, the study has concluded that the exchange rate for Chinese Yuan against the US Dollar has been influenced by money supply in China, difference in real interest rate for China and the US and growth in inflation rates for China and the US. Acknowledgements I take this opportunity to acknowledge the help an d assistance of my supervisor, teachers and friends, who offered me unconditional support throughout the conduct of this study. Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Contents 4 List of Tables 7 List of Figures 8 Chapter 1 - Introduction 10 1.1.Background to the Context 10 1.2.Research Aim 11 1.3.Research Objectives 11 1.4.Research Questions 11 1.5.Importance of the Study 12 1.6.Ambit of the Study 12 1.7.Structure of the Research Report 12 Chapter 2 - Literature Review 15 2.1.Introduction 15 2.2.Chinese Exchange Rate Policy 15 2.3.Initiatives taken by United States to Influence the Chinese Exchange Rate Regime 21 2.4.The Relationship between Exchange Rate and Macroeconomic Variables 24 2.5.Chapter Summary 27 Chapter 3 - Research Methodology 28 3.1.Introduction 28 3.2.Research Approach 28 3.3.Data Collection and Information Sources 29 3.4.Data Analysis 30 3.4.1.Econometric Model 30 3.4.2.Descriptive and Graphical Illustration of Variables 31 3.5.Limitation of the Methodology Adopted 31 3.6.Ethical Issues and their Resolution 31 3.7.Chapter Summary 32 Chapter 4 - Influence of Chinese Exchange Rate Policy on South East Asian Economies 33 4.1.Introduction 33 4.2.Internationalization of Chinese RMB 33 4.3.Trade, Economic and Financial Integration between China and the Member of ASEAN 34 4.4.Chapter Summary 38 Chapter 5 - Factors Affecting Changes in Exchange Rate between the Chinese Yuan and the US Dollar 39 5.1.Introduction 39 5.2.Descriptive Analysis of Selected Variables 39 5.3.Relationship between Exchange Rate and Macroeconomic Variables - Findings from Regression Analysis 45 5.4.Chapter Summary 52 Chapter 6 - Conclusion and Recommendations 54 6.1.Test for the Validity of Research Hypotheses 54 6.2.Recommendations for Future Researchers 54 Bibliography 56 Appendix 62 List of Tables Table 1: Top 10 Import Origins for ASEAN (2010 - 2011) 34 Table 2: Top 10 Export Origins for ASEAN (2010 - 2011) 35 Table 3: Swap Agreements between China and Neighboring Countries 36 Table 4: Correlation Results between GDP Growth Rates of China and US (1980 ââ¬â 2012) 41 Table 5: Regression Model Summary 45 Table 6: Values of Coefficients, Standard Errors and Significance Levels 46 List of Figures Figure 1: Chinese Yuan Settlements of Cross-Border Trade 37 Figure 2: Comparison of Exchange
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