Wednesday, November 27, 2019

It Role in Green Economy free essay sample

Green Economy: We depend on the earths natural resources that have a limited capacity to regenerate and renew itself, forcing us to design an economic model which is good in conserving energy, natural resources, reducing emissions, reducing pollution and at the same time providing Jobs to people. This kind of a design leads to the Green Economy which is a clean energy economy. It aims in providing: Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy and the efficient use of it. Green buildings which uses environment friendly and recyclable materials 0 Recycling of waste-to-energy, recycling of water and it also encourages the production and marketing of cleaner technologies such as less power consuming fluorescent light bulbs. Trends in Green Economy: There are various trends that shape the green economy and helps in building a sustainable eco-system. Construction of building with renewable resources and recyclable materials called as green building are being encouraged. We will write a custom essay sample on It Role in Green Economy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Many movements and companies like Dell, Toyota and Honda have restructured their business strategies to support a green economy. Recent happenings such as depletion of topsoils, sudden increase in water levels, melting of glaciers, poisoning of fresh water supplies and ozone layer depletion has aroused the fear in the minds of people and has forced them to know the importance of green economy. Various sectors such as solar-energy, wind-energy and organic products manufacturing are increasing and the people have started to show interest in buying green products. Importance and Impacts of Green Economy: The Green Economy can act as a good solution to sort out many problems such as Job losses due to economic crisis, low-carbon emission, drastic climatic change and efficient use of energy. It provides Jobs in the construction industry by introducing the technique of insulation of homes and it also helps in efficient use of energy. In addition to this, shifting the money spent on transport to a very efficient form such as creation of public transport which can reduce the carbon emission will also be very helpful. Information Systems: Stair and Ralph(2006) says that, Information system(lS) is a set of interrelated components that collect, manipulate and disseminate data and information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective. Information system plays different roles in everyones day to day life and its effect on green economy is also a important point. Role of information systems in Green Economy: Learning about green economy Just can t help in building the same, it needs a tool, a system that can nalyze the current system and helps in developing the green economy which brings in the role of Information Systems. Information system can play a vital role in developing a report which analyses the cause and helps in reducing air and water pollution. According to an article published on ibmsystemsmag website on June 2009, The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) reduces water pollution with the help of a software from 18M. Information systems can also help in proper energy

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Beowolf essays

Beowolf essays Beowolf is the oldest piece of British literature, and has survived for over thirteen hundred years. Scops passed this epic for two hundred years until it was finally written down by a Christian monk in 700 A. D.. The hero Beowulf continually demonstrates bravery throughout this cartoonistic tale which eventually leads to foolhardiness, a characteristic of the human condition that is still valid This epic is a traditional good vs. evil story. Beowolf battles three monsters throughout the story. The first two he does for the good of the people. His army thanks God when things go their way and throughout the story there are references to both Christian and Pagan beliefs, which gives it universal appeal. During his battle with Grendal, his mail shirt has supernatural powers, like the power of God. Grendals ferocious claws cannot touch Beowulf due to his powerful mail shirt. When he battles Grendals mother, he is given the sword of God. This sword is so powerful that it is able to cut off Grendals head. Then Beowulf single-handedly carries his head back to the people, a head that reportedly would need four normally strong men. Beowolf has a third heroic attempt at killing another bothersome monster. However, during his fifty years as king he has grown somewhat egocentric. Instead of trying to kill the monster for the good of his people, he does is because he knows he can and to prove himself, yet again. He even goes as far as telling his army not to help him, that this is a job for one man only; him. During this fight, he is not aided by God and it leads to his demise. The monster dragon dies but not before ripping Beowulfs throat. This story has survived hundreds of years for many reasons. It has a cartoonistic quality to it due to the detailed scenes of blood and guts which gives it a humorous quality. It was ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life Essay

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life - Essay Example I could either choose an easy path by dropping out of university or I could put in my efforts to adapt to my surroundings and face the problems. I chose the difficult path because I understood that education and knowledge serve to be important in the life of a person. I put in all my strength to cope up with the educational requirements of the university and I was assisted by my faculty members, who understood my problem and were highly supportive. English is not my first language and I did not hold much expertise in the language. I got enrolled in an English University where English was the medium of education. The lectures were delivered in English and English was the language used for communication with the teachers as well as the other students. The books were in English as well. My English language skills were not very good and it was a very difficult phase for me. This was because of my writing, reading as well as communication skills were not up to the mark and I had to put in much hard work to cope with my studies. I found it difficult to take down notes during the lectures. This was because I had to pay full attention towards listening to the teacher to understand the lecture and if I started taking notes, I used to lag behind in the lecture. Note taking was also an issue as I could not spell words properly and my writing speed was not up to the mark as well. I could not understand the normally used abbreviations as I was not familiar with them and had not used them before.  

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Final - Essay Example By not delivering the coffee as stipulated in the contract, Java Distributors has made a material breach of the contract. A material breach of contract comes into effect when a party to a contract substantially and unjustifiably fails to meet their contractual obligation(s). Although Green Coffee can take Java Distributors to court, it is advisable that it pursues a different path of dispute resolution especially considering that it will have to incur a lot of expenses in legal fees and yet it will receive a little compensation in case it wins the case in a court of law. As earlier noted, Green Coffee can pursue an alternative avenue in resolving the dispute at hand, other than going to court. It may engage negotiation, arbitration, and mediation, all of which are less costly and which are known to be faster than litigation. One case in point that involved a material breach of contract is Miller v. Mills Constitutional, Inc. In this case, the district court held that Mills had breach ed the contract by failing to deliver the materials that it had agreed to deliver as stipulated in the contract. In the case of Miller versus Mills, the case rightly ended up in court considering the amount of money involved. This case is quite similar to the case involving Green Coffee and Java Distributors. By failing to deliver the coffee, Java Distributors caused Green Coffee losses. Green Coffee was not able to serve customers and therefore lost business on that day. This being the case, Green Coffee should receive compensation from Java Distributors that equals the amount the Green Coffee normally makes on a Monday, tips included. The best thing for Green Coffee to do is to invoke a dispute resolution method that is less expensive. Since Java Distributors may be unresponsive to a negotiation, the organization would best apply mediation or arbitration to resolve the dispute. If mediation as a process is chosen as a way of resting the case, both parties will have to choose a neu tral party who will suggest ways for resolving the dispute and facilitate communication. Normally, a mediator is knowledgeable in the matters of law. In some cases, mediation may lead to litigation. By opting for arbitration, the parties rely on a neutral party (the arbitrator) who is not necessarily knowledgeable in legal issues. The arbitrator listens to both parties before making a legally binding decision which can be subject to appeal at the district court. Considering the situation, Green Coffee would better go for arbitration and avoid going to court as much as possible. Part B The location of the coffee shop, the environment, the clientele, and the prices of the products on offer determine the kind of table that is suitable. If the coffee shop is located in an upmarket area in Boston visited by high class clients and serves as a place where people meet, then tables with stained glass tops are suitable for purchase. On the other hand, if the shop targets middle class and low class clients and is located in a downscale location, stainless steel tops would be suitable. Whichever the choice between the two, a contact will have to come into effect. The contract will include an offer, consideration and acceptance so as to be valid. When a stained top glass is chosen especially, a warranty should be granted so that in case of any damages, there can be a replacement. Part C The three new workers signed a written contract. However,

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Analyzes of Richard Aldrich, Untitled and Tomma Abts, Fewe Essay

Analyzes of Richard Aldrich, Untitled and Tomma Abts, Fewe - Essay Example The essay "Analyzes of Richard Aldrich, Untitled and Tomma Abts, Fewe" discovers that two paintings. In terms of specific application of colors of painting by Pichard Aldrich to convey formal meaning there are a number of differing components. The bottom part of the work is covered in red with two yellow doors. The doors seem to function as an entranceway into a house. Still, there is the recognition that the abstract nature of the work is such that attributing a specific formal assumption to this doors is difficult. As one considers the middle part of the work there is the recognition that the artist is seemingly attempting to depict windows. In this way three grey rectangles are featured directly in the center of the picture. While the formal elements of these rectangles can potentially depict windows they additionally could be viewed as representing eyes. There then occurs an overarching meditation on the nature of shape as embodying formal qualities of expression. Another signifi cant formal quality of the work is the walls that seemingly form a house-like structure surrounding the earlier described elements. While walls outline the lower portions of the structure, there are also strong vertical lines that extend into the upper right portions of the image. These strong lines are accompanied by more rectangles and squares. In this way the artist is seemingly breaking the earlier pattern of a home structure and again meditating on the expressive potential of lines and shapes.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Effects of South West Monsoon (SWM) on Cloud Cover and Shape

Effects of South West Monsoon (SWM) on Cloud Cover and Shape INTRODUCTION An investigation of the cloud shape stability and the cloud covering is presented on the immediate pre and post south-west monsoon (SWM) commencement. The study focuses on Sri Lankan region bounded by longitude 700E-950E latitude 00-200N during the months April, May June in the years 2012 and 2013. Monsoon onset is a remarkably abrupt event and has established the criterion to determine the onset date which is noticeably controversial and a complicated issue. The prime aim of this paper is to understand the vagaries of the cloud dynamics on the before, inception after the SW monsoon and the analysis are carried out purely based on the computer based image processing rather than chemical physical processes. Cloud shape stability which is determined by the pixel orientation based on the neighbourhood begins to drop in April-May and remains in that low level in subsequent months of both years while cloud cover which is determined by the brightness of the pixel starts to go up in the same period and remains in that high level in the following months as well. The south-west (SW) monsoon brings somewhat organized heavy rainfall to Sri Lanka. The economy of the country is largely influenced by the SW monsoon because major industries such as agriculture and power generation are highly depended on rainfall. Therefore, studying the commencement of SW monsoon and its structure is significant. There is no universally accepted definition or criterion to determine the monsoon onset and previous studies exhibited considerable year to year variation of SW monsoon onset [1]. Further, the climate system is a highly uncertain dynamical system which involves large number of factors such as precipitation, temperature, outgoing long wave radiation, wind speed and direction, humidity etc. Monsoon is also an onset-active-break-revival life cycle phenomenon [11]. Therefore, the establishment of a criterion to determine the onset is a noticeably controversial and complicated task. Major monsoon area of the world exists in South and East Asia and the Indian Ocean monsoon interact with the South China Sea monsoon [10]. Most of the previous studies relating to the monsoon onset were based on wind, precipitation, outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) and brightness temperature [1, 9, 11]. According to the summarization done by Wang et al from 1992 to 2001, only in one among seventeen (17) stud ies was involved with cloud data [1]. However, Wonsick et al document the seasonal progression of the Asian monsoon by analysing clouds and convection in the pre-peak and post-monsoon season [6]. Moreover, maximum cloud zone and the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) over the Indian region during the SW monsoon was investigated by Sikka et al and it has been found that the two maximum cloud zones are present during June-September, one of 150N and the other of equatorial region [4]. Most of the monsoon studies based on clouds as well as other variables were highly pertinent to China and Indian region. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no or very little research have been done to investigate the monsoon commencement in Sri Lankan region using the cloud patterns. In addition to the monsoon studies, there are certain studies relating to clouds. Among those, identification of tracer clouds done by Nilanjan et al [7] and automated cloud classification done by Bryan et al [3] motivated us to study the seasonal c loud dynamics. Thirty minute interval cloud images were downloaded from the http://202.54.31.45/ARCHIVE/ASIA-SECTOR/INFRARED. Images are taken from the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) KALPANA 1 geostationary satellite. These images are derived from the emission by the earth and its atmosphere at thermal infrared wavelength of 10.5-12.5 Â µm and they cover the latitude range 100S-500N and the longitude range 450E – 1050E. The ground resolution at the sub satellite point is nominally 8 Km x 8 Km. Images are stored in the above web site as colour RGB JPEG format. Pixel resolution of the images is about 1200 x 1024 (72 dpi x 72 dpi) with 24bits depth including image header. The region bounded by the longitude 700E-950E and the latitude 00-200N extracted from the original image and the grey converted image is used for this study. This extracted bounded region provides a good coverage for the island of Sri Lanka. Moreover, this study investigates the cloud images from January 2012 to July 2013. Our objective of this research is to distinguish the strange behaviour of the clouds during the potential SW monsoon onset period. Sequel of this paper is as follows: next section describes the methodology followed by the results and discussion. The last section is allocated for a conclusions and recommendations. METHODOLOGY Local orientation which is used as a feature of a satellite image is a major contributor to determine the cloud shape life time. Local orientation which is also called the linear symmetry (LS) is characteristics by the least change of grey value in one direction and maximal change in the orthogonal direction [2,5]. Therefore, a linear symmetry tensor for an image is constructed with respect to the local neighbourhood for each pixel of the image. In this way, local symmetry tensors of the concerned bounded area of the 30 minute interval satellite images were constructed. By preserving the first image as the reference image, comparison takes place with its LS tensor and that of the subsequent images till the correlation drops below a specified threshold. In this study the threshold is 0.9. As long as this correlation of the subsequent image is higher than the threshold, is considered as the same cloud shape with the reference image. The time period until the drop of the correlation of the LS tensors below the threshold is considered as the life time of that particular cloud shape. This process was continued by taking the next immediate image as the new reference image and mean value of the life times is taken as the cloud shape life time for the particular day. In addition, the cloud cover was determined in the said area of the image using the feature of brightness of the pixel. If the pixel brightness is higher than the global threshold which is determined by the otsu’s method, it is considered as the cloudy pixel. As such the cloud cover area was calculated for the chosen area of image by counting the number of cloudy pixels. Similarly, the average was taken as the cloud cover of the particular day. Finally, the cloud shape life time and the cloud cover were analysed in the months of April, May and June which include the SW monsoon potential onset period [8, 10], of the years 2012 2013 which is presented in the following section. All calculations and analysis were done using the software MATLAB and Microsoft Excel. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION To look at the vagaries of the cloud dynamics in the immediate pre and post south-west monsoon commencement, monthly variation of cloud shape life time and cover from January 2012 to July 2013 are calculated and presented in figure 1 with the standard deviation. In both years, cloud shape stability life time start to drop in April-May and after the drop, this low level sustains during the entire peak monsoon period (June-September) in year 2012. Similar trend can be seen up to July in the year 2013. On the other hand, cloud cover starts to increase in same period and remains in that higher value during the whole peak period of monsoon in year 2012. Once again that trend can also be observed up to July 2013. According to the previous studies, Wang et al (2004), Wonsick et al (2009) and Tsing-Change Chen et al monsoon build up on average from 2nd week of May to 1st week of June[1, 6, 8, 10]. When we closely look at how a cloud behaves in this previously identified monsoon onset period, interestingly, we can see a remarkable change of behaviour in both cloud shape life time and the cloud cover occurred in the data considered for this study. First of all, highest cloud cover is increased by 48.56% than the previous day on May 19, 2012. Similarly in 2013, this happens on May 25 which is a 48.47% increase than the previous day. After goes up that high level of cloud cover is averagely 40 per cent or higher in 2013 while it is 40 per cent or higher in most of the days in 2012 remains till mid-June. This is shown in the figure 2. While cloud cover is increased on May 19 2012, the cloud shape stability time is strangely dropped by 51% on the same day when compared with that in the previous day. As shown in figure 3, after this drop the average low life time sustains till mid-June. For example, cloud shape life time of May 18, 19 and 20 are 12.42, 6.08 and 7.36 hours respectively and then it does not increase to a level as high as 12 hours. Similar behaviour can be observed in 2013 too. As higher cloud cover increased occurred on May 25, 2013, cloud shape life time brings to 6.42 hours on that day from 9.83 hours on previous day. This is a 34.75% drop which remains at that low life time as low as 5 hours up to mid-June. We can also see that the cloud shape life time drop occurred on May 20, 2013 by 37.66% than the previous day. However, the following day again it goes up by 50%. In addition, on May 28, 2013, once again we can observe the life time diminish by 38.98% but that drop brings 4.92 hours of life time on May 27 to 3.0 hours on May 28 which is not higher than 5.0 hours either of days and it is not a reasonably long run downward trend. Therefore, the life time drop occurred in May 25, 2013 is unusual. According to the literature, summer monsoon first appeared in South China Sea (SCS) and moves progressively northward [1]. The consistency between the above said dates and onset dates of the previous studies on south china sea and indian monsoon region are significant [1, 9]. In the literature, we can find a considerable amount of studies for defining onset of the monsoon. Some of them are based on multivariable. Certain studies have tried to define the onset using a single variable. However, resulting onset dates for some years were greatly divers because the choice of local variables are sensitivity to the region [1]. One of salient feature of most definitions is that a remarkable change the value of chosen factor or factors and sustains that value to some reasonable period. For instance, Wang et al define the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon onset as an index of 850 hPazonal winds average over the central SCS (USCS) is positive and remains positive on subsequent days (3 pentads) with accumulating mean greater than one [1]. Moreover, according to Tsing Chen et al wind field and rainfall are other important widely used factors for determining the onset. Again, these factors reach a certain critical amount and sustain that value for some consecutive d ays which is adopted as the criterion of monsoon onset [10].Similarly, we are able to identify the remarkable change of cloud shape life time and the cloud amount and sustain that change a considerable number of days in the same fashion. conclusions/RECOMMENDATIONS In 2012, within the potential SW monsoon onset period of 2nd week of May to 1st week of June (according to the previous studies), highest cloud cover increase occurred on May 19 and it is 48.56% higher than the previous day. After it goes up it remains in that value of around 40 per cent most of the days till mid-June and averagely higher in the entire peak SW monsoon period (June-September). On the other hand, cloud shape stability on the same day is dropped by 51 per cent than the previous day. Again this is the highest drop within the monsoon onset potential period. Similarly after the cloud shape life time goes down, it remains till mid-June and mean value is as low as the same within the whole monsoon peak period. Similar observation can be seen in that period of 2013 too. Highest cloud cover increase of 48.47% than the previous day is occurred on 25th May, 2013 and it remains till mid-June at as high as 40%. Moreover, the cloud shape life time too behaves as same as the previou s year. When compared with the previous day it is dropped by 34.75% on 25th May and that this low value remains in subsequent days till mid-June. In the light of the above findings, there is a sound reason to explain that the level of cloud cover and their shape life time are good indicators for determining the arrival date of the SW monsoon. On the other hand determining the monsoon structure such as arrival and withdrawal date, break time and its strength is a challenging demand. In the future, we expect to develop the image processing tools for capturing the structural information of the satellite cloud images in order to describe and figure out weather patterns as well as monsoon. REFERENCES B. Wang, Linho, Yongsheng Zhang, and M. M. Lu, 2004: Definition of South China Sea Monsoon Onset and Commencement of the East Asia Monsoon, Journal of Climate, 17, 699-710 Bigun, J., Gosta, H. Grandlund, Optimal Orientation Detection of Linear Symmetry, 1987, Proceedings of the IEEE First International Conference of Computer Vision. London, IEEE Computer Society Press, pp 433-438 Bryan A Baum, Vasanth Tovinkere, Jay Titlow, and Ronald M Welch, 1997: Automated Cloud Classification of Global AVHRR Data Using a Fuzzy Logic Approach, Journal of Applied Meteorology, 36, 1519-1540 D. R. Sikka, and Sulochana Gadgil, 1980: On the Maximum Cloud Zone and the ITCZ over Indian Longitudes during the Southwest monsoon, Monthly Weather Review, 1840-1853 H. L. Premaratne and J Bigun, 2002: Recognition of Printed Sinhala Characters Using Linear Symmetry, The 5th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, Melbourne, Australia, 23-25 January 2002 Margaret M Wonsick, Rachel T Pinker and Yves Govaerts, 2009: Cloud Variability over the Indian Monsoon Region as Observed from Satellites, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 48, 1803-1821 Nilanjan Ray, Dipti Prasad Mukherjee and Jyotirmoy Das, 1999: Identification of Tracer Clouds: A Shape-based Approach, Current Science, 76, 916-923 S. Ramanayake, Lareef Zubair, and H. B. Nayakekorala, 1998: Week of Onset and Withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon in Sri Lanka, SLAAS annual conference 54:251-252, December 1998 Tsing Change Chen and Ming Cheng Yen, 1994: Interannual Variation of the Indian Monsoon Simulated by the NCAR Community Climate Model: Effect of the Tropical Pasific SST, Journal of Climate, 7, 1403-1415 Tsing Change Chen and Jau-Ming Chen, 1995: An Observational Study of the South China Sea Monsoon during the 1979 Summer: Onset and Life Cycle, Monthly Weather Review, 123, 2295-2318 Tsing Change Chen, Ren Yow Tzeng and Ming Cheng Yen, 1988: Development and Life Cycle of the Indian Monsoon: Effect of the 30-50 Day Oscillation, Monthly Weather Review, 116, 2183-2199

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror

Dr. Ronald Takaki, a professor in the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley, describes America’s immigrant history from the perspective of the minority group in the time period from Colonial America to the Los Angeles riots of 1992 (the year before the book was published).The author examines the historical experiences of different immigrant groups upon arrival in America, their reasons and expectations for coming, and the impact of such immigrations upon the Native American tribes who were already living in America and thought they possessed the land.The groups discussed include African Americans, Chinese, Japanese and other Southeast Asians, Irish, European Jews, and Hispanics, each of whom tended to originally settle in different parts of the country and perform different types of work that was available.   This is an enormous undertaking in a book of 428 pages.The book is extremely useful to both readers and teachers through its explanation o f the reasons ethnic groups immigrated into the   parts of the country in which each settled.   For example,   Chinese immigrants were usually husbands with wives and children left in China to ensure the men would continue to send money home.The site of immigration often determined the available work and jobs.   The Chinese came to the West Coast and became railroad workers, virtually building the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869 and uniting the country.   Then they went into the agricultural industry of California and into small businesses requiring a minimal cash outlay to start.   By the 1850’s, the Chinese quarter of San Francisco existed with small stores, Chinese societies and traditions, and gangs.The Japanese family unit migrated because the Japanese government encouraged this means of maintaining Japan’s national honor.   Most came with wives or imported them to work in businesses as unpaid family labor.   The Japanese, being 2% of Californiaâ €™s population, were disliked but incorporated into a paternalistic, racial hierarchy, where they also helped to build the railroad, became farmers, and worked in canneries.Since the book is written from the ethnic groups’ perspective, the leaders of the United States, being primarily Caucasian men whose opinions reflected those of the times, often appear short-sighted and ignorant of the consequences of their actions.Dr. Takaki is particularly harsh on Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson, all fairly well regarded during their lives.   He also omits important women   in American history, except for writers.   The first woman mentioned is Phyllis Wheatly, an African American poetess of the Colonial Era.There were other important women in that era, as discussed in Our Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts.   He also does not mention any of the women involved in the Abolitionist Movement, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, or any other womenâ€⠄¢s movement.     Towards the end of the book, he mentions several female writers and their works, including Gloria Anzaldua, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison, all cultural minority writers.There are no stereotypes.   The settings of the book are authentic and describe in detail the way the minorities lived, the areas in which they lived, and the work they did.   Dr. Takaki discusses in detail the immigration of European Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe as refugees from the Pale, a part of Russia set apart for them, who could not return to their homelands without being killed.The Jews were typically educated, had middle class values, worked hard, and were socioeconomic mobile.   Their skin was white, they spoke English, and most changed their names to fit into existing American culture.   They settled   primarily on the East Coast and started work in the garment industry and opened small shops.All made certain that their children were well-educated an d did not have to work at such menial positions.   African-Americans began as slaves in the original American colonies.   The author mentions several famous Abolitionist men – Frederick Douglas, John Brown and Martin Delany (the leading Black Nationalist of the 19th Century, who was admitted to Harvard Medical School and told he would have to practice in Africa).He discusses how World War I created a labor shortage when European immigration was closed, creating a need for African-Americans to migrate to the northern cities where work and housing was plentiful.   The Harlem Renaissance he dismisses as imagined (page 357) by the white intellectuals.He mentions some individual African Americans of significance including Marcus Garvey (who wanted to establish a Black nation in Africa); Adam Clayton Powell (Congressman); and Zora Neal Hurston (author of Their Eyes Were Watching God).Dr. Takaki’s discussion of the Hispanic revolution is sketchy.   Part of California was settled by upper class Spaniards who created their own hierarchy by ranking darkening skin color, with pure Indians and laborers being on the bottom.     There is so much information available on how badly the government treated the Native Americans that his discussion of this material was brief by necessity.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Social Phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder: Social Phobia The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines social anxiety disorder as a marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur (DSM). Exposure to these situations provokes an immediate anxiety response such as a panic attack (DSM). In order to be diagnosed, fear or avoidance of these situations must interfere significantly with the person’s normal routines, occupational or academic functioning, social activities or relationships, or a person must experience marked distress about having the phobia (DSM). In 400 B. C. , Hippocrates described a young man that displayed the symptoms of a social anxiety disorder. â€Å"He dare not come in company for fear he should be misused, disgraced, overshoot himself in gesture or speeches, or be sick; he thinks every man observes him† (Burton 2009). Throughout the 20th century, psychiatrists described extremely shy patients as having social phobia and social neurosis. British psychiatrists Isaac Marks and Michael Gelder proposed that social phobias be considered a distinct category separate from other simple phobias (Hope, Heimberg, Juster, & Turk 2005). In 1980, the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders introduced social phobia as an official psychiatric diagnosis. Social phobia was described as a fear of performance situations, but did not include fears of informal situations such as casual conversations or social situations. Patients with broad fears were likely to be diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder, which could not be diagnosed in conjunction with social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). In 1985, psychiatrist Michael Liebowitz and psychologist Richard Heimberg initiated a call to action for research on social phobia (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). Due to the lack of research on social anxiety disorder, the disorder came to be known by many as the â€Å"neglected anxiety disorder† (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). In 1987, the DSM-III-R introduces changes in some of the diagnostic criteria. To diagnosis social anxiety disorder the symptoms must cause â€Å"interference or marked distress† rather than simply â€Å"significant distress. † It also became possible to diagnose social phobia and avoidant personality disorder in the same patient (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). In 1994, the DSM-IV was released, and the disorder was defined as a â€Å"marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or possible scrutiny by others† (Weiner, Freedheim, Freedheim, Reynolds, Miller, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, Nelson, Gallagher, & Nelson 2003). The etiology of social anxiety disorder is largely attributed to genetics, and environmental factors. Family studies of individuals with social anxiety disorder show a higher incidence of the disorder than that found in the general population, and a twin study found a concordance rate of 15. % in dizygotes and a 24. 4% concordance in monozygotes (Kedler, Neale, Kessler, Heath & Eaves 1992. ). Of course, there is very little evidence that the genetic factors attributed to social anxiety disorder extend beyond the link between environmental factors since there is very little evidence of neurobiological factors. Other than the fact that se lective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective treatments for social anxiety disorder, there is little evidence to implicate dysfunction of the serotonergic system (Jefferson 2001. . The lack of empirical data identifying neurobiological factors in causing the onset of social anxiety disorder is best stated in a quote by Dr. Murray B. Stein, a Professor of Psychiatry and Family & Preventive Medicine at the University of California San Diego, â€Å"It is clear that we have a long way to go before we can speak with authority about the ‘neurobiology of social phobia’† (Stein 1998. ) Therefore, environmental factors remain the most referred to etiological agent in the onset of social anxiety disorder. Parenting traits such as over control, lack of warmth or rejection, and overprotection are known to be associated with the etiology of social anxiety disorder (Brooks, & Schmidt 2008). Some individuals with social anxiety disorder associate its onset with a specific social event or interaction that was particularly embarrassing or humiliating. Such a circumstance could be considered an adverse conditioning stimulus (Jefferson 2001). There is further evidence that poor results from quality of life assessments can be attributed to social anxiety disorder. Individuals with major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder have substantially poorer quality of life than community comparison cohorts. In many cases, the quality-of-life impairments associated with these anxiety disorders are equal to or greater than those seen with other chronic medical disorders (Rapaport, Clary, Fayyad, & Endicott 2005). Social anxiety disorder is a common disorder. The lifetime prevalence of SAD is somewhere between 7% and 13% in Western countries (Furmark 2002). Furthermore, epidemiological studies have demonstrated that social anxiety disorder is the most widespread of all the anxiety disorders, and the third most common psychiatric disorder after major depression and alcohol abuse (Brooks, & Schmidt 2008). Therapy and medication are the most common treatments for social anxiety disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most utilized form of psychotherapy, and has been found to be successful in seventy-five percent of patients (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). This type of therapy focuses on reminding the patient that it is their own thoughts, not other people or situations, that determine how they behave or react (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). In therapy, the patient is taught how to recognize and change the negative thoughts they have about themselves (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). Exposure therapy is also a common form of treatment for social anxiety disorder. In this type of therapy, the patient is gradually exposed to situations that they fear most (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). Exposure therapy enables the patient to learn coping techniques, and develop the courage to face them (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). The patient is also exposed to role-playing with emphasis on developing the skills to cope with different social situations in a â€Å"safe† environment (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). There are several medications used to treat social anxiety disorder. These medications are typically serotonin reuptake inhibitors including Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). A serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) drug such as Venlafaxine may also be used as a first-line therapy for social anxiety disorder (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). Typically, the patient begins with a low dosage, and is gradually increased to a full dosage, to minimize side effects (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). It may take up to three months of treatment before the patient begins to have noticeable improvement of symptoms (â€Å"Social anxiety disorder,† 2009). Social anxiety disorder remains a largely misunderstood, and under researched, disorder. Momentum through increased clinical research, in depth understanding through treatment, and stricter guidelines for proper diagnosis are positive indications that Psychology has recognized the debilitating effects of social anxiety disorder on patients. In time, clinicians will be better prepared to treat patients suffering from this disorder, and will improve the lives of patients. References Brooks, C. A. , & Schmidt, L. A. (2008). Social anxiety disorder: a review of environmental risk factors. Neuropsychiatr Disease and Treatment, 4(1), Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. ih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515922/ Burton, Robert. (2009). The Anatomy of melancholy. Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia. Furmark T. (2002). Social phobia: overview of community surveys, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 105, Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/11939957 Hope, Debra, Heimberg, Richard, Juster, Harlan, & Turk, Cynthia. (2005). Managing social anxiety. New York, NY: Oxf ord Univ Pr. Jefferson, J. W. (2001). Physicians postgraduate press, inc.. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 3(1), Retrieved from http://www. cbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC181152/ Kedler, K. S. , Neale, M. C. , Kessler, R. C. , Heath, A. C. , and Eaves, L. J. (1992) The genetic epidemiology of phobias in women: the interrelationship of agoraphobia, social phobia, situational phobia, and simple phobia. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. Rapaport, M. H. , Clary, C, Fayyad, R, & Endicott, J. (2005). Quality-of-life impairment in depressive and anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(6), Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/9861470 Social anxiety disorder (social phobia). (2009). Mayoclinic. com. Retrieved (2010, April 25), Retrieved from http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/social-anxiety-disorder/DS00595/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs Stein, M. B. (1998). Neurobiological perspectives on social phobia: from affiliation to zoology. Biological Psychiatry, 44(12), Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/9861470 Weiner, Irving, Freedheim, Donald, Freedheim, Donald, Reynolds, William, Miller, Gloria, Gallagher, Michela, Nelson, Randy, Gallagher, Michela, Nelson, Randy, Gallagher, Michela, & Nelson, Randy. (2003). Handbook of psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Causes Of The Showa Restoration Essays - Empire Of Japan

Causes Of The Showa Restoration Essays - Empire Of Japan Causes of the Showa Restoration Sonno joi, "Restore the Emperor and expel the Barbarians," was the battle cry that ushered in the Showa Restoration in Japan during the 1930's.Footnote1 The Showa Restoration was a combination of Japanese nationalism, Japanese expansionism, and Japanese militarism all carried out in the name of the Showa Emperor, Hirohito. Unlike the Meiji Restoration, the Showa Restoration was not a resurrection of the Emperor's powerFootnote2, instead it was aimed at restoring Japan's prestige. During the 1920's, Japan appeared to be developing a democratic and peaceful government. It had a quasi-democratic governmental body, the Diet,Footnote3 and voting rights were extended to all male citizens.Footnote4 Yet, underneath this seemingly placid surface, lurked momentous problems that lead to the Showa Restoration. The transition that Japan made from its parliamentary government of the 1920's to the Showa Restoration and military dictatorship of the late 1930s was not a sudden transformation. Liberal forces were not toppled by a coup overnight. Instead, it was gradual, feed by a complex combination of internal and external factors. The history that links the constitutional settlement of 1889 to the Showa Restoration in the 1930s is not an easy story to relate. The transformation in Japan's governmental structure involved; the historical period between 1868 and 1912 that preceded the Showa Restoration. This period of democratic reforms was an underlying cause of the militarist reaction that lead to the Showa Restoration. The transformation was also feed by several immediate causes; such as, the downturn in the global economy in 1929Footnote5 and the invasion of Manchuria in 1931.Footnote6 It was the convergence of these external, internal, underlying and immediate causes that lead to the military dictatorship in the 1930's. The historical period before the Showa Restoration, 1868-1912, shaped the political climate in which Japan could transform itself from a democracy to a militaristic state. This period is known as the Meiji Restoration.Footnote7 The Meiji Restoration of 1868 completely dismantled the Tokugawa political order and replaced it with a centralized system of government headed by the Emperor who served as a figure head.Footnote8 However, the Emperor instead of being a source of power for the Meiji Government, became its undoing. The Emperor was placed in the mystic position of demi-god by the leaders of the Meiji Restoration. Parliamentarians justified the new quasi-democratic government of Japan, as being the "Emperor's Will." The ultra-nationalist and militaristic groups took advantage of the Emperor's status and claimed to speak for the Emperor.Footnote9 These then groups turned the tables on the parliamentarians by claiming that they, not the civil government, represented the "Imperial Will." The parliamentarians, confronted with this perversion of their own policy, failed to unite against the militarists and nationalists. Instead, the parliamentarians compromised with the nationalists and militarists groups and the general populace took the nationalists' claims of devotion to the Emperor at face value, further bolstering the popularity of the nationalists.Footnote10 The theory of "Imperial Will" in Japan's quasi-democratic government became an underlying flaw in the government's democratic composition. It was also during the Meiji Restoration that the Japanese economy began to build up its industrial base. It retooled, basing itself on the western model. The Japanese government sent out investigators to learn the ways of European and American industries.Footnote11 In 1889, the Japanese government adopted a constitution based on the British and German models of parliamentary democracy. During this same period, railroads were constructed, a banking system was started and the samurai system was disbanded.Footnote12 Indeed, it seemed as if Japan had successfully made the transition to a western style industrialized state. Almost every other non-western state failed to make this leap forward from pre-industrial nation to industrialized power. For example, China failed to make this leap. It collapsed during the 1840s and the European powers followed by Japan, sought to control China by expropriating its raw materials and exploiting its markets. By 1889, when the Japanese ConstitutionFootnote13 was adopted, Japan, with a few minor setbacks, had been able to make the transition to a world power through its expansion of colonial holdings.Footnote14 During the first World War, Japan's economy and colonial holdings continued to expand as the western powers were forced to focus on the war raging in Europe. During the period 1912-1926, the

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

17 Ideas for Your Author Blog (Plus Tips for Finding More)

17 Ideas for Your Author Blog (Plus Tips for Finding More) From the moment there were storytellers, there were audiences fascinated with the personal lives of those storytellers. In the same way that gossip magazines publish details on celebrities lives, many people want to know the lives of creators and artists- their romantic relationships, hobbies, influences, and whatever other juicy information one could find. It helps them feel more connected to the author, with a certain inside scoop that not everyone knows.This exact fascination with the personal lives of authors is the type of audience engagement that can help build your online presence if you are an author seeking to market your writing. And in a time when everyone and their grandmother (literally) is part of a digital audience- this online presence could exponentially build your platform for wildly successful book sales.Whether youre an indie author or have a publishing contract, your author blog is a great way to attract new readers while maintaining dialogue with your core audie nce. With this amazing marketing opportunity available to authors looking to grow their readership, below are 17 ideas for topics on days when its hard to come up with your own. Weve also included several tips on how to find hundreds more topic ideas to build an online audience.Discuss your favorite place to write and why you enjoy it so much.Talk about a member of your family or a caregiver who influenced you the most, and how they have supported you as a writer.Discuss a location youve visited that was particularly inspiring, perhaps one that ended up in your novel.Write about a book that changed your perspective as a writer.Talk about your favorite literary character and why he or she is your favorite. Discuss ways in which the author approached characterization that made the character particularly appealing to you.Discuss an obstacle in the writing process that was most difficult for you to overcome.List your top 10 favorite books and why they are meaningful to you.Reveal to you r readers the inspiration behind one of their favorite characters that youve created.Post a piece of flash fiction. This article in the New Yorker has some great examples.Offer other authors how to pieces, such as how to develop your characters or how to self-publish. Providing informative content is a great way to keep readers interested in your blog.Conduct interviews with other authors in your genre and help them get the word out about their own writing. Youll find that theyll be happy to do the same in most cases.Post information that would be interesting for readers within your genre. For example, if you write Romance, discuss romantic getaways or top-10 romantic restaurants. If you write Mysteries or Thrillers, writing about crime scene investigation techniques or famous haunted houses would be great ways to engage readers. In addition to using these types of posts to provide your blogs audience with useful information, the keyword content will increase your pages ranking on G oogle search engines.Offer readers a list of your favorite writing resources. Consider providing links to purchase them on Amazon.Create a vlog (videoblog) discussing a topic that would be of interest to your readers. If you can teach writing or publishing tips, thats a great way to engage your audience and offer useful information to them. According to this Hootsuite article, Seventy percent of viewers use YouTube to help solve a problem with work, school, or hobbies, and 86 percent said they regularly use YouTube to learn new things. Among millennials, the numbers for self-directed learning are even higher: 93 percent of them use YouTube to find out how to do things.Talk about writing mistakes new writers commonly make. This is a great way to offer informative advice that could really be a game-changer for others wishing to publish a novel.Discuss 15 insane but true things about publishing a novel. This title alone will be a great eye-catcher for your readers and will give you the opportunity to reveal some real facts about the publishing process that most people dont already know.Talk about the biggest myths surrounding the topics of writing a book. What are some you can personally bust from your own writing experience?Tips for finding moreNow that weve discussed some blog topic ideas for you, lets look at ways you can find even more ideas online.Look through Quora for questionsQuora is a crowdsourced website where questions are asked and answered. With an easily searchable keyword tool, Quora gives you the opportunity to see what kind of questions other people have that might benefit from your expertise as a writer. For example, if you are self-published, a quick search of self-publishing returns the following questions:What is the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing, and which ones better?Can I publish my 1,000,000-word novel or will I have to self-publish it as an eBook?How do I self-publish my book?Why do writers opt for self-p ublishing?Is self-publishing a good option for writers?What are your experiences as a self-published author?Another great thing about Quora is that you can use the website to respond to questions, leaving a link to your blog article within your response. This increases your blog traffic and exposes a wider audience to your books sales links.Use a blog topic generatorBlog topic generators are abundant and can be a good resource for helping you come up with new blog ideas that will attract readers. This generator is a great place to start.Keep in mind that with online content (as well as offline content), the headline you choose will affect the percentage of readers you engage. This page discusses seven different headline generators that will help drive the SEO (search engine optimized) copy your website needs to rank higher on Google (and other) search engines.Research competitors blogs to see what theyre writing aboutA great way to add to your topic idea list is to research other wr iters blogs and see what theyve written about to draw blog traffic. Sometimes, simply reading through a list of their headlines can give you ideas about how to write a spin-off of one of those topics and make it unique to your experience and audience.Obviously, you dont want to completely rip off headlines, but keep in mind that with the extent of content now available online, there really is nothing new under the sun (as the saying goes). Looking to other author bloggers for ideas is a perfectly acceptable way to build your own blog copy with informative, engaging content that is of interest to readers.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

John Browns importance in the antebellum slavery debate Essay

John Browns importance in the antebellum slavery debate - Essay Example Christian savior Jesus Christ (â€Å"John Brown’s Holy War,† 2010).John Brown can be a banner for which all abolitionists really under to continue the fight for the freedom and dignity of all of the people who have been wrongly chained and enslaved. The harder that we deny these winds of change the greater the force will ultimately be all the more destructive; do you not see this only brings us further from bringing this country together, but only further tear us apart. John Brown’s crime is not the charges levied against him, but what he represents and the likelihood fuel he can add to the fight against slavery. The time for change is now. Thoreau’s message speaks volumes of the respect that many have for this condemned man. He explained that his character will likely live long after him and that is his legacy (â€Å"John Brown’s Holy War,† 2010). Ultimately, the court will decide his fate, but we can take up his cause, pass the torch, and continue the fight to the end. We can no longer allow injustices that so freely and legally occur in the southern states; crimes of the most heinous kind. If ever there was a time to rise up the banner of John Brown is now. Let his cause be ours as we bring Americ a into a whole new era and very different

Friday, November 1, 2019

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - Essay Example One of the rules relating to federal rules and civil procedure states that the US district judge has the ultimate authority in courtroom legal procedure and a very important role in advancing common law practice and establishing new positions. It further asserts that the district court judge applies the substantive laws of the state when making such decisions. A case of Zubulake v. UBS that was heard between 2003 and 2005 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York explores the states stand on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the topic. According to Ney Yorks’ legal framework, the court holds that attorneys are obligated to ensure all relevant information documents are discovered, retained, and produced. In regard to the above discussed legal structure, it is evident that New York adopted the rules of civil procedure which addresses the role of counsel in