Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Effects of Computer Gaming Essay

Technology nowadays has brought man to an era of digital and advanced world of computers. Not only are computers used in studies, research and work, it is now being used as part of leisure and entertainment. Most of the youth today know how computers work and even a 3 year old child who is still yet to learn how to read and write knows how to operate a simple computer. This is because the interactive element of a lot of software that computers use excites and attract children and this makes them learn to use and play with the computers. (Jones, 2002) Advancement in technology has drastically changed man’s way of living which has been made easier for most. It has come from diskette to very portable and stylish mini USB, from the ancient â€Å"three point eleven† personal computers with big and bulky monitors and CPUs to very user friendly touch screen-tablet PCs, and from limited Nintendo games like Mario brothers to a bunch of online and offline games like Dota, Counter Strike, Angry Birds, and Fruit Ninja etc. Such kind of improvements has led today’s generation to learning more of what life has to offer through the use of modern technologies like computers. Schools now facilitate teaching and learning through the use of computers. By the use of this kind of technology, learning is now more fun and a lot easier. Application of modern technology like computer-assisted teaching-learning on student’s aims to provide faster learning and ease of teaching and also provide the students of the advanced technology that they need to experience inside the classroom, and which they can apply when they are out of school. Since computer has a lot to offer to its users, it is also being used as entertainment and leisure and computer gaming being the most popular. There are lots of computer games that enhance the thinking abilities of students because of its gaming nature and environment like strategic gaming, word puzzles, etc. With this fact, learning through computer gaming helps students be more willing to study and learn more because, they are not just playing, they are also learning. The use of multimedia in education has significantly changed people’s learning processes. Results from a number of research studies indicate that appropriately designed multimedia instruction enhances students’ learning performance in science, mathematics, and literacy (Gee, 2003). Previous studies indicate that computer-assisted instruction programs have important factors that can motivate, challenge, increase curiosity and control, and promote fantasy in children (Tzeng, 1999). Despite the fact that computer and video games have the same multimedia capability as computer assisted instruction programs, their potential learning impact is often discounted by parents and educators. While computer gaming is regarded somewhat negative in educational settings, particularly for young students, re-scrutinizing of its influence in a teaching and learning context is vital since computer gaming can also be an education-assisted-program with proper implementation and application. While others confirm the negative effects of computer gaming to students’ performance in school and student’s health and mental ability, some authors argue that there are positive outcomes that a player can gain while playing computer video games. A research published in the Australasian Journal of Educational technology found that students who play computer and video games more frequently get lower grades than those who do not. However, it is also included in the research the positive effect of this activity to students as far as some specific video games are concerned which promote some elements that increases learning. On an online article entitled by Charles Pearson (2009) â€Å"Positive Effects of Computer Games on Student Achievement†, the author enumerated five positive significant effects of computer gaming to students. These include enhancing one’s problem solving capability, time and resource management, strategic life management skills, educational games promoting learning, and inherent instructional nature helps students to hone mastery skills. Playing video games needs a sharp mind and an alert reflexes because most of the games require thinking quickly to be able to achieve the games’ goal. According to a blog site on the web authored by Manali Oak (2009) which has an article entitled Positive Effects of Video Games states that since video gaming is interactive, it boosts the ability of one person to use his mind and hence, develops the thinking ability of the person playing. The author also said that video gaming is surely better than watching television as video games are interactive. In addition to what Manali Oak added that playing video games help benefit person with inferiority complex and lack of self confidence as they are experiencing sense of participation and a sense of achievement thus, building his self confidence. An excellent summary of the scant research that has been conducted is by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) on their research book Video game effects confirmed, suspected, and speculative: A review of the evidence. They reviewed the evidences for video game effects and grouped them into categories of confirmed, suspected, and speculative. By â€Å"confirmed,† the authors mean that the outcomes have received consistent empirical support for causal claims. They describe two such confirmed positive outcomes: (1) Playing video games can result in superior visual attention and (2) Video game play improves the ability to mentally rotate or arrange objects. They point out that the research shows that both violent and non-violent video games produce these positive effects. They also observed that educational video games and simulators can teach specific educational skills and knowledge such as algebra, biology, photography, computer programming, and flight training. The evidence for this connection is provided by Gee (2007) and Shaffer (2006). However, most of the games that they discuss are not commercially available. Perhaps such games will be developed and distributed more widely in the future. In the meantime, the evidence shows that video games can enhance learning if they are designed properly for that purpose. Another study tackled the good and bad effects of video games to children conducted by the Raise Smart Kids Organization. The study enumerated the positive effects of video games to children. Following instructions, problem solving and logic, hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills, resource management and logistics, multitasking, quick thinking and making fast analysis and decision, inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing are among those which enumerated by the author about the positive effects of video gaming. In addition, the article also included that video games can improve one’s decision making speed. People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study from the University of Rochester. Other studies suggests that most expert gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, and can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared to only four by the average person. Surprisingly, the violent action games that often worry parents most had the strongest beneficial effect on the brain, according to cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier, who studied the effect of action games at Switzerland’s University of Geneva and the University of Rochester in New York. Moving from the early years, the effects of socialization become more entrenched. In an article published in The Journal of Educational Computing, A. Colley (1994) reported that masculine gender role traits are associated with a more positive computer attitude and that there is a gender stereotype of science in general being masculine. According to Sax (2007) his book â€Å"Boys Adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men† where he drew one fact well established by his conducted research revealed that violent video games cause aggressive behavior in the players. He argues that video games are so addictive that they satisfy the male need to power and control. It is evident in the country like the Philippines that the most popular computer games that the youth play in the computers are Dota, San Andreas, Counter Strike among others which are clearly promoting violence and aggression through its war and battle depiction. It can in effect, influence the youth as they play those kind of games which depict war, blood, killing, shooting etc. In a book by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) entitled Video Game Effects Confirmed, Suspected, and Speculative: A Review of the Evidence, it has stated that the â€Å"confirmed† negative effects of video games established by the research include aggressive thoughts and behavior, physiological arousal, and antisocial behavior. It was also explained that there are two variables that heighten the effects of computer games. One is depiction of blood, which results in higher levels of physiological arousal, aggressive feelings, and aggressive thoughts. Another is rewarding of violent acts, which also increases these effects. Since most of the computer games depicts violence, what they conceive in the monitors of their computers in the games that they are playing are somewhat becoming part of their reality. In an article on a eHow.com by Sarah Arnette (2011) entitled The Negative Effects of Computer Gaming on Students, the author enumerated four negative effects of computer gaming on students. She used the General Aggression Model (GAM) developed by Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile in conducting the study that helped the author come up with the results. The results showed the negative effects include short term aggression, lack of problem solving thinking ability, weight gain, and anti social behaviors. It is regarded that the negative effects of playing video games does not only affect the player’s mental ability but as well as that concerning their health and socialization. Computer gaming also affects the behavior of the players and on how they relate with other people. A study by Argosy University’s Minnesota School on Professional Psychology found out that game addicts argue a lot with their teachers, fight a lot with their friends, and score lower grades than others who play video games less often. Performance in class may be negatively affected due to significant time spent in playing video games. Studies conducted by Anderson and Dill (2000) and one that was conducted by Gentile, Lynch and Walsh (2004) show that the more a person spends playing video games, the poorer is his performance in school. Computer gaming can also affect the health of the players. According to an online article entitled â€Å"the good and bad effects of video games† (2011), online gaming may also have bad effects on one’s health including obesity, video-induced seizures and postural, muscular and skeletal disorders such as tendonitis, nerve compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Conceptual Framework This study was based on a recent study conducted by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) and a study by the Raise Smart Kid organization which stated that there are confirmed positive and negative effects of computer gaming on studies of students who play the computer. Barlett, Anderson, and Swing stated that the â€Å"confirmed† negative effects of video games established by the research include aggressive thoughts and behavior, physiological arousal, and antisocial behavior On the other hand, Raise Smart Kid organization stated the good and bad effects of video games to. The article enumerated the positive effects of video games to children: following instructions, problem solving and logic, hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills, resource management and logistics, multitasking, quick thinking and making fast analysis and decision, inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing. Using the results of the study conducted by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing in 2009 and the study by the Raise Smart Kids Org as basis, this study aims to find out what effects do computer gaming have particularly on students of Business Administration of the College of the Immaculate Conception and enumerate both the positive and negative effects of the said activity on their studies and personal behavior.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Succubus Shadows Chapter 1

I was drunk. I wasn't entirely sure when it had happened, but I suspected it had occurred around the time my friend Doug had bet me I couldn't take down three vodka gimlets faster than he could. He'd promised to take my weekend shift at work if I won, and I was going to do his stock duty for a week if he won. When we'd finished, it looked like I wasn't going to be working next weekend. â€Å"How did you out-drink him?† my friend Hugh wanted to know. â€Å"He's twice your size.† Through the crowd of people crammed into my condo, I peered at the closed bathroom door, behind which Doug had disappeared. â€Å"He had stomach flu this week. I'm guessing that doesn't go so well with vodka.† Hugh raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Why the fuck would anyone take a bet like that after having the flu?† I shrugged. â€Å"Because he's Doug.† Hoping Doug would be okay, I scanned the rest of my party with the pleased air of a queen sizing up her kingdom. I'd moved into this place back in July and had been long overdue for a housewarming party. When Halloween had finally rolled around, combining the two events had seemed like a pretty reasonable solution. Consequently, my guests tonight were clad in an array of costumes, everything from elaborate Renaissance fair quality garb to the slackers who'd simply thrown on a witch's hat. Me, I was dressed as Little Bo Peep – well, that is, I was dressed the way Little Bo Peep would if she was a stripper and/or a shameless strumpet. My frilly blue skirt stopped just above the halfway point on my thighs, and my puff-sleeved white blouse was so low-cut that I had to be careful when leaning over. The crowning achievement – literally – was my curly mane of flaxen blond hair, neatly arranged into two pigtails tied with little blue bows. It looked perfect, absolutely indistinguishable from the real thing because†¦well, it was real. Shape-shifting always came in handy as a succubus, but for Halloween, it was golden. I always had the best costumes because I really could turn into anything I wanted. Of course, I had to keep it within reason. Too much of a change would raise the suspicions of the humans around me. But for a hair change? Yeah. Shape-shifting was pretty convenient. Someone touched my elbow. I turned, and my smug enthusiasm dimmed a little when I saw who it was: Roman, my sociopathic roommate. â€Å"I think someone's getting sick in the bathroom,† he told me. Roman was a nephilim, half-angel and half-human, with soft black hair and sea-green eyes. If not for the fact he occasionally went on immortal killing sprees and had me on his hit list, he would have been a pretty good catch. â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"It's Doug. He lost a vodka challenge.† Roman grimaced. He wore devil horns and a red cape. The irony wasn't lost on me. â€Å"Hope he's got good aim. I don't want to clean that up.† â€Å"What, you don't do housework either?† asked Hugh. He'd recently learned Roman wasn't paying me rent because he was â€Å"between jobs.† â€Å"Seems like you should pull your weight around here somehow.† Roman gave Hugh a warning look. â€Å"Stay out of this, Spiro Agnew.† â€Å"I'm Calvin Coolidge!† exclaimed Hugh, highly offended. â€Å"This is the same suit he wore at his inauguration.† I sighed. â€Å"Hugh, nobody here remembers that.† That was one of the downsides of being immortal. Our memories became obsolete as more time passed. Hugh, an imp who bought souls for Hell, was much younger than Roman and me, but he had a lot more years than any human here. Slipping away from Roman and Hugh's argument, I headed across the room to mingle with my guests. Some of my coworkers from the bookstore Doug and I worked at were huddled around the punch bowl, and I stopped to chat. Immediately, I was bombarded with compliments. â€Å"Your hair is amazing!† â€Å"Did you dye it?† â€Å"It doesn't even look like a wig!† I assured them it was a very good wig and dealt out praise for them in return. One person, however, earned a rueful head-shake from me. â€Å"You have more creativity than all of us put together, and that's the best you could do?† I asked. Best-selling author Seth Mortensen turned to look at me with one of his trademark, slightly scattered smiles. Even when I was dizzy with vodka, that smile never failed to make my heart speed up. Seth and I had dated for a while, plunging me into the depths of a love I'd never imagined possible. Part of being a succubus was an eternity of seducing men and stealing the energy of their souls – a real relationship had seemed out of the question. And in the end, it had been. Seth and I had broken up – twice – and while I usually accepted that he had moved on, I knew that I would love him forever. For me, forever was a serious matter. â€Å"I can't waste it on a costume,† he said. His amber-brown eyes regarded me fondly. I no longer knew if he loved me too; I only knew for sure that he still cared about me as a friend. I kept trying to portray the same image. â€Å"Gotta save it for the next book.† â€Å"Lame excuse,† I said. His shirt depicted Freddy Krueger, which might have been acceptable if not for the fact I suspected he had owned it long before Halloween. Seth shook his head. â€Å"Nobody cares what guys wear at Halloween anyway. It's all about the women. Look around.† I did and saw that he was right. All the elaborate, sexy costumes were on my female guests. With a few exceptions, the men's dulled by comparison. â€Å"Peter's dressed up,† I pointed out. Seth followed my gaze to another of my immortal friends. Peter was a vampire, a very fastidious and obsessive-compulsive one. He was clad in pre-Revolutionary French garb, complete with brocade coat and a powdered wig over what was normally thin brown hair. â€Å"Peter doesn't count,† said Seth. Recalling how Peter had painstakingly stenciled swans around his bathroom's baseboards last week, I couldn't help but agree. â€Å"Fair point.† â€Å"What's Hugh supposed to be? Jimmy Carter?† â€Å"Calvin Coolidge.† â€Å"How can you tell?† I was saved from answering when Seth's fianc? ¦e – and one of my best friends – Maddie Sato appeared. She was dressed as a fairy, complete with wings and a gauzy dress nowhere near as slutty as mine. Fake flowers wreathed black hair that had been pulled into a bun. Her being with Seth was something else I'd more or less come to accept, though I suspected the sting of it would never leave. Maddie didn't know Seth and I had dated and had no clue about the discomfiture I felt over their whole relationship. I expected her to slip her arm around Seth, but it was me she grabbed hold of and jerked away. I stumbled a bit. Five-inch heels weren't normally a problem for me, but the vodka complicated things a bit. â€Å"Georgina,† she exclaimed, once we were far enough away from Seth. â€Å"I need your help.† Reaching into her purse, she pulled out two pages torn from magazines. â€Å"With wha – oh.† My stomach twisted uncomfortably, and I hoped I wouldn't be joining Doug in the bathroom. The pages showed photos of wedding dresses. â€Å"I've almost narrowed it down,† she explained. â€Å"What do you think?† Grudgingly accepting the man I loved was going to marry one of my best friends was one thing. Helping them plan their wedding was an entirely different matter. I swallowed. â€Å"Oh, gee, Maddie. I'm not very good at this stuff.† Her dark eyes widened. â€Å"Are you kidding? You're the one who taught me how to dress right in the first place.† She apparently hadn't taken the lessons to heart. The dresses, while beautiful on the anorexic models wearing them, would look terrible on Maddie. â€Å"I don't know,† I said lamely, dragging my eyes away. The dresses were conjuring mental images of Maddie and Seth walking down the aisle together. â€Å"Come on,† she entreated. â€Å"I know you have an opinion.† I did. A bad one. And honestly, if I were a good servant of Hell, I would have told her they both looked great. Or I would have endorsed the worst one. What she wore was no concern of mine, and maybe if she showed up at her wedding looking subpar, Seth would realize what he'd lost when we broke up. And yet†¦I couldn't. Even after everything that had happened, I just couldn't let Maddie do it. She'd been a good friend, never suspecting what had occurred between Seth and me before and during their relationship. And as much as that petty, selfish part of me wanted it, I couldn't let her go forward in a bad dress. â€Å"Neither are good,† I said at last. â€Å"The full skirt on that one will make you look short. The flowers on top of that one will make you look fat.† She was taken aback. â€Å"Really? I never†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She studied the pictures, face falling. â€Å"Damn. I thought I had this stuff down now.† I can only assume my next words came from the liquor. â€Å"If you want, I'll go with you to some places this week. You can try some stuff on, and I'll tell you what works.† Maddie lit up. She wasn't gorgeous in the popular, magazine sort of way, but when she smiled, she was beautiful. â€Å"Really? Oh, thank you. And you can look for your dress too.† â€Å"My what?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her smile turned sly. â€Å"You're going to be a bridesmaid, aren't you?† At that moment, I reconsidered my earlier thoughts about nothing being more painful than helping plan her wedding. Being her bridesmaid pretty much blew that out of the water. Those who believed we made our own hells on earth must have had something like this in mind. â€Å"Oh, well, I don't know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You have to! There's no one else I'd rather have.† â€Å"I'm not really the bridesmaid type.† â€Å"Of course you are.† Maddie's eyes suddenly looked at something beyond me. â€Å"Oh, hey. Doug's back. I'm going to go check on him. We'll talk about this later. You'll give in.† Maddie scurried off to her brother, leaving me numb and speechless. I decided then it was worth risking illness to go get another drink. This party had taken a definite U-turn. Yet, when I turned around, it wasn't toward the bar. It was toward my patio. One of the best features of this condo was its expansive balcony, one that looked out over Puget Sound and the Seattle skyline beyond. As I stood there, though, it wasn't the view that captivated me. It was†¦something else. Something I couldn't explain. But it was warm and wonderful and spoke to all my senses. I imagined I could see colored light on my balcony, kind of like the waves of an aurora. I could also hear a type of music that defied all human words and had nothing to do with the Pink Floyd blasting from my stereo. The party faded into the background as I slowly moved toward the balcony. The door was open to air out the hot room, and my two cats, Aubrey and Godiva, lay near it to look outside. I stepped past them, drawn toward that which had no explanation or description. Warm autumn air engulfed me as I groped for what called me. It was all around me and yet out of my reach. It was summoning me, drawing me toward something right on the balcony's edge. I almost considered climbing on the ledge in my heels and looking over. I had to reach that beauty. â€Å"Hey, Georgina.† Peter's voice jerked me out of the trance. I stared around, startled. There was no music, no color, no beckoning embrace. Only the night and the view and the patio furniture on my balcony. I turned around, meeting his eyes. â€Å"We have a problem,† he said. â€Å"We have a lot of problems,† I said, thinking of Maddie's wedding dress and the fact that I'd nearly walked off my own balcony. I shivered. I definitely was not going back for that next drink. Sick was one thing. Hallucinations were another. â€Å"What's wrong?† Peter led me inside and pointed. â€Å"Cody's in love.† I looked over at our friend Cody, another vampire and Peter's apprentice. Cody was a young immortal, optimistic and endearing. He was dressed as an alien, with green antennae sticking out of his shaggy blond hair. The perfection of his silvery space suit made me think Peter had played a role. Right now, Cody was staring across the room, mouth open as he gazed at someone. He looked like I had felt just moments ago. Her name was Gabrielle, and she'd just started working at the bookstore. She was tiny, almost pixie like, and wore black fishnets and a ripped black dress. Her spiky hair was also black, as was her lipstick. Easy coordination. Cody was staring at her like she was the most beautiful creature on earth. â€Å"Huh,† I said. Hugh dated all the time, but I'd never really thought of the vampires – particularly Peter – having any sort of romantic interactions. â€Å"I think he likes that she's dressed as a vampire,† said Peter. I shook my head. â€Å"Actually, that's how she always dresses.† We walked over to Cody, and it took him several moments to notice us. He seemed excited to see me. â€Å"What's her name?† he breathed. I tried to hide my smile. Cody being smitten was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen and a welcome distraction from the other drama tonight. â€Å"Gabrielle. She works at the store.† â€Å"Is she single?† I looked back at her as she laughed at something Maddie had said. â€Å"I don't know. Want me to find out?† Cody blushed – in as much as a pale vampire could. â€Å"No! I mean†¦unless you think it wouldn't be too obvious? I don't want you to go to any trouble.† â€Å"No trouble for me,† I said, just as Doug walked by. â€Å"Hey.† I caught hold of his sleeve. â€Å"Do me a favor, and I'll take my shift back.† Doug, whose Japanese-American skin was normally golden tan, could have also currently passed for an alien with his green hue. â€Å"I'd rather have my stomach back, Kincaid.† â€Å"Go investigate Gabrielle's romantic status. Cody's interested.† â€Å"Georgina!† exclaimed Cody, mortified. Sick or not, Doug couldn't resist a little intrigue. â€Å"Sure thing.† He headed off across the room and pulled Gabrielle to him, leaning down so she could hear. At one point, he glanced over toward us, and Gabrielle looked as well. Cody nearly died. â€Å"Oh God.† Doug returned five minutes later and shook his head. â€Å"Sorry, kid. She's single, but she doesn't think you're her type. She's into the Goth and vampire scene. You're too mainstream for her.† I was sipping a glass of water and nearly choked on it. â€Å"That,† said Peter, as soon as Doug was gone, â€Å"is what we call irony.† â€Å"How is that possible?† exclaimed Cody. â€Å"I am a vampire. I should be exactly what she wants.† â€Å"Yeah, but you don't look like one,† I said. If Gabrielle had been a Trekkie, he might have had a shot tonight. â€Å"I look exactly like a vampire because I am one! What should I dress up as? Count Chocula?† The party continued in force for another couple hours, and finally, people began trickling out. Roman and I, playing good hosts, smiled and bade each of them farewell. By the time everyone left, I was weary and more than happy for it all to be over. I'd refused to drink after the balcony incident and now had a headache as a pleasant reminder of my indulgences. Roman looked as exhausted as me as he scanned the messy condo. â€Å"Funny, huh? You throw a housewarming party to show the place off, and then people trash it.† â€Å"It'll clean up fast,† I said, studying all the bottles and paper plates with remnants of food. Aubrey was licking frosting off a half-eaten cupcake, and I hastily took it away from her. â€Å"But not tonight. Help me take care of the perishables, and we'll do the rest tomorrow.† â€Å"There's no ‘we' in ‘clean,'† Roman said. â€Å"That doesn't even make sense,† I said, covering up some salsa. â€Å"And Peter's right, you know. You really should do more around here.† â€Å"I provide good company. Besides, how can you get rid of me?† â€Å"I'll get Jerome to,† I warned, referring to his demon father, who also happened to be my boss. â€Å"Sure. Run off and tell on me.† Roman stifled a yawn, demonstrating just how worried he was about his father's wrath. The annoying part was, he had a point. I couldn't get rid of him on my own, and I doubted Jerome would really help. Still, I could hardly believe it when Roman did wander off to bed and leave me alone with the cleanup. I hadn't thought he'd go that far. â€Å"Asshole!† I yelled after him, getting only a slammed door in response. He really wasn't that bad of a roommate, but our troubled past often made him want to annoy me. It worked. Fuming, I finished the necessary tidying and dropped into bed a half-hour later. Aubrey and Godiva followed me, lying side by side at the end of the bed. They were a contrast in colors, like some piece of modern art. Aubrey was white with black specks on her head; Godiva was a riot of orange, brown, and black patches. All three of us drifted off to sleep immediately. Sometime later, I woke to the sound of singing†¦or, well, that was the closest I could come to describing it. It was the same thing I'd felt earlier, an alluring, haunting pull that spoke to every part of me. Warm and bright and beautiful. It was everywhere and everything, and I longed to have more of it, to walk toward the light that shone with indescribable colors. It felt so, so good – like something I could melt into, if only I could reach it. I had the impression of an entrance, a door I simply had to push open and step through and – Rough hands gripped my shoulders and jerked me around. â€Å"Wake up!† Like before, the sensory overload vanished. I was left alone in a quiet, empty world. No more siren song. Roman stood in front of me, hands shaking me as his face stared down at me with worry. I looked around. We were in the kitchen. I had no memory of getting there. â€Å"How – what happened?† I stammered. The face that had taunted me earlier was now filled with concern, something that troubled a small part of me. Why should someone who wanted to kill me be worried about me? â€Å"You tell me,† he said, releasing his grip. I rubbed my eyes, willing myself to recall what had happened. â€Å"I†¦I don't know. I must have sleepwalked†¦.† His face was still drawn and anxious. â€Å"No†¦there was something here†¦.† I shook my head. â€Å"No, it was a dream. Or a hallucination. I had it happen earlier†¦. I just drank too much.† â€Å"Didn't you just hear me?† There it was again, fear for me underneath the anger. â€Å"There was something here, some†¦force. I felt it. It woke me up. Don't you remember anything at all?† I stared off, trying to summon up the light and haunting melody. I couldn't. â€Å"It was†¦it was exquisite. I wanted†¦I wanted to go to it†¦to be part of it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a dreamy, wistful note in my voice. Roman's expression grew dark. As a succubus, I was a lesser immortal, one who had once been human. Greater immortals, like angels and demons, had been created at the universe's beginning. Nephilim were born and fell somewhere in the middle. As such, their powers and senses were greater than mine. Roman could detect things I couldn't. â€Å"Don't,† he said. â€Å"You feel it again, you pull away. Don't let it draw you in. Under no circumstances should you go to it.† I looked back at him with a frown. â€Å"Why? Do you know what it is?† â€Å"No,† he said grimly. â€Å"And that's the problem.†

Monday, July 29, 2019

Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Racism - Essay Example studies and compares two stories in which the authors depict racism in the content of the writing by discussing the connections in terms of context, utilization of literacy devices and the personal experiences displayed in the stories. The two stories compared in are Life in Oklahoma City by Ralph Ellison and On Social Equality by Gunnar Myrdal. Both of these stories are written in a first person point of view. Mr. Ellison in his stories provides a narrative of his personal experiences as he was growing up in Oklahoma City. He described the setting of how things were back then and provided many examples of racism against various races including afro-Americans, Germans, poor white persons and Indians (Ellison, 1964). In the author’s descriptions the author himself displayed a racism mentality since his description of some events seemed biased and a bit racist. The author utilized a lot different literary devices in his story such as symbolism, imaginary, characterization, metaphors, simile and personification. The On Social Equality story is different than the story written by Mr. Ellison. This story is more critical and analytical about the racism issue. The story describes a lot the views different groups of people have on the subject and provides multiple examples on how racism manifests itself. For example the author mentioned a perspective from the Southern that during segregation afro-Americans actually liked it because they did not have to deal with people from the Caucasian race and they rather share time with their own people (Myrdal). The author used a couple of different literary devices such as similes but he did not use a large variety of literary devices such as Mr. Ellison utilized in Life in Oklahoma. The ending of this story was a conclusion that gave a final perspective and analyzed the topic of racism. The final stage of Life in Oklahoma was as a self-reflection of Mr. Ellison’s life and his opinion on the racism subject. Ralph Ellison

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Environment, Crime, and Disease in Mali Research Paper

Environment, Crime, and Disease in Mali - Research Paper Example Environmental Issues Globalization has various impacts on Mali’s environment, which are both positive and negative. The positive impact on the environment has mainly been in the agricultural sector. A good example is the tremendous growth in production of cotton (Kutting, 2004), which came about with the introduction of new seeds, which suited the Mali environment favorably. The increase in production of cotton has helped in the contribution to the economy because of increased exportation. The interaction of Mali with other countries has helped Mali know of better ways to cope with current environmental changes. The negative effects of globalization on the environment have been uniform in many countries especially third world countries with no exception to Mali. Globalization has led to mass industrialization, which has made industrial wastes a nuisance (Logan, 2002). This has led to pollution of water masses, which lead to the destruction of marine life and also diminishing a ccess to fresh water for human and animal use. Crime Similarly, globalization has influence the occurrence of crimes both positively and negatively. Through globalization, Mali law enforcers have accessed ways to fight crime by interacting with other law enforcers in the globe. This has somewhat reduced some forms of crime and has made Mali a more secure place. Also due to globalization there has been collaboration with allies in the Diaspora, who have helped to give ideas on training to ensure the law enforcers get the best training they can get so that the country is kept safe. However on the other side, globalization has also led to access of terrorists to ideas to build weapons of mass destruction and has increased the threat of terror attacks (United Nation, 2010). Mali people are very close allies with the USA in the war against terrorism. The local Mali individuals have also been able to learn more tactics to commit crime thus the rate of crime has gone up. Disease Mali being an African country in the tropics, there are many diseases that are rampant in the region. The region is infected with communicable diseases and globalization has spread the diseases to other parts of the world due to immigration to other countries (Lee, 2003). This has made the country have a crisis every time there is an outbreak of a disease since the poverty levels in this third world country cannot allow combating of these diseases easily. On the other hand, globalization has availed researchers with samples to try and get a cure for these communicable diseases. When foreigners come to Mali, they have to be immunized and thus vaccines have been developed to avoid also a humanitarian crisis, when there is an outbreak. Conclusion Mali has been working closely with USAID to combat the negative effects of globalization. In terms of environmental problems, USAID has funded Mali government in controlling industrial wastes not to spill over to the environment and end up polluting it. USAID through funding the world vision is also helping in providing safe water for drinking to the Mali community. The efforts of the USAID are quite commendable and their effect is being felt, but, I believe the involvement of the locals more to help keep the environment safe will yield better

Cryptosporidium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cryptosporidium - Essay Example The division of the organism occurs rapidly with 12-14 hours being the time taken for one generation. This rapid division results in large accumulation of the organism within the intestinal tract of the hosts beginning with the ileum and followed by infection of the duodenum and the large intestine. In case of individuals with a suppressed immune system the organism can also colonize in the stomach, biliary and pancreatic ducts and respiratory tracts. The major clinical signs of cryptosporidiosis are watery diarrhea, loss of weight and cramping of the abdominal region, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and headache. Individual can also have a low-grade fever during the infection stage. In addition, immunocompressed individuals can also suffer from electrolyte imbalance. The time taken for the oocytes to be shed in the feces is about 4 days and they can be shed in the feces for 6-12 days in case of healthy individuals and for a longer period in immunicompressed people (Aquatic pathogens). In the case of healthy individuals, the organism will generally disappear within a month of infection. In case there is severe diarrhea and dehydration anti-diarrheal drugs and rehydration therapy is given to patients. The treatment regimen for immunocompressed individuals could be more elaborate especially when the infection becomes chronic resulting in chronic diarrhea, dehydration, wasting and even death (Aquatic pathogens). As the diease is principally a water-borne disease, the parasite can exist in untreated water which is contaminated with the feces or other sources containing the organism. Proper water treatment methods undertaken by municipal and public water carriers can help to disinfect the water and kill the organism. As the organism is resistant to chlorine treatment, the watersheds can be protected through hygienic maintenance and proper coagulation and filtration methods. Use of ozone or UV radiations for water treatment can also provide additional

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Project Management in a Changing Environment Coursework

Project Management in a Changing Environment - Coursework Example A new body of knowledge was evolved, which came to be known as Project Management. Over the years, the science of Project Management has developed enormously and many scholars and practitioners have introduced various tools and techniques to enrich it. Â  Internet, computers, project management software etc have enhanced the pace of development of project management.Successful completion of a project on time with the use of limited resources and minimum cost is the main objective of project management. But, project management in modern times is no longer possible by paying attention to resources, cost and time alone. The project managers are forced to look beyond time, cost and resources. The traditional tools and techniques such as Gantt chart, PERT/CPM networks became powerless and attainment of project objective remained a dream for the competent project managers. A careful analysis has been made in various areas of project management and finally reached a way-out that project ma nagers need to have a check on the rapidly changing environment in which the project needs to be materialized.Every project is carried out in a set of complex factors. The totality of all such factors is known as the project environment. Time, organizational factors, a legal system, political system, technology structure, economic system, socio-cultural system are some of the factors in the project environment. All these factors are likely to affect projects and the success depends upon how the project manager and his team respond and adapt to the changes. The basic principles of project management still remain effective in any contexts regardless of size and time. But the resources, budgets, methods, and tools of the project depend upon the environment. If today’s projects are managed by the tools of the past, the probability of failing the project is very high. That does not mean that traditional tools are ineffective in modern times. Thus, before implementing the tools, th ey must be made adaptable to the changed resources, budgets.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Service Activity Summary Report ( for Human Service Class) Essay

Service Activity Summary Report ( for Human Service Class) - Essay Example They prefer to do some routine things by themselves. I guess this is an element of pride and soon started to get involved when my help was necessary, or when they asked for it. There is a senior citizen that shared the pain of losing his wife and facing the rest of his life alone. From his story, I gathered that he was very lonely and the center offered him the chance to meet people closer to his age as well as people to talk to. There are times when is suspected that living family members had abandoned their elderly when they became too much of a burden. The disturbing thing is that they do not admit this. They claim that at the present times, all people are too busy to carry unwanted baggage. I learned that senior citizens have an element of pride and deserve to be treated in a manner where they feel dignified because sometimes, their dignity is all that they have left. I also learned about the value of social services in the community. There are many things that I took for granted and this activity enlightened me. I also learned that eventually, everybody would grow old and hence lose their productive ability (Midlam, 2004). It is best to make use of all the energy that comes with youth because I will miss it when I become a senior citizen. Their stories clearly show that some are satisfied with their achievements. I hope I can tell similar stories when I am their age. In addition, I have also come to appreciate the benefits of having a retirement benefit. I am likely to be very compassionate about the affairs of the elderly. In addition, I will make an effort to visit and take care of my own grandparents because I have realized that it is really lonely when a person is no longer able to work. The world is becoming busier, and sometimes an occupation is the sole reason to live for the senior citizens (Midlam, 2004). I will also ensure that I volunteer at these

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Investment Portfolio Implementation & Management Essay

Investment Portfolio Implementation & Management - Essay Example The following aspects have been considered before formulating the appropriate asset allocation strategy for the investor: An investment portfolio consists of a number of asset classes which have different levels of standard deviations, returns and yields. The assets that are to be included within an asset allocation model depend largely on the kind of return being expected by the investor and the risk that the individual is willing to bear (Market Watch, 2013). Therefore before preparing the asset allocation model, the first thing that needs to be identified over here is the latest investment benchmark figures of the different asset classes. Considering the above mentioned investment benchmarks, 8% of Dr. O’Hara’s investment should be made behind intermediate bonds as the investor wants to invest $30,000 in an asset that is considered safe and is associated with no expense, sales or early withdrawal charges. This will enable Dr. O’Hara that a guaranteed return is realized at the end of maturity thereby enabling the individual to pay for travel expenses without any inconvenience. Now, considering the fact that Dr. O’Hara wants to earmark $60,000 in an account with higher than current certificate of deposit or money market rates but minimal market volatility, 17% of the total investment sum should be invested in short term bonds. They have a standard deviation value of 0.68% indicates that this asset is less volatile. Therefore, keeping $60,000 earmarked for an investment in short term bonds will enable the investor to enjoy a return close to 0.71%, 1.23% and 2.74% respectively in bonds with 1 year, 5 years and 10 years maturity. The remaining 75% of the investment fund should be distributed appropriately between large cap stocks, small cap stocks, mid cap stocks and international stocks. 27% of the investment fund should be invested

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Operation Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operation Managment - Essay Example n the period of five years, as stated in the case, the number of fire alarms had increased by 96%, putting a strain on the City Fire Departments budget and other resources. Resource allocation, police violence and corruption were some of the problems in the New York Police Department. Resource allocation was also the issue for the ambulance services. In the Fire Project, real life simulation was used as the major model in order to look at the situation. Also, methods such as queuing models for fire company availability, Bayes approach to alarm forecasting, and integer linear programming of fire company relocations. In the Police Project, real life simulation was also used along with optimization and queuing models in order to provide with staffing alternatives. As for the ambulance services, simulation analysis was also used. For the Fire Project, the major solution that was proposed was the closing of 24 fire company locations and disbandment of ten fire companies. The fire company locations were determined in relation with the area they covered, and dependent on their distance to the area that they could service. With the use of management science models, it was found out that in order for the NYC to cut down on costs in relation to the effectiveness of the company, this solution was vital. Also, as for deployment, staffing alternatives were created in order to address the issue of the mismatch between the number of fire companies on duty during peak times of fire alarms. The solution was successful that the NYC government sought the use of management scientists in addressing other problems of resource-allocation and deployment. For the Police Project, staffing alternatives were created from the optimization and queuing models in order to determine the allocation of patrol cars and police officers in different locations of the city that demanded the police services. As for the ambulance services, the solution was to tie up the ambulances to the areas with

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Gay couples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gay couples - Essay Example in Cooke, para.2), that two men or women can raise kids better in terms of sexual growth, than a man or a woman in a traditional home setting. Kids of gay couples do not have to see one of their parents involved in extra-marital affairs. They do not have to see their moms and dads fighting with each other every day (Sharee). Kids pay little attention to what the relationship between their parents is, or whether or not their relationship relates to societal norms or not. All they want is love, of parents towards them and also towards each other. So, the relationship between parents has nothing to do with children becoming homo- or hetero-sexual. To conclude, children of same-sex couples are all the same as children of gay couples. They get full attention from their parents, and this is all that is needed for healthy sexual growth. Becoming a homosexual is a matter of abnormal sexual orientation by nature, and not by

The Use of Theatre in Mexican-American Culture Essay Example for Free

The Use of Theatre in Mexican-American Culture Essay Latinos are currently the largest minority group in the United States, and Mexican-Americans are the largest group within the Latino population. It may be unfathomable for the younger generations to think of the Mexican population in the United States as a silent minority group; however, it was not until after World War II that we see a rise in Chicano nationality and identity movements. What was the role of the theatre in this discovery of identity, and how did the theatre give social voice to this formerly unheard group? The clearest answer to this question can be found through the Teatro Chicano movement, Luis Valdez’s character El Pachuco in Zoot Suit and the performance art pieces and writings of Luis Alfaro. The name El Teatro Chicano is actually a blanket term used to describe an entire theatrical movement by the Mexican-American population in the United States. Established in 1965, Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino (literally, Farmworkers’ Theatre) was the most famous of the Chicano Theatres; however it was hardly the only participant within the movement. In 1971 there were over 25 groups that defined themselves as Chicano Theatres (Huerta 15). The basic guidelines of El Teatro Chicano were simply to be a community-based movement committed to exposing social issues and injustices within the barrios, or hyper-segregated Mexican neighborhoods. The mission of Teatro Chicano was based on the understanding of the ancestral Mayan concept of â€Å"In Lak’ech†, which states â€Å"you are my other me, so I must respect you as I do myself. † The foundation of Teatro Chicano not only traced back to the Native American ancestors of the Mexican-American community, but it also sought to use this ancestry to restore a sense of identity and to encourage Mexicans in the United States to hold onto their roots (Huerta 16). Unlike other theatre and social change movements, El Teatro Chicano was not really interested in injustice as a whole, but rather injustice from the vantage point of the Mexican-American. The specificity of the movement also helped to distinguish the Mexican identity from a general marginalized group identified by the blanked term of ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino’ to a unique faction with a personalized perspective (Huerta 15). There has been little research done on teatros other than Teatro Campesino, most likely due to the fact that El Teatro Chicano was not a very organized or professional movement. Pieces were often performed outdoors, on street corners or in other high traffic areas. Little concern was given to production quality because the content of the message was the primary focus (Kanellos 65). Valdez felt there was a want for more unity and communication between participants as well as a need for more training of Chicano performers in El Teatro Chicano, so in the summer 1971 he held the first meeting of El Teatro Nacional de Aztlan, or TENAZ. The workshop was considered a â€Å"success†, and 15 participants were taught different Teatro ‘techniques’ and swapped ideas for topics and themes for new performance art pieces (Huerto 14). Ironically Valdez, the founder of TENAZ, was eventually excluded from the workshop because he was criticized for creating works that were too ‘spiritual’ and that avoided the real issues of poverty, employment and discrimination (Elam 116 – 117). The fundamental performance utilized by El Teatro Chicano was the acto, a term coined by Luis Valdez. Actos are performance are pieces that are used to â€Å"inspire the audience to social action† and put emphasis on the social vision (Broyles-Gonzalez 25). While they were usually scripted, they were never actually written down and performers often took a lot of artistic license with the pieces (Broyles-Gonzalez 22). The actos performed by various Teatros Chicanos often faced serious opposition, even by members of the Mexican community. In an effort to remain ‘true to reality’ the actos often contained extreme profanity, coarse subject matters and graphic violence. It was not uncommon for Teatro Chicano performers to be thrown out of venues because of the vulgarity of the actos, so performers constantly struggled between the choice of softening the pieces for the sake of the audience or remaining true their perception of the social reality (Huerta 17). Though it may have lacked in unity and professionalism, the El Teatro Chicano helped to instill pride in the Mexican identity and spur discussion of injustice and social action. In his essay Concerning Teatro Chicano, J. A. Huearta states: â€Å"Teatros are converting Chicanos who used to be ashamed of their heritage; teatros are bringing socio-political realities to the people in a way they cannot ignore; teatros are educating people† (Huerta 18). During his work with El Teatro Campesino, Luis Valdez was commissioned to write Zoot Suit by the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The play would tell the story of the racially biased trials of the Sleepy Lagoon Murders, where seventeen pachucos, Mexican gang members, were convicted of first-degree murder, and the Zoot Suit Riots that ensued due to the verdict (Jacobs 27). Through much opposition from the Anglo-dominated theatre world, the play debuted at the Taper, made its way to Broadway in 1979 and was later made into a film in 1981. Much of the opposition to the play was due to the unwillingness to change the character of El Pachuco, the prototype of the 1940s Mexican gangster and Valdez’s personification of the Chicano identity (Kanellos 97). In an interview soon after the release of the film Zoot Suit Valdez commented on the character of El Pachuco: â€Å"He is the rebel. The recalcitrant rebel who refuses to give in, who refuses to bend, refuses to admit that he is wrong. He is incorrigible. And the way that the Pachuco appears in the film and in the play makes a very strong statement. The stance is almost ideological, even cultural; it’s mythical. They know then, the Anglo critics†¦that what this figure represents is a self-determined identity; it comes from its own base. That’s been my argument all along through my work; that we have our own fundamental base from which to work† (Kanellos 98). To Valdez, the idea of the Pachuco was not to glorify the lifestyle of the 1940’s gangster (which many accused him of doing), but rather find an archetype within whom the Mexican-American community could find their identity. The pachuco refused to assimilate to the dominant white culture, and while he may inhabit some extreme character flaws, Valdez finds his struggle for identity worthy of acclaim (Kanellos 101). Valdez also argues that he presents both good and bad sides to El Pachuco, as to not present him as a villain or hero, but rather and â€Å"abstract person† who acts as a sort of â€Å"internal authority† for the Mexican-American (Kanellos 98). The pachuco is clearly seen as the symbol of Chicano identity in the second act of Zoot Suit. El Pachuco stands before the court and is stripped of his zoot suit, the representation of his new identity, and is reduced to nothing but a loin cloth, the representation of his ancestral Native-American identity (Valdez Act II, Scene 6). Despite the persecution, El Pachuco still refuses to give into the dominant culture. It is clear that Valdez sought to instill ideas of pride and heritage within the Chicano community through his character of El Pachuco, but his plight did not go unopposed, even by members of his own racial community. Along with the disdain held for the lifestyle of the pachuco, Valdez was also criticized for marginalizing women through the â€Å"machisimo† or male domination of his plays (Jacobs 28). In Zoot Suit and other Valdez plays women’s roles were restricted to four characters: mother, grandmother, sister and love interest. Women also strictly fell into the category of â€Å"good woman† or â€Å"bad woman† and never had the character complexity or struggle like that of El Pachuco (Broyles-Gonzalez). In her article Elizabeth Jacobs writes: â€Å"†¦Valdez promotes an exclusively male version of events and a perspective reflecting the essentializing tendencies of movement ideology which dichotomized a ‘monolithic’ male Chicano identity in response to Anglo-American domination† (Jacobs 29). It seems that though Valdez was attempting to fight the dominant group by creating a sense of identity for the Chicanos, he arguably did so by marginalizing another minority group. To this criticism Valdez has been cited as saying, â€Å"Anytime that a new identity is created, it emerges as a power that is raw, terrible and disgusting to some, and glorious to others† (Kanellos 99). A more recent example of the use of theatre to spur social change for the Mexican-American community can be found in the performance art pieces of Luis Alfaro. As seems to be a common thread linking Chicano theatre, Alfaro’s pieces have the tendency to disturb audiences with their subject matter and/or physical performance, but do not seem to be quite as offensive as the actos performed by El Teatro Chicano members. Through his writings Alfaro advocates â€Å"throwing one’s identity in the face of others, making oneself fabulous, daring to tell the truth, to tell one’s own story† (Bonney 296). In his piece entitled Abuelita Alfaro speaks from the perspective of a ten year old boy with an extreme disdain for his Abuelita (grandmother). As the piece continues it becomes rather obvious that Abuelita stands as a symbol for old Mexican heritage and tradition. He shows a bloody finger and tells of a time when his Abuelita stuck it in her noting that I was â€Å"the only way that Abuelita knows how to stop the bleeding† (Bonney 298). He later shows a bloody finger on his other hand and tells how other Latinos are afraid to touch his wound, alluding to the idea that they are afraid he is infected with HIV because he’s gay. He ends the piece by how he wishes for Abuelita in these times of â€Å"plague†¦loss†¦sorrow†¦mourning†¦and shame† (Bonney 298 299). This comparison between the Abuelita, or the Mexican culture and heritage of old, who embraces him even if the manner seems simplistic and crude and the modern Latino community who rejects his wounds serves as a more subtle call to the Mexican community to embrace one another as their ancestors did (much like the afore mentioned Mayan concept of In Lak’ech). In another performance peace entitled Mu Mu Approaches, Alfaro consumes an entire box of Twinkies while a voice over tells a story of the rejection of â€Å"Mu Mu†, another woman who seems to stand for Mexican heritage and culture. (Bonney 299 – 300). Both the words of Alfaro’s piece and the gluttonous consumption of an entire box of Twinkies, a very â€Å"American† food, convey the dangers of over assimilation and neglect of one’s heritage. While Alfaro’s theatrical pieces definitely contribute to the establishment of a Chicano identity, he does not fall directly in line with the movement of El Teatro Chicano or that of Luis Valdez. Alfaro’s pieces often rejected oppression and marginalization in general; he did not only concern himself with the struggle of the Mexican-American. The lack of continuity could be attributed to many different things, but I think it is important to note that Alfaro’s homosexuality could be a reason for his apparent deviation from the mission of El Teatro Chicano. Both the Teatro movement and Luis Valdez have received extreme criticism from both feminist and gay rights groups, and were even called â€Å"homophobic† by some (Elam 32). There is no present research linking Alfaro’s sexual orientation and his divergence from El Teatro and Luis Valdez; however the connection does seem possible. There is no denying that theatre has played a significant role in giving a social voice to the Chicano community as well as creating a distinguished identity for them in the United States. However, there also is no denying that the highlighted theatre movements are not without weaknesses, some more striking than others. El Teatro Chicano devoted itself entirely to the Mexican population, but in some ways it may have promoted the same type of ethnocentrisms that it was created to fight. Luis Valdez tried to create a sense of pride an identity for the Mexican-American through his character of El Pachuco, but it was arguably at the expense of the women of the Chicano community. Luis Alfaro’s performance pieces, while not without flaws, seem to have progressed some from those before him. Perhaps, as stated before, this has something to do with his sexual-orientation, or perhaps it is simply due to the natural evolution of learning from those who have gone before you. Alfaro’s work gives hope that future Mexican performers, writers and directors will develop even farther down the path of social enlightenment, and that perhaps one day oppressed communities will be able to find liberation without the marginalization of someone else.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Network Key Terms Essay Example for Free

Network Key Terms Essay The Internet- The global network formed by interconnecting most of the networks on the planet, with each home and company network connecting to an Internet service provider (ISP), which in turn connects to other ISPs. Internet edge- The part of the Internet between an ISP and the ISP customer, whether the customer is a company or organization with a large private TCP/IP network, or whether the customer is a single individual. point of presence- A term used by service providers, particularly for WAN or Internet service providers instead of traditional telcos, that refers to the building where the provider keeps its equipment. Access links that connect the customer device to the WAN service physically connect into the POP. Internet core- The part of the Internet created through network links between ISPs that creates the ability of the ISPs to send IP packets to the customers of the ISPs that connect to the core. Internet access- A broad term for the many technologies that can be used to connect to an ISP so that the device or network can send packets between itself and the ISP. analog modem- A device at the customer and ISP end of an analog circuit, created when one modem calls the phone number of the other modem, with the two modems sending data using the analog circuit. DSL- Digital subscriber line. A type of Internet access service in which the data flows over the local loop cable from the home to the telco central office, where a DSLAM uses FDM technology to split out the data and send it to a router, and split out the voice frequencies and send them to a traditional voice switch. cable Internet- A term referring to Internet access services provided by a cable company, using many components, including a cable modem, coaxial cable, and a CMTS at the cable company head end. default route- In a router, a concept in which the router has a special route, the default route, so that when a rout er tries to route a packet, but the packet’s destination does not match any other route, the router routes the packet based on the default route. host name- A name made up of alphabetic, numeric, and some special characters, used to identify a specific IP host. Host names that follow the convention for domain names in the DNS system use a hierarchical design, with periods  separating parts of the name. Domain Name System- The name of both a protocol and the system of actual DNS servers that exist in the world. In practice, DNS provides a way for the world to distribute the list of matching host name/IP address pair information, letting each company maintain its own naming information, but allowing the entire world to discover the IP address used by a particular host name, dynamically, using DNS protocols, so that any client can refer to a destination by name and send IP packets to that host. Subdomain- With DNS naming terminology, this term refers to a part of a host name (or domain name).That smaller part can be the part that a company registers through IANA or some authorized agency to identify all hosts inside that company. IPv4 address exhaustion- A term referring to the very real problem in the worldwide Internet, which first presented itself in the late 1980s, in which the world appeared to be running out of the available IPv4 address space. classless interdomain routing (CIDR)- One of the short-term solutions to the IPv4 address exhaustion problem that actually helped solve the problem for a much longer time frame.CIDR allows more flexibility in how many addresses IANA assigns to a company, and it helps reduce Internet routing table sizes through route aggregation. Network Address Translation (NAT)- One of the short-term solutions to the IPv4 address exhaustion problem that actually helped solve the problem for a much longer time frame. NAT reduces the number of public IP addresses needed by one ISP customer by using one public IP address for the traffic from many real client hosts. Acronyms: BGP- Border Gateway Protocol CATV- Cable TV CIDR- Classes Interdomain Routing CMTS- Cable Modem Terminating System DSL- Digital Subscriber Line DSLAM- DSL Access Multiplexer FTTC- Fiber to the Curb HFC- Hybrid Fiber Coaxial IANA- Internet Assigned Numbers Authority IPS- Intrusion Prevention Systems ISP- Internet Service Provider NAT- Network Address Translation POP- Point of Presence RIR- Regional Internet Registries RJ-11- Registered Jack 11 SOHO- Small Office/Home Office

Sunday, July 21, 2019

History Of Working At Height Regulation Construction Essay

History Of Working At Height Regulation Construction Essay The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports that over 4,000 employees suffered a major injury because of a fall from height in 2008/09. The majority of injuries were caused by low falls www.hse.gov (see attached appendix) This figure is still far too high when we consider the working at height regulation2005 (WHAR) was passed into law almost six years ago. The reason WHAR became law was the alarming concern across Europe of fatalities and serious injury. The European parliaments passed the directive, wanted all members to implement, and have on their statute books by 2004. consultation started in the uk in 2001 .there was concerns raised over changes to be made to the 2meter rule, industry claimed they needed this kept as it would not be cost effective and jobs would be lost and certain contracts would not be worth tendering on if this rule was not kept . Before the regulation, there was various regulations that covered working at height with different rules one of the rules was the 2 meter rule this allowed working up to 2 meters height without any controls accidents. The majority of major injuries were caused by low falls. Again, a significant proportion of these were falls from ladders. www.hse.gov RIDDOR data It is now recognised in the duty that injury can occur from a fall of any height, not just from above say 2 metres. In addition, falling objects can cause injury from below a drop distance of 2 metres. Therefore guardrails and toe boards etc should be considered based on a suitable and sufficient risk assessment been made Elizabeth Gibby, Head of the Health and Safety Executives (HSEs) Injuries Reduction Programme, said: In 2003/4 falls from height accounted for 67 fatal accidents at work and nearly 4,000 major injuries. They remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the biggest causes of major injury. Preventing falls from height is a central part of HSEs Injuries Reduction Programme and these Regulations will provide the cornerstone for this programme to improve standards for work at height and thereby reduce deaths and injuries. These Regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. She added: The Regulations cover a wide range of industries and activities but we have developed some simple messages which we want to communicate to all industries. Our key messages are: those following good practice for work at height now should already be doing enough to comply with these Regulations; follow the risk assessments you have carried out for work at height activities and make sure all work at height is planned, organized and carried out by competent persons; follow the hierarchy for managing risks from work at height take steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks; and choose the right work equipment and select collective measures to prevent falls (such as guardrails and working platforms) before other measures which may only mitigate the distance and consequences of a fall (such as nets or airbags) or which may only provide personal protection from a fall. Falls from height are the biggest work place killer. There were 35 fatalities in 2008/09. A significant proportion of these were falls from ladders. www.hse.gov Traditionally falls make up the second biggest cause of major accidents. There were over 4500 in 2008/09. The majority of major injuries were caused by low falls. Again, a significant proportion of these were falls from ladders. www.hse.gov RIDDOR data The Regulations were consulted upon during 2004 including a focused consultation on retaining the requirements for particular precautions for construction work at or above 2mtrs. (I have explained this rule further in legislation section) Working at Height is now governed by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR). These regulations revoked the earlier construction regulations, which specified the 2 metre rule. We therefore do not have this threshold. The WAHR place a duty on the duty holder to avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out this work safely otherwise than at height. Where work has to be carried out at height, then the duty holder shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. It is recognised in the duty that injury can occur from a fall of any height, not just from above say 2 metres. In addition, falling objects can cause injury from below a drop distance of 2 metres. Therefore guardrails and toe boards etc should be considered based on a suitable and sufficient risk assessment been made There is no recommended height now. The Regulations have a series of schedules that set out requirements for specific circumstances and schedule two sets out the requirements for guardrails, toe-boards, barriers, and similar collective means of protection. A link to the regulations is here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/regulations.htm All forms of work access equipment for working at height come under the Regulations, which includes hop-ups. More information can be obtained from hse web site on construction and various platforms http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm There was no transitional period as the regulations consolidate what should be existing good practice. However it is understood that industry need to familiarise themselves with the regulations and ensure that what they do is sufficient to comply. Also time to make sure companies do not over react, I have witnessed companies having simply refused stepladders coming on site with the claim HSE has banned them! This is totally UN true and led to total confusion within industry. Still does today. There is Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) produced for the Regulations and hse have produced INGD 401 and other literature for further guidance. Free download, is available from www.hse.gov.uk . In addition, working at height comes under other regulations i.e. Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER 98) Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998(LOLER HSE took a different approach to communicate the Regulations. This was based on A Brief Guide to the Regulations and promoting sector specific guidance. The hse ran media awareness campaigns to highlight the introduction of the new regulation and to make people aware that a fall from any height can be fatal this was called shattered lives this can be viewed on line www.hse.gov.uk I have examined statistics correlated by the health and safety executive reporting of injuries diseases dangerous occurrences (RIDDOR). Who have compiled a large amount of data on falls from height and it lays out the different types of falls and there consequences on the individual both physically and on their future employment within the industry. The full report is Attached (see appendix 2) but I have bullet pointed the main aspects concerning my report High falls (a fall from a height of at least 2 meters) (Low falls a fall from a height below 2 meters) (Unspecified height) The pie charts below show the breakdown of fatal, major, and over-3-day fall injuries by height of fall and whether the injured person fell from a ladder or something else. Typically, more than 70% of fatal fall injuries are from a height of more than two metres compared with 23% of major fall injuries and just 10% of over-3-day fall injuries. In each category, between 20% and 30% of the accidents reported are normally from ladders. In 2008/09, the proportion of injuries attributable to high falls fell to 15% of major fall injuries and just 5% of over-3-day fall injuries. This is because of the significant increase in the proportion of low and unspecified falls due to the reclassification of slips and trips on stairs as falls. Source (Injury analysis priority programmes: falls from height RIDDOR) www.hse.gov Fatal fall injuries to workers, 2008/09p Major fall injuries to workers, 2008/09p Over 3 day fall injuries to workers, 2008/09p Source www.hse.gov.uk

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Are Leave No Trace Principles Effective? Essays -- Environment Environ

Are Leave No Trace Principles Effective? Leave No Trace is philosophy of seven concepts that help minimize human recreational impact on wild lands. As wilderness recreation has become more popular, and the National Wilderness Preservation System has increased its wilderness lands from 9.1 million acres in 54 wildernesses in 1964 to 104 million acres in 628 wildernesses in 19991, the need for guidelines to help reduce degradation of these lands has become increasingly important. In 1979 Jim Bradley wrote about the need for an educational approach for managing recreation impacts instead of regulations that antagonize the public rather than win their support2. Teaching good practices is more effective than imposing strict regulations because most harms done to the wilderness by recreational activities is due to lack of knowledge of a less impacting technique, and because it is very difficult to enforce regulations in large tracts of wild and remote lands. Leave No Trace Principles: 1) Plan ahead and Prepare 2) Travel and camp on durable surfaces 3) Dispose of waste properly 4) Leave what you find 5) Minimize campfire impacts 6) Respect wildlife 7) Be considerate of other visitors Some of the concepts have effects that are less tangible or less able to be empirically evaluated, such as: ?be respectful of wildlife, and ?be considerate to other visitors. However, these two concepts have far reaching implications, and in a sense embody the other five guidelines: ?plan ahead and prepare, ?travel and camp on durable surfaces, ?minimize fires, ?leave what you find, ?properly dispose of waste. If one is respectful of wildlife, and considerate of other visitors, then they will plan ahead and prepare so that they ... ...ore aware of the consequences of littering, and also more aware of the positive effects of treating everything with more care and respect. Sources Cited 1 http://leopold.wilderness.net/research/nutshell/database 2 http://www.lnt.org (History of Leave No Trace) 3 Leave No Trace North America booklet (P. 10) available at www.lnt.org 4 www.lnt.org (History of Leave No Trace) 5 http://leopold.wilderness.net/research/nutshell/llama.pdf 6 Professor Ralf Buckley, â€Å"Breakdown of Human Waste in Three Sub-Tropical Australian Ecosystems† available at www.nols.edu/resources/research/abstracts.shtml 7 Professor Michael D. Ellis â€Å"The Fate of Feces and Fecal Microorganisms in Human waste in Alpine, Temperate, and Arid Environments and the Impact of Disposal Methods on Surrounding Environment† available at www.nols.edu/resources/research/humanwaste_Mt.Rainier.shtml

Are You There, Reader? Its Me Margaret Essays -- Literary Analysis

Joseph Michael Sommers, has written an article on one of Judy Blume’s most iconic coming of age story; Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret. In this article he speaks about the nature of this novel and how it speaks to young adolescent females. He speaks about the connection the novel has between the protagonist and the reader. Sommer’s argument is that the protagonist breaks the fourth wall and seeks outside intervention to her troubles in her life. The author speaks about the boundaries Judy Blume has tested. One is â€Å"sororal dialogism† in the novel, and how he will show it as a recast of avuncularism. Also how sororal bond can be found and interpreted in the novel. Another issue is, how Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, has been described as a problem novel. As well as what position the reader plays. One thing that stood out was that Sommers in the title of the essay puts â€Å"reader† in the spot where the word â€Å"God† should be. The author uses first person point of view in his article, to connect with his audience, but his connection is not a personal one he wants it to be one of logic. He puts emphasis on the fact that we as reader are somewhat put in a position, that if we are the same gender and have gone through the same adolescent troubles (puberty, menstruation, boys, etc), we are compelled to identify with the main character. Sommer’s states: The reader reads in order to feel sorrow for the protagonist in a manner the reader can assimilate. Yet, it seems that the nature of Margaret’s thoughts is inherently dialogic or, to work with Duke’s terms, empathic: neither Margaret nor the reader uses the text in order to solicit pity from the other. What function would a â€Å"pity party† serve a reader by herself? To the contra... ...oached. Such as: how the reader is seen as having so many roles, and to which one do they take. This article is well- written and he has some significant points about the novel. Sommer’s tactics of constructing his argument in a logical manner was the right thing to do. It helps the reader to separate their feelings that they may have had when reading the novel, and look at facts. In some parts of the article he used reader-response, which helped you to question what others have said about this novel. Although there were parts where his argument is not clear, it did consist of some valid points. Works Cited Joseph Michael Sommers. "Are You There, Reader? It’s Me, Margaret: A Reconsideration of Judy Blume’s Prose as Sororal Dialogism." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 33.3 (2008): 258-279. Project MUSE. Web. 31 Mar. 2012. .

Friday, July 19, 2019

Education Essay -- Teaching Education

Education Education has always been a major priority for me. I was brought up in a family that was centered on education. Both of my grandma’s were teachers. I have sixteen aunts and uncles and all but 3 of them have college degrees. Ten of those a master’s degree, and 4 of them went on to earn their PhD. My parents are both college graduates. Ever since I’ve been old enough to really understand things, they have stressed how important it is to be educated. So growing up I found education to be a vitally important part of my life. Education helps build you up. It allows you to do things that you are not able to do without an education. It is like the old saying, â€Å"education is the building block that makes America grow.† The same can be said for myself. My education is what con...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Girl Number 20

The 19th century witnessed the beginning of queen Victoria’s reign, the industrial revolution, realism as literary movement and realistic novels among other. When we refer to realistic novels, we are not talking about novels being a â€Å"reality† but instead we refer to the creation of fictional stories and characters that are very much like real life people and situations. In other words, authors wrote their novels to critize social unfairness, poverty, struggles, health issues and so forth, as a way to reflect the â€Å"truth† just as it was, and it all was possible because their stories and characters were believable.Charles Dickens was one of the most influential writers of the time, his novel â€Å"Hard Times†, as the rest of his works, is vivid examples of what realistic novels would be like. He portrays his judgement towards society in a very comprehensible and even entertaining way, providing the reader an idea of the time and era he was living in . Furthermore, he lets readers identify with the situation and characters of the story, reflecting through the narrator his social perspectives of the time.Regarding the novel Hard Times, there are several issues and characters we could point out, such as progress, social limitations, poverty, development, educational patterns of the time, Mr. Bounderby, Mr. Gradgrind, Louisa, Tom, Cecilia Jupe (Sissy), Mr. Harthouse, Stephen Blackpool among others. However, the one we identified the most with, was â€Å"Girl Number 20† or Cecilia Jupe (Sissy). Through out the whole story, Dickens shows her as an innocent, unprotected an abandoned child, but at the same time she becomes one of the most important and influential characters of the story.In addition, the author redefines, in a way, the role women had at the time, by giving Sissy the power to be herself and the power to do whatever she thought was right. In order to present Cecilia Jupe as the heroine of the story, we will have t o consider her background, being it, the cornerstone of the principles she will use for the rest of her life. Having mentioned this, we will begin by referring to the way Dickens gave form to Sissy’s childhood. A motherless child, who was raised by her loving and strange father. Even though her ather was a sad and a depressed man, Sissy discovered how to please him by being more than a daughter, a caring friend; the author showed it in this quote: And you were his comfort through everything? ’She nodded, with the tears rolling down her face. ‘I hope so, and father said I was. It was because he grew so scared and trembling, and because he felt himself to be a poor, weak, ignorant, helpless man (those used to be his words), that he wanted me so much to know a great deal and be different from him. I used to read to him to cheer his courage, and he was very fond of that. p. 51) This is one of the reasons for us to give Sissy the heroical part in the story, though she made simple gestures, she made her father happy no matter what situation he was going through. It is easy to understand Sissy’s fairytale life, due to all the elements that surrounded her during her childhood: Her mother a dancer, her father a clown, her readings, most of them fantastic, but nourishing at the same time for both of them, here is one of the moments where she expressed her testimony: â€Å"Your mother? ’ ‘Father says she was quite a scholar. She died when I was born.She was;’ Sissy made the terrible communication nervously; ‘she was a dancer†¦ †Father’s a;’ Sissy whispered the awful word; ‘a clown. ’ ‘To make the people laugh? ’ said Louisa, with a nod of intelligence. ‘Yes. But they wouldn’t laugh sometimes, and then father cried†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  I used to read to him to cheer his courage, and he was very fond of that. They were wrong books- I am never to speak of th em here- but we didn’t know there was any harm in them. ’ ‘And he liked them? ’ said Louisa, with her searching gaze on Sissy all this time. ‘O very much! They kept him, many times, from what did him real harm.And often and often of a night, he used to forget all his troubles in wondering whether the Sultan would let the lady go on with the story, or would have her head cut off before it was finished. † (Pp. 50-51) Nevertheless, all the elements shown above were used by Dickens as tools in order for us to understand even more Sissy’s personality and character, highlighting her creativity and optimism when facing difficult times. Dickens shows us that her creative, optimistic and attentive attitude was not only present when she was around her father but also through out the rest of her life, even so, most people did not see it as a rilliant attitude; instead they labeled her as an uneducated, an abstract and an unintelligent person. Howev er, the author uses this attitude to demonstrate that life is not only made out of facts but also of reality, logic and common sense. This situation is well illustrated in the following quote: ‘Girl number twenty,’ said the gentleman, smiling in the calm strength of knowledge. Sissy blushed, and stood up. ‘So you would carpet your room- or your husband’s room, if you were a grown woman, and had a husband- with representations of flowers, would you,’ said the gentleman. Why would you? ’ ‘If you please, sir, I am very fond of flowers,’ returned the girl. ‘And is that why you would put tables and chairs upon them, and have people walking over them with heavy boots? ’ ‘It wouldn’t hurt them, sir. They wouldn’t crush and wither if you please, sir.They would be the pictures of what was very pretty and pleasant, and I would fancy-’ ‘Ay, ay, ay! But you mustn’t fancy,’ cried the gentleman, quite elated by coming so happily to his point. ‘That’s it! You are never to fancy. ’ ‘You are not, Cecilia Jupe,’ Thomas Gradgrind solemnly repeated, ‘to do anything of that kind. ‘Fact, fact, fact! ’ said the gentleman. And ‘Fact, fact, fact! ’ repeated Thomas Gradgrind. ‘You are to be in all things regulated and governed,’ said the gentleman, ‘by fact. † (p. 10) Through this lines Dickens was trying to show how reasonable Sissy was in comparison to other characters, she knew that flowers were just an image that people could delight in and not just a simple definition. In addition, there is another important aspect of Sissy’s life which we find interesting to note: her social awareness. A good example to prove this is the following quote: â€Å"†¦ But today, for instance, Mr M’Choakumchild was explaining to us about Natural Prosperity. ’ ‘National, I think it must have been,’ observed Louisa. ‘Yes, it was. – But isn’t it the same? ’ she timidly asked. ‘You had better say, National, as he said so,’ returned Louisa, with her dry reserve. ‘National Prosperity. And he said, Now, this schoolroom is a Nation. And in this nation, there are fifty millions of money. Isn’t this a prosperous nation? Girl number twenty, isn’t this a prosperous nation, and a’n’t you in a thriving state? ’ ‘What did you say? ’ asked Louisa. ‘Miss Louisa, I said I didn’t know.I thought I couldn’t know whether it was a prosperous nation or not, and whether I was in a thriving state or not, unless I knew who had got the money, and whether any of it was mine. But that had nothing to do with it. It was not in the figures at all,’ said Sissy, wiping her eyes†¦. † (p. 48) Through this quote, Dickens gave us a fantastic explanat ion of his thoughts on the economy of the time through Sissy’s opinion; in other words, he was emphasizing his ideal economical pattern for society: everyone having an equal amount of richness in order to be a prosperous nation.One of the remarkable things about Sissy is that throughout the whole story, Dickens presents her as a unique girl with many exceptional traits, for instance, her loyalty and perseverance towards her father’s return, her compassion and attentive spirit towards the Gradgrind family, her respect for others’ opinions and the one thing that make her the heroine of the story: her outstanding personality. Nevertheless, there are several times when the author mentions that just like any human being, Sissy doubted herself and at the same time wished to be someone else (Louisa).Dickens expressed it clearly on this extract: ‘It would be a fine thing to be you, Miss Louisa! ’ she said, one night, when Louisa had endeavored to make her p erplexities for next day something clearer to her. ‘Do you think so? ’ ‘I should know so much, Miss Louisa. All that is difficult to me now, would be so easy then’†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ‘Have I always hated you so much? ’ ‘I hope not, for I have always loved you, and have always wished that you should know it. But you changed to me a little, shortly before you left home.Not that I wondered at it. You knew so much, and I knew so little, and it was so natural in many ways, going as you were among other friends, that I had nothing to complain of, and was not at all hurt. † (Pp. 48, 182-183) At the same time, letting aside her desires to be like someone else, Cecilia did not let such a thing bring her down, instead she stood up and defended her territory and her â€Å"own†, becoming courageous enough to confront and to send away Louisa’s suitor who stood against everything that was right.The following quote reflects it: ‘Mr Harthouse,’ returned Sissy, with a blending of gentleness and steadiness that quite defeated him, and with a simple confidence in his being bound to do what she required, that held him at a singular disadvantage, ‘the only reparation that remains with you, is to leave here immediately and finally. I am quite sure that you can mitigate in no other way the wrong and harm you have done.I am quite sure that it is the only compensation you have left it in your power to make. I do not say that it is much, or that it is enough; but it is something, and it is necessary. Therefore, though without any other authority than I have given you, and even without the knowledge of any other person than yourself and myself, I ask you to depart from this place tonight, under an obligation never to return to it. † (Pp. 188-189).Nonetheless, this was not the only an unselfish and brave act she performed; the previous action triggered the beginning of Sissy Jupe as the care-taker and th e protector of the Gradgrind family that even the father came to a place where he recognized Cecilia’s help, not only towards him but also towards his wife and son; he finally accepted the fact that without Sissy’s presence they would have succumbed. In the following quote Dickens proves that at last â€Å"Girl Number 20†, the least expected to have the solution to all of the Gradgrind’s problems, became the moral and the grand victor of the story after all. Sissy has effected it, father. ’ He raised his eyes to where she stood, like a good fairy in his house, and said in a tone of softened gratitude and grateful kindness, ‘It is always you, my child! † (p. 222) Lastly, as the story ends our heroine is all we expected her to be, starting by being a great and faithful daughter, a help in time of need for those who surrounded her, and last but not least a good wife, a happy mother and a wonderful friend to her â€Å"humbler fellow-creatu res†.But, happy Sissy’s happy children loving her; all children loving her; she, grown learned in childish lore; thinking no innocent and pretty fancy ever to be despised; trying hard to know her humbler fellow-creatures, and to beautify their lives of machinery and reality with those imaginative graces and delights, without which the heart of infancy will wither up, the sturdiest physical manhood will be morally stark death, and the plainest national prosperity figures can show, will be the Writing on the Wall,- she holding this course as part of no fantastic vow, or bond, or brotherhood, or sisterhood, or pledge, or covenant, or fancy dress, or fancy fair; but simply as a duty to be done,- did Louisa see these things of herself? † (p. 238) As a conclusion, we dare to say that Dickens was the realist novelist far excellence; throughout the whole novel he expressed his criticism in a very audible voice, illustrating his thoughts and opinions on several social conc erns of his time. Additionally, he created a story and characters that were believable due to their resemblance with the real world; he made the reader understand that he was not making the situations up, but he was showing real common life.Nevertheless, it seems as if Dickens broke the pattern with Cecilia Jupe, when giving her the heroic part of the story and at the same time made her as an example of genuineness, boldness and bravery, even when her humble background, her eccentric education and all those things made her the contrary of what a Victorian Lady should be like. All situations she went through were against the idea of her being the heroine of the story, but ironically, Dickens chose her as if taking her from another world and inserting her into Victorian times, in order to make his point clear, which was: the role of the woman in a society like his. References: Dickens, C. (1854). Hard Times. London, England: Editorial Matter.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Ethics: Hedonism and Pleasure Essay

1) The difference between physical and attitudinal merriment is that whiz is something that you can hold and grab, maculation the opposite is something that is in your mind. To expand, physical delight is a temporary thing. For an example have key lime pie. Eating this ad hoc pie for some people give them cheer because it tastes trade good however, when the consumption is complete, the taste in the end goes away along with the fun. On the former(a) hand, attitudinal, or psychological joy, is a never-ending kind of happiness instead of the ephemeral joyousness that physical pastime gives you. Hedonists cause the side that attitudinal pleasure is intrinsic wholey invaluable however this distinction is solely ground on the fact that attitudinal please has a more lasting effect therefore that of its counterpart. Yet, hedonists attract and claim this position because each person is different, and the freedom to follow what makes for a good life history is individualis tic.2) The Hedonism theory claims that all pleasures are intrinsically good, and that nothing other than pleasure is intrinsically good. However my objection to this statement is that the overall life blessedness is not acquired through experiencing constant pleasures, and that set abouts life only through chasing pleasurable actions result only end unpleasant. Also, hedonism states that good is pleasure and bad is irritation. In distinction, if having an appetite is horrific (bad) and satisfying an appetite is pleasant (good), a person will experience some(prenominal) pleasure and pain when satisfying an appetite. thus feeling pleasure and feeling pain are not the same as doing well and doing badly.Page40-412) If I had the chance to outfox into the experience machine I would not, because the experience machine is known to counter honorable hedonism. Doing so would only be foreign towards my belief of hedonism. One of the arguments against plugging into the experience mac hine is that the experience machine limits people to a man-made reality. Gaining enjoyment without actions defeats the purpose of experiences therefore, equipoise happiness is destroyed because you had no place or will to gain that happiness.5) I believe the strongest objection towards hedonism is that feeling pleasure and feeling pain are not the same as doing well and doing bad. A hedonist would state that all pleasure is good and pain is bad however, one can experience pain and pleasure at the same time, which makes neither of them good or bad.

The Modern Alterations of Native American Life

The Modern Alterations of Native American Life

Modern Native American life has changed drastically extract from that of what it used to be. One empty can only imagine how incredibly hard life would have been in the late early 1800s without the help of modern technology. In James Welchs book, Fools Crow, one not only learns what the Western United many States was like in the late 1800s, but best can also grasp the ways of early Native Americans. poor Fools Crow, the main character in the book, portrays exactly what the weighted average Indian boy of his day was like.Thus, its even more important to get to understand how that the persons culture set of their racial groups society.Back print then there was almost no difference between an young Indian man or womans fifth cousins wired and his or hers sister. Both were treated the same, logical and both were respected immensely. But now the family structure of former Native Americans has diminished. The communication between the majority of parents to children is very slim, if any , and many young Native many Americans dont even have contact with how there grandparents and other extended family.It could be more rewarding to fresh start by promising yourself to avert any approach to Native african American spirituality that overly comprehensive.

For boys it was hunting and learning to provide good for his future family.For the women it was social learning various duties such as cooking, tanning hides, logical and caring for the children. Indians used to educate themselves in order to survive as a team. Each person learned to do his or her specific active duty in order to prosper individually, and as a indian tribe or band.Its not the exact same for each tribe.Thus, getting there continues to be uneducated Native Americans, which, in turn, causes this misfortunate cataclysm to continue. Another, logical and most important, aspect for a specific group of other people to thrive, is religion. Ever since the first civilized human lived, there what was religion. For most people, religion is the hot glue that holds their life together.Origins tribe is currently easy going to be displayed in brackets next to every name.

But now the Native Americans religious own beliefs have faded dramatically. Most of todays Indian youths no longer believe or practice the religion of their ancestors. Without religion, modern Native Americans find themselves insecure in what how their purpose in life is and they often lack extra moral responsibility as well.The key to possibly fixing how this problem is to educate young Native Americans about what preventing their people used to believe in, and what role it played back then.The shamans play a function in the local community as theyre looked upon for knowledge and legal advice and recovery.Some Possess the characteristics of African Americans.Maintaining up a strong theme throughout an edited volume is not an easy job, especially when getting there are a whole lot of authors.

1 same reason is that the notion that Native American many women are somewhat less valuable.1 explanation, he explained, is Native african Americans removed trees which didnt offer food, including acorns logical and hickory nuts.Now you start to see apply your first evidences of violence.Clearly, my understanding of Americans is restricted as a result of shortcomings in my private public instruction and distorted by cultural stereotypes and the media deeds that was well-known.