The Elephant Man free essay sample

Moreover, he defined several groups that can be affected by the process of stigmatization. One of the groups included people with various deformities and anomalies that were often called abominations of the body. The play â€Å"The Elephant Man† by Bernard Pomerance is a bright example of the impact of the society on the personality. We see the main character Joseph Merrick who suffers a lot from the harsh attitude of the society. The main reason of such attitude was his ugly appearance and proteus syndrome that caused overgrowth of the bone and all the deformities and anomalies of his body. From the early beginning Merrick was never treated as a real human. He was considered to be a creature, animal and beast. Merrick used to be a constant object for laughter and humiliation. Society avoids â€Å"freaks† and people who seem to be strange or ugly and simply different from them. Moreover, many people think that if a person is somehow disabled physically he is also mentally disabled. We will write a custom essay sample on The Elephant Man or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Such people are often labeled as freaks or second-rate people. Certain disabilities and anomalies cause social humiliation and constant reason for the stigmatization. In this play by Bernard Pomerance we see how Dr. Treves tries to help Merrick overcome stigmatization and accept himself as a real human who can have normal life and enjoy little things as understanding, care, attention and simply spending time outdoors, in the nature or visiting cultural places as theatre and others. We see how difficult it is for Merrick to cope with the impulses and feelings of the society that depict their negative attitude and disgust to him. Even when Merrick finds his home he is still often hurt by the reaction of some nurses or visitors who are frightened of him or who consider him to be an object of amusement. However, Merrick is a very compassionate and smart person and he never gets angry, he simply understands the attitude of the society. Moreover, he never tries to fight for his human rights. He accepts things and events the way they are. The main problem of this play is that Merrick can’t love himself and consider himself to be a human being. The attitude of the crowd and their harsh feelings substitute the true feelings of Merrick. However, Dr. Treves helps Merrick to believe in himself and live his life full of little happy things as every human being should do in spite of the harsh reality and many obstacles.

Networking Principles essays

Networking Principles essays One problem that I see with people today is that they are unaware what a computer network is. They might have heard of a computer network, but they are clueless as to how it works or why it works. People have basic questions that need to be answered. My goal is to give basic network information that will hopefully answer those questions. To give people an understanding about computer networks there are several areas that I must focus on. I will give definitions of some network jargon. Many people may have heard or seen these words, but never knew what they meant. Another part that is important is the history of networking. By giving a brief history of networking, this will give the reader a good foundation to start on. They need to know how networking came around and why it is such a big part of our lives today. Also, I will explain why it is important to understand networking. I will then explain what a network is made up. There is a lot of confusing hardware in a network, but it is relatively simple. Finally, I will tie everything together and explain how the network works. Before I go into detail about networking and all the hardware that networks are made up, I must define a few terms. I want people to know what a word means when they see it. Here are a few terms that I will have in my report as well as several other important ones. You can find these terms in the glossary of this report. The next thing that I am going to talk about is the history of networking. I am going to tell how networking came about and who was the first to experiment with it. I will also show some statistics about the Internet and it's growth. In the 1950s, there was no interaction between the users and their programs while they were running on the computers. No direct communications were involved. Jobs were brought to the machine to be run in a batch. In the 1960s, time-sharing brought about the first interactive access ...

Job selection-multiple criteria decision analysis Math Problem

Job selection-multiple criteria decision analysis - Math Problem Example job offers from five companies: Systems Developers, Anderssun Consulting, Computing Software Systems (CSS), the South-Tech Company, and Electronic Village.Systems Developers and Anderssun Consulting are both large international consulting firms with offices in several major cities in Europe. If Lynn accepted the offer of either of these firms, she would primarily work on project teams assigned to develop decision support and information systems for corporate clients around Europe. If she went with Systems Developers, her home base would be in Rome, and if she accepted Anderssuns offer she would be located in Amsterdam. However, in both cases she would be travelling a great deal and could sometimes be on the road at a client location for as much as six to nine months. CSS is a software and computer systems development company with a campus-like location in Berlin. Although her job with CSS would involve some travelling, it would never be more than several weeks at any one time. Due to this fact the report is going to indicate on how Lynn can use MCDA to analyse her data well and effectively. A strategic decision has been defined as one that is â€Å"important, in terms of the actions taken, the resources committed, or the precedents set† [48] (p. 126). Strategic decisions are â€Å"infrequent decisions made by the top leaders of an organisation that critically affect organizational health and survival† [18] (p. 17). Furthermore, the process of creating, evaluating and implementing strategic decisions is typically characterised by the consideration of high levels of uncertainty, potential synergies between different options, long term consequences, and the need of key stakeholders to engage in significant psychological and social negotiation about the strategic decision under consideration. A recent trend within organisations is the employment of strategy workshops as an effective means to engage in the strategic decision making process and ensure the participation

Stress Management Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stress Management Programs - Essay Example Stress in the workplace can be managed through improved personnel selection and job placement. According to Robbins (1993), people with little or an external locus control tend to be more stress prone. Therefore, it is imperative for the management to ensure that a person has experience or is capable of coping with the demands of the job before he is appointed to a certain position in the organization. In some cases, a person may have experience but incapable of coping with the demands of the job. This aspect is very important in as far as stress management is concerned. The other important strategy that can be implemented by the management is related to goal setting. The use of goals to different individuals helps to reduce stress and they can also lead to motivation of the employees. It is also important for the management to provide goal feedback to the employees since this helps to reduce uncertainties among the workers. Another stress management program that can be implemented is related to job redesign. According to Robbins (1993), job redesigning helps the employees to be more responsible, it gives them more autonomy and it also gives them more control of their work which reduces stress since they are no longer dependent on others. A person who has control over his job is motivated and is likely to be stress free. The other dimension that can be implemented by management to address the issue of stress is related to participative decision making. By virtue of giving the employees a voice to contribute towards the decision making process, the management is in a position of increasing employee control of their work which helps to reduce stress. It is important that the managers should increase employee participation in the decision making process of the company so as to be in a position to minimize chances of stress related problems in the company. The other

CRITICALLY DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE NURSE IN THE PROMOTION CONTINENCE I Essay

CRITICALLY DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE NURSE IN THE PROMOTION CONTINENCE I OLDER PEOPLE - Essay Example This paper will discuss the management and rehabilitation of continence and the role nurses can play in assessment and rehabilitation. Burgio et al., (1994, cited by Shirazi et al.,) recognize four types of UI which include urge incontinence (bladder contractions are not inhibited), stress incontinence (urethra is not effectively closed during transient increases in pressure), overflow incontinence (bladder does not contract), and functional incontinence (inability or unwillingness of the person with normal bladder to reach the toilet in time). Urge incontinence occurs due to overactive detrusor muscle contacting and sending an urgent message to the brain to eliminate (Carr, 2004). Overflow incontinence is associated with storage due to an obstruction or a nervous system problem. Functional incontinence is found in people whose mobility or cognition is impaired. Stress incontinence occurs due to the deficiency in the urethral closure mechanism during episodes of raised intra-abdominal pressure such as coughing, sneezing, laughing (Dolman, 2003 cited by RNAO, 2006). While people of any age can be affected with incontinence, it becomes prominent in the elderly people as detrusor contractile function, bladder capacity, and urinary flow rates all decline with age (Wagg, n.d.). Prostrate enlarges with age in men and this tends to dominate the behaviour of the urinary outflow tract. The bladder requires a greater contractile effort as obstructions increases. The detrusor muscle and the urethral sphincter are essential for urinary continence and micturition (expulsion). These two act together for storage and expulsion of urine. Urine is stored when the detrusor muscle relaxes and the urethral sphincter closes while voiding occurs when detrusor contracts and sphincter relaxes (Yerkes, 1998). This process of storage and voiding depends on a

Social construction of environmental issues

Social construction of environmental issues Introduction The environment refers to the central part that links the ecological, political, social, economic and technological aspects. It is a component that integrates these spheres into a whole. This integration is necessary as none of these spheres can work without the others; they mutually depend on each other for the common good of the whole. Despite this, the environment is exposed to major destruction factors stemming from its utility and exploitation mostly by the same humans who depend on it (Reid and Paul 2005). Extensive and long-term destruction exposes the environment to continued degradation which then becomes irreversible at some point due to permanent destruction. Environmental issues refer to the consequences that arise as a result of reduced resilience to destruction by the environment (Reid and Paul 2005, pp.28-36). These issues are diverse and include factors such as, resource use conflicts, environmental degradation, global warming, pollution, species extinction among others. Our focus on environmental issues however targets the impacts of the social sphere on the environment. The social aspect considers the consequences arising from human to human interaction that indirectly impact on the environment as well as human nature interactions that contribute to a change in the functioning of the environment. As Bass (2000) asserts, humans obtain a good percentage of their livelihoods from the environment. These quantities are however variable. Poverty is a social condition that plays a vital role in molding the state of the environment. It has become an environmental issue due to the nature and impact of activities associated with it. It is expressed as a state where individuals who earn below a certain benchmark are said to be poverty stricken. This benchmark is what is known as the poverty line. Currently, the poverty line puts individuals who earn less than a dollar a day as poor. Poverty is driven by forces such as explosive population growth rates, corruption, high living standards and high inflation rates (Bass 2000). From an environmental perspective, poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental degradation. Poor people are mostly indigenous people, that is, they interact directly with the environment for their survival. They are therefore vulnerable in the sense that when they are deprived of a certain resource useful to them, their livelihoods are impacted on negatively to a large extent. Population explosions exist mostly in poverty stricken environments (Mink 1999). High birth rates are a common scenario in low income places. This is because health risks are high as people are unable to afford basic health requirements and maintain high levels of sanitation. Due to this, individuals opt to increase the population of their children whereby the death of one can be substituted by the survival of the others. High populations further result in environmental stress as the resources available in the environment are fixed while population levels continue to increase exponentially. From Erhlichs (2002) perspective environmental stress is felt where the carrying capacity is strained due to inadequate resources such as water that are available as demand for them grows at an alarming rate. This stress is also felt where increased numbers of people look for settlement areas and therefore encroach on pristine and fragile ecosystems like the forests and arid and semi arid lands. T his then tampers with ecological balance in these zones. Encroaching into arid and semi arid areas results in exposing these areas to desert like conditions due to land degradation. The degraded environment accelerates the process of impoverishment. Deforestation-Poverty And Environment Nexus Deforestation is one activity carried out to pave way for settlement of increasing populations. It is an activity where trees are cut down without being backed by afforestation. This leads to the extinction of valuable species of both fauna and flora. Deforestation causes environmental degradation where commercial logging is embedded in the policies of a nation for purposes of earning revenue to boost the Gross Domestic Product (Tomich 2001, p.18). Commercial timber benefits driven by government policies as incentives for deforestation in the Himalayas are one example that expounds on this issue. Countries attempting to improve the living standards of their citizens through this contribute to environmental deterioration of their local environments. In Africa especially Central and East Africa, deforestation is common and reduces the pristine tropical forests into shells as indigenous and endemic tree species are exploited for timber, fuel wood, herbal medicine and production of wooden artifacts (Grainger 2000). Deforestation also takes place for agricultural expansion. Shifting cultivation promotes the slash and burn approach where trees and shrubs are cut down to provide room for cultivation of crops with high market demands. Grainger (2000) observe that this technique results in excessive soil deterioration as it reduces land cover thus exposing the soil to high rates of soil erosion. The conversion of forests for cattle ranching and mechanized agriculture has also contributed to an environmental crisis. This is common in the Less Developed Countries where agriculture is the main foreign revenue earner as products are exported. In the attempt to meet the needs of its people, these countries practice the aforementioned activities. The production of agricultural commodities such as coffee, tea, among others is driven by market forces of demand and supply. The need to create grazing land for cattle ranching is also driven by the demand of dairy and meat products. These fields are overgrazed exposing fertile soils to soil erosion mechanisms (Balu 1996). Impact Of Education Education which is the acquisition of knowledge is important in the restoration, maintenance and conservation of the environment. This education may be acquired formally through modern acquisition methods such as being taught in class by trainers or informally through indigenous knowledge acquisition techniques. High poverty levels hinder the acquisition of this knowledge due to lack of resources such as reading materials and facilities like classrooms to spearhead the acquisition process. When this knowledge is not acquired, the environment is left at risk. It is exploited ignorantly and individuals usually end up with less environmental resources for use. Education is important to help communities reduce their overdependence on the immediate environment (Orr 2004). Deforestation is not entirely a cause of natural resource depletion. When carried out sustainably, deforestation can provide essential needs to people. However, knowledge of sustainable application is mostly obtained from education. Clean energy such as biogas can be adopted to provide substantial quantities of gas. The simple mechanism can be practically trained to community members. In order for relevant education to take place, resources such s human resources, delivery services, financial services and facilities have to be available for use. Human resources involve trainers who have the ability to create a learning environment for people so as to pass on information. Teachers or trainers are competent and understand the needs of local people hence train people on viable exploitation and conservation practices to prevent exploitation that leads to poverty (Wiseman 1999). On the other hand, financial resources are necessary for provision of education whereby funding for reading materials, tuition fees among others is essential. Lack of funds usually denies an individual the ability to acquire appropriate education hence poverty sets in. The facilitation of education is vital where delivery of services is provided (Orr 2004). In some Least Developed Countries, delivery of education services to remote areas is inevitable whereby people have to travel for long distances just to reach schools or in the case where the teacher has to a certain location and lacks transport. This therefore leads to denial of education. Another aspect hat promotes lack of acquisition of education is gender bias. Women are denied a chance to education. The boy child is seen as the epitome of the society hence given priority in accessing education {Wiseman 1999}. It has also become a cultural taboo to educate the girl child hence all these aspects contribute to increase in poverty levels. Lack of education increases poverty in such a way that one is denied access to jobs due to lack of basic skills and knowledge that enable one to gain access to jobs. This leads to crude methods that individuals will adopt to satisfy their livelihoods. Such crude methods include overexploitation of agricultural land, forests and other natural resources at large. Food Insecurity, Poverty And The Environment Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (Food and Agriculture Organization). Food insecurity stages vary from food secure situations to total famine. Famine and hunger are deeply-rooted in food insecurity. This insecurity may be chronic whereby there is a high degree of vulnerability to famine and hunger or transitional which may be short term in nature. Food security situations eliminate this kind of vulnerability. Chronic food insecurity is characterized by undernourishment and is known to exist mostly in poor countries (Clay 2004). Inadequate human resource development inhibits peoples capacity to grow and/ or purchase the needed food. Human resource development for agriculture is usually facilitated by agricultural extension agents who provide professional agricultural information that enables maximum agricultural produce. Lack of these agents brings about food insecurity in the sense that maximum benefits are not acquired by farmers. Balu (1996), details that farmers acquire sustainable and professional advice through technical transfer, advisory work, human resource development and empowerment. Technical transfer involves a process whereby technical assistance is provided by governments towards technical issues that affect farmers such as funding, of equipment; advisory work is usually provided by private organizations and governments to give advice on issues pertaining to what crop to plant on what type of soil, methods of harvesting, planting and how to use certain equipment. Human resource development is mostly necessitated by university students and trainers who are competent in the agricultural field to farmers who cannot afford access to extension services. The empowerment of farmers integrates the participatory approach which ensures that farmers acquire practical skills relevant to increase their production capacities. With presence of extension services, food insecurity problems can be effectively minimized. The extension services are affected by poverty in the sense that; there are few extension agents. The ratio of extension agents to farmers is 1:1000; lack of adequate delivery services to deliver extension services to farmers. These are evidences of poverty in that lack of funding to support the provision of adequate extension agents and lack of funds to cater for transportation services. Poverty also causes lack of funds for training and extension materials and tools. This leads to food insecurity since maximum agricultural produces are not at tained (Clay 2004). Due to poor exploitation mechanisms, environmental degradation has been characterized by degraded natural resources. Soils for example have been degraded as a result of poor agricultural practices such as cultivating on hill slopes ad close to river banks; forests have been deforested to meet the daily needs of the people; fisheries have been exposed to siltation situations due to soil erosion, this has reduced immensely the survival of fishes. All these have been capitalized by poverty as individuals aim at satisfying heir immediate needs without caring about the impact of their activities on the overall state of the environment. As envisioned by Balu (1996), the food insecurity scenario has been compounded by population growth. Land fragmentation is evident in areas where inheritance is widely practiced. The male siblings of households are entitled to a portion of the family land. With the current populations approximating 3billion people, the agricultural land faces fragmentation problems which contribute to the reduction of available food resources as agricultural land is subdivided into small portions thus only small scale farming is practiced. There is also a general increase in consumer demand for food products. India and China are the leading countries of this demand (Mink 1999). The United States of America has only 1million farmers who are less than 1% of the countrys population. This increased demand outshines the supply curve resulting in less available food resources to cater for the general population. Furthermore, there is a high demand for non food products such as cotton for the production of clothes for people in the world over. This high demand for such resources has resulted in farmers opting to produce them as they boost there levels of income (Kenneth and Piet 2007). They convert their field to produce these instead of food products as food crops do not garner up as much profits as non food crops like cotton which are influenced by fashion and preferences. In addition, the world oil price has shot up to over one hundred dollars a barrel (Duchin 1998). With the inception of biofuels to counter oil scarcity, most countries have introduced the growth of jutropha, a famous crop known to produce substantial amounts of ‘green fuel. Countries such as Tanzania have therefore introduced this crop which has substituted the cultivation of food crops making them vulnerable to food insecurity as there is not enough food to feed its citizens. Industrialization is one invention introduced to provide resources to the ever increasing populations. As an incentive by governments to industry owners, the decentralization of industries is encouraged to reverse rural urban migration patterns. These industries are meant to provide jobs for the rural folks thus reducing their migration to urban areas in search for jobs. This is however at the expense of rural farmers who have to sacrifice sections of their lands to secure space for the development of these industries (Duchin 1998). The sizes of these agricultural lands shrink and the remaining fields are exposed to adverse effects such as those related to affluence from the industries further affecting the quality and quantity of the products. Residential areas are also developed to provide residence to the settlers. With high populations, the agricultural lands cannot escape the encroachment of people to these lands. People have to set aside portions of their lands for the establishment of housing units. Wood products that is, timber is required in the building of the residential units. This timber is majorly obtained from forests hence increasing the rate of deforestation that further heightens the degradation of the environment (Duchin 1998). During seasons of food shortage, poor households often embark on extreme measures in the present, including depriving the family of needed calories, in order to maintain productive resources for the future, such as a plough, oxen or seed stock. This proof suggests that poor African households may, in fact, have very low rates of time preference (Clay 2004). Urbanization Bass (2000) describes urbanization as the process by which villages grow into towns and urban centers and towns grow into cities and mega cities. An urban area is a settlement in which most of the inhabitants i.e. over 65% are engaged in non agricultural occupations. For example, commerce, manufacturing, administration, trading amongst others Urban areas are defined by population size, population function, population density which is the number of people per square kilometer, and legal administration. The United Nations recommended population size to declare a location as an urban area is twenty thousand people. The reasons for rural urban migration which contributes to urban growth are diverse and include; seeking employment due to high underemployment levels in rural areas; searching for settlement as rural areas are widely affected by land fragmentation; searching for recreational and social services (Reid and Paul 2005). Despite the movement of people from rural areas in search of employment opening, they are not assured of being employed in the end. High and rising unemployment rates contribute to poverty as people are unable to obtain financial resources important for the provision of basic needs. Individuals are forced to relocate to slum dwellings which are uninhabitable. Basic sanitation lacks in such locations with poor disposal of waste taking a centre stage. Common in the slum areas, are ‘flying toilets which are used due to lack of clean toilets (Elliot 1997). Satellite garbage sites are a common scenario in the urban areas where proper disposal mechanisms are not a prime consideration. Poor urban dwellers are unable to pay up for garbage collection in cases where this activity is privatized. The amount paid to such institutions is unaffordable for the poor hence satellite garbage sites are their only option. Mushrooming satellite garbage sites compromise the aesthetic value of the urb an environment (Mink 1999). Available amenities are overstrained due to large numbers of people living towns, cities and urban areas. Water resources for example are on high demand while their supply is largely influenced by watershed management and climatic conditions. The quality and quantity of water available in urban areas is compromised by industrial establishment, residential use and commercial utility. Water is mostly polluted when these establishments do not meet environmental standards as far piping and sewerage system is concerned. Clean water may mix up with sewage where the system is poorly done further resulting in water borne diseases. Towns located close to large water bodies contribute to water pollution due to the formation of algae blooms. Congestion of humans and traffic is another cause of environmental deterioration. This is common in busy urban areas. Unworthy road vehicles pollute the environment with lead and smoke. The congestion of people also increases their vulnerability to air related diseases like tuberculosis (Mink 1999). Embezzlement of resources accruing from corruption is another cause of poverty. Lack of transparency in government and private sector institutions located in urban areas promotes poor maintenance of services. The fire brigade is an important department especially in cities. Sources of livelihoods like businesses go up in smoke accidentally for example through electrical mishaps and cannot be salvaged due to poor service delivery from the necessary department. People are reduced to poverty which indirectly affects the natural environment. The smoke from the burning buildings also causes air pollution. Impact Of Rich Nations On The Environment Extreme inequalities exist in human societies. According to the United Nations Human Development Report 2009, 20% of people in industrialized countries account for 80% of total private consumption expenditures. The poor on the other hand account for a miserable 1.3%. In addition, 1 billion people suffer from hunger and approximately 2-3 billion experience deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. 1 Billion Survive on less than a dollar a day and 2 billion on less than 2 dollars a day. On the contrary, a few hundred millionaires own as much wealth as the worlds 2 billion people. Decision making on world related issues is usually skewed to favor few narrow interests of richer nations (Duchin 1998). This can be evidenced from the just ended Copenhagen Summit in Denmark. Richer nations who have contributed largely to global climatic changes are unable to commit themselves on a timescale to address the climate change issue. Poor nations are left with no options but to agree with the recommended solutions despite contributing minimally to these changes and yet experiencing immensely to the adverse impacts of climate change (Ehrlich 2002). Clay 2004 observes that Third world debt ahs made it difficult to prioritize on sustainable development. The Breton Woods institutions that is, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund through the introduction and adoption of Structural Adjustment Programs have destructed immensely environments of countries that have adopted such strategies and streamlined them in policies, rules and regulations. This has set drawbacks on health, education and provision of other necessary services due to a requirement to prioritize on debt repayment. Loans are lent to third world nations at high interest rates and are to be settled at specific timescales. Structural Adjustment Programs encourage deforestation of indigenous forests and encourage plantation forests (Tomich 2001). Free market economies are introduced by Structural Adjustment Programs where forces of demand and supply determine the selling price of commodities. This is dangerous in economies with high demands and low supply levels of goods and services as more and more people are driven into poverty due to high and fast rising living standards. Basic commodities are difficult to acquire as they are expensive. Food and farm products flow from areas of hunger and need to areas of with monetary stabilities and high demand, from rural areas to urban zones and from third world countries to first world countries. Third world countries that export unprocessed food products such as coffee beans export them at low prices to richer nations. These products are processed and imported at high prices to third world nations. This creates a vicious poverty cycles. In West Africa, cocoa is harvested and exported to the western world for the production of cocoa. The harvesters are paid meager wages and spend most of their valuable time in the fields. When coca is imported back, it is sold at very high prices resulting in strikes and riots (Clay 2004). Less Developed countries are used as dumping grounds for goods, industries and toxic wastes. Second hand goods such as clothes are imported at cheaper prices to these nations. Infant industries that produce new clothes shut down as they face the challenge of accessing local markets which are already invaded by foreign commodities whose prices are cheaper (Bass 2000). Industries that pollute the environment and do not meet environmental standards are relocated in third world countries whose measures are not stringent. They are also able to survive due to poor governance. Mining industries such as those located in South Africa result in worsening the aesthetic value of the environment as derelict holes are left open and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes when rain water accumulates (Elliot 1997). Toxic wastes from the west find their way into environments of poor nations. The waste impacts negatively on the environment of the recipient nation. Nuclear energy results in the production of toxic radioactive waste which destroys the life forms located close to where it is dumped. The destination for such wastes is large water bodies. Since water in these bodies is mobile the waste finds its way to shores mostly of developing countries due to the proximity of the dumping grounds to the country geographical boundaries. Corn is a major animal food grown in the United States. The amount of corn produced can feed humans in poverty stricken countries for close to 90 days. This shows that the amount produced is a lot. However, instead of it being supplied to humans it is fed to animals. Rich nations have contributed to the continuity of poverty in developing countries. This is by instituting and entertaining the dependency syndrome (Duchin 1998). Recipients of foreign aid and donor funding have created a perception that it is their right to receive this aid. They are therefore reluctant to adopt self independence practices as they believe that their lives can only be sustained through foreign aid. Poverty then becomes chronic as people are more vulnerable. Infrastructure And Technology Infrastructure entails promoting information and communication in vast areas of the country. This communication is better built by increasing access to various parts that are hot spots for the provision of certain goods and services. Infrastructure plays a fundamental role in minimizing poverty. Lack of it on the other hand accelerates poverty conditions (Botros 1997). Agriculture is one aspect that incorporates infrastructure and technology. Since agricultural products are naturally susceptible to perishing, it is essential that they get to markets early enough before they are stale. For this to be achieved, access roads to agricultural zones should be of good quality. This is not the case however in regions affected by poverty. The poor state of access roads results in losses incurred by farmers as the roads do not favor quick transfer of commodities to markets. Technology is vital for example in finding the most suitable means of transport for agricultural commodities to markets. Using vehicles are all weather road resistant ensures that commodities reach the market without vehicles getting suck on the way. Fish products require freezing equipment attached to automobiles so as to get to market locations when fresh. If these are not incorporated in the initial stages irreversible losses will be incurred. For this to be effectively adopted, financial resources are required to purchase the necessary equipment and machinery. Poverty cripples this as it is mainly characterized by lack of resources. When this happens resources are underexploited and sometimes poorly exploited resulting in environmental compromises (Kenneth and Piet 2007, p. 48-53). Appropriate technology involves the adoption of technology efficient for the exploitation of the natural resources. Technology is important but not all technology is applicable (Botros 1997, p.78). The use of organic fertilisers is for example necessary for the sake of the environment. The use of different sizes of fishing nets could also necessitate the discriminative fishing which ensures that young fishes are not fished out. Biogas production and the use of solar energy protect both the environment and individuals from adverse effects as a result of utilizing poor energy resources. This is propagated by knowledge of the appropriate technology and basic application skills. Industries require the utilization of sufficient electricity for the production and processing. In order for the industry to be sustainable, the production of electricity can include recycling hot water for driving electric turbines. Industrial symbiosis is necessary to ensure maximum production at lower costs (Elliot 1997). This is where by-products of one industry are used as raw materials for another. This ensures that resources are well maintained and used sparingly to avoid overexploitation. The development of relevant infrastructure and technology comes at an extra expense. Poor countries are left out as they are unable to raise the funds needed propelled by their state of Gross Domestic Products whose percentage is diverted to this goal. Health And Environment Health diseases can be attributed to poverty related activities. In door and outdoor pollution occurs when firewood and biomass energy such as cow dung is used as fuel. This is because carbon dioxide and monoxide gases that affect the respiratory organs of human beings. These gases are also of suffocating nature and cause deaths of close to 1% of its users (Reid and Paul 2005). Poor people are at high risks of death as they are unable to access basic health care needs. Preventable and immunisable diseases are a major cause of death among poverty stricken people. Burial sites are a common sight in poverty locations and to the pollution of underground water due to sipping of human burial waste in to underground aquifers. Cemeteries also impact on the aesthetic value of the environment. Conclusion Environmental issues are complex and require appropriate and applicable solutions. Poverty is a major environmental issue which despite being socially constructed affects the rest of the environmental spheres. Poor populations are widely found in Developing and Less Developing countries. Women are a component of the poverty development nexus and should be actively involved in the decision making process to help reverse the state of poverty in their designated locations. Capacity development and empowerment are powerful tools that can be employed to contribute to community development and sustenance. This should therefore be promoted in all aspects of development. References Balu, B and Carlos, B, 1996, The Position of Fertilizer in Supporting Food Security and Caring for the Environment, Washington DC, International Food Policy Research Institute Bass, S 2000, City Poverty and the Environment, Fiji, University of New England, Botros, S, 1997, Green Technology and Blueprint for the Environment, Washington DC, Taylor and Francis Clay, J, 2004, Global Agriculture and Environment, USA, Sage Publications Duchin, F, 1998, Measuring Variations in Technology, Living Conditions and the Environment, USA, Island Press. Ehrlich, P, 2002, Food Security, Population and Environment, London, Darton Elliot, D, 1997, Energy, Humanity and Environment: a sustainable future, New York, Routledge Grainger, A, 2000, Assessing Tropical Deforestation, United Kingdom, Earth scan Publications Kenneth, M and Piet, B 2007, Poverty Decline and Environment, Washington DC, World Bank Mink, S, 1999, Scarcity, Population and the Environment, New York, World Bank Orr, D, 2004, Earth in Mind: culture, environment and human view, USA, Island Press Reid, H and Paul, S, 2005, Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment, London, Earth scan Publications Tomich, TP, 2001, Increase in Deforestation and the Environment: assessing trade offs, Nairobi, World Agro forestry Centre Wiseman, S, 1999, Education and Environment, Oxford, Manchester University Press

reciprocal inhibition :: essays research papers

RECIPROCAL INHIBITION eciprocal inhibition n : a method of behavior therapy based on the inhibition of one response by the occurrence of another response that is mutually incompatible with it; a relaxation response might be conditioned to a stimulus that previously evoked anxiety [syn: reciprocal-inhibition therapy] Reciprocal Inhibition à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Lengthening Reaction: (previous subsection) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What Happens When You Stretch: (beginning of section) When an agonist contracts, in order to cause the desired motion, it usually forces the antagonists to relax (see section Cooperating Muscle Groups). This phenomenon is called reciprocal inhibition because the antagonists are inhibited from contracting. This is sometimes called reciprocal innervation but that term is really a misnomer since it is the agonists which inhibit (relax) the antagonists. The antagonists do not actually innervate (cause the contraction of) the agonists. Such inhibition of the antagonistic muscles is not necessarily required. In fact, co-contraction can occur. When you perform a sit-up, one would normally assume that the stomach muscles inhibit the contraction of the muscles in the lumbar, or lower, region of the back. In this particular instance however, the back muscles (spinal erectors) also contract. This is one reason why sit-ups are good for strengthening the back as well as the stomach. When stretching, it is easier to stretch a muscle that is relaxed than to stretch a muscle that is contracting. By taking advantage of the situations when reciprocal inhibition does occur, you can get a more effective stretch by inducing the antagonists to relax during the stretch due to the contraction of the agonists. You also want to relax any muscles used as synergists by the muscle you are trying to stretch. For example, when you stretch your calf, you want to contract the shin muscles (the antagonists of the calf) by flexing your foot. However, the hamstrings use the calf as a synergist so you want to also relax the hamstrings by contracting the quadricep (i.e., keeping your leg straight). Reciprocal inhibition This describes muscles on one side of a joint relaxing to accommodate contraction on the other side of that joint. The body handles this pretty well during activities like running, where muscles that oppose each other are engaged and disengaged sequentially to produce coordinated movement. This facilitates ease of movement and is a safeguard against injury. Sometimes, for example, a football running back can experience a "misfiring" of motor units and end up simultaneously contracting the quads and hamstrings during a hard sprint.

Fuzzy logic in car safty

Car safety issues are wide-reaching problem. This problem is mainly due to human driving which involves reaction times, delays, and Judgment errors that may affect traffic flow and cause accidents. In some cases, the cause of the accident is distraction on the part of the driver and failure to react in time. Even in some cases, it could be cause by environmental factors (Song, 2005). Advanced system of auxiliary functions has been developed to help avoid such accident and minimize the effects of collision should one occur.Fuzzy logic provides tools for dealing with imprecision, which is fundamental to many engineering problems. The level of safety in our society could be archived by applying fuzzy logic control system. Fuzzy logic control technique has become an active area of research in the application of industrial processes, which are not friendly to straight control techniques. It attempts to emulate human mind for checking the processes parameters and to take decisions regardin g the control action (Eugene, 1985).Fuzzy control become a huge industry in Japan and other countries where it was adapted into home appliances such as scum cleaners, microwaves ovens, video cameras, washing machines, etc. A fuzzy controller acts or regulates by means of rules in a more or less natural language, based on the distinguishing feature: fuzzy logic. On the other hand, to reduce car accidents we are going to examine a system, which makes the drivers, pay more attention and alert them before an accident takes place.Because of this, we shall acknowledge the digital systems because they are easier to handle with, so the first thing in the development is to convert all variations in the car environment into digital signals without any changes. The ultrasonic transmitter circuit sends its vibrations in front of car, when these vibrations reflected the ultrasonic receiver circuit would take these vibrations and amplify it. Moreover, send it to the microelectronic, which can com pute the distance between the car and anything in front it (as shown in the figure 1 below).At the same time, the Infrared ‘R) circuit senses the round of the wheel and sends it signal to the microelectronic, which can compute the car speed. After that, the microelectronic sends the output signal to the speaker and The LCD. In addition, of these output devices the microelectronic sends output data to a personal computer using the serial port. Figure 1: Overview of the used hardware; copied figure (from Journal of Computer science 4 (1 2): 1061-1063, 2008]) We shall consider developing level of safety under three steps, which are: Defining level of safety Calculating each degrees of risk between two vehicles, and Combining these degrees to level of safety with average speeds in some divisions (Method et al, 2001). In the other hand, to ascertain the danger degrees of each car, and the base elements, fuzzy sets and their membership functions, are define by using survey data and degrees of risk (Chunk, 2003). In addition, if-then rules of inference engine are made by rough set theory.Conclusively, to get the level of safety in some divisions, fuzzy membership function values of each safety result is averaged, and a method to et ‘Level of Safety based on these degrees relates with an average of safety speeds is suggested. Definition of Level of Safety Safety being a wide-reaching problem, has gained various definitions from several authors. The level of safety in a road division means the grades, which people feel about the possibility to experience, rear-end collision including relentlessness in the division (Song, 2003).This definition is composed of three elements related with roads in themselves, driving behaviors in this road, and relation between drivers and roads. These three factors are mix in microscopic driving behaviors on roads, and five gyroscopic traffic condition variables are selected such as velocity and acceleration of lead and follow ing cars, and the gap distance between these cars divided the minimum safety distance (Method et al, 2001). The minimum safety distance (MS) is the distance that following car needs to avoid a rear-end collision.The traffic condition in itself can be included into velocity, drivers' behaviors are able to be included into oscillations of accelerations in every two seconds, and degree of risk in the system can explain the gap distance divided the minimum safety distance (MS). Where, : following Car speed Response time : Possible deceleration rate However, these results are not level of safety but risk degrees of two Cars (Fuller, 2005). Definition of Fuzzy Sets and Membership Function The member functions are divided into speed fuzzy sets and acceleration fuzzy sets (Method et al, 2001).Speed fuzzy sets are composed of three sets, ‘high speed', ‘medium speed', and ‘low speed'. Their membership functions are based on macroscopic traffic condition data and number of ac cident. Acceleration fuzzy sets also consist of three sets, ‘positive acceleration', ‘no acceleration', and ‘negative acceleration', and membership functions, which are based on microscopic field, survey data and maximum and common acceleration rates of vehicles. The gap distance/MS sets are divided into three fuzzy sets, ‘more than 1', ‘around 1', and ‘less than 1' using microscopic data.The combined danger degrees are about from 0. 4 to 0. 55 that corresponds to common situation defined in fuzzy set, and this result means that people drives more or less safely bearing some anger because there are possibility to happen accidents in traffic condition in itself but drivers believe that they can response properly to a danger situation. Moreover, this result shows that there are some danger situations n each two vehicle, but in road divisions, the danger degrees become normalized.Figure 3: Relation between Speed and Danger Degrees For this reason, â €˜Level of Safety should not include the combined danger degree directly, and should be deducted from relationship between speeds as well as danger degrees. In order to find their relation, pairs of average speed and danger degree are, shown in figure 3. We find that danger degrees are low in low speed level and high in fast speed level, and the level of change is not high in low and rapid speed situations. However, in medium speed case, danger degrees are increase vapidly, and there are two points of inflection.If danger degrees do not change rapidly, drivers would react properly because their expectations to the road conditions are fixed, but if they change fast, the situation on a road division would be dangerous because the expectation of drivers cannot be fix. Consequently, the simple possibility of accidents depends on the grades of change in danger degrees, and the severity depends on the quantity of danger degrees. Conclusively, this seminar suggests ‘Level of Safet y such as in Figure 4. First, range of Level of Safety in which relentlessness and possibility of accident is high is defined as Very dangerous situation', E.Similarly, that of range which relentlessness or possibility is high is suggested as ‘dangerous situation', D, and which relentlessness and possibility is usual as ‘common situation', C, and which possibility is low and relentlessness is high as ‘safe situation', B, and which possibility and relentlessness is low as Very safe situation', A, these are shown in Table 3 below. Finally, relation of danger degrees and average speeds develops the intercepts of each level of safety, UT it needs to be more precisely define by further study based on more investigation.Table 3: Level of Safety Definition The possibility The severity The range(km/hrs) Very safe -18 c 25-40 (or) High 18-25, 40-53 53-63 Figure 4: copied figure (from [Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies]) 8. 0 CONCLUSION This seminar work shows how the system provides a solution to decrease the car accidents by giving the drivers more time to avoid the accidents. Adjusting the sensitivity and the accuracy for the measuring circuits is important to ensure that the assured parameters represent its actual values.The use of microelectronic makes it possible to implement the system with less hardware components. The microelectronic, FISTICUFF was chosen among all the other microelectronics because of its low-cost and small size. In addition, we evaluated safety degrees on a road division, and suggest ‘Level of safety. The method to develop ‘Level of Safety from degrees of danger and combined using fuzzy theory, and we combined danger degrees to define level of service with average speeds. This is the first trial to define

Astral Records Ltd Case Report

————————————————- ————————————————- KOZMINSKI UNIVERSITY ————————————————- Financial Statement Analysis ————————————————- ————————————————- Critical Review ————————————————- ————————————————- Astral Records Ltd â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Ewelina Laguna 23200 ————————————————- Joanna Czechowicz 23155 ————————————————-Yue Jingtong 23275 ————————————————- ————————————————- April 15, 2012 ————————————————- Academic Year 2012/2013 ——————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- I hereby certify that this paper is the result of my own work and that all sources I used have been reported. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————– Signature ————————————————- Kozminski University 2010 1. Please assess the current financial health and recent financial performance of the company. What strengths and/or weaknesses would you highlight to Sarah Conner? The group managed to pick out a few factors to check the current financial health and recent financial performance of the company but they did not point out the total sales from income statement are increase. The thing we did not like was from the presentation point of view the group didn’t show us the good assessment of the situation like their report, and during the presentation it is so hard to catch the point of the question.The group gives us impressive numbers which we thought is from evaluating the financial situation but from the case exhibits. They didn’t mention the situation of the company (CEO been killed) they only talking about the numbers, in this point of view the group focus on numbers too much on this question. And in our opinion it will be better if they put some graph to show the trend. The trend can show us the financial health. The confuse part is they didn’t go to the point of the question directly. They didn’t give us the certain answer in the firs t part of question one.The good part is from the report; we can see the group was really focus on this question compare rest of the questions, besides the answer of first question is much better comparing the presentation. It will be good if they are not only showing the numbers but also available to explain the numbers. From the report we can see clearly about the EBITDA ratio however we cannot find anything from the presentation. Here is the copy from the report: â€Å"In operating management we used gross profit and EBITDA ratios (Table 2. ,). We use EBITDA ratio to better evaluate Astral financial condition- companies have different distribution and pricing policies which lead to different cost structure. † The ratios showed really clear in the report, and they think it is the most important ratio to see the financial health however they did not show anything during the presentation. 2. Please forecast the financial statements of the firm for 1994 and 1995. What will be t he external financing requirements of the firm in those years? Can the firm repay its loan within a reasonable period?The purpose of this question was to detect the skills of preparing financial forecast. However, during the presentation the group did not show us how to forecast but only numbers again. Audience may lose interest to follow. And it is also to catch the point during the presentation. Besides the group’s answer to this question, in the presentation and report, assume too much as they just mentioned; â€Å"Sales growth: 15%, Dividends, Fixed-assets, Interest expense , Production cost & expense and Admin & selling expense† In our point of view here is no need to assume too many unchanged numbers.And more assumption means more incorrect of the result. For example here is no need to assume stable interest expensive. During the presentation, when people asking why using the numbers they said just because of assumption. The growth rate they were using is 15% and they give no reason, however the 15% is from the expected growth rate not only from the assumption. Considering all the previous calculation is from assumptions and we must agree but if they do it more careful and using less assumption it will be much better compare the thing they have now. 3.What are the key driver assumptions of the firm’s future financial performance? * What are the managerial implications of those key drivers? * That is, what aspects of the firm’s activities should Conner especially focus on? Question 3 is not clear during the presentation however they showed everything in their report. 4. What is Astral’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC)? * What methods did you use to estimate the WACC? * What key assumptions especially influenced the WACC? Question 4 looks correct, but they didn’t show us numbers and we feel like the result is from the heaven.After checking the report we found out they use the wrong data. What they wrote in their report: ‘‘WACC was calculated using the following inputs; Using information from the comparables, Haris-Bershel and Donaldson, Inc E = Equity = average outstanding shares of the two comparables used multiplied by their average book value per share D = Debt= long-term debt E(re )= cost of equity = Gordon growth model= average comparable dividend, 10% growth, average comparable share price D(re) = cost of debt= libor + 1%† They have to tell us the number they were using whatever during the presentation or in the report.The most confusing part is cost of equity. There are 2 ways to calculate the cost of equity: And they were choosing the first way. They were using the different dividend and we even cannot find out the number they use. And they feel the number incorrect so they even divided by 2 to make the number similar as what we usually use during the lecture. In our case we got all the numbers to evaluate the cost of equity and the different ways should show the similar numbers of cost of equity. So our calculation of the cost of equity=risk-free return (6%)+beta(1. 45)*(average stock return(0. 8)-risk free return)=8. 9% And the WACC=5. 1. This part of the present is the worst and people cannot understand the point during the presentation. The report is not enough explanations. As you can see the group’s method would be not only confusing themself but provided them with the wrong answer. 5. What are the free cash flows of the packaging machine investment? Should Conner approve the investment? The Group did not answer to this question at all. It was not clear where there it actually is better to buy a machine later or not. They did not compare the two situations, just put not clear assumption.Therefore here is a proposition of alternative approach that in our opinion makes it clearer. * The discount rate used for calculation is the WACC from previous question. If you look at the totals and the differences between them it becomes quite clear that buying the machine now will result cost only 718,401 in terms of all cost for 10 years projection. At the same time the present value of all sawing to be made is higher by 280,028 if the machine is to be bought now. Evidently looking at this numbers will make you conclude that it is in fact worth to but the new equipment now.However it is important to look at general condition of the company. Keeping that in mind we must say that even thou the calculation would suggest to buy it now the company would have to finance it with a loan. It already has a lack of cash so making it even worst by investing another million is not a best idea. Especially that they can buy it any time in the future I would first deal with their shortage of cash and excess of account receivables and inventories. Then it will be a time to think about new investment in the equipment.

Nicaragua essays

Nicaragua essays In 1979, Managua, the capitol of Nicaragua, had its government overthrown by the leftist Sandinista rebels. Sandinista rule quickly produced its own excesses, resulting in civil war for most of the 1980s. The conflict ended in 1990. However, Sandinistas continue to maintain considerable influence in running the country, and Nicaraguans remain so divided that they are unable to resolve most economic and political issues. Nicaraguas economy has been a leading casualty of this turmoil, and for the past two decades, it has ranked as continental Middle Americas poorest (De Blij s poorest. Although not as devastated as neighboring Honduras, Nicaraguas struggle to rebuild much of the national infrastucture is yet another massive challenge piled upon its already formidable burdens (De Blij Nicaragua is one of the hemispheres poorest countries, with low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Hurricane Mitch has put any hope Nicaragua had for economic reform on the back burner. Nicaragua sustained approximately $1 billion in damages. Hardest hit was the all-important agriculture sector, which is responsible for the majority of exports. As a result, the trade deficit hit roughly $900 million (Brunn, 1993). In addition, Nicaraguas unemployment hovers around 70 percent, the highest in Latin America. Nieghboring Costa Ricas per capita income is more than 10 times higher (Kaplan, 1984). Therefore, along with its position as a border country with a relatively high level of development, with respect to the rest of Central America, Costa Rica is one of the principal receptors of Nicaraguan migrations. Although the 1990 peace process diminished the armed conflict in Cent...

History of London Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of London - Essay Example As children attend school, they copy and even acquire the culture of classmates and even that of neighbors. Most of the parents who moved to London within the last 150 years have had difficulties in communication, and they make use of their children as translators. Children attending schools engage in socializing activities from where they learn and acquire new cultures. The young generation within the city of London has had its life molded on what the young people believe. In fact, they are not influenced by their parents who would want them to follow their footsteps. Therefore, there has been conflict between children and parents in the city of London. However, parents should know that they cannot influence the behavior of their children or even their actions (Museum of London). As a city, London has lost its culture because of immigration activities. London has become a host of many people from different countries of the universe making it have different cultures. For instance bei ng a Muslim in London can prove hectic for a Muslim faithful. This is because the city has entirely different ideas and those professing the Muslim faith may feel out of place or as outcast. This issue has caused many people to abandon their beliefs for those that are commonly practiced in the area. This has been the case among the young generation within the city. The result of loss of the culture within the city is the development of multicultural aspects. Many people from other continents and even other countries within Europe have found their way to London. Some of the reasons that have caused immigration are aspects of business and studies. Therefore, diversity has come up in terms of clothing, food and even language. Different foods have been brought to London and a new method of cooking adapted by the city dwellers (Museum of London). There has been an improvement in the business and trade sectors. For instance, new technologies have been brought by foreigners to the city. Mi grants would include the Chinese, American and even the Russians. This has transformed many lives within the city by making work easy and efficient. For instance, exchange of cultural aspects has seen exchange of technology that has made improvements in the transport and sector within the city. Immigration to London has also affected the social aspects of the city. As a result of people moving to the city to look for jobs, there were high levels of unemployment during the start of the twenty century that saw crime levels going up within the city. The young people have been perpetrators or victims that have been associated with crime in London. This was a result of young men and women lacking jobs within the city. In addition to this, there was poor sanitation related issues within the city as a result of many immigrants. The population within the city was large to an extent that the city would not handle all the people in terms of providing social amenities. In an effort to fight th at, institution were established to deal with infectious diseases within the city. The past 150 years have also seen a change in the medical field. For instance, physicians and other medical personnel sought to reach the whole community unlike earlier times where these people were concerned with those who came to the hospital. There have been increased levels of drug and alcohol use within the city. T

Informan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Informan - Coursework Example This is of particular interests in high-risk cases such as armed criminals or narcotics cases. In such cases, the police can only obtain crucial and confidential information from informants who might be an accomplice. Nevertheless, informants are also criminals and, their contributions should be scrutinized thoroughly. If not well managed, informants can nullify an investigation, destroy the credibility of an investigation agency, and endanger the lives of police officers. In order to benefit from the services of confidential informants, agencies/police departments should have well-developed informant regulations and procedures. Before using informants, agencies must define the duties and responsibilities of all officers in the chain of command. Secondly, the agency should have concrete personal, descriptive information about an informant. Lastly, investigators must obtain approval from the necessary authority before they can use informants. Consequently, informants should work under the authority of the investigating officer. Informants should not be allowed to conduct arrests, carry weapons, conduct searches, or seize contrabands. Even with adequate regulations and policies, investigators need ethical protection while working with informants. Moreover, informants also need protection from the agency in order to conduct their roles